Jin Zijin was somewhat annoyed as he interrupted her, "Haven’t I told you many times? Nothing is more important than your life. Why do you always have to make people worry and be afraid? If something happened to you, what would you have me do?"
Gu Youyou was at a loss for words; he was right. The feeling of being cherished always warmed her heart. Faced with his questioning, she lowered her head.
She murmured softly, "I thought I couldn’t be too cowardly, to be beaten with a board and betray you."
Jin Zijin sighed and said, "I wish you were more cowardly. You’re a lady, not a warrior ready to die. It’s not shameful to fear death and cling to life. In such situations, to save your own skin, betraying anyone is acceptable. I don’t mind."
Gu Youyou felt somewhat stifled and asked, "So you don’t blame me for taking the Jade Pendant? I... I actually took it because I saw how much you treasured it before. I’ve been wanting to find a chance to return it to you. I’ve always carried it close to my body, sewn into my clothes. I never anticipated that Jin Fengzhao would be so sick, to strip my clothes from my body, and then... when she and the Empress were fighting, the Jade Pendant fell out."
Jin Zijin touched her face, which was red and somewhat swollen, and asked, "Did she do this?"
Gu Youyou also touched her own face and said, "She hit me once. Are you going to hit her back for me?"
A flash of anger flickered through Jin Zijin’s eyes as he gently covered her with the blanket, speaking in a low voice, "You rest now. Don’t go back today; I’ll notify the Lin Residence."
Gu Youyou watched him leave the room in a huff and felt a sudden lurch in her heart. Could he really be going to seek revenge?
Oh, that image, although satisfying, wouldn’t be very graceful. He wouldn’t lose his composure like that.
At this moment, Jin Zijin was standing in Baohe Palace.
The Emperor sat atop the Dragon Throne, with the Empress Dowager, the Empress, and Noble Consort Sheng seated on either side.
The Empress Dowager seemed very agitated, constantly staring at Jin Zijin. There was much she wanted to say but, overwhelmed with emotion, she didn’t know where to begin.
The Empress’s face was somewhat pale, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, betraying her outward composure.
Noble Consort Sheng was teary-eyed and equally agitated, striving as hard as the Empress to maintain her facade of calm.
The Emperor appeared much more composed, though, of course, his external indifference did not necessarily reflect a serene heart.
"Where did you get this Jade Pendant?" asked the Emperor calmly.
Standing alone in the center of the hall, with a calmness akin to a windless lake, Jin Zijin answered, "It was left by my mother."
The Empress could no longer maintain her composure, slapping the armrest of her chair, "And from where did your mother acquire this Jade Pendant?"
She refused to acknowledge that the mother he spoke of was Xiao Qinqin, even though she had already guessed it. Clinging to the last shred of possibility, it was just a coincidence, Xiao Qinqin had given the Jade Pendant to another woman.
But in reality, there was no other woman. Jin Zijin spoke plainly and unequivocally.
"I don’t know where my mother got it from, but my mother is Xiao Qinqin. There is no need for you to believe me, so I need not offer any further explanation. Since I had let go of this Jade Pendant once, I will not take it back now. Whoever wants it may take it."
"Humph, then what are you doing here?" The Empress’s hands trembled. Hadn’t he left with Gu Youyou? Why had he returned so soon?
The Emperor had not summoned him; maybe the Emperor didn’t even care about who was Xiao Qinqin’s child after all?