Chapter 685 Encounter with the Crown Princess (Second Update)
On their way back, Gu Jiao and Nan Shi Niang were approached by Master Lu.
He saw that Nan Shi Niang was being supported by Gu Jiao, her veil stained with blood, and his heart skipped a beat: "A Xiang, what happened to you!"
Nan Xiang glared at him and said, "Don't make such a fuss. You'll scare yourself sick even if there's nothing wrong with you."
Master Lu exclaimed in panic, "No, you've vomited blood! What happened? If you won't tell us, then let Jiao Jiao tell us!"
Gu Jiao looked at Nan Shi Niang.
Nan Shi Niang sighed, "Alright, alright, don't make things difficult for the child. I've run into Qi Xuan."
Master Lu was taken aback: "Which Qi Xuan? Your former senior brother?"
Nan Shi Niang said, "It's him."
Master Lu was quite astonished: "He's come to Shengdu? Aren't Tang Clan disciples not allowed to leave Tang Family Fortress at will?"
Nan Shi Niang said, "His appearance is indeed against the rules of the Tang Clan, but that is between him and the Tang Clan, and has nothing to do with me."
Master Lu asked, "Didn't he come to take you back?"
Nan Shi Niang shook her head slightly: "No, he was trying to force us to reveal the forbidden technique. He could have continued fighting with Jiao Jiao just now, but he didn't. I guess he had more important things to do and couldn't stay and waste time with us. He probably won't be coming over anytime soon."
Master Lu looked at him with suspicion: "You know him that well?"
Nan Shi Niang smiled wryly: "He's been my senior brother for many years, so I know him a little. Don't worry, go back."
The three returned to the house.
After taking some medicine to treat her internal injuries, Madam Nan went back to her room to rest.
Gu Jiao also returned to her room.
She lay on the bed, recalling her fight with Qi Xuan just now.
She could sense that Qi Xuan was an absolute master, and one of the types she had never encountered before.
First there was the beautiful monk, then that troublesome Taoist priest who dared to ambush the beautiful monk, and now Qi Xuan has arrived. It's getting more and more interesting.
"The trip to the State of Yan was truly extraordinary."
"Sis, are you asleep?"
Gu Xiaoshun's voice rang out from outside the door.
Gu Jiao sat up and parted the curtains: "Come in."
Gu Xiaoshun pushed open the door and entered, went to Gu Jiao's bedside, and handed her something.
Gu Jiao took it and saw that it was a wooden ball the size of a baby's fist: "This is..."
"The mechanical ball is for your self-defense." Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head and chuckled. "My master taught me how to make this mechanism, and I modified it myself. It works similarly to your Black Fire Pearl. Just throw it out, and the ball will trigger the mechanism after bouncing, causing the poison needles inside to shoot out from each hole."
Gu Jiao looked at the ball and said, "This ball is full of holes, it can attack from any angle."
Gu Xiaoshun: Although I couldn't understand what his sister was saying, it seemed like she was praising him.
Gu Xiaoshun then opened his other hand and took out a small ball cover: "Just in case, if I accidentally drop it and get shot, I can put this on and I'll be fine."
Gu Jiao smiled and said sincerely, "Xiao Shun is really amazing."
Gu Xiaoshun blushed at the praise: "This is just a basic mechanical ball. Sis, you can make do with it for now. I'll make a better one for you if I can."
Gu Jiao: "Okay."
...
The following day, Gu Jiao, who had been "on leave" for many days, finally went to class at the academy.
As soon as she entered the classroom, a group of people surrounded her.
Zhou Tong and Zhong Ding squeezed to the front.
The two asked in unison, "Liu Lang, are you alright?"
Gu Jiao was still not used to being surrounded like this, but looking at those concerned little eyes, she didn't push them away.
She said, "It's alright, I'm fully recovered."
Zhong Ding said, "Gu Xiaoshun said you were very sick and couldn't get out of bed for several days. We were all terrified and wanted to visit you, but he said you had smallpox, which is contagious, so we decided not to go."
Gu Xiaoshun himself had suffered from smallpox, and he didn't forget to use his own experience to help her lie.
Zhou Tong said with lingering fear, "Pox is very dangerous. It's a miracle you survived."
Gu Jiao said, "It's alright."
Mu Qingchen didn't come today, but Mu Chuan, Yuan Xiao, and Zhao Wei rushed over from their classrooms after hearing that Gu Jiao was coming to class.
Class hasn't started yet.
The three of them slipped in through the back door of the classroom.
"Excuse me, bro," Yuan Xiao said to Zhou Tong, who was sitting in front of Gu Jiao.
"Oh, oh." Zhou Tong didn't dare to offend the polo team members, so he quickly moved to a different spot for them.
Zhao Wei stared at the student next to him: "We're still missing a seat, bro."
The man quickly grabbed his book bag and left.
The two sat in front of Gu Jiao, turned around and stared straight at her, while Mu Chuan sat down in the seat that originally belonged to Mu Qingchen to Gu Jiao's left.
Three people, six eyes, all staring at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao closed the book she had only flipped through halfway: "What's wrong? You're looking at me like I'm a monkey."
