Chapter 309

Chapter 309

Qin Jiu subconsciously took one of his hands.

His palm was warm and dry, with thin calluses left from practicing martial arts, it was also slightly rough, but it made Qin Jiu feel a lot more at ease.

Gu Zezhi: “???”

Seeing that this good luck has fallen into his lap, Gu Zezhi also held Qin Jiu’s hand in turn and led her to walk along the lakeshore at a leisurely pace.

Qin Jiu looked at their intertwined hand and pursed her lips into a smile, feeling that his palm was like a warm sun, ironing her heart with indescribable warmth and joy.

Her eyes were as bright as the stars as she continued to hold his hand and walked forward freely and openly before she asked with concern, “Brother, how is the emperor?”

Gu Zezhi replied succinctly, “Doing good.”

Over the years, the emperor’s dragon body has been in poor health. The empress dowager asked the emperor to take an elixir, and even turn to any physician one could find but not only it failed to regulate the emperor’s dragon body but because of erysipelas in the elixir the current emperor was like a decayed beam, full of holes.

It was because of this that the emperor fainted, which added to the sudden death of Princess Yongle.

While talking, the two came to the entrance gate of the imperial garden.

Gu Zezhi rubbed the top of Qin Jiu’s hair and said as if coaxing a child, “You will stay in the palace for the time being. I will go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation now and I will see you tomorrow.”

As Gu Zezhi left, Qin Jiu watched him leave from where she was while the well-behaved white dumpling in her arms started to make a fuss again, twisting its round body restlessly.

Qin Jiu stretched her finger and gently flicked the white dumplings head. “Do you want to run again?”

And just like usual, Qin Jiu accompanied Empress Wei for lunch. The Empress didn’t mention the emperor’s condition, and Qin Jiu didn’t ask either but only told some interesting things about Gu Zhen which made Empress Wei smile.

A lively atmosphere envelops the hall, occasionally accompanied by the bark of the small dumpling which sweeps away the gloom of the previous days.

After lunch, Empress Wei said while drinking tea, “The monk from Bogo has been escorted to the capital the day before yesterday.”

Qin Jiu was stunned for a moment and immediately realized that Empress Wei was referring to the clan monk who offered the “Nine Harmonious Incense” to Madam Xiao.

Empress Wei continued, “The emperor ordered a joint trial by the three divisions in a few days, and then the truth will be clear by then.”

Qin Jiu nodded, as she quietly picked up the teacup, and a trace of doubt appeared in her almond-like eyes.

She remembered that shortly after the Lantern Festival, Gu Zezhi said that he had someone escort the monk to the capital, however, why did he just arrive in the middle of March?

Empress Wei naturally saw Qin Jiu’s doubts and explained, “This empress heard from the emperor that their party was ambushed on the way to the capital, and the monk was seriously injured and nearly died. At that time, they were afraid that someone would accidentally die on the road, and there would be no proof of death, so they took a different road and cause delays for a while.”

Qin Jiu: “....”

She didn’t know what to say.

It was too obvious who did this ambush.

Empress Wei laughed mockingly and said, “It’s just that Duan Wangye still can’t see it.”

She put down the teacup, pressed the corner of her lips with her handkerchief, and said, “When the witness and physical evidence are put in front of him, this empress will see if he will still deceive himself!”

Qin Jiu shook her head and said firmly, “He will.”

***