The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 494

Chapter 494: 251 Illegitimate (Second Update)

Chapter 494: 251 Illegitimate (Second Update)

The Crown Princess, upon receiving Qin Chuyu, did not immediately return to the imperial palace, but took Qin Chuyu to the Marquis Xuanping’s residence.

Although it was not appropriate for her to visit the Marquis’s residence, as Qin Chuyu was the nephew of the Marquis Xuanping, it only made sense for him to visit.

However, as luck would have it, Marquis Xuanping was not present today.

He, the Emperor, and the old Lord had gone out on secret errands.

The Crown Princess came in vain, but she was not disheartened, for Steward Liu was in the house. He was a trusted aide to Marquis Xuanping who had served him faithfully for many years and had only been summoned back by the Marquis last year.

If anyone could provide detailed information about Marquis Xuanping’s affairs, it would be Chang Jing and Steward Liu.

Qin Chuyu was happily eating inside the carriage.

“I think I dropped my hairpin, I’ll go look for it.”

“Do you want me to help you find it?”

“No need.” The Crown Princess smiled gently.

Qin Chuyu responded with an “Oh”, and continued to eat.

The Crown Princess stepped off the carriage, and met with Steward Liu who had been waiting for her behind another carriage.

Without beating around the bush, she asked: “Does the Marquis know a child named Jing Kong?”

“Jing Kong?” Steward Liu found the name familiar.

The Crown Princess added:

“A student from the Genius Class at Guozijian, he’s four years old and a friend of the seventh prince.”

Steward Liu said, “Ah, I remember now.” But it wasn’t because of the seventh prince, but because of the Genius Class student at Guozijian, who was the brother-in-law of his young master.

Steward Liu asked, “Is the Crown Princess inquiring about that child?”

The Crown Princess looked at Steward Liu intently, “There’s someone around him who closely resembles the young Marquis, do you know about this?”

“You’ve seen him?” Steward Liu was shocked, but quickly realized it was not that surprising. After all, both the seventh prince and his master attended Guozijian, and the Crown Princess frequently picked up and dropped off the seventh prince there. Wasn’t it likely that she would run into his master?

“Who is he?” The Crown Princess asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Steward Liu revealed the truth: “He is the Marquis’s illegitimate son.”

Surprise flashed across the eyes of the Crown Princess: “Illegitimate son?”

Steward Liu sighed, “Yes, remember the year when the Marquis went to Jiangnan for flood control? That year, he favored a woman in Song County and their child is the young master.”

The Crown Princess mused, “I’ve never heard the Marquis mention this before.”

Steward Liu sighed again, “Indeed, the Marquis just found out recently. That’s why he called me back to the capital. He asked me to find the whereabouts of the young master. However, the young master seems to harbour some misunderstandings about the Marquis, believing that he abandoned him and his mother. So, he has been reluctant to acknowledge the Marquis. I share this with you in confidence. Please do not reveal it to anyone.”

The Crown Princess took a moment, and then nodded her head, “I understand. I will keep the Marquis’s secret.”

After all, it was not a laudable deed.

The Crown Princess said nothing further and returned to her carriage.

So, is it because they are brothers that they look so much alike?

But why did something still feel off?

The Crown Princess took Qin Chuyu back to the palace. Just as they were at the gate of the imperial palace, they ran into the Crown Prince, who was returning from the Ministry of Rites.

The negotiation between the Liang and Zhan Countries was a success. The Emperor and Ministers attributed great merit to the Crown Prince and Princess for their roles. They had hosted the emissary from the Liang Country extremely well, avoiding any mishaps like the burning of the flower boat. The Emperor praised the couple and bestowed the responsibility of hosting the Palace Examination upon the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Rites.

The Crown Prince took this task very seriously, learning from the Ministry of Rites whenever he had the opportunity. He was not domineering but instead sought advice humbly, earning him much praise.

