The Empress’s Little Fox

Gu Xiaoli did not dodge; instead, she looked Luo Zhao straight in the eye with complete composure and nodded.

"Xiaoli knows."

Luo Zhao's gaze was like two unsheathed swords, piercing straight toward Gu Xiaoli.

In those eyes, there was a chilling coldness, anger, and the disbelief of having been betrayed.

"Since you knew, why didn't you tell me?!"

Every word carried a heavy, oppressive weight.

Gu Xiaoli stood in the moonlight.

She did not lower her head, nor did she show any sign of a guilty conscience.

She simply stood there, meeting Luo Zhao's gaze, as serene and open as a pool of still water.

Those eyes, naturally tinged with a hint of world-weariness, were now full of innocence.

"Your Highness."

Her voice carried the unique languor of someone who had just woken up, along with a trace of matter-of-fact calmness.

"You didn't ask Xiaoli."

Luo Zhao was speechless.

She froze.

The anger that had just gathered in her heart was almost completely deflated by this single sentence.

You didn't ask.

So I didn't say.

Is there a problem with that?

Countless thoughts flashed through Luo Zhao's mind in an instant.

She wanted to retort, but suddenly realized...

There really seemed to be no way to retort.

Because Gu Xiaoli made sense.

She genuinely hadn't asked.

Since the day Gu Xiaoli broke her hypnosis, she had asked about Gu Chengyin, and asked if Gu Xiaoli knew Gu Chengyin's secrets.

But she had never asked about this.

Because she hadn't asked.

So Gu Xiaoli hadn't spoken.

Luo Zhao took a deep breath, regathering the momentum that had nearly collapsed.

She raised a hand to rub her temple, which was throbbing with a dull ache.

"I didn't ask..."

Luo Zhao's voice was somewhat helpless.

"Couldn't you have brought it up yourself?"

Gu Xiaoli looked at Luo Zhao, at that face which bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Empress Lin, and at those eyes that, despite their exhaustion, still gleamed with a sharp edge.

She shook her head gently. The gesture was very serious, without a hint of perfunctoriness.

"Xiaoli cannot say."

Gu Xiaoli's voice was very calm.

"Xiaoli swore a solemn oath to brother, so I cannot say."

Luo Zhao's brow twitched slightly, and she blinked.

A look of surprise flashed through the depths of her eyes.

"You swore a solemn oath to Gu Chengyin? When?"

Gu Xiaoli answered openly:

"It was on the day brother brought Xiaoli back."

"Xiaoli swore the first oath, promising never to tell anyone about brother's affairs."

Luo Zhao's pupils contracted slightly.

The day Gu Chengyin brought Gu Xiaoli back...

How long ago was that?

Gu Xiaoli continued:

"And a few days ago, brother had Xiaoli swear a second oath."

"That I must not do anything detrimental to brother."

Luo Zhao listened, listening in a daze.

She had originally thought that Gu Xiaoli was her person.

But only now did she realize.

Gu Xiaoli was actually Gu Chengyin's person.

The solemn oaths were like invisible chains, binding Gu Xiaoli firmly to Gu Chengyin's side.

Then what about her?

What was she in Gu Xiaoli's heart?

Luo Zhao's thoughts were a bit messy.

But Gu Xiaoli hadn't finished speaking.

"However..."

Luo Zhao subconsciously asked:

"However what?"

Gu Xiaoli looked at her. A very faint light suddenly flashed through those large eyes.

"However, if brother were to violate Your Highness."

"Xiaoli can ignore the oath and prioritize protecting Your Highness."

As these words fell, the bedchamber plunged into dead silence.

Luo Zhao froze.

Completely and utterly froze.

She looked at Gu Xiaoli's incredibly serious eyes as she said this.

Luo Zhao's mind went completely blank.

Violate?

Prioritize protecting?

What in the world was this?

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But she found her voice somewhat dry.

"Did you request this yourself?"

Gu Xiaoli shook her head, a trace of slyness flashing in her eyes.

But Luo Zhao didn't see it, because her thoughts were still in chaos.

"This condition was actively requested by brother."

Now Luo Zhao was completely at a loss.

Her mind was a total mess.

Gu Xiaoli's stance was too complicated.

She had sworn oaths to Gu Chengyin, so she couldn't betray Gu Chengyin's secrets.

But there was a special exception to prioritize protecting her.

What did this mean?

Did it mean that in Gu Xiaoli's heart, she was just as important as Gu Chengyin?

No.

More important than the solemn oath?

Then whose side was Gu Xiaoli actually on?

And Gu Chengyin.

Why would Gu Chengyin actively add this condition?

What benefit was there for him?

Was this a show of goodwill?

Or was he...

Leaving a way out for himself?

Luo Zhao's thoughts were like a tangled mess of thread.

The tangle grew tighter and messier.

But fortunately, she had experienced Gu Chengyin's personal teaching and training time and time again.

From their first meeting, Gu Chengyin's every word and action had been her best textbook.

Teaching her how to find the key in complex situations.

Teaching her how to untangle her thoughts amidst chaos.

Teaching her how to find the absolute core option among countless choices.

So in just a moment, Luo Zhao reorganized her thoughts.

She temporarily suppressed that tangled mess to the bottom of her heart.

Then Luo Zhao raised her head, her gaze once again pointing straight at Gu Xiaoli.

In those eyes, the anger from a moment ago was gone, the confusion was gone.

Only calm scrutiny remained.

"Xiaoli, whose person are you really?"

After asking this, Luo Zhao suddenly felt it wasn't enough.

It wasn't core enough.

So, with a slight modification, Luo Zhao asked again:

"No, I should say..."

Luo Zhao looked at Gu Xiaoli's eyes, which forever carried a hint of world-weariness.

She asked with utmost seriousness:

"Who exactly are you?"

This question was the true core.

Not whose side you are on.

Not who you are loyal to.

But who exactly are you?

And Gu Xiaoli's expression didn't fluctuate in the slightest.

Still so indifferent.

Still so world-weary.

Still bearing that look as if this world had nothing to do with her.

But in her eyes, something flickered faintly.

Gu Xiaoli slowly opened her mouth, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke drifting in the night breeze.

"Xiaoli is Your Highness's Xiaoli."

Luo Zhao's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Is brother's Xiaoli."

A trace of attachment flashed in those large eyes.

"And also..."

Gu Xiaoli's voice suddenly began to show emotional fluctuation.

"Her Majesty's Xiaoli."

As these words fell.

The bedchamber plunged into complete dead silence.

Luo Zhao's breathing stagnated, and even Shangguan Yunying, who had been quiet by the side all along, looked at Gu Xiaoli in extreme astonishment.

Her Majesty.

Gu Xiaoli had said Her Majesty.

In the entire Great Luo, only one person could be addressed as Her Majesty.

That was her mother who had passed away early.

Her biological mother.

Empress Lin.

Luo Zhao stared blankly at Gu Xiaoli.

Staring at this world-weary little girl under the moonlight.

Staring at the tenderness in the depths of Gu Xiaoli's eyes.

An inexplicable sense of familiarity suddenly surfaced from the bottom of Luo Zhao's heart.

She had seen Gu Xiaoli!

Although she couldn't remember, she must have seen Gu Xiaoli before!

And she had seen her by her mother's side!

But why?

Why couldn't she remember?

Right at this moment.

An image suddenly surfaced in Luo Zhao's mind.

It was a very, very long time ago.

So long ago that she had almost forgotten.

The moonlight that night was beautiful, and the wind was gentle.

Her mother sat by the window, and in her arms...

She was holding a civet cat.