The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 685 - 685 324 Progress (two updates)

Chapter 685: 324 Progress (two updates) Chapter 685: 324 Progress (two updates) After all, Gu Jiao was not a real man. There was no rule about her refraining from physical contact with others due to gender, but she was still not comfortable being so physically close to someone. Therefore, when Mo Qianxue finished wiping her forehead and moved to wipe her neck, Gu Jiao grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Mo Qianxue gave Gu Jiao a reprimanding look, then attempted to remove Gu Jiao’s mask with her other hand, only for Gu Jiao to catch that wrist as well.

Despite mastering martial arts, Mo Qianxue was no match for Gu Jiao, and she was immobilized. Irritated, she huffed, “Fine, got it, I won’t touch you! Do it yourself!”

With that, Gu Jiao released her hands.

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Mo Qianxue snorted, tossing a cloth to Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao then proceeded to wipe the sweat off her own neck.

The weather was unbearably hot, and with the added layers of a chest binder and a mask, she felt like she was in an oven. Fortunately, the position of Mo Qianxue’s room was in the shade, allowing it to stay cool in the summer, and there was also an ice basin, which was most likely the only reason Gu Jiao hadn’t passed out from heatstroke.

Gu Jiao returned the used cloth to a copper basin and without delay, a maid came in to collect and take it away.

“Xiaowu, are there any lychees left from this morning’s delivery?” Mo Qianxue asked.

The maid called Xiaowu replied, “Yes, there are some left. I’ll bring them to you right away!”

Shortly afterwards, Xiaowu brought in a plate of chilled lychees. Each one was large and full, their color a vibrant red, and they appeared as if they had just been picked from the tree.

Lychees were not grown in Capital City. They were brought over from the south by fast riders, requiring not only speed but also constant ice replacement along the ride — the slightest delay could cause the fruit to spoil upon arrival.

This was an extremely luxurious fruit. Gu Jiao had only had the chance to eat them in the Renshou Palace before. According to the Yao Family, even Marquis Residence rarely managed to get a share of these fruits in previous years.

Who would have thought that she could enjoy such luxurious fruits in a small brothel?

Gu Jiao looked at the lychees and was momentarily lost in thought, not moving at all.

“Are you waiting for me to peel them for you?” Mo Qianxue scoffed, yet her delicate fingers picked out the largest, reddest lychee, peeled it, and brought it to Gu Jiao’s mouth.

The peeled lychee was large and round, translucent and firm, and it looked particularly succulent.

Eat it yourself, Gu Jiao conveyed with a glance.

“Hmph!” Mo Qianxue rolled her eyes, “Once I’ve given something to someone, I won’t take it back, even if they throw it away!”

Oh well, why hold a grudge against a piece of fruit?

Reluctantly, Gu Jiao took the lychee and ate it.

She had been feeling a little inflammatory recently and should not eat too many lychees.

Only after seeing Gu Jiao swallow the fruit did a playful light return to Mo Qianxue’s eyes. She propped her right elbow on the table, her finger resting on her delicate chin, and chuckled as she looked at Gu Jiao: “Why did Young Master suddenly come to see me? Did you miss me?”

Gu Jiao took out a small notebook and quickly wrote, “I’m not here to see you.”

Mo Qianxue’s face fell instantly. She grabbed Gu Jiao’s notebook, crossed out the word ‘not’, replaced it with ‘am’, and added another sentence at the end — I miss you a lot.

She then tossed the notebook back to Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao was baffled. … Can she just do that?

Mo Qianxue raised an eyebrow, “Did the tassel I gave you last time come in handy? Did you find the murderer?”

Gu Jiao nodded, then shook her head.

Mo Qianxue furrowed her brows lightly: “What do you mean? Did you find them or not?”

Gu Jiao quickly wrote out, “Halfway there.”

Yuan Tang was the one who had taken action, but Gu Jiao was increasingly certain that he couldn’t have acted alone. He must have had an accomplice.

“In that case, there’s nothing I can do.” Mo Qianxue shrugged, “I only heard their conversation by chance and picked up one of their tassels.”

This suggested that Yuan Tang and his accomplice had communicated at Xianle Inn. Not just anyone could gain access to Xianle Inn; the person was either a guest or an insider at the inn.

Even more surprisingly, the possibility that the person was the owner of Xianle Inn couldn’t be ruled out.

Gu Jiao quickly wrote out: “Who is the owner of Xianle Inn?”

“You’re asking about the innkeeper?” Mo Qianxue moved closer to Gu Jiao, a mocking yet cautious look in her eyes as she looked back at Gu Jiao, “Why do you want to know?”

Gu Jiao wrote back: “Just curious. If it’s inconvenient for you to say, forget it.”

This was a textbook move of ‘retreating to advance’.

Mo Qianxue snorted nonchalantly, “Actually, I also do not know. I’ve only met the innkeeper twice and it was always across a screen. I don’t even know what they look like.”

It was surprising that even the top brothel courtesan did not know the true face of the innkeeper. They were really good at keeping secrets.

Gu Jiao thought about what Mo Qianxue had told the yellow-robed woman earlier: “Considering the innkeeper’s face, I’ll let you off this time!”