The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 913

Chapter 913: 419 Confession (second watch of the night)_3

As he spoke, he actually reached out and grabbed Liu Yisheng’s right hand, intending to blow on it.

Liu Yisheng was absolutely thunderstruck and quickly put a distance of nearly half a carriage between them!

Gu Jiao was the type who’d report the joy but not the worries, no, she wouldn’t even report the joy—she wasn’t good at discussing her daily life and experiences with others.

Perhaps because of her childhood, when no one cared to listen, she gradually stopped speaking, as if to create a false impression—"You don’t know about my affairs, not because you don’t care about me, but because I refuse to share."

Even when she grew up, this trait remained unchanged.

Back when Empress Jing’s incident occurred, it was Xiao Liulang who kept digging into it, coupled with various incompetent allies who kept slipping up, she leaked so much that she had no choice but to confess.

Xiao Liulang wouldn’t inquire about Liu Yisheng’s matters, after all, Liu Yisheng was just a patient of hers, and being petty with a patient would make her seem small-minded.

Xiao Liulang went to the kitchen to boil water, making quite a racket, as he was boiling the water for Gu Jiao’s bathwater.

Gu Jiao followed him in and sat down on the little stool beside him, turning her head to look at him: "You seem unhappy."

Xiao Liulang: "I’m not."

Gu Jiao: "Are you jealous?"

Xiao Liulang: "I’m not so petty."

Gu Jiao: "Oh."

Xiao Liulang: "Who looks better, him or me?"

Gu Jiao: "..."

After taking a bath, Gu Jiao went to the backyard to pour out the water, only to find that Xiao Liulang hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

He was standing in the courtyard, bathed in moonlight and starlight, looking as elegant and refined as jade, as if he were waiting for her.

"Why haven’t you gone to sleep?" Gu Jiao put down the wooden tub and turned to ask.

Xiao Liulang approached, raised his hand, and his warm palm gently landed on her head.

Gu Jiao was slightly taken aback: "Why would you..."

"I don’t know." He lowered his hand, "I just suddenly felt like patting your head."

As if sensing she needed it, yet unable to articulate why she did.

Gu Jiao blinked, gazing intently at him for a long while, then shook her little head and leaned it towards him: "Then, pat it again."

Like an obedient child awaiting affection.

Xiao Liulang chuckled softly: "Alright."

...

The next day, Gu Jiao had originally promised to attend a chamber of commerce gathering with the second shopkeeper, but because of this sudden turn of events, she had to confirm something first.

Gu Jiao told the second shopkeeper to go ahead, and she would come after handling the situation.

"Sure, just make sure to arrive before dinner."

After saying this, the second shopkeeper boarded the carriage and departed for the Four Seas Villa in the eastern suburbs of the Capital City.

Gu Jiao made a trip to Prince Rui’s Residence.

Prince Rui had gone to deal with official affairs, leaving only the Princess Consort at the residence.

Hearing of Gu Jiao’s arrival, the Princess Consort was so excited she personally hitched up her skirt to greet her.

She needn’t worry about Gu Jiao getting upset and running... er, leaving too quickly.

When she arrived at the entrance of the residence, with a smiling face, she said: "You’ve finally come! The prince mentioned the last time you escorted me back, he invited you to visit more often to keep me company, but I’ve been waiting so long and you haven’t showed up! What wind has blown you here today?"

Gu Jiao’s gaze drifted past the Princess Consort and rested on the corridor not far away, where two hidden guards stood.

She had never seen them around the Princess Consort before.

Gu Jiao asked, "Are those two the guards Prince Ning sent to protect you?"

The Princess Consort shared everything with her, including the fact that Prince Ning had sent protectors for her.

Remembering their conversation carefully, the man was the one who approached the Crown Princess, and she slapped him, indicating that he likely offended her in some way with his words.

The Crown Princess could have acted out of anger or to eliminate a future threat—it was indeed possible that she might have resolved to kill Yuan Tang.

However, Gu Jiao felt that the man was also a major suspect.

After all, not just anyone can think of something like framing Yuan Tang, nor can it be successful under any circumstances.

Killing a random person to take the fall would be futile.

But it was different with Yuan Tang.

In terms of identity, appearance, or talent, Yuan Tang was a match. Would it be convincing to point to just some random person as the man the Crown Princess met in secret?

Moreover, Yuan Tang had already been "definitively" accused by the Princess Consort.

Gu Jiao quickly thought of another thing: she had also been present during the assassination attempt on Yuan Tang, and moreover, she had killed so many of the assassins. How would the culprit regard her relationship with Yuan Tang?

Could the culprit have guessed that she knew Yuan Tang was wrongfully accused as the secret admirer at the rockery?

If it were her, she could have guessed it.

After all, the Princess Consort "recognized" Yuan Tang and had been to the Medical Hall to see her. Given the relationship between the Princess Consort and her, it was impossible not to have shared the gossip about Yuan Tang being the adulterer.

That very night she was with Yuan Tang, which could easily arouse suspicions of whether she went to confirm the truth with Yuan Tang.

"Miss Gu, what’s wrong? Did I say something amiss?" Seeing Gu Jiao fall silent suddenly, the Princess Consort became apprehensive.

There was really nothing too unlikable about her personality; the issue was that she always clashed with Wu Linlang. Since so many people liked Wu Linlang, it was inevitable that she would not get along with the Princess Consort.

"You don’t like Wu Linlang too, do you?" she weakly asked.

Gu Jiao shook her head: "I like you."

The Princess Consort immediately lit up with joy, grasping Gu Jiao’s hand, and said affectionately, "I like you too!"

Prince Rui, who had just reached the doorstep and overheard such a mutual declaration of affection, thought: ...

Suddenly felt a hint of green on his head...