The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1204 - 1204 587 Awakening (first update)

Chapter 1204: 587 Awakening (first update) Chapter 1204: 587 Awakening (first update) The wind was gentle, the sun was bright, everything pleasant and serene.

Gu Jiao woke to a cacophony of chirping birds. As she opened her eyes, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar room.

Given her nature, she should have been immediately alert, but she wasn’t.

The pillow and blanket carried a familiar scent, inexplicably reassuring.

Creak—

The door cracked open slightly, and a tall figure slipped inside.

It was Long Yi.

He entered, brandishing a large spatula, and ambled about the room.

Almost instantly, Gu Jiao shut her eyes again.

Leaning over, Long Yi stared intently at Gu Jiao for a long while, seemingly puzzled as to why she hadn’t awoken despite the noise he had heard.

In the end, Long Yi still left with his spatula.

Gu Jiao let out a sigh of relief in her mind.

She certainly didn’t want to be fed with Long Yi’s spatula.

The ambience of the bed and Long Yi guarding the door convinced Gu Jiao that she was in a safe situation.

Creak—

The door was pushed open again, and Gu Jiao instinctively closed her eyes—worried it might be Long Yi causing trouble again.

But the footsteps she heard were not Long Yi’s.

Opening her eyes, Gu Jiao turned her head toward the door.

Xiao Hen strode toward the bed. Seeing her eyes open, he quickly asked, “Awake?”

“Mhm,” Gu Jiao hummed a response.

Xiao Hen crouched beside the bed, reached out his slender, jade-like hand to touch her forehead, “No fever.”

“How long have I slept?” asked Gu Jiao.

“Three days,” Xiao Hen replied.

“That long,” murmured Gu Jiao.

“This is the mansion on Vermilion Bird Avenue. I told my family that my mother is suffering from heartache, and that you are staying here to care for her,” Xiao Hen said as he sat down on the stool by the bed, meticulously examining Gu Jiao. He asked softly, “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Shaking her head, Gu Jiao said, “No, just a bit weak from sleeping too much.”

“It’s normal to feel that way after a long sleep. Let me help you sit up.”

Xiao Hen’s words came too late, as Gu Jiao had already attempted to sit up by herself, only to stiffen halfway and then lie back down, “I seem to lack strength.”

Xiao Hen: “…”

Xiao Hen helped the “weak” person sit up.

She was wearing a thin nightshirt, and he could almost feel the warmth and delicacy of her arm with the tips and palms of his fingers.

Xiao Hen’s lashes trembled slightly. He placed a cushion behind her and took a light coat from the wardrobe to drape over her.

It was clothing that Princess Xinyang had specially commissioned seamstresses to tailor for Gu Jiao. There were several wardrobes full of them, but Princess Xinyang never spoke of it, nor did she actively offer them.

“Thank you,” said Gu Jiao, putting on the light coat.

Spring had arrived; the weather was not so cold anymore. But to aid Gu Jiao’s recovery, smokeless silver charcoal was still burning in the room.

Feeling sufficiently warm in the light coat, Gu Jiao instinctively touched her neck, finding an amulet strung with red cord. She made an inquisitive noise.

Looking at the amulet on her neck, Xiao Hen explained, “It’s not the original one; that can’t be found anymore. My mother had another one made.”

The original one was lost amidst the chaos, mixed in with blood and mud in the darkness. Gu Jiao had lost her senses, and it was impossible to find it.

Xiao Hen had sent people to search for it, but the scene was too severely damaged, and the amulet was shattered to pieces.

Gu Jiao’s memories of the time after removing the amulet were fragmented. She remembered killing that expert from Yan Country, but what happened next? What happened to her after that?

She opened her mouth, “The medicine…”

Xiao Hen said, “It arrived. You delivered the medicine to the Capital City and handed it over to the guards at the city gates. Xiaoqi’s poison has been neutralized, and he’s recuperating in Kunning Palace. When you’re free, I’ll bring him over to thank you.”

Gu Jiao thought seriously for a moment, “It can’t just be a verbal thanks.”

Unable to contain his amusement, Xiao Hen said, “Alright, Kunning Palace will thank you with a generous reward.”

“What about Princess Xinyang’s Dragon Shadow Guard?” Gu Jiao remembered they had been poisoned by a worm.

At this, Xiao Hen couldn’t help but feel somewhat proud of her, “The medicine you brought back also had the antidote for that worm poison. Nanxiang’s master has already cleansed the residual poison from their bodies.”

Again, Gu Jiao asked, “And my worm…”

Xiao Hen smiled, “It’s with Nanxiang’s master. She says that kind of worm needs to be nurtured; otherwise, it would die within two days. She’s taking care of it for you for now, and will give it back to you once you’re fully recovered.”

Gu Jiao nodded.

All was well, then.

Gu Jiao: “My Red-Tasseled Spear.”

Xiao Hen: “I’ve found it back.”

