Chapter 407 The Protective Dragon One (Two Updates)
After leaving Zhuque Street, Gu Jiao changed her clothes in the carriage and went directly to the underground martial arts arena.
The Crown Prince was already waiting at the martial arts arena.
This guy's enthusiasm is truly higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea!
It is regrettable that Prince Ning was unable to attend today due to other commitments.
Hmm, I was hoping they would bid against each other.
Gu Jiao adjusted her mask, bid farewell to Lao He and Zhu Yun, left the accounting room, and went to the Crown Prince's room.
She found out that the room was originally allocated by the underground martial arts arena to a master ranked nineteenth on the master list, and the prince spent a lot of money to buy the right to use the room from him.
As for whether he actually bought the item from that expert, Lao He didn't know. After all, it was a private matter between the expert and the guest, and the martial arts arena wouldn't interfere.
He was the nineteenth child.
Gu Jiao glanced at the list of experts hanging on the pillar; she hadn't even reached last place yet.
However, she wasn't in a hurry.
Gu Jiao arrived at the door of the leek... uh, no, the prince's house and gently knocked on the door.
The door was pulled open from the inside.
This time, the Crown Prince did not set up a screen in the room as he had done before. Instead, he sat behind the screen in an official's hat chair, wearing a mask that covered the upper half of his face.
This mask, like the man himself, was made of the finest jade, making it even more exquisite than the Prince of Ning's mask.
He exuded an air of imperial luxury, practically wearing the saying "Apart from my father, the emperor, I am the greatest in the world" on his face.
Gu Jiao didn't speak; she couldn't reveal her character's background.
The Crown Prince thought that Gu Jiao was intimidated by his imperial demeanor and was about to raise his hand to invite her to sit down in a generous and composed manner, but Gu Jiao had already pulled out a chair and sat down without any politeness.
The prince, his arm frozen in mid-air: "..."
Forget it, he had promised Linlang that he would bribe the boy, so he couldn't use his status to suppress him.
The Crown Prince withdrew his hand and said to Gu Jiao, "It's really not easy to get an appointment with you."
Gu Jiao lit half a stick of incense on the table.
Crown Prince: "..."
The prince asked, "Why is there only half an incense stick?"
Gu Jiao took out her notebook and slowly wrote: "Prices have gone up."
The Crown Prince again: "..."
Fortunately, the Crown Prince was not short of money. He simply pulled out two hundred taels of silver and said, "Two incense sticks!"
This pot of chives is of good quality, and they were very generous with the money.
Gu Jiao was very satisfied.
You should know that she only gets paid one to ten taels of silver for each house call, and the time spent on the road alone for one house call is more than the time it takes to burn two incense sticks.
Of course, she still enjoys healing people; that's part of her spiritual practice.
But that doesn't stop her from developing her own side business of "harvesting leeks" (profiting from others' exploitation).
Gu Jiao accepted the silver notes and generously placed an unlit incense stick on the table.
The crown prince was also very satisfied.
Last time, the incense stick was too short, and he didn't even finish speaking. This time, there's an extra incense stick, which should be enough for him to win people over.
But when the Crown Prince thought of the slow writing speed of the person, he felt that he could not take his time and had to get to the point as soon as possible.
He said solemnly, "I came to find Young Hero Xiong for a reason. I hope that Young Hero Xiong can become my man and fight for me in the arena. As long as you can make it into the top three, I... let me put it this way, I will reward you handsomely!"
My identity was almost exposed!
Little did the prince know that his identity had already been exposed so thoroughly that he was practically naked.
Gu Jiao glanced at him casually and wrote in her notebook, "You also want to go to Yan?"
The crown prince was taken aback: "How did you know?" He paused, then frowned. "Wait, what do you mean 'me too'? Does that mean others also want to go?"
Yes, your elder brother, Prince Ning.
Fortunately, Gu Jiao is a person with professional ethics. She did not disclose the client's privacy, but wrote in her notebook: "I can't tell you."
"You..." The crown prince choked.
But writing this sentence is as good as not writing it at all. What does it mean that I can't tell you? It means that it exists, but it's just inconvenient to say it out loud.
