The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1082 - 1082 523 The couple meets (second watch)

Chapter 1082: 523 The couple meets (second watch) Chapter 1082: 523 The couple meets (second watch) Gu Changqing and Gu Jiao were on their way to fetch Princess Ning An and Huangfu Zheng’s son, who was thirteen this year. When Princess Ning An mentioned him, she didn’t say much, only remarked that “his health isn’t very good.”

However, it wasn’t until the trio actually arrived at the address provided by Princess Ning An that they realized they had underestimated the meaning of “his health isn’t very good.”

The boy in question was seated in a wheelchair, his cheeks lean and skin bearing the sickly pallor of illness. He was wrapped in a thick cloak, its fox fur collar rustling softly in the biting wind.

He had a pair of narrow phoenix eyes, much like his father’s.

His nose and mouth, on the other hand, closely resembled his mother’s.

He was sitting in a courtyard filled with lush bamboo, accompanied only by four guards.

Upon seeing his armored siblings approach, his expression remained unchanged. He simply steadied the wheels of his wheelchair with his hands and said indifferently, “Are you here to pick me up?”

“Uh… yes,” Gu Chengfeng replied, somewhat dumbfounded.

“Let’s go,” the boy said, pushing his wheelchair.

Gu Changqing watched him for a moment, said nothing, then stepped forward and moved behind him to push the wheelchair. “I’ll do it.”

The boy released his hold on the wheels.

“So, uh, aren’t you going to ask who we are?” Gu Chengfeng asked curiously.

“If you’re not my father’s people, you must be my mother’s,” the boy replied. “Since my father’s army was defeated, I guess you were sent by my mother.”

“Pretty smart,” Gu Chengfeng muttered.

Sigh, to be honest, Gu Chengfeng felt a bit disappointed.

He had thought they were there to rescue someone, only to find that it was literally just a pickup.

He had even hoped for a fight to show off his skills to his older brother, all for nothing!

Gu Changqing pushed the wheelchair out of the door.

Gu Jiao stood at the entrance, her arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe.

As Gu Changqing wheeled the boy past her, Gu Jiao glanced down at his legs.

It wasn’t out of impertinence or curiosity, but rather a doctor’s instinct to diagnose a patient.

Regrettably, his legs were covered by a thick blanket, hiding them completely, leaving Gu Jiao unable to see anything.

There was a special carriage in the mansion for the young boy, with a retractable door at the back that lowered into a ramp.

Gu Changqing pushed the wheelchair aboard, and Gu Chengfeng helped close the retractable door.

“Are they coming with us?” Gu Changqing inquired, looking at the four guards inside the mansion.

“Does the Capital lack people to serve me?” the boy said dispassionately.

The question was legitimate, but it somehow made him seem hard to get close to.

Not that Gu Changqing had any intention of getting close. On their journey back to the Capital, their relationship was that of sovereign and subject, and they might well become strangers who never meet again.

There were fixtures on the floor of the carriage to secure wheelchairs, though Gu Changqing was unfamiliar with them, and the boy didn’t offer any reminder.

Just as the coachman was about to set off, Gu Jiao intervened, “Wait.”

The coachman halted.

Gu Jiao lifted the curtain and climbed up the carriage, pulling out several wooden catches hidden in the floor to lock the wheelchair in place.

Throughout the process, she was careful not to touch the boy’s legs intentionally.

After securing the wheelchair, she cast a glance at the boy before turning and stepping down from the carriage.

They were the first to depart, with the main army following behind.

Gu Changqing picked out a post station on the road back to the Capital, securing two rooms: one for Gu Jiao and one for the boy.

The main force would arrive at the station by night, with Gu Changqing and Gu Chengfeng sleeping in the barracks.

The boy went to sleep as soon as he settled into the post station, not coming out even for dinner.

The three siblings started a campfire in the courtyard and roasted some sweet potatoes and bacon.

Gu Changqing picked some fodder to feed the horses in the stables.

Sitting beside the fire, Gu Chengfeng scooted closer to Gu Jiao and whispered, “Hey, don’t you think that kid is kind of strange?”

“Strange in what way?” Gu Jiao asked, flipping the bacon over the fire.

Gu Chengfeng swallowed hard, speared a roasted sweet potato with a stick, and said in a lowered voice, “His own father died, and he seems like he’s not even sad. And his demeanor, it gives me the creeps. Also, his legs—what’s with his legs? Is he injured, or is he crippled?”

As Gu Chengfeng spoke, he suddenly felt something was amiss. He abruptly turned his head and saw the boy, who had come out of the house at some point, sitting in his wheelchair in the chilly breeze, looking as eerie as a ghost from the Underworld.

Gu Chengfeng was usually fearless, but even he couldn’t help but get goosebumps, and he dropped his sweet potato!

Gu Jiao looked at him calmly, then averted her eyes, continuing to tend to the meat.

“What are you roasting?” the boy asked.