The Prime Minister's Darling
Chapter 872 - 872 402 Dragon Shadow Guard (Second Update)

Chapter 872: 402 Dragon Shadow Guard (Second Update) Chapter 872: 402 Dragon Shadow Guard (Second Update) “`

The matter of Tang Yueshan and the elderly marquis making a far journey to the border pass had been settled.

One belonged to the empress dowager’s camp, and the other was the emperor’s confidant. Formerly, they were at odds with each other, but ever since the empress dowager hoodwinked them, Tang Yueshan’s hatred was thoroughly siphoned away by the true villain behind the scenes, seeking to benefit from their strife.

The empress dowager told Tang Yueshan that the mastermind was the late Consort Jing, and though Consort Jing was dead, she had accomplices, which were those remnants of the previous dynasty hiding in the borderlands.

This time, Tang Yueshan was fully determined to go and slay the enemy.

The elderly marquis had no objections to the arrangement; he and Tang Yueshan, one in the shadows and the other in the open, had clear divisions of labor and did not interfere with each other.

Both quelling the rebels and rescuing Ning An were urgent matters, and the emperor hoped they would depart soon.

Leaving the Imperial Palace, the elderly marquis rode his carriage back to his residence. Passing by Qinghe Academy, he had the carriage stopped but unfortunately, the Academy had already dismissed, and Gu Yan had left earlier with Gu Xiaoshun to learn from Mistress Nan and Master Lu.

“Forget it, back to the residence,” the elderly marquis waved his hand, then paused, as if remembering something, and added, “Wait, make a trip to Taihe Martial Arts Academy.”

At that hour, the streets were crowded and somewhat congested, taking some effort for the coachman to drive the carriage to the Taihe Martial Arts Academy.

“My lord, we’ve reached the Martial Arts Academy,” said the coachman.

The elderly marquis alighted from the carriage.

He was here to see young brother Gu; he himself was about to leave Capital City, and he wanted to bid farewell to Gu.

However, upon entering, he asked around and realized that young brother Gu hadn’t been to the academy for many days.

“Wasn’t he fighting well? Why did he suddenly stop coming?” murmured the elderly marquis.

The servant at the Martial Arts Academy said, “Well… to be honest, I saw him with a person called Old He the other day. That Old He is a shopkeeper from the underground arena, who often comes here to scout for martial artists, luring quite a few away. Our master has been livid over it, but frustratingly we can’t afford to offend the underground arena, so we let him be.”

The elderly marquis frowned: “The underground fighting arena?”

Today was Gu Jiao’s tenth fight; she gracefully defeated her opponent with a reverse move of her spear, securing victory in this duel.

Wearing a mask and wielding a glaringly bright spear, this youth in blue had made quite a name for himself in the underground fighting arena.

It was unclear whether it was his tricky movement or his adept fighting, or maybe because his Red-Tasseled Spear was just too unsightly, but everyone initially shunned him until they, one after the other, had a change of heart.

The elderly marquis happened to witness Gu Jiao’s final fight.

It was a beautiful match.

The youth stood triumphantly on the arena, his eyes clear and bright, his demeanor dashing as if aglow.

At the bottom of his heart, the elderly marquis felt a sudden surge of grandfatherly pride, without knowing quite why.

Before stepping down from the arena, Gu Jiao received her first personal endorsement—a small token inscribed with a great big number one in her nation’s script—signifying she was, from that day forward, a first-level expert as recognized by the underground fighting arena!

Gu Jiao attached the small token to her pouch, and shook her little head.

Happy!

Watching her bobbing little head, the elderly marquis couldn’t help but reveal a trace of a smile in his eyes: “Young brother Gu!”

He strode forward purposefully.

Gu Jiao looked up at him, her eyes questioning: Why are you here?

The elderly marquis surprisingly understood her look, and felt oddly amazed at himself. He laughed and said, “I went to the Martial Arts Academy looking for you, they said you had come to the underground arena. I was a bit worried about you, but having just seen you fight, I see my concerns were unwarranted.”

Since it was inconvenient for Gu Jiao to write while holding the Red-Tasseled Spear, she first handed it to him.

A weapon is a martial artist’s private property, usually not permitting others to touch it. Gu Jiao’s gesture clearly showed her trust in the elderly marquis.

But the elderly marquis was not moved by her trust. On the contrary, his eyebrows furrowed into a deep crease.

Was this still the divine weapon of Yan Country that he had gifted her?

How had it become so ugly?

What on earth had it been through!

Gu Jiao pulled out her notebook and scribbled hastily: “Did you want to see me for something?”

The elderly marquis quickly shifted his gaze away from the Red-Tasseled Spear, afraid that one more look would blind him with its ugliness.

He said, “I am leaving Capital City, I wanted to see you before I left.”

Gu Jiao hadn’t been to the palace that day and was temporarily unaware of his assignment to the borderlands.

Though they were as brothers, she had always refrained from prying into people’s secrets, so she did not ask why he was leaving the city, but just wrote: “Will you be gone long?”

The elderly marquis nodded: “I’m afraid I won’t be back this year.”

“`