The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1280 - 1280 622 The Beauty at Midnight (Second Watch)

Chapter 1280: 622 The Beauty at Midnight (Second Watch) Chapter 1280: 622 The Beauty at Midnight (Second Watch) After all the hassle, Gu Jiao emerged from the residence to find the sky had already darkened.

Normally, even if it were dark, it wouldn’t matter much; Shengdu was so bustling that businesses operated well into the night. But her luck was out—she ran smack into a curfew.

The number of pedestrians on the street swiftly dwindled as shops on either side began closing one after another.

Gu Jiao was completely bewildered.

What in the world was going on?

Had she forgotten to check the almanac before leaving home?

She had inquired before: In Shengdu, the city gate of the inner city wouldn’t close until two quarters past the hour of Xu, and it was just past the hour of Xu now, so she still had half an hour.

It seemed she wouldn’t make it in time to gather information about the Medical Hall today.

She needed to leave the city quickly and could not walk; she wouldn’t make it in time otherwise.

Gu Jiao quickly identified a carriage parked in an alleyway.

It had been a long time since she’d engaged in this sort of robbery, but today she had done just that.

The coachman was absent.

Who knows if he was off attending to some other task, but there was someone in the carriage—the candlelight cast the silhouette of a man inside.

Intending to put on her mask, Gu Jiao reached for it and discovered it was missing.

It must have been lost somewhere.

No matter, she thought. Without the mask, she grabbed a handful of wall grey and smeared it on her face, then tightly grasped the dagger in her hand, jumped onto the carriage, and pressed the dagger to the man’s neck.

“Don’t move,”

she threatened with a low and inexperienced youthful voice.

This was a young man dressed in a plain white robe with a dark blue gauze coat draped over it, his waist belted with jade. His side-profile was refined and exquisite, with long, delicate eyelashes.

Even having seen a beauty like Xiao Hen, Gu Jiao had to admit that this was a remarkably handsome man.

He appeared to be about the same age as Xiao Hen, with a noble bearing and composed demeanor; he did not show a trace of panic even with a blade against his throat.

Gu Jiao said, “Drive me out of the inner city, and I won’t hurt you—south city gate.”

The young man did not say whether he agreed or not.

Just then, the coachman returned, “Young Master, I’ve asked, and the owner said it’s not ready yet, and told us to come back in a couple of days. Are we heading back now?”

Sitting beside the man, Gu Jiao pressed the dagger a bit more against the man’s neck as a clear threat.

The young man said, “I need to leave through the south inner city gate.”

Separated by a curtain, Gu Jiao could still sense the coachman stiffening sharply, “Didn’t you just come in? Why are you leaving again? There’s a sudden curfew tonight, if we go out, we can’t come back in.”

The young man said nothing more.

Perhaps accustomed to treating the young man’s silence as commanding, the coachman mumbled and then said, “Alright, alright, I can’t argue with you.”

The coachman took his place in the driver’s seat outside and steered the carriage toward the south inner city gate.

But as the proverb goes, when luck is against you, even water chokes you. The city gate had closed early due to the curfew, even though it wasn’t yet two quarters past the hour of Xu.

“We can’t leave, Young Master,” said the coachman.

The young man remained silent, and Gu Jiao understood that he was waiting for her to respond.

With one hand holding the dagger against him and the other lifting a slit in the curtain, Gu Jiao looked out to see if there were any inns along the way where she could stay.

Suddenly, the young man spoke, “I advise you not to stay at inns casually, without a travel permit you’ll be arrested.”

“What’s a travel permit?” asked Gu Jiao.

Speaking leisurely, the young man said, “It’s the certificate people from the outer city need to enter the inner city.”

Gu Jiao was about to ask, how do you know I’m from the outer city, but then thought better of it; if she were from the inner city, she would go home at curfew, not hijack a carriage to rush out of the city.

Gu Jiao glanced at him and asked, “Do you have a travel permit then?”

The young man responded, “People from the inner city have fish tokens, no need for a travel permit.”

Gu Jiao was familiar with Yan Country’s fish tokens, a token to prove one’s identity.

She looked at him, “Where’s your fish token?”

The man did not move.

Gu Jiao glanced toward his waist and, with one hand, removed his money pouch, and from it, she pulled out a bronze fish token.

“Young Master?” the coachman called from outside. “Who are you speaking with? Is there someone else in the carriage?”

Gu Jiao’s dagger twitched, signaling him with her eyes.

Calmly, the young man replied, “Where is there an inn nearby that hasn’t closed yet?”

The coachman, thinking he’d heard a voice, but with his young master unwilling to confirm, said, “If you go back two miles, I think there’s an inn.”

“Let’s go there,” said the young man.

“Yes,” the coachman steered the carriage toward that inn.

Then the young man continued, “Stop the carriage here; go find out if there are any other inns nearby.”

“Yes,”

And the coachman did as instructed.

By using this method to send the coachman away, Gu Jiao of course didn’t think he was considering her interests; it was more likely that he was worried she would knock the coachman unconscious.

He was quite clever.

Suddenly thinking of something, Gu Jiao asked, “Are you going to report to the authorities?”

The young man spoke indifferently, “Do you think the Official Government can search every inn in the inner city overnight?”

“True,” Gu Jiao nodded.

It appeared he had guessed she wouldn’t stay at the inn he had found for her.

He was indeed a clever person.

And attractive, too.

