Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Fazzienaz] [K.Rom] [Reece P.] [Suong D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Chlaudette P.] [Gwyneth T.] [Manon] [Pa.s.serby] [Xena]
G O L D S T A R
[Lord_Wolve] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Nevy] [Roxanne C.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Allie] [BritnaeM] [Debra W] [Kiiayame] [Peggy F.]
T H E S U N
[Ava C.] [Caroline] [Galetron] [Kaylee3150] [kuroneko_chan] [Lily J.]
[Malinkat] [Mich.e.l.le K.] [onepiece] [Scorpion Princess] [Smurfinbatik] [Sophia W.]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)
[T/N: Posting update for tomorrow in advance as I"ll be away again.]
***
Gu Jiao had never been to the Bixia Palace, but Eunuch Qin had provided her with a map.
She found Princess Ning"an"s bedchamber easily. Princess Ning"an"s key was originally in her purse, and since she hadn"t opened her purse along the way, there was no chance of it falling out. To avoid detection, Gu Jiao had to return the key exactly where it was.
Gu Jiao was fortunate. Princess Ning"an had just placed her purse on the dressing table and then went to the sideroom.
Putting on her gloves, Gu Jiao gently opened the purse and slipped the key inside.
When Princess Ning"an emerged from the sideroom, Gu Jiao had already leaped out of the window.
She intended to meet up with Gu Chengfeng, but as she pa.s.sed by a room, she heard m.u.f.fled groans from inside.
Someone was sick.
Gu Jiao stepped back a few paces and peered through the narrow slit of the window frame, seeing an empty wheelchair inside.
She could almost guess whose room it was.
There was supposed to be an imperial physician on duty, but at the moment, he was in the restroom.
Gu Jiao propped open the window and jumped in.
She approached the bed.
Huangfu Xian"s condition was dire: shortness of breath, unstable pulse, sweating profusely from his forehead and body, as if enduring immense pain.
"Where does it hurt?"
Gu Jiao frowned strangely.
She examined Huangfu Xian"s upper body, finding only a minor healed abrasion on his palm, nothing that could cause such intense pain.
She gently pulled back the quilt on Huangfu Xian.
Lifting Huangfu Xian"s pant legs, she finally understood the problem.
His bones were protruding from the flesh. Bones were growing faster than flesh, so many young amputees undergo multiple bone grinding surgeries during their growth.
This surgery was a torment to the patient both physically and mentally.
His condition had already caused mild inflammation.
He needed to undergo bone grinding surgery as soon as possible, or at the very least, the wound needed to be treated promptly to stop the inflammation.
Gu Jiao didn"t bring her little medicine chest, but she had a palm-sized emergency medicine pack.
She took out disinfectant and gauze, cleaned the inflamed area, and then fed him two anti-inflammatory pills.
Huangfu Xian felt groggy, feeling like he was falling into a chilly embrace.
He wanted to open his eyes to look, but he didn"t even have the strength to lift them.
"Drink it."
He heard someone speaking to him by his ear.
He was a rebellious teenager; no one could order him around.
Gu Jiao said, "If you don"t drink it, I"ll strip your pants off."
Huangfu Xian: "..."
Huangfu Xian reluctantly took the medicine.
He was in severe pain, so Gu Jiao gave him a special painkiller from the research inst.i.tute.
This painkiller had minimal side effects and could be taken by children, but under normal circ.u.mstances, Gu Jiao wouldn"t give it to a child.
But wasn"t this an emergency situation?
There was no time to worry about it.
Gu Jiao laid him flat and pulled the quilt over him. At that moment, the imperial physician returned.
Gu Jiao leaped out of the window.
…...
"Why did it take you so long? Did something happen?"
In the imperial garden, Gu Chengfeng asked as he watched Gu Jiao arrive late.
Gu Jiao looked around and said, "Nothing happened. I went to see Huangfu Xian."
Gu Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought you went to investigate the truth about those people from the border."
"They"re not in Bixia Palace." Gu Jiao said. She sensed no aura of martial experts there. Either they were using drugs to suppress their strength, or they weren"t there at all.
Gu Chengfeng wondered, "Not in Bixia Palace? Then where did they go?"
"They might have gone to the Imperial Household Department. Didn"t Eunuch Qin say that anyone moving into the imperial palace must register at the Imperial Household Department?"
