The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 889 - 889 409 Breakthrough (Second Update)

Chapter 889: 409 Breakthrough (Second Update) Chapter 889: 409 Breakthrough (Second Update) “You’re talking nonsense!” Manager Wu said sternly, “How could it possibly be broken? Are you insinuating that we dropped the inkstone and are blaming it on your Hanlin Academy?”

Ning Zhiyuan had his doubts as well, but since no one believed him, he felt so constrained that he didn’t dare to voice his questions. Now that Xiao Liulang had spoken up, he found a bit of confidence to add, “I also don’t think it was me who broke it. The floor below is wooden, and the object wasn’t placed very high. Who knows how it lightly tapped and then split in two…”

Scholar Han turned to Xiao Liulang, “Do you have any evidence?”

While he didn’t wish for Ning Zhiyuan to be guilty, he wouldn’t absolve Ning Zhiyuan by making someone else take the blame either. Princess Xinyang was not someone with a good temper, and the consequences of slandering her servants were severe.

Xiao Liulang presented the inkstone to Scholar Han, “This crack is quite old, and there are traces of fish bladder glue used to mend it. If the managers do not believe it, they are welcome to invite Doctor Nie from our Hanlin Academy and the libationer from Guozijian for a look, they would know at a glance.”

Doctor Nie is the one who is proficient in restoring antiques among the Masters of the Five Classics.

And there’s no need to mention the old libationer; not only could he authenticate antiques, he could also forge them.

Upon hearing this, Scholar Han immediately sent people to the Hanlin Academy and Guozijian to invite the experts over.

After a careful examination, the two experts confirmed Xiao Liulang’s claim was not false; the inkstone had indeed been damaged for some years.

However, the managers still looked dubious.

Scholar Han smiled faintly, “If you do not trust our Hanlin Academy, do you also not trust Guozijian? There’s no connection between our Hanlin Academy and Guozijian!”

This was an absolute truth; everyone knew that the Hanlin Academy was part of Grand Tutor Zhuang’s faction, and Grand Tutor Zhuang and the old libationer acted independently of each other.

Old Libationer: Should I look into it at the Hanlin Academy?

The old libationer stroked his beard and said solemnly, “Alright, alright, some things I shouldn’t say; after all, the young lord has passed away, and it’s not quite proper to discuss him anymore. But we can’t allow an innocent person to take the blame because of this. The truth is this inkstone… was broken by Xiao Hen! He was mischievous in his youth, broke the inkstone, and was too afraid to tell Princess Xinyang, so he secretly brought it to Guozijian for me to repair… That’s right, I was the one who glued this inkstone! If you don’t believe me…”

If they didn’t believe him, what would they do? Seek confirmation from the young lord underground?

The images formed in the managers’ minds shook them up, and they dared not speak any longer!

The old libationer waved his hand, “Enough, I myself will go and explain the situation of the inkstone to Princess Xinyang, so you managers need not trouble yourselves.”

It was only then that the managers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Even if they had never served the young lord, they knew that the old libationer was his teacher. Since he took responsibility upon himself, they were out of the picture.

Thus, the storm passed.

Scholar Han had hoped to encounter Princess Xinyang, but even until their departure, she didn’t come to Wenhua Pavilion, which left him somewhat disappointed.

After leaving Wenhua Pavilion, Xiao Liulang looked at the old libationer with a complexity, “Teacher’s mouth is truly…”

The old libationer gestured, “As outstanding as always, I know!”

Xiao Liulang: “…”

If you’re happy, that’s all that matters.

On the other side, Gu Jiao entered the palace.

Nowadays, she was a frequent guest at Renshou Palace, no need for token inspection anymore—face recognition was enough for her to enter the palace.

She was there to deliver preserved fruits to her grandmother-in-law; recently, her grandfather-in-law had improved a kind of preserved fruit, which was sweeter in taste, but with low sugar content, allowing her grandmother-in-law to eat one more piece each day.

As she was on her way to Renshou Palace, she suddenly heard someone calling her.

“Miss Gu!”

It was the voice of Consort Rui.

Gu Jiao hadn’t seen Consort Rui for a while now, mainly because on the way back from visiting Empress Dowager Jing at the nunnery, she had faced an assassination attempt that scared Prince Rui, and he hadn’t allowed Consort Rui to go out for two months.

“I knew it was you!” Consort Rui came over and affectionately linked arms with Gu Jiao. “You seem to have grown taller again! Not like me, I can only gain weight now.”

Gu Jiao looked at her somewhat plump figure and said, “You’re not fat.”

And she truly wasn’t; Consort Rui had been too thin before, and now she looked normal.

Consort Rui said, “Only you and the prince would say that! The maids won’t let me eat too much, afraid that the baby will grow too big and cause birth difficulties.”

Gu Jiao agreed wholeheartedly; in the medically undeveloped ancient times, childbirth was all about natural delivery, and moderating food intake while ensuring nutrition was the best choice.

But judging by Consort Rui’s complexion, the maids must be taking great care of her.

Consort Rui sighed, “I haven’t been out for so long, I didn’t even know Empress Dowager Jing had passed away. The prince probably kept it from me, thinking that it would upset me and affect the baby.”

The passing of Empress Dowager Jing had been kept a tight secret, and Gu Jiao wasn’t sure if Prince Rui had caught any rumors.

“How have you been lately?” asked Consort Rui.

“Good,” replied Gu Jiao.

Consort Rui sighed, “Why haven’t you come to visit me at the manor? You have no idea how suffocated I’ve felt these two months.”

Gu Jiao looked at her protruding belly and said, “Are you still bored with him keeping you company?”

Consort Rui and the Yao Family’s expected delivery date was the same, in early October, and now she was over seven months pregnant.

Her belly looked a bit larger than that of the Yao Family.

Speaking of the child in her womb, Consort Rui showed a trace of maternal tenderness, “I’m not sure if it’s a boy or a girl; I want to give the prince a son! If it’s a son, he’ll be the emperor’s first grandson, and the emperor will surely be overjoyed!”

Such words would not dare be spoken by others, but Consort Rui was straightforward and trusted Gu Jiao deeply, which is why she could speak without restraint.

Just as Gu Jiao was about to use the stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat in Consort Rui’s belly, a woman’s exclamation came from behind a nearby rockery.

“What—mmph—”

Just as Consort Rui opened her mouth, Gu Jiao covered it with a vigilant hand!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.