The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 765 - 765 355 Little Unlucky Guy (Second Update)

Chapter 765: 355 Little Unlucky Guy (Second Update) Chapter 765: 355 Little Unlucky Guy (Second Update) Today’s dinner was prepared by Fang Mama but Yu Ya accidentally added too much firewood, which resulted in several dishes being slightly burnt.

Despite this , Xiao Jingkong wrestled down every morsel without pickiness.

His hopes were to grow up fast , so he could marry Jiaojiao !

On the other hand, Xiao Liulang, who was in the Pingshan Village, was clueless about his wife being fancied by the young boy. He was busy aiding the villagers with carrying timber on the field ridge.

Accompanying him in the heavy lifting was a patrol officer from the Ministry of Revenue.

About a dozen people were lined up and they were passing the timber from one to another without any need for relocation.

Not far off in a shed, the Prince of An County was helping the Minister of Revenue manage the accounts for their rural excursion.

The Revenue Ministry controlled all the national territory, farmland, census, taxation, salaries and all fiscal matters, including agriculture.

Their current trip to the countryside was set to provide relief after a disaster and also to help villagers dig channels, draw water, and reconstruct post-disaster farmland.

With a shortage of manpower, some tasks had to be taken up by the officials themselves.

The Prince of An had only appeared among the team on the day of departure; no one had received any information about him joining the excursion.

The Prince of An’s leg injury had almost healed and he could walk. He sent someone to alert the Minister of Revenue, so he was assigned lighter tasks by the minister’s side.

While keeping accounts, he couldn’t help but steal glances at Xiao Liulang on the field ridge.

Due to the heat, everyone had taken off their shirts, even the patrol officer from the Revenue Ministry had stripped his upper body, making Xiao Liulang’s white undershirt exceedingly conspicuous.

The undershirt clung tightly to his body due to the sweat, revealing how much more muscular he was than what his usual generous official robe would suggest.

His sleeves were so highly rolled up they revealed his distinctly muscular forearms

The Prince of An subconsciously squeezed his own arm.

Did he seem less robust compared to him?

Moreover, he vaguely remembered that Xiao Liulang was not taller than him a year ago when they were in the countryside. How come he seemed to have grown so much taller now?

“Secretary Zhuang, are you done with your work?” asked the Minister of Revenue.

“Almost there.” The Prince of An responded, coming back to reality. He handed over the last account page to the Minister, saying, “That’s it. Please have a look, sir.”

Xiao Liulang and the villagers worked until sundown.

The villagers cooked pancakes, steamed cornbread, and mixed pickled vegetables for everyone. They wanted to slaughter a chicken but the Minister of Revenue refused, “The imperial court doesn’t exploit its people. We take no money, no rice from the people!”

The food they ate was paid for with silver.

The Prince of An found it hard to digest, he’d never eaten this kind of food even in the hardest days in Chen Country. But Xiao Liulang happily ate away.

Xiao Liulang sat on the field ridge with the villagers, not behaving like a pretentious scholar.

One of the village uncles came over and sat next to Xiao Liulang, he cheerfully asked, “Mr,Xiao, are you finding the food ok?”

“It’s good.” said Xiao Liulang.

While Xiao Liulang was aloof, he worked hard and ignored his status. Unlike the Prince of An, who always came across as a considerate and gentle gentleman, the villagers were more willing to approach him.

The uncle, seizing the opportunity, took a boiled egg out of his pocket and handed it to him, “Here, have this hot egg! I saw you’ve been hard at work all day, even harder than our usual laborers! Auntie boiled this just for you!”

Xiao Liulang declined, “No need. I’m full. Uncle Zhang, you can have it.”

The uncle insisted and placed the chicken egg into his hand, “Oh, come on, just eat it. Last time, when Doggie had a stomach ache, your medicine cured him quick. And Uncle Lizheng, he got bitten by a poisonous insect, you were the one who treated him. Those medicines certainly didn’t come from the government but out of your own pocket!”

Doggie was the uncle and auntie’s little son.

Although the uncle was not very knowledgeable, he knew that medicine was expensive. To save the villagers, Xiao Liulang had exhausted his own supply of medicine. He didn’t know how much silver Xiao Liulang had spent, but he was certain that it couldn’t be compensated with a mere chicken egg.

The uncle sighed, “If you don’t eat it, auntie will nag at me when I go home. You know very well what a chatterbox she is…”

Eventually, Xiao Liulang accepted the egg.

Overjoyed, the uncle shared with him more interesting happenings in the village, until his son Doggie came to call him away, reluctantly he left, promising to come again the next day.

Xiao Liulang also returned to his temporary dwelling in the shack.