"Oh, that makes sense." Gu Chengfeng realized, then smirked mischievously. "Why did you go see Huangfu Xian? Are you planning to capture him to threaten Princess Ning"an?"
Gu Jiao gave him a speechless look.
The next moment, she perked her ears up, grabbed Gu Chengfeng, and hid in the bushes.
On the nearby path, Princess Ning"an hurriedly pa.s.sed by with Lian"er and several male guards disguised as attendants, apparently leaving the imperial palace.
Gu Chengfeng whispered, "I"ve always been puzzled. Why are male outsiders allowed to stay in the inner palace? Huangfu Xian is still young, and he"s the princess"s son, which is understandable, but what about those guards?"
Gu Jiao said, "The imperial experts in the palace are all eunuchs. What do you think?"
"So they"re also eunuchs?" Gu Chengfeng felt a chill down his spine.
Gu Jiao nodded, "Most likely."
If they weren"t eunuchs, Empress Xiao wouldn"t allow them inside. Even though Xiao Heng was so favored by Grandaunt that Grandaunt even left him a room, he had never truly stayed overnight in the palace.
That was palace protocol.
"Let"s follow them." Gu Jiao said.
The two followed at a distance.
They saw Princess Ning"an approaching the palace gates in a carriage bestowed upon her by the Emperor.
The guards stopped the carriage.
Princess Ning"an said, "I"m leaving the palace to buy something. I"ve already informed the Empress. Lian"er."
Lian"er presented a travel token given by the Kunning Palace.
The guards hurriedly let them pa.s.s.
Princess Xinyang didn"t need to present a travel token when leaving the imperial palace, as she didn"t live in the palace originally.
It was just that the guards were a bit puzzled. They just sent off one princess and now another one had come? Since they were both leaving the palace, why not go together?"
Princess Ning"an"s carriage stopped in front of a silk shop. Lian"er got off the carriage. Unknown what Princess Ning"an instructed her, Lian"er entered the silk shop while Princess Ning"an continued forward in the carriage.
Four guards along with the coachman also accompanied her.
Gu Chengfeng glanced out from their own carriage, and said with a snort, "As expected, buying things is just a cover."
He turned to find Gu Jiao lost in thought and couldn"t help but ask, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Gu Jiao replied lightly, "Who"s daydreaming?"
Gu Chengfeng asked, "Then why aren"t you talking? What are you thinking about?"
Gu Jiao said, "I"m thinking about what happened in the imperial study that day."
Gu Chengfeng raised an eyebrow, "Didn"t Eunuch Qin"s letter say nothing much happened? It"s just that His Majesty saw Hua Xiyao"s confession letter, Princess Ning"an tried to prove her innocence by intentionally crashing into a pillar, but His Majesty didn"t believe her at all. Then she knocked His Majesty unconscious, and when the Dragon Shadow Guard intervened, with just a wave of her hand, the Dragon Shadow Guard fell. After that, she killed Sun Ping, then injured herself to fake being attacked while protecting His Majesty."
"That"s what Eunuch Wei witnessed, but perhaps there are things he didn"t notice." As Gu Jiao spoke, she made a waving motion with her hand, "Just like this, it knocked down the Dragon Shadow Guard?"
Gu Chengfeng took off his hat and said, "Did she perhaps use some kind of hidden weapon? But what kind of hidden weapon could instantly incapacitate a Dragon Shadow Guard? Poison, maybe?"
Gu Jiao remained silent.
Gu Chengfeng wondered, "By the way, where did the injured Dragon Shadow Guard go? Eunuch Wei said he escaped, but where could he have gone? And aren"t the Dragon Shadow Guards fiercely loyal? Why would they abandon His Majesty and flee?"
Gu Jiao murmured, "Yeah, why?"
"Hey, their carriage has stopped!" Gu Chengfeng exclaimed.
Gu Jiao pulled back the curtain and said to the coachman, "Stop here."
Their carriage stopped in an alley about a few dozen steps away, while Princess Ning"an"s carriage stopped in front of a gambling house.
When Princess Ning"an got off the carriage, she wasn"t dressed as she would be in the imperial palace but instead wore a pitch-black cloak, with the hood covering her head.
Gu Chengfeng chuckled, "What a sneaky appearance, doesn"t look like she’s up to anything good."Raz P."s Thoughts
To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).
You can read up to 30 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
No patreon but want to support us? Then,
OR if you can"t support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~