Chapter 314 The Tyrant's Darling! (First Update)
A masked assassin drew his sword, but just as he approached the carriage, an arrow shot out and pierced his shoulder, the force of which sent him flying.
He crashed heavily into a tree, then fell awkwardly to the ground, his head spinning, and he lost consciousness.
The coachman was struck by an arrow and had already fallen.
The horse was startled and ran off in a panic.
This is a section of mountain road; if we run any further, we'll plunge off a cliff!
"Protect the Princess!"
The accompanying guards shouted.
However, they were stopped by a group of assassins who descended from the sky, and the two sides engaged in fierce combat.
"Hold on tight!" Gu Jiao released Princess Rui and placed her hand on the armrest of the carriage wall. "Hold on tight!"
"Yes!" Princess Rui nodded nervously. Her heart was in her throat, but she didn't mess things up at the crucial moment and didn't cause any trouble for Gu Jiao.
She gripped the handrail tightly.
Gu Jiao lifted the curtain and went out, sitting on the outer seat of the carriage and holding the reins with both hands.
She had considered jumping out of the carriage, but that might have cost Princess Rui's child, so she had to find a way to stop the carriage.
We're getting closer and closer to the cliff.
The horse charged forward as if it had gone mad.
Gu Jiao leaped onto one of the horses, gripping its belly tightly with her legs. The horse reared up, its entire body upright, trying to throw Gu Jiao off.
However, Gu Jiao held onto it tightly, her grip remaining firm.
Finally, the horse was tamed. After neighing a few times, it stopped panting heavily. At this moment, the carriage was swept away by inertia, its wheels were smashed by rocks, and half of the carriage was hanging over the cliff.
creak—
The train carriage swayed precariously on the edge of a cliff.
"Ah—" Princess Rui's face turned pale. She was sitting in the half of the carriage that was suspended over the cliff. If she was not careful, she would fall down with the carriage and be smashed to pieces!
"Don't move!"
Gu Jiao said.
Princess Rui was trembling, but after hearing Gu Jiao's words, she tried her best to stop shaking.
Gu Jiao cautiously walked towards Princess Rui. She gently lifted the curtain and reached out her hand to the terrified Princess Rui: "Don't be afraid, give me your hand."
Princess Rui cautiously reached out her hand, but as soon as she moved, the carriage shook violently, and she was so frightened that she withdrew her hand.
Her eyes filled with fear and tears: "I...I dare not..."
Gu Jiao reassured her, "It's alright, I've stepped on the carriage, you can walk over slowly."
Princess Rui glanced at Gu Jiao's feet and saw that she indeed had one foot on the carriage floor. Only then did she grit her teeth, muster her courage, and slowly move towards Gu Jiao.
With each slight movement, she could feel the carriage sliding down a little.
"I...I'm scared..."
Her tears streamed down her face.
Gu Jiao said softly, "Don't be afraid, I'll hold you."
Looking into Gu Jiao's determined eyes, Princess Rui felt a surge of courage. She steeled her resolve and took a step toward Gu Jiao.
However, just as Gu Jiao grabbed her fingertips, an arrow flew through the air and grazed past Gu Jiao's sleeve!
"Hiss—" Gu Jiao gasped, her hand slipped, and Princess Rui's fingertip slipped out.
Princess Rui fell back to the other end of the carriage, and the entire carriage suddenly plummeted downwards!
Gu Jiao grabbed the carriage shaft with one hand and suddenly pulled out a dagger with the other, stabbing it fiercely into the rocks on the hillside.
Princess Rui felt as if most of the carriage was suspended in mid-air.
She watched as Gu Jiao clung desperately to the carriage, her body seemingly being torn apart, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Miss Gu... let go... you'll fall too..."
Gu Jiao didn't let go: "Come over here...grab my hand...hold on tight..."
call out!
Another arrow struck the carriage, and the huge impact put considerable pressure on Gu Jiao.
But that wasn't the most dangerous part. The most dangerous part was that there were more and more arrows, and several of them were shot around Gu Jiao. It was unclear which one would hit her.
"Miss Gu..."
"There's no time, hurry up!"
call out!
Another arrow flew by, severing a lock of Gu Jiao's hair.
Princess Rui gritted her teeth with tears in her eyes, and with all her strength and courage, she rushed towards Gu Jiao!
She hugged Gu Jiao's arm.
Almost at the same moment, Gu Jiao released the carriage shaft and instead grabbed one of her wrists.