Unable to resist, Gu Jiao gave him another thorough once-over, her gaze inadvertently catching a glimpse of beautifully sculpted jade fingertips protruding slightly from his broad sleeves.

Gu Jiao wasn’t strictly a hand fetishist, but those hands were too beguiling, practically begging to be captured and claimed—

Gu Jiao involuntarily thought of the hand she had seen at the post station.

Could it be the same person?

No, that’s not right, the surname on the pass token was Mu, while the gentleman at the post station belonged to the Su Family.

Gu Jiao disembarked from the carriage.

She wasn’t sure if the man would report to the authorities, but she still didn’t go to the inn.

She went to the brothel instead.

Would he ever guess that she would stay overnight at a brothel?

…

Gu Jiao stayed in the inner city for the night. As soon as the city gate opened at dawn, she used the same method to sneak out underneath a horse carriage.

Nanny Nan had stayed up all night, waiting in the courtyard. Upon seeing Gu Jiao return, she relaxed and clasped Gu Jiao’s arm, “You scared me to death; I thought something had happened to you… Where did you go last night?”

Not wanting to worry Nanny Nan, Gu Jiao somewhat nonchalantly replied, “I got caught up in the curfew last night and ended up staying in the inner city. Later, I stole someone’s pass token and spent the night there.”

“There was a curfew in the inner city?” Nanny Nan was quite surprised. “It’s rare for Shengdu to impose a curfew; something big must have happened in the inner city.”

Gu Jiao thought to herself, could it be because I sneaked into that man’s residence was discovered, causing the entire inner city to be alarmed?

What kind of high-profile figure would he have to be to cause a lockdown of the entire inner city?

Well, anyway, no one knows it was her.

Nanny Nan said, “I didn’t tell Xiaoshun. I let Xiaoshun go to bed first. When he got up and asked me where you went, I told him you went to buy vegetables. But Yanyan knows.”

Gu Yan was the most difficult to fool in the family. Apart from his frail health, his mind was sharper than anyone else’s.

Gu Jiao’s absence for the night could not be hidden from him.

Gu Jiao went to Gu Yan’s room, sat down beside the bed, and looked at Gu Yan’s teary, red eyes. She smiled and said, “I’m alright.”

Gu Yan slowly rested his head on Gu Jiao’s lap.

…

After keeping Gu Yan company for a while, Gu Jiao had breakfast in the main hall and then went with Gu Xiaoshun to Tianqiong Academy.

Tianqiong Academy consisted of twelve halls, and Gu Jiao was assigned to Mingxin Hall, while Gu Xiaoshun was assigned to Mingyue Hall.

They first went together to the designated small service room of the Academy to collect their books and then parted ways to attend their respective classes.

The Academy uniforms were tailored to their sizes and would be ready in a few days.

Gu Jiao entered the classroom.

The classrooms in Yan Country were different from those in Zhan Country; they used low desks and small stools, with two students per table.

There were four tables in each row, totaling eight rows.

Most of the tables were already occupied.

The students were either reading quietly or chatting in small groups; for a moment, no one noticed a new student had arrived in the classroom.

Zhong Ding was also in Mingxin Hall.

He sat in a seat in the third row near the inner wall. No one was next to him, and he excitedly waved at Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao, fearing his chatter, pretended not to see him and silently went to an empty desk at the back, close to the back door, with her books in her arms.

Zhong Ding, looking disappointed, said to himself, “Did he not see me? Brother Xiao!”

He stood up and suddenly yelled towards Gu Jiao!

Now everyone in Mingxin Hall turned their heads to look in Gu Jiao’s direction all at once.

Dressed in a plain cyan outfit, with a simple young man’s hair bun secured by a cyan hairband, Gu Jiao radiated a clean and pure aura, with cool eyes. But that young face had a conspicuous birthmark on it.

Mingxin Hall went silent for a moment.

Zhong Ding blinked uncertainly, covered his mouth with his hand, and continued to communicate with Gu Jiao from afar, “Brother Xiao… Was my voice a bit loud?”

Gu Jiao really wanted to knock him out with a stick.

What do you think!

However, the collective scrutiny didn’t last long, as suddenly a young scholar burst into Mingxin Hall and cried loudly, “Young Master Qingchen is here for class!”

The previously silent Mingxin Hall exploded in an instant.

“What? Young Master Qingchen?”

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“Why would Young Master Qingchen suddenly come to the Academy?”

“Right, he never attends classes, does he?”

“Come on, let’s go see!”

But before the crowd could rush out, the bell of the Academy rang.

The students reluctantly returned to their seats.

Gu Jiao wasn’t interested in seeing this Young Master Qingchen; she just thought his name sounded strangely familiar.

As she was pondering, she suddenly felt everyone’s gaze returning to focus on her once more.

Come on, just look at your Qingchen—why are you staring at me again?

The next second, a young man in a sky-blue Academy uniform walked straight toward the back row and without a word sat down beside Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao: “…” Why sit next to me? Can’t you see all the empty seats up front?

Ignoring him, and without even giving him a direct glance, Gu Jiao just casually pulled out a book and pretended to flip through it.

Soon, the teacher entered Mingxin Hall.

All students stood up, bowed, and paid respects, “Peace be upon you, Master Jiang!”

While the sounds of greetings masked the noise, Gu Jiao heard the Young Master Qingchen sitting beside her ask casually, “Is my pass token still working well?”

“Cough!”

Gu Jiao choked!