Chapter 164: 114 Rural Examination (two updates combined into one)

The old lady, with her sweet tooth, had Wuyang acting as her handyman all day at home. Wuyang would one moment hear, “Miss Gu, I’m hungry, I want candied fruit,” and the next, “Miss Gu, I’m thirsty, I want to drink green bean soup, the super sweet kind…”

When he got back to the villa, Wuyang was deeply questioning his life.

Prince An saw him in his room and asked, “How did it go? Did you see the Empress Dowager?”

Wuyang appeared rather unsettled, “I did see her…”

But was that really the Empress Dowager?

Wuyang shared his miserable experience of the day with Prince An.

Prince An was shocked. He recalled that yesterday in the village, he seemed to have heard some strange things coming out of the Empress Dowager’s mouth. He was so excited at the time that he didn’t take it to heart. Although he later realized what she must be doing, he thought she was pretending to be insane and fooling the Gu family who were guarding her.

“My subordinate doesn’t think so,” Wuyang speculated, “When Miss Gu went to fetch water and only the Empress Dowager and I were left in the room, if she had been pretending to be foolish, with no one else around, she would have shown her true colors to me.”

But she didn’t. The Empress Dowager was only interested in devouring her sunny-side-up eggs, and would always interrupt Wuyang whenever he attempted to speak.

How had he never noticed before that the Empress Dowager was such a glutton?

Prince An’s impression of the Empress Dowager was not that of a woman who would neglect serious matters for a bit of food. However, it was indeed true that she couldn’t consume too much sweet food, the imperial physicians had warned, stating that a light diet would be better for the elderly.

In a murmur, Prince An wondered, “What happened? Has the Empress Dowager lost her memory? And that has resulted in a drastic change in her personality?”

Or, perhaps, this was the true character of the Empress Dowager, the years she had spent in the palace were all an act?

But who can pretend for decades? Wearing a mask of cruelty for so many years, wouldn’t they show some cracks?

Prince An preferred to believe the former. The Empress Dowager had forgotten some things, and the resulting changes in her disposition had disappeared, making her a completely strange person.

Wuyang didn’t dare to speculate recklessly, “What does the Prince plan to do? Still planning on taking the Empress Dowager back to the capital?”

“I don’t know,” Prince An sighed.

An Empress Dowager only interested in eating and drinking wouldn’t stand a chance against the Emperor, but keeping her here, under Marquis Ding’an’s watchful eye, also made him uneasy.

Prince An pondered for a while, seemed to think of something, and asked Wuyang, “There are a few things I don’t understand.”

“What is it?” asked Wuyang.

Prince An pushed open the sash window, gazing out at the courtyard full of flowers and plants, “How did the Empress Dowager lose her memory? And what exactly does this have to do with the Marquis’ Residence?”

Wuyang followed him over and asked, “You mean, did they deliberately make the Empress Dowager become insane?”

Prince An shot him a cold look.

Wuyang shrank his neck and bowed his head, “My subordinate made a mistake.”

How could he call the Empress Dowager insane? Even though she did seem a bit foolish.

Prince An asked, “Have you found out about Miss Gu’s identity?”

Wuyang replied, “Yes, it’s clear now. She is the older sister of the twins. The Marquis’s wife gave birth in the temple years ago and accidentally swapped her child with a village woman’s. Gu Jinyu should be the child from the village. However, because they had been raising her for so many years and grew attached to her, even when they discovered the truth recently, they didn’t send Jin Yu away. As for the real Miss Gu, it is said that she herself is not willing to return to the household. Besides, she is already married, her husband is a stranger who drifted to this place.”

Prince An then asked, “Who did you ask about it?”

Wuyang said, “Madame Yao of the Yao family. When I asked her, she freely told me the truth.”

Prince An seemed thoughtful, “So, Miss Gu was not purposely placed in the village by Marquis Gu?”

Wuyang shook his head, “She wasn’t. I guess the Empress Dowager was taken in by Miss Gu after she had lost her memory. But… why did she become the aunt of Miss Gu’s husband?”

“The leprosy disease.” Prince An squinted as he spoke.

“What?” Wuyang was taken aback.

Prince An placed a hand on the potted begonia on the windowsill, “Didn’t you just say that Miss Gu’s husband is an outsider?”

Wuyang was confused, “Yes, but what does that have to do with them taking in the Empress Dowager? Could it be that Miss Gu’s husband is a relative of the Empress Dowager?”

That couldn’t be possible, right? The Empress Dowager, with her highly esteemed and noble status, how could she possibly be related to a countryside pauper?

Prince An thoughtfully said, “If the Empress Dowager had leprosy and fainted on Miss Gu’s doorstep, and Miss Gu touched her without knowing anything, what would you do if you were in their situation?”