The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1347 - 1347 655 taels of the second watch_3

Chapter 1347: 655 taels of the second watch_3 Chapter 1347: 655 taels of the second watch_3 A breath that belonged solely to him suddenly enveloped Gu Jiao.

A streak of pale moonlight seeped through the gap in the curtain, slanting across his brows and eyes.

In the past, she only thought that Jingkong was an eyelash spirit, but upon closer inspection, it turned out Xiao Hen was one too.

Gu Jiao was once again transfixed by the sight of him.

Xiao Hen was both annoyed and amused. He had mustered so much courage to make such a shameless move, yet she was only focused on admiring his face.

Gu Jiao sat in the carriage seat, staring at him without blinking.

Xiao Hen lifted the hand that had been toying with her fingertips, lightly pinched her chin, and asked hoarsely, “Do you remember the other thing yet?”

After his voice change period was completely over, Xiao Hen’s voice became more pleasant by the day, young and clear, yet with a mesmerizing magnetism of an adult man.

Gu Jiao’s soul was utterly enchanted.

Xiao Hen laughed softly, lowering his body slightly, “Remember, Gu Jiaojiao, this is the second thing.”

With that, he slightly turned his head and kissed her lips inside the carriage.

…

The next day, after breakfast at the inn, the people from Tianqiong Academy rode their horses to Lingbo Academy.

By the Cuju field, people had already gathered to watch the match, and the stands were almost fully booked.

The difference was that Gu Jiao unexpectedly found a small section of blue and white amidst a myriad of variously colored academy uniforms.

Could it be… students from Tianqiong Academy had come to watch their match?

There weren’t many of them, just around ten or twenty, appearing quite small amongst the groups of a hundred from other academies.

Yet, Master Wu, the martial arts teacher, was ecstatic, “They are our academy’s students! Our students have come too!”

After so many matches, it was the first time their own people had come to watch, and Master Wu was almost moved to tears.

Zhong Ding and Zhou Tong waved at them vigorously.

Gu Jiao and Mu Qingchen had already galloped towards the attic direction; Mu Chuan waved at them with particular enthusiasm.

Zhao Wei had missed the last match due to an upset stomach, so he was extra careful this time.

His Cuju skills were better than Mu Chuan’s; when he played, Mu Chuan had to be a substitute. Luckily, Mu Chuan had no complaints about this.

After drawing lots, Master Wu came over and said, “We’re the third match again.”

Mu Chuan quickly said, “Third match is good. You’re not awake for the first match, and the later ones are too hot!”

Master Wu agreed profoundly, “Indeed, the third match is the best time in the morning. We’ve had good luck for two consecutive times.”

Mu Chuan then asked, “So… which academy are we up against?”

Master Wu said, “Pingyang Academy.”

In the last match, which lasted two days, they did not see the performance of Pingyang Academy on the second day, but making it to the second round meant they had some strength for sure.

Seeing Mu Qingchen with lips tightly pursed, silent, Gu Jiao asked, “What’s wrong? Is this academy difficult to compete with?”

Mu Qingchen thought for a moment and said, “Pingyang Academy is one of the few that excel in both scholastic and martial arts. Their Cuju teacher used to be the most skilled player in the royal family. Xu Ping was his disciple. After he got injured and could no longer play Cuju, he went on to become a master at the academy.”

As he spoke, he paused, adding, “Their overall level is very high, and they coordinate extremely well.”

Pingyang Academy didn’t have a Cuju player as outstanding as Xu Ping, but the base strength of a team is often not determined by the best player but by the weakest one.

Xu Ping was formidable indeed, but unfortunately, Nangong Lin and his two companions couldn’t keep up with his pace. One dragging three, he naturally couldn’t carry the team.

Mu Chuan spoke with a sense of deep vengeance, “Fourth brother, I’ve never heard you praise someone so much. You just praised them twice in succession! Do you mean that we are going to lose?”

Yuan Xiao said, “Don’t demoralize ourselves before the game even starts by inflating others’ ambitions and dampening our own spirit.”

Zhao Wei said, “I agree.”

Mu Chuan muttered, “Is this about agreeing or not? It’s about whether we’re going to lose miserably.”

As Gu Jiao wrapped her wrists with bandages, she asked nonchalantly, “By the way, is there any reward for winning the Cuju match?”

“You don’t know?” Mu Qingchen looked at her strangely.

“I have no idea,” Gu Jiao shook her head, no one had told her.

With a furrowed brow, Mu Qingchen averted his gaze, “I thought you were in it for the rewards. If you get third place, you can have an inner city command tablet of your own; second place comes with a thousand taels of gold.”

Gu Jiao’s hands, busy with the bandage, paused. Gu Changqing was fighting for his life at the border pass, and even the emperor of Zhan Country only awarded him a thousand taels.

Was the monarch of Yan Country so extravagant?

“What’s the reward for first place?” Gu Jiao asked.

Mu Qingchen spoke with a hint of awe, “First place gives you the opportunity to enter the palace and meet the monarch.”

Suddenly, Gu Jiao asked, “How many more matches do we have until the last one?”

Mu Qingchen said, “Including today, if we don’t lose a single match, we have three more to go.”

Damn it!

Gu Jiao grabbed her stick and strode out with a valiant air!