The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 855 - 855 391 Origin of Life (Third Update)

Chapter 855: 391 Origin of Life (Third Update) Chapter 855: 391 Origin of Life (Third Update) The Crown Prince was perplexed.

“How slow can you be at writing? At this rate, the time it takes to burn a stick of incense will be gone!”

And this attitude, it’s too perfunctory!

“Can you stop with just two words all the time?” the Crown Prince said, holding back his anger.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and wrote, “Yes, indeed.”

Three words.

Again, the Crown Prince: “…”

The Crown Prince reminded himself that it was Linlang who had sent him, and he had promised Linlang not to lose his temper with the other party, but to converse amicably.

Speaking of which, it was quite frustrating, the august Crown Prince having to speak subserviently to a nobody from the Jianghu!

Forget it, in order to get Linlang to visit Old Master Meng in Yan Country, he would swallow this indignity!

The Crown Prince steadied himself and looked toward the screen, saying, “Back to the matter at hand, this young master called you here because…”

Smack!

Before he could finish his words, Gu Jiao closed her little notebook and stood up, pointing towards the incense she had lit upon entering.

Time was up.

The Crown Prince: “…!!”

The Crown Prince clenched his teeth: “This young master will pay more!”

Gu Jiao, without turning her head, waved her hand dismissively and threw out a note—next appointment.

The Crown Prince was so angry he could spit blood—

Was Gu Jiao deliberately trying to embarrass the Crown Prince?

Of course, she was.

She hadn’t forgotten the disdainful look the Crown Prince had given Xiao Liulang the last time they had eaten at Zhou’s place, bullying her husband, huh?

Gu Jiao went to find Old He and wrote in her notebook: “Next time this Mr. Xiao comes, the starting bid is one hundred taels, add your ten taels, one hundred and ten taels total.”

Old He was flabbergasted, thinking, do you see yourself as the courtesan of Xianle Inn? Naming such an exorbitant price!

“Why?” he asked.

Gu Jiao curled the corner of her lip and wrote: “Family price.”

Old He: “…”

It was still early, and the Hanlin Academy had not yet been dismissed. Gu Jiao went back to Bishui Alley to change her clothes.

She was just about to leave to pick up Xiao Liulang when Eunuch Qin arrived.

Eunuch Qin had come to see Gu Jiao. He smiled and said, “The Empress Dowager just returned from Jinluan Hall and learned that Miss Gu waited in Renshou Palace for a whole morning. Why didn’t you send someone to report to the Empress Dowager?”

Gu Jiao replied, “It’s alright, grandaunt is busy. It’s the same if I visit her another time.”

Not arrogant despite favoritism, always knowing her place—this was something that Eunuch Qin found remarkable, something even Noble Consort Zhuang and the few young masters of the Zhuang family had difficulty achieving.

Eunuch Qin handed the two food boxes he was carrying to Gu Jiao: “This box contains chilled fruits, and this one contains pastries from the Imperial Kitchen. The Empress Dowager asked me to deliver them to Miss Gu.”

“Thanks to Eunuch Qin,” Gu Jiao said as she took the food boxes, “Please come in and have a cup of tea before you go.”

With the weather being strangely hot, Eunuch Qin was indeed thirsty.

He entered the main hall with Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao poured him a cup of cool tea.

“Thank you, Miss Gu,” Eunuch Qin said as he took the cup with both hands, gulping down the drink. Setting the teacup down, he spoke to Gu Jiao with a pleased expression, “This servant must take his leave now to report back to the Empress Dowager.”

“I’ll see you out, Eunuch.”

“No need, no need.”

Gu Jiao still insisted on escorting him to the door.

In the moment Eunuch Qin turned to board the carriage, she suddenly called out to him, “Eunuch Qin.”

Eunuch Qin turned around and asked, “Does Miss Gu have any further instructions?”

Gu Jiao said, “I have a question to ask.”

Eunuch Qin replied, “Miss Gu need only speak, and this servant will hide nothing and tell all.”

Gu Jiao gestured and asked, “What’s the deal with the square box on the Duobao Pavilion shelf containing tiger-head shoes?”

Eunuch Qin’s smile froze for a moment.

“Never mind, Eunuch, go ahead and get in the carriage.” She was only asking out of curiosity and wouldn’t insist if he couldn’t tell her.

“…They are the young master’s shoes,” Eunuch Qin spoke softly.

The only young masters Gu Jiao could think of were two, “Princess Ning An or His Majesty?”

Eunuch Qin sighed and said, “Neither, it was the Empress Dowager’s own flesh and blood, but unfortunately, the child died at birth.”

“My aunt… had a child?” Gu Jiao had never heard anyone mention this.

Eunuch Qin nodded sadly, “It’s a pity the child was stillborn. He was not recorded in the family registry, nor did he hold a place in the order of imperial heirs. Had the young master survived, he would be the same age as His Majesty by now. The young master’s birthday was only three days apart from His Majesty’s.”

Gu Jiao fell silent.

Eunuch Qin opened up as if he couldn’t hold back anymore, “Actually, if this hadn’t happened, His Majesty might not have been sent to Consort Jing to be raised. At that time, the Empress was in favor, and the late Emperor actually wanted to hand His Majesty over to the Empress to be raised after his birth.”

Gu Jiao puzzledly said, “At that time, my aunt was also pregnant, right? Since my aunt had her own child, why does she need to raise another one?”

Eunuch Qin explained, “The imperial physician checked the pulse and declared that the palace maid was carrying a prince, while it was uncertain with the Empress Dowager’s. The late Emperor thus thought that if the Empress Dowager had a princess, giving her a prince as well wouldn’t be too bad.”

She had only heard of pulse diagnosis predicting the pregnancy term, never the gender; people in the palace were indeed desperate to survive.

“What happened later?” inquired Gu Jiao.

“Later…” Eunuch Qin gave a bitter smile, “The Empress had complications first, giving birth to a stillborn. A stillborn was an ominous portent in the royal family, and coupled with the manipulation by some villainous individuals, His Majesty was enraged, casting his wrath upon the Empress. Three days later, that palace maid indeed birthed a prince, but His Majesty did not deliver him to Kunning Palace as promised and instead gave him to Consort Jing of Qianxi Hall.”

My aunt must have eagerly awaited the birth of that child, right? She just hadn’t anticipated that her child would pass away as soon as it was born.

What Eunuch Qin didn’t say was that the Empress was still young at the time, just a naive girl of seventeen or eighteen, who hadn’t yet despaired of the Forbidden City. She longed for her first child.

But when her child was born a cold, lifeless stillborn, she crumbled completely. She held her baby and started to cry heart-wrenchingly.

The cries from Kunning Palace continued all through the night. She cried away all the tears of her life and cried her vibrant heart to death.

“How coincidental that just as my aunt gave birth to a stillborn, the palace maid birthed a prince three days apart. Didn’t anyone suspect anything?”

“Miss Gu, are you suggesting that the Empress Dowager was the victim of someone’s plot? That’s unclear.” Eunuch Qin wiped away his tears, “When the Empress first entered the palace, she was very naive and didn’t guard against many things. By the time she finally understood to be wary, she could no longer find any clues.”

Who is born so strong?

They are merely forced to pick up the sword and carve out a bloody path through the Imperial Harem.

Gu Jiao felt uncomfortable inside; this complex emotion didn’t need to be understood, as it exploded automatically in her heart, “That child who died… could it be His Majesty today?”

After all, it was only a difference of three days.

Eunuch Qin shook his head, “It was a baby girl.”

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