The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1176 - 1176 570 Major Discovery (First Update)

Chapter 1176: 570 Major Discovery (First Update) Chapter 1176: 570 Major Discovery (First Update) Gu Chengfeng had only faked his voice before; today was the first time acting as a female grandee, putting a great strain on his staunchly heterosexual masculinity.

It took Gu Chengfeng quite a while to get the two little ones arranged symmetrically.

“Hmm, not bad.”

He was quite satisfied.

Eunuch Wei: So this is what you’re like, Princess Xinyang!

Gu Jiao administered an acupuncture treatment to the emperor to relieve his condition, but the exact outcome would still need further observation.

“Let’s go,” Gu Jiao said to Gu Chengfeng.

“Mhmm,” Gu Chengfeng switched to Princess Xinyang’s voice in a second, stood up, curtseyed, allowing his splendid skirts to sweep the floor.

He then gracefully extended his hand, “Little Yuyu, assist this princess.”

Gu Jiao didn’t even glance at his hand and walked past him.

The ignored Gu Chengfeng: “…”

Gu Chengfeng resolutely said, “Little Yuyu is still so eager to clear the way for this princess, fine, you can open the door then.”

Gu Jiao looked at him with a dark face, Can you not be so dramatic?

The two left Huaqing Palace.

Gu Chengfeng said, “I need to return the key to her; you wait for me outside Bixia Hall.”

Gu Jiao glanced at him, “Is your attire convenient for that?”

Indeed, it was somewhat inconvenient.

Women’s attire is so troublesome, layer upon layer, bound from head to toe; he couldn’t even stretch his legs.

Gu Jiao extended her hand, “It’s better if I go; wait for me in the Imperial Garden.”

After thinking for a moment, Gu Chengfeng, realizing his clothing was indeed a hindrance, handed the key to her, “Then be careful. Eunuch Qin said that about a dozen servants have come from the frontier, claiming they used to serve Huangfu Xian. Does that crippled boy really need so many attendants? I suspect there’s something fishy.”

“Got it,” Gu Jiao took the key and turned to head for Bixia Hall.

Gu Jiao had never been to Bixia Hall, but that didn’t hinder her from following the map Eunuch Qin had provided for her.

She made her way to Princess Ning An’s Sleeping Palace with ease. The key to Princess Ning An’s palace had been inside a pouch, which she hadn’t opened throughout the journey, so there was no chance of it having been dropped. The only way to return it without being detected was to place it back exactly where it came from.

Gu Jiao was in luck; Princess Ning An had just taken off her pouch and put it on the dressing table before heading to an adjoining room.

Gu Jiao donned gloves and gently opened the pouch, slipping the key inside.

When Princess Ning An came out from the adjoining room, Gu Jiao had already leaped out the window.

Gu Jiao planned to meet up with Gu Chengfeng, but as she was passing by a room, she heard a series of muffled groans inside.

There was someone sick.

Gu Jiao took a few steps back and looked through the narrow gap between the window lattices, spotting an empty wheelchair.

She had a good guess as to whose room this was.

An imperial physician was supposed to be on duty inside, but he had gone to the latrine.

Gu Jiao pried open the window lattice and leaped inside.

She approached the bed.

Huangfu Xian’s condition was severe; his breathing was short, his pulse erratic, and sweat kept oozing from his forehead and body, as if he was enduring immense pain.

“Does it hurt somewhere?”

Gu Jiao frowned curiously.

After examining Huangfu Xian’s upper body and finding only a small healed scrape on the palm of his hand that couldn’t cause such severe pain, she proceeded to gently pull back his blanket.

She lifted Huangfu Xian’s pant leg and finally understood the problem.

His bone was protruding through his skin; bones often outgrow the flesh in young amputees, resulting in the need for repeated bone shaving surgeries during growth.

This type of surgery was torture, both physically and mentally.

The inflammation indicated that he needed a bone shaving surgery urgently; failing that, his wounds needed prompt treatment to stop the inflammation.

Gu Jiao hadn’t brought her first aid kit, but she did carry a palm-sized emergency pack.

She took out disinfectant and gauze to clean the inflamed area and then gave him two anti-inflammatory drugs to swallow.

Huangfu Xian felt himself sinking into a cold embrace in a hazy state.

He wanted to open his eyes to see, but he couldn’t even muster the strength to lift his eyelids.

“Drink this.”

He heard someone speaking to him close to his ear.

He was a rebellious youth; nobody could give him orders.

Gu Jiao said, “If you don’t drink, I’ll strip off your pants.”

Huangfu Xian: “…”

Huangfu Xian reluctantly drank the medicine.

He was in severe pain, and Gu Jiao fed him a pill of the special painkiller from the Research Institute.

This painkiller had minimal side effects and was even safe for children to consume, yet under normal circumstances, Gu Jiao still refrained from giving it to children.

But wasn’t this an emergency?

She couldn’t worry about that now.

Gu Jiao laid him flat, pulled the covers over him, and in that moment, the imperial physician returned.

Gu Jiao leaped out of the window sill.

