The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1210 - 1210 592 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law (First

Chapter 1210: 592 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law (First Watch) Chapter 1210: 592 Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law (First Watch) In the neighboring room, Xiao Hen peeled an orange for Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao had been recuperating for four days, and the wounds on her arm and abdomen were healing well, while the bruises and cuts on her wrist had also recovered nicely. In another three or two days, she would be able to completely remove the gauze.

Gu Jiao had never rested for so long, and she felt like she was about to grow mold staying in the room, she began to understand Mo Qianxue’s restlessness a bit.

“I’m fine now, I can go back,” Gu Jiao said, sitting on the bed.

“No way,” Xiao Hen promptly refused, “Doctor Song said you need to rest for at least seven days.”

Actually, according to common sense, she should be recuperating for ten days to half a month, but both Doctor Song and Xiao Hen knew that she was not someone who could be cooped up for so many days. Given that her injuries indeed healed faster than most people, they decided to shorten it to seven days.

Gu Jiao: “Oh.”

Xiao Hen chuckled softly and handed her the orange segments with the pith removed. He knew she was bored, so he had reduced his trips to the Yamen in the last two days, spending most of his time here with her.

“The matter with Grand Tutor Zhuang has been settled, it was Zhuang Yuheng who fetched it,” he chatted with her to relieve her boredom, “Who would have thought that Concubine Jing had an unsigned edict from the late emperor in her possession.”

Gu Jiao asked, “If she had the edict, why didn’t she produce it earlier?”

Xiao Hen continued to work on the remaining orange segments: “I guess the edict either fell into Yan Country’s hands early on or was hidden somewhere. Concubine Jing might have only found it before she died, but by then she no longer had the chance to get ahold of it herself. So, she left a letter for Qin Fengyang, telling her to retrieve it. However, during Qin Fengyang’s mission to retrieve the edict, the people from the Yan Country became aware and seized the edict beforehand, using it to bargain with Qin Fengyang.”

“You make it sound very plausible,” Gu Jiao said after eating a segment of the orange. So sweet!

Seeing her cheeks puff out as she ate, Xiao Hen couldn’t help but laugh, as she looked just like a foraging little squirrel, “These are just speculations, but none of that matters anymore… Eat slowly.”

“Mhm.”

While responding with her mouth, her hands grabbed several more segments and stuffed them in her mouth.

Why did she like oranges so much? Xiao Hen smiled helplessly and handed her the other half of the peeled orange.

She took it and pointed at the oranges on the plate with her fingertips.

The message was clear, she wanted more.

Xiao Hen raised an eyebrow, “You’re getting quite good at ordering your husband around, aren’t you?”

Gu Jiao nodded vigorously, unabashedly admitting it.

Xiao Hen laughed and peeled another orange for her.

This time, Gu Jiao didn’t eat it herself. Instead, she said to him, “You should have some, too.”

Xiao Hen replied, “I don’t like this.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Then what do you like?”

Xiao Hen gave her a deep look, “Nothing much.”

He looked down and continued peeling the orange.

As he peeled, he suddenly felt a shadow over him; it was Gu Jiao leaning toward him.

His breath hitched, and his lashes fluttered.

Gu Jiao tilted her head and stretched out her hand, pinching his chin.

His heartbeat skipped a beat!

“Uh, there’s something dirty.” Gu Jiao inspected the area and removed a bit of cotton fuzz from his cheek.

Xiao Hen’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Was it just cotton fuzz?

He had thought that she was going to—

“My lord, what’s wrong?” Gu Jiao looked at him and asked.

“No, nothing.” Xiao Hen looked down disappointedly and placed the peel on the table before starting to remove the pith for her.

Gu Jiao curved her lips slightly, gazing at his handsome yet melancholic face, she leaned in and lightly kissed the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Hen froze, staring at her in shock.

Gu Jiao didn’t pull back but kept her gaze on him at close range, blinking.

A wave of warmth rolled through Xiao Hen’s chest. At his robust age, how could he resist her teasing?

Xiao Hen’s throat moved, and his eyes hungered for her. Inside, a righteous voice shouted no, but then a wicked voice slapped the righteous one dead.

Xiao Hen reached out, grabbed the back of her head, and moved in close.

Just as he was about to kiss her, a loud cough suddenly echoed from the doorway: “Ahem!”

It was Princess Xinyang’s voice.

Xiao Hen stumbled backward, hitting the bedpost next to Gu Jiao, and knocked a huge bump on his forehead.

Yujin and the maids covered their mouths to suppress their laughter.

Princess Xinyang simply couldn’t bear to watch.

If she had come alone, she could have sneaked away quietly, but she had brought a group of people with her. With so many pairs of eyes having seen, pretending to be blind was no longer an option.

“Everyone… leave,” she frowned.

“Yes.”

Yujin snickered, leading the maids out.

