Chapter 627 Reencounter with the Duke (Second Update)

Gu Jiao was dozing off and had no idea what the teacher was talking about.

She gave Zhong Ding a wink, and Zhong Ding silently put down his book and subtly tapped his own annotations with his finger.

Gu Jiao's lips twitched. "Brother, the annotation you made is in the Zhao Kingdom script..."

Gu Jiao ultimately failed to answer the question and was punished by her teacher to copy the text fifty times.

Gu Jiao gritted her teeth and sat down.

very good.

Mercury retrograde.

However, to make matters worse, Gu Jiao was summoned to the teacher's office in Mingxin Hall after class and received a demerit from the academy.

Gu Jiaojiao's body trembled: "Why was I given a demerit?"

Master Jiang of Mingxin Hall said, "No student of the academy is allowed to enter or leave brothels; otherwise, they will be given a demerit!"

Gu Jiao: "..."

Tianqiong Academy has its own dining hall, where Gu Jiao and Gu Xiaoshun ate lunch at the academy.

The cost of meals is included in the tuition fee; no additional payment is required.

"Sister!" Gu Xiaoshun arrived at the entrance of Mingxin Hall with great joy.

Gu Jiao suppressed her displeasure at being given a demerit and looked at Gu Xiaoshun: "How was your class today?"

Gu Xiaoshun said, "It's alright."

Gu Jiao asked, "Did you doze off?"

"Ahem, yes." Isn't dozing off a standard part of class?

Gu Jiao paused for a moment: "You weren't called out by the teacher, were you?"

Gu Xiaoshun quickly shook his head: "No, that's not true."

So, if they were both dozing off, why was she the only one caught by the teacher?

It's all because of Mu Qingchen.

She knew he wouldn't let her off so easily—being kidnapped by her that night was a lifelong disgrace for him as Young Master Qingchen, and he was determined to get his revenge.

Gu Jiao watched Mu Qingchen's departing figure with a calm expression, her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Sis, why are you staring at people like that?" Gu Xiaoshun noticed Gu Jiao's gaze.

Gu Jiao looked away: "It's nothing, he's handsome. Let's go eat."

"Oh." Gu Xiaoshun perked up at the mention of food. Then, as if remembering something, he leaned closer to Gu Jiao and whispered, "But sister, how can you think other men are handsome? Your brother-in-law will be jealous."

I just said it offhand, you're the one who asked me.

Fortunately, Gu Xiaoshun was more interested in the food and immediately stopped caring about this: "We've paid so much money, I wonder if the food in the canteen is any good."

The two arrived at the dining hall, where Mu Qingchen was also present. Everyone in the dining hall was looking at him, but he exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay, so much so that no one dared to approach him or provoke him.

"Light dust!"

On the second floor, a young scholar waved to Mu Qingchen.

Mu Qingchen glanced at the other person and stepped up the stairs.

Lunch consisted of steamed buns and three side dishes, one meat and one vegetable. It was all you could eat, and you could ask for more if you weren't full.

The first floor was crowded and noisy, while the second floor seemed quieter. Gu Jiao planned to take Gu Xiaoshun up to the second floor, but they were stopped by a group of square-faced people as soon as they reached the top of the stairs.

The square-faced man, having been rebuffed by Mu Qingchen, dared not be angry with her, so he vented his anger on Gu Jiao: "Xiao Liulang, where are you going?"

"He's trying to go up and find Young Master Qingchen!" the triangular-eyed man said with a smile.

The square-faced man crossed his arms, pointed his thumb up at the upstairs, and said arrogantly, "That's not a place for you lower-class people."

Zhong Ding saw Gu Jiao being blocked at the stairwell from afar, quickly put down his rice bowl and came over. He pulled Gu Jiao around and whispered, "The food upstairs isn't for us ordinary students."

Only a young master from a prominent family like Mu Qingchen is qualified to go up there.

Gu Xiaoshun muttered, "What kind of academy is this? There are so many rules."

Gu Jiao just wanted some peace and quiet; she wasn't really craving the food upstairs. If she couldn't go, so be it.

"Xiao Shun, let's go," Gu Jiao said.

"Hey!"

Gu Xiaoshun quickly followed.

The group of people with square faces were dumbfounded again.

The man with the triangular eyes pointed at Gu Jiao's retreating figure: "No, he... he just left like that?"

I shouldn't have argued with them. What's wrong with being from a lower-class country? Does your academy have different levels? Can you even get in? If not, what are you bragging about?

