Chapter 245 The Truth (Second Update)
Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng worked all night, and Gu Jiao only let him leave when it was almost dawn.
Gu Chengfeng spent the night doing hard labor and living in fear, so much so that his eyes and nose were no longer recognizable.
But thinking about the thousand taels I earned, I felt that all the hard work was worth it.
Oh right, I haven't told my third brother yet that his baldness can be cured.
Gu Chengfeng returned to the Marquis's residence exhausted but also excited.
Gu Chenglin still lives in his courtyard.
He didn't bother to change his clothes and strode to Gu Chenglin's room.
"Third brother." He was about to raise his hand to knock on the door when he saw the door creak open from the inside.
Gu Chenglin, wearing a hat, looked at Gu Chengfeng with a surprised expression: "Huh? Second Brother? So early?"
Gu Chengfeng frowned: "Why are you here so early?"
Gu Chenglin cleared his throat: "I'm going to the clinic."
Gu Chengfeng: "What are you going to the clinic for?"
Gu Chenglin: "Treat it, treat it so that it doesn't grow back."
He absolutely refused to utter the word "bald".
Gu Chengfeng frowned strangely. Wait a minute, he hadn't even told his third brother about treating his baldness yet? How did his third brother know? Could it be that the brothers... were telepathically connected?
Gu Chenglin said, "Second brother, I'm leaving."
"You just left like that?" Without giving any further explanation?
Gu Chenglin didn't understand his meaning and thought he was worried about him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't worry about the money. I've already given it to you."
Gu Chengfeng asked in bewilderment, "Given to whom? How much was given?"
Gu Chenglin curled his lip: "Who else could it be given to? That girl, 1,200 taels."
Wait, this number looks familiar.
Gu Chengfeng looked at him suspiciously: "Where did you get 1,200 taels?"
Gu Chenglin said "Oh," and then said, "I took it from your room."
Gu Chengfeng almost spat out a mouthful of blood—
That was all his possessions, you idiot!
He wondered why that girl had suddenly become so generous! He thought he had earned a thousand taels! In the end, he lost two hundred taels!
Ugh! I want to die!
Gu Jiao, having tricked Gu Chengfeng out of a new mask and two hundred taels of silver, returned to Biyue Hutong satisfied.
Inside the kitchen, Granny Fang was already busy at work.
After Madam Yao and Granny Fang moved in, Gu Jiao had much less work to do. With the time saved from making breakfast, she could exercise on her own or accompany Xiao Jingkong in his practice.
Xiao Liulang recently had to attend the morning classes at the Imperial Academy, so he set off before dawn.
Xiao Jingkong practices his exercises in the backyard.
Gu Jiao practiced with him for a while, and her flexibility was much better than when she first arrived. She could now do backbends and splits with ease.
There were no classes at Qinghe Academy today, so Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun were both sleeping in late.
Gu Jiao did not wake the two of them. After having breakfast with Yao Shi and Xiao Jingkong, she took Xiao Jingkong to the Imperial Academy.
As I walked into the alley, I ran into Mr. Zhao's eldest daughter-in-law, Ms. He, and his grandson, Zhao Xiaobao.
Mrs. He chased after Zhao Xiaobao all over the yard to feed him.
"Xiao Bao." Xiao Jingkong greeted him as he passed by the door.
"Brother Jingkong." Zhao Xiaobao greeted him, then ran off to hide from his mother.
Gu Jiao had never brought up this topic with Xiao Jingkong before because she felt it was somewhat sensitive. However, the arrival of Prince Yu and his wife forced her to take the issue seriously.
"clearance."
"Hmm? Jiaojiao?" Little Jingkong looked up at her with an adorable expression.
Gu Jiao asked, "Do you want to have parents?"
Little Jingkong grunted and said, "Jingkong is pregnant! Jiaojiao's parents are Jingkong's parents too!"
Gu Jiao paused for a moment: "I mean, your own parents, your biological parents."
Xiao Jingkong stopped and looked at Gu Jiao with hurt in his eyes: "Jiao Jiao, don't you want me anymore?"
These words felt like a stab to Gu Jiao's heart.
She had been abrupt; she had completely forgotten that he was actually a sensitive and fragile little guy.
Gu Jiao patted his little head: "How could that be? You're so cute, I can't even keep liking you enough."
"I knew it!" Xiao Jingkong jumped up and down again, becoming happy once more.
After sending the person to the Imperial Academy, Gu Jiao did not go to the clinic, but instead went to the Royal Garden.
Prince Yu did not enter the palace today; he stayed in the garden to accompany Princess Yu.
