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"Who is this silly boy?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked nonchalantly.
Gu Chengfeng then noticed that Empress Dowager Zhuang had also arrived and was standing behind Gu Jiao.
Gu Chengfeng had crossed paths with Empress Dowager Zhuang twice before. One time was in Bishui Alley, and the other time was when he and Gu Jiao were being chased by Tang Ming near the imperial palace.
Empress Dowager Zhuang “disposed” the both of them as assassins, which put Tang Ming's mind at ease.
Pretending to be the assassin and then getting killed were actually inspired by Empress Dowager Zhuang’s idea back then.
During that encounter, Gu Chengfeng was wearing a mask, so Empress Dowager Zhuang did not recognize him as Gu Jiao's ‘friend’ from that night.
And now, with Gu Chengfeng's face covered in dirt, Empress Dowager Zhuang also didn't recognize him as Gu Chengfeng.
However, in the next moment, Empress Dowager Zhuang seemed to have figured something out, saying, "Oh, you're the one who snuck into the Supreme Commander Estate."
Was her eyesight that keen?
How could she figure it out?
Clearly, he had disguised his voice when speaking!
If Empress Dowager Zhuang didn't possess any skills, she wouldn't have been able to dominate the court and the harem for so many years. She glanced at Gu Chengfeng indifferently and asked, "What is your relationship with JiaoJiao?"
Why did it feel like she was posing a life-or-death question?
Gu Chengfeng looked at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao stood with her arms crossed, silently watching the scene.
Ah! This girl was throwing him away after using him! She really had no conscience!
"Reporting to the Empress Dowager," he stood up and respectfully bowed, "This subject is called Gu Chengfeng. Greetings to Empress Dowager."
"Oh."
It was JiaoJiao's older brother, not just some random wildflower or grass.
He wouldn’t prevent her from holding her great-grandchild.
Soon after, Empress Dowager Zhuang left without asking Gu Chengfeng about his martial arts skills or why he entered the imperial palace and so on.
Gu Chengfeng was a bit perplexed by the whole situation, "...Empress Dowager's temperament is quite unique."
In fact, the one most affected by the whole ordeal was Eunuch Qin's tortoise. Thankfully, the tortoise's shell was sturdy, so it wasn't seriously hurt. It was just frightened and spent the entire afternoon hiding in its shell.
Gu Jiao tended to Gu Chengfeng's shoulder injury and asked him for a thousand taels of silver, calling it a treatment fee.
Gu Chengfeng, who had yet to warm up the thousand taels of silver banknotes in his bosom: "..."
Gu Chengfeng looked at her with a headache, "By the way, you’d rather give up the imperial decree just to rescue me from the Dragon Shadow Guard. You’ve been coveting this thousand taels of silver banknotes, haven’t you?"
After all, if he died, his body would undoubtedly be disposed of, and she wouldn't get the silver banknotes.
Gu Jiao had an expression that clearly said, ‘How could that be!’
Gu Chengfeng understood and suddenly felt a bit touched. It turned out this girl still had some conscience after all. She wasn't just focused on squeezing him dry.
Gu Jiao analyzed seriously, "If you die, I'll lose a thousand taels, but if you're alive, I’ll earn a lot more thousand taels from you! As for the imperial decree, aren't you the number one thief? You can steal it back next time!"
Gu Chengfeng: "..."
So why did he feel touched again?
The two of them had lunch in Empress Dowager Zhuang's Renshou Palace.
Gu Chengfeng couldn't treat Empress Dowager Zhuang like any ordinary elderly lady, so he ate with extreme caution. On the other hand, Gu Jiao kept gobbling down food, her cheeks puffed up, reminiscent of a chubby squirrel Gu Chengfeng had once caught in the back hill.
Meanwhile, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing waited quietly in the nunnery while knocking on the wooden fish and chanting Buddhist scriptures.
However, instead of receiving news of Grannie Cai capturing the assassin, she received the devastating news that Grannie Cai had been detained and interrogated by the Emperor.
"Imperial Concubine Dowager." The young nun who delivered the news knelt behind her, anxiously looking at her. "What should we do? Grannie Cai has been arrested... Why did His Majesty arrest Grannie Cai? Isn't Grannie Cai a person of our nunnery? Isn't His Majesty..."
The young nun poured out a series of grievances, and by the end, tears were streaming down her face.
Inside the imperial palace, secrets could never be hidden, and even the slightest event could be amplified tenfold.
There was no need for Renshou Palace to deliberately spread any rumors. The fact that Grannie Cai had been arrested was enough to make people speculate whether the relationship between Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing and the Emperor had truly become tense.
"Imperial concubine dowager, let's go plead with His Majesty, beg him to release Grannie Cai... Grannie Cai is old... She can't endure such hardships..."
The young nun hadn't been in the palace for long, but she had heard plenty about the gruesome tortures that those who were arrested would face. Whether they yielded any information during the interrogation or not, they would at least come out having been skinned alive.
She was worried.
She was also afraid.
Afraid that this collapsing palace would crush her, who was still inside it.
As night fell, the imperial nunnery grew silent, and the sound of the young nun's sobbing gradually merged with the darkness.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing did nothing. She didn't even send anyone to inquire about Grannie Cai's situation. She simply knelt quietly in the Buddhist hall, hands clasped together, as if devoutly praying, yet also as if sitting in silence.
The young nun couldn't bear it any longer. She had only heard of the palace's cruelty but hadn't personally experienced it.
Sobbing, she hurriedly ran to Huaqing Palace.
"Let me see His Majesty! Imperial concubine dowager has gone without eating or drinking all day... If this continues... If this continues... she will fall ill..."
She cried out loudly.
In the imperial palace, this was a major taboo.
She didn't know how lucky she was not to be dragged away and punished according to palace rules immediately.
"What's all the noise outside?" The Emperor put down the documents in his hand and furrowed his brow.
Eunuch Wei whispered, "It's the young nun by imperial concubine dowager's side. She says... Imperial concubine dowager hasn't eaten or drank anything all day."
The Emperor's brow furrowed even more.
Eunuch Wei observed the Emperor's expression and suggested, "Your Majesty, shall this servant go and check?"
The Emperor opened his mouth.
Surprisingly, he hesitated. For a brief moment, he considered whether or not to nod in agreement.
He was startled by his own thoughts. In the past, whenever he heard news about Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, he would immediately set aside his official duties to visit her. Yet now, she had gone without food or water all day, and yet he wasn't as anxious as before.
He shouldn't be like this.
He closed his eyes and said, "Zhen will go to the nunnery."
Eunuch Wei responded, "Yes."
The Emperor didn't use the sedan chair; he walked to the nunnery with Eunuch Wei by his side.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing enjoyed tranquility, so the chosen location for the nunnery was remote. Due to the rush in construction overnight, the Buddhist hall itself was not very large.
Now, engulfed by the darkness of the night, it appeared even smaller and more desolate.
When the young nun saw the Emperor's arrival, a wave of delight surged within her. "Your—— "
The Emperor didn't look at her; he simply raised his hand in a casual gesture to silence her.
Instantly, the young nun was overwhelmed by the aura of the true dragon.
The lamps within the Buddhist hall were lit, and a solitary figure flickered on the window paper. The Emperor walked over, taking measured steps.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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