The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 1322 - 1322 645 Background (first update)

Chapter 1322: 645 Background (first update) Chapter 1322: 645 Background (first update) Gu Jiao had the coachman return to the carriage shop, and then she left the inner city with Old Master Meng.

“I still don’t know your last name.”

Gu Jiao said.

A soul actor worthy of playing Chess Sage of the Six Nations deserves a surname!

“Meng,” said Old Master Meng indifferently.

Gu Jiao looked at him curiously, “Your last name is also Meng?”

Old Master Meng: Heh, does it sound familiar? That’s right, I am Meng, the Chess Sage of the Six Nations!

Gu Jiao uttered, “Well, that’s quite a coincidence.”

Then, there was no then.

Old Master Meng: “…”

As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way. After leaving the city, Gu Jiao did not even need to pull the reins or turn the carriage; Horse King achieved fully automatic driving and galloped all the way, bringing the carriage back to their small alley.

Today, the mansion was bustling, as Xiao Hen and Xiao Jingkong had arrived.

Gu Jiao could hear Xiao Jingkong’s babbling voice from afar, and the quiet courtyard seemed to come alive all at once.

The expression on Old Master Meng’s face stiffened for a moment.

Obviously, the shadow of being blown up into a piece of coal by the little black kid still lingered in his heart; as soon as he heard Xiao Jingkong’s voice, Old Master Meng couldn’t help but shiver.

Old Master Meng hesitated and did not step into the courtyard.

Horse King also didn’t enter the courtyard.

The two, in perfect harmony, turned around. Horse King took the initiative to pick up its reins with its mouth and offered them to Old Master Meng.

Old Master Meng grabbed the reins and swiftly went to walk the horse.

“Jiaojiao! Eh? Grandpa!”

Xiao Jingkong’s excited voice suddenly sounded behind Old Master Meng.

Old Master Meng’s body stiffened again.

Horse King rudely retrieved the reins and left Old Master Meng behind as it ran away!

Xiao Jingkong raced over, lifted his little head, and looked up at Old Master Meng, “Grandpa! You’ve recovered!”

“I haven’t, I feel dizzy,” Old Master Meng covered his head, displaying his soulful acting skills while he staggered into the study room.

Xiao Jingkong threw himself into Gu Jiao’s arms, “Jiaojiao!”

He had just been playing marbles with Gu Xiaoshun in the courtyard, sweating profusely.

Gu Jiao took his hand and walked into the courtyard.

Xiao Hen was working in the backyard, having changed back into men’s clothing to leave the city; he was dressed in white, tall and graceful like jade. Although he was chopping wood and carrying water, every move he made was pleasing to the eye.

Gu Jiao went inside first to change Xiao Jingkong into a dry set of clothes. Xiao Jingkong happily ran off to play, and then Gu Jiao made her way to the backyard.

“You’re here?” she greeted.

“Mhm,” Xiao Hen responded calmly, splitting the last piece of firewood.

Actually, he had seen her return a while ago, but sometimes men need to save face and prefer to wait to be coaxed.

That made him quite proud.

After finishing with the firewood, he moved on to fetch water.

“Let me,” Gu Jiao said.

Xiao Hen replied, “No need, go and sit down.”

Gu Jiao watched him steadily, her lips curving slightly, and without refusing, she moved a small stool to sit beside him.

He placed the bucket into the well, drew water, and little by little, hauled it up with the windlass.

Gu Jiao rested her cheek on her hand while watching him, and asked, “What made you decide to come over today?”

“The Academy has a day off,” Xiao Hen said, “Jingkong wanted to see you, so we came.”

“What about you?” Gu Jiao inquired.

Xiao Hen’s ears turned red, and he didn’t dare to look at her, focusing instead on the bucket of water he had drawn, the water surface rippling.

“I,” he whispered, his lashes fluttering lightly, “I wanted to see you too.”

A smile curled the corners of Gu Jiao’s lips.

Thinking of something, she asked, “But isn’t your token for the inner city with me? How did you get out of the city?”

Xiao Hen replied, “I have my ways.”

The most beautiful man in the Academy, pursued by hordes of admirers—acquiring a simple inner city token was hardly an issue.

Xiao Hen glanced towards the direction of the study room and inquired, “The one who was called grandpa by Jingkong is…?”

Gu Jiao explained, “He’s a kind-hearted person who happened to encounter Jingkong on the way. Jingkong injured him with a black fire bead, and now he’s recuperating here. His surname is Meng.”

“`

There are many people surnamed Meng in the world, and a surname alone makes it hard to connect him to the Chess Master of the Six Kingdoms.

Xiao Hen glanced at the closed door and asked, “He, is he staying in the study room?”

Gu Jiao replied, “Yes, there are no spare rooms left in the house.”

