The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 656

Chapter 656: 311 Pampering (two updates)_2 Chapter 656: 311 Pampering (two updates)_2 Gu Jiao looked at him squarely.

Yuan Tang couldn’t resist laughing, “Should I call you Doctor Gu or Lady Xiao?”

“Whichever you prefer.” Gu Jiao said.

“Alright then, Doctor Gu.” Yuan Tang chuckled, asking, “Why are you looking for me this late? Is something wrong?”

This was a question he already knew the answer to, but requisite small talk is a common necessity in human interaction.

Gu Jiao wasn’t fond of empty talk. She glanced at his wound and bluntly asked, “Did you personally attempt to assassinate the Emperor?”

Yuan Tang was taken aback for a moment. He lowered his voice and chuckled, “In a matter as important as assassination, how could I not take matters into my own hands?”

This statement was essentially an admission of guilt.

Gu Jiao remarked indifferently, “At least you confess quickly.”

Yuan Tang gave a bitter smile, “From the moment my tassel went missing, I was prepared for the possibility of being exposed. I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly, and I certainly didn’t expect it would be you who found out.”

Yuan Tang did not provide any futile excuses. Only a fool would treat others as fools. The fact that Gu Jiao had been able to uncover so much demonstrated that she was far from foolish.

So what was the point in wasting breath on pointless justifications?

“Why?” Gu Jiao asked.

“It’s my duty.” Yuan Tang responded.

Gu Jiao asked, “Was it an order from the ruler of Chen Country?”

Yuan Tang turned his gaze to the night view outside the window, “My personal desire also played a part. My aunt died at the hands of the Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor of Zhan Country. At that time, the two of them were not yet at odds with each other. My aunt was forced to death by their collective actions. So, both of them… are my enemies.”

“Your aunt was a spy. Killing her was their duty.” Gu Jiao’s eyes never left his face, not averting them in the slightest.

Sometimes, a person’s strength is not necessarily reflected in their martial arts, status or scholarship, but it’s the strength of their mind that is truly invincible.

This was a woman filled with inner strength.

Yuan Tang withdrew his gaze, and engaged Gu Jiao in a stare-off. “So is there truly any right or wrong in this world? Isn’t it simply a matter of our positions dictating our actions? I was born in Chen Country and am a prince of it. As long as our two countries remain not at peace, I will have to fight against Zhan Country every day. Regardless of the situation with my aunt, I will not let Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor of Zhan Country off the hook.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Were you also the one behind the stirring of conflict between the Marquis Residence and the Marshal Residence?”

“Yes.” Yuan Tang did not deny it.

Gu Jiao continued, “Was it you who sent someone to the military camp to assassinate Gu Changqing?”

Yuan Tang: “Yes.”

Gu Jiao: “Was it also you who sent someone to Qianyin Pavilion to look for Feishuang?”

Yuan Tang: “Yes.”

Yuan Tang admitted to everything.

Gu Jiao’s expression was calm throughout, neither surprised nor puzzled by his straightforward confessions. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “How did you come to know so much?”

Tang Ming’s habits, Feishuang’s identity, and even the Emperor’s whereabouts.

Yuan Tang laughed, “Do you think the ruler of Chen Country would send an incompetent hostage to Zhan Country?”

Sure enough, just as Zhan Country previously sent the very competent Prince of An County as a hostage to Chen Country.

An incompetent hostage sent to an enemy country would probably just die in a foreign land.

Yuan Tang stretched out his hand, “Can you return my tassel to me?”

“No.” Gu Jiao promptly refused.

Yuan Tang sighed helplessly, “That was given by my maternal grandmother to my mother. There were only two pieces in total, one was given to my mother, and the other to my aunt.”

Playing the sympathy card didn’t work with Gu Jiao.

She wouldn’t return it.

Seeing that Gu Jiao had truly made up her mind, Yuan Tang resigned himself to the loss of his tassel and reluctantly accepted the fact.

“What do you plan on doing?” he asked.

“Report you.” Gu Jiao answered candidly.

Yuan Tang:…was she going to be so direct about it?

Yuan Tang said, “After all, I’ve helped you. Have you forgotten?”

Gu Jiao replied, “You make it sound like you didn’t benefit from it.”

Yuan Tang’s mouth twitched, “Did your cousin tell you everything?”

The crown princess used a cat to test Xiao Liulang, and it was Yuan Tang who ordered the cat to be taken away. But that cat originally belonged to Yuan Tang, if Gu Jiao hadn’t informed him about it, he would have also been implicated.

This was not a matter of indebtedness, at most Yuan Tang was kind-hearted and received rewards for helping himself through helping others.

After Gu Jiao left, a man in grey stepped in, “Your Highness, should I kill her?”

Yuan Tang scoffed coldly, “Do you think killing her will be easy?”

The man in grey said, “She’s still young, and her martial arts have not yet matured. If we wait another three or two years, I’m afraid we may truly not be able to kill her!”

With the man in grey’s skills, he should have been alerted to any movement within a hundred steps. Yet, that girl managed to sneak right under his nose before he detected her.