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After Gu Jiao left the palace, she went directly to Zhuque Street.
Princess Xinyang's first course of treatment had already concluded, and the results were quite good. They were now beginning the second course.
Gu Jiao took the medicine she had retrieved from her little medicine chest and placed it in a small porcelain bottle, handing it to Princess Xinyang.
Neither of them mentioned anything about the matter in the imperial palace.
In truth, even without mentioning it, Princess Xinyang had heard about it. After all, she had some old connections within the palace, and when necessary, they would provide her with information.
For instance, the last time the imperial guards arrested Long Yi, it was her old subordinate who had informed her.
However, at that time, she had been drunk, and it was Xiao Liulang who had entered the palace to appease Empress Xiao's anger.
There was no need to explain how he had appeased her. Without a doubt, he must have confessed his true identity to Empress Xiao.
As more and more people came to know his identity, this secret was bound to become impossible to conceal with time.
"What is the princess thinking?" Gu Jiao noticed Princess Xinyang's distraction.
"Nothing." Princess Xinyang snapped back to attention and looked at the medicine bottle on the table. "Is this all? It seems there's one bottle less than last time."
Gu Jiao explained, "The princess's heart condition has improved, so there's no need for the other medication."
Princess Xinyang nodded her head.
Yu Jin came over and took the medicine bottle to store it.
Gu Jiao stood up and was about to take her leave when Princess Xinyang hesitantly stopped her, "What's the matter with his leg?"
Gu Jiao looked at her and asked, "Is the princess asking how he got injured or whether his leg can be effectively treated?"
"Both." Princess Xinyang replied.
Gu Jiao placed the back basket she had picked up back on the table and continued, "He was injured while trying to save someone, about two years ago. Initially, he didn't receive proper treatment, which resulted in a disability in his right leg. Every step he takes is excruciatingly painful."
Princess Xinyang's delicate hand tightened.
Gu Jiao continued, "It took him about a year to correct the injury to his right leg through surgery. However, due to being lame for so long, his right leg muscles remained weak, and he still couldn't walk. It took him another half a year to undergo rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process was very tough."
Princess Xinyang's eyelashes trembled slightly, "So why hasn't he fully recovered yet?"
"The wounds on his body have healed." Gu Jiao pointed to her own chest, "But here, my surgical knife is powerless."
……
The demotion of Ning Wang had caused quite a stir in the capital. Grand Preceptor Zhuang intended to manipulate the hearts of the masses, attempting to use public opinion to confuse right and wrong, but Empress Xiao was not one to be trifled with.
I’ll give you three times the amount Grand Preceptor Zhuang paid you!
—She wasn't as stingy as her brother, after all.
In this competition of manipulating public opinion, the ultimate beneficiary was Old Chief. Whoever paid him, he would write whitewashing stories for them and then sell them to the teahouse attendants and storytellers.
His writing had a logical flow, was easy to understand, used words and sentences effectively, and had a strong sense of empathy, earning him high praises from the teahouse attendants and storytellers.
Empress Xiao, with her drastically different lavish spending habits compared to her brother, successfully defeated Grand Preceptor Zhuang and acquired Old Chief's ultimate whitewashing package.
Of course, Old Chief didn't get in touch with both factions using his real name. The three parties used a public study room as a contact point, and Old Chief played two roles, interacting with the two factions as two different writers.
Empress Xiao thought that the writer she had hired was more skilled, but it was just a matter of having the funds in place.
Old Chief made a small fortune.
He patted his bulging purse filled with silver banknotes and no longer worried about Zhuang Jinse coming to steal his private money!
But as soon as he entered his room, he got robbed.
Old Chief: Alas, my silver banknotes haven't even warmed up yet...
Compared with the uproar the Ning Wang case had stirred, the sudden news of the Crown Princess falling ill and going to the temporary imperial residence for recuperation seemed relatively calm.
In fact, whether it was Ning Wang or Wen Linlang, they had little to do with Bishui Alley. What they cared most about was that child, Liulang.
Lately, that child seemed to have grown thinner again.
Aunt Liu came to inquire, "Aunt Huo, what's wrong with your Liulang? Several times I've visited, I've seen him looking very troubled."
Empress Dowager Zhuang sighed, "Ayy, he misses his mother."
"Oh, he has a mother?" Aunt Liu and the neighbors had neither seen nor heard this family mention it before, and they even believed that Xiao Liulang was a motherless child, "Is his mother beautiful?"
His father was quite handsome.
Aunt Liu thought of Marquis Xuanping and felt he was even more handsome than Aunt Huo's son.
Actually, no one had told her that Marquis Xuanping and Xiao Liulang were father and son, but whenever they stood together, no one could doubt their relationship.
"It’s all right.” Empress Dowager Zhuang said after some thought.
Princess Xinyang had inherited the good looks of the late Emperor and the beauty of Imperial Concubine Yu, surpassing even Ning’an.
"Well, Aunt Huo, what do you think of me?" Aunt Liu struck a pose, "Not too shabby, right?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang glanced at her. In the entire capital, you're the first one bold enough to compare yourself to Princess Xinyang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang admired her courage and nodded, "Hmm, not too shabby."
Aunt Liu straightened her back and huffed, "If his mother doesn't want him, I'll be his mother! If she dares to come, I'll compete with her!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a carriage stopped in front of her, and a woman wearing a green cloak stepped down gracefully.
Aunt Liu usually only looked at men's faces, but right now she was amazed by the woman's beauty and demeanor.
How could someone be so good-looking?
If Yu Jin's appearance had left Aunt Liu stunned, then when Yu Jin stood still and helped Princess Xinyang down from the carriage, Aunt Liu turned into stone on the spot.
The all-powerful Empress Dowager Zhuang remained calm and patted Aunt Liu's arm, "There you go, the person you want to compete with has arrived."
Aunt Liu: "..."
Princess Xinyang, upon seeing Empress Dowager Zhuang, showed a slight surprise in her expression. Her surprise wasn’t because she was here, but because she was dressed like a commoner elderly lady.
She was even sitting with her legs crossed, casually munching on melon seeds, and didn't show any signs of restraint or concealment upon seeing her.
Clearly, she was an experienced old hand in this.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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