Chapter 722: 336 sets of burlap bags (one update) Chapter 722: 336 sets of burlap bags (one update) The group of people rode the carriage back to Bishui Alley.
“There’s something I don’t understand.” Gu Changqing suddenly spoke up as he was about to get off the carriage.
“What is it?” The old priest asked.
Gu Changqing pondered, “The late emperor’s Dragon Shadow Guard was loyal to his Majesty, so they should know his Majesty attaches great importance to Jiaojiao. Why did they still harm Jiaojiao?”
The old priest replied, “This is where the Dragon Shadow Guard differs from ordinary dead. They are murder tools, devoid of their thoughts, only following orders. If his Majesty lets them pledge loyalty to Empress Jing, then Empress Jing’s words are their edicts, unless his Majesty personally takes them back.”
“So that’s what it is…” Gu Changqing suddenly realized. He had been in the military camp for so long and thought he was familiar with the master domain of Zhan Country. However, he only knew the tip of the iceberg; such terrifying powers were lurking beneath the surface.
“I am still too young,” he muttered quietly.
The old priest patted his shoulder, “It’s not too late to know now. Your grandfather was a loyal official of his Majesty, he certainly knew about the existence of the Dragon Shadow Guard, but the time was not right, so he didn’t tell you. The Dragon Shadow Guard was very powerful in the past, but many have died or have been injured, and only a few serving Empress Jing are left in this generation. His Majesty himself has never experienced the terrifyi.ng power of the Dragon Shadow Guard. He doesn’t know what kind of killing machine he has given to Empress Jing.”
Gu Changqing nodded, “No wonder I heard from Eunuch Wei that his Majesty has recently stationed several more shadow guards around Empress Jing.”
The old priest said, “As long as there is the Dragon Shadow Guard, where is the need for shadow guards? His Majesty is still too young.”
“Wait,” Gu Changqing suddenly remembered something, “His Majesty once survived an assassination attempt. Were some of the assassins members of the Dragon Shadow Guard? Would the Dragon Shadow Guard even dare to kill his Majesty?”
“Not likely,” the old priest shook his head, “The Dragon Shadow Guard will not try to assassinate his Majesty. This is the first order left by the late emperor. The second order is to obey his Majesty’s command. Even if his Majesty himself ordered them to kill him, the Dragon Shadow Guard would still follow the first order. The last group that tried to kill his Majesty was from Chen Country, but there were insiders from the palace.”
Gu Changqing said, “Could the insider be someone from Empress Jing?”
The old priest stroked his beard in thought, “There’s no conclusive evidence that it was her. But what would she gain by trying to assassinate his Majesty?”
“What if her goal wasn’t to kill his Majesty, but to wound him and frame Empress Dowager?”
In fact, his Majesty did blame the Empress Dowager for the assassination attempt.
The old priest’s face grew serious, “It’s quite possible.”
If that were the case, Empress Jing would be quite frightening. His Majesty held her in high esteem, but she didn’t hesitate to harm him-
“I hope we have guessed wrongly,” said Gu Changqing.
His Majesty held Empress Jing in such high esteem that his relationship with her was no different from that between a son and a mother. Notwithstanding that she was not his biological mother.
Gu Changqing understood how his Majesty felt towards Empress Jing because Gu Chenglin and Gu Chengfeng had felt the same way towards their Aunt Ning in the past.
The difference being, Aunt Ning was just an aunt and not their real mother, and both Gu Chenglin and Gu Chengfeng knew their biological mother would be more important.
His Majesty was given to Empress Jing as soon as he was born and grew up in her palace. His love for her grew over the years until he learned his real mother was a palace maid.
By then, he could not foster any emotional attachment towards his real mother.
The late emperor would not even permit him to have any mother-son affection for a lowly palace maid.
If his Majesty was betrayed by Empress Jing, it would be a devastation for him.
As they were discussing, the carriage reached their home.
The carriage stopped, and there was silence all around.
Only then did they hear the steady sound of tiny snores. Gu Jiao had fallen asleep embracing her pillow without them noticing.
The little girl slept soundly, her chubby cheek pressed against the pillow was squeezed into a squishy shape and was flushed due to the hot weather.
Both couldn’t help but smile.
This little girl wasn’t interested in these matters at all. If they don’t use coercive measures, she would rather go to sleep.
“I’ll go down first,” old priest said in a quiet voice.
Gu Changqing nodded and gave the old priest a traditional salute in respect.
Both of them alighted without waking Gu Jiao up.
Gu Changqing stayed in the carriage, took a Pu fan from under the table, and gently started fanning Gu Jiao.