The mansion had only three main rooms in total: one for Master Lu and Mistress Nan, one for Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan, and the last one for her. Therefore, Old Master Meng had to rest in the study room.

The study wasn’t large, but only Xiao Hen and Little Jingkong needed it in the family; the others were content with their own rooms. There was just a writing desk in the study, but after moving it out, they placed a bamboo bed made by Master Lu.

Xiao Hen muttered under his breath, “If I had known, I would have told the teacher and gone back earlier.”

“What?” Gu Jiao didn’t hear clearly.

“Nothing!” Xiao Hen said seriously, “Where have you just been?”

They seldom interfered with each other’s private matters, but perhaps as their relationship deepened, it was becoming harder for him to stay “hands-off” as before.

Gu Jiao didn’t hide it from him and said, “I just went to the National Master Hall.”

“National Master Hall?” Xiao Hen was slightly taken aback. After drawing water, he placed it on the well’s edge and turned to look at Gu Jiao, “Did you go to the entrance of the National Master Hall, or did you go inside?”

“I went inside,” Gu Jiao said.

Xiao Hen was even more surprised.

Having been in Shengdu for so long, he of course had heard about the National Master Hall, which was the second most secured place in Shengdu after the Imperial Palace, where ordinary people simply couldn’t enter.

Not to mention ordinary people, even the powerful elites rarely had access to the National Master Hall.

And Gu Jiao not only entered and exited but also came out unscathed?

“How did you get in?” Xiao Hen asked.

Gu Jiao told Xiao Hen about how she got Old Master Meng to disguise as the Chess Master of the Six Kingdoms to infiltrate the National Master Hall.

Xiao Hen listened and didn’t say a word for a long while.

“Are you sure, he’s a fake?” he asked.

“Yeah, since when does a Chess Master of the Six Kingdoms become a beggar in Zhan Country? I’ve seen him in Zhan Country.” As she spoke, Gu Jiao took out her little notebook and showed off to her husband the unique plot and lines she had written.

Looking at the ridiculous lines that reached for the Horizon, Xiao Hen suddenly found it a bit difficult to face Old Master Meng in the study room.

After dinner, Xiao Hen and Little Jingkong returned to the inner city.

When leaving, Gu Jiao gave back the token with “Gu Jiao’s” mark for the inner city to Xiao Hen. Now that she had the token of the Chess Master of the Six Kingdoms, she no longer needed it, and it was more convenient for Xiao Hen to use his own.

After the two of them left, Gu Jiao also planned to go back to her room to rest.

But just as she turned around, she noticed Old Master Meng looking complexly out of the gate.

Following his gaze, Gu Jiao looked back and asked him, “What are you looking at?”

“That person… who is he?” Old Master Meng asked.

There were only two people who left the house, Jingkong and Xiao Hen. Naturally, Old Master Meng wasn’t asking about Jingkong.

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and said, “My husband, Liulang, didn’t you hear his name just now?”

Initially, Gu Jiao concealed her identity from Old Master Meng, but after Xiao Liulang’s visit to the house, with Mistress Nan and Master Lu constantly calling him Liulang, it became hard not to blow her cover.

Old Master Meng already knew which of them was Gu Jiao and Xiao Liulang.

Old Master Meng furrowed his brows, “How can you be so young and already have a husband?”

Gu Jiao replied fiercely, “I just do!”

Old Master Meng: “…”

Old Master Meng asked, “Is he from Zhan Country?”

“Yes,” Gu Jiao said.

“From Zhan Country…” Old Master Meng murmured with furrowed brows.

Gu Jiao could be thick-skinned about certain things, but most of the time she was meticulous. She caught the unusual look in Old Master Meng’s eyes and asked, “Do you think he’s not?”

“That’s not what I mean. He…” Old Master Meng considered his words, “Nevermind, perhaps I saw wrongly.”

After thinking for a moment, Gu Jiao suddenly said, “No, no, no, you might not have seen wrongly. Have you seen him somewhere else?”

Old Master Meng recalled, “Indeed, I have seen someone who looked similar to him, but I do not know him. I only glimpsed him from a distance.”

Why he remembered him might be because some people naturally have a memorable presence.

Thinking of the person Mo Qianxue had once seen, Gu Jiao asked, “Where did you see him?”

Old Master Meng replied, “At the entrance of the National Master Hall.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Is he a disciple of the National Master Hall?”

Old Master Meng shook his head, “No, he wasn’t wearing the robe of the National Master Hall disciples, nor did he carry any air of one. At that time, he looked more like someone going to the National Master Hall for treatment.”

What Old Master Meng didn’t say was, those who could seek treatment at the National Master Hall were not ordinary in status.

And that young man had entered through the main gate, where the top disciple of the National Master Hall, Ye Qing, personally came to the entrance to greet him, a privilege not even scions of noble families could enjoy.

That young man was very likely… a member of the Dayan royal family!

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