The Prime Minister’s Darling-Chapter 479 - 244 Taking Action (First Update)
Chapter 479: Chapter 244: Taking Action (First Update)
Chapter 479: Chapter 244: Taking Action (First Update)
Ever since the old Marquis came back, Gu Chengfeng hadn’t been causing any commotion for a while.
Today, when the old Marquis went out to meet his friends, Gu Chengfeng planned to seize the opportunity to take on a small task to amass some private money that had been completely drained by Gu Chenglin.
Having had his newly ordered mask stolen by Gu Jiao, he commissioned another one.
A half-face mask adorned with peacock feathers and encrusted with obsidian, it was flashy and flamboyant.
Gu Chengfeng was extremely satisfied with the new mask. Today was going to be a good day indeed!
As Gu Chengfeng looked into the bronze mirror, about to put on the mask, a small shadow suddenly appeared in the mirror. He was startled, exclaiming, “Ah!”
The little shadow glanced at the flashy new mask with a wicked smile playing at the corner of her lips.
Gu Jiao snatched the peacock mask, discarding her old mask, and tried on her new mask.
“Hmm, it looks nice.”
Gu Jiao was very pleased.
Gu Chengfeng: Of course it looks nice! Consider how much silver he spent on it!
“What are you doing here?” Gu Chengfeng eyed Gu Jiao disdainfully.
This girl is getting more and more outrageous. What does she think his courtyard is? A vegetable garden? Comes and goes as she pleases!
Gu Jiao looked in the mirror, admiring her new mask while saying, “Aren’t you taking on a task? I’ll give you one.”
Reminded of the time when he risked his life to sneak into the Imperial College to swap out the exam papers for her, only to be rewarded with a copper plate, he scoffed, “Not interested!”
“The reward is very high,” Gu Jiao looked at him through the mirror.
Lol, yeah right, as if he would believe that.
Gu Chengfeng rolled his eyes, “Still not interested.”
Gu Jiao thought for a moment, then casually took out a silver note.
Gu Chengfeng narrowed his eyes in surprise and interest, yet said impassively, “One hundred taels isn’t enough.”
Gu Jiao then took out another silver note.
Gu Chengfeng stretched out five fingers, “At least this amount.”
“Alright then.” Gu Jiao readily took out three more silver notes.
The girl was so easygoing?
Used to being exploited, Gu Chengfeng could hardly believe his luck. Only when he examined the silver notes thoroughly and confirmed they were real did he look at her curiously, “The task isn’t to kill someone, is it?”
Gu Jiao looked at him and tilted her head, “Umm… Can it be?”
Gu Chengfeng was startled, “Of course not!”
He was a master thief, not a bandit. He only stole, and never killed. Of course, if someone tried to kill him, that was another matter.
In short, he did not accept assassination missions.
Gu Jiao shrugged, “Alright then.”
Gu Chengfeng felt more uneasy, feeling that encounters with this girl never led to anything good, “So what exactly do you want to do?”
Gu Jiao said, “Steal something.”
When the Prince arrived, he did not mention the past episode. It was during Eunuch Wei’s questioning that he happened to mention—the Prince’s wife gave birth and shortly after the child died. Then the Prince had the child buried in a coffin.
Eunuch Wei said that at the time, there were two theories; one was that the child had died shortly after birth, and the other suggested she gave birth to a stillborn child.
There are only a few people in the royal family who know about this heartbreaking incident.
Gu Chengfeng pondered, “So what they mean is… the child didn’t actually die. After being buried underground, a crying sound was heard and a kind passerby heard and dug the child out. That child is your brother? The little monk? Who wants to adopt him?”
Gu Jiao answered calmly, “The Prince and his wife.”
Gu Chengfeng gasped!
As expected, nothing good ever comes from interacting with this girl! And now she’s contemplating stealing from the Prince of Liang Country!
Is he supposed to become an international master thief?!
Gu Jiao looked at him seriously, “A thief who doesn’t want to become an international thief isn’t a good thief.”
Gu Chengfeng: “…”
“I refuse.” It was too risky, his life would be in danger if discovered.
“Adding another 500 taels,” Gu Jiao paused, then added, “And I’ll treat your brother’s baldness.”
Gu Chengfeng: “…”
Ever since little monk Jingkong shaved half of Gu Chenglin’s head, the hair on that shaved half never grew back. At first, he decided to shave the rest of his hair for symmetry, but while the other half grew half an inch, the side shaved by Jingkong remained bald.
Was it because the monk’s hand was divine?!
Gu Chengfeng gritted his teeth and agreed!
The two of them slipped out of the Marquis Residence.
In truth, Gu Chengfeng was somewhat apprehensive about this mission. On the way, he pondered countless possible solutions, such as having Gu Jiao ask the old Marquis for help, and then have the old Marquis plead with the Emperor.
