Chapter 437 Putting a Sack on Your Head (Fifth Update)

Xiao Liulang felt as if his heart had been squeezed hard; he looked at her with disbelief and a complicated expression.

Why?

Why are you so good to him?

He doesn't deserve it.

Gu Jiao continued chopping wood, saying, "I've boiled the hot water. Go take a shower and go to sleep. I'll be done soon."

She had just finished speaking when she put down the saw and said, "I'll go fetch water."

Xiao Liulang grabbed her arm, looking at her with deep eyes: "Jiaojiao."

"Um?"

"Don't be so good to me."

I will be reluctant to let go.

If one day you regret it, I might do anything to keep you by my side.

I'm not a good person, and I'm not as harmless as you see me.

Gu Jiao met his complicated gaze and said frankly, "You're very good to me too."

Xiao Liulang's mind suddenly became a complete mess.

He took a deep breath, slowly raised his hand, and gently touched her cheek with his fingertips: "Silly girl, you'll regret this."

Gu Jiao thought about the possibility seriously, then shook her head firmly: "I won't... At worst, I'll just divorce you."

Xiao Liulang: "..."

—I wasn't comforted.

Xiao Liulang stared at her intently, then suddenly laughed.

Gu Jiao looked at him strangely: "What are you laughing at?"

He answered truthfully, "I'm laughing at you."

He had originally intended to be sentimental, as he was clearly overwhelmed by the melancholy in his heart, but this girl's interruption made it impossible for him to stay down.

Xiao Liulang couldn't help but chuckle and pinched her little cheek: "Why do you always manage to ruin the mood?"

Gu Jiao had no idea what atmosphere she had ruined, and looked at him blankly.

Xiao Liulang was amused by her cute appearance. He placed one hand on the back of her neck, turned his head slightly, and leaned down to cover her.

Is he... about to kiss her?

Gu Jiao's eyes darted around, then she closed them in a second.

However, after waiting for a long time, she didn't receive his kiss. Instead, she heard a muffled chuckle in her ear.

Gu Jiao opened her eyes, turned her head and saw someone holding a piece of wood shavings between their fingers, sitting up and looking at her with suppressed laughter: "You have this on your head."

Gu Jiao's face darkened: "Oh."

Xiao Liulang understood what she wanted, and he wanted it too. He dreamed of her all night, wishing he could press her down on his body and treat her like he did in his dreams.

But he can't do that.

She had only just learned about his background and hadn't truly grasped the implications, not understanding what the son of a female slave really meant.

He will give her time, whether she regrets it or not.

But he won't give it to you for long.

...

Over the next few days, Xiao Liulang stayed in Bishui Hutong to recover from his injuries, while Gu Jiao began to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes.

On the fourth day, Yuan Tang went to the clinic.

Gu Jiao thought he had come to get medicine for Liu Yisheng. The stitches on Liu Yisheng's severed finger had been removed, and the intervention had been effective. However, she still needed to continue taking the medication and then start rehabilitation depending on the situation.

"Ten taels," Gu Jiao said.

Yuan Tang's body trembled: "You...you sell your medicine for such a high price! How can my cousin possibly afford it?"

Gu Jiao said calmly, "It's you who's buying it, not your cousin."

Yuan Tang asked, "What do you mean?"

Gu Jiao said, "Different people, different prices."

Yuan Tang: "...You're a shrewd businessman."

Yuan Tang resignedly took out ten taels of silver.

Gu Jiao accepted the money, and seeing that he didn't leave, she looked at him strangely: "What? Is there something else? If you're thinking of selling me information, I advise you to give up."

Yuan Tang's smug smile vanished in an instant: "Are you a worm in my stomach? How do you know everything I do?"

Ha, Feishuang has already done this before.

Gu Jiao sat back down in her chair and buried herself in organizing today's medical records.

Never mind, he was just teasing her and wanted to get back the ten taels of silver he owed her. It wasn't that he would really stay silent if he couldn't get the silver back.

Yuan Tang opened her folding fan and said slowly, "I heard your husband has gone missing. Do you know who did it?"

"Who?" Gu Jiao asked.

Yuan Tang smiled and said, "Prince Ning."

Gu Jiao wasn't particularly surprised by this answer. She put a medical record back on the shelf and looked up at Yuan Tang: "Are you sure?"

Yuan Tang clicked his tongue and held up three fingers: "As the future Crown Prince of Chen, I swear to Heaven that there is absolutely no mistake, and absolutely no fabrication! However—"

He lowered his hand from the oath and tapped his palm with his folding fan. "Isn't Prince Ning a member of Empress Dowager Zhuang's faction? Why did he kidnap your husband? Is he retaliating for killing so many of his experts? Although those experts were after me, you helped me, so he holds a grudge?"

What Prince Ning resented was not this incident, but rather her subsequent encounter with Princess Ning.

Even so, he only burned down one of her workshops.

She then emptied his vault.

To be honest, Gu Jiao didn't think that Prince Ning would go after Xiao Liulang for the sake of a treasury.

Gu Jiao thought of the Crown Princess's guilty expression.

She is involved in this matter.

Could it be—

Did she already guess Xiao Liulang's true identity? And did she even tell Prince Ning?

The fact that Prince Ning will not touch Xiao Liulang does not mean that Prince Ning will not touch Xiao Heng.

