The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 1545 - 750 for one night (or the first watch of the night)

Chapter 1545: 750 for one night (or the first watch of the night)

As night fell, the lamps in the National Master Hall gradually lit up.

Xiaojiu had gone to play leaf cards with Shangguan Yun, both bored, so he taught the card tricks he had learned from his aunt to Shangguan Yun and two disciples of the National Master Hall.

The four of them gathered at a table, just right.

In Xiao Hen’s chamber, four people and one bird assembled.

The bird was Xiaojiu, which was responsible for standing guard. Although there was no one surveilling them in the National Master Hall, it’s always good to be cautious.

Gu Jiao, Xiao Hen, Gu Changqing, and Gu Chengfeng sat around the table.

Gu Changqing said, "Have you all heard about what happened with the Mu and Han Families?"

The three nodded together.

With such a disturbance, it would be difficult not to hear about it, especially since Xiao Hen now had the identity of the crown prince, making it exceedingly easy to gather such information.

"The Mu Family handed over their military command token to protect the old Master Mu," Xiao Hen commented.

"Is the consequence of abducting a little princess so serious?" Gu Chengfeng was a bit shocked, "Even when the Emperor of Zhan Country was pursued by assassins, there was not so much fuss."

Gu Changqing replied, "It’s different."

The Emperor of Zhan Country was benevolent, while the Emperor of Yan Country was tyrannical; their ways of doing things were completely different.

Moreover, the Emperor of Dayan Country was also sending a message to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

The ten great families had maintained a superficial peace for many years, but a little princess flushed out all sorts of demons and ghosts from their hiding.

If the Emperor didn’t take a harsh stance to suppress them, these people might become more arrogant. Since the cost of making trouble was low, they might as well take turns to cause chaos.

"The Mu Family’s command token, now in the hands of the Dayan Emperor, will not be given to any family in the short term," Xiao Hen said in an unhurried manner. "They might appoint someone competent as the commander from families other than the ten great ones and outside the Nangong Family."

Gu Changqing nodded in agreement and said, "Putting aside the military power of the Mu Family for now, the only chance we have to strive for is the Hei Fengqi of the Han Family."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the three of them all looking at him together.

He was slightly startled, "What’s wrong? Did I say something incorrect?"

Gu Chengfeng asked, "Big brother, did we ever say we were going to vie for the Hei Fengqi of the Han Family?"

Gu Changqing countered, "Do we not... vie for it?"

"We vie," Gu Jiao stated, her gaze resolute.

"Why?" Gu Chengfeng looked at her questioningly.

"No reason," Gu Jiao said with a focused gaze. "Just feel like we should strive for it, otherwise we might regret it."

This was a very strange intuition.

Ever since suspecting a connection between Jingspace and the Xuanyuan Family, this intuition had grown increasingly strong.

To strive might be dangerous, but not to strive would be even more dangerous!

Analysing, Xiao Hen said, "Apart from Han Ye, the Han Family has many outstanding members, a clan rich in talent. Their chance of winning is still significant. Moreover, the rules this time are clearly in favor of the Han Family."

To become a member of the Hei Fengqi, one must pass three contests, two of which involve equestrian skills, which are precisely the strengths of the Han Family people.

And even with such an advantage leaning toward the Han Family, the Emperor requires that the winner must be far superior to the Han Family’s members. What does ’far superior’ mean? A narrow victory won’t do; it must be a landslide!

A victory that gains widespread acknowledgment! A victory that leaves no room for dispute!

He paused, then looked at Gu Changqing, "What are the Han Family’s intentions?"

Gu Changqing answered, "The Han Family has selected ten members, including main family members and collateral relatives."

Gu Chengfeng’s eyes widened, "So many? Isn’t a family only allowed two candidates?"

Xiao Hen explained, "It should have been a position for the Han Family to inherit. Turning it into a competition for everyone is already quite unreasonable; one must, after all, consider the Han Family’s situation."

Gu Chengfeng curled his lip, "He’s a tyrant. Does he even care about public opinion? This is him being tyrannical on one hand, while trying to establish the persona of a benevolent ruler on the other."

Everyone was puzzled by the Emperor’s actions.

Gu Changqing stated, "The Crown Prince has given me a slot, allowing me to participate under the identity of a collateral relative of the Han Family. My task is to deplete the opponents, ensuring the advance of Han Family members."

Gu Chengfeng scoffed, "They wish things were that simple!"

After contemplating, Gu Jiao nodded, "Hmm, that could work."

Gu Chengfeng turned to Gu Jiao, "Are you going to participate?"

Gu Jiao: "Hmm."

Gu Chengfeng said firmly, "Then I’ll go too!"

"You might as well not," Gu Jiao replied indifferently, "with your modest skills, you’d be knocked out of the competition in no time."

Gu Chengfeng bristled, "Who are you looking down on!"

"I should be the one to go," said Gu Jiao.

Gu Changqing looked at his younger sister, wanting to speak but hesitated.

"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked curiously.

"Have you been in Yan Country too long, and forgotten that you are actually from Zhan Country?" Gu Changqing said.

