Chapter 761 Assisting the Little Cutie (Second Update)

When Gu Jiao and Master Jing returned after picking the fruit, Master Jing lifted the curtain to go inside, but was turned back after just one step.

"Such powerful killing intent!"

He held the fruit and spoke solemnly beside Gu Jiao.

"Whose murderous aura is this?" Gu Jiao asked.

"My elder brother's!" said Master Jing. "I've known my elder brother for so many years, and this is the first time I've felt such intense killing intent from him!"

That's an exaggeration.

However, it was clear that the Duke of Anguo had sent her and Master Jing away just now because he wanted to speak with Xiao Heng alone.

Could it be that Duke Anguo recognized Xiao Heng as not being Shangguan Qing?

Gu Jiao hurriedly got into the carriage.

Xiao Heng turned to look at her, intending to complain to Gu Jiao with his eyes.

Regrettably, the moment he put on that act of being bullied by his adoptive father and feeling wronged, the Duke of Anguo's murderous aura vanished.

Duke Anguo's gentle, spring-like gaze fell on Xiao Heng's face, and if it weren't for the stiffness in his facial muscles, he would have already started to smile.

They are incredibly kind and gentle.

—The apprentice of the tea master Lao Jijiu has met his match for the first time.

“Isn’t this great?” Gu Jiao said.

Master Jing, who followed Gu Jiao up, looked incredulous: "Uh... well, it seems pretty good."

Duke Anguo wrote on the armrest: "We had a very pleasant conversation."

Xiao Heng: Really? I had a feeling you were about to kill me.

Duke Anguo continued, “He is a fine young man, and I like him very much.”

Gu Jiao nodded. "I like him too. Duke, you have good taste!"

Gu Jiao's favorability towards Duke Anguo increased rapidly.

Not to be outdone, Xiao Heng quickly added, "Duke Anguo is knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and has a profound understanding of both ancient and modern times. He is truly a genius. I will learn from him in the future. Liu Lang, when you visit Duke Anguo in the future, please take me with you."

Gu Jiao nodded, happy to have come with her husband to see the Duke of Anguo!

Duke Anguo was so angry that his eyesight was failing.

Completely oblivious, Second Master Jing exclaimed, "Why are you calling me Duke Anguo? Call me Uncle!"

Xiao Heng looked at the Duke of Anguo with a beaming smile: "Uncle."

Duke Anguo inwardly scoffed, "Hmph!"

Last night, Gu Jiao promised Xiao Jingkong that she would pick him up from school today. After sitting in the Duke of Anguo's carriage for a while, she left with Xiao Heng.

"Brother, let's go back too," said Master Jing.

Suddenly, Duke Anguo wrote on the armrest: "I want to forge."

"Huh?" Master Jing's eyes widened, thinking he was seeing things. "No way, brother, what's wrong with you? The doctor has told you to exercise so many times, but you just wouldn't listen. How did you come up with the idea to change your mind?"

Duke Anguo: He should stand up and beat that brat!

...

Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng first escorted the Black Wind King back to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall before taking a carriage to Lingbo Academy.

Xiao Heng said, "The Duke of Anguo knows that I am not Shangguan Qing."

"It's alright, he won't tell," Gu Jiao said. When no one else was around, Gu Jiao always spoke in a female voice.

Xiao Heng looked at Gu Jiao with suspicion: "You trust him that much?"

"Yes." Gu Jiao admitted without hesitation that she trusted Duke Anguo very much. She had this feeling from the first moment she saw him, otherwise she would not have crawled into a stranger's bed.

Xiao Heng opened his mouth, then said, "He also knows you are a woman."

Gu Jiao stroked her chin: "You really do know that?"

Xiao Heng was taken aback: "You knew he knew?"

Gu Jiao thought for a moment: "I only guessed that. When I first came to Shengdu, I accidentally stumbled into the Duke's mansion. At that time, the Duke was unconscious, and I thought he was unconscious, so I used my original voice when I spoke. Later, he was assassinated and was injured. When I treated his injuries, I found that he seemed to be conscious. But since he couldn't open his eyes, I was too lazy to pretend to be a young boy."

"Is he being so good to you because you saved him?" Xiao Heng seemed to have found a reason for the Duke's favoritism towards Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao shook her head: "I don't know. Later, I went to the Duke's mansion openly a few more times, and my voice was different. I thought he didn't recognize me, but now it seems that he always knew it was me."

