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"Are you full?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao put down the chopsticks in her hands and let out a burp, "I"m full."
Empress Dowager Zhuang had someone serve another cup of hawthorn flower tea to help in digestion and soothe the mind.
Gu Jiao, picking up the scented tea, asked, "By the way, Grandaunt, why did you suddenly leave the palace?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang grunted, "Can Aijia not go on a stroll?"
Gu Jiao snorted, "Was Grandaunt sneaking to play cards again?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s eyebrows jumped, "Nonsense! How can Aijia be... sneaking to play cards?"
Aijia obviously just got back from playing cards!
Empress Dowager Zhuang hurriedly shifted the topic away from herself, "How dare you ask Aijia why she left the palace? Aijia has yet to ask you, just what happened back there? What exactly were you doing in the middle of the night?"
Gu Jiao glanced at Grandaunt, bowed her head and pointed her index fingers together, "Catching the real a.s.sa.s.sin."
Empress Dowager Zhuang sucked in a breath of cold air, "What kind of a.s.sa.s.sin did you have to catch in the Supreme Commander Estate?"
Gu Jiao replied, "Someone who wants to kill Tang Ming and then frame Gu Changqing."
Empress Dowager Zhuang knew Tang Ming. He was the nephew of Tang Yueshan and was quite a handsome young man. As for Gu Changqing... Empress Dowager Zhuang frowned. This name was a bit familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember it.
The memories recovered by Empress Dowager Zhuang were mostly related to Gu Jiao and Little Jing Kong. Her interactions with Gu Changqing were so little that she failed to remember him at once.
Seeing Empress Dowager Zhuang"s confused look, Gu Jiao thought for a moment before saying, "The first time he played leaf cards, he won a lot of money from Grandaunt."
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s face darkened in an instant.
A scene finally flashed in her mind.
This matter was indeed complicated. In fact, Empress Dowager Zhuang had gotten wind of a little news. After all, with such a big noise in the military camp, how could she not learn that Tang Ming"s arm was cut off by a Commandant from the Marquis Ding"an Estate?
But she, like all the soldiers, thought that this Commandant was fighting for injustice for the former Gu Family Army.
Marquis Ding"an Estate was one of the Emperor"s powers. It was naturally impossible for her to stand up for the other side, not to mention that the other side had really gone too far with their actions.
Tang Ming treated the other party unjustly, but this didn"t warrant having his arm cut off.
He took advantage of the fighting tournament to hurt Tang Ming so badly. No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible to look at it positively.
"It’s not for the Gu Family Army." Gu Jiao hesitated, but still told the truth, "Tang Ming took advantage of Ah Yan. He kidnapped Ah Yan and locked him up... It took us half a night of searching to find him. It was Gu Changqing who found him, and the other party was only one step away from… "
From what?
Gu Jiao didn"t continue to say it.
But who was Empress Dowager Zhuang?
She had eaten more salt than others had eaten rice.
Could she not guess what had happened?
The only thing Empress Dowager Zhuang asked of Gu Yan was to be well and alive.
That boy was evidently fragile, and to have this happen to him was like having half of his life taken away.
Empress Dowager Zhuang"s expression sank, "He only cut off one arm?"
Gu Jiao blinked his eyes, "I also… taught him a lesson. Tang Yueshan found out, so he wanted to capture me."
Empress Dowager Zhuang expressed doubts, "Is this the only reason he wanted to capture you? As Aijia saw it, he wants to kill you no matter what."
That was because she also heard his secret, but it made no difference. Regardless of whether she heard it or not, Tang Yueshan would never let her go.
This evening, Gu Jiao talked a lot with Empress Dowager Zhuang. Gu Jiao wasn’t good at communicating with people. She didn’t talk much and was always too lazy to open her mouth even when she knew something.
But Grandaunt had this ability to make her let go of her inner defenses and disagreeable temperament, and turned her into a little trumpet player.
By the time Eunuch Qin returned to Renshou Palace, Gu Jiao had already fallen asleep on Empress Dowager Zhuang"s phoenix bed.
Her little face was facing Empress Dowager Zhuang"s side, allowing her to see her fleshy cheeks and slightly opened small mouth from where crystal clear saliva was flowing out.
