The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1205 - 1205 588 Mother and Child Heart Connection (Part Two)

Chapter 1205: 588 Mother and Child Heart Connection (Part Two) Chapter 1205: 588 Mother and Child Heart Connection (Part Two) “`

Xiao Hen listened intently, without any rush to express his own opinions. Princess Xinyang was teaching him how to find his place and make a living among the six nations, like an experienced Hai Dongqing patiently guiding her eaglet.

He would humbly learn and accept.

Princess Xinyang said indifferently, “I originally planned to lead troops to annihilate them, but then I thought about it and realized that the cost would be too great. The life of every military officer is precious.”

Xiao Hen asked, “It was after seeing Jiaojiao that you changed your mind, wasn’t it?”

Princess Xinyang looked at him with a dark face, thinking, Can’t you go a day without undermining your mother, or do you have to be covered in thorns?

Xiao Hen smiled and said, “I also think that subduing the enemy without fighting is the best strategy.”

Princess Xinyang nodded, “We must fight, but we should not let our people do the fighting. After all, the Dragon Shadow Guard are not vegetarians. To deal with a hundred of them, we would have to lose a thousand.”

The cost of such a sacrifice was magnified to the extreme after seeing Gu Jiao’s blood-soaked return.

Not everyone is born with a sense of responsibility for the world. She may be a princess, but her awareness isn’t that high.

Indeed, it was Gu Jiao who changed her mind.

Gu Jiao must have defended the city walls with the same desperation at the border, right?

Just as she did, so did the military officers of Zhan Country.

… No more people should die.

“Leave the people of Yan Country to me. As for Prime Minister Zhuang…” Princess Xinyang paused, then looked at him with a half-smile, “Leave him to you?”

Xiao Hen smiled lightly, “Alright.”

Princess Xinyang paused and then said, “Oh, one more thing to remind you. The people of Yan Country must have reached some sort of agreement with Prime Minister Zhuang. When Jiang Ping was leaving, he said to General Nangong, ‘Thank you, General Nangong.’

Princess Xinyang actually knew far more than this but chose not to tell Xiao Hen everything. She wanted him to figure things out on his own.

She couldn’t protect him forever. One day he would have to soar on his own, into a wider sky, and she hoped he would be capable enough to face everything.

After leaving the study room, Yujin entered. She had been standing by the door all along and overheard everything that was meant to be heard.

Yujin expressed her concern, “Princess, Prime Minister Zhuang is cunning and shrewd. Is it too dangerous to let the young master confront him?”

Princess Xinyang spoke earnestly, “The Nangong family, Yujin, wants his life. Do you understand how powerful the Nangong family is? Over a thousand members of the Nangong family, with two hundred thousand strong soldiers. The Zhuang family is powerful, but nothing compared to the Nangong family. If he can’t even deal with Prime Minister Zhuang, how will he stand against the Nangong family in the future? If indeed he lacks the ability, I prefer that he live incognito for the rest of his life, never entering the world!”

Having just been through a battle, Gu Jiao was exhausted, and Xiao Hen didn’t want to trouble her further, so he let her rest with Princess Xinyang while he returned to Bishui Alley to deal with Prime Minister Zhuang.

On the way back in the carriage, he began piecing together the full truth based on the clues in hand.

Jiang Ping had said, “General Nangong, thank you.”

That indeed sounded like some type of deal had been struck.

Xiao Hen also recalled another matter, when Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng had followed Qin Fengyang and overheard her conversation with a man from Yan Country.

Qin Fengyang said, “It seems there’s nothing left for us to talk about.”

The man replied, “If you want your thing back, you’d better do as we say.”

Qin Fengyang then suggested, “Why bother with all this trouble? Why not let me help you kill him?”

The man said, “If you can really kill him, that’s fine too. Bring his head to us, and we’ll give you your thing.”

From their conversation, it was apparent that Qin Fengyang had something that had ended up in the hands of the people from Yan Country.

When Princess Xinyang cleaned out Qin Fengyang’s old base, she found the money and ledgers left by Empress Jing to Qin Fengyang. It should be noted that Qin Fengyang had not met with those men from Yan Country since that conversation.

In other words, whatever belonged to Qin Fengyang was still with that group from Yan Country.

They had inspected Qin Fengyang’s luggage from the border, nothing valuable was found.

That object was left to Qin Fengyang by Empress Jing.

Everything Empress Jing left behind was no small matter; could the current situation be related to that object?

When Xiao Hen returned to Bishui Alley, he first visited the house next door.

The Prince of Anjun had been living there lately. His position in the Imperial Cabinet had been taken away, and Prime Minister Zhuang nearly cut off all his escape routes to force him to bow down. Colleagues, superiors, even his old classmates—none dared to associate with him.

