The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 958 - 958 441 Outsmarting the Enemys Plan ( Nine)

Chapter 958: 441 Outsmarting the Enemy’s Plan (Chapter Nine) Chapter 958: 441 Outsmarting the Enemy’s Plan (Chapter Nine) As the two were speaking, a faint sound of breathing came from outside the door.

“Who’s there!” Qi Fei’s eyes sharpened, and he fiercely threw a hidden weapon outside!

“Stop!” Prince Ning commanded harshly.

It was almost his instinctive response.

Qi Fei saw his young master ordered him to stop, but it was too late as the hidden weapon was already in the air. He had no choice but to exert more force, launching another dart to knock it off course.

The two darts shot through the window, clashing mid-air with a clang and sparking, then both fell to the ground next to a pair of elegant embroidered shoes.

Qi Fei hurried out the door and after seeing who it was, was momentarily stunned: “Princess Consort?”

Prince Ning’s consort had nearly been killed by the dart, and her complexion turned pale in waves.

Qi Fei quickly bowed and said, “My apologies, Princess Consort! I had no idea you’d be…”

Be what?

Coming at this time, or standing outside to eavesdrop by the corner of Prince Ning’s wall?

The Princess Consort clenched the handkerchief in her hand, her eyes flickering with subdued emotion. Her lips trembled a few times, out of either anger or fear, or perhaps both.

The next moment, she turned around and walked away without looking back.

“Suxin!”

Prince Ning, in spite of he pain tearing through his body, chased after her.

Prince Ning caught hold of the consort’s arm.

Seeing this, Qi Fei discreetly stepped back, but with his hearing, he could still pick up the conversation. However, what mattered was that his absence would spare the consort embarrassment.

The short distance Prince Ning had run caused several of his wounds to bleed anew, his lips turning increasingly pale, and sweat beaded on his forehead again.

“Suxin,” he said, fighting the pain with a hoarse voice, “don’t go, listen to my explanation.”

Clutching her handkerchief tightly, the consort looked at him with complex emotions, her eyes flickering with tears: “What would Your Highness like to explain? Explain why you captured Gu Jiao’s husband, or explain why you burned Xiao Hen to death four years ago!”

Prince Ning said, “Xiao Hen isn’t dead…”

Princess Consort raised her voice, “That’s because he was lucky! It doesn’t mean you didn’t harm him!”

“Suxin… I had my reasons,” Prince Ning said, gripping her arm more tightly, his eyes slightly reddening, “My mother was the sixth queen back then, married to the emperor by the imperial grandfather. After ascending the throne, my father only granted her the title of consort, reducing me from a legitimate son to a bastard! The East Palace was mine, the crown prince’s title was mine, everything was mine! I couldn’t accept it… Suxin… I couldn’t!”

The consort retorted, “So you kill the innocent?”

Prince Ning explained, “Xiao Hen wasn’t innocent. He wasn’t Princess Xinyang’s biological son; he was the child of a slave woman. It was after Xinyang lost her own child that she put her love into him. That child… that child didn’t have to die… It was him… he took everything from that child… His death is of no consequence!”

The consort looked at him incredulously, as if shocked profoundly, her body swaying, retreating a few steps back.

Realizing he had spoken out of turn in his moment of anger, Prince Ning’s face turned deathly pale. He wasn’t usually like this, it was that little physician Gu Jiao who had muddled his thoughts today.

Moved by guilt, he stepped forward.

“Don’t come near! Don’t touch me!” the consort recoiled again, raising her hand defensively to keep him at bay.

“Alright, I won’t come closer,” Prince Ning hastily replied, and glanced behind her, “There’s a step behind you, be careful not to trip.”

Saying this, he took a few steps back, motioning for the consort to move slightly towards him.

But the consort didn’t step forward at all.

Prince Ning, seeing the fear in her eyes and the disappointment that was becoming harder to conceal, couldn’t help but take a few steps forward again.

“Don’t come any closer!” she exclaimed!

Prince Ning hurriedly took a few steps back, raised his hand in a soothing gesture, “Alright, Suxin, I won’t come closer, I really won’t come closer. Listen to me, my actions are not solely for my own sake, but also for yours. When I inherit the throne one day, you will be the empress of Zhan Country!”

The consort of Prince Ning gave a cold laugh, “Empress? Your Highness, can I really become the empress?”

Her words seemed to open a floodgate, releasing a more intense rush of emotions that completely overshadowed her earlier horror and disappointment.

She glanced at him coldly, then, without uttering another word, turned around and left the courtyard in a daze.

Prince Ning did not forcibly retain her but merely watched her disappearing figure in the night, his brows slowly knitting together.

“Young master.”

Qi Fei approached him, “Are you alright?”

Prince Ning clutched his chest and vomited a mouthful of blood.

How could he possibly be alright?

He was merely putting on a brave front in her presence.

Qi Fei hurried to support Prince Ning into the house. The wounds on Prince Ning’s body had reopened, and Qi Fei quickly summoned the house physician to treat him.

It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that they finally managed to stabilize Prince Ning’s wounds.

After sending the doctor away, Qi Fei spoke to Prince Ning earnestly, “Young master, you mustn’t do this again, it’s too damaging to your health.”

“Has the consort retired to rest?” Prince Ning inquired.

Qi Fei was taken aback; the consort had caused the prince to be harmed this badly, yet why did his master still worry about her?

Qi Fei replied softly, “She has retired.”

Prince Ning responded, “That’s good if she has.”

Qi Fei said, “Young master, it’s probably not safe to leave the consort by herself; she’s close with both the consort of Prince Rui and Doctor Gu. If she were to inadvertently reveal something…”

Prince Ning paused before saying, “She won’t.”

After some thought, Qi Fei asked, “Shall we still assign someone to… surveil the consort?”

A cold glare from Prince Ning struck Qi Fei!

Qi Fei shrank back.

After a moment of contemplation, Prince Ning did not dismiss the suggestion, “Have someone follow from a distance, make sure not to offend the consort, and remember to look away when they shouldn’t be watching.”

Qi Fei understood; they were not to watch during private matters, such as bathing and changing clothes.

Prince Ning sighed, “Never mind, after she cools off, I’ll go and placate her myself. The pressing matter now is to deal with the problem of Xiao Liulang and Gu Jiao. No, Gu Jiao first.”

This woman was too tricky; no one knew what she might do next.

Prince Ning had never dreaded any opponents, and Gu Jiao was the first person to make him feel somewhat uneasy.

Qi Fei suggested, “Your Highness, why don’t we send someone to kill her?”

Prince Ning said coldly, “Have you forgotten how the experts who went to assassinate Yuan Tang died?”

Qi Fei contended, “She might not have been the one to act, even if she was present.” The experts had all died without reporting back, and they concluded that Gu Jiao was also on the scene based on the footprints and herbal medicine found there.

Prince Ning touched the jade ring at his bedside, “Caution steers the ship for ten thousand years. Sending too few men will not kill her, and sending too many creates too much commotion.”

Qi Fei furrowed his brows, “Is there truly no way to deal with her then?”

Looking at the jade ring, Prince Ning said, “Don’t worry; right now, she’s more anxious to deal with me than I am with her. When the time comes, I will just turn her own scheme against her.”