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Gu Jiao came out of Renshou Palace and coincidentally ran into Yu Jin, who had just paid her respects to Empress Xiao.
"Aunt Yu Jin." Gu Jiao greeted her.
Yu Jin smiled with surprise, "It's Physician Gu, are you here to visit Empress Dowager?"
Since Princess Xinyang had investigated Gu Jiao, they couldn't possibly not know her relationship with Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Gu Jiao nodded.
"Has the princess also come to the palace?" she asked.
"Ah, no. I’m the only one who entered the palace. The Empress has issued a summon, but the princess..." Yu Jin chuckled helplessly and didn't hide anything from Gu Jiao, "The Empress wants to know about Little Marquis, but the princess doesn't want to discuss it much. She's pretending to be ill and staying at home, asking me to report to the Empress instead."
As for Empress Xiao's questioning, Yu Jin simply claimed not to know anything as she was merely a servant.
Empress Xiao could use torture on others, but she couldn't do that to Yu Jin. One reason was that Yu Jin was innocent, and the other was that she was Princess Xinyang's confidant. If Empress Xiao dared to harm her, Princess Xinyang wouldn't let it go easily.
As a family, there was no need to escalate things to that extent.
The two of them walked towards the palace gate together.
Gu Jiao had never been one to pry into people's privacy, but ever since Yu Jin had confirmed Xiao Liulang's identity, she hadn't treated Gu Jiao as an outsider.
She voluntarily said to Gu Jiao, "Actually, the relationship between the princess and the Empress is not very close."
She used the word "close," which was a carefully chosen and embellished term. In fact, their relationship was very cold. The reason for this was that Marquis Xuanping and Princess Xinyang had a strained relationship. Empress Xiao, being Marquis Xuanping's younger sister, naturally wouldn't blame it on her own brother.
As a result, she had some prejudice against Princess Xinyang.
Princess Xinyang was also not the type to make friendly efforts when faced with a cold attitude, which led to their current lukewarm relationship.
"Sigh…" Yu Jin sighed, "Empress and the princess both care a lot about Little Marquis. When he was around, they used to talk occasionally, but since Little Marquis... had an accident, the Empress and the princess have hardly interacted."
The only time they met was when Princess Xinyang returned to the capital and paid her respects to the Empress.
However, this wasn’t due to their relationship as sister-in-laws but rather the etiquette between a monarch and a subject.
Yu Jin shared these details with Gu Jiao not because she hoped Gu Jiao would mediate between them or because she wanted to remind Gu Jiao not to disclose what Princess Xinyang hadn't said.
She was simply indulging in some gossip.
Gu Jiao was a great listener. First, there was Rui Wangfei, and now there was Yu Jin. Both were very willing to share their thoughts with Gu Jiao.
As they chatted, they unknowingly arrived at the palace gate.
Gu Jiao had come in Little San's carriage. Unfortunately, Little San's carriage had a mishap— one of its wheels was broken, and the axle was a bit loose. He was crouching on the ground, repairing it.
Yu Jin said to Gu Jiao, "Physician Gu, let me give you a ride back."
Gu Jiao didn't refuse, informed Little San, and then got into Yu Jin's carriage.
She could tell that Yu Jin was still eager to gossip and wanted to chat with her.
Once inside the carriage, Yu Jin remembered something and asked Gu Jiao, "By the way, isn’t the Marchioness about to give birth?"
Gu Jiao replied, "She has already given birth."
Yu Jin was surprised and asked, "Wasn't it supposed to be next month? She gave birth so soon? Is it a son or a daughter? Are they both well?"
The word "both" clearly included Yao shi in her concern.
Gu Jiao nodded appreciatively, "It's a son, and they are both well."
Yu Jin smiled with joy, "That's great news! We must tell the princess about this. Physician Gu, do you mind making a stop at Zhuque Street?"
"Sure." Gu Jiao agreed.
Yu Jin wasn't someone who only liked to gossip about her own affairs. She was also very concerned about Gu Jiao's situation. On the way, she asked almost exclusively about the little one and Yao shi.
Gu Jiao was not very talkative and answered succinctly. Those who didn't know her well might mistake her for being dismissive.
However, Yu Jin understood that she took each question seriously.
Yu Jin liked this kind of girl—— honest, without any tricks, flattery, or superficial politeness. All her warmth and friendliness were hidden in the details of her actions.
The carriage entered Zhuque Street, and Yu Jin pulled back the curtain to take a look. She noticed a carriage parked near the entrance of their courtyard, and it seemed familiar to her.
"Hmm? That carriage looks somewhat familiar." Yu Jin muttered.
Following her gaze, Gu Jiao replied, "It's Marquis Xuanping's carriage."
This carriage had appeared from time to time at the medical hall, the Hanlin Academy, and Bishui Alley, and Gu Jiao had memorized its appearance.
Yu Jin was even more puzzled, "Why would Lord Marquis come here?"
Considering the relationship between husband and wife, when they had matters to discuss, they usually had someone pass on the message. The number of times they actively sought each other out was very few, especially Marquis Xuanping, as he seemed to understand that Princess Xinyang didn’t want to see him, so he never went to find her and make himself feel unwelcome.
In fact, Marquis Xuanping had only passed by and hadn't intended to see Princess Xinyang. However, he heard her scream, indicating that something had happened.
He followed the sound and arrived at the attic of the study, where he saw Princess Xinyang sitting on the ground, her right foot pinned down by the fallen bookshelf, and the attic was too cramped for her to retreat or stand up.
Marquis Xuanping bent down and entered the attic. The attic was just tall enough for Princess Xinyang to stand upright, but Marquis Xuanping was too tall, so he had to hunch over.
He removed the heavy bookshelf and cleared away the books that had fallen on her. Her shoes were stained with blood, indicating a significant injury.
Marquis Xuanping furrowed his brow, "Why haven't your Dragon Shadow Guards come to your aid? Are they just here for show?"
He had rushed here from the street, and while he might not be very slow, there was still the distance. Her Dragon Shadow Guards could have rescued her during this period.
Ironically, even though he knew someone would save her, he had come anyway.
However, the Dragon Shadow Guards who should have appeared hadn't shown up.
This left Marquis Xuanping unsure of what to say.
Should he say she was lucky he came in time?
How could Princess Xinyang know about the thoughts running through Marquis Xuanping’s mind?
Long Yi was out on an errand, and she hadn't brought the other four Dragon Shadow Guards with her to the capital.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Marquis Xuanping didn't force her and crouched down on one knee to check her injuries. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Don't come any closer!"
Fine.
Although they were married, they had only slept together once in so many years. When they were together, they still needed to observe the boundaries between men and women.
Goddammit.
"You're badly hurt." Marquis Xuanping remarked.
Considering the amount of blood, she must have suffered at least a one-inch-long cut.
After some thought, Marquis Xuanping decided that it was more important to get her down from here.
He reached out to lift her.
Princess Xinyang's reaction was even more pronounced. She suddenly moved to the side.
Marquis Xuanping's hand froze in mid-air, and he looked at her strangely. He said, "I'm just trying to get you down, nothing else. Don't make it seem like I'm trying to take advantage of you."
The attic was too small, and she had nowhere to go. The distance between them was too close, and she felt completely surrounded by his male presence. Her face turned pale, and she began to sweat coldly on her forehead.
Marquis Xuanping quickly noticed her discomfort. His thick brows furrowed even more tightly, and he said with impatience and self-deprecation, "Qin Fengwan, I'm not a monster who preys on people."
Princess Xinyang didn't respond to his words.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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