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Little Jing Kong finished bathing with Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun.
Gu Xiaobao also had Grannie Fang take him for a fragrant New Year's Eve bath.
Gu Jiao: I’m not in a hurry, en, I’m not in a hurry.
"Done!" Yao shi came in through the back door of the main room with a big smile on her face.
Gu Jiao stood up abruptly!
Xiao Heng, who was putting up couplets in the east room, suddenly choked!
Yao shi smiled and said, "The New Year's Eve dinner is ready, let's eat first."
Gu Jiao: "...Oh."
Xiao Heng heaved a sigh.
Ultimately, such matters were embarrassing. He had agreed back then as the result of the atmosphere being heated up. He couldn't just refuse to fulfill such a small request when she was about to go to war.
Thinking back, it was really quite embarrassing.
Moreover, he hadn't expected a certain someone to actually take such a matter to heart, remembering it for three months without forgetting...
This was just too——
Xiao Heng cleared his throat and glanced at Gu Jiao from the corner of his eye. Gu Jiao had been looking at him the whole time. In this brief moment of eye contact, she got caught by him.
Yet, instead of feeling guilty and looking away, Gu Jiao curved her lips into a small smile towards him.
Xiao Heng: "..."
It seemed he couldn't be a human tonight for real.
In this matter, although he was the one to be observed, he wasn't unwilling. Strictly speaking, he was taking advantage of her.
Xiao Heng, ah Xiao Heng, you're only nineteen. You're acting like a beast.
With so many family members, they had to put together two tables to accommodate everyone.
The New Year's Eve dinner was sumptuous, featuring homemade cured meat and sausages, fried meatballs and eggplant from neighbors, and also a chicken... not from their own, but bought from the market. Still, it certainly frightened their own chickens for a while.
Additionally, Old Chief cooked braised small yellow croaker, winter mushroom and old duck soup, and smoked bamboo shoots with pork slices...
Naturally, there were also Little Jing Kong's vegetarian dishes and steamed eggs with vegetarian shrimp.
As it was also Xiao Heng and Little Jing Kong's birthdays on New Year's Eve, Old Chief specially cooked two bowls of longevity noodles for them.
Just a day ago, the atmosphere in this house was quite heavy. It was only after Gu Jiao returned that it became lively and festive.
The Emperor had eaten at Bishui Alley before, but this was the first time he had a New Year's Eve dinner there.
He looked at the dishes on the table, which were far from the grandeur of the palace banquet. He wondered if the dishes were too plain, making his nose feel a bit sour as he ate.
Suddenly, he remembered when his imperial mother was in the cold palace. It was also New Year's Eve, and he and Ning'an climbed over the wall to find her.
At that time, he saw his imperial mother sitting alone in the cold broken building, without even a decent pot of charcoal. He took out some pastries and chicken legs he had managed to steal and offered them to his imperial mother.
Unexpectedly, the pastries were crushed, and the chicken legs fell on the ground.
He didn't cry when he fell off the wall, nor when the palace servants chased and beat him. But at that moment, he cried at the thought that his imperial mother might go hungry on that New Year's Eve.
After being brainwashed by Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing, he had forgotten about these things, but lately, more and more memories were resurfacing.
He increasingly felt guilty about his imperial mother.
"Your Majesty?" Eunuch Wei, who was helping with the dishes, looked at his Majesty in panic.
The Emperor couldn't stop his tears and choked out stubbornly, "I'm fine... It's the effect of that white medicine. It’s acting up again..."
Eunuch Wei: "..."
Everyone else: "..."
After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, the Emperor recalled many childhood memories and deeply realized the extent of the harm he caused his imperial mother during those years when they were at odds.
He had even caused his imperial mother to contract leprosy, what a heartless and insane act!
Fortunately, his imperial mother met the little miracle physician. If it weren't for the compassionate and skilled hands of the little miracle physician, he might have regretted it for the rest of his life.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, he found Gu Jiao who was chopping wood and boiling water in the kitchen.
"Zhen has thought about it, and Zhen wants to express my gratitude to you sincerely." The Emperor said solemnly.
Gu Jiao gave the Emperor a strange look.
The Emperor earnestly continued, "Without you, Zhen wouldn't have been able to reunite with my imperial mother. Also, if it hadn’t been for you, the border war couldn't have gone so smoothly."
Why did he suddenly bring up the war?
The Emperor's thoughts wandered a bit, from Gu Jiao's kindness towards Empress Dowager Zhuang to her various deeds during the border war.
"Zhen has heard about your actions at the border. To save your grandfather, you infiltrated the remnants of the previous dynasty’s camp with Gu Chengfeng, narrowly escaping the mad pursuit of the previous dynasty's army and nearly dying at the hands of the Imperial Son-in-law's arrows."
"Then, you unfortunately got infected with the plague while tending to the patients in Lingguan City."
"After that, you went to kill the death warrior serving the Imperial Son-in-law for your elder brother’s sake and almost turned into an ice sculpture on the ice field."
"You even contracted lung disease, coughed up blood, and fell into a coma..."
The Emperor spoke with deep concern. As he continued, he suddenly felt a chilly sensation at the back of his head. A terrifying aura was radiating from behind him.
The Emperor was the Son of Heaven, with an extraordinarily powerful aura that ordinary people couldn’t match. The fact that he was shivering hinted at how chilling the other's aura was.
Gu Jiao also sensed it. She turned her head and saw Xiao Heng, who had silently arrived in the backyard, staring intensely at her.
He didn't say a word, but his eyes conveyed everything.
Relentlessly pursued, almost died from the Imperial Son-in-law's arrow, suffered from a plague, nearly turned into an ice sculpture, contracted lung disease, coughed up blood, and fell into a coma!
There was a flicker of fury in Xiao Heng's eyes, but his overall aura was icy cold.
Gu Jiao heard the faint voice of the small benefit saying goodbye in her ear. She decided to make one last struggle, "That’s not true!"
The Emperor, oblivious to the fact that he had exposed Gu Jiao unintentionally, patted her small shoulder and said, "Alright, alright, no need to deny it. Zhen has read the military reports from the border. Zhen understands that you're not someone who likes to show off. Don't worry, Zhen won't talk about it."
Gu Jiao clenched her small fists tightly. You've already told the last person you shouldn't have!
Xiao Heng dangerously narrowed his eyes.
Hah, little liar!
At that moment, the Emperor finally noticed Xiao Heng in the yard.
Xiao Heng, leaning on his cane, walked towards Gu Jiao with a cold expression.
He came to confront Gu Jiao and demand an explanation.
The Emperor's gaze fell on his slightly lame leg and the cane. He asked strangely, "Huh? Didn't Yuya'er say your leg was healed long ago? Why are you still using that?"
Yuya'er in the woodshed covered her mouth.
She didn't mean to tell His Majesty!
She said it to Empress Dowager Zhuang!
It wasn’t her fault that His Majesty decided to listen!
This sudden exposure made Xiao Heng stagger and almost stumbled!
Now, it was Gu Jiao's turn to narrow her eyes, observing Xiao Heng with a dangerous look.
Heh, you accused me of being a little liar, but it seems we're all liars here!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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