The Prime Minister’s Darling - Chapter 657

Chapter 657: 311 Pampering (two updates)_3 Chapter 657: 311 Pampering (two updates)_3 Yuan Tang gave a faint smile, “In another three or two years, you won’t be the same as you are now. So, are you afraid of her?”

“No!” the man in grey said.

Yuan Tang covered his wound, finally revealing a trace of pain, “Enough, this girl is an asset, take her in with open arms. It would be a waste to kill her.”

The man in grey thought, then nodded, “In this world, there’s no one a highness like you can’t win over.”

“Except for my cousin.” Yuan Tang snorted coldly and said unhappily, “I could easily win over anyone with my skills, I bore my heart to him, yet he didn’t feel it!”

Gu Jiao returned to the Bishui Alley.

Xiao Liulang has already returned from his duties at the Hanlin Academy, presently tutoring Xiao Jingkong in the study room.

Gu Jiao didn’t disturb the two of them, instead, she went to check on Officer Wei’s injuries next door, then went to her aunt’s room.

The Emperor suddenly wanted to eat sugar glazed duck, and Gu Changqing went to the kitchen to help the old winemaker pluck the duck’s feathers.

Only the Emperor was in the room.

Seeing her come over, the Emperor’s eyes brightened, but dimmed again when he remembered she was Empress Dowager Zhuang’s maid, he asked indifferently, “Haven’t you changed the dressing today?”

“I have something to tell your majesty.” Gu Jiao said.

“What is it?” The emperor asked.

Gu Jiao said solemnly, “I know who the assassin is.”

The emperor sneered, “You’re not trying to exonerate your beloved aunt by blaming someone else, are you?”

“I’m not that bored.” Gu Jiao took out the colorful tassel from her bosom, “This is what I pulled off the assassin when we fought. I asked if your Majesty recognized it, you said you did not. Do you know why you didn’t recognize it? Because the assassin was not from the palace of Zhan Country, yet he knew your Majesty’s whereabouts as if it was the back of his hand.”

The Emperor’s brow furrowed, “Who is he exactly?”

Gu Jiao looked at the Emperor intently and said, “The hostage from Chen Kingdom.”

Gu Jiao’s words were half true, half false; but other than the tassel not actually being pulled from the assassin, everything else she said was true.

However, Gu Jiao only had this one piece of tassel and no other evidence.

Whether the Emperor believed her or not largely depended on his trust in Gu Jiao.

And this was one of the reasons Yuan Tang dare reveal the truth to Gu Jiao, what could she do with the truth? It was too far-fetched to convict him based on a mere piece of tassel.

The emperor would probably prefer to believe that the Empress Dowager was the real puppet master rather than him, the hostage of the Chen country.

The Emperor spoke coldly, “Do you think by blaming the hostage from Chen Kingdom, you can clear your beloved aunt’s name?”

“If your Majesty wishes to let the enemy rejoice and loved ones grieve, then that’s one way to see it.” Gu Jiao said and turned to leave.

The Emperor was choked with anger.

She had been out and about all day, tiring and sweating. He thought she had gone to the Medical Hall, but it turned out she was finding evidence to free that poisonous woman!

Was that poisonous woman so great that they all lined up to endorse her!

Concubine Jing, Ning An, and the young divine doctor, all were charmed by that poisonous woman!

They might be deceived, but he wouldn’t be!

“I definitely won’t!”

In the evening, Officer Wei, after regaining consciousness, the first thing he did was to drag his injured body to visit the Emperor and beg for his punishment, “Your majesty, I failed in my duty to protect you…please punish me…”

The Emperor saw the bandages on Officer Wei’s hands and neck, and his heart softened, “You are not a guard, why are you taking responsibility? Get up.”

“I dare not.”

“I ordered you to get up!”

“…Yes!”

Officer Wei stood up shakily.

The Emperor told him to sit down and talk.

Officer Wei was confused, “Your Majesty, please don’t torment me.”

The Emperor let out a sigh.

Alone and helpless, why did it come to this?

“Your Majesty,” Officer Wei said, “I ran into Miss Gu in the courtyard…”

The Emperor’s eyes turned cold, “Are you also here to speak for the Empress Dowager?”

Officer Wei hastily replied, “How could I speak for the Empress Dowager? I was just thinking, when I was lying in a pool of blood, near death, Miss Gu was all alone. I completely forgot she was just a woman. Instead of asking her to run, I begged her to save you. How did she feel when she rushed there knowing it would be dangerous and knowing that you and the Empress Dowager are at odds…”

Gu Jiao saved the Emperor and returned, but didn’t mention the details. The Emperor thought she came across him by chance, but he didn’t know she had risked her life to find him.

The Emperor’s feelings suddenly became complicated, with a bitter taste in his heart.

Officer Wei, with tears gleaming in his eyes, looked at the Emperor and said earnestly, “Your Majesty, you may not trust the Empress Dowager, but don’t you trust the young divine doctor as well?”