The Crown Princess was once Xiao Heng's fiancée. The two grew up together as childhood sweethearts. If Prince Ning misunderstands that the Crown Princess still has feelings for Xiao Heng, given his twisted nature, he would most likely kill Xiao Heng.

etc.

Kill Xiao Heng?

Something flashed through Gu Jiao's mind, but it was too fast for her to grasp.

"Dr. Gu, what are you thinking about?" Yuan Tang interrupted Gu Jiao's thoughts.

"I'm thinking."

"Oh no! It's on fire! It's on fire!" came the exclamation of a young apprentice from inside the hall.

Gu Jiao stood up. Yuan Tang was close to the door, so he immediately opened the door to the consultation room and went out.

A young apprentice accidentally dropped a tinderbox into the medicinal wine, and the entire jar caught fire.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Tang hurriedly went over, picked up the burning wine jar, and carried it to the open space in the backyard.

Upon seeing this scene, Gu Jiao had a sudden inspiration; she had finally caught the one she had missed earlier.

Yes.

fire.

The fire four years ago!

Could it be that the fire wasn't started by Princess Xinyang, but by Prince Ning?

But for some reason, Xiao Liulang misunderstood him?

If he really did it, then this feud is really serious.

His purpose in capturing Xiao Liulang this time was not merely to intimidate her, but to genuinely want her dead.

She originally planned to slowly harvest this pot of golden chives, but he dared to touch her husband!

Gu Jiao had no evidence of what happened four years ago, but it didn't matter. Even disregarding that old debt from four years ago, he was unforgivable just for this one.

In the afternoon, Gu Jiao went to the palace.

Prince Ning is a prince highly valued by the emperor. He currently works in the Ministry of Personnel. He is occasionally summoned by the emperor to the imperial study or Huaqing Palace. Recently, because of the search for Xiao Liulang, the emperor has summoned him and the crown prince almost every day to inquire about the progress of the matter.

Although Gu Jiao was not in the palace, she had close ties with Renshou Palace and had heard some things from Eunuch Qin.

Gu Jiao arrived at the palace and asked the guards on duty, "Has His Highness Prince Ning entered the palace yet?"

The guard recognized her, knowing she was a favorite of Empress Dowager Zhuang and the Emperor, and was happy to curry favor with her, especially since it wasn't a secret: "She's entered the palace."

Gu Jiao then asked, "Did you go to the Imperial Study or Huaqing Palace?"

The guard said, "They went in the direction of Huaqing Palace."

"Thank you." Gu Jiao said thank you and turned to go to Huaqing Palace.

Gu Jiao couldn't enter Huaqing Palace as easily as she could Renshou Palace by simply showing her face; she still needed to make an announcement. However, in a short while, Eunuch Wei quickly came over and invited Gu Jiao in.

Eunuch Wei asked, "Miss Gu, what brings you here? Are you here to inquire about Lord Xiao?"

Gu Jiao only told her great-aunt about Xiao Liulang's discovery, not the emperor, so Eunuch Wei was unaware of it.

Gu Jiao nodded: "That's right, I'm here to ask for information."

Eunuch Wei said, "Perfect timing, His Highness Prince Ning is here too, we can ask him if he has found any clues."

There are no clues; the person is already at home.

Gu Jiao made a token visit to the Emperor and Prince Ning to inquire about the progress of the case.

As expected, there was no progress whatsoever.

The emperor was extremely anxious: "There's been no news for so long, could it be that he..."

Gu Jiao stared at Prince Ning's face, which was filled with worry, without a trace of schadenfreude.

Too.

If he hadn't kept it well hidden, he wouldn't have been able to have an affair with the Crown Princess for so long without anyone finding out.

The emperor closed his eyes in sorrow: "Send more men. No matter what, I want to see them alive or dead!"

Prince Ning bowed respectfully and said, "Yes! Your subject obeys!"

The emperor sighed, "I will send you a few more men. You'll have to work hard these next few days... I hope to find Xiao Liulang as soon as possible."

"Your subject will go find it now!" Prince Ning said, bowing as he left the imperial study.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness Prince Ning, would you mind if I left the palace with you?"

Prince Ning paused for a moment, then nodded: "Of course I don't mind, Doctor Gu, please."

"Your Majesty, I'm leaving." Gu Jiao bid farewell to the emperor.

The emperor was currently worried about Xiao Liulang's safety and did not allow Gu Jiao to dine at Huaqing Palace.

Gu Jiao and Prince Ning left the palace.

Along the way, the two chatted for a few minutes, showing no signs of any discord between them.

Before boarding the carriage, Prince Ning smiled and said, "Doctor Gu, if we can continue to get along like this, I can pretend that what happened before never happened."

Gu Jiao didn't respond to his question, but instead asked, "I didn't come by carriage today, could you give me a ride?"

"Of course you can." Prince Ning generously gestured for Gu Jiao to get into the car.

Gu Jiao got into the carriage, and Prince Ning also got in.

He maintained a polite and courteous distance from Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao said seriously, "I have something I want to say to Prince Ning alone."

Prince Ning gave her a deep look, smiled knowingly, and ordered to the others, "You all stop now and do not follow."

The Imperial Guards stopped.

The carriage traveled for a while.

Prince Ning said, "Can you speak now?"

Screw you!

Gu Jiao stood up abruptly and stuffed Prince Ning into a sack!

(End of this chapter)