No matter how you looked at it, there was nothing in it for her.
Why would she do it?
Duoduo’s eyes flickered.
“Grandfather, if you want to remove the gu worm, you can find the person who planted it in you.”
“Only he can help you get rid of it!”
The Emperor studied Duoduo with a scrutinizing gaze.
He had seen through her hesitation just now at a glance.
He had met countless people in his lifetime. How could he possibly fail to read Duoduo’s expression?
For some inexplicable reason, the Emperor felt that this Changle could help him.
It was just that she was unwilling to do so.
The Emperor fell silent for several minutes.
“Who is Nina?” he suddenly asked.
Duoduo answered honestly, “Grandfather, I just told you.”
“Nina was Little Gold’s previous master. She’s a woman from Southern Xinjiang.”
The Emperor knew that the gu worm inside his body would not take his life immediately, and his mood relaxed slightly.
“How did you come to know a woman from Southern Xinjiang?” he asked, beginning to make casual conversation with Duoduo.
Duoduo nervously rubbed the palm of her hand.
“Because I heard that the miracle doctor said there was more than one kind of poison in Daddy’s body.”
“So I started researching it.”
“There’s a kind of gu worm that can make a person’s pulse seem as if they’ve been poisoned.”
“Father saw that I was interested, so he asked someone to find me a person who knew about gu worms.”
“But that person stopped coming halfway through, and Nina came instead.”
Duoduo did not dare hide anything. If the Emperor sent someone to investigate, he would naturally find out about all of it.
“So this woman named Nina was actually someone your father hired for you?” the Emperor asked deliberately.
Duoduo rubbed the palm of her hand again.
It was the first time she had felt that speaking with her grandfather was so difficult.
Every sentence had to be considered, then reconsidered, and considered yet again.
She was terrified of saying the wrong thing and violating one of the Emperor’s taboos.
Duoduo let out a small sigh.
The Emperor noticed all her little movements.
He could also sense how guarded she was in his presence.
A trace of regret flashed through his heart.
But it was quickly buried beneath his desire to know the truth.
Duoduo sighed and nodded listlessly.
“You’re right to put it that way, Grandfather!”
“Then there’s a gu worm in your father’s body as well?” A hint of tension entered his voice.
Duoduo thought for a moment before shaking her head.
“I don’t know either.”
“Because after I learned about them, I haven’t let Little Gold get close to Daddy.”
Surprise flashed through the Emperor’s eyes.
“Why?”
“Don’t you want to cure your father?”
Duoduo shook her head again.
“At first, I only wanted to find out what kind of poison was in Daddy’s body.”
“I never imagined that Little Gold would actually recognize me as its master!”
“Mother was strongly against me learning about gu worms from Nina.”
“If Daddy found out that I was raising a gu worm, he’d definitely break my legs!”
After saying this, Duoduo lowered her head dejectedly.
She had said all this deliberately for the Emperor’s benefit.
She wanted to make it clear that raising the gu worm had not been her choice.
And that Xiao Yi had nothing to do with it either.
Sensing Duoduo’s low spirits, Little Gold raised its upper body and swayed from side to side in front of her.
It seemed to be trying to cheer her up.
When the Emperor saw Little Gold’s antics, the frost in his eyes melted slightly.
He recalled what Duoduo had said earlier.
“You can also control your gu worm and send it into someone else’s body?”
Duoduo nodded.
“Yes.”
“But there are many different kinds of gu worms.”
“Some gu worms allow people to remain young forever.”
“Some can control a person’s actions.”
“And some are meant to harm people!”
“Little Gold is different.”
“Nina said that Little Gold is still too young, so we can’t tell what it’s capable of yet.”
“I’ll only know what kind of ability it has after it grows and changes.”
This was the first time the Emperor had heard such knowledge.
He could not help feeling curious.
“Can this little creature really control a person’s actions?”
Duoduo nodded.
“Of course!”
“Grandfather, don’t let its small size fool you. Some worms keep growing larger and larger!”
“There are also some gu worms that can eat a person’s brain and control the body they inhabit.”
The Emperor shuddered with disgust.
His gaze fell on Little Gold, and disdain crept into his eyes despite himself.
Little Gold was highly sensitive. It immediately turned its head and glanced at the Emperor.
The Emperor’s expression stiffened.
Duoduo patted Little Gold on the head, and it sprawled down contentedly.
“What kind of worm is the one in My body...?” the Emperor asked after a long pause, forcing the words out with difficulty.
Duoduo tilted her little head and thought for a moment.
“The worm in your body was probably meant to control you at first.”
“That’s why it carries a poison.”
“But later, its master changed their mind.”
“Nina once told me about a kind of gu worm called the Shared-Life Gu.”
“It allows its master and the person carrying it to exist together.”
“As long as the master lives, you can live too...”
The more Duoduo explained, the uglier the Emperor’s expression became.
How could he allow another person to sleep beside his bed?
The Emperor rose to his feet and began pacing back and forth across the room.
He was trying to suppress his emotions.
But another sense of frustration began to rise within him.
He was the mighty Emperor. Since when did he have to act according to someone else’s wishes?
At that thought, the Emperor stopped walking.
“Changle, is it true that if I die, the other person will die as well?”
The Emperor did his best to keep his emotions under control.
Duoduo hesitated before nodding.
“Yes!”
“The Shared-Heart Gu links the gu worm to your heart and emotions.”
“Every bit of pain you suffer will be felt by the other person as well.”
“However, the pain they feel will be much lighter!”
“If you... die, the gu worm will turn against them, and they won’t survive either.”
In truth, there were many details about the Shared-Heart Gu that Duoduo had not mentioned.
Nina had once told Duoduo that the Shared-Heart Gu was usually planted by a woman for the man she loved.
The purpose was to make the other person live and die alongside her, to link their hearts together, and to ensure that he would never fall for another woman.
But the Emperor had three palaces filled with consorts. It was impossible for him to remain faithful to a single woman forever.
Would the woman who had planted such a gu worm in the Emperor have been deluding herself?
Besides, every time the Emperor suffered, she would suffer the same torment.
What could she possibly be seeking?
Duoduo did not understand.
Nor could she figure it out.
So she simply chose not to mention it.
A trace of unwillingness flashed through the Emperor’s eyes.
“Changle, can I meet this Nina you spoke of?”
Duoduo shook her head.
“Grandfather, Nina went to find her mother.”
“I don’t know where she is either.”
“If she contacts me, I’ll ask her, all right?”
The Emperor’s last hope was cut off.
Irritation rose within him.
Duoduo glanced at the sky.
She had already been inside for nearly an hour.
“Grandfather, if you have nothing else to ask, I’ll take my leave now.”