Just today, he had been praised by the Minister of Rites, and he was in high spirits. Upon seeing the Crown Princess and Qin Chuyu, he lifted the curtain of his carriage, “Linlang, let the seventh brother return to the East Palace, but come with me outside the palace.”

“I want to go too!” Qin Chuyu suddenly lost his appetite for the snacks in his hands.

The Crown Prince said, “Go back and do your homework!”

Qin Chuyu puckered his lips.

The Crown Princess comforted him gently, “Finish your homework first. I will bring you some Osmanthus cake tonight.”

The Imperial Palace also had Osmanthus cakes, but Qin Chuyu was tired of the palace’s version. He always felt that the ones outside were more delicious.

Dragging his feet, Qin Chuyu said, “Fine, but you must remember to come back early.”

Qin Chuyu was taken back to the East Palace by the palace maids, while the Crown Princess boarded the Crown Prince’s carriage.

The Crown Prince now preferred to keep a low profile when going out. His carriage appeared modest, pulled by only two steeds, but the interior of the carriage was decadent.

Holding the hand of the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince could not help but reveal a smile, “Linlang, have you forgotten what day it is today?”

“Ah…” The Crown Princess was momentarily taken aback, then lowered her head and laughed softly, “How could I forget such an important day? It was ten years ago today when Your Highness and I first met at the Zuiyun Building. I was eleven years old, and you were thirteen. Since then, every year on this day, Your Highness has taken me to the Zuiyun Building.”

Smiling, the Crown Prince pinched her hand, “The first time I saw you, I knew that you were destined to be my Crown Princess!”

The Crown Princess smiled slightly, a hint of shyness in her demeanor.

Little Clean Sky counted carefully to make sure each person at home had one, Jiaojiao had two, then he was satisfied and was ready to leave with the box.

As soon as he turned, he bumped into Xu Zhuzhu, who also came to buy sesame cakes.

“Clean Sky!”

“Zhuzhu!”

The two children were overly excited, standing next to the shop, they both turned into little loudspeakers and started to chat.

Who knew what a seven-year-old and a four-year-old had to chat about so excitedly.

Xiao Liulang watched the two excited children speechlessly, somewhat regretting that he had brought him out.

Xu Zhuzhu grabbed Little Clean Sky’s hand, pointing to the restaurant diagonally across: “That’s my cousin’s restaurant, my cousin is upstairs! I’ll take you to meet him! He’s always wanted to meet you!”

“Brother-in-law, can I go?” Little Clean Sky pleaded with Xiao Liulang, starting to act cute and spoiled.

Xiao Liulang took a deep breath and said helplessly, “I’ll wait for you here.”

Little Clean Sky handed the box to Xiao Liulang and ran towards the Zuiyun Building diagonally across the street, led by Xu Zhuzhu.

Next to the Sesame Bakery was a bookstore, and Xiao Liulang, having nothing better to do, remembered running out of ink sticks at home. He had planned to buy some tomorrow, but since he came across the shop, he figured he might as well buy them today.

Xiao Liulang entered the bookstore, asking the shopkeeper for ink sticks.

The shopkeeper said: “The top-quality ink sticks are inside, young master can choose them himself.”

Xiao Liulang went in to choose the ink sticks.

The room was quite narrow, filled with two aisles of shelves and it was hard for people to turn around once inside.

But the ink sticks here were indeed very good, Xiao Liulang was satisfied, and chose a few.

At this moment, the princess passed by the doorway.

She was here to have dinner with the prince at Zuiyun Building; she had smelled the fragrance of sesame cake upstairs and thought Qin Chuyu might like it, so she came down herself to choose a box of sesame cake for him. However, when she just walked by the bookstore, she saw a familiar silhouette.

She rushed in immediately.

“Madam, may I know what you want to buy…”

The shopkeeper hadn’t finished speaking when the princess walked right past him.

Xiao Liulang had selected the ink sticks and was about to turn to leave when a figure walked in.

As soon as the person came in, the first row of shelves suddenly fell down, closing the door and blocking it tightly.