Empress Dowager Zhuang wiped her mouth then gently pulled the quilt over her. She picked up one of her hands and sighed, "It"s injured again."
“Empress Dowager.” Eunuch Qin bowed quietly. "It has arrived."
Empress Dowager Zhuang let out a faint sigh.
Eunuch Qin brought the jinchuang medicine and handed it to Empress Dowager Zhuang.
Empress Dowager Zhuang dipped her fingertips a bit and carefully rubbed the medicine on the place where Gu Jiao"s palm was cut by the reins, "Go and send a message to Bishui Alley and tell that boy not to wait. JiaoJiao will be resting here in Aijia’s place tonight."
"Hmm~" Gu Jiao felt so hot that she kicked off the quilt in her sleep discontentedly.
Empress Dowager Zhuang carefully covered her again.
Eunuch Qin suddenly let out a laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" Empress Dowager Zhuang asked with a heavy voice.
Eunuch Qin said with a smile, "This old servant hasn"t seen Empress Dowager act so humanely for a long time. It seems that in return for Your Majesty losing your memory, you found many things that were lost in those days."
"Things lost in those days?" Empress Dowager Zhuang murmured.
Eunuch Qin smiled and said, "Yes, the last time you were so kind was when Princess Ning"an was still around."
Hearing Princess Ning"an being mentioned, Empress Dowager Zhuang"s expression became cold.
Eunuch Qin realized that he had said something wrong, he immediately bowed his head and said, "This servant made a slip of the tongue."
Empress Dowager Zhuang lowered her eyes, stroked Gu Jiao"s finger and said blandly, "Go."
Eunuch Qin replied, "Yes, this servant will now go to Bishui Alley."
"Wait." Empress Dowager Zhuang stopped him.
Eunuch Qin turned around, "What other instructions does Empress Dowager have?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "Aijia remembers there are some masks among the tribute brought into the warehouse?"
Eunuch Qin said, "That’s right, does Empress Dowager want a mask?"
Empress Dowager Zhuang looked at Gu Jiao who was sleeping soundly and said, "Bring them all. Let the princess... "
Eunuch Qin was taken aback.
Empress Dowager Zhuang also froze before continuing, "Let JiaoJiao choose from among them tomorrow morning."
Eunuch Qin breathed a sigh of relief, "Yes."
Meanwhile, after Tang Yueshan bid farewell to the Empress Dowager, he immediately went to catch Gu Changqing, only to be told that Gu Changqing had been in the military camp all along.
Tang Yueshan rushed back to the military camp and looked in disbelief at Gu Changqing, who was quietly waiting outside the torture chamber where the fire had just been extinguished. Gu Changqing was still handcuffed and shackled, without any trace of having escaped.
"You... Didn"t you escape?"
Gu Changqing coldly replied, "I"ve been in the military camp the whole time. I don’t know where Lord Tang"s statement comes from?"
"Impossible! This commander has searched the entire military camp! You"re clearly not here at all! You..." Tang Yueshan suddenly thought of something, then his eyes trembled," You were in the Eighteen Arhats Array!"
That was the only place in the military camp they couldn’t search, because going in might lead to their deaths. Even Tang Ming could only get to twelfth level, not to mention the rest of the soldiers.
Gu Changqing only had to hide in the last few levels to ensure that no one could find him!
Cunning, too cunning!
But Tang Yueshan couldn"t figure out why Gu Changqing did it.
It would make sense if he had escaped and a.s.sa.s.sinated Tang Ming, but it happened that he didn"t. Instead, other a.s.sa.s.sins went.
But why was he hiding in there in the end? Playing hide and seek?
Gu Changqing said solemnly, "I"m afraid the fire will get too big and burn me to death, so I found a safe place to hide."
Tang Yueshan：“…”
No matter how c.r.a.ppy Tang Yueshan thought this excuse was, it did not change the fact that Gu Changqing did not escape from the military camp.
Tang Yueshan was full of anger, but had nowhere to vent it.
He clenched his teeth and said in a cold voice, "Humph! What if you didn"t escape this time? In three days, you will still be put to death!"
In Gu Jiao"s dream, Tang Yueshan spared Gu Changqing because Gu Chengfeng took the fall.
But now, without Gu Chengfeng coming forward to take the fall, Gu Changqing would still face his execution three days later.Raz P."s Thoughts
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