Except for—the Xiao Liulang whom he once saw as a thorn in his side.

And, of course, Huo Jijiu.

And then there was Empress Dowager Zhuang.

The Prince of Anjun had somewhat recovered from the shock of “The Empress Dowager actually disguised herself as an old lady hiding here to play cards” and “Huo Jijiu actually serving tea, carrying water, doing chores, cooking, and even paying private money to the Empress Dowager.”

Why worry about so many things?

“`

His rent was still unsettled.

Gu Yan hired him to shovel chicken dung every day; two copper plates per shoveling, two for feeding the chickens once, two for walking the chickens once, and four for complimenting Gu Yan with creative flattery. All in all, he could make ten copper plates a day.

But even after a month, that was only three hundred copper plates, not even enough for a night’s rent.

Thud, thud, thud.

Someone knocked on the door.

The Prince of An rubbed his sore shoulders and said, “Come in.”

Xiao Hen entered.

The Prince of An asked, “Why have you returned in the broad daylight? Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?”

The family was unaware of Gu Jiao’s injury, so naturally, the Prince of An was also in the dark, truly thinking Gu Jiao was taking care of Princess Xinyang.

“I have something to discuss with you.”

“Sit down.”

Xiao Hen sat down opposite the Prince of An.

Seeing his serious expression, the Prince of An couldn’t help asking, “What is it that makes you look so grave? You aren’t planning on raising the rent, are you?”

Xiao Hen: “Do I look like someone who would raise your rent? I’ll raise it next month.”

The Prince of An: I shouldn’t have brought it up!

Xiao Hen spoke earnestly, “I’ve come to you with a serious matter, and you may choose not to answer.”

The Prince of An’s face changed, “Does it have to do with my grandfather?”

Not so foolish after all.

Since it was out in the open, Xiao Hen spoke frankly, “Yes, I’ve recently found out that your grandfather has been colluding with people from Yan Country.”

“People from Yan Country? How is that possible?” It wasn’t that the Prince of An underestimated himself, but Yan Country was Shang Country, and they didn’t even have the opportunity to come into contact with people from Yan Country, so where would collusion come from?

The Prince of An pondered and said, “I know you don’t like my grandfather, but you can’t slander him like this.”

Xiao Hen said, “A force from Yan Country has infiltrated Zhan Country, and their purpose is not something I can share with you just yet. Does your grandfather have an aide named Jian Ping?”

The Prince of An frowned, “How do you know about him?”

Xiao Hen replied truthfully, “The man who went to liaise with the people from Yan Country that day was him, and aside from your grandfather, Jian Ping wouldn’t be loyal to a second master, would he?”

The Prince of An’s eyes flashed with a trace of disappointment, “Jian Ping is not only my grandfather’s aide but also his adopted son. The only person who can command him is my grandfather.”

Xiao Hen looked at him and said, “I’m not here to convince you to believe this; according to the information I hold now, the people from Yan Country must have given your grandfather something extremely important. This could very likely be the trump card left by Empress Dowager Jing to Qin Fengyang, which unfortunately fell into the hands of the people from Yan Country. You should be aware that Empress Dowager Jing was a remnant of the previous dynasty, and her intention was to restore it. Thus, the trump card she left for Qin Fengyang would surely be something that could subvert the imperial authority of Zhan Country. If this item really is in your grandfather’s hands, knowing his character, you should not have a hard time guessing what he might do.”

The Prince of An fell silent.

Xiao Hen continued, “I came today to inquire where your grandfather typically hides important items? Of course, as I said before, you may choose not to answer. Whatever happens in the future, it won’t implicate you.”

After all, Grand Tutor Zhuang was the Prince of An’s grandfather.

Even if he had a falling out with Grand Tutor Zhuang, it didn’t mean the Prince of An could easily betray him.

Xiao Hen understood this, so he didn’t force him.

A struggle flickered in the Prince of An’s eyes, and after a long pause, he clenched his fists tightly and said softly, “My grandfather is a very cautious man; if you plan to search his study room or his courtyard, you might be making a mistake.”

“Then where would he hide it?” Xiao Hen asked.

The Prince of An said, “That depends on what it is and also, his mood. He used to say, if you keep even yourself from sensing a pattern, others will never be able to see through you.”

He was telling the complete truth; his grandfather’s thoughts were deeper than the sea.

Xiao Hen clicked his tongue, “He really is an old fox.”

The Prince of An added, “The Zhuang residence is even larger than the Marshal Residence; you won’t find anything if you look aimlessly.”

Xiao Hen stood up, “Find or not, we must search.”

Tonight, he would send Long Yi to look.

“Xiao Liulang,” the Prince of An called out to him.

Xiao Hen turned around, “What is it?”

The Prince of An’s throat moved, and he said with a complex expression, “I’ll go look.”