The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1012 - 1012 480 Siblings (Second Update)

Chapter 1012: 480 Siblings (Second Update) Chapter 1012: 480 Siblings (Second Update) Gu Jiao stood in silence for a few seconds, then without another word, she pulled open the cabinet door and retrieved the soft armor that Old He from the martial arts arena below had given her.

Originally, she found it too ugly to wear.

After that, Gu Jiao found various blades from around the house—she tucked two daggers at her waist, hid two willow-leaf sabers within her narrow sleeves, inserted a few silver needles into her hair bun, secreted several knife blades inside her shoes, and even concealed a tiny hidden weapon under her tongue.

Xiao Hen: …That may not be necessary.

Gu Jiao set off fully armed!

Her Red-Tasseled Spear was indeed eye-catching, so Xiao Hen wrapped it for her with cloth strips.

Xiao Hen kept watching her until she left Bishui Alley and completely disappeared into the boundless night. He stood still in place, lost in thought for a long while.

The night deepened, and the lights of thousands of households gradually went out, plunging the Capital City into the tranquility of the late night.

Yet, the patrol guards from the imperial guards were still quietly going about their rounds, careful not to disturb the sleeping citizens.

Gu Chengfeng managed to reach the north city gate under the watchful eyes of the city’s guards.

The city gate had long been closed, but as the legitimate heir of the Gu Family, he knew that there was a secret passage nearby, usually guarded by two to four guards in rotation.

Due to its concealment, not many people were aware of it, hence the guards stationed there were also not particularly formidable experts.

For Gu Chengfeng, passing through alone was not a problem; the key issue was that he was also leading a horse…

Gu Chengfeng glanced at the horse behind him, and the horse looked back at him.

A man and a horse locked in a mutual stare: “…”

There was a moment when Gu Chengfeng even regretted stealing his own father’s horse. Although a fine steed, it was difficult to handle.

Forget it, having come this far, it would be a pity to leave the horse behind, especially since a steed of such quality could not likely be found at a post station.

To charge out… a large squad of the imperial guards was nearby.

In the end, Gu Chengfeng could only close his eyes, helplessly clenched his teeth, and muttered, “Sorry, Dad, I have no choice but to trick you.”

Half an hour later, Gu Chengfeng, wearing a broad-rimmed hat, riding his father the Marquis’s prized horse and holding his father’s personal token, appeared outside the secret passage.

The guards on duty, seeing the token, looked at the man on the horse with strange expressions and asked, “You are…?”

Gu Chengfeng lowered his voice, imitating his father’s tone, “You no longer recognize your lord? I have an imperial edict from His Majesty, ordering me to leave the city overnight. I have official business to attend to. Let me pass immediately! If you delay His Majesty’s affairs, how many heads will you have to chop off?”

“I dare not!”

The leading guard, having said that, hurriedly signaled for his subordinates to clear a path and stood respectfully aside.

Actually, they had never seen the Marquis in person and couldn’t tell whether the voice was truly his or not. However, the token that Gu Chengfeng showed was real. Moreover, the Marquis Residence was indeed a trusted ally of the emperor, and coinciding with the recent continuous troubles at court, not to mention the empress dowager’s order for Gu Changqing to reorganize the Gu Family Army.

All these events together left no one to suspect that at such a critical juncture, someone would dare impersonate the Marquis and falsify the emperor’s order.

This was a capital offense.

Gu Chengfeng figured his father would likely be summoned before the emperor for questioning the next day.

But since the court had placed such importance on his older brother and the Gu Family Army, they wouldn’t take his father’s life—at most… they might reprimand him for failing to teach his son properly, perhaps by giving him a hundred military strokes or something of that sort.

The Marquis, half asleep, suddenly shivered for no apparent reason…

After leaving the city, Gu Chengfeng galloped northward, fearing the guards would come to their senses and follow him. Only when the horse was almost out of breath did he finally slow down and stop.

He looked back.

“They shouldn’t have… followed us, right?”

“Rest assured, they didn’t follow.”

A casual voice sounded from behind the shrubs, startling Gu Chengfeng to the point where he almost tumbled off his horse!

In the dead of night, to hear a voice from behind a large tree—was it a human or a ghost!

Wait a minute, that voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Gu Chengfeng calmed himself and turned to look in the direction of the large tree. In his haste to leave, he hadn’t paid much attention, but now, in the faint moonlight, he saw a tall Chinese parasol tree with a horse tied to it, and beside the horse stood a young boy dressed in green.

The young boy crossed his arms and leaned nonchalantly against the tree trunk.

Having said that, the young boy stepped out from the shadows of the tree.

Gu Chengfeng could see her face clearly.

“Is it really you?”

He exclaimed in surprise.

Gu Jiao tapped her finger on her crossed arms and tilted her head, asking, “Surprised?”

