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After nearly half an hour, Gu Jiao finally emerged from the room. Performing surgery on Xiao Liulang was far more difficult than on any other patient. Perhaps this man's allure to her was just too strong; even his blood excited her more than others', requiring her to exert extra effort to suppress her bloodlust.
Everything concluded half an hour later.
Xiao Liulang lay quietly on the bed, connected to an infusion bag.
Yu Jin came in with a basin of warm water. She couldn't help but take a few extra glances at the peculiar scene she had just witnessed.
"Thank you." Gu Jiao accepted the warm water and used it to clean Xiao Liulang's face and hands.
"Physician Gu." Yu Jin hesitantly spoke.
"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
"You... Could you go and see the princess? Have a talk with her…." Yu Jin looked at the sleeping Xiao Liulang, swallowing the words "Little Marquis.", and continued, “... about the patient's condition.”
"Sure." Gu Jiao put down the cloth and went to the adjacent study.
There were no lanterns lit within the study, only the cool moonlight and sporadic candlelight from the corridor outside streamed in.
Princess Xinyang sat by the window, her back facing the direction of the door.
Gu Jiao lightly tapped the already open door and then walked in.
She took a seat across from Princess Xinyang.
"Why are you here?" Princess Xinyang asked in a detached tone. She didn’t look at Gu Jiao and continued to gaze out at the night sky beyond the window.
Gu Jiao said, "His injuries are not serious. I came to inform you."
Princess Xinyang coldly responded, "What does it have to do with me if he's okay?"
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow, "If it doesn't matter to you, why did you take him in?"
Princess Xinyang replied calmly, "It was Long Yi who brought him here."
Gu Jiao said, "Oh."
Princess Xinyang looked at Gu Jiao without any expression on her face, "You don't believe me? Long Yi has even picked you up before."
Gu Jiao asked curiously, "Does Long Yi often pick up people like this? Picking someone up and throwing them onto your bed?"
Princess Xinyang gave Gu Jiao a chilly look.
Gu Jiao rested her elbows on the table, cupping her chin as she looked at Princess Xinyang, "Princess, you recognized him a long time ago, right? You inquired about him and learned about my relationship with him. That's why you didn't throw me out that night, am I correct?"
No wonder Princess Xinyang suddenly became so magnanimous and allowed her, a physician she had only met once or twice, to occupy her bed.
"Were the mooncakes delicious? He personally went to buy the jujube." Gu Jiao asked. At this point, it was impossible for her not to guess who the mooncakes were made for. It was no wonder he took the initiative to deliver mooncakes to the palace and even brought jujube paste filling that Grandaunt didn't like.
Princess Xinyang turned her face away, "They're horribly tasteless."
Gu Jiao made a sound, "So you ate them?"
Princess Xinyang hesitated, "...I didn't eat them, Yu Jin did."
Gu Jiao continued, "So you accepted them?"
Princess Xinyang remained silent.
This girl had really mastered the art of setting traps for others. Who did she learn this from?
Gu Jiao actually didn't quite understand.
Initially, she thought that Xiao Liulang disliked Princess Xinyang and thus was unwilling to acknowledge her. But now, that didn’t seem to be the case.
As for Princess Xinyang's attitude towards Xiao Liulang, Gu Jiao was even more puzzled.
She had assumed that Princess Xinyang was unaware that her son had returned alive to the capital, but now that didn't seem to be the case either.
This mother and son were truly perplexing.
Xiao Liulang's main injury was in his right hand; the rest of his body had only minor abrasions. The reason he was unconscious was due to excessive blood loss and extreme fatigue.
However, Long Yi seemed to think he was seriously injured, and his mood had taken a downturn. He wasn't even bothering Gu Jiao about his charcoal pencils anymore.
Gu Jiao found this quite satisfactory; at least her little hands had dodged a bullet this time.
But seeing Long Yi so unhappy, Gu Jiao decided to compensate him in a different way.
Yu Jin made some pastries for Gu Jiao, and Gu Jiao saved half for Long Yi.
Seeing that she only ate half, Yu Jin asked, "Are they not good?"
Gu Jiao said, "No, I'm saving it for Long Yi. He’s unhappy right now."
"Long Yi... is unhappy?" Yu Jin glanced at Long Yi inside the room. Long Yi was a member of the Dragon Shadow Guards. Was he capable of being unhappy?
Yu Jin asked, "How could you tell?"
Gu Jiao answered, "I just felt it."
Yu Jin looked puzzled, "Why don’t I feel it?" In fact, no one else did. Long Yi occasionally disobeyed orders, but he never displayed any emotions. Even if he had, they were unable to tell.
Gu Jiao rubbed her nose. She had thought everyone could sense Long Yi's emotions. Was it just her?
News of Xiao Liulang's plight had finally reached the imperial palace. At that time, the Crown Princess was in the imperial study reporting on the recent progress in the women's academy to the Emperor. She happened to overhear the report from the imperial guards, stating that Xiao Liulang had been abducted and injured by assassins, and his whereabouts were currently unknown.
Gu Jiao had suspicions but didn't reveal them to the imperial guards. As a result, they were unaware that Xiao Liulang had already been rescued.
The Emperor's fury echoed, "Send people to find him immediately!"
The imperial guards' leader was about to leave when he heard the Emperor again, “"Hold on!".
"Your Majesty."
The Emperor pondered, "Summon Ning Wang."
With such a grave situation at hand, the first person the Emperor thought of wasn't the Crown Prince but his eldest son.
"Yes!"
……
After leaving the imperial study, the Crown Princess looked pale.
"Crown Princess." Chunying followed behind her. Her eyes were filled with concern as she watched the Crown Princess, who seemed like she might collapse at any moment. She whispered softly, "You're injured, and His Highness the Crown Prince said to rest in the East Palace. Why are you so anxious to make this trip?"
The Crown Princess didn't respond to her. Instead, she stared blankly and asked, "Chunying, did you hear what was said just now?"
Chunying didn't answer.
The Crown Princess truly felt her body couldn't take it anymore. She extended her hand to the side and handed it to Chunying, looking for support.
But a strong hand instead grasped her arm.
As the scorching warmth seared through the thin fabric and touched her skin for a brief moment, her body tensed, and she quickly turned her head to look at the source!
When she saw who it was, she jerked away from the hand, taking several steps back.
"Chunying!"
She called.
However, Chunying seemed to have disappeared.
Ning Wang approached calmly, glancing behind her and playfully remarking, "There's a pond behind you, be careful."
The Crown Princess turned to look, her throat bobbed. She composed herself before turning her head back and gazing at him coldly, "Did you do this?"
Ning Wang smiled, "What did I do?"
The Crown Princess retorted angrily, "Stop pretending!"
Ning Wang crossed his arms and sighed in resignation, "Yes, it was me. While I didn't run into any trouble, Xiao Liulang did. Are you disappointed?"
The Crown Princess glanced away, her eyes narrowing, "I don't understand what you're saying."
Ning Wang chuckled softly, raising his hand to brush her temple gently. He spoke with a hint of tenderness, "Linlang, I'm not so easily dealt with. If you thought you could use Xiao Heng and Princess Xinyang's hands to get rid of me, you're being naive. I'll let this slide for now, but there better not be a next time. Understand?"Raz P.'s Thoughts
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