Chapter 935 Growing Up (Second Update)
After emerging from the secret chamber, it was getting late. Marquis Xuanping first went back to his own courtyard and had hot water prepared for his bath.
Manager Liu looked at him strangely: "Didn't you just wash up after practicing this morning? I've never seen you so clean before."
"What do you know?"
Marquis Xuanping took off his blood-stained clothes, revealing his strong upper body.
His body was covered with crisscrossing scars, the physique of a warrior who had fought for many years.
It has a firm, strong, and well-defined physique.
Manager Liu is a man, but he has to admit he's quite envious.
He put the clothes into the basket and sighed, "I know, I have to see the princess."
Marquis Xuanping raised his hand to loosen his belt: "Is it to see Yiyi... never mind, I'm too lazy to talk to you."
After taking a bath, Marquis Xuanping changed into some dry and comfortable clothes before going to see his beloved daughter.
Today, the whole family is having a meal at Princess Xinyang's house.
Xiao Jingkong, Shangguan Qing, and the newlywed couple.
When Marquis Xuanping entered the house and saw this large family, he was momentarily stunned.
Xiao Jingkong is very similar to the young Xiao Heng, making people feel as if they have returned to the past, but it is not just the past, because there are also Gu Jiao, Shangguan Qing and Yiyi.
He had lived a solitary life all these years, and this sudden liveliness made him feel uneasy.
"What are you standing there for? The food is getting cold," Princess Xinyang said calmly.
"You've arrived." He sat down next to Princess Xinyang without making a sound.
Princess Xinyang was supposed to be quiet while eating and sleeping, but she couldn't resist the chattering of her six-month-old daughter, Yiyi, who kept babbling away. Xiao Jingkong would occasionally respond with a few words, and Shangguan Qing would exchange a few more words with Xiao Heng.
The meal was a lively and enjoyable affair, reminiscent of a typical family meal.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Marquis Xuanping and his two sons went to the study, while Princess Xinyang and Gu Jiao took the two little ones for a walk.
When they returned from their walk, the conversation between the father and his two sons had ended.
The two brothers' yards were in the same direction, and the four of them left together.
Shangguan Qing snatched Xiao Jingkong's toy, and Xiao Jingkong chased him all over the mansion, the two of them chasing each other relentlessly.
The newlyweds strolled hand in hand along a path lined with flowers.
Xiao Heng then recounted the story of Young Master Mingyue.
Gu Jiao was truly surprised by how quickly Marquis Xuanping acted.
Xiao Heng looked at Shangguan Qing sticking out his tongue and making faces at Xiao Jingkong and couldn't help but say with a smile, "My brother and my father may seem unserious on ordinary days, but when they meet someone they care about, they will go all out without hesitation."
Gu Jiao nodded.
Xiao Heng smiled gently and said, "No need to be envious. They are your brothers and father now."
Gu Jiao: "Then I'll envy myself."
Xiao Heng smiled.
Gu Jiao asked, "So, if Young Master Mingyue is actually the young master of the Sword Pavilion, then are he and Long Yi still fellow disciples?"
Xiao Heng nodded: "Yes, his father is Long Yi and An Hun's master. Long Yi and An Hun are both orphans and were among the first children to survive the poison of the purple grass."
Gu Jiao asked, "Are the people of Sword Pavilion using purple grass poison to cultivate assassins?"
Xiao Heng said, "He doesn't know, he only said he has some guesses about it."
Young Master Mingyue's situation is somewhat similar to Chang Jing's; both live on islands and are young masters of reclusive sects.
However, Young Master Mingyue's situation is not as optimistic as Chang Jing's; he is not the Island Lord's wife's biological son.
The island lord's wife was unable to have children, so she adopted a nephew from her maternal family, hoping he would inherit the Sword Pavilion. However, not long after, one of the island's maids gave birth to a son for the island lord.
Young Master Mingyue left the island without permission in search of new purple herbs, but he was soon pursued and killed. He not only lost the Xuan Yue Sword, but was also poisoned by the enemy's Gu poison.
This poison comes from the island; to cure it, one must return.
Without the Xuan Yue Sword, he couldn't break through the mechanism at the island's entrance.
Gu Jiao suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
Xiao Heng said, "Mingyue said that this kind of Gu poison takes effect very slowly if you don't use your internal energy, but once you activate your internal energy, it will produce a large amount of toxins."
“No wonder he didn’t fight us.” Gu Jiao stroked her chin. “I’m really curious about his strength. I also have a question: if only the sect leader’s sword can open the mechanism to get to the island, how did the others get back?”
“They can’t go back,” Xiao Heng said. “In the past, when people on the island went out on business, they only needed to send a signal to return, and a disciple would come with the Xuan Yue Sword to open the mechanism. Since the Xuan Yue Sword disappeared, the mechanism has never been opened, and the people on the island have never returned.”
