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This call of ‘Hong'er’ was simply too terrifying!
The Emperor felt a tremor from his soul! If it weren't for his old age and weakening physical condition, he would probably throw himself out along with the teacup!
Empress Dowager Zhuang entered the Emperor's study with great energy and vigor.
Thanks to more than a year of recuperation by Gu Jiao's side, her body had become much stronger and healthier than before; even her head had grown a lot of black hair.
She sat down in the chair opposite the desk, crossed her legs, and stared straight at the Emperor.
The Emperor furrowed his brows at her fierce appearance, "What brings imperial mother here?"
"No particular reason. Aijia just came to see you!" Empress Dowager Zhuang said indifferently. After speaking, she realized her perfunctory attitude and knew that her acting skills might be subjected to criticism. She paused for a moment, smiled, and said, "Aijia came to see Hong'er."
The Emperor felt goosebumps all over his body!
In order to fully display her soulful acting skills, Empress Dowager Zhuang had Eunuch Qin guard the door, leaving only their pair mother and son in the study.
Empress Dowager Zhuang shook her leg and looked at the Emperor with a hidden meaning, as if she was looking at five walking pieces of candied fruit.
With this thought, Empress Dowager Zhuang felt that the Emperor was more pleasing to the eye.
The Emperor: Why does it feel like there is something strange with how imperial mother looks at me?
Empress Dowager Zhuang decided to show some concern for her candied fruit... Er, no, her son. She rarely smiled and spoke in a very gentle tone, "Have you eaten? Are you thirsty or hungry? Are you dressed warmly enough? How are things going? If you have any difficulties, tell your imperial mother."
The Emperor: "..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang showed great care for the Emperor, not only that, she also (forced) accompanied the Emperor for lunch and (coerced) invited him to stroll in the imperial garden, making sure that everyone in the imperial palace knew that she was once again a loving mother today.
Afterward, she leisurely returned to Renshou Palace.
"Where is JiaoJiao?" She asked Eunuch Qin.
Eunuch Qin said with a smile, "Young Miss Gu has left the palace."
Empress Dowager Zhuang's face darkened, "What about my candied fruits?"
Eunuch Qin's neck shrank, "She, she took them away..."
Empress Dowager Zhuang's face turned black in an instant!
Meanwhile, after Gu Jiao left the palace, she did not immediately return to the medical hall. Recently, there was a new physician in the medical hall, so she didn't have to sit for consultations every day like before, which made it truly convenient for her to focus on her own matters.
She had run out of saltpeter and planned to find some more nitrate soil. It was a pity that it was extremely difficult to buy such things on the market.
Gu Jiao walked down the street, stroking her chin while deep in thought.
"Hey, lass!"
Suddenly, a voice called out to her.
Gu Jiao's steps halted, and she turned around strangely to see the old beggar, who had played chess with her a few times, running towards her.
"It's really you!" The old beggar arrived in front of Gu Jiao and smiled, "I thought the silhouette looked like you, so I called out."
Gu Jiao made a sound of acknowledgement and asked, "This isn't Liuzhu Street, why are you here?"
If she remembered correctly, the old man usually operated around the Liuzhu Street area, and this place was more close to Xuanwu Street.
"Well, I'm just wandering around!" The old man answered.
He held a beggar's worn-out bowl in his hand and wore a basket on his back, just like Gu Jiao, except his basket was also tattered.
Gu Jiao responded, "Oh."
The old beggar's expression turned serious, "Lass, why haven't you come to play chess for several days?"
"Isn’t that to save you some money?" Gu Jiao replied shamelessly.
The old beggar felt the corner of his mouth twitching. She talked as if she wasn’t the black-hearted lass who was only willing to play chess with him if he had money!
Gu Jiao said, "You can continue wandering around then; I'll be on my way."
The old beggar held her back, "Hey, don't you want to play chess with me?"
Was it easy for him to catch this lass?
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow nonchalantly, "Do you have any money?"
The old beggar brought forward the bowl in his hands with a pained look on his face, saying, "Do you have the heart to squeeze an old man like me?"
Gu Jiao nodded, "I do!"
The old beggar: "..."
