The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1115 - 1115 540 Mastermind (First Update)

Chapter 1115: 540 Mastermind (First Update) Chapter 1115: 540 Mastermind (First Update) “Big brother, stop wasting words with him, why bother knowing so much when you’re about to die anyway?”

“Right, this guy isn’t even worthy of knowing the young master’s name.”

The leader of the men in black chuckled and said to the others beside him, “Kill this kid, and make it clean.”

“Rest assured, big brother, we know what to do. This kid doesn’t know martial arts, so however he dies is for us to decide!”

A few of them roared with laughter, disdainfully pressing towards Xiao Hen.

Ahead of Xiao Hen stood the men in black, and behind him was a huge cliff. He had two choices: one was to be killed by them, and the other was to jump off the cliff and die from the fall.

“Jump then.”

One of the men in black taunted with a smile.

Such a height was nothing to a martial artist, but to a Hanlin official, it was a certain death.

They didn’t believe Xiao Hen would jump; in fact, Xiao Hen didn’t jump.

A few of them sneered as they closed in on Xiao Hen, but just as they were about ten steps away, Xiao Hen suddenly pulled something out of his pouch and threw it forcefully at their feet.

The men thought it was a hidden weapon and hastily retreated a step!

Too bad for them, stepping back was useless; the dark object hit the ground and exploded with several bangs!

The explosions sent the men tumbling and sprawling!

The leader of the men in black was taken aback, but before he could react and strike at Xiao Hen, Xiao Hen was one step ahead, taking out a few more black beads and hurling them as well.

“Oh no!”

Boom!

He hadn’t even had the chance to escape and was knocked out by a series of explosions from the black beads.

The black powder beads that Gu Jiao had given to Xiao Hen were mixed with a small amount of paralysis medicine; their explosive power wasn’t as great as that of pure black powder beads, but the concoction could swiftly overpower and incapacitate the opponents.

After knocking out the group, Xiao Hen quickly left by a small path in front to search for Minister Xing who had fallen down the slope earlier. He hadn’t fallen from a very high place, and with some luck, he wouldn’t be fatal.

When Xiao Hen found him, his arm was dislocated, but he could still walk.

Xiao Hen helped him up, looked around, and chose a direction, “Let’s go!”

Minister Xing, clutching his dislocated arm and in pain, cursed, “What kind of people are these?”

“Not sure,” Xiao Hen said.

Minister Xing grumbled frustratedly, “Alright, alright, it seems they wanted to target me. When I return to the Capital City, I’ll investigate and uncover their true identities!”

Admirable courage.

Minister Xing spoke earnestly, “Xiao Hen, don’t be frightened; we accept the Emperor’s favor and bear his worries. As a servant of the court, we’re bound to face troubles. Don’t be discouraged by this little disturbance.”

With a precise sense of direction towards the Capital City, Xiao Hen replied, “Mmm, I won’t be.”

What was this little disturbance compared to what he had faced? Moreover, it was him they were after, it had nothing to do with whether he served as a court official or not.

They set up this grand scheme to target him, starting from the case at the Xianle Inn. From that point on, the game began, and everyone involved became pawns on the chessboard.

It was just unclear who the ‘young master’ mentioned by those men was, and what the connection to the Xianle Inn was?

Xiao Hen said, “My lord, after we return to the Capital, I want to visit the Xianle Inn again.”

“Fine! I’ll listen to you! Damn it, I also think there’s something fishy about that Xianle Inn!” burst out Minister Xing, filling the air with curses.

The people of the Capital had long speculated about the background of the Xianle Inn. Unfortunately, no one had managed to catch them doing anything illegal, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to simply close it down or raid it without cause.

Moreover, what would be achieved by taking down the Xianle Inn? Was the focal point the Xianle Inn itself, or the person behind it?

Minister Xing’s teeth ached!

After walking for a bit, Minister Xing suddenly asked, “By the way, I thought I heard some strange noises earlier. You’re alright, aren’t you?”

Having been dizzy for a while after his fall and given the distance, Minister Xing could not clearly ascertain whether he had heard incorrectly or what had happened.

“I’m fine.” Xiao Hen made no mention of the gunpowder.

Gunpowder was only found in Yan Country; heaven only knew how Gu Jiao had come by it. It was better not to court extra trouble, and since Minister Xing was unsure, he must have heard wrong.

“What about those men?” Minister Xing asked again.

Xiao Hen replied, “We’ve temporarily shaken them off, but they might catch up again soon. We need to leave quickly.”

“Ah… but where are we?” Minister Xing was completely lost.

Xiao Hen pointed ahead and said, “One li to the east and we’ll reach Little River Village. If we pass through the village, there’s a post station where we can hire a carriage.”

“Oh,” Minister Xing nodded blankly.

He had a nagging feeling something was amiss, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

The group of men did catch up again, but Xiao Hen was too familiar with the terrain around the Capital City to lose them completely.

