Jingniang buried her head in tying her belt, pulled the collar inward, raised her head and glanced at Guo Shao quickly, blushed and whispered: I'll go back to the bedroom to change clothes first, you should change too.
Guo Shao looked down and suddenly realized that he had worn a gray robe when he left the palace today. If it was purple or blue, it would not be conspicuous. Jingniang opened the door and went out first, and he followed her out, preparing to go back to the back garden where he lived to find an old dress he had worn before to change into.
He stood at the door and couldn't help but look at the back of Jingniang who was walking quickly on the corridor. She was still so attractive. But Guo Shao didn't have that kind of thought for the time being.
After returning to change his clothes, Guo Shao met the little Taoist nun Qingxu. Qingxu looked at him with wide eyes and said: General Guo, I heard that you became the emperor.
Guo Shao was startled when he heard this. This was the first time he was asked this question in person after he became emperor. However, he did not bother with Qingxu. He nodded and looked at the little nun. Teenagers grow fast. After not seeing her for a few months, she looked a little different. Her height was about the same as before, and her appearance had not changed much. She had an oval face, single eyelids, a small nose, and thin lips. However, her figure was no longer flat, but had some curves. Anyway, Guo Shao could see the lines of a woman's development at a glance. Even her chest, which she had previously thought was too small, was now more bulging.
Guo Shao didn't have any evil thoughts. Firstly, he had never thought of Qingxu as a woman. Secondly, he had just gone to Wushan with Jingniang and didn't have any thoughts in his mind.
Of course, he had no shortage of women at this time. There were thousands of women of all kinds in the palace. But a person who had been hungry would still remember that he had nothing in his past life even if he was full. It was not easy to get close to a woman who was a little bit pretty. He had to be obedient and attentive to her. As for what else the woman had besides her beauty that moved people, he really had no choice. It was not like today when you can be picky. When classmates were asked in class why they studied, a group of them answered that they wanted to find a good job and marry a beautiful wife.
Guo Shao suddenly thought Qingxu was pretty cute, although she was not a stunning beauty. He also thought that this woman had nowhere to go in Tokyo, and her master couldn't find her, so he asked: Qingxu, do you want to go to the palace
Qingxu said casually: Why am I going to the palace
Guo Shao smiled and said: "There are delicious meals every day, all of which are cooked by the imperial chef Qingxin. The queen will also treat you well."
After hearing this, Qingxu's face showed an expectant look, and he curled his lips and said: Since you are so sincere, I will do it with reluctance.
After hearing this, Guo Shao held back his laughter and his shoulders twitched.
Jingniang prepared the carriage, and Guo Shao left the mansion through the back door and headed straight for the yard.
Lu Xiaoniang was still in the yard, but she didn't know who Gao was. If she met Guo Shao, she might be able to guess and confirm some things. So Lu Xiaoniang was temporarily sent away and didn't meet Guo Shao.
Guo Shao entered a room and met Gao. He exchanged some polite words. Then he went up to Gao and held her shoulders, looking down at her bulging belly. Her waist was stretched out. He stretched out his rough big hand and stroked Gao's belly, then helped her sit down gently on the couch.
Gao looked delighted: "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne and has a lot of things to do, yet he specially came out of the palace to see me, and you are dressed like this."
Guo Shao said kindly: "The child in my sister's belly is my child, of course I miss you. But I let you hide here without even a name, and I have to take the child away from you after it is born. I feel really bad about it."
Gao smiled slightly. It was enough for the child to have the emperor as his father. If he recognized me, it would be bad for him.
Of course I will treat it well, but I sighed for you, Guo Shao, and I felt really uncomfortable in my heart.
Gao shook her head and said: "I am already a noble lady, Your Majesty does not need to give me anything more. Being the emperor's concubine is of course more respected, but my background is not good, worse than before; I am from the Gao family, and the wife of the Dong family, both of them have to respect their reputations, it is not good for their reputations. Besides, I am already this age, my beauty will only last a few years, and in a few years, I will be old and faded. What's the point of living in seclusion behind the red walls just for the sake of empty reputation in the palace?"
After hearing this, Guo Shao pondered and said: Gao Huaide and Dong Zunhui, I will treat them well.
Gao gently held Guo Shao's hand and said softly: Your Majesty, you don't have to repay me, let alone feel guilty. I was the one who seduced you. I just wanted to love you, but I didn't expect to do something like this.
Guo Shao stayed in Gao's room and talked with her for a long time, and then stayed to eat. The cook was a fat woman chosen by Jingniang from her confidants. Guo Shao tasted the food cooked by the cook and thought it was okay. He asked Gao if she was used to it. He stayed until the afternoon, and then took a carriage back to Guo's house along the same route.
Then he came to the front yard and found eunuch Yang Shiliang, general Lu Chengyong and others, and continued to ride the carriage back to the palace. This trip was full of twists and turns, and Guo Shao felt that he had to be as careful as a spy. After all, after becoming an emperor, his freedom would definitely be reduced.
After entering Donghua Gate, Guo Shao looked at the height of the sun in the west, and then took the imperial sedan chair to Jinxiang Hall. He remembered that he had something to say to Yang Shiliang, so he turned around and asked casually: Have you had lunch
The eunuch Yang Shiliang, who was walking nearby, was deeply moved after hearing this and said hurriedly: “Your Majesty, I have eaten at your old house.”
Guo Shao then asked: Is there a Taoist temple in the harem
Yang Shiliang said: There is a Sanqing Hall near Wanfu Palace, but it is much smaller than the Sanqing Hall in Daming Palace of the Tang Dynasty.
Guo Shao thought that although Qingxu was a young nun, she had helped Fu Jinzhan a lot when she was seriously ill with summer heat a few years ago. So he said: Send someone to Guo's house to bring Zhou Xian and Qingxu to the palace, and give the Sanqing Palace to Qingxu.
"I obey your order." Yang Shiliang bowed as he walked.
Guo Shao returned to Jinxiang Hall, and it was still a while before the hour of You. Zuo You and others had already sorted out the memorials, so Guo Shao looked at their contents and summarized them. Some of the less important memorials only had a few words after being sorted out, so Guo Shao read them very quickly. Only a few of them involved some important content, and he would find the originals according to the number and read them carefully. For example, some local officials' memorials claimed that there was a famine and asked for money and grain for disaster relief. There was also a book asking for money to repair the river embankment before summer. However, Guo Shao just looked at what they said, and the Political Affairs Hall was more adept at handling such matters.