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The Emperor and Empress Dowager Zhuang were so busy using their wits and strategies against each other that nobody noticed the unusual behavior of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing. In other words, at that moment, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing became invisible in their eyes.
Only Gu Jiao, who had been observing the reactions of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, noticed everything.
She didn't quite understand it.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was capable of ruthlessly drugging the Emperor and even arranging an assassination attempt on him. Although the assassination that night might not have been intended to take the Emperor's life, but rather to frighten and injure him in order to frame Grandaunt, it still indicated that she didn't love the Emperor that much.
So why should she care about whom the Emperor favored?
Gu Jiao wasn’t a person with a strong desire for control, so she naturally couldn't empathize with the feelings of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
But if she had to put herself in Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's shoes, it would be like Little Jing Kong, who was always talking about JiaoJiao, suddenly no longer liking her and turning to cling to someone else. She would probably be hurt as well.
However, Little Jing Kong's relationship with her was fundamentally different from the Emperor's relationship with Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
So Gu Jiao felt that this analogy wasn't very accurate.
But that didn't stop her from intuitively observing the subtle actions of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Oh, she's angry!
Very angry!
Gu Jiao simply rested her chin on her hands and watched Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing with great interest.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's perception wasn’t usually so dull, but perhaps she was really angered as it took her a while to realize that a peculiar pair of eyes were fixed on her.
She turned her head and met Gu Jiao's gaze.
Generally, in situations where someone was caught peeking at others, one would feel embarrassed and would immediately avert their gaze and pretend nothing happened.
But not Gu Jiao.
She wasn't embarrassed.
She glanced at the handkerchief in Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's hand, which now had several small holes poked in it, and raised an eyebrow as if signaling to her.
——Please continue, don't mind me. After all, the handkerchief is not mine even if it is torn!
The most shameful thing in the world wasn’t harboring unjustifiable feelings of jealousy, but being caught in the act of jealousy by others. In the end, the one who was truly caught red-handed was Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Her body stiffened, and she felt a panic in her chest.
"I'm feeling a bit unwell, I'll take my leave first." She said, forcefully turning around.
Naturally, this was meant to attract the Emperor's attention and evoke his guilt and pity. Unfortunately, she miscalculated.
The Emperor, irritated and embarrassed by Empress Dowager Zhuang wiping his mouth with a dirty handkerchief, tried to escape, but Empress Dowager Zhuang pressed his head, and he tried to pry her hand off.
This scene... Honestly, they were just short of physically fighting.
Eunuch Wei and Eunuch Qin couldn't bear to watch and averted their gazes, looking up at the sky.
Except for Gu Jiao and the trusted servant of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, Grannie Cai, no one noticed that Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had left in a fit of anger.
Gu Jiao certainly wouldn't keep her.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing paused for a moment, looked at the two who were in a heated argument, and sensed Gu Jiao's gaze.
She looked back at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao made a gesture of invitation.
Aren't you leaving?
Go on, then?
Don't linger!
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was furious and left with a face ashen with anger.
When the Emperor finally escaped from Empress Dowager Zhuang's clutches and looked up to see Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, he realized she was nowhere to be found.
He felt awkward for a moment and glared at Empress Dowager Zhuang, "Great, now you've driven imperial concubine mother away. Can't the Empress Dowager restrain herself a bit in front of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing? We are acting for the culprit, not for..."
He was interrupted halfway through his words when Empress Dowager Zhuang slapped the dirty handkerchief on his face with a loud smack. Immediately after, Empress Dowager Zhuang stood up and said, "JiaoJiao, let's go!"
Even when Empress Dowager Zhuang was wiping his mouth with the dirty handkerchief earlier, her tone and smile showed no impatience. She seemed like a loving mother with a slightly mischievous sense of humor.
The Emperor almost believed it, thinking that Empress Dowager Zhuang was serious and had truly taken a liking to him as her son!
He was about to say to her, ‘Don't take it seriously. Zhen was just acting with you. Zhen would never see you as my mother. My mother is only Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing—’
But then Empress Dowager Zhuang snapped back to her dominating self in an instant, her change of attitude was so swift that it left the Emperor dumbfounded!
The Emperor: "Y-You're just leaving like this?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang snorted and didn't even spare him a glance, considering it unnecessary. She left with Gu Jiao in tow.
The Emperor: "..."
On the other side, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing returned to her chambers with Grannie Cai.
Throughout the journey, she maintained a gentle and composed expression, but as soon as she entered her own room, her face turned cold.
In Grannie Cai's opinion, her mistress was willingly inviting trouble. Since the Emperor had been drugged, his affection for her would gradually decrease day by day. There was no need to confront the Emperor and verify anything. It was a clear matter with no solution.
In fact, her mistress understood all of this, but she just couldn't accept it in her heart.
Over the years, the Emperor had been too good to her, to the point where she had forgotten how she earned such favor. Perhaps she hadn't forgotten, but she had also put in a lot of effort, so she believed that they had truly developed an unbreakable mother and son bond.
To put it plainly, her self-esteem and pride didn't allow her to believe that she lacked the charm to even handle her own son.
—— He must have genuinely developed a mother-son bond with me.
Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing had said these words more than once in front of Grannie Cai.
Grannie Cai still remembered the smile on Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's face at that time. It was a profoundly happy smile, but it wasn't a mother showing off her bond with her son. It was more like a victorious general boasting about her spoils of war.
Now those spoils were gone.
Her self-esteem and pride had been crushed.
Regardless of anything, Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing was her mistress, and as a servant, Grannie Cai would never have second thoughts about her loyalty.
She just didn't want to see her mistress sinking further into these unnecessary and gloomy emotions.
"Imperial concubine dowager..." She looked deeply at her mistress.
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