The crown prince immediately frowned. What was going on? Were there many people who wanted to go to Yan these days? The fact that they could find Xiong Batian meant that, like him and Lin Lang, they also recognized Xiong Batian's potential.
Who has such a sharp eye?
The Crown Prince had only come to find Xiong Batian on Wen Linlang's advice, but now that he learned that Xiong Batian was a hot commodity, his sense of competition suddenly intensified.
However, he was the crown prince, and he didn't believe that anyone in the world could rival him!
His father and uncle are excluded.
But his father and uncle wouldn't come to a place like this.
The prince arrogantly declared, "Whatever they gave you, I'll pay double!"
Gu Jiao did not refuse immediately. She was considering the possibilities. She would not sell herself to anyone, but she could sell the opportunity to go to Yan, provided that she could squeeze into the top three of the expert list before then.
The first and second place winners are said to have retired from public life and haven't appeared for several years. Since Prince Ning and the Crown Prince couldn't focus their efforts on them, they had no choice but to set their sights on the third place winner.
However, the current third-ranked expert is not from Zhao, making it difficult for the Crown Prince and Prince Ning to cooperate with him.
The two then decided to find someone to kill him openly and honestly.
They are indeed brothers; their methods for going to Yan are exactly the same.
"Why do you want to go to the State of Yan?" Gu Jiao asked.
She had to figure out his motives. What if he was going to betray the country and collude with the enemy? Wouldn't she become an accomplice?
The crown prince said irritably, "Why are you asking this? You just need to agree to my conditions, and I won't treat you unfairly! In fact, I can offer you even better things than silver!"
He is the crown prince. Let alone a mere sum of money, what difficulty would it be to grant him an official title and a noble name?
The premise is that he can actually make it into the top three.
The crown prince didn't really trust his abilities, after all, he had a master ranked nineteenth who was much stronger than this kid.
Ke Linlang said, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket; it's always good to bet on a few experts."
Gu Jiao slowly wrote: "If you don't tell me, I won't consider it."
The prince gasped in shock!
Does this kid even know who he's threatening?
The crown prince of a nation!
The prince suppressed his anger and said calmly, "I want to see Master Meng, the chess master of the six kingdoms."
oh.
Old Master Meng.
Never heard of it.
Gu Jiao could tell that the Crown Prince wasn't lying; he was just looking for someone and there were no political risks involved.
The Crown Prince said coldly, "I've said everything I needed to say. Now you can agree?"
Gu Jiao nodded seriously: "I agree to consider it."
The crown prince, tricked once again: "..."
The rest of the time was spent with the Crown Prince using his political skills to brainwash Gu Jiao, but Gu Jiao only listened to him.
The Crown Prince's mouth was dry from talking, so Gu Jiao snapped the notebook shut.
Time's up!
Crown Prince: "..."
After leaving the underground martial arts arena, Gu Jiao changed her clothes in a carriage and had Xiao Sanzi drive the carriage to the Hanlin Academy.
Since there were still some hours left, Gu Jiao decided to go to a nearby bakery.
She discovered by chance that this shop's preserved vegetable pancakes were delicious; the outer crust was crispy, while the filling of preserved vegetables and meat inside was plump and juicy.
The price wasn't cheap; one pancake cost twenty copper coins.
Xiao Sanzi parked the carriage next to the shop.
Gu Jiao got off the carriage and ordered ten in one go.
"Ten? That's too many to cook in one pot. Miss, you'll have to wait. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?" the proprietress said.
"No need, I'll wait outside." It was hot and humid, and she happened to be outside getting some fresh air.
She was the only customer at the moment, and the couple focused on making her ten cakes, so they didn't keep her waiting too long.
"Miss, the pancakes are ready," the proprietress said to Gu Jiao with a smile.
Gu Jiao walked over, turned around and said, "Xiao Sanzi, help me get the food box."
"Okay!"
There was a clean food box on the carriage. Xiao Sanzi lifted the curtain, found the food box, and took it down.
Gu Jiao handed him a warm dried plum and vegetable cake wrapped in bamboo leaves: "Here you go."
Xiao Sanzi was taken aback: "Huh, I have one too?"
Gu Jiao said, "Eat it while it's hot."