Princess Yu was so excited about being able to take her son back soon that she couldn't sleep all night.
She made a pair of shoes for her son overnight. As a princess, she usually left such things to servants, so her skills were lacking and the shoes she made were truly unimpressive.
Holding the pair of ugly shoes, she asked her husband with a mixture of shyness and excitement, "Your Highness, do you think he'll like them?"
Prince Yu looked at the shoes in his wife's hands: "You did a good job. He will like them. He is a sensible child."
"I meant us!" Princess Yu looked at him nervously. "We haven't been by his side all these years. What if he doesn't like us? What if he doesn't want to go back with us?"
Prince Yu squeezed his wife's hand, his eyes deep: "Don't worry, we will definitely be able to bring him back."
Princess Yu's heart settled back into her stomach: "I want to build him another small courtyard... He's still young, and he's sleeping with us for now, but he should have his own courtyard so that no one can look down on him... Could you postpone building your sword-training platform a little later...?"
Princess Yu chattered on and on, her eyes filled with anticipation for bringing her son back to Liang.
Prince Yu watched her quietly, responding occasionally.
Suddenly, a servant came to report: "Your Highness, Your Highness, a woman claiming to be Miss Gu has arrived outside."
"Miss Gu? Is she Jingkong's sister? Did you tell her our identities?" Princess Yu was so excited yesterday that she fainted. When she woke up, she had already returned to the garden. She knew that Prince Yu and Gu Jiao must have talked about something afterward, because her husband told her to rest assured that everything had been settled.
Prince Yu frowned slightly.
He did not reveal his identity.
A quarter of an hour later, Gu Jiao appeared in the flower hall.
Prince Yu looked at Gu Jiao, and this time, his eyes held a hint of scrutiny and examination.
He then realized that although Gu Jiao's appearance was marred, she showed no sign of weakness. Her demeanor was composed and graceful, unlike that of a lowly female doctor.
Princess Yu had a good impression of Gu Jiao, and she greeted her with a smile: "Miss Gu, you've come so early. Haven't you eaten yet? I'll have someone set the table."
"No need, I've already eaten," Gu Jiao refused calmly. "I've come today to talk to you about something."
She glanced at the couple and said, "You can't take Jingkong away."
Princess Yu was taken aback: "Why...why? Is it because Jingkong disagrees?"
Gu Jiao stated bluntly, "He disagrees, and so do I."
Prince Yu said coldly, "I'm afraid this matter is not up to you to decide. Your Zhao Kingdom's emperor will make the decision himself!"
Seeing the two on the verge of arguing, Princess Consort Yu quickly stepped between them, saying to Prince Yu, "Speak properly!" She then said to Gu Jiao, "Miss Gu, please don't be angry. It's our fault for not giving you enough time to prepare… If Jingkong is unwilling, I can wait for him… I will stay in the capital… and take him back when he agrees… If you really can't bear to part with Jingkong, and if you are willing, Prince Yu's residence welcomes you anytime. I will treat you like my own daughter…"
This is the biggest concession Princess Yu can make.
She can wait. If her son doesn't agree, she'll wait one day; if he doesn't agree for a year, she'll wait a year.
But she won't give up.
Because that was her son, and she was a mother!
Gu Jiao paused, then looked at Princess Yu and said, "You don't need to wait."
Princess Yu's eyes lit up: "You agree?"
Gu Jiao shook her head.
Seemingly realizing what Gu Jiao was about to say, Prince Yu's expression changed, and he said sternly, "Shut up!"
How could Gu Jiao be scared by him?
Gu Jiao said to Princess Yu, "Jingkong is not Princess's son, so Princess doesn't need to wait."
Princess Yu hurriedly shook her head: "No, he is my son! He is! Isn't he four years old? Wasn't he born in the twelfth lunar month? My son was too! And... I liked him so much the moment I saw him... He can't not be my son..."
Liking someone is a matter of first impression, or it may be a projection of one's inner self.
Gu Jiao stared intently into Princess Yu's eyes, her gaze unwavering.
Princess Yu's heart sank.
Prince Yu quickly stepped forward and shielded Princess Yu behind him, blocking their view of each other.
His unfriendly gaze fell on Gu Jiao's face: "What nonsense are you talking about! He is my son with the Queen!"
"If he's your son, then what is this?"
As Gu Jiao spoke, she took out an old swaddling cloth containing something from her small basket.
Prince Yu's expression changed instantly.
His gaze shifted from unfriendly to fierce, and the veins on his forehead bulged as he reached out to grab the swaddling clothes from Gu Jiao.
