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Xiao Liulang didn't work overtime tonight, so the two of them returned to Bishui Alley together.
As soon as they arrived at their doorstep, a little figure darted out and rushed towards Gu Jiao, hugging her leg and calling out with a small, plaintive voice, "JiaoJiao!"
It was Little Jing Kong.
He had been away from JiaoJiao for two days and two nights, and he missed her so much that his little heart ached!
Gu Jiao picked up the little guy clinging on her leg and asked, "Did Grandaunt send you back?"
"I came back by myself!" Little Jing Kong replied.
Empress Dowager Zhuang couldn't stand this little trumpet player anymore. Without Gu Jiao around, he kept babbling on and on, even driving Eunuch Qin's pet turtle crazy.
Having a great-grandchild was important, but it was even more important to live to see the day her great-grandchild was born.
So when Little Jing Kong once again suggested leaving the palace, Empress Dowager Zhuang quickly had Eunuch Qin pack him up and send him back.
After Little Jing Kong finished speaking, he hugged Gu Jiao's neck, his little head resting on her shoulder. "JiaoJiao, I missed you so much. Do you miss me too, even just a little bit?"
Gu Jiao laughed at his teasing and nodded, amused, "Yes, I do."
"I knew it!" The little guy was extremely proud and squirmed in Gu Jiao's arms.
Xiao Liulang watched the little guy cuddling with Gu Jiao shamelessly, and his handsome face turned black like charcoal bit by bit.
"JiaoJiao, there's a lantern festival tonight!" Little Jing Kong didn't notice his brother-in-law's displeased expression. He hugged Gu Jiao's neck and sighed, "I'm so big already, but I've never been to a lantern festival before!"
The little guy had even learned to beat around the bush.
Since Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang didn't have anything to do tonight and Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun happened to be at home as well, the young couple took their three younger brothers along with the two dark guards out after dinner.
The lantern festival was held on Chang'an Street. Except for the beginning and end of the street, the middle section was lined with stalls and decorated with colorful lanterns. Some of the lanterns were sold directly, some were offered as rewards for solving riddles, and there were also people who gathered together to compose poems.
Gu Jiao took a look and could only think of one thing: So many people, there’s so many people!
After staying in the capital for so long, it was the first time that Gu Jiao was so impressed by the prosperity and hustle and bustle of the capital. Everywhere she looked, there were crowds of people, and the lights were bright and colorful.
"Ah! Ah! I can't see!" Little Jing Kong was too small and was blocked by the people around him. He was so anxious that he jumped around in place.
One of the dark guards picked up Little Jing Kong and let him ride on his neck.
His line of sight suddenly became higher, and Little Jing Kong widened his eyes in surprise, "Wow!"
The air up here was so fresh!
Dark Guard A carried Little Jing Kong and followed behind Gu Yan, while Dark Guard B followed behind Gu Xiaoshun.
They were dark guards, not Dragon Shadow Guards, so their brain circuits functioned normally. Both of them possessed highly acute judgment and exceptional overall operational abilities, and they knew that they only needed to keep an eye on the three little boys.
They didn't need to worry about guye. The eldest young miss was worth ten of them and could protect guye well!
"JiaoJiao! Look! The lotus lantern!"
"JiaoJiao! The peach lantern!"
"JiaoJiao! The tiger lantern!"
Little Jing Kong would tell Gu Jiao about a lantern every time he saw one. At first, Gu Jiao responded, but at some point, they were separated by the crowd.
When Little Jing Kong turned around, JiaoJiao was gone!
"JiaoJiao?"
Just then, a stall that made lanterns on the spot attracted a lot of people. There was no need to buy it with money, if you guessed the riddle attached to the lantern, you would get it for free. The crowd became so crowded that Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang were pushed aside.
In that moment when they were about to be separated, they both reached out and grabbed each other's hands.
Gu Jiao's actions were subconscious, and so were Xiao Liulang's. The difference was that Gu Jiao was accustomed to treating Xiao Liulang well, openly and transparently, without any concealment or pretense.
But Xiao Liulang was always very restrained and reserved.
Therefore, it was the first time for him to grab her hand without thinking.
Fortunately, Gu Jiao was not so sensitive, otherwise she might have wondered why he was so proactive today.
Gu Jiao didn't ask and just turned her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling and her lips curled up slightly, "Don't worry, I will hold on to you and won't lose you."
Xiao Liulang felt relieved.
Fortunately, she didn't think too much about it.
But the next second, he furrowed his brow again.
Why didn't she think more about it?
Didn't she notice that he took her hand of his own accord? Didn't she feel that things were not simple?
He took a deep breath and looked at her, saying, "You..."
"Hmm? There really is a peach lantern."
