The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1001 - 1001 475 Her Secret (Second Update)

Chapter 1001: 475 Her Secret (Second Update) Chapter 1001: 475 Her Secret (Second Update) Marquis Xuanping came out of the Imperial Palace and unexpectedly found a familiar carriage parked nearby.

It was Princess Xinyang’s carriage.

He frowned slightly, unsure whether she had entered the palace or what, but if she wasn’t there to see him, there was no need to embarrass himself.

Just as he was thinking this, the curtain of Princess Xinyang’s carriage was lifted from the inside.

Yujin bowed respectfully as he stepped down from the carriage and walked towards Marquis Xuanping.

“My lord,” Yujin greeted with a respectful bow, “the Princess wishes to see you.”

Quite the rarity.

In the many years they had been married, the days Princess Xinyang came to find him could be counted on one’s fingers.

He hardly went to see her either; since their wedding night, when she requested a marriage in name only, he had maintained only a superficial relationship with her.

After a moment’s contemplation, Marquis Xuanping got into Princess Xinyang’s carriage.

Marquis Xuanping’s own carriage was also extremely luxurious, but in terms of details, it was not as exquisite as Princess Xinyang’s, which was clearly a woman’s carriage, fragrant and particularly delicate.

If it had been twenty years earlier, Marquis Xuanping might not have found a place to set foot in.

Nowadays, he was no longer the crude man of his youth; he too was quite particular, graceful and composed, with an elegant and scholarly bearing, well… at least on the surface.

Marquis Xuanping sat down on the bench next to Princess Xinyang, glanced at her, and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Princess Xinyang opened her mouth, a trace of hesitation flitting across her brows.

Marquis Xuanping did not rush her, casually playing with an orange in his hand.

It took Princess Xinyang a while before she finally spoke, “When did you know there was something wrong with the Dragon Shadow Guard beside me?”

Marquis Xuanping asked, “Is that what you sought me out for?”

Princess Xinyang demanded, “Just answer me.”

“Not long after Xiao Qing’s incident,” Marquis Xuanping said truthfully.

“Did you find something?” Princess Xinyang asked.

Marquis Xuanping shook his head, “No, on the contrary, it was because I found nothing that I found it odd. Your Dragon Shadow Guard has always lurked in the shadows, but…”

Princess Xinyang gave a bitter smile, “But you already knew.”

“Hmm,” Marquis Xuanping did not deny.

From the first day Princess Xinyang had married into the Residence, he had detected a few unusual presences in the shadows.

He had felt a similar presence from the Dragon Shadow Guard around the Emperor and hence guessed that she also had Dragon Shadow Guards by her side.

But it wasn’t until the night of Xiao Qing’s incident that he was certain of their identities.

When he discovered that the two children had been poisoned and urgently sought an antidote, the Emperor had in his possession a detoxification pill from Yan Country, claimed to cure all poisons.

Alas, there was only one.

To ensure her son received the antidote, Xiao Hen’s mother went so far as to capture Xiao Qing.

But in the process of capturing Xiao Qing, she almost mistakenly entered Princess Xinyang’s room, and it was then that a Dragon Shadow Guard appeared and clashed with her.

“At that time…” Princess Xinyang’s voice interrupted Marquis Xuanping’s train of thought, but she seemed hesitant.

Marquis Xuanping weighed the orange in his hand and said, “If you want to ask, just ask. You needn’t consider whether I want to answer or not. If I don’t want to, I’ll tell you directly.”

Princess Xinyang asked, “After confirming that the Dragon Shadow Guard was the murderer who killed Xiao Qing, did you ever think about taking revenge?”

Marquis Xuanping tugged at the corner of his mouth indifferently, “If I said I didn’t, would you believe me?”

Princess Xinyang pursed her lips, “Then why didn’t you take revenge?”

Marquis Xuanping answered earnestly, “First of all, they are just the executioners; the one who gave the order was the late Emperor.”

Only two people could command the Dragon Shadow Guards, the late Emperor and Princess Xinyang; it couldn’t have been Princess Xinyang herself who ordered the killing of her own son.

Arriving at this conclusion wasn’t difficult, accepting it was the hard part.

Marquis Xuanping chuckled, “A debt has its debtor, as does a grievance its master. If I were to take revenge, it would be against the late Emperor. Why should I trouble a few executioners who were just following orders? A coward would vent anger on subordinates without confronting their master.”

This arrogant tone could only belong to Marquis Xuanping.

Princess Xinyang pressed, “Is that the only reason?”

Marquis Xuanping gave her an odd look, lips curving slightly, “What are you expecting, Qin Fengwan? Are you hoping I’ll tell you it’s because you still needed them, so I painfully spared them? Qin Fengwan, my feelings for you aren’t as deep as you think.”

“Good, it’s not,” Princess Xinyang sighed with slight relief.