But to his utter surprise, he, a military general of his own country, had come up empty-handed!
Gu Jiao moved with incredible speed, not only dodging Prince Yu's attack but also circling around to stand in front of Princess Yu: "Princess, you are familiar with this swaddling clothes, aren't you?"
Princess Yu was taken aback.
She was certainly familiar with this swaddling cloth; it was the one she had personally chosen for the child in her womb years ago. She had even consulted an embroiderer to have two small flowers embroidered on the swaddling cloth.
In the dead of night, she dreamt countless times of the child who died young being wrapped in this swaddling clothes.
However, the color of the swaddling clothes in front of me has faded a bit compared to the original, and there is also dust and damage.
Princess Yu's expression immediately tensed up: "Miss Gu, where did this swaddling clothes come from? What's inside...?"
Before Princess Consort Yu could finish speaking, Prince Yu stepped in front of her, shielding her behind him, and said through gritted teeth to Gu Jiao, "Don't think you can pull off this by using a fake swaddle! There are plenty of these swaddles in the entire Zhao Kingdom! What are you trying to say?"
Gu Jiao said calmly, "There are indeed many such infants in the entire Zhao Kingdom, but only one was buried on Dongcaopo. Since you think I'm fabricating this, fine, then I'll burn it!"
As she spoke, she flicked her finger and poured the lamp oil from the table onto the swaddling clothes. Then, she struck a tinderbox and threw the swaddling clothes into the courtyard of the flower hall.
The swaddling clothes suddenly burst into flames!
Prince Yu's expression changed drastically!
Actually, he was already on the verge of losing his composure when he heard about Dongcaopo, but he told himself to stay calm and not fall for this girl's tricks. Who would have thought that this girl would be so ruthless as to not even spare the bones of an infant!
Amidst the raging flames, a section of white bone was revealed. Prince Yu could no longer feign composure. He leaped up and ripped open the burning swaddling clothes, revealing the tiny skeleton wrapped inside.
The bones were smashed to pieces on the ground, and Prince Yu's face was twisted in anger and pain!
He didn't bother to cause trouble for Gu Jiao. He took off his clothes to wrap up the remains, but as soon as he touched them, he felt something was wrong.
Wait, this isn't a real bone.
...It's wood!
That's right, this is the result of Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng's hard work all night.
Although their skills were not as good as Gu Xiaoshun's, their work was still quite convincing, and at first glance, it was not difficult to spot any major flaws.
The production process was really troublesome, and Gu Chengfeng was afraid of ghosts, so he almost died of fright several times.
Gu Jiao didn't touch anything in the wooden coffin. Even the swaddling clothes were something she forced Gu Chengfeng to steal from the cloth shop. The two of them made them look old.
Prince Yu finally realized that he had been tricked by the little girl in front of him.
How dare this girl! Even the emperor of Zhao wouldn't dare!
Prince Yu wanted to cover something up, but it was too late.
Princess Yu is not stupid. How could she not see what Prince Yu's desperate lunge meant?
She withered away like a winter flower, her eyes losing all their luster in an instant. She swayed and nearly fell to the ground.
Prince Yu threw away the wooden bone in his hand, strode over, and supported the swaying Princess Yu: "It's not the child's remains...it's made of wood...don't be sad...you...please let me explain..."
Princess Yu's tears fell in large drops.
Gu Jiao has done what she needed to do; now it's up to the couple to handle their own affairs.
Princess Yu is innocent, but her tragedy was not caused by Gu Jiao. The one who should reflect on his actions is Prince Yu.
After experiencing immense hope, Princess Yu suffered an unbearable despair, as if she were experiencing the pain of losing her son once again.
She huddled in her room and cried her heart out.
As soon as Ming'er opened her eyes, she heard her mother crying.
He had never seen his mother so heartbroken since he could remember. He put on his shoes and ran out, where he saw his father standing anxiously outside the door at the end of the corridor.
“What happened with Jingkong was wrong of me… I shouldn’t have done that… It’s all my fault…”
clearance?
Is it the younger brother who is to be adopted and taken home?
“We still have Ming’er… Even if you don’t think about yourself, think about Ming’er…”
What does Father mean? What do you mean by "he's still here"?
Don't you have a younger brother? Doesn't he want to go back with them?
very nice.
Now that he has no younger brother, his mother is all his again. His older brothers and sisters are all grown up and no longer compete with him for their mother's attention.
But... why can't he be happy?
His mother was sad, and he was sad too.
Ming'er felt a soreness in her nose.
He wiped away the tears from his eyes, gritted his teeth, turned around and ran out!
(End of this chapter)
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