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Gu Jiao had encountered the Crown Princess and Crown Prince while dining at a noodle restaurant with Xiao Liulang before. She couldn't say her impression of them was good or bad, as they were not people she cared about. Their character didn't matter to her.
However, the fact that he used the surname "Xiao" today reminded Gu Jiao that the Crown Prince's mother, Empress Xiao, was the younger sister of Marquis Xuanping.
In other words, this guy was Xiao Liulang's cousin.
"Young Hero Heaven, your martial arts are impressive, and your youthfulness is admirable. I wonder who your master is." The Crown Prince asked casually from behind the folding screen.
Although he praised her, his tone was somewhat condescending.
When acting in public as the Crown Prince, he didn't behave like this. He paid great attention to his image in front of the common people and rarely showed arrogance. However, now that he was concealing his identity, he didn't need to hide his true nature anymore.
Gu Jiao faintly curled her lips and took out a charcoal pencil. She casually wrote a sentence in her notebook and handed it to one of the Crown Prince's subordinates.
The Crown Prince had heard before that this Heaven Dominator was mute.
After writing for so long, the Crown Prince thought she had written many grateful words, but to his surprise, there were only two words: ‘You guess.’
The Crown Prince: "..."
Afterward, the Crown Prince exchanged a few more pleasantries with Gu Jiao, consisting of soulless flattery. Gu Jiao's responses were mostly "Hmm," "Yes," "It's okay"... but never more than two words.
The Crown Prince was baffled.
How slow could this guy write? At this rate, the time of an incense stick would be up!
Moreover, his attitude was too perfunctory!
"Can you please stop using only two words all the time?" The Crown Prince managed to restrain his anger and said.
Gu Jiao thought for a moment before writing, ‘That’s fine, sure.’
Three words.
The Crown Prince again: "..."
The Crown Prince reminded himself that he was here at Linlang's request and he promised Linlang not to get angry with the other party but to have a proper conversation.
It was truly frustrating for him, the Crown Prince, to have to lower himself before a lowly figure from the martial world!
Well, he would endure it for the sake of allowing Linlang to meet Old Master Meng in the State of Yan!
The Crown Prince collected himself and looked towards the folding screen, "To get straight to the point, I called you here this time because..."
Clap!
Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Jiao closed her notebook and stood up, pointing to the incense stick she had lit as soon as she entered.
Time was up.
The Crown Prince: "...!!"
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth, "I'll pay more!"
Gu Jiao waved her hand without even looking back and tossed a note that read: ‘Next appointment.’
The Crown Prince was infuriated.
Was Gu Jiao intentionally embarrassing him?
Of course she was.
She hadn't forgotten how the Crown Prince had looked down on Xiao Liulang during their meal at the noodle restaurant. He had bullied her beloved husband, humph.
Gu Jiao found Old He and wrote in her notebook: ‘The next time someone surnamed 'Xiao' comes, the starting price is 100 taels, including your share of 10 taels, making it a total of 110 taels.’
Old He was dumbfounded. He thought to himself, do you think you're a courtesan at the Heavenly Music House? Such exorbitant pricing!
"W-why is that?" He asked.
Gu Jiao smirked and wrote: ‘Family discount.’
Old He: "..."
It was still early, and Hanlin Academy’s working hours hadn't ended yet. Gu Jiao went back to Bishui Alley and changed her clothes.
Just as she was about to go out and meet Xiao Liulang, Eunuch Qin arrived.
Eunuch Qin had come to see Gu Jiao, saying with a smile, "Empress Dowager only just found out when she returned from the imperial audience hall that Young Miss Gu had been waiting at the Renshou Palace all morning. Why didn't you send someone to report to the Empress Dowager?"
Gu Jiao replied, "It's fine. Grandaunt is busy, and it's the same whether I see her earlier or next time."
Gu Jiao's character of remaining humble despite being favored and always maintaining a sense of propriety really impressed Eunuch Qin. Even Imperial Consort Zhuang and the young masters and misses of the Zhuang Family found it difficult to achieve such a balance.
Eunuch Qin handed over two food boxes to Gu Jiao, "In this box, there are chilled fruits, and in this box, there are pastries from the imperial kitchen. Empress Dowager asked me to bring them to Young Miss Gu."
"Thank you, Eunuch Qin." Gu Jiao reached out to take the food boxes. "Eunuch Qin, please have a seat inside, have a cup of tea before you leave."