Without Gu Jiao's pull, the carriage plummeted rapidly down the cliff, and Princess Rui cried out and closed her eyes.
She didn't fall; Gu Jiao caught her.
Just as Gu Jiao was about to pull her up, several masked assassins attacked Gu Jiao.
In the blink of an eye, a long sword shot out and pierced the heart of one of the assassins.
The assassins sensed something was wrong, but instead of engaging in combat, they continued to charge towards Gu Jiao.
The owner of the longsword leaped up and stood in front of Gu Jiao.
The two sides fought fiercely, and Gu Jiao quickly pulled Princess Rui up.
Princess Rui was already terrified and lost her composure. After coming up, her body went limp and she collapsed into Gu Jiao's arms. She looked at the man and called out "Prince Ning" before her vision went black and she fainted.
It turns out to be Prince Ning.
Gu Jiao hugged Princess Rui and turned to look at her.
At this time, three assassins had already been killed by Prince Ning, and one, seeing the situation was not good, fled.
Prince Ning gave the order: "Capture him! Alive!"
The guards from the Prince of Ning's residence, who were not far away, chased after the direction in which the assassin had fled.
Prince Ning wiped the blood off his sword with a handkerchief, sheathed it, and approached Gu Jiao and Princess Rui, asking, "Are you alright?"
Gu Jiao looked up at him.
Prince Ning wore a dark blue brocade robe with a palace sash around his waist. He was tall, strong, and muscular, with clear eyes and a righteous air about him. His features resembled Consort Zhuang to three parts and the Emperor to five parts.
She was the prince Gu Jiao had ever seen who most resembled the emperor, not only in appearance but also in demeanor.
Prince Ning is twenty-six years old this year, three years older than the Crown Prince. He has both the vigor of a twenty-year-old and the composure of a thirty-year-old.
Gu Jiao withdrew her gaze and took Princess Rui's pulse.
Princess Rui's pulse was fine; she had simply fainted due to anger and shock. Gu Jiao said, "It's alright, she'll wake up soon."
Prince Ning breathed a sigh of relief.
Prince Ning did not ask about Gu Jiao's identity, but his eyes clearly showed that she was a familiar face.
He knew her.
Gu Jiao looked at him strangely.
She didn't remember them ever meeting.
Prince Ning smiled and said, "When the accident happened at the Ministry of Works, I went to the scene and saw the young lady rescuing the injured."
Gu Jiao responded with an "oh".
The accident was so serious that she only paid attention to the injured and not to the uninjured.
Prince Ning said, "I'm sorry to have startled you, young lady. Where are you and Princess Rui headed? I'll have someone escort you."
The guards of Prince Rui's mansion have all been killed by assassins, and the carriage is gone too.
Gu Jiao said, "We just came from the nunnery and are planning to go back."
Prince Ning paused for a moment and asked, "Did you accompany Princess Rui to visit the Dowager Consort?"
Gu Jiao nodded.
Prince Ning frowned and hurriedly ordered his guards, "You lot, hurry to the nunnery and see if the Empress Dowager is alright!"
"yes!"
The guards acknowledged and hurried off to the nunnery.
Prince Ning said to Gu Jiao, "I'll have someone send you back."
Gu Jiao suddenly called out to him, "Why is Prince Ning here?"
Prince Ning felt a chill run down his spine as she looked at him sharply: "You doubt me?"
Gu Jiao said seriously, "Your appearance came at just the right time."
Prince Ning smiled helplessly: "Miss, if I had been any later, you two would both be dead. If I wanted to harm you, I would have simply not shown up. Besides..."
He glanced at Princess Rui, who was unconscious in Gu Jiao's arms, and said, "She is the third prince's wife."
Everyone knows that Prince Rui is a member of Prince Ning's lineage. How could Prince Ning lay a hand on his own princess? Has he gone mad?
Prince Ning said, "It was my father who was worried about the Empress Dowager and asked me to go to the nunnery on his behalf."
This is the truth; he was indeed ordered by the emperor to visit Consort Jing at the nunnery.
Consort Jing was the emperor's adoptive mother. She would surely be worried and saddened when news of the emperor's assassination spread.
Not only did Prince Rui and his wife consider this, but the emperor, upon seeing the seriously ill Empress Dowager, immediately thought of Consort Jing at the nunnery, and thus sent Prince Ning to make a special trip on his behalf.
Gu Jiao hummed in response. This matter was easy to verify; Prince Ning should not be lying.
