The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1415 - 1415 688 Closing the General Ledger (Part 1)

Chapter 1415: 688 Closing the General Ledger (Part 1) Chapter 1415: 688 Closing the General Ledger (Part 1) “This scatterbrain…” the sovereign looked at the little tyke in front of him and swallowed the words “ac-count-able” before speaking solemnly, “Who told you this?”

Outside the Imperial Study Room, the eunuchs and palace maids had already knelt down in fear, even the chief steward coming in with snacks knelt at the door with a thud, lifting the tray high above his head, trembling all over.

The Little Princess was a focused child, her attention yet to be drawn to the movement at and outside the door.

With a babyish tone, she said, “Sister Shangguan Yun told me!”

A terrible storm surged in the depths of the sovereign’s eyes, “She said I was dead?”

The Little Princess’s little head tilted seriously, “She didn’t say so directly, but I’m so smart, of course, I can guess! When I asked her who her dad was, she seemed a bit sad, she said she hasn’t seen her dad for over ten years! So I thought, her dad must be dead, otherwise why wouldn’t he see her for so many years?”

A surge of old blood nearly choked the sovereign, almost causing him to have a stroke on the spot!

The palace maids outside the Imperial Study Room turned deathly pale with fright.

Throughout history, you’re the first to curse the sovereign like this, Little Princess.

In a little while, when your little head can’t be saved, don’t blame us for not pleading on your behalf.

The sovereign, holding his chest as if suffering a heart attack, asked about the content of the two’s conversation again. In the end, he confirmed that Sister Shangguan Yun really hadn’t said anything or hinted at anything of the sort, and it was all the little tyke’s wild interpretation.

Anyone else would have been beheaded hundreds of times for speaking like that.

The sovereign suppressed his rising fury and said in a grave tone, “Tomorrow, go to the Imperial Academy and study with the Grand Preceptor.”

“Ah? Why?” the Little Princess didn’t want to study!

The sovereign said sternly, “You’re four years old now, it’s time to begin your education.” He muttered under his breath, “At least to understand human speech!”

The Little Princess had sharp ears and caught his muttering, protesting discontentedly, “I can understand human speech! I can understand you, Uncle Emperor! Waaah—”

What she wanted to say next was stifled by the chief steward who had come in and timely covered her little mouth.

Good heavens, little ancestor, you’ve already cursed the sovereign to death, don’t curse him as not human any further!

The chief steward said with a smile, “This servant will take the Little Princess back to her room!”

“Waaah!”

Don’t cover my mouth, I still have more to say! I still want to speak!

The Little Princess was carried away by the chief steward.

After settling the Little Princess, the chief steward was like a man who had shed a skin; the Little Princess might look obedient, but she was not an easy child to handle.

“Your Majesty,” said the chief steward Zhang Dequan, re-entering the Imperial Study Room with sweat drenching his forehead.

By now, night had fallen, the daylight fading all around, darkness gradually enveloping the entire Imperial Palace.

Although the Imperial Study Room was lit, the night breeze blew from time to time, causing the oil lamp to flicker unsteadily, making the sovereign’s already fierce and cold face look more unpredictable.

The sovereign asked in a deep voice, “Have you ascertained the situation? How did the Little Princess get there?”

Zhang Dequan reported, “This servant has carefully inquired the palace maids around the Little Princess, it was the Little Princess herself who ran there.”

Unsaid was that no one had led her there.

The sovereign picked up a memorial and said, “That matter, go handle it.”

Understanding, Zhang Dequan bowed respectfully, “This servant obeys the decree.”

That night, a dark guard from the Crown Prince’s side, who had injured the former princess, was executed, and over a hundred of the Crown Prince’s brocaded guards were taken away to the dungeon overnight to be severely tortured.

There were three things they were interrogated on: one, whether the Crown Prince was involved in the assassination attempt on the former princess; two, whether the Crown Prince had anything to do with the desecration of the Imperial Mausoleum; three, whether the Crown Prince had anything to do with the princess’s memory loss.

In the study of the Crown Prince’s mansion, the Crown Prince’s expression was icy, “I truly didn’t expect her to show me such a fierce opening move.”

Nangong Li agreed, “Indeed, this does not seem like the former princess’s way of doing things.”

The former princess was of too high a birth; all scheming and tricks were but clouds before her absolute power; she disdained to stoop to intrigue.

After a moment of contemplation, Nangong Li added, “However, people change, and after experiencing so much, having lain low for so many years in the Imperial Mausoleum, perhaps she’s no longer the former princess we knew.”

The Crown Prince let out a cold hum, his eyes deep as he said, “After so many years, she truly is eye-opening.”

Nangong Li said, “I believe the Emperor’s actions weren’t just for the former princess’s sake.”

The Crown Prince sighed helplessly, “I understand; father is just overly suspicious.”

It was not so much that the Emperor was worried about the Crown Prince bullying the former princess as much as he was warning the Crown Prince not to harbour any rebellious thoughts.

Standing, the Crown Prince paced to the window, looking at the crescent moon in the horizon and said, “I am utterly loyal to father, how could I harbor mere mortal desires?”

Nangong Li joined the Crown Prince by the window: “It’s a warning not just for the Crown Prince but for all the princes and civil and military officials to see. After all, the Emperor doesn’t want a repeat of the Xuanyuan family’s case.”

