The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 865 - 865 397 Divine Eagle Xiaojiu (Third Shift)

Chapter 865: 397 Divine Eagle Xiaojiu (Third Shift) Chapter 865: 397 Divine Eagle Xiaojiu (Third Shift) The moon beamed bright, stars sparse in the sky.

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu, along with her entourage, arrived at a post station.

All the turmoil had concentrated within Capital City at this time, with no whispers of change stirring outside, and the stationmaster had no inkling that they were dealing with the Empress Dowager and a group of escapees.

By their attire, the leader appeared to be the matriarch of a great clan; those with her looked like her servants.

However, judging by demeanor and appearance, those servants seemed to have more of a dominant household matron’s air, not to mention walking with an air of complete disregard for kinship, leaving their young master far behind.

…Quite baffling.

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu only requested one room, with four guards stationed outside and numerous experts in hiding nearby.

As for Nurse Cai, her carriage had gone in another direction, intended as a precaution in case the emperor’s men tracked them this far, to help obscure their trail.

The post station was modest, the rooms equally unassuming.

“I apologize for the poor accommodations, sister,” Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu said with a light smile once inside, addressing Empress Dowager Zhuang, “I’ve grown accustomed to spartan lodgings and simple meals over the years at the nunnery. Sister, having indulged in luxurious living for so long, might find it hard to sleep tonight. But not to worry, we have a long journey ahead to the frontier; you’ll have ample time to adjust.”

Empress Dowager Zhuang ignored her, walking straight to the window.

The room was damp and gloomy, a musty heat hanging heavily in the air.

Empress Dowager Zhuang opened the window, her gaze landing on a large tree in the courtyard.

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu sneered, “I would advise sister not to think of escaping. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind carrying sister’s ashes to meet with Ning An.”

Empress Dowager Zhuang retracted her gaze from the tree and shut the window, her tone cold, “If you wish to rally troops from the frontier, just say so. Don’t use Ning An as an excuse. After all, she is your flesh and blood. Enough is enough.”

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu’s complexion shifted.

She clenched her handkerchief and offered with a smile, “What would sister like to eat? I’ll instruct the kitchen to prepare it.”

Empress Dowager Zhuang replied nonchalantly, “Spicy chicken, stir-fried lamb with onions, and a pot of lotus root and dragon bone soup.”

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu scoffed, “Those may be hard to come by. I’ll see what the post station has available.”

With that, she turned and left the room.

Of course, she hadn’t actually gone to fetch food for Empress Dowager Zhuang; she had orders for her subordinates.

“Keep a close eye on her. Don’t let her slip away,” Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu commanded the guards at the door.

The guards bowed in unison, “Understood!”

Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu put on her cloak’s hood, concealing her face, and stepped out of the post station.

Almost at the same moment, a large bird landed on the windowsill of Empress Dowager Zhuang’s room, flapping its wings.

Empress Dowager Zhuang reopened the window and immediately spotted Xiaojiu on the sill.

Did you find me?

Perhaps understanding Empress Dowager Zhuang’s look, Xiaojiu widened its bird eyes at her, flapped its wings and opened its beak, “Cluck-cluck—”

A twitch appeared at the corner of Empress Dowager Zhuang’s mouth.

You’re a young eagle, not an old hen!

Fortunately, the guards paid no mind to the “hen,” and Empress Dowager Zhuang brought Xiaojiu inside.

Just as she was about to close the window, a shadow dropped from the sky, landing silently outside onto the windowsill.

Luckily for Empress Dowager Zhuang, who remained unfazed by the situation, otherwise she might have thrown Xiaojiu out in fright at this phantom-like figure.

The newcomer wore a fanged mask, which appeared particularly spine-chilling in the night.

He bowed to Empress Dowager Zhuang and removed the mask.

Empress Dowager Zhuang arched an eyebrow.

Oh, Jiaojiao’s seemingly deceased second brother.

Gu Chengfeng, capable of trickery under the watchful eyes of the Dragon Shadow Guard, could naturally bypass the scrutiny of those experts outside. However, should they discover him, he wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight.

Gu Chengfeng signaled Empress Dowager Zhuang with a hand gesture.

Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded in understanding and moved a chair to stand on it.

As she was about to step over the window sill, the chair scraped, making a sharp noise.

Empress Dowager Zhuang, in haste, grabbed a teapot from the table and smashed it to the floor, shattering it with a loud crash as she shouted, “Didn’t you say you were fetching food? Why haven’t you returned? Do you wish to starve me to death!”

The guards outside curled their lips and paid her no further attention.

They only followed orders from Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu and cared little for Empress Dowager Zhuang’s moods.

Gu Chengfeng gave Empress Dowager Zhuang a thumbs-up.

The Empress Dowager is truly formidable.

Xiaojiu could fly away on its own, not remaining in Empress Dowager Zhuang’s arms to be a burden.

Empress Dowager Zhuang climbed onto the window sill and was caught by Gu Chengfeng, who whisked her away with light footwork into the boundless night.

Meanwhile, upon returning to the post station, Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu saw the guards instinctively step aside.

“She didn’t make a fuss, did she?” Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu asked calmly.