…

“What took you so long? Did something happen?”

In the Imperial Garden, Gu Chengfeng asked Gu Jiao, who had arrived later than expected.

Gu Jiao looked around and said, “Nothing, I just went to check on Huangfu Xian.”

Gu Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief, “I thought you went to investigate the truth about those newcomers from the border.”

“They’re not in Bixia Hall.” Gu Jiao had not sensed any presence of a master. Either they had used drugs to destroy their own bodies and suppress their skills, or they were simply not there.

Gu Chengfeng puzzled, “Not in Bixia Hall? Then where did they go?”

Gu Jiao said, “Probably to the Internal Affairs Office. Didn’t Eunuch Qin say that everyone brought into the palace from outside needs to register there?”

“Ah, there is such a thing.” Gu Chengfeng suddenly realized and then, with a mischievous smile, “What did you see Huangfu Xian for? Were you thinking of capturing him to threaten Ning An?”

Gu Jiao gave him a speechless look.

The next second, her ears twitched, and she grabbed Gu Chengfeng, hiding him behind the bushes.

On the nearby path, Princess Ning An hurried past with Lianlian and several men dressed as guards, seemingly on their way out of the palace.

In a low voice, Gu Chengfeng asked, “I’ve always wondered, why can outside men stay inside the palace? Huangfu Xian is still young and the princess’s own son, so that’s a different matter, but those guards…”

Gu Jiao replied, “All the masters inside the Imperial Palace are eunuchs, what do you think?”

“So they’re eunuchs too?” Gu Chengfeng felt a chill in his melon seeds.

Gu Jiao nodded, “They should be.”

If they weren’t eunuchs, Empress Xiao wouldn’t allow them inside, even though Xiao Hen was so dearly loved by his aunt, who even spared a room for him, he had never actually stayed overnight in the Imperial Palace.

It was a palace rule.

“Follow them,” Gu Jiao said.

The two of them followed at a discreet distance.

They heard Princess Ning An board the emperor’s gifted carriage when she approached the Palace Gate.

The guard on duty stopped the carriage.

Princess Ning An said, “I’m going out of the palace to buy some things, I’ve already spoken with the Empress. Lianlian…”

Lianlian took out a travel plaque provided by Kunning Palace.

The guard hurriedly let them pass.

Princess Xinyang did not need to submit a travel plaque for leaving the palace since she did not reside there in the first place.

The guard was just a bit surprised; how come right after escorting one princess away, another one was leaving? If both intended to leave the palace, why not go together?

The carriage of Princess Ning An stopped in front of a silk shop. Lianlian got off the carriage, and after some words were exchanged with Princess Ning An, Lianlian entered the Silk Shop, while Princess Ning An continued on in the carriage.

The four guards, along with the coachman, also proceeded alongside.

Peering from the carriage, Gu Chengfeng hummed and said, “As expected, buying things is just a pretext.”

Turning his head, he noticed Gu Jiao deep in thought and asked, “What are you zoning out for?”

Gu Jiao replied indifferently, “Who’s zoning out?”

Gu Chengfeng pressed, “Then why aren’t you speaking? What are you thinking about?”

Gu Jiao said, “I’m thinking about the incident that happened in the Imperial Study Room the other day.”

Gu Chengfeng raised his eyebrows, “Didn’t the letter from Eunuch Qin say nothing happened? It was just that His Majesty saw Hua Xiyao’s confession letter, and to prove her innocence, Princess Ning An resorted to commit suicide by ramming into a column. Little did she know it was all in vain, His Majesty simply didn’t believe it. Afterward, she knocked His Majesty unconscious. The Dragon Shadow Guard made a move, but with a wave of her hand, the Dragon Shadow Guards fell. She then killed Liao Ping and wounded and injured herself, fabricating the false appearance of being hurt while protecting the emperor.”

“That was the course of events witnessed by Eunuch Wei, but perhaps there are details he failed to notice.”

As Gu Jiao spoke, she made a waving motion, “Like this, the Dragon Shadow Guards were knocked down.”

Gu Chengfeng removed his hat, “Did she use some hidden weapon? But what kind of hidden weapon could take down a Dragon Shadow Guard instantly? The poisonous kind?”

Gu Jiao didn’t respond.

Gu Chengfeng, puzzled, added, “By the way, where did the injured Dragon Shadow Guard go? Eunuch Wei said he escaped, but where could he have gone to? And aren’t the Dragon Shadow Guards fiercely loyal? Why would he abandon the emperor and flee?”

Gu Jiao murmured, “Indeed, why?”

“Hey, their carriage has stopped!” Gu Chengfeng announced.

Gu Jiao lifted the curtain and told the coachman, “Stop here for a moment.”

Their carriage halted some tens of steps away in an alley, while Princess Ning An’s carriage stopped in front of a gambling house.

When Princess Ning An stepped out of the carriage, she was no longer dressed as she was in the palace, but had donned a dark cloak, with the hood covering her head.

Gu Chengfeng chuckled, “Sneaking around like that, it’s obvious she’s up to no good.”

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