Thinking of the events from the past, the Crown Prince fell silent for a moment.

Nangong Li anxiously inquired, “Zhang Dequan wouldn’t have tortured anything out of them, would he?”

The Crown Prince let out a cold laugh, “I truly wish he could extract something. I too am curious how the bridge collapsed, how the Imperial Mausoleum was destroyed, and how the Princess lost her memory! Ah, memory loss!”

Upon hearing this, Nangong Li almost understood that the Crown Prince had tidied up all who needed to be dealt with, and the Imperial Secret Police who were taken away were unrelated to the assassination attempt on the Princess. Therefore, no matter how they were tortured, no testimony detrimental to the Crown Prince would emerge.

With icy glints in his eyes, the Crown Prince stared at Nangong Li, “Didn’t you say there was no one usable by her side? Why then hasn’t a single person I sent returned!”

Nangong Li hurriedly bowed, “I’ve secretly investigated the Princess. Indeed, there have been no capable experts by her side these years. Could it be… some remnant of the Xuanyuan Family?”

The Crown Prince retorted, “The Xuanyuan Family was eradicated long ago, where would any remnants come from?”

The male members of the Xuanyuan Family either died in battle or were executed, not sparing even infants in swaddling clothes, while the women were dispatched to the Bureau of Servants but committed suicide one after another, unable to endure the disgrace.

Continuing, the Crown Prince said, “The only remnants are the demoted princess and the eldest grandson of the Emperor!”

Mentioning the eldest grandson, the Crown Prince’s expression grew three shades colder, “Have you not yet found the whereabouts of that child?”

Nangong Li replied hastily, “I have already instructed my men, we should have results soon.”

The Crown Prince’s voice was cold, “When cutting the grass, one must remove the roots.”

Nangong Li responded, “Your servant obeys!”

“Father! Father!”

A childish, tender voice suddenly came from outside the study.

The Crown Prince immediately shed the coldness from his face and signaled to Nangong Li with his eyes. Nangong Li got the hint and stealthily concealed himself behind the bookshelves.

A toddler stumbled into the room in halting steps.

With a beaming smile, the Crown Prince walked over and picked up his little daughter, “Lingling, what brings you here?”

The little daughter said, “I couldn’t sleep and missed Father.”

The Crown Prince chuckled, “Shall Father keep you company while you sleep, would that be good?”

“Yes. And Father should tell a story.”

“Alright, alright, alright. What story would you like to hear, Lingling?”

Carrying his little daughter out of the study, the Crown Prince’s path was filled with his joyous and indulgent laughter.

Nangong Li emerged from the study, touched the wound on his right arm, and with a chilling look in his eyes, he muttered, “Xiao Liulang, a son must shoulder his father’s debts, this time, you won’t escape!”

…

After having dinner at the Tianxiang Pavilion, Gu Jiao prepared to leave when suddenly, a Hai Dongqing hawk fluttered its wings and landed on Gu Chengfeng’s windowsill.

Gu Jiao was surprised, “Xiaojiu?”

Xiaojiu was also surprised to see Gu Jiao and fluttered its wings in mid-air.

The only one unsurprised was Gu Chengfeng.

It seemed that Xiaojiu’s visits here were not a one-time occurrence.

Tied to Xiaojiu’s right leg with red string was a rolled-up note. Gu Jiao looked at Gu Chengfeng, who said, “Take it off and have a look. It’s probably written by Xiao Hen.”

Gu Jiao had learned from her mother that during her absence these past few days, Xiao Hen and Gu Chengfeng had frequented the rented mansion waiting for her, and thus they had crossed paths.

Yet, Gu Jiao hadn’t expected these two to engage in secret communication through the use of messenger hawks.

Gu Chengfeng explained, “He has difficulties moving around in the inner city. If he can’t leave the city one day, he sends Xiaojiu with a message to ask me if you have returned.”

Gu Jiao untied the note from Xiaojiu’s right leg.

The note was written by Xiao Hen. The message was brief, starting with inquiring about Gu Jiao’s whereabouts and then mentioning an incident.

“What’s wrong?” Gu Chengfeng, seeing Gu Jiao’s icy demeanor, couldn’t help asking, “Has something happened to Xiao Hen?”

Gu Jiao passed the note to him, “He encountered Nangong Li.”

It was precisely because Xiao Hen ran into Nangong Li that he had abandoned the idea of leaving the city to avoid accidentally leading Nangong Li’s men to Gu Jiao.

With Nangong Li’s methods, he would surely begin investigating the people from Zhan Country entering Shengdu, particularly those with the identities “Gu Jiao” and “Xiao Liulang.” Xiao Hen reminded Gu Chengfeng in the note to watch for any activity at the Tianqiong Academy.

At the mention of this name, Gu Chengfeng’s eyes darkened instantaneously, “It was Nangong Li who inflicted the injury on Gu Yan, wasn’t it?”

The injury had triggered a severe heart condition in Gu Yan, leaving him nearly lifeless and necessitating a trip far to Yan Country for surgery.

“It was him,” Gu Jiao glanced through the window towards the direction of the inner city, her eyes brimming with murderous intent, “It’s time to settle the score with Nangong Li!”

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