The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1049 - 1049 506 Domineering Jiaojiao (One More)

Chapter 1049: 506 Domineering Jiaojiao (One More) Chapter 1049: 506 Domineering Jiaojiao (One More) As these words were spoken, the old Marquis could almost imagine Gu Changqing’s reaction; it was so heart-wrenching that he simply turned his face away.

The truth cannot be hidden forever, yet when the moment truly arrived, the turmoil and struggle were still immense.

Gu Changqing was completely petrified, and the whole room fell into a deathly silence.

The old Marquis felt that he should say something, but he was not very good at making small talk, especially not at offering comfort.

Besides, comforting a stranger is one thing, but for someone like him, comforting a loved one always felt a bit awkward.

In fact, the scheme, or rather the trap, had been laid since before Empress Dowager Jing entered the palace.

Empress Dowager Jing was a loyalist of the former dynasty. Her encounter with the old Marquis, which resulted in her being saved from bandits by him, later turned out to be a premeditated conspiracy.

If the affections of one individual can be manipulated, then why not the marriage alliances of a whole family?

Empress Dowager Jing or Miss Ling, they were both remnants of the former dynasty planted in Zhan Country. The difference was that Empress Dowager Jing entered the palace, while Miss Ling did not.

But not entering the palace didn’t mean Miss Ling could not play a significant role.

The old Marquis personally founded the Gu Family Army, and if Miss Ling’s son could become the young master of the Gu Family Army, wouldn’t that mean the remnants of the former dynasty controlled Zhan Country’s most formidable military force?

The old Marquis felt guilty deep down, for he had failed to notice the alliance between Gu Chong and Miss Ling. If he had known Miss Ling was a spy of the former dynasty, he would have never agreed to this union.

But now it was too late to say all this, and furthermore—

He looked at Gu Changqing who, despite suffering a great shock, still managed not to show any sign of collapse, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

Without Miss Ling, he would not have had such an outstanding grandson.

On the surface, Gu Changqing seemed to be holding up, but in reality, every inch of his body was permeated by a bone-chilling cold.

His mother was a spy of the former dynasty.

His mother… was a spy of the former dynasty!

He knew his grandfather would not deceive him with such a matter. A voice in his head questioned: Could his grandfather be mistaken? But then why did his chest feel as if it was being pricked by needles?

“When you grow up, what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know, what does mother want me to do?”

“Mother hopes that you will become a man as upright as your grandfather.”

“Then when I grow up, I’ll join the army. I will battle enemies on the field and protect our country and its people, just like Grandfather!”

“Mother’s Changqing is truly remarkable.”

The gentle voice of his mother and her smiling face were vivid in his memory, as if it had just happened yesterday.

But now he could no longer distinguish whether the hope that sparkled in her eyes when she said those words was from her overflowing maternal love or her wild ambitions.

The next words were somewhat difficult for the old Marquis to utter, but if he did not speak now, he feared he would never again have the chance or the courage to do so.

He said, “The country is in peril, and I know you wouldn’t let any resentment towards me lead to disputes in our military decisions, but I still need to tell you plainly, I did not kill your mother.”

His heart was not at peace either.

No matter how many years had passed, the memory of Miss Ling’s matter still caused uncontrollable turbulence in his heart.

Struggling to find the words, the old Marquis said, “During the time your mother fell ill, she was secretly communicating closely with cohorts of the former dynasty. I inadvertently discovered a secret letter she failed to destroy in time and learned she had been conspiring in the shadows. I didn’t know who she was in contact with at the time, but the letter was filled with inquiries about the movements of the Gu Family Army, prompting my suspicion. I had the shadow guards watch her and intercepted a few secret letters, eventually confirming her identity.”

“You are a general of the court; you should understand what it would mean for our family if a spy for the former dynasty were revealed. To put an end to the matter, I planned to execute her in secret. But when I thought about you… and your two younger brothers, I changed my mind. I decided I had to confront her personally.”

He had not anticipated that Lady Ling would witness that confrontation.

The old Marquis went on, “I went to see your mother, threw the secret letter in front of her, and demanded an explanation. She did not attempt to defend herself; she admitted it immediately. She said she was a spy of the former dynasty, her initial purpose in infiltrating the Marquis Residence was to target me for assassination, but since I was rarely home, she couldn’t find the opportunity. Then you were born. Seeing how much I doted on you, the remnants of the former dynasty devised a new plan, deciding to let you take over the Gu Family Army. You lived up to expectations, gaining my full trust and hopes. Yet, things are constantly changing and evolving, and the remnants were no longer content with just controlling the Gu Family Army—they set their sights on you.”

