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Gu Jiao noticed that there was a charcoal basin burning in her room. It seemed to have been lit early, making the room extremely warm.
These days, she had been staying in the medical hall, and tonight was no exception.
Did he specially burn a charcoal basin because they were going to talk in this room?
Was he worried about her feeling cold?
Although Gu Jiao's current body wasn't sensitive to the cold, a smile still unconsciously appeared on her lips.
Xiao Heng finished adjusting the lamp and turned around, unexpectedly seeing her leaning on her hands, looking at him with an infatuated expression.
Xiao Heng: "..."
Xiao Heng calmly sat across from Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao looked at him openly and asked, "What do you want to tell me?"
Xiao Heng, ignoring her intense gaze, said seriously, "It's about Mo Qianxue."
Gu Jiao responded, "How do you know Mo Qianxue?" She didn't remember introducing Mo Qianxue's identity to him.
Xiao Heng casually said, "A patient has moved into my wife's quarters, can I not be a little bit concerned?"
Gu Jiao blinked her eyes, both hands holding her cheeks, "Are you jealous?"
"No." Xiao Heng denied it firmly.
She’s even sleeping with you every day!
Gu Jiao’s lips curved into a smile. She stood up, leaned over the table, and instantly brought her face close to his.
At this distance, she could see the slight tremble of his thick, long eyelashes, and hear his nervous breath due to her sudden approach.
Xiao Heng had a thick skin in the yamen, but in front of people close to him, especially Gu Jiao, he was easily embarrassed.
He lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, but couldn't escape her enticing presence. She hadn't done anything, yet she had a way of captivating people.
Smack!
Gu Jiao kissed him on the cheek.
Xiao Heng's body stiffened and he subconsciously looked at Gu Jiao. At this close range, he met her intense gaze.
It felt like something hit his chest, and his heartbeat skipped a beat.
"Husband looks really attractive when he’s jealous."
She said, sitting back with the corners of her lips slightly bent.
Xiao Heng's cheeks were burning, and the place she kissed felt like it was on fire.
They were nominally a married couple, having shared more intimate moments than this. However, for some reason, this unexpected and sudden light kiss still managed to stir him, almost rendering him difficult to maintain self-control.
He almost forgot what he was saying!
Xiao Heng took a deep breath, forcefully cleared his mind of distractions, and said, "Mo Qianxue is from Heavenly Music House."
"Ah, I know." Gu Jiao nodded.
Xiao Heng wasn't surprised. If she was an ordinary patient, she wouldn’t have brought her to her small courtyard. It was very likely that she already knew Mo Qianxue for a long time.
Xiao Heng continued, "Her injuries were intentional, with the goal of getting close to you and gaining your trust."
Gu Jiao touched her chin, "Hmm, no wonder."
Mo Qianxue's injuries didn't have significant flaws. It was the kind of injury that could have easily been fatal, but the strange thing was that Mo Qianxue collapsed on her way back from the Heavenly Music House.
Although Gu Jiao had suspicions, she didn't sense any malice from Mo Qianxue, so she didn't pay much attention.
Gu Jiao pondered, "If Mo Qianxue really wanted to kill me, she would have had many opportunities."
But she didn't.
"How did you two meet before?"
"... Met on the street?"
She absolutely refused to admit she had visited a brothel!
Xiao Heng: "..."
Forget it. Even with just a guess, he could tell that this girl had been to Heavenly Music House, probably during the investigation of Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing.
Women were not allowed to enter Heavenly Music House.
Could this girl have dressed in men's clothing?
Then, Mo Qianxue towards her——
Xiao Heng suddenly felt a green hat above his head!
Gu Jiao instinctively protected herself in the face of crisis, blinked her eyes, and said with special sincerity, "Husband, you look so handsome, the most handsome!"
Alright, that sounds really guilty.
Xiao Heng silently made a note in his mind.
He decided to settle the score with her later!
For now, he needed to deal with the major problem concerning the Heavenly Music House’s Young Owner.
…...
After the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, another snowfall occurred in the capital.
The Emperor held a court session, and the discussion about rewarding the meritorious officials caused a heated debate in the court.
There was almost no opposition to the conferment of Tang Yueshan and the Gu brothers, but opinions differed on the canonization of Princess Ning'an.
The court officials were roughly divided into two factions. One led by Secondary Grand Secretary Xu, who advocated conferring the title of Grand Princess Protector to Princess Ning'an, while the other faction, led by the Minister of War, opposed making Princess Ning'an a Grand Princess and objected even more strongly to her designation as the Protector of the Nation.
The Minister of War, Xu Yuan, was Xu Zhouzhou's father. [T/N: Both of them are Xu but are written and pronounced differently. Minister of War(许, Xǔ); Secondary Grand Secretary(徐,Xú)]
Secondary Grand Secretary Xu's argument for rewarding Princess Ning'an was her significant contributions on the border, while Xu Yuan's opposition was based on Princess Ning'an being the widow of the remnants of the previous dynasty and having a child with a member of the former imperial family.
She had unclear connections, led the wolf into the house, and even bore a child of the remnants of the previous dynasty. She was not qualified to be awarded the title of Grand Princess Protector.
The Emperor pressed down on the memorandum presented by Old Chief.
It was written in the memorandum that some people might make a fuss about Huangfu Xian's background, requesting the Emperor not to have conflicts with the officials on the court.
The sympathy of the common people was always with Princess Ning'an, not Huangfu Xian.
If the Emperor clashed with the officials for Huangfu Xian, the hard-earned public support would be in vain.
Reluctantly, the Emperor had to leave the court first.
But he loved Ning'an dearly. The more opposition there was, the more he pitied her.
Why did everyone have to bully his Ning'an?
What did his Ning'an do wrong?
Wasn't it the remnants of the previous dynasty who were at fault?
His Ning'an was also a victim!
Why couldn't she receive compensation?
On the way back to Huaqing Palace, the Emperor almost had the impulse to insist on canonizing Ning'an for a moment, even if all the civil and military officials opposed it.
But thinking of that child Huangfu Xian, he restrained himself.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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