The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 1444

Chapter 1444: 706 The Truth of That Year (Two Updates)_2

Master Jing’s breath hitched.

His eyes widened, and for a moment, he felt as if no tragedy had occurred, that once the doors opened, the people inside would come out smiling.

However, his older brother-in-law did not do so; he approached the two horses and stopped them from being separated.

Master Jing was jolted from his reverie.

It wasn’t his older brother-in-law.

No, it wasn’t.

His older brother-in-law had died, and he had personally taken care of his body.

It was he who had brought his older brother-in-law down from the city walls, his hands trembling as he removed the Red-Tasseled Spear that had pierced his body.

Master Jing turned his head away, not wanting his older brother to see the redness in his eyes.

The Duke did not cry.

His tears had dried up.

After the fall of the Xuanyuan Family, after the painful loss of his wife, who had been pregnant with their first child, after Yinyin had closed her eyes forever in his arms, he had no more tears to shed.

Master Jing raised his hand and carelessly wiped his eyes, suppressing the choke in his throat, he said with usual tone, “It’s Xiao Liulang, that kid.”

The Duke had seen him, of course.

His gaze fell upon Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao held the Red-Tasseled Spear in one hand, and with the other, she reached up and touched the Black Wind’s head, her calm eyes watching it.

The Black Wind gradually calmed down.

Perhaps it had finally realized that the master it had waited for its whole life was never coming back; it raised its head, looking towards the sunless sky, and let out a piercing wail.

Gu Jiao quietly stayed with it.

Gu Jiao seldom empathized with people or the outside world.

But at that moment, she lowered her eyes, raised her hand, and covered her heart.

“Who’s there!”

In the pouring rain, several city guards rushed over, having received reports from the locals about a suspicious person heading towards the old site of the Xuanyuan Family.

Even though the Xuanyuan Family had been eradicated and the once-bustling street had become desolate, the dread they had instilled in everyone was long-lasting.

The city guards dared not be careless, so they hurried over to check.

Master Jing quickly dismounted under his umbrella, intercepting several guards who were about to approach Gu Jiao.

He presented the token of the Duke Residence and said politely, “My big brother’s and my horses were startled and ran here; that over there is my guard.”

As he spoke, he took out a purse from inside his robe and threw it to the leading city guard.

The guard guessed their identity.

“So it’s Master Jing, my apologies, my apologies.” The Duke Residence and the Xuanyuan Family were related by marriage, and he did not believe that the horses from the Duke Residence had come here by accident.

He weighed the silver in his hand, smiled contentedly, and said with a bow, “With such heavy rain, it’s indeed easy for the horses to be startled. Since Master Jing has found his horses, we will take our leave first.”

Master Jing smiled and nodded, “Take care.”

After the guards had gone a considerable distance, one comrade said, “Should we report this to our superiors?”

The leading guard said, “Report what? That the Duke and his brother have come to mourn the Xuanyuan Family? Who in Shengdu doesn’t know about the Duke’s connection with the Xuanyuan Family? When the Xuanyuan Family rebelled and were defeated, everyone who had dealings with them avoided them like the plague, fearing trouble would fall upon them, only the then young Duke dared to risk his head and ran to the battlefield to collect the bodies of the Xuanyuan Family. Master Jing went too, also not afraid to die. Have they not mourned the deceased of the Xuanyuan Family these years? What’s there to report?”

The comrade said, “But that kid just now didn’t look like a guard from the Duke Residence, and he had a Red-Tasseled Spear in his hand. When I first saw him, I thought it was a ghost from the Xuanyuan Family come back.”

“Blathering nonsense in broad daylight!” the leading guard stated, but he felt a shiver in his heart as well.

That boy did seem odd, holding the Red-Tasseled Spear as if he were one of the Xuanyuan Family.

But the people of the Xuanyuan Family had long been dead; surely it wouldn’t be a vengeful ghost come back again.

He resolutely shook his head, took out the purse of silver given by Master Jing, and said with a grin, “Forget it, let’s go. I’ll treat you lads to a drink!”

The guards disappeared completely into the heavy rain.

Master Jing walked around the two horses and came to Gu Jiao’s side, asking, “What brought you here?”

Gu Jiao was looking up at the Residence’s plaque, which had been damaged by the sun and the rain and maliciously vandalized; beneath the thick spider webs, the Xuanyuan characters were already indistinct.

“Xiao Liulang, Xiao Liulang!” Master Jing waved his hand in front of Gu Jiao’s eyes.

Gu Jiao came back to her senses and said, “I came to find my horse.”

Master Jing humphed, “So you heard after all, yet you deliberately didn’t answer.”