But upon second thought, the Prince’s position was too strong. It seemed unfavorable to upset the Emperor for an orphan, so such negotiations were out of the question.
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Zhan Country couldn’t afford to offend Liang Country, even if they had better technology and were not keen on Liang Country’s technology, they couldn’t communicate this stance to Liang Country.
If Zhan Country made a spectacle, not just Liang Country, but possibly other countries like Jin and Yan, might also want a piece of their pie.
The matter could only be resolved through tackling the Prince himself.
But how easy could it be to persuade the Prince to give up the idea of recognizing his son?
He had even brought out the glass technology, showing how determined he was.
The two were walking on the roof when Gu Chengfeng suddenly turned to Gu Jiao: “Hey, I tell you, have you ever thought of getting rid of that little guy?”
The little guy was, indeed, terribly annoying. If his younger brother was like him, he would have gone crazy long ago!
Gu Jiao glared at him, “If you don’t want me to kick you off here, shut your mouth.”
Gu Chengfeng resentfully closed his mouth.
Their objective for tonight was very clear: to locate the burial place of the child’s remains from the past and see if the remains were still there.
If they were, it would prove that the little Monk was not the son of the Prince and his wife.
Arriving outside the wall of the royal garden, Gu Jiao gave a look to Gu Chengfeng.
Go in.
Gripping his fists tightly, Gu Chengfeng wondered why was it always him who had to do such dangerous things?
Gu Jiao wouldn’t go in; she made a gesture of a pouting mouth at him.
Gu Chengfeng clenched his teeth and jumped over the courtyard wall.
With its complex security, the royal garden and especially the area surrounding the castle of the Prince were full of expert guards from the Liang Country. Yet, Gu Chengfeng applied his skillful art of lightness and years of experience to sneak into the sleeping quarters of the Prince and his wife.
It took about two hours before he came out.
“How is it?” Gu Jiao looked at him.
Gu Chengfeng wiped the sweat off his forehead: “It’s at Dongcao Slope in the Southern part of the city.”
With a cold response, Gu Jiao said: “Lead the way.”
Gu Chengfeng looked at her speechlessly: “Aren’t you going to ask me how I found out?”
“No.”
Gu Chengfeng, who had wanted to show off his skills, was left speechless: “…”
He would speak whether she asked or not!
The more she didn’t want to hear, the more he would talk!
“I went to check the soles of the Prince’s shoes. The Prince must have the same intention as us – to verify the child’s identity, starting with the place where the remains were buried. I found yellow and red loamy soils on the shoes of both the Prince and his two closest guards. You may see lots of green moss, but red moss rarely. Additionally, there were also pine needles. The only place that matches this kind of terrain is Dongcao Slope in the Southern part of the city.”
Gu Jiao: “Oh.”
Just ‘Oh’?
Did she have no admiration for his intelligence and wit?
Dongcao Slope was not far away. As the two were quick, it only took them over half an hour to reach.
Most likely the Prince didn’t want anyone to find this place, so he deliberately destroyed the traces when he left. However, this did not deceive the sharp eyes of Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng.
The two quickly found some slight traces.
“It should be around here,” Gu Chengfeng looked around and said.
Generally, the color of the soil where digging had occurred would differ from the nearby soil and was easily distinguishable. However, they saw no difference at first glance.
Suddenly, Gu Jiao’s eyes fell on a cluster of shrubs.
She walked over, pulled the shrubs apart to reveal a large stone inside.
“Move the stone,” Gu Jiao said.
Gu Chengfeng came over and used all his strength to move the stone.
The soil underneath the stone was obviously fresh, darker, and more moist than the nearby soil.
Gu Jiao lit a lantern and took out a small iron shovel from her backpack and threw it to him: “Dig.”
Gu Chengfeng wondered: Had he come here just do manual labor?
After a sweaty quarter of an hour, Gu Chengfeng finally dug out a small coffin.
Gu Chengfeng looked at the coffin, jumped back onto the ground, and shouted in a panting breath, “I dug…I dug it out, it’s your turn now!”
Gu Jiao glanced at him: “Are you scared of ghosts?”
Gu Chengfeng vehemently denied: “Who said I’m scared of ghosts? I’m just tired! You can’t make me do all the work.”
A big man still afraid of ghosts, huh.
Gu Jiao jumped down, used her dagger to pry open each of the coffin’s nails. When she reached the last nail, Gu Chengfeng suddenly hid behind her!
Gu Jiao: “…”
Opening the coffin to take a look, she said to Gu Chengfeng, “Look.”
Gu Chengfeng turned his face away: “I’m not looking!”
“No, look.”
“I’m not looking! I refuse to look! I’d prefer to drop dead than look!”
Gu Jiao dragged him out from behind her and forced him to look into the coffin.
Gu Chengfeng just took a glance and was stunned.