After entering the City gate, Mr. Xing finally snapped back to his senses, “You… you’re from Youzhou, aren’t you? How come you’re more familiar with Capital City than I am?”

If one didn’t know better, they might think you were raised in Capital City!

It seemed that those people did not plan to make a move within Capital City. After entering, the journey of the two became much smoother, no longer needing to dodge and hide, and thus they could travel faster.

Mr. Xing had injuries on him, so Xiao Hen decided to take him to the Medical Hall.

“Young Master Xiao is here.” The second owner greeted with a smile. “Are you here for Little Gu? She’s treating a patient right now, she will be done soon.”

Xiao Hen hummed an acknowledgment, then turned to the second owner and introduced, “This gentleman is Mr. Xing. He has an injury to his arm. I’ll trouble you to find a doctor to treat him.”

Wearing his official uniform, Mr. Xing was not recognized by the second owner as being from any specific Yamen, but it was clear he was an official of at least the third rank. The second owner hurriedly clasped his hands in a bow, “This honorable official, my apologies for any disrespect! This way, please, I’ll go and call the doctor for you.”

The second owner took Mr. Xing to a room upstairs.

Xiao Hen went to Gu Jiao’s Courtyard.

Xiao Hen was aware that a female patient had taken up residence in the courtyard, but he never interfered with Gu Jiao’s medical practice. He just didn’t realize the patient had moved into Gu Jiao’s room.

He pushed the door open and entered, colliding with her unexpectedly.

After Gu Jiao had left, Mo Qianxue tried to sneak out of bed and walk around. She had just reached the table when Xiao Hen came in.

Xiao Hen saw her, and she saw him.

She was wearing Gu Jiao’s clothes, which she managed to put on neatly, without any impropriety or inconvenience—it was just unexpected, nonetheless.

Her way of walking was different from that of a healthy person. Xiao Hen quickly realized she was a patient and hurriedly averted his gaze, politely nodding his head and turned to leave.

But just then, Mo Qianxue called out to him, “Stop right there!”

Xiao Hen paused mid-step, hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Mo Qianxue.

To be fair, with her beguiling beauty and flower-like charm, no other woman in Capital City could surpass Mo Qianxue’s looks.

Even the second owner and the doctors of the Medical Hall were struck speechless when they first saw Mo Qianxue’s clean and true appearance.

Xiao Hen remained very calm.

His eyes held no sign of amazement or infatuation, only the detached gaze one bestows upon a stranger, no different from the look one would give to commoners on the street.

Mo Qianxue frowned her delicate brows, “Is this really your reaction upon seeing me?”

Her words left Xiao Hen utterly confused.

What was wrong with his reaction?

What did she expect his reaction to be when he saw her?

Xiao Hen looked at Mo Qianxue nonplussed.

Mo Qianxue, suppressing the pain from her wounds, took steps toward Xiao Hen.

When she got within three paces of him, Xiao Hen unconsciously stepped back, with a clear intention to keep a distance.

Mo Qianxue’s frown deepened, “What’s wrong with you?”

If Xiao Hen was baffled by her first statement, her second one made him suspect there was more to it.

Her tone did not resemble that of a stranger.

“Do you know me?” Xiao Hen looked at her doubtfully.

Pointing to a spot under his right eye, Mo Qianxue said, “Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you just because the mole there is gone? Although you do look somewhat different from a few years ago, I still know it’s you!”

Xiao Hen’s brow furrowed slightly.

He did once have a teardrop mole under his right eye—could she really have met him before?

Seeing his thoughtful silence, Mo Qianxue’s expression darkened, “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who I am?”

Xiao Hen did not reply.

Mo Qianxue’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You really have forgotten! Now I know why, when I ran into you near Hanlin Academy last time and had my maid approach you, you completely ignored us!”

Near Hanlin Academy… a maid…

Xiao Hen remembered. There had indeed been such an incident which even led Cen Bianxiu to spread rumors in Hanlin Academy about his entanglement with a courtesan.

Xiao Hen looked at her intently, “The person that day was you?”

Mo Qianxue nodded, “Yes! It was me! I even deliberately dropped a token on the ground, but you didn’t pick it up. Instead, some good-for-nothing picked it up and had the audacity to show up at Xianle Inn looking for me!”

Xiao Hen’s gaze sharpened, “Xianle Inn?”

Cen Bianxiu did indeed meet with trouble near Xianle Inn. The investigation concluded that he had been arrogant and lustful, coveting a girl from Xianle Inn without a token to get in, and attempted to climb over the wall, only to be killed by the inn’s guards.

So, he was not killed as a common thief but at the order of the woman standing before him?

Unaware of the shock her words had caused in the room, Mo Qianxue spoke nonchalantly, “Didn’t I tell you before, that if I saw you again, I’d reveal my identity to you?”

Xiao Hen looked at her with a cold, probing gaze, “Is that so? Then who are you?”

Mo Qianxue raised an eyebrow and smiled, “I am the Courtesan of Xianle Inn, Mo Qianxue!”