She didn't know how he recognized her.

It's like... whenever you come near me, I feel a surge of joy, knowing it's you.

The carriage arrived at Lingbo Academy.

Two adorable little ones had just come out of the prodigy class and stood cutely at the door.

Zhang Dequan also came to pick up the young princess and take her back to the palace. His Majesty the King had been thinking about her all day and was very worried that the young princess might not be able to adapt to going back to the academy so soon.

His eyes lit up and he walked toward the young princess.

Unexpectedly, the young princess and Xiao Jingkong boarded the carriage in the Imperial Preceptor's Palace.

"Hello teacher, hello nephew, goodbye Grandpa Zhang!"

Zhang Dequan: "..."

Inside a small bamboo house in the Purple Bamboo Grove, the Imperial Advisor and the King sat facing each other, drinking tea.

The king's legs ached from sitting, so he stood up and walked around the room.

The king was originally reviewing memorials in the imperial study, and came to the Grand Preceptor's Hall on a whim. The young princess did not know that he was there, nor did Zhang Dequan.

None of that matters.

The king arrived at the royal advisor's study.

The Imperial Preceptor had already put away Jing Yinyin's belongings in the study, leaving only some books and scrolls.

The king would not touch the Grand Preceptor's scroll.

He simply came to the display case and looked at the clay sculpture of three people sitting in the courtyard.

Between the three people was a long, low table.

One person sat on one side, and the other two sat on the other side.

"You still keep it," the king said.

The Grand Preceptor stopped beside the King and stared intently at the three small clay figures in the sculpture, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have kept them all these years and cannot bear to throw them away."

The king said, "The fact that the two of you always sit together makes me seem particularly out of place."

The Grand Preceptor said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of the country, and we dare not offend you."

The king did not continue the topic. He touched the small peach tree on the clay sculpture and said, "The results of this selection are in. Six people have entered the final selection. Can you guess who they are?"

Grand Preceptor: "Han Ci, Feng Wuming, Mu Qingchen, Xiao Liulang, Jun Xiuhan."

The king withdrew his hand: "Hmm, you guessed all five correctly. There's one left."

Grand Preceptor: "There is one left, though we do not know who it is, but it should also be a member of the Han family."

The King: "Did you consult the oracle?"

Grand Preceptor: "No, I was just analyzing the strength."

The King: "Then who do you think will pass the final test?"

The Imperial Advisor: "It's hard to say."

The king looked at him strangely: "Why?"

The Grand Preceptor said, "Each of them has their own strengths. I am not aware of the rules for the final round of selection, so I cannot make a definitive conclusion."

The king came to the window, looked at the endless purple bamboo forest, and said in a low voice, "Feng Wuming and Jun Xiuhan are from Canaan Academy. Although Feng Wuming has become a monk, he learned these military strategies before he became a monk. Your Canaan Academy attaches great importance to the study of military strategy."

The Grand Preceptor's expression remained unchanged: "Canaan Academy has produced six top scholars in the civil service examinations and four top scholars in the military examinations. Not only has Canaan Academy cultivated many outstanding generals for the Yan Kingdom, but it has also provided the court with more scholars and pillars of society."

The king smiled and said, "I didn't say it was bad. How did that Xiao Liulang become the adopted son of the Duke of Anguo? I heard that you were the one who introduced them. What is the deeper meaning behind the Grand Preceptor's actions?"

The Grand Preceptor said, "There's no profound meaning behind it; I just think he has potential."

"Why the Duke's Mansion?" the king asked suspiciously.

The Grand Preceptor met the King's scrutinizing gaze and said calmly, "He treated the Crown Princess and stole the credit for saving the Little Princess. He has long been a thorn in the side of the major families. Apart from the Duke of Anguo's mansion, I can't think of anyone else who would dare to take on this hot potato."

The king shifted his gaze and continued to admire the purple bamboo grove: "How is the Duke of Anguo doing?"

The Grand Preceptor said calmly, "It's not good. He can't speak or move his legs. That's how it will be for him for the rest of his life. Your Majesty doesn't need to worry."

The king coldly snorted: "Hmph, just a Duke of Anguo, not worth my trouble!"

The Imperial Advisor remained silent.

Silence fell over the room.

The king suddenly laughed heartily. The Grand Tutor looked at him strangely. The king said with relief, "I know how to test the final round. Bring me the pen!"

...

The young princess spent a pleasant and wonderful night in the Qilin Palace, completely forgetting that she was supposed to return to the palace.