Therefore, the assassination attempt had nothing to do with Prince Ning.
So who could it be?
While it seems the other party is targeting Princess Rui, it cannot be ruled out that they are there to kill her.
Prince Ning gave the carriage to Gu Jiao and Princess Rui, and rode a horse to the nunnery himself.
Gu Jiao escorted Princess Rui back to the Rui Prince's residence.
Before the two set off, Prince Ning sent a guard to the palace to inform Prince Rui, who was already anxiously waiting at the gate of his residence.
Upon seeing Gu Jiao lift the person down, he strode forward and took Princess Rui from Gu Jiao's arms.
He looked at Princess Rui, his worry impossible to hide: "Is she...is she alright?"
Gu Jiao said, "It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."
Princess Rui did faint at first, but she woke up halfway through, cried for a while until she was exhausted, and now she is really asleep.
Prince Rui angrily cursed, "Those people have really gone too far! They dare to commit violence right under the emperor's nose and have frightened the young lady!"
Prince Rui clearly believed that the group of assassins were after Princess Rui. After all, Gu Jiao was just a lowly female doctor; who would want to mess with her?
"Goodbye." Gu Jiao turned and left.
"Miss Gu, please wait." Prince Rui called out to Gu Jiao.
"What's wrong?" Gu Jiao looked at him.
Prince Rui had no airs of a prince, which was related to his background and his own temperament. He looked at Gu Jiao sincerely and said, "Thank you, Miss Gu."
It is already quite remarkable that a prince of a country would thank a female physician.
"There's no need for today's matter." Perhaps Princess Rui was implicated because of her.
Prince Rui smiled bitterly: "Even if it weren't for today's events, I would still like to thank Miss Gu. Qianqian is too straightforward and easily offends people. She doesn't have many friends, and she is actually quite lonely in the manor. Miss Gu is her most cherished friend. I hope Miss Gu can come to the manor to visit more often when she has time."
friend?
These two words are unfamiliar.
Just as she once had no family, she actually had even fewer friends.
"Okay," Gu Jiao said.
Prince Rui smiled happily.
The carriage from the Prince of Ning's residence was to take Gu Jiao back.
Gu Jiao went to the clinic.
She had a minor injury to her hand; wood chips and gravel were embedded in her flesh, and she had to remove them one by one.
She had just gotten off the carriage when she ran into Liu Yisheng, who had come to the clinic to buy medicine.
Liu Yisheng came to buy medicine for Anu, who had a cough.
He immediately noticed Gu Jiao's stiff right hand and asked her, "What happened to your hand?"
Gu Jiao said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."
Liu Yisheng said, "Just now I saw the guards of the Jingzhao Prefecture mobilized. They said that someone was assassinated in the suburbs, and it was Prince Ning who reported the case."
There was no surprise in Gu Jiao's eyes.
Liu Yisheng gave her a deep look: "You knew? You...were here too?"
"Mm," Gu Jiao responded, then went back to the courtyard to apply the medicine without saying anything more.
Liu Yisheng frowned as he watched her departing figure.
at night.
Yuan Tang quietly slipped into Liu Yisheng's courtyard and smiled at Liu Yisheng, who was weaving bamboo baskets, saying, "It's so late, cousin, did you call me over because you miss me?"
"Did you do it?" Liu Yisheng asked bluntly.
"What did I do?" Yuan Tang was completely confused.
Liu Yisheng stared at him intently, her eyes sharp: "Stop pretending."
Yuan Tang frowned: "I really don't understand what my cousin is saying?"
Liu Yisheng's gaze fell on his waist: "Where did the tassel on your jade pendant go?"
Yuan Tang coughed lightly: "It's broken, I've left it."
Liu Yisheng said calmly, "Did you do something wrong and someone picked you up?"
"Who did something wrong... wait, wait!" Yuan Tang realized something, his phoenix eyes widening. "That girl came to see you? Did she ask you about Sui Zi? I knew she suddenly guessed it was me! Cousin, how could you betray me!"
Liu Yisheng didn't say that she hadn't sold him out; Gu Jiao had guessed it herself. Besides, he hadn't given her any advance notice to avoid revealing his secret.
He looked coldly at Yuan Tang: "If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place."
Yuan Tang clutched her chest: "I'm hurt, heartbroken."
Liu Yisheng was not soft-hearted at all: "Just because she found out you did something bad, you want to kill her to silence her?"