“Then…” Gu Jiao still wanted to ask if it had hurt anyone, but as she turned her head, she saw the wound on Xiao Hen’s neck.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t made by a sharp blade, but was two rows of very noticeable small teeth marks.

Gu Jiao was suddenly: “…”

Seeing that she had noticed, Xiao Hen didn’t bother hiding it any longer, and playfully said, “Remember now?”

Gu Jiao lowered her head to her fingers: “No.”

Xiao Hen laughed: “You’ve got quite the strength.”

Gu Jiao denied fervently: “I didn’t.”

Xiao Hen suddenly stood up, leaned in close to her, and whispered in her ear, “Next time, choose a different spot to bite. My colleagues are all laughing at me.”

Gu Jiao fiddled with her little ear: “Oh.”

Xiao Hen felt he had teased her enough and held himself back. After all, he wasn’t too experienced himself; teasing her any further, and it was uncertain who would end up blushing.

“There’s millet porridge in the kitchen, I’ll go get it for you.”

“Mmm.”

…

“I want.”

“Mmm, I want more.”

“Good, but too much might be too much for you to handle.”

“I can handle it, I want.”

Princess Xinyang had just turned to Gu Jiao’s room and overheard such a suggestive conversation. What did “I want more” mean? What about “too much might be too much for you to handle”?

In broad daylight under the bright sky, could they be this unrestrained!

And with that girl injured, was it really good to indulge like this!

“Don’t they even know to close the door!”

Princess Xinyang drew in a breath of cold air, came to the side, and was about to quietly close the door of the two.

“Mother?”

Xiao Hen had come out, looking oddly at Princess Xinyang, who was posed in a very strange position by the door, “What are you doing?”

Princess Xinyang stared blankly at the fully dressed Xiao Hen, blinked, and then peeked inside, seeing Gu Jiao, who was sitting on the bedchamber without any disorder, cleared her throat and asked nonchalantly, “Nothing, I was just passing by to check on you. There was something on the door just now, but it’s gone now.”

“Is it?” Xiao Hen turned to look at the door, which was as spotless as ever.

“You…” Princess Xinyang’s gaze fell on the empty bowl in Xiao Hen’s hand, and she said indignantly, “You were eating porridge just now?”

Xiao Hen said: “She’s on her second bowl, Jiaojiao must have been starved.”

So it was eating they were talking about. She thought they finally came to their senses regarding what she overheard about ‘want’ and ‘it might be too much.’

Princess Xinyang said seriously: “Then she shouldn’t eat any more!”

Xiao Hen laughed: “Mother’s right. Do you want to go in and see Jiaojiao?”

Princess Xinyang looked at the empty bowl in his hand and said irritably, “With that appetite, is there a need to look? I came to find you!”

Xiao Hen said nonchalantly: “Wonder who it was that came three or four times a night to check.”

“Shut up!”

Princess Xinyang, with an icy face, took someone to the study at the end of the corridor.

With Long Yi guarding the courtyard, Princess Xinyang wasn’t worried about being overheard by anyone.

Mother and son sat down before and after each other in the study room.

Princess Xinyang handed him a sealed letter: “The Zhan Country man who went in and out of the manor has been checked out. He’s a clerk from the Zhuang family, surnamed Jiang, Jiang Ping. The introduction on his household registration and background is clear. Take a look for yourself.”

Xiao Hen opened the sealed letter and, after reading carefully, said to Princess Xinyang, “Jiang Ping is Chancellor Zhuang’s man?”

Princess Xinyang answered: “That’s right, he’s one of his confidants. It’s said that many of the schemes against the Xuanping Marquis Residence in those years were planned by this adviser.”

Xiao Hen analyzed: “If he’s such an important confidant, then the likelihood of him being bought over by others is quite low.”

Princess Xinyang nodded: “Chancellor Zhuang is ambitious. Even after Prince Ning was put under house arrest, he still hasn’t given up, visiting Prince Ning now and then. On the surface, he continues the bond of grandfather and grandson, but in reality, he’s inciting rebellion. Fortunately, Prince Ning’s heart is dead, and he simply ignores him.”

Xiao Hen said indifferently: “Prince Ning ignoring him, and the Empress Dowager no longer protecting him, yet he still clings on to hope.”

Princess Xinyang snorted coldly: “Once you’ve sat in the clouds for long, you don’t want to fall. Chancellor Zhuang’s ambition is too great, but the riddled Zhuang family can no longer support his ambition.”

Xiao Hen thought of something and asked, “What about that General Nangong? What’s his status?”

Princess Xinyang said: “Of the sixteen major families in Yan Country, the Nangong Family is ranked eleventh. It’s unclear if they are the same Nangong family, but if they are, our opponents seem to have quite the background.

Don’t think less of the Nangong Family for not being in the top ten, but Yan Country has been one of the most powerful countries in the last thirty years. Any family from Yan Country is not to be taken lightly.

However, Yan Country has its own laws, and even the Nangong Family cannot rashly raise an army and cause trouble in our territory. They dare not openly confront us, which gives us a way to deal with them.”