The shack was set up temporarily, inside there was a table, a cabinet, and two makeshift wooden beds made of benches—one for him and the other for the Prince of An.

The Prince of An’s sleeping area was more elaborate with a mosquito net installed.

Xiao Liulang didn’t use a mosquito net because he had the mosquito repellent made by Gu Jiao, so he didn’t need a net.

It was not too late, he decided to go to the nearby forest to gather some herbal medicine for Gu Jiao.

He didn’t know the name of the medicinal plant, but he had seen Gu Jiao drying it in the courtyard several times.

He picked up his basket and walking cane, and as he approached the door, he heard a horse carriage approaching. A middle-aged man in uniform got off after it stopped.

Who could it be if not Marquis Gu?

Marquis Gu came to notify them as soon as the roads were repaired. He had first visited the Minister of Finance.

The Duke of An County was also present.

Given that their families were now connected by marriage, and the Duke of An County was now his son-in-law, Marquis Gu was very enthusiastic and courteous towards him. Yet when Xiao Liulang walked past him with a basket on his back, he didn’t even bother to glance at him.

The Duke of An County reminded him, “Marquis Gu, that was… Xiao Xiuzhuan.”

“I am aware,” Marquis Gu said nonchalantly.

They had met in the countryside, and he would recognize him even if he turned into ashes!

He did not know the first thing about courtesy. Clearly, he was just a poor boy from the countryside, yet he did not respect his father-in-law. His royal highness, the Duke of An County, however, did not consider himself above others despite his noble origins.

The Duke of An County sensed Marquis Gu’s contempt for Xiao Liulang and said, slightly puzzled, “He is your son-in-law, Marquis Gu.”

Marquis Gu thought to himself, I haven’t even acknowledged that girl yet, let alone called her my daughter! Furthermore, even if he did acknowledge her, he would never accept a poor country boy as his son-in-law!

So what if he topped the imperial examination? So what if he was admitted to the Hanlin Academy? He was still a simpleton!

The son-in-law of him, Gu Chong, was the Duke of An County!

“I heard that you aren’t used to the food in the countryside. I’ve brought you some delicious food!” Marquis Gu, unwilling to discuss Xiao Liulang any further, pulled out some roast duck, crispy chicken, and dried meat he had bought on the way, and gave them to the Duke of An County, not leaving anything for Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang was unaware of Marquis Gu’s bias towards the Duke of An County and headed into the woods.

Having collected herbs on several occasions, he knew the path well in the woods. It took him less than half an hour to find the medicinal plants he needed.

He crouched down and started gathering herbs.

Gu Jiao had once reminded Yu Yaya that this type of medicinal herb was hard to come by in the Capital City, so it must be carefully collected and dried.

It was when Xiao Liulang was delivering medicine to a child that he accidentally spotted some of this green grass on their yard. Upon asking, he learned that the forest to the east of the village, near the banks of a small river, was full of this medicinal plant.

In no time, Xiao Liulang had filled his basket. He had gathered enough for the day and decided to head back.

As he turned to walk down the hill, he heard a rustling sound from behind. He felt a chill down his spine and turned around abruptly.

It was a starving wolf with its eyes glowing in the dark!

This was the outskirts of the forest, and villagers had never seen a wolf before, yet he had encountered one today.

Indeed, his luck never disappointed him…

It was a solitary wolf separated from the pack. The wolf was famished, and without much hesitation, it lunged at Xiao Liulang with its jaws wide open!

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Liulang pulled out a small round bead and threw it fiercely at the wolf’s head!

With a loud bang, the hungry wolf was blasted away, yelping as it fell. It looked back at Xiao Liulang before tucking its tail between its legs and scampering off.

Xiao Liulang’s entire body was soaked in cold sweat.

As he watched the lone wolf beating a hasty retreat, he heaved a sigh of relief, “Seems like my luck isn’t that bad…”

Gu Jiao had prepared three firecracker caps for Xiao Liulang, not more, fearing he would accidentally blow himself up.

Because he was always so unlucky, right?

Xiao Liulang reached the small river and squatted down to wash his face.

As he was washing, he instinctively sensed a trace of danger approaching.

Had that lone wolf returned?

No.

This time the threat seemed far more dangerous than a lone wolf.

He furrowed his brows apprehensively, reaching into his bag for the firecrackers as he turned around.

Not far from him, two masked men clad in black stood on the riverbank, their swords drawn. Their eyes were fixated on him, filled with murderous intent.

Good, he still had two firecrackers left. As he often said, his luck was not too bad –

But just as the thought popped into his head, the bag loosened, and the firecrackers dropped into the water.

Xiao Liulang: “…”