Princess Xinyang glowered at her foolish son, who at nineteen was still physically a child: “Useless! In broad daylight, don’t you know to close a door!”

Gu Jiao: “Don’t be harsh to my husband.”

Princess Xinyang: “What if I am harsh to him?”

Xiao Hen’s face turned red, and his neck throbbed. In broad daylight, not only being intimate with his wife was one thing, but also being caught by his mother and Yujin was against the rules he had been taught since childhood; he had overstepped the bounds just now.

And to make matters worse, he was blamed for indecency without enjoying the pleasures of it.

He almost kissed her.

Regret!

“Ahem.” Xiao Hen stood between Gu Jiao and Princess Xinyang and said seriously to the Princess, “Mother, why have you come?”

Princess Xinyang laughed: “So I can’t come? Am I interrupting something good? Xiao Hen, do you not know of something in this world called a door? Close the door, and you can do anything you want!”

Gu Jiao peeked out from behind Xiao Hen: “That wouldn’t be exciting.”

Xiao Hen: “…!!”

Wife, stop talking!

Xiao Hen, breaking out in a cold sweat, hurried to support Princess Xinyang’s arm and sheepishly said: “Jiaojiao needs to recover. Let me walk you out.”

“Hmph!”

Princess Xinyang turned away with a flick of her sleeve.

Gu Jiao turned her face away and snorted as well: “Hmph.”

Princess Xinyang turned her head back with wide eyes: “Hey! This girl still——”

Xiao Hen blocked her with his body, leading her out: “Oh, look! The flowers in the courtyard are blooming nicely! Truly a testament to your gardening skills! Even the royal gardeners can’t match you!”

Princess Xinyang found herself being maneuvered outside by her son, Xiao Hen supporting her with one hand, while with the other, he closed Gu Jiao’s door behind them.

Princess Xinyang glared at him with annoyance: “You forget your mother the moment you have a wife!”

Xiao Hen pleaded his case with an innocent face: “What are you saying? Am I that kind of person?”

Princess Xinyang raised an eyebrow: “Then let me ask you…”

Xiao Hen sighed, interrupting her: “If you and Jiaojiao both fell into the water at the same time, who would I save first, right? Of course, I would save you. Jiaojiao and I would both save you together! Jiaojiao can swim!”

Princess Xinyang: “…”

Princess Xinyang hadn’t really come to quarrel. After a few hmphs, she spoke of the actual matter, which was that she needed to leave for a few days and would not be back soon. She had already given instructions to the Crown Prince about the court affairs; there shouldn’t be any significant trouble.

“Don’t leave Capital City if there’s nothing important, and even if there is, wait until I return.”

“Okay.”

After giving her commands to her son, Princess Xinyang, along with Yujin and Long Yi, boarded the carriage for their journey.

Yujin asked: “Princess, where are we going?”

Princess Xinyang replied: “To find another force of Yan Country.”

She had always suspected that the group that tried to assassinate Xiao Hen dared not act in Capital City because there was another Yan Country force inside.

This force was not necessarily there to protect Xiao Hen; it was likely just a spy Yan Country had planted in various nations. They didn’t interfere with other country’s politics but monitored intelligence.

The Nangong Family had likely taken action on their own, which could not be discovered by Yan Country, or the consequences would be severe.

Princess Xinyang lifted a corner of the curtain and said to Yujin, “Look at the people on the avenue, all dressed as common folk, but among them, there might be a spy from another country, a Yan spy, a Jin spy, a Liang spy…”

Yujin said: “Are there that many spies?”

Princess Xinyang replied: “We also have spies in other countries.”

Yujin was mildly surprised: “Even in Shang Country?”

Princess Xinyang said indifferently: “Liang Country has them, but Yan Country and Jin Country do not yet.”

Yujin, puzzled, made a sound: “Then how do we know which one is the spy from Yan Country?”

“Guess.” Princess Xinyang said.

The carriage stopped outside an exquisite cloth shop, the coachman went to negotiate with the shop owner, and soon after, the owner himself came to report: “To answer Princess, that Yan Country pharmacist will leave the city today to gather herbs. I have spread the word that there are herbs he wants on Cangbei Mountain.”

Behind the cloth shop was an underground martial arts arena.

No one knew that this unremarkable cloth shop was actually an outpost Princess Xinyang had established years ago.

Yujin frowned: “Princess, do you suspect that the Yan Country pharmacist is the spy placed in Zhan Country’s Capital City? Isn’t that too brazen? Doesn’t he conceal his identity as a person from Yan Country at all?”

Princess Xinyang scoffed: “Sometimes the more open one is, the less suspicion they arouse. Besides, Zhan Country is just an inferior nation, and Yan Country doesn’t need to be too cautious. Whether he is the man I’m looking for, I’ll find out if I follow him.”

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