When the king passed by the Qilin Palace, he saw Zhang Dequan standing outside. He frowned and asked, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to go and fetch the young princess?"

Zhang Dequan awkwardly pointed to the entrance of the Qilin Hall.

Two little kids were engrossed in squatting on the ground, piling sand.

monarch:"……"

The king grabbed the young princess and put her into the carriage: "Didn't I tell you to stay obediently in the palace? Why are you running around again?"

The young princess pointed to her fingers and said, "I, I, I'm here to see His Majesty, my uncle."

Then go ahead and look for him. If I don't come to arrest you, do you believe I can play with that kid until dawn?

The young princess blinked guiltily, leaned closer to the king, and, against her conscience, praised, "Uncle, you look especially handsome today."

The king: "Ha!"

The little princess continued to pester him, using her irresistible charm: "Uncle, I like you the most."

The king: "Hmph!"

The person who adored their uncle was suddenly drawn to the small bamboo tubes in the king's hands: "Huh? What are these?"

Even the bamboo tube looks better than my uncle's.

monarch:"……"

The little guy's eyes were wide open, his mouth was agape, and he was practically drooling.

She remembered the bamboo rice she had for dinner that night, made by her teacher herself, with jujubes and red beans inside. It was fragrant, sticky, delicious, and not greasy at all.

The king watched as her drool poured down her cheeks, and his lips twitched: "It's a test question, not food."

The little guy decisively distanced himself from the test questions.

She straightened her small frame and said seriously, "I don't want to take the exam!"

The king was both amused and annoyed: "It's not for you, it's for your teachers."

Six people, six test questions, each with a different task and unaware of each other's situation, which will lead to discrepancies in their information.

They won't even know how they lost.

This was not a simple 300-mile ride; it was a strategic game.

The first to reach the finish line is not necessarily the final winner; the key to victory is whoever has all the information first.

Unfortunately, no one would have thought of this aspect.

They will only keep running, sparing no effort to reach the finish line.

The king thought himself a genius for coming up with such a tricky assessment mechanism.

The teacher's test question? The little princess checked her little fingers, her eyes darting around.

She said in her babyish voice, "Uncle, I need to poop!"

The king frowned: "Now?" They've already left the Imperial Advisor's Hall.

"I can't hold it in anymore!" she said, her face flushed red as she strained to breathe.

The king said, "Don't be naughty and lie on purpose just to play."

The little princess instantly transformed into a ruffled chick: "I didn't! I wasn't playing! Uncle, you've wronged me! I'm so sad!"

The king was stunned. The little girl looked as if she had been greatly wronged, as if he had truly wronged her.

The king cleared his throat and said to Zhang Dequan, "Let's return to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall first."

"Ah...yes." Zhang Dequan agreed and instructed the coachman to drive the carriage back to the Imperial Preceptor's Hall.

The little princess raised her chin and made a request: "I need to go to the Qilin Palace to poop."

The king, his face dark, said, "You still say you didn't want to play around?"

The young princess argued forcefully: "There are small toilets in the Qilin Palace."

monarch:"……"

You have so many demands.

The king stopped his carriage outside the Qilin Palace.

"I'm going to take a very, very long time."

"Just say you want to play."

"I don't."

The ruler: "Zhang Dequan".

The young princess said, "I want my uncle to come with me."

The king placed several small bamboo tubes in a hidden compartment of the carriage and led the young princess down from the carriage.

"I forgot something, I'll get it myself!" She huffed and puffed as she climbed onto the carriage, quietly pulled open a hidden compartment, and hid the small bamboo tube in her satchel.

The king asked, "Why are you carrying a book bag to the outhouse?"

The young princess said, "I have something for Jingkong."

"You just want to play around." The king led her into the Qilin Palace. "Do you think I can't see through you?"

The latrine in the Qilin Hall is clean and tidy, not an ordinary outhouse.

The little princess arrived at the door, stretched out a small hand to the king, and gestured for him to stop: "Alright, I'll go in myself. Uncle, wait for me here!"

The king was both amused and exasperated.

The young princess entered the latrine, locked the door, climbed onto the windowsill on a small stool, and softly called out, "Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu."

Little Nine flapped its wings and flew over.

The young princess poured out all six test questions in one go.

"Oh dear, there are so many! Which one is the teacher's? I... I can't read, so I'll just take them all!"

(End of this chapter)