He didn't ask Yuan Tang what exactly he had done, but it wasn't hard to guess that it was related to the emperor's assassination attempt a few days ago.
Yuan Tang was completely bewildered: "What do you mean? Something happened to that girl?"
Liu Yisheng said seriously, "I told you, don't pretend in front of me."
Yuan Tang was utterly wronged: "I didn't! I swear to God, she's someone my cousin cares about, how could I possibly harm her?"
Liu Yisheng frowned, lowered her eyes, and continued weaving the basket in her hands: "My relationship with her is not what you think."
Yuan Tang chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, whatever my cousin says goes."
Liu Yisheng looked at him again: "Really not you?"
Yuan Tang held up two fingers: "I swear to God, it wasn't me! I wouldn't hurt her!"
Liu Yisheng said seriously, "You'd better remember what I said today."
Yuan Tang looked up at the sky helplessly: "Remember, this is my promise to my cousin, but cousin, when will you care about me like this?"
Liu Yisheng glanced at him: "Do you need someone to care about you?"
Yuan Tang: "...No, we don't need it."
His mother was the most favored concubine in the palace and doted on him. The king also valued him highly. The position of queen in Chen had been vacant for many years. The king was just waiting for him to complete his mission and return in triumph before he would make him the crown prince and his mother the queen.
It can be said that he had everything a prince could have.
“But they’re not my cousin,” Yuan Tang sighed. “Why can’t my cousin treat me better?”
...
Gu Jiao quickly treated the injury on her hand. She didn't think it was a big deal. After returning home, she went about her business as usual.
However, some sharp-eyed people still noticed that something was wrong with her.
She had just carried Yu Ya'er's folded clothes into the house when Xiao Liulang followed her in.
He rarely went into her room on his own initiative, let alone blocked her door like he was doing now.
Gu Jiao turned around and blinked at him, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Liulang didn't answer, but took a step forward and closed the door behind him.
Seeing him follow her into the house in broad daylight and close the door as if he were about to do something bad, Gu Jiao's eyes instantly brightened!
Xiao Liulang could tell from her little eyes that she had misunderstood. He was speechless for a moment, then turned around and opened the door a crack.
"oh."
Gu Jiao was disappointed.
Xiao Liulang: "..."
Gu Jiao sat on the edge of the bed, burying her head in her clothes.
Xiao Liulang came to her.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked.
"Nothing much," Gu Jiao said.
When she's not sick, she'll whine and make him look at her and rub her, but when something really happens, she'll hide it.
This time, Xiao Liulang was not easily dismissed by her. He forcefully grabbed her wrist, his presence exuding an air of undeniable authority and the unique warmth of his palm.
Gu Jiao's icy wrist suddenly felt hot.
Gu Jiao turned her head and stared at him blankly.
Xiao Liulang sat down beside her, turned her hand over, and gently parted her fingers with his long, jade-like fingertips, revealing her palm covered in wounds.
The wound wasn't treated very carefully.
"You heal others so well, how come you can't do it when it comes to yourself..." Xiao Liulang was so angry that he didn't know how to continue.
The saying "a doctor cannot heal himself" is not something to be taken lightly.
Gu Jiao said, "It's nothing, no need to do anything."
"Where's the medicine?" Xiao Liulang asked, his tone very serious.
Gu Jiao glanced at the small medicine box on the table.
It's over there; take it yourself if you dare.
Let's see if you can open it!
Xiao Liulang reached out to take it and opened it with a click.
Gu Jiao: "...?!"
Did you just forget to lock it?
"Which one is the wound medicine?" Xiao Liulang asked in confusion.
“Well…” Gu Jiao said, her eyes nearly popping out as she glanced around!
Where's her disinfectant? Where's her antibacterial ointment? It's all ruined...all ruined...
Unconvinced, she grabbed the small medicine box and dumped it all over the bed, leaving it covered in tiny drops of medicine!
Ultra-thin and phantom-like, classic and zero-feel, hydrating and three-in-one...
Gu Jiao: "???"
Gu Jiao: "!!!"
What's wrong with the first-aid kit? Where's her medicine? Where's her medicine? Where's her medicine?
"Is this medicine?" Xiao Liulang was used to her having medicines he had never seen before. He picked one up and tore it open.
Gu Jiao felt as if a string in her head had snapped...
Xiao Liulang exclaimed, "So slippery!"
Enough said, I can picture it!
(End of this chapter)
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