One of the guards replied, “To answer the young master, she got angry, smashed a teapot, and said you intended to starve her by not fetching her food.”

To the guards, this seemed typical behavior, but to Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu’s ears, something felt off.

Empress Dowager Zhuang’s temper was foul, but not so much that she’d get angry over such a trivial matter…

A prickle of alarm struck Tranquil Imperial Consort Gu as she suddenly burst into the room, only to find an empty space where Empress Dowager Zhuang should have been.

“Ah!” the guards exclaimed in shock.

What happened?

She had clearly been inside just moments before!

They didn’t see her come out!

“Useless fools! A full-grown person escaped right under your noses, and not one of you noticed! She doesn’t even know martial arts…”

Halfway through her sentence, the Empress Dowager Jing halted abruptly.

That’s right, Zhuang Jinse didn’t know martial arts; she couldn’t have escaped on her own.

Someone had come to rescue her.

Empress Dowager Jing thought of the two figures in black who had once sneaked into the Nunnery under the Dragon Shadow Guard’s watchful eyes. She was certain that one of them was Gu Jiao, but she had no idea who the other was.

Empress Dowager Jing murmured coolly, “Gu Family girl, you’ve escaped from my grasp so many times; do you really think you can always be so lucky? You lot, split up and chase after them, they can’t have gone far!”

“Yes!”

Time flew like an arrow.

Gu Chengfeng carried his aunt on his back as he rushed along a small path. The post station was secluded, and to avoid drawing attention, they had stopped their carriage a fair distance away.

In order to reach the carriage before they were discovered, Gu Chengfeng quickened his pace. He was worried the dowager might not be able to withstand the speed. “Your Majesty, please bear with it for a moment longer; we’re almost there.”

There was no response.

Guilt flickered in Gu Chengfeng’s eyes. Had he, could he have jostled her unconscious?

…Regardless, if she was unconscious she would have to wait until they reached the carriage to recover—if those men caught up, none of them would escape!

Xiaojiu was the first to fly back to the carriage.

When Gu Jiao saw it, she knew Gu Chengfeng had succeeded and hurried down from the carriage to meet him.

She soon spotted Gu Chengfeng, carrying a person on his back, presumably his aunt.

“How is it? No one noticed, right?”

She hurried over and said.

Gu Chengfeng stopped, panting heavily—not from exhaustion but from fright, “…No one noticed… But… the dowager seems to be… Can you check on her…?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings went quiet.

Then, he and Gu Jiao clearly heard the rhythmic snoring coming from his back.

Gu Chengfeng: “…”

How, can, anyone, sleep, through, this?!

Gu Jiao’s ears twitched: “They’re coming!”

Gu Chengfeng’s face changed: “Then let’s hurry up and go!”

It was too late.

A piercing sword energy flew at them, and the two quickly dodged to either side. They managed to avoid the sword energy, but the carriage parked by the roadside did not.

The body of the carriage was cleaved into fragments; the reins snapped and the horse, spooked, let out a series of terrified neighs before running away wildly!

Since the attackers were split up, there were not many experts on their trail. Gu Jiao took out two Black Fire Pearls and flung them towards the three pursuers.

With two loud bangs, the trio was stunned!

“Let’s go!” Gu Jiao led Gu Chengfeng into the nearby woods.

Xiaojiu also fluttered its wings and flew into the woods.

As they fled, Gu Chengfeng still found the time to chat with Gu Jiao, “What hidden weapon was that? It was so loud! Like firecrackers! But I didn’t see you light them!”

Gu Jiao replied, “It wasn’t firecrackers; I’ll explain later.”

At this life-or-death juncture, Gu Chengfeng didn’t take advantage of his lighter skill to tease her.

However, men are naturally curious and he was itching to know what that thing was; he almost wished he could know right then!

“They’re catching up!”

Gu Jiao said.

Gu Chengfeng: “No way, your hearing is that good!”

He didn’t hear a thing!

The ones chasing them weren’t the same three from before; they must be another group of assassins.

Gu Jiao pulled on his sleeve, “Find somewhere to hide!”

Gu Chengfeng responded, “There’s no cave around here to hide in, how can we hide?”

Gu Jiao looked up, “Up the tree!”

As she spoke, she was still running, but almost instantly after she spoke, she threw her belt up around the trunk of the tree, caught the hanging end, and swiftly climbed up the tree!

Gu Chengfeng closed his eyes. It’s not appropriate for a girl to take off her belt in front of a man, is it?

He lightly tapped his toes on the ground and used his martial arts skills to ascend the tree.

Xiaojiu also settled on this large tree.

Both of them instinctively held their breath, and the only sound in the quiet woods was the snoring of the dowager.

The snores weren’t loud, but any martial artist would definitely be able to hear them!

Gu Chengfeng broke out in a cold sweat: “What do we do now? Should we wake the dowager? It’s your turn to shake her awake; I’m not doing it!”

Gu Jiao whispered to the dowager on Gu Chengfeng’s back, “Auntie, if you snore again, I’m docking your candied fruit.”

The dowager, deeply asleep, instantly went silent!

Gu Chengfeng: “…”

Wait… That worked?!