The weather was unusually hot, and Eunuch Qin was indeed thirsty.
They entered the main room together.
Gu Jiao poured him a cup of cold tea.
"Thank you, Young Miss Gu." Eunuch Qin received the tea with both hands and drank it in big gulps. He placed the teacup down and smiled warmly at Gu Jiao, "I should take my leave now. I still have to report back to the Empress Dowager."
"Let me see you off, Eunuch Qin."
"It's not necessary."
Gu Jiao still insisted on seeing him off to the doorstep.
Just as Eunuch Qin turned to get on the carriage, she suddenly called out to him, "Eunuch Qin."
Eunuch Qin turned back and said, "Is there anything else, Young Miss Gu?"
Gu Jiao gestured and said, "I wanted to ask about the tiger-head shoes in the square brocade box at the treasure cabinet. What's the story behind them?"
Eunuch Qin's smile froze for a moment.
"It's fine if it’s inconvenient to say. Please, get on the carriage." She was just curious and if he couldn't say, she wouldn't insist.
"...They are the shoes of little master." Eunuch Qin suddenly replied in a low voice.
There were only two little masters Gu Jiao could think of, “Princess Ning'an or His Majesty?”
Eunuch Qin sighed, "Neither of them. It was Empress Dowager's own flesh and blood, but unfortunately, the child died soon after birth."
"Grandaunt... had a child?" Gu Jiao hadn't heard anyone mention this before.
Eunuch Qin nodded with a tinge of sadness, "Unfortunately, the child was stillborn, not recorded in the family genealogy, and did not have a place in the line of imperial succession. If the child had survived, they would be around the same age as His Majesty. The birthdates of the child and His Majesty are only three days apart."
Gu Jiao fell silent.
Eunuch Qin opened his mouth and couldn't stop his words for a moment, "Actually, if it weren't for this incident, His Majesty might not have been taken and raised under Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing's name. At that time, the Empress was in favor, and the late Emperor actually wanted to hand over His Majesty to the Empress for upbringing after his birth."
Gu Jiao was puzzled, "But Grandaunt was pregnant at that time, right? Since Grandaunt had her own child, why did she have to raise another one?"
Eunuch Qin explained, "The imperial physician diagnosed that the palace maid was carrying a prince, but it was uncertain whether Empress Dowager was carrying a prince or a princess. The late Emperor thought that in case Empress Dowager gave birth to a princess, it would be good to have a prince for her as well."
Gu Jiao had only heard of pulse diagnosis for determining certain conditions, she had never heard of it revealing the gender of an unborn child. The people in the palace must be quite desperate for survival.
"What happened later?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Afterwards..." Eunuch Qin smiled bitterly. "Afterwards, the Empress experienced a miscarriage and delivered a stillborn baby. A stillborn infant in the imperial family is an ominous sign, and coupled with the instigation of malicious people, the late Emperor became furious and directed his anger towards the Empress. Three days later, the palace maid did indeed give birth to a prince, but the late Emperor did not fulfill his promise of sending the prince to Kunning Palace; instead, he gave him to Imperial Concubine Jing in Qiannian Palace."
Grandaunt must have been looking forward to the birth of that child, right? But she had never expected such a tragic outcome.
What Eunuch Qin didn't say was that Empress Dowager Zhuang was still young at that time, just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. She hadn't become disillusioned with the imperial palace yet, and she had hoped for her first child.
When she gave birth to a lifeless stillborn baby, her whole being collapsed. She held the dead child and cried her heart out, tearing herself apart.
The cries in Kunning Palace lasted a whole night. She cried all her tears and cried her living heart to death.
"How coincidental that Grandaunt just gave birth to a stillborn baby while on the other side, that palace maid gave birth to a prince, only three days apart. Did no one suspect anything?" Gu Jiao asked.
"Is Young Miss Gu suggesting that the Empress Dowager fell victim to someone's plot? It's hard to say." Eunuch Qin wiped away a tear. "The Empress Dowager was very innocent when she first entered the palace. She didn't have much suspicion. By the time she understood the need to be on guard and cautious, she couldn't find any clues."
Who was born naturally powerful? She was just forced to pick up a sword and fight her way out of the harem.
Gu Jiao felt a strange and bitter taste in her heart. This complex emotion didn't require understanding for it to explode within her heart. "Could that deceased child... be the current Emperor?"
After all, there was only a three-day difference.
Eunuch Qin shook his head, "That was a baby girl."
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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