Can't they even start arguing about this?

The man with the triangular eyes asked doubtfully, "Does he not take us seriously?"

Gu Jiao found a quiet corner to eat with Gu Xiaoshun.

Gu Xiaoshun loves to eat meat, so Gu Jiao gave him all the braised pork in her bowl.

It's supposed to be all-you-can-eat, but you can't get the braised pork belly as a main dish; each person only gets one spoonful.

Gu Xiaoshun: "Sis, you eat it yourself."

Gu Jiao said, "You eat it, I can't finish it."

In a private room on the second floor, a handsome young man wearing a white headband looked at Mu Qingchen opposite him and said with a smile, "What brings you here? You never used to come to class when I asked you to, but this time you've come for two days in a row and even ate in the cafeteria. Am I seeing things?"

Mu Qingchen didn't speak, her gaze sweeping over the person in the corner of the first floor who had given all the braised pork to his younger brother, then looking at the table of fine wine and delicacies in front of her, and asked, "Do we need so many dishes for two people?"

"Is that too much? There are only eight dishes," said the boy with the forehead band.

A moment later, the boy with the forehead ribbon noticed Mu Qingchen's gaze drifting in a certain direction. He smiled and looked at Gu Jiao in the corner: "What? That kid's an eyesore? Well, he's so ugly, it's an eyesore. Don't worry, in less than three days, I'll make sure he can't stay at the Sky Dome Academy!"

Mu Qingchen glanced at him and said, "Go if you're not afraid of dying."

"Judging from what my cousin is saying, I can't even defeat a person from a lower country?" The boy with the forehead band had heard everything; the boy with the birthmark on his face was from a lower country.

After he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something and looked at Mu Qingchen in disbelief, "Are you perhaps going to protect him?"

"You're overthinking it." Mu Qingchen pushed the rice bowl towards him. "Eat your food and stop causing trouble for your parents."

When his parents were mentioned, the boy with the forehead ribbon fell silent.

In the afternoon, it was arithmetic class, and Gu Jiao sat next to Zhong Ding as usual.

The teacher who was instructing them was a man surnamed Gao, and Gu Jiao was still dozing off with one hand propping up her head.

Zhong Ding was certain she hadn't heard a single word, so he kindly made a note for her as well. Of course, this time he learned his lesson and didn't use the Zhao script, but rather the Yan script.

"What did you do last night?" Zhong Ding asked Gu Jiao after class.

"I didn't do anything," Gu Jiao said.

"Here you go." Zhong Ding handed the notebook to Gu Jiao. "Don't do that again. I heard that Master Gao is one of the strictest teachers in the academy. He sets exams every month. If you fail, you'll be in big trouble."

"Okay." Gu Jiao yawned, took the notebook, and tidied up to leave.

Zhong Ding was still engrossed in doing his problems.

"I got the third question wrong," Gu Jiao said casually as she stood up.

Zhong Ding was taken aback. He looked at Gu Jiao, then at the surroundings: "Are you...are you talking to me?"

"The answer is nineteen." Gu Jiao didn't even look at it, grabbed her book bag and left.

"How could it be nineteen? Isn't it seventeen? Did you even read the question? You're just spouting nonsense." Zhong Ding didn't believe it. How could someone who dozed off the whole class know how to do the questions?

...

After dinner, Gu Jiao decided to go into the inner city again.

Nan Shi Niang said, "There is a curfew in the inner city. Why don't you wait until things calm down?"

Gu Jiao said, "We don't know when this storm will pass, and Ayan's condition can't wait."

In fact, Nan Shi Niang felt that since so many medical clinics had not found the operating room that Gu Jiao needed, the operating room probably did not exist at all.

But Gu Jiao's tenacious spirit of not accepting fate made it impossible for Nan Shi Niang to say anything.

Some people accept their fate, while others do not. Gu Jiao belongs to the latter group—not only does she not accept her fate, but she also fights against fate to save her life.

"Be careful," Madam Nan cautioned.

"I will." Gu Jiao changed her clothes and had Gu Xiaoshun take her to the inner city gate.

"This child," Master Lu sighed.

Nan Shi Niang: "This reminds me of someone."

Master Lu: "Who?"

Nan Shi Niang: "Lord Duke."

"You mean the Duke of Anguo?" Master Lu's face darkened. "Why have you been bringing him up so often lately? I'm going to get angry if you keep doing this!"

