Ping Yongjia asked, "What is it?"
Gu Qing said nothing to him, but told A Piao, "His Majesty is waiting for you in the palace."
A Piao blew at the black hair over her forehead and rolled her eyes, radiating disgruntled light. "I'm the future Nether Emperor. Coming whenever I'm called, leaving whenever I'm told-do I have no dignity?"
Dignity or not, she still had to leave. The Study Tunnel opened, and she walked in, fuming. When she emerged, she was in a bedroom at the Duke of Lu's Residence.
A piece of porcelain that was clearly extremely valuable sat on a flower stand. Remembering the rumors from her master's sect years ago, A Piao projected a light of curiosity and eagerness from her face. Unable to resist the itch, she quietly extended one finger from the right hand held behind her back.
The white-haired Duke of Lu walked in. One look at the light on her face told him what she was thinking, and he hurriedly said, "There's no need! No need!"
The Duke of Lu took A Piao into the Imperial Palace, naturally taking care to conceal her presence so that nobody noticed.
The court assembly had not yet ended, so he first took her to the Empress Dowager's bedchamber.
The moment Empress Dowager Hu saw A Piao, she clambered up from her couch, wiped the tear tracks from the corners of her eyes, and gathered her into her arms. "Why were you gone so many years before coming back?" she said tenderly. "Look at you, such a pale face, such a thin little body. You surely haven't been eating well."
After the battle of Chaoge City, A Piao had lived in the Imperial Palace for several years. Empress Dowager Hu had always wanted a daughter