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Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Gu Jiao"s fault that it slipped her mind.
People have conditioned reflexes.
After spending several months with Old Marquis on the border and on the way back to the capital, Gu Jiao became accustomed to equating seeing Old Marquis with wearing a mask.
It was just, she wore it too early.
Without the mask, she could still be Gu Jiao. With it... things became really hard to explain.
Gu Jiao cast a resentful glance at the Emperor in the room. He really always spelled trouble, the best at exposing her.
Why call out to her?
If he had not, her elder sworn brother wouldn’t turn around, and she would have some time to think about what to do.
... Too hasty!
The Emperor looked at Gu Jiao strangely and said, "Gu..."
"Little brother?"
Old Marquis stood up, looking confused and uncertain as he walked towards Gu Jiao.
He recognized this mask. It belonged to his little sworn brother. During one of the battles, the feathers on the mask fell off, and he personally had someone bring back two peac.o.c.k feathers to insert into his little sworn brother"s mask.
The newcomer"s figure was similar to his little sworn brother"s, the only difference being that ‘he’ was wearing women"s clothes!
Gu Jiao"s eyes spun, grabbed Old Marquis"s hand, and got into character in a second: Big brother!
Old Marquis looked at those hands. They had recognized each other in the same manner on the border!
He looked into Gu Jiao"s eyes, that was the familiar gaze!
Old Marquis suddenly became excited, "Little brother! Is it really you?"
Gu Jiao nodded: Big brother!
The Emperor was even more confused.
Can someone tell Zhen what was going on?
Why was Gu Chao calling his granddaughter "little brother"?
Why was the little miracle physician looking at his grandfather with a benevolent expression and a little suspicious expression at the same time?
The Emperor was really confused!
Gu Chao tightly held Gu Jiao"s hand and asked, "Little brother, why are you dressed like this?"
Gu Jiao"s eyes spun again. She withdrew her hand, took out a small notebook she carried with her, and quickly wrote: ‘Someone is after me, so I disguised myself to avoid being targeted.’
Old Marquis said indignantly, "Who dares to go after my little brother? Could it be that my little brother"s military achievements are too great and offended some people"s eyes? How about this, little brother, you move to the Marquis Ding’an Estate, and this big brother will protect you!"
Gu Jiao thought to herself, that won"t do. If I move to the Marquis Estate, how can I secretly do things?
Gu Jiao solemnly wrote: ‘Big brother, rest a.s.sured, everything is under control.’
Old Marquis thought about his little sworn brother"s skills. Unless he encountered the Dragon Shadow Guards in the capital, no one could hurt his little sworn brother.
Even if he couldn"t win, running away was still an option!
The Emperor, witnessing this unique recognition of sworn brothers, was completely stunned in place.
Old Marquis thought of something and asked in confusion, "By the way, little brother, why did you enter the palace?"
Gu Jiao finished writing with an expressionless face, raised the notebook, which said: ‘His Majesty summoned me!’
The Emperor: "..."
Is it okay to falsely announce an imperial decree right in front of Zhen?
Old Marquis, holding Gu Jiao"s hand, entered the study, bowed to the Emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, summoning this old official’s little sworn brother here must be to reward him, right? This old official knows Your Majesty is a wise ruler, always fair in rewards and punishments! Back then, it was this old official’s little sworn brother who sneaked into the Prefect"s Mansion to rescue me. He fought bravely with Supreme Commander Tang, defending the flag and border cities of the State of Zhao. It was my little sworn brother who treated the plague and eliminated the remnants of the previous dynasty"s lair. This official hopes Your Majesty won"t mistakenly reward the credit to others!"
The Emperor: "..."
The reason Old Marquis knew about those things was that he asked Gu Chengfeng every day about where his little sworn brother had gone.
Gu Chengfeng couldn"t just make up things out of thin air, so he had to tell him about Gu Jiao"s whereabouts, such as her going to Lingguan City, saving plague patients, and accidentally destroying the remnants of the previous dynasty"s lair.
It was just that Gu Chengfeng never used "your granddaughter" to refer to Gu Jiao but "your little brother" instead.
Old Marquis was seriously injured and had been lying in the sickroom. Most of his information basically came from Gu Chengfeng, while Tang Yueshan and Gu Changqing didn"t reveal much.
Thus, Gu Jiao was able to keep her little secret tightly covered.
"Your Majesty, the rumors in the court and among the common people have reached this old official’s ears. It is said that Princess Ning"an has achieved great feats on the border and should be conferred the t.i.tle of Grand Princess Protector. This old official does not mean any disrespect towards Princess Ning"an, it"s just that this old official doesn"t understand where the notion of merits comes from!”
“At that time, this old official was imprisoned in the Prefect"s Mansion and knew the situation in the Prefect"s Mansion very well. Princess Ning"an did not collaborate with my grandson. It was my little sworn brother who fearlessly entered the Prefect"s Mansion and escaped Lingguan City with my grandson. He also joined forces with Supreme Commander Tang to resist the pursuers. This old official was able to return safely to Yuegu City, all thanks to the meritorious deeds of my little sworn brother!"
"Defending the city, fighting enemies, those were all done by my little sworn brother. He saved both me and the princess! Princess Ning"an"s act of sacrificing personal feelings for the greater good is admirable, and her national spirit is worthy of praise. If Your Majesty wants to confer the t.i.tle of Grand Princess to her, this old official has no objections. However, the t.i.tle "Protector", especially of the nation... is something not everyone can bear!"
Old Marquis spoke, ignoring the Emperor"s darkening expression. He lifted the hem of his garment, endured the pain, knelt down on one knee, and earnestly said, "This old official implores Your Majesty to confer the t.i.tle of Marquis Huguo* upon my little sworn brother!" (*Protector of the Nation)
Emperor: "...!!"
Just what on earth was he talking about?!
The Emperor exerted a lot of effort to resist the urge to strip off Gu Jiao"s disguise.
Perhaps due to old age, Old Marquis became quite talkative. He went on and on, and despite all the changes in the wording, the essence of his speech remained the same—— he wanted a t.i.tle of n.o.bility bestowed upon his little sworn brother.
The Emperor felt the corner of his mouth twitch. You guys are truly great to share such blessings—— having a peerage together!
After Old Marquis left, Gu Jiao remained in the study, blinking her big eyes.
The Emperor took a sip of calming tea, glanced at her, and said, "Stop daydreaming. Zhen won"t give you a n.o.ble t.i.tle!"
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
The Emperor put down the teacup, "When Zhen says it won"t happen, it won"t!"
Gu Jiao spread her hands, "Okay."
The Emperor took a deep breath and asked, "Why did you come to see Zhen?"
"Here." Gu Jiao took out a doc.u.ment from her bosom.
The Emperor, seeing the handwriting and knowing it was written by Old Chief, casually flipped through the memorandum before placing it on the table.
Gu Jiao took her leave and walked out.
The Emperor, watching her lightly departing figure, clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, "Zhen is the Emperor, Zhen"s word is final! No conferring of n.o.ble t.i.tles!"
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow, "Okay."Raz P."s Thoughts
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