Gu Jiao exclaimed as she looked ahead at a large pink peach lantern. After speaking, she realized that he had also spoken just now and she asked, "What did you just say?"
Xiao Liulang opened his mouth and said, "...It's nothing."
As more and more people gathered, the two of them continued holding hands as they strolled to the end of Chang'an Street.
Xiao Liulang didn't actually like crowds. He felt it was noisy, with too much sweat and the scent of powder in the air, making it hard for him to breathe. But tonight, none of that happened.
The path that was supposed to be difficult seemed less challenging.
After exploring the lantern festival, they met up with Gu Yan and others at the other end of Chang'an Street. Little Jing Kong was crying uncontrollably.
"One more time! One more time! I want JiaoJiao!"
A lantern festival without JiaoJiao felt incomplete to Little Jing Kong. He felt like he wasted his night!
He cried with extreme sadness!
Unfortunately, the lantern festival had ended. Everyone scattered and the streets gradually became desolate, leaving only torn pieces of lantern paper trampled on the ground.
Even the streets matched his mood so well!
"Wahhh——"
He burst into loud wailing!
It wasn't until Gu Jiao promised to take him to the lantern festival alone next time that he barely managed to stop crying. His eyes were swollen, and in a trembling voice, he said, "T-Then, I want to sleep with JiaoJiao tonight."
The corner of Xiao Liulang's mouth twitched. Little monk, I see through your fake sadness. Wanting to sleep beside her is your real intention, right?
Gu Jiao agreed.
However, the little guy cried too hard and exhausted himself, falling asleep on the way back.
Xiao Liulang tried to shake his little head to wake him up, but he wouldn't budge!
Xiao Liulang: "Heh."
Xiao Liulang planned to take Little Jing Kong to Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's room, and then go to Gu Jiao's east room himself. But when he arrived in the main room, he heard Gu Xiaoshun say, "No need, brother-in-law. You don't have to squeeze with us tonight. The bed in the west room has been fixed!"
Xiao Liulang was taken aback, "Fixed, it’s fixed? Who fixed it?"
"I did! I fixed it this afternoon!" Gu Xiaoshun patted his chest and said.
As the direct disciple of his master, his woodworking skills were excellent. A mere bed was nothing. He could repair it easily!
But wait.
Why did everyone's faces look so bad?
Was it because he fixed it too slowly?
……
Under the dark night sky and strong winds, everyone had entered the realm of dreams, and the once bustling city had fallen into tranquility.
The sound of the wooden fish in the temple also stopped, leaving only sporadic candlelight flickering on the candlesticks.
Eunuch Wei guarded the door outside, wondering why the Emperor took so long to finish his meal, and why he suddenly became silent while eating?
Suddenly, the door of the room opened, and Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing slowly walked out.
Eunuch Wei hurriedly bowed, "Imperial concubine dowager."
"His Majesty is overworked with state affairs and has fallen asleep while eating. Go ask Hui'an to bring a bed mat and a pillow."
Eunuch Wei peeked inside and saw the Emperor sleeping with his head on the table. He felt worried but still went to find the young nun named Hui'an to bring the bed mat and pillow.
The wooden floor was clean.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing laid the bed mat behind the Emperor and, with Eunuch Wei's help, gently laid him down.
"Pillow." She instructed.
"Yes." The young nun placed the pillow under the Emperor's head.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing personally spread the thin quilt and gently covered the Emperor with it.
She held the Emperor's hand and murmured, "Sleep, and when you wake up, you will be mother’s Hong’er again."
Eunuch Wei looked at Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing strangely.
Her words were taboo. Since she hadn't become the Empress Dowager, she didn't have the right to address the Emperor by his name, let alone refer to herself as his mother.
However, what he was more concerned about was the phrase, ‘When you wake up, you will be mother’s Hong’er again.’ Why would she say that?
Wasn't he her child even before waking up?
The Emperor had slept for a long time, and when he woke up, the sky was slightly bright.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had stayed by his side all night and couldn't hold on any longer. She fell asleep on the nearby table.
Her hand had been holding the Emperor's hand, and when the Emperor moved, she was startled awake.
Although there was a thick mattress underneath, it was still not as comfortable as the dragon bed. The Emperor felt a bit sore and achy in his waist and back.
"Eunuch Wei." He called out in a dazed state, still not fully awake.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing sat up straight and looked at him tenderly, "Hong’er."
The Emperor opened his eyes and looked at her, furrowing his brows, "What did you call Zhen?"
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was slightly taken aback.
She stared at the Emperor without so much as a blink.
But she realized that there was no expected affection in the Emperor's eyes. Instead, there was only an icy indifference and distance.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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