“How can I not be surprised? In the middle of the night, instead of sleeping, you come here. We’re already outside the city gates.” That’s not right, they were at least twenty or thirty miles from Capital City.

Gu Chengfeng looked at her suspiciously, “You’re not trying to catch me to run errands for you again, are you? I warn you, I won’t go with you this time! I have important matters to take care of!”

Extremely important matters!

Human lives are of paramount importance!

“Hmm.” Gu Jiao hmmed softly, released the hands she had wrapped around herself, straightened up, and patted the tall and mighty steed before nimbly mounting it.

It was only then that Gu Chengfeng realized she too was riding a high-quality horse that covered great distances at speed, in no way inferior to his father’s mount.

“Didn’t you say we were leaving?” Gu Jiao asked, looking at him oddly.

Gu Chengfeng was so astonished that he didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of her words. He stared straight at her horse, “Aren’t you unable to ride?”

“Not adept at it,” Gu Jiao corrected him. “But I imagine I’ll get good at it soon enough.”

After all, it was a thousand miles from here to the border, plenty of distance for her to practice riding.

Gu Chengfeng still didn’t quite catch her drift, his gaze shifting from her horse to her back.

The small basket she often carried was now hung on the saddle, replaced by a large object wrapped in cloth.

Even with the cloth wrapping, Gu Chengfeng could still faintly sense a vigorous aura.

“What’s that on your back?” he asked curiously.

“Red-Tasseled Spear,” Gu Jiao responded.

“What Red-Tasseled Spear is that big?” The suspicion in Gu Chengfeng’s eyes grew even more intense. “And what are you doing with that thing in the middle of the night?”

Gu Jiao glanced at him dismissively, “Are you coming or not?”

“Of course, I’m coming…” Gu Chengfeng started to say, but Gu Jiao already spurred her horse forward a few steps. Gu Chengfeng watched the direction she was heading in and reminded her, “Hey, aren’t you going the wrong way? That’s not the road to the Capital City.”

“Who said I was heading back to the Capital City?” Gu Jiao stated coolly.

Gu Chengfeng snorted with laughter, “If you’re not going back to the Capital City, could it be that you intend to join me on the way to the border?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than his eyes widened in shock. He urged his horse to Gu Jiao’s side, looking at her icy profile, “You… you couldn’t possibly…”

Clamor.

Gu Jiao pulled out a steamed bun from her bag and stuffed it into his mouth.

Gu Chengfeng’s mouth was filled; he made a couple of muffled noises before taking the steamed bun out and catching up with her. “Wait, clarify what you mean. Are you really going to the border? What will you do there? Don’t you know there’s a war going on? The armies of Chen Kingdom have already captured three of our border towns. It’s not a place for sightseeing!”

Gu Jiao held the reins tightly, “Mhm.”

Gu Chengfeng frowned.

This girl didn’t seem the type to have time for such matters.

“Hey, you aren’t thinking of going to the border because you heard something happened to grandfather, are you?” Gu Chengfeng muttered. “You’re not the real Gu Jiao, so you don’t need to bother with my grandfather’s business.”

The border was far too dangerous.

Princess Ning An had three Dragon Shadow Guards at her side, yet she was still captured by the remnants of the previous dynasty, which showed how tough those adversaries were.

These were turbulent waters she had no business wading into.

Gu Chengfeng looked at her seriously, “Tell me the truth; are you really going to the border? And why the border?”

By asking the second question, Gu Chengfeng was implicitly acknowledging he already had his answer to the first.

“To save someone,” Gu Jiao said.

“Save whom?” Gu Chengfeng asked.

“A brother,” Gu Jiao paused briefly, “and an idiot.”

A brother?

That meant it wasn’t his grandfather.

Gu Chengfeng didn’t rush to ask who the brother she mentioned was, nor did he ask about the idiot. As long as it wasn’t himself, that was fine.

Gu Chengfeng continued, “By the way, how did you manage to leave the city?”

“Oh,” Gu Jiao uttered, “left on horseback.”

Gu Chengfeng opened his mouth, “Through… the North Gate?”

“Or was there another gate?” Gu Jiao replied.

Gu Chengfeng’s brow furrowed, “But hadn’t the city gate been closed? Did you leave very early?”

Gu Jiao shook her head, “No, just a bit earlier than you. I had an imperial decree.”

Gu Chengfeng was dumbstruck, “You, why do you have an imperial decree? Were you ordered by the emperor to head north?”

If this girl had an imperial decree, then why had he risked the crime of deceitfully leaving through the secret passage, exiting the city in such great difficulty?

Gu Jiao shook her head again, “I asked His Majesty for it. I mentioned I wanted to take a trip, and His Majesty gave it to me, also gifting me a horse.”

A crestfallen Gu Chengfeng, “…”

I suddenly don’t feel like talking to you!