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On the other side, the Emperor spent an incredibly agonizing night. Eunuch Wei didn't dare to urge him, waiting until the morning court was approaching before mustering the courage to enter the imperial study. He softly said, "Your Majesty, it's time for the morning court."
"Hmm."
The Emperor replied in a deep voice.
Eunuch Wei didn't dare to speculate on the struggles he had experienced throughout the night. He simply followed behind the Emperor without looking sideways, accompanying him back to his palace and assisting him with washing, changing into the dragon robe.
Due to a sleepless night, the Emperor had dark circles under his eyes, so noticeable that even the officials in the front row noticed from a distance.
The Minister of Revenue held his ceremonial tablet and glanced at Grand Preceptor Zhuang beside him, lowering his voice and asking, "What’s the matter with His Majesty?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang replied in a low voice, "Perhaps it's the burden of state affairs."
"Is it about the situation at the border?" The Minister of Revenue inquired.
Ning Wang and Tang Yueshan went to suppress the bandits and discovered the State of Chen's suspicious activities near the border. Although the ruler of the State of Chen appeared to be seeking to establish a new Empress to attract the attention of other countries, who could say that the State of Chen wouldn’t secretly attack the State of Zhao?
Before Grand Preceptor Zhuang could answer, the Minister of Revenue clicked his tongue and said, "The prince of the State of Chen is still in the State of Zhao. Are they so impatient to wage war without considering the prince's life?"
In his heart, Grand Preceptor Zhuang pondered. Wasn't An Junwang also serving as a hostage in the State of Chen when Marquis Xuanping led the army to attack them?
With this thought, did His Majesty and Marquis Xuanping at that time also disregard An Junwang's life?
However, Marquis Xuanping fought that battle so brilliantly. Not only did he send someone to protect An Junwang in advance, preventing him from becoming a ‘true’ hostage of the State of Chen, but he also made remarkable progress by nearly overthrowing the State of Chen's imperial palace.
It remained unknown whether the State of Chen had a warrior as intelligent and brave as Marquis Xuanping.
There was nothing particularly significant in today's morning court, except for a censor from the lineage of Grand Preceptor Zhuang accusing a close official of the Emperor, stating that he frequented brothels and tarnished his official position.
To be honest, it was difficult to bring someone down with a charge of visiting brothels. Only the censors who couldn’t tolerate anything would take such actions, and everyone believed that the Emperor would not entertain it.
To everyone's surprise, the Emperor waved his hand and ordered the Chief of the Court of Judicial Review to deal with the accused official strictly.
All the court officials were dumbfounded.
This... was this even possible?
"Your Majesty!" The Minister of Works stepped forward. Even as an outsider, he couldn't bear to see this. Who would actually be impeached for visiting brothels? If that was the case, Marquis Xuanping should have lost his official position countless times by now.
"This person showed disrespect towards the Empress Dowager, and even dared to criticize her in Zhen’s presence. Such a traitor deserves severe punishment. Zhen’s decision is firm, there is no need for further discussion." The Emperor said solemnly, then turned his head and glanced at Empress Dowager Zhuang behind the curtain. His eyes showed some excitement, as if he was saying, ‘Praise me, praise me!’
Empress Dowager Zhuang ignored him.
After the morning court, the Emperor caught up with Empress Dowager Zhuang in her phoenix palanquin.
In the spirit of self-sacrifice for the sake of five pieces of candied fruits, Empress Dowager Zhuang endured patiently and stepped out of the palanquin, wearing a pleasant expression as she looked at him, "Does His Majesty have something to discuss with Aijia?"
The Emperor said, "I have something I want to discuss with imperial mother alone."
In the past, whenever the Emperor referred to himself, be it "Zhen" or "this son," it often carried a hint of sarcasm. However, Empress Dowager Zhuang only cared about her five pieces of candied fruits and didn't sense any deeper meaning in his self-address this time.
Empress Dowager Zhuang dismissed her servants, and the Emperor also dismissed Eunuch Wei and others. The long pathway was now occupied by only the pair of mother and son.
The Emperor had struggled all night before deciding to reveal everything to Empress Dowager Zhuang. She was one of the victims in this incident, and she had the right to know the truth.
However, his thoughts were still very jumbled, so his words were somewhat incoherent. Fortunately, Empress Dowager Zhuang understood and even figured out that her foolish son had been deceived by Xiao Liulang, that little black sesame dumpling.
But the truth was the truth, and Xiao Liulang didn't distort the facts.
"...I didn't expect Imperial Concubine Mother Jing to do such a thing... but imperial mother, rest assured, I have destroyed the imperial decree..."
He didn't know if he had expressed himself clearly enough. Empress Dowager's expression was too calm, and he doubted whether she understood.
He continued, "And about our relationship these past years... it was actually a misunderstanding... I have been deceived..."
"So, there's no need to act anymore?" Empress Dowager Zhuang interrupted the Emperor's words.
The Emperor was slightly startled.
Um... was this the main point?
Not acting anymore meant no more five pieces of candied fruits.
Without his image as the walking candied fruit, the Emperor instantly lost his charm. Empress Dowager Zhuang's smile faded, and she turned away with a disgusted expression. "Aijia is leaving!"
The Emperor: "..."
Didn’t he just explain his loneliness?
Empress Dowager Zhuang's cold reaction was definitely a heavy blow to the Emperor. Naturally, he couldn't imagine that it was because he had lost his value as a source of candied fruits. He stubbornly believed that Empress Dowager Zhuang was angry at him, angry at all the years of hurting her.
Some things could be understood in an instant, while others could span over twenty years.
The Emperor visited Bishui Alley again.
Xiao Liulang had guessed that the Emperor would frequently come and go from Bishui Alley these days, so he took a leave of absence from Hanlin Academy and stayed at home to "take care" of Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao sat on the bed, enjoying good food and drinks while admiring her beloved husband's exceptional beauty.
Xiao Liulang sat on a stool by the bed, peeling oranges for her.
His joints were distinct, his fingers slender. He could do rough work, but he was naturally good-looking, like a beautiful jade.
Gu Jiao would look at his face for a while, then at his hands.
Even though Xiao Liulang had grown accustomed to her straightforward scrutiny, he couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.
Was he really... that good-looking?
He was a cripple, a cripple who might never recover and would forever carry a broken body. If she stayed with him, she would always face criticism.
"Gu Jiao, I'm a cripple." he unintentionally blurted out his inner thoughts.
Gu Jiao responded with an understanding tone, "I know."
Xiao Liulang continued peeling the orange in his hand. "Do you really not mind? I might... never get better. You've seen it yourself— I've been working hard on rehabilitation, not missing a single day, but I just can't walk... like you all do."
She probably had expectations for him, hoping that one day he would be able to walk like a normal person.
But he was afraid he really couldn't achieve that.
When her patience ran out, would she still look at him the way she did now?
Love was a delicate thing. The more you care, the more insecure you become.
In the past, he didn't think much of having a limp leg. His life was already dark, invisible to others, and even he couldn't see it. Those who could see him, he pretended they couldn't.
But one day, she lit a lamp, illuminating the path beneath his feet and revealing his sorry state.
Gu Jiao glanced at him strangely. Wasn't he the one who didn't care about his leg? When she operated on him back then, Feng Lin was scared half to death while he himself didn't care at all.
Why did he seem to care now?
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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