Gu Changqing’s eyes flickered slightly.

“You have two younger brothers; in fact, any one of them could inherit the Gu Family Army. They just needed a puppet master,” the old Marquis said, his gaze suddenly gaining a hint of chill, “They wanted to take you away, to train you into their finest assassin… Your mother disagreed.”

Gu Changqing clenched his fists, his forehead’s veins slowly bulging.

The old marquis said somberly, “Your mother was well aware of their methods and fully understood the consequences of betraying them. To prevent them from taking you away and to avoid becoming a tool for those people to threaten your three brothers with, she… killed the remnants of the previous dynasty who came to abduct you, then chose to commit suicide.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Changqing’s body began to tremble slightly.

The old marquis looked at him, a pain crossing his heart, and sighed, “There is no wall in the world that doesn’t have ears, but sometimes, we have no choice but to make a desperate move.”

There was no other choice in the death of Madam Xiao; he also had no choice but to keep it from the emperor.

When the emperor originally plotted with him to pretend to disband the Gu Family’s army to lower the Empress Dowager’s guard, he was actually relieved. Not having to inherit the command of the Gu Family’s army might have been good for Gu Changqing.

If he didn’t take that position, it would not be so easy for him to become a target.

But contrary to his wishes, Gu Changqing led the hundred-thousand-strong Gu Family’s army towards the frontier with the full authority of a commanding general.

The means by which the remnants of the previous dynasty dealt with traitors were appalling; the old marquis couldn’t even imagine how they would take revenge on Madam Xiao’s son.

He would have preferred that Gu Changqing had never come to the frontier, preferred to die there himself, and preferred to hand over the Gu Family’s army to Tang Yueshan for him to lead, rather than watch as Gu Changqing exposed himself to the remnants of the previous dynasty.

The old marquis currently felt such regret because he was still unaware that his other grandson and Gu Jiao had also come to the frontier. They too were descendants of the Marquis Residence, and the remnants of the previous dynasty would not spare either of them.

But what the remnants of the previous dynasty hated most was still Gu Changqing.

The dead soldiers who should have been theirs had become their enemies.

On the other side of the room, Gu Chengfeng was completely dumbfounded.

The shock he experienced was even greater than Gu Changqing’s.

First, he hadn’t known that his elder brother was here; if his brother could come to the farther Governor’s Mansion to visit their grandfather, why didn’t he visit the wounded soldiers camp to see him?

Next was the death of Madam Xiao. He had originally thought his mother died from anger caused by the Yao Family, and after the Yao Family’s name was cleared, he thought his mother had died from illness.

But now, he was being told that his mother was driven to suicide by others?

And if his mother was an agent of the previous dynasty, then he… wasn’t he a half-agent himself?!

Gu Jiao, having heard this far, combined it with her previous dreams, and many mysteries were solved. No wonder she felt that the remnants of the previous dynasty seemed to be exacting revenge on the Gu Family; it was actually punishment for Madam Xiao’s betrayal.

First, they decapitated Gu Chengfeng and the old marquis, then exterminated the Gu Family’s army and cut off Gu Changqing’s legs, condemning Madam Xiao to eternal unrest.

Look at what your son, who you refused to hand over, has become and see how the Gu Family’s army that you couldn’t secure for us has all turned into corpses.

If they can’t have it, they’d destroy it, disgustingly perverse!

Tang Yueshan was the last to pry his ear away from the wall.

Frankly, he was quite shocked.

He had never expected that the seemingly orderly Marquis Residence would have committed such a terrible blunder!

So what if he and his sister-in-law had an affair! So what if Tang Ming was licentiously willful outside!

Was marrying an agent of the previous dynasty and producing three little agents such a deep sin?!

Suddenly, Tang Yueshan felt his image was unprecedentedly radiant and grand! He was thankful for the contrast offered by his colleagues!

After the shock, Tang Yueshan started calculating his own plans in his mind.

If he reported one, two, or three little agents of the previous dynasty to the Empress Dowager and the emperor, how much merit could he claim?

Just as this thought flashed through his mind, Tang Yueshan felt a chill on his forehead. Coming back to his senses, he focused and saw Gu Jiao standing in front of him with a huge needle in her hand.

His face went pale with shock, his body tensed, “What are you doing!”

Gu Jiao pushed the plunger of the syringe, “Giving you a shot, to mute you with poison!”

Tang Yueshan: “…!!!”