The selection of a commander was for natives only, not foreigners.

Gu Jiao: Uh, I actually forgot about that.

...

The bamboo grove.

A disciple was sweeping the fallen leaves in front of the small bamboo house.

Gu Jiao stepped forward and approached.

She watched outside the courtyard for a while, discerning nothing, then called to the disciple, "Little Master."

The disciple ceased his work and turned to see it was Gu Jiao, then greeted her politely, "Young Master Xiao."

Remembering me, huh," Gu Jiao said with a curved lip, "Is the National Master in?"

The disciple smiled shyly, "He just stepped out."

How strange, it was clearly a man smiling at him, so why did he feel shy?

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow, "Oh? When will he be back then?"

The disciple said, "It shouldn’t be too long, the National Master didn’t ask us to put away his chessboard, so he should be back to continue playing shortly."

Gu Jiao: "Thank you."

After that, she fell silent and quietly waited where she was.

The disciple, having swept some fallen leaves, spoke again, "Is Young Master Xiao planning to wait here for the National Master’s return?"

Gu Jiao replied, "Yes, I have something to discuss with him."

The disciple said, "Then please come inside and wait."

She could wait inside?

Gu Jiao graciously entered the courtyard, leaving her shoes on the steps and stepping onto the pristine floor in her white sock-like shoes as she entered the main hall.

The disciple invited her to sit on the cushion reserved for guests and poured her a cup of cool tea, "Young Master Xiao, please have some tea."

Gu Jiao took the teacup: "Thank you, no need to attend to me, I can wait on my own, go about your business."

"Young Master Xiao, please make yourself comfortable."

With that, the disciple lifted the curtain and walked out.

Gu Jiao touched her chin, not even a word of caution, they trust me this much?

As if Gu Jiao would sit here honestly.

It had not been easy to come to the National Master’s lair; how could she not take the opportunity for a thorough visit?

There was only one disciple in the courtyard now, earnestly sweeping. He had only cleaned a small part and it would take a while before the sweeping was done.

Gu Jiao stood up quietly and strolled around the hall.

The hall was empty, lacking anything that might provide some information, but there was a small study room to the east.

Gu Jiao pushed the door of the study room open without a sound, and a fragrance of books wafted out to meet her.

The window was open, and the lighting was good.

The setting was simple, with just a row of bookshelves, a book cabinet, a desk, and a curio shelf.

Gu Jiao’s reading of Zhan Country’s script was quite good, allowing her to read without difficulty, but these were all the Confucian Analects and the Book of Poetry, which gave her a headache.

She was quickly attracted to the toys on the curio shelf.

That’s right, toys.

Miniature wooden knives, wooden swords, little bows and arrows, tiny meteor hammers, little flails, and miniature red-tasseled spears.

No way, she hadn’t made such a complete set of tiny weapons even for little Jingkong.

Did the National Master have such a childlike spirit?

Who were these made for?

Soon enough, Gu Jiao found a bound sketchbook next to these miniature weapons.

She thought that the National Master collected famous calligraphy and paintings, but when she opened it, they were all childish scribbles.

"Huh? What’s this?"

Gu Jiao set down the little booklet and picked up a scroll from another compartment.

She untied the ribbon and spread it out to see—a portrait of a baby girl.

Pure and clean, with delicate and adorable features.

Gu Jiao admired it for a moment, "Hmm, quite pretty." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

There were over a dozen scrolls in the compartment, and Gu Jiao looked through them all, realizing they depicted the same person, from an infant to a young girl—it was as if she was watching this person grow up right before her eyes.

"Why do I feel like this little girl looks familiar? Have I seen her before?"

The portraits stopped at what looked to be around the age of seven or eight.

"Has there ever been a female disciple in the National Master Hall?" Gu Jiao was extremely puzzled.

If not a disciple of the National Master, then who was this girl to him?

It couldn’t be a daughter he had secretly fathered with someone, could it?

Otherwise, it was hard to explain why there were so many of her belongings here.

Apart from the girl’s portraits, Gu Jiao also found another interesting item in the largest cabinet of the curio shelf—a painting.

It depicted a military officer clad in black armor with a tall and majestic stature, looking valiant, holding a red-tasseled spear in hand.

The person’s face was not filled in on the painting.

However, Gu Jiao recognized the red-tasseled spear—it was Xuanyuan Li’s divine weapon.

So... this person was Xuanyuan Li?

Below the painting was a line of text—In memory of an old friend, second month of the year Bing Shen.

The National Master and Xuanyuan Li were old friends?

Additionally, Gu Jiao discovered something interesting—an earthenware miniature courtyard with three tiny earthen figures sitting under a peach tree in the courtyard, drinking merrily.

None of the three figures had faces sculpted, and their clothes were the same as the long robes worn by men commonly seen on the avenue.

Gu Jiao touched her chin and thought, one is the National Master, one is Xuanyuan Li, and the other... couldn’t be the emperor, could they?

Had these three been sworn brothers in the past?

"National Master!"

Suddenly, a disciple’s voice came from the doorway.