The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1134 - 1134 553 Merits (Second Update)

Chapter 1134: 553 Merits (Second Update) Chapter 1134: 553 Merits (Second Update) It’s not really Gu Jiao’s fault.

People have conditional reflexes, and after spending several months with the old Marquis on the frontier and on the way back to the Capital City, Gu Jiao naturally got used to putting on the mask whenever she saw him.

Now, she was wearing it prematurely.

Without it, she could still be Gu Jiao, but with it on… she truly couldn’t explain herself properly.

Gu Jiao cast a resentful glance at the Emperor in the room, incompetent at everything but unmasking people first.

Why did he have to call for her?

If he hadn’t called, she wouldn’t have turned back, and she would have had a bit more time to think.

…How rash!

The Emperor gave Gu Jiao a puzzled look: “Gu… ”

“Little brother?”

The old Marquis stood up, walking toward Gu Jiao with a face full of confusion and uncertainty.

He recognized the mask; it belonged to his younger brother. After one battle, feathers on the mask had fallen off, and he personally had someone add two peacock feathers to his brother’s mask.

The figure before him was similar to that of his younger brother, the only difference being garbed in women’s clothes!

Gu Jiao’s eyes darted around before she grabbed the old Marquis’s hand, instantly getting into character: Big brother!

The old Marquis saw those hands; this is how they had identified each other at the frontier!

He then looked into Gu Jiao’s eyes, recognizing the familiar gaze!

The old Marquis suddenly became excited: “Little brother! Is it really you?”

Gu Jiao nodded repeatedly: Big brother!

The Emperor was even more bewildered.

Could someone please tell His Majesty what was going on?

Why would Gu Chao be calling his own granddaughter ‘little brother’?

Why was the little genius doctor looking at His Majesty with kind eyes and a small gesture?

The Emperor was utterly confounded!

Gu Chao firmly grasped Gu Jiao’s hand and asked, “Little brother, why are you dressed like this?”

Gu Jiao’s eyes swiftly turned, and withdrawing her hand, she quickly wrote in her notebook, “Someone’s trying to kill me, I disguised myself to avoid being targeted.”

The old Marquis became indignant, “Who dares to pursue and kill my little brother? Could it be that my little brother’s military merits are too grand, drawing the envy of others? How about this, little brother, move to the Marquis Residence, your big brother will protect you!”

Gu Jiao thought to herself, that wouldn’t work—how could she continue to maneuver covertly if she moved to the Marquis Residence?

Gu Jiao solemnly wrote, “Don’t worry, big brother, everything is under control.”

The old Marquis considered his brother’s skills for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. Within the Capital City, unless they faced the Dragon Shadow Guard, no one could harm his little brother.

If they couldn’t win the fight, they could still run, right?

His Majesty watched this unconventional brotherly recognition with a stunned expression.

The old Marquis asked in confusion, “By the way, little brother, how did you end up in the palace?”

Gu Jiao kept her expression unchanged and, after finishing writing, lifted her notebook, “Summoned by His Majesty!”

The Emperor: “…”

So now we’re impersonating imperial edicts in front of His Majesty?

The old Marquis, holding Gu Jiao’s hand, entered the Imperial Study Room and bowed to the Emperor, “Your Majesty, you requested the presence of my little brother to bestow rewards upon him, didn’t you? I knew Your Majesty is a wise sovereign, always clear about rewards and punishments! It was my sworn little brother who snuck into the Governor’s Mansion and rescued me. He fought side by side with Grand Marshal Tang Yueshan, keeping the flag of Zhan Country and the city battlements safe. He cared for the plague victims, and he was the one who rooted out the remnants of the former dynasty! Please ensure that his contributions are not mistakenly awarded to someone else.”

The Emperor: “…”

The reason the old Marquis knew all these deeds were done by his little brother was that he asked Gu Chengfeng every day where his little brother had gone.

Gu Chengfeng couldn’t fabricate stories out of nowhere, so he had to tell him about Gu Jiao’s whereabouts—how she went to Lingguan City, how she saved plague victims, and even how she accidentally dismantled the former dynasty’s lair.

But Gu Chengfeng didn’t refer to her as “your granddaughter,” instead saying “your brother.”

With the old Marquis confined to the ward due to severe injuries, his information mainly came from Gu Chengfeng. Since neither Tang Yueshan nor Gu Changqing spilled the beans, Gu Jiao’s disguise remained tightly concealed.

“Your Majesty, I have overheard some rumors from the cabinet and the public that Princess Ning An performed great deeds on the frontier and should be titled as the Grand Marshal Protector. I mean no disrespect toward Princess Ning An, but I really don’t understand where the merit talk comes from! At that time, I was imprisoned in the Governor’s Mansion, and I am well aware of the situation there. Princess Ning An did not coordinate an inside-out operation with me. It was he who bravely entered the Governor’s Mansion, he who carried my second son out of Lingguan City, he who joined hands with Grand Marshal Tang to fight the pursuers. My safe return to Yuegu City is all thanks to my sworn little brother!”