Nan Shi Niang gave him a reproachful look: "I just feel that Jiao Jiao's tenacity is exactly the same as that of the Duke of Anguo when he was young. Do you still remember the marriage between the Duke of Anguo and Miss Xuanyuan back then?"

Master Lu said irritably, "I'm not from Yan, nor have I lived there for as many years as you have. How would I remember?"

Mrs. Nan glared at him, both amused and annoyed: "Miss Xuanyuan once told Duke Anguo, 'You're so weak and incapable of lifting anything, you wouldn't last a single move against me. My father said that any daughter of the Xuanyuan family should marry the most valiant and skilled warrior in the world.'"

Master Lu asked in confusion, "Then how did she end up marrying the Duke?"

Madam Nan smiled and said, "Yes, he still got married. Everyone thought it was impossible, but the Duke didn't give up. Jiaojiao did the same."

Master Lu pondered for a moment: "But I think... curing Ayan's illness is even more difficult than when the Duke asked for the hand of the Xuanyuan family's daughter."

It's no exaggeration to say it's as difficult as climbing to heaven. At least Duke Anguo only snatched his daughter from Xuanyuan Li's hands, but Jiaojiao is trying to snatch someone from the clutches of the King of Hell.

Nan Shi Niang sighed, "Who can argue with that? Besides, Jiao Jiao has no relatives or friends in Yan, it's really tough on her."

The checks inside the inner city were even stricter. This time, Gu Jiao didn't choose to hang it at the bottom of the carriage. Instead, she found a cargo box to hide it in, covering it with silk and brocade.

"Stop!"

When they arrived at the inner city gate, the carriage was stopped by the guards. The guards not only checked it from top to bottom, but also searched under the carriage. They even opened each box to make sure that it was indeed filled with cloth before letting it pass.

After the carriage stopped, the driver went to call someone to unload the goods.

Gu Jiao took the opportunity to come out of the box. She looked around and suddenly became confused.

Why are you at the Duke's mansion again?

"Alright, you lot, move the top two boxes of silk and satin to the Second Madam's courtyard!"

"yes!"

"The remaining silks and jewelry should be sent to Miss Mu. She has done a good job in treating the Duke, and these were all bought by the Second Madam as a reward for her."

"We understand!"

As the voices drew closer, Gu Jiao walked out from the other side.

Suddenly, a dark shadow swept through the bushes not far away at great speed. If Gu Jiao hadn't happened to be nearby, she probably wouldn't have noticed it at all.

She frowned, instinctively sensing a murderous aura.

The dark figure headed straight for the southeast corner.

That was the Duke's courtyard.

Someone wants to kill the Duke!

Nan Shi Niang had warned Gu Jiao not to get involved with the Duke's mansion, as the Duke was just a stranger and had no connection with Gu Jiao.

"Forget it, never mind. The Duke's mansion has its own guards, so there's no need for me to go through all this trouble."

The man moved with uncanny skill, evading all the patrolling guards and successfully sneaking into the Duke's courtyard.

The maid named Lianqiao had secretly slipped away to play again, leaving only the Duke in the room.

The gray-clad assassin approached the bedside, clutching a gleaming dagger.

The cold light reflected from the dagger fell on the Duke's tightly closed eyes, and perhaps sensing something, the Duke's hands began to tremble.

Without hesitation, the gray-clad assassin plunged the sword into the Duke's heart!

Bang!

A small figure flashed by and kicked the assassin away!

The assassin crashed into the pillar behind him and fell heavily to the ground. Gu Jiao didn't give him a chance to get up. She kicked him again, sending him tumbling backward to the ground, where he vomited blood on the spot!

The assassin coldly stared at the masked youth who had suddenly appeared, knowing that his assassination plan had failed. He gave up the fight and leaped out of the window.

Gu Jiao picked up the dagger he hadn't had time to take and put it in her bosom.

She came to the bedside. Although the assassin had not succeeded, the tip of the knife had still cut the Duke's hand.

"You're injured, let me bandage you up." Since there was no one else around, Gu Jiao used her own voice.

The Duke's fingertips twitched.

Gu Jiao grunted and said, "You can hear me?"

The Duke's fingertips twitched again.

It seems that the patient can indeed hear, and is already responding to external stimuli, which is a very good sign.

Gu Jiao took out a first-aid kit from her bosom: "Then I'll treat your wounds, don't move around."

She paused, then added, "It doesn't hurt."

(End of this chapter)