Xiao Sanzi chuckled and took the pancake: "Thank you, Miss Gu!"
The pancakes were ready, and Gu Jiao paid for them.
Xiao Sanzi took a bite of the hot pancake, exhaling as it burned his skin, and reached out with his other hand to take the food box, saying, "I'll do it."
He carried the food box onto the carriage.
"Miss Gu, you should eat one while it's hot. It's crispy and delicious right now. It'll get soggy when you get home."
"good."
Gu Jiao responded.
"Then..." Xiao Sanzi put down the food box, turned around and jumped off the carriage, but Gu Jiao was nowhere to be seen behind him.
He circled the carriage, even peering under it: "Huh? Where is she? Boss, have you seen my daughter?"
The proprietress said, "Didn't we get on the carriage together just now?"
"No, there isn't." Xiao Sanzi lifted the car curtain to confirm that the car was indeed empty.
That's strange. The person who was just talking to me a moment ago has disappeared in the blink of an eye.
He stood there dumbfounded: "Did I...did I see a ghost?"
Gu Jiao never expected that she would be kidnapped on the street while she was buying a pancake, and that no one saw it and that the person was still holding her with their arm around her waist.
This familiar pose, this familiar recipe...
The fear of being dominated by the broken pen surged up in my heart again.
Gu Jiao, with her aloof expression, decided to abandon her idol image and shout in the street, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a strong gust of wind blew so hard that her cheeks were deformed...
Gu Jiao was taken to Zhuque Street by Long Yi.
Long Yi didn't need to go through the back door, nor did he need to go through the front door; he simply descended from the sky into Princess Xinyang's courtyard.
As Gu Jiao looked at the courtyard full of colorful flower buds, the floodgates of memory were suddenly opened.
She's been here before.
This was the first house behind the orange tree. She mistook the lady of the house for the tuberculosis patient the scholar had mentioned and went in to give her a free medical consultation.
That's right, it's free, because nobody pays for the consultation.
Strange, why did Long Yi bring her here?
She soon found out the reason, because after the dragon dismounted her, she immediately saw Princess Xinyang sitting upright in the room.
Gu Jiao understood everything.
No wonder she felt a strange sense of familiarity when she saw Princess Xinyang in the palace; it turned out she had indeed met her before.
So the conversation I heard in the restaurant near the underground martial arts arena that day was between her and that female official.
The medicine the female official went to the underground martial arts arena to buy from the Yan Kingdom's pharmacist was also bought for her.
But why is it a bottle of high-grade tonic?
Are the pharmacists in Yan really that incompetent? They can't even produce a decent bottle of heart-protecting pills?
Gu Jiao naturally didn't know that the bottle of high-grade tonic was called Hundred Flowers Pill, which the Crown Princess had bought from a swordsman from the Zhao Kingdom.
Baihua Dan is often touted as having miraculous effects, but it is actually just a tonic that replenishes qi and blood. Its health benefits are undeniable, but it would be too much to ask it to treat myocarditis.
Yu Jin arrived at the door and gestured, "Miss Gu, please."
Gu Jiao entered the house calmly.
A young lady raised among commoners was first kidnapped and then met the princess of the dynasty. Yet she was still able to maintain such composure. Anyone else would probably be astonished by Gu Jiao.
Princess Xinyang's expression remained calm.
She held in her hand some notes containing gossip she had just gathered from a local teahouse.
She placed the notes one by one on the table.
Gu Jiao glanced at them briefly; they were all related to her.
It seems Princess Xinyang is investigating her.
Princess Xinyang cut to the chase: "Speak, why did you approach me?" She glanced at Gu Jiao, the threat in her eyes clear. "You'd better tell the truth. My patience is limited. Don't force me to torture you."
She's a princess with pretty tough methods.
Gu Jiao, who has nothing to hide, said calmly, "I think the princess may have misunderstood. I have no intention of getting close to you."
Princess Xinyang poured the white pills from the porcelain bottle into a clean, empty plate: "Really? Then what's the deal with this bottle of medicine? Don't tell me you didn't put it here."
Gu Jiao did not deny it: "It is true that I switched the medicine inside, but I still say that the princess has misunderstood. I was entrusted to come to Zhuque Street to treat a tuberculosis patient, but I did not expect to go to the wrong house and mistake the princess for that patient."