The old beggar took off his own basket and handed it to Gu Jiao. He also gave her the worn-out bowl that had never been used, "My stall is over there. Please watch it for me. I'll be back soon."
Uh... You have a stall for begging?
That was an eye-opener.
After instructing her, the old beggar hurriedly left. Gu Jiao saw him entering an alley where there was a chess club located. She had visited there before for house visits.
Gu Jiao didn't say anything, she held the old beggar's belongings and arrived at the so-called stall. She squatted down expressionlessly.
Her small figure crouched there, with a worn-out bowl in front of her, looking somewhat pitiful.
She didn't dress like a beggar, but the more noble a person appeared in destitution, the more sympathy they garnered. After all, in this day and age, who didn't care about their reputation? If it weren't for a decline in family fortunes, how could a young girl like her be begging on the streets?
The crowd cast sympathetic glances towards Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao didn't notice it herself, she was simply drawn to the chessboard left by the old beggar on the ground. This chess game was different from the ones she had played before. It was particularly strange, but she couldn't pinpoint what was odd about it.
Her mind began calculating the movements of each chess piece.
Clang!
A copper coin was thrown into the worn-out bowl in front of her.
Gu Jiao didn't look up, she continued playing chess.
Clang!
Another person passed by and threw a copper coin into the bowl.
Gu Jiao still didn't lift her head, focusing on cracking the game.
She finally understood what was strange about this chess game. It had a strong sense of killing intent.
How much resentment must the creator of this chess game have? Although chess was originally a battle between two opposing sides to wipe each other out, it was actually rare to see it filled with such a murderous aura.
Lost in the chess game, Gu Jiao was completely unaware that the bowl had accumulated many copper coins.
If the old beggar saw how Gu Jiao, without doing anything, had a bowl full of money while he wasn’t able to beg for more than a few copper coins throughout the day, he would probably spit blood.
"Young master, look!"
A gray-clad guard on the second floor of a tea house behind Gu Jiao pushed open the window, partially leaning out and pointing at Gu Jiao ahead.
The man also leaned out a bit, followed the direction pointed by the gray-clad guard, and snapped his folding fan shut, saying, "What's so interesting about a little beggar?"
The gray-clad guard hurriedly said, "That’s not it, young master, it's her!"
The man asked, "Who?"
The gray-clad guard anxiously said, "The little girl with the little monk!"
The man’s hand playing with the folding fan paused, "The one who used the black fire bead to blast you?"
"Yes, young master, it's her!" The gray-clad guard scratched his head. "It's weird, how could she be begging outside?"
The man curled the corners of his lips meaningfully and said, "Let's go and take a look."
The gray-clad guard closed the window and followed the man.
"What are you doing?" The man asked impatiently.
The gray-clad guard replied, "Didn't the young master say to go and take a look?"
The man snorted coldly. "I meant I alone would go and take a look, did I ask you to come along? Wasn't it enough for you to expose yourself last time?"
The gray-clad guard pursed his lips and reluctantly stayed in the room.
The man wore a moon-white long gown and a dark blue muslin outer robe, with a jade belt around his waist. He looked exceptionally handsome, elegant, and noble.
During the time Gu Jiao took over guarding the stall from the old beggar, people came and went in front of her, but they didn't stay here.
The light above Gu Jiao's head dimmed, and at first, she didn't pay much attention to it. After a while when the shadow didn't go away, she raised her head slightly, her expression irritable.
A handsome and refined face entered her sight, with deep and profound brows and eyes, a high and straight nose, and pale lips curved into an attractive arc.
Did this person have some foreign blood?
He looked quite good.
The man smiled, "Young miss..."
Gu Jiao interrupted, "You're blocking the light."
The man: "..."
After Gu Jiao finished speaking, she ignored him and continued contemplating the chess game.
The man curiously rubbed his nose. With his good looks, how could a young lady completely ignore him like this?
Did his hair look messy?
Or was his face dirty?
"Young miss?"
He called out again.
However, Gu Jiao completely treated him as air.
The man stepped aside, trying not to block the light for Gu Jiao. In the meantime, he also observed what Gu Jiao was doing.
It turned out she was playing chess.
contemporary romance
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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