Marquis Xuanping looked at her with a half-smile, squinting, then suddenly leaned closer, propping an arm beside her as if pinning her against the carriage wall, “Qin Fengwan, you seem disappointed?”

Princess Xinyang turned her face away, “I’m not.”

Marquis Xuanping laughed carelessly, his expression tinged with a cold derision, “Disappointed or not, it’s too late. You were the one who refused me back then. Even if you now lowered yourself to plead with me, my heart wouldn’t stir for you again.”

With those words, he coldly returned to his seat.

“Then, have you ever had feelings for me?” asked Princess Xinyang.

Xuanping Marquis’s smile stiffened.

“No,” he said.

“That’s for the best,” Princess Xinyang stated, “Don’t like me, I… will not like you.”

Xuanping Marquis’s expression turned cold, “Qin Fengwan, am I really that undesirable?”

Princess Xinyang lowered her eyes, her hand beneath the wide sleeves tightly clutching a handkerchief: “It’s not you, it’s me.”

I can’t bring myself to like any man.

Xuanping Marquis got off the carriage with a cold expression.

Only after he had walked a distance did Yujin board the carriage.

Being alone in a cramped space with a man was extremely difficult for Princess Xinyang, even if that man was her husband of many years.

She masked her feelings well on the surface, but the handkerchief in her hands had already been poked through with several holes.

“Princess, are you all right?” Yujin asked concernedly.

Princess Xinyang’s face was heavily made-up with powder, hiding her pale complexion; otherwise, it would’ve given her away long ago.

“I’m fine,” she said, taking a deep breath.

She said she was fine, yet her body began to shake slightly.

Yujin had always known about the unspeakable ailment of the princess––she couldn’t normally interact with men, especially in very tight spaces, where her condition could worsen to the point of suffocation.

The reason it had gone unnoticed before was primarily because she was a princess; with her esteemed status, she didn’t allow people near, so others couldn’t get close.

Furthermore, she was very adept at concealing it. If Yujin hadn’t seen with his own eyes her fainting in the carriage, he probably wouldn’t have discovered her secret.

Over the years, aside from the young Marquis, only Long Yi was allowed to stay close to her. Even the other four Dragon Shadow Guards weren’t permitted to approach her without permission.

In fact, the princess’s condition had improved a lot over time. The last time she and Xuanping Marquis were in a carriage together, there was no discomfort at all.

This time…

Did Xuanping Marquis do something to the princess?

In Bishui Alley, the good news of Yao Family’s joyous birth of a son quickly spread through the alley. People came to offer their congratulations, and Gu Yan, along with Little Jingkong, carried a basket of red chicken eggs, going from house to house to distribute them.

Marquis Gu hadn’t slept all night, and then had watched his son all morning, becoming so exhausted that he lay down beside Yao Family’s bed and fell asleep.

Yao Family fed the child some milk, but could not resist the weakness of her body and also fell asleep.

She no longer had the energy of her younger years.

It was then that Gu Jinyu arrived in Bishui Alley.

Last night she had been thrown out by Gu Jiao and hadn’t been able to return to the Courtyard. So, she went back to the Marquis Residence first.

Early in the morning, she heard the news delivered by Huang Zhong: Yao Family had given birth to a brother for her, so she personally prepared a strengthening soup for Yao Family.

She carried the nourishing soup inside.

“Mother, I’ve come to see you,” she said.

The nursemaid was bathing the little one when she heard her. She lifted her head, gestured for silence, and whispered softly, “Madam has gone to rest.”

“Ah,” Gu Jinyu quickly covered her mouth in guilt.

A screen had been set up in front of Yao Family’s bed. Gu Jinyu peeked behind it and saw Yao Family sleeping peacefully, with Marquis Gu sitting in a chair, his upper body laid on the bedside, snoring soundly.

She quickly retracted her gaze, placed the food container on the table, and curiously squatted beside the basin to watch the little one being gently manipulated by the nursemaid, commenting, “He’s so small.”

“Not small at all, nice and plump,” said the nursemaid.

Can he talk?

A small young master?

He’s clearly a big chubby boy!

After the nursemaid finished bathing the young master and dried him with a soft towel, she dressed him in tiny clothes and swaddled him.

Throughout the whole process, he didn’t cry or fuss.

So well-behaved.

Gu Jinyu’s eyes widened as she asked, “Nursemaid, can I hold my brother?”

“Do you know how to hold him?” the nursemaid inquired.

Gu Jinyu nodded, “I know how. I’ve held the Ling Family’s little cousin many times.”

The nursemaid hesitated briefly and then carefully handed the child into her arms.

Gu Jinyu gently accepted the child, smiling down at the little one in the swaddle.

At this moment, something unbelievable happened; the little one, who had been silent during his bath and diaper change, suddenly let out a cry with a loud wail!