Princess Xinyang looked at Gu Jiao and said calmly, "I don't have tuberculosis."
Gu Jiao said, "I know, the medicine I gave you isn't for treating tuberculosis. You have myocarditis, um... commonly known as heart disease. My brother also has heart disease, but yours isn't as severe as his. If you take your medicine carefully, you'll recover in a few months."
Princess Xinyang said, "You are the first person to say that my illness can be cured."
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and said, "You are also the first person who was clearly healed by me but still misunderstood me and thought I had ulterior motives."
Princess Xinyang snorted coldly: "Sharp tongue. Don't think I'll let you off just because of that. I'll have someone verify whether what you said is true or not."
"Go ahead and investigate." She wasn't lying.
It was no secret on Zhuque Street that Aunt Sun had tuberculosis. Gu Jiao didn't even say who the family was, but Princess Xinyang's men had already found out.
Furthermore, following the clues, they also discovered Xu Shusheng's family. Xu Shusheng and Aunt Sun's daughter had developed feelings for each other, so Xu Shusheng secretly asked the doctor from Miaoshoutang to treat Aunt Sun's illness.
As a result, Xu Shusheng caused a scene at Miaoshoutang today, saying that the doctors there were untrustworthy and took the consultation fees but did not treat the patients.
It turned out that he had given the doctor the wrong directions.
He invited that doctor to Aunt Sun's house for another treatment and left behind several kinds of medicine.
Those medicines looked different from those in ordinary pharmacies, but they were very similar to the heart medicine that Princess Xinyang had, indicating that they were made by the same doctor.
"How about that? I didn't lie to you, did I?" Gu Jiao crossed her arms. No one offered her a seat, so she found a chair and sat down herself.
They... don't act like they're outsiders at all.
Yu Jin almost laughed.
Princess Xinyang's expression remained cold: "Even if the matter of changing the medicine was a coincidence, you clearly met Long Yi, yet you lied to me in the palace."
Is she that smart?
You even guessed that?
Gu Jiao said without changing her expression, "Evidence: Princess, you can't slander me once, and then slander me a second time."
Princess Xinyang said coldly, "If you hadn't met Long Yi before, and hadn't used any tricks on him, why would Long Yi have let you in?"
Gu Jiao thought about it seriously: "Because I'm cuter?"
Princess Xinyang: "..."
Yu Jin chuckled.
Princess Xinyang's expression grew even colder: "Don't think that just because you're the daughter of the Marquis of Ding'an and favored by His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, I won't dare to touch you. Yujin, bring me my whip."
Yu Jin opened her mouth, as if trying to dissuade her: "Princess..."
"Give it to me," Princess Xinyang said expressionlessly.
Yu Jin sighed regretfully and went to the study to retrieve Princess Xinyang's golden whip.
Princess Xinyang said coldly, "This golden whip was bestowed by the late emperor. Even the emperor can use it, so using it on you is already an honor."
Gu Jiao: Then I'll fight back!
But to everyone's surprise, Princess Xinyang's whip didn't even have a chance to strike before Long Yi flashed in and shielded Gu Jiao behind him.
Princess Xinyang was taken aback by Long Yi's willingness to go to such lengths for Gu Jiao. She paused for a moment, then her gaze darkened. "Get out of my way."
Long Yi refused.
In fact, Princess Xinyang didn't really want to hit Gu Jiao; she wasn't that cruel. She just wanted to scare her and make her obey.
But Long Yi took it seriously.
How familiar this scene is!
"Get out of my way!"
A mischievous little devil hid behind Long Yi, crying out, "Long Yi, don't let me pass! My mom's going to hit me!"
"Long Yi, if you don't move aside, I'll beat you up too!"
"Long Yi, take me away now! Bring me back after your mother has calmed down!"
The image buried deep in her memory pierced her mind like an awl, and Princess Xinyang dropped the whip from her hand to the ground.
The double monthly pass bonus ends in three days.
PS comics and text side stories have been fully unlocked, and the homepage banner on Xiaoxiang is titled "Xiaoxiang Fan Festival - Master's Side Story Exhibition".
(End of this chapter)
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