"You've lost weight," Mu Chuan said.
"Mmm." Gu Jiao gave a faint "Mmm."
Mu Chuan whispered, "Do you really have smallpox?"
Gu Jiao said earnestly, "Really."
Mu Chuan suddenly reached out and touched Gu Jiao's forehead, then touched his own: "It's not hot anymore. You're recovering pretty quickly. My fourth brother had smallpox when he was little and was sick for more than ten days."
Gu Jiao said without changing her expression, "I recover quickly."
The three exchanged a glance.
Zhao Wei looked at Yuan Xiao: "You speak."
Yuan Xiao looked at Zhao Wei: "You speak."
Mu Chuan raised his hand: "Forget it, stop arguing, I'll talk."
Zhao Wei and Yuan Xiao: "..." We didn't even argue!
Gu Jiao looked at the three of them strangely.
Mu Chuan cleared his throat and said seriously, "The three of us came to see you, not only to visit you but also to bring you two pieces of news, one good and one bad. Which do you want to hear first?"
Gu Jiao replied without hesitation: "Bad?"
The three of them felt awkward at the same time.
Mu Chuan forced himself to say, "Well... well... while you were sick... we had a competition with Canaan Academy."
Yuan Xiao, in his impatience, said, "What sick days? It was just yesterday!"
Gu Jiao looked at the three of them and said, "The bad news you want to tell me is—"
Mu Chuan said with shame, "We lost and let you down."
We will not let you down, not at all!
You are heroes!
I am proud of you!
Gu Jiao asked with bright eyes, "What's the good news?"
After receiving ten thousand taels, there was even more good news. Could it be that I received an extra thousand taels of gold as a bonus?
Mu Chuan straightened his back and said, "The good news is that although we lost, thanks to my efforts in persuading the people from Canaan Academy, they finally agreed to exchange rewards with us. We can go see the king soon! Hahaha! Aren't I amazing!"
Gu Jiao punched Mu Chuan, slamming his head onto the table!
What a load of rubbish!
Who the hell wants to see the king!
Give me back my gold!
All day long, the murderous aura emanating from the back row was exceptionally strong.
Gu Jiao sat in her seat with a dark expression, turning the entire classroom into her little battlefield.
The students of Mingxintang held their books in their hands, trembling with fear.
On the other side, Xiao Heng had just sent Xiao Jingkong to Lingbo Academy.
He took leave from Canglan Academy.
He excelled academically, ranking first in every subject. He was the teacher's most promising student, and even when he asked for leave for days on end, no teacher refused to let him go.
He wanted to go to the outer city to see if Gu Jiao had returned.
After getting into his own carriage, he changed back into his own clothes: "Leaving the city."
The coachman was a servant he had bought. He knew that the coachman was a man and that when he said he was leaving the city, he meant leaving through the south inner city gate.
The coachman drove the carriage southward.
As they passed a long-established shop, Xiao Heng said to the driver, "Stop for a moment, I'm going to buy something."
"Yes." The coachman stopped the carriage by the roadside.
The coachman wanted to say that he could actually go and buy it, but from his observation, his young master always personally selected things for those around him.
Xiao Heng went to buy dried meat for Gu Jiao, as the dried meat from this shop suited Gu Jiao's taste perfectly.
There weren't many people queuing at this time, so Xiao Heng ordered a little of each flavor.
The spicy flavor was sold out, so the owner went to the back to get some new ones: "Please wait a moment, sir, it will be quick!"
Xiao Heng waited patiently, and several other people who were also waiting for dried meat arrived one after another.
A young scholar said, "Hey, have you heard? The Crown Princess has returned?"
A companion standing nearby asked, "Did they go back? How come I didn't know?"
A middle-aged man approached, smiled, and said, "They didn't have any ceremonial procession for a crown princess, so of course you wouldn't know. Speaking of which... she's not the crown princess anymore, is she? Didn't the emperor depose her a long time ago? He even issued an imperial edict back then."
The young scholar lowered his voice slightly: "But I heard that the king's original words were to bring the crown princess back."
"Mouth...cough." The middle-aged man covered his mouth.
What he meant was that the king probably misspoke. The crown princess had been demoted to a commoner, and now the Yan state had no crown princess, only a crown prince.
As they were talking, a carriage suddenly appeared slowly coming from the long street behind them.
The carriage was large and pulled by six horses, with four guards on each side.
The number of guards was not large, but there were six horses, which was the standard for the royal family.
Xiao Heng heard the middle-aged man beside him gasp: "It's the Crown Princess!"
Perhaps he hadn't expected them to speak of the devil so readily, and he was so astonished that everyone around him heard his cry of "Your Highness."
Everyone surged toward the carriage.
There were too many people, and Xiao Heng didn't plan to join the crowd at this crucial moment. He took the dried meat handed to him by the shopkeeper and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, the people watching the Crown Princess were so excited that they bumped into him and sent him flying!
Caught off guard, he stumbled and fell in front of the carriage.
It's almost the end of the month. Check your pockets, do you still have any monthly passes left?
(End of this chapter)
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