The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 957 - 957 440 Breakthrough (Eight More s)

Chapter 957: 440 Breakthrough (Eight More Chapters) Chapter 957: 440 Breakthrough (Eight More Chapters) Gu Jiao nodded to Yujin, “Thank you for telling me all this, the information you’ve provided is very important to me.”

“The stool is here!”

The coachman came running over with a wooden stool.

Yujin patted the back of Gu Jiao’s hand, and the coachman set the stool beside her; Gu Jiao stepped on it and got into the carriage.

On the way back, Gu Jiao carefully pondered Yujin’s words.

If everything Yujin said was true, then the only possibility for the person who set the fire at the Guozijian and burned Xiao Hen was the Prince Ning.

If Yujin was lying, and the arsonist was Princess Xinyang, then harming Xiao Liulang was a certainty for Prince Ning, beyond redemption.

No matter who the perpetrator was four years ago, the one currently harboring murderous intents against Xiao Liulang was Prince Ning.

Gu Jiao took out her notebook, tugged at the corner of her lips, and wrote down a name—Qin Chuhan.

Prince Ning’s residence, on a night when the moon was obscured and the wind howled.

Prince Ning lay in his bedchamber, his body wrapped in cotton bandages, half-dead.

He had been drugged by Gu Jiao and was beaten relentlessly until the Dragon Shadow Guard finally arrived; he thought he had been saved, but his nightmare had just started.

This Dragon Shadow Guard had been temporarily assigned by His Majesty to find Xiao Liulang for him, with the first task being to locate the person and the second to protect him.

Gu Jiao had beaten him badly, but he was tough enough to take it, so while it hurt, he sustained no internal injuries.

Determining that he had sustained no fractures but only external injuries, the Dragon Shadow Guard decided he could continue the search and hauled him onto the carriage.

With the coachman gone, the Dragon Shadow Guard took over as his coachman.

Aside from having sustained no internal injuries, Prince Ning truly hurt everywhere; the driving skills of the Dragon Shadow Guard were evidently lacking, causing Prince Ning’s insides to churn violently. His head banged against the carriage wall seven or eight times, and his buttock ground on the floor seventeen or eighteen times.

He could have turned over, but he did not want his solid iron rod to be ground down to a needle.

So, he had to sacrifice his buttocks instead.

Finally, after his arm was dislocated from being jostled, the Dragon Shadow Guard determined that his injuries urgently needed treatment.

Then the Dragon Shadow Guard carried him back to the palace.

Carried…

Heaven knows how long his dislocated arm swung in midair, swaying until he no longer felt it was his own…

This was simply the day from hell!

“Your Highness, it’s time to take your medicine,” Qi Fei said as he propped up the immobile Prince Ning.

Prince Ning felt as if a giant boulder had rolled over him, leaving no part of him feeling like it was his own.

Just sitting up and leaning back against the head of the bed caused Prince Ning such pain that a cold sweat broke out.

He took the medicine bowl with his other arm, which wasn’t dislocated.

Not dislocated, perhaps, but it had been stepped on by Gu Jiao, transformed into a pig’s trotter, so it was hardly steady.

In the end, Qi Fei couldn’t bear to watch and personally helped his young master drink the medicine.

Prince Ning leaned against the cushion behind him, recalling the day’s events, still somewhat incredulous, “How dare she…”

Indeed.

How could a noble girl lost to the common folk dare to oppose a prince of the nation?

Even if she had clung to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, in terms of closeness, he was their own flesh and blood.

Apart from Princess Ning An, he was the only one who could simultaneously earn the affection of both the Empress Dowager and His Majesty.

So from whom had that girl borrowed such courage?

She wouldn’t really think that just because she has done the Empress Dowager and His Majesty a little favor, she could enjoy favor and honor her whole life, would she?

How preposterous!

Keeping company with a king is like accompanying a tiger; she still doesn’t understand this truth, does she?

Qi Fei asked puzzledly, “Young master, I can’t figure out why Doctor Gu would do this? You burned down her workshop, and didn’t she also empty your treasury? She’s the one benefiting; why would she persist in pestering you?”

Prince Ning snorted coldly, “What other reason could there be that makes her behave so recklessly?”

Qi Fei was not dull-witted and understood at once, “Could it be… she knows about your dealings with Xiao Liulang?”

Prince Ning said coldly, “Although this prince has no evidence, after thinking it over, there seems to be no other reason. It’s just unclear how much she knows about Xiao Liulang’s identity, whether she knows he used to be the young marquis of Zhaodu. And if she knows, whether she has guessed from this accident that the great fire four years ago was also this prince’s doing.”

Qi Fei was stunned. His highness was indeed thorough in his considerations, something he himself had not thought about so comprehensively.

Prince Ning murmured thoughtfully, “But this prince has another doubt, whether or not she has found Xiao Liulang’s whereabouts.”

Gu Jiao’s series of unpredictable actions had completely thrown Prince Ning’s thoughts into disorder; he had never seen anyone play their cards in such an unorthodox way. He was the most intelligent of all the princes, a past master in military tactics, deeply understanding the human heart. Often, he could forecast a person’s next ten steps by observing their initial move.

But Gu Jiao was such a… spanner in the works, greatly challenging his political acumen!

Qi Fei suggested, “Young master, why don’t you… just tell the Empress Dowager? The Empress Dowager is your grandmother and also your maternal great-aunt; she would never side with that girl!”

Prince Ning replied indifferently, “Telling the Empress Dowager would play right into her hands.”

Qi Fei didn’t understand, “How so?”

Prince Ning was a patient master, free from the petulant faults of the Crown Prince, not one who would berate his subordinates as stupid for not keeping up with his thoughts.

Not keeping up is the correct reaction, if everyone were as smart as him, could he still be an outstanding prince?

He said, “This prince accuses her of attacking me, is there any evidence? Can anyone believe that this prince can’t even defeat a servant girl?”

Qi Fei’s eyes widened, “But she used medicine on you…”

Prince Ning looked at him sidelong, “Then you find a drug that can bring a prince down in an instant!”

Even Paralysis Medicine takes a cup of tea’s time to take effect, and he did not know what Hidden Weapon had pierced his body, causing him to fall instantly.

Those who hadn’t seen it with their own eyes would never believe it!

There was actually a witness, the Dragon Shadow Guard, but it was just as well as having none.

Prince Ning continued, “Furthermore, if this prince can say she attacked, couldn’t she also say that this prince has captured Xiao Liulang?”

Qi Fei muttered, “But she has no evidence… Besides, Xiao Liulang’s whereabouts are unknown; the Empress Dowager sending someone to search is not a concern.”

Prince Ning snorted coldly, “You just said it yourself, no evidence. If the Empress Dowager doesn’t believe her, does that mean she would believe me?”

Both issues lack evidence, one must either believe both or neither.

What’s the consequence of believing both? That he, a prince of the state, actually captured a royal academic official, and the official’s wife, seeking revenge, came and gave him a thrashing. Whose fault is it then?

And what’s the consequence of believing neither? Both sticking to their own stories, she, just a servant girl, telling a few lies is inconsequential, but him, the dignified Crown Prince, slandering a servant girl unjustifiably would be unbefitting of his status!

So, in either case, he is bound to lose.

Compared to worrying about him filing a complaint against that girl, it’s better to worry whether that girl might file a complaint against him.

“Will she really file a complaint against young master?” After listening to young master’s analysis, Qi Fei began to worry.

Prince Ning considered seriously for a moment, “She probably won’t.”

Qi Fei, “Why not?”

Prince Ning, “She doesn’t like it.”

Would someone who prefers action over words go file a complaint?