“Defending the city, fighting the enemy, it was my sworn brother; the one who saved both me and the princess was also my sworn brother! Princess Ning An is righteous and her ethnic spirit is laudable. If Your Majesty wishes to confer on her the title of Grand Princess, I have no objection. But the title of protector… is not something everyone is qualified to bear!”

As the old Marquis spoke, he didn’t care how dark the Emperor’s face had become. Lifting his robe hem and bearing the pain, he knelt on one knee and solemnly said, “I hereby petition, please confer the title of Marquis Protector upon my little brother Gu!”

Emperor: “…!!”

What in the world is all this!!!

It took such a huge effort for the Emperor to suppress the impulse to tear off Gu Jiao’s little vest. Perhaps it was his age making him talkative, and the old Marquis went on and on, but his main point did not change—he wanted to grant a marquisate to his sworn brother.

The Emperor’s mouth twitched as he thought, shared blessings indeed, sharing a marquisate too, huh!

After the old Marquis left, Gu Jiao remained in the Imperial Study Room, her big eyes blinking.

The Emperor took a sip of his calming tea to settle his nerves and gave her a sidelong glance, “Don’t get any wild ideas; I will not make you a marquis!”

Gu Jiao: “Oh.”

The Emperor put down his teacup, “I said I wouldn’t, so I won’t!”

Gu Jiao spread her hands: “Oh.”

The Emperor took a deep breath and asked, “What business do you have with me?”

“Here.” Gu Jiao took out a petition from her bosom.

The Emperor recognized the handwriting as that of the old Sacrificial Official. He casually flipped through it, then placed the petition on the desk.

As Gu Jiao said her goodbyes and turned to leave,

The Emperor watched her nonchalant, receding figure, clenched his fist, and gritted his teeth, “I am the Emperor, my words are absolute! If I say no marquisate, then no marquisate it shall be!”

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow: Oh.

…

Medical Hall.

Mo Qianxue was still not allowed to get out of bed, so she propped herself up against the headboard, idly braiding red strings.

Little Jiang Li came to work at the Medical Hall and glanced at the red string in Mo Qianxue’s hands, saying, “Sister Mo, that’s not how you braid the red string!”

Mo Qianxue choked a bit and retorted, “How is it not? I see you braiding it just like this!”

Little Jiang Li passed her own braided red string to her, “The middle finger should hook this strand, then wrap the index finger inward, not outward.”

Mo Qianxue grumbled, “Why is it so complicated?”

It’s much more difficult than practicing martial arts!

Little Jiang Li understandingly offered, “If Sister Mo doesn’t want to braid this, we can play something else.”

Mo Qianxue stubbornly declared, “No, I want this one!”

Little Jiang Li sighed, “Well, okay then, I’ll unravel it and show you from the beginning again.”

Little did she know this was the eleventh time Little Jiang Li was unraveling it.

Mo Qianxue’s hands, which had been praised for their skill with hidden weapons, couldn’t manage a single strand of string, something she found infuriating!

“Sister Mo, watch closely.”

Little Jiang Li no longer sat on the stool but leaned over the bed. She lifted the red string with both hands but had just tied a knot when a hidden weapon broke through the window, shooting straight at Little Jiang Li’s shoulder.

Mo Qianxue’s eyes flickered, and she swiftly caught the hidden weapon!

But it was coated with paralysis powder, which Little Jiang Li breathed in through her nose and mouth. In a matter of moments, she keeled over and fell unconscious atop Mo Qianxue.

Such a small dose was useless against Mo Qianxue.

Mo Qianxue threw the hidden weapon back out the window.

A muffled sound followed, indicating the weapon had hit something.

Soon, the window lattices were pulled open from the outside, and Hua Xiyao gracefully leapt inside.

She pulled out the hidden weapon lodged in the handle of her fan and drawled with a leisurely smile, “Just a little joke, sister, why the anger? If I really wanted to kill her, it wouldn’t be coated with paralysis medicine but poison.”

“What brings you here again?” Mo Qianxue asked coldly.

Hua Xiyao shook her fan, smiling seductively: “I’ve come to tell you that the three-day deadline is up. When do you plan to make your move?”

Mo Qianxue replied unflinchingly, “Tell the young master that once my injuries have healed, I’ll naturally have the strength to move.”

Hua Xiyao sneered, “An injury to the tendons takes a hundred days to heal. Does sister plan to recover until next year? Surely you haven’t become soft-hearted and unable to do it, have you? Sister, you’re living here like a pampered lady, free from being a courtesan, not having to please those disgusting men. You must be…indulging in it beyond extrication, right?”

Mo Qianxue spoke without hesitation, “When have I ever pleased those disgusting men? Don’t project your ways onto me, Hua Xiyao!”

Hua Xiyao’s expression darkened, “The young master told me to tell you that there’s a change in the plan. Within three days, lure her out of the Capital City!”