Thinking of something, Gu Jiao frowned and said, "So, Long Yi can't go back either?"
Xiao Heng said, "He is stating the facts he knows, but perhaps there are things on the island that he doesn't know."
Gu Jiao thought about it and realized that this made sense.
Xiao Heng continued, "In any case, with the young master of the Sword Pavilion in our hands, the next steps will be much easier."
Gu Jiao nodded: "Mm."
To be honest, this incident happened suddenly, but she didn't really feel that it was too difficult. Perhaps the hardest days are over, and now she doesn't have to walk on thin ice in anything she does.
"Do you have a plan?" she asked.
Xiao Heng explained the results of his discussion with his father and sons: "We have two plans. First, we will spread the news about the Xuan Yue Sword to lure the people from the Sword Pavilion to come looking for it. Second, we will go to the Sword Pavilion ourselves. The Sword Pavilion is not far from Dark Night Island. If the first plan doesn't work, my father said he would go, and he can also visit Chang Jing along the way."
...
Xiao Jingkong played around with Shangguan Qing, exhausting all his energy. After taking a bath, he was completely listless.
He carried his little pillow into the bridal chamber.
Gu Jiao thought he wanted to sleep with her, but instead he rubbed his eyes, yawned, and said, "Jiaojiao, I'm going to sleep. See you tomorrow."
Gu Jiao said blankly, "Uh, okay, see you tomorrow."
Little Jingkong went out, clutching his little pillow and looking sleepy.
Xiao Heng started getting Xiao Jingkong used to sleeping alone three months ago, and the results have been remarkable.
Children always have to grow up, separate from their parents, and learn to grow their own wings.
...
The next day, after sending Xiao Jingkong to the Imperial Academy, Gu Jiao and Xiao Heng went to Bishui Hutong.
Qinghe Academy is closed today, and Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun are both at home.
The two were very happy to see Gu Jiao and her brother-in-law.
Gu Xiaoshun put down the water he was carrying halfway through and walked over, saying, "Sister, didn't you just get back? Why are you back again?"
Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't want to see me?"
"No! I...I..." Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head, stammering, unsure of what to say.
He adores his sister and wishes he could see her every day. He's afraid that if his sister isn't always at home, it will upset his parents-in-law.
Princess Xinyang is a very open-minded mother-in-law. It would be more worrying for her if Gu Jiao really stayed cooped up at home and didn't go out.
Moreover, today is a special day.
Gu Yan saw through it but didn't say anything. He greeted his sister and brother-in-law and eagerly looked outside.
"What are you looking at?" Gu Xiaoshun asked him.
"Look." Gu Yan gestured to Gu Xiaoshun to look outside.
Gu Xiaoshun looked closely and saw another carriage stop in front of his house. Qin Gonggong, who was disguised, helped his aunt, who was dressed as an old lady, down from the carriage.
"Auntie!" Gu Xiaoshun's eyes lit up. "Is your foot alright?"
Eunuch Qin corrected him, saying, "The problem lies with my feet."
The Empress Dowager tripped and fell, and he became her human cushion!
Gu Xiaoshun: "..."
Gu Xiaoshun coughed lightly and asked, "Is Eunuch Qin's foot better?"
Eunuch Qin limped into the house, giving Gu Xiaoshun a knowing look that seemed to say, "You'll have to figure it out yourself," in an exaggerated way.
"Is Eunuch Qin's temper really this bad?" Gu Xiaoshun scratched his head and said to his aunt, who was covered in sweat and almost had heatstroke, "Don't you like to go out in this heat? Why are you here playing cards?"
"Leaf brand, hehe." Empress Dowager Zhuang rolled her eyes at him and went into the house with a sour face.
Gu Yan said to him, "Fool." After saying that, he also went into the house.
Gu Xiaoshun was completely bewildered: "What's going on?"
Gu Jiao smiled and said, "You've even forgotten your own birthday?"
His...birth date?
Gu Xiaoshun was stunned.
There are five younger members in the family. Gu Jiao and Gu Yan are twins, and Xiao Heng and Xiao Jingkong's birthdays are on New Year's Eve, which are all very easy to remember.
His birthday, however, was solitary and not a special day, just like the person he was.
"What's so great about celebrating a mere birthday..."
He muttered to himself, a sudden stinging sensation in his nose and a burning feeling in his eyes.
His family has been busy with his sister's and brother-in-law's wedding lately, and he even forgot about his birthday.
"No way, Gu Xiaoshun, you're crying?"
Gu Yan suddenly appeared behind him.
Gu Xiaoshun quickly wiped away his tears and said seriously, "I didn't. I'm a grown man, how could I cry?"
Gu Yan snorted: "You're not even fully grown yet! And you call yourself a grown man!"
Gu Xiaoshun retorted, "Has your fur fully grown yet?"
Gu Yan exuded an air of superiority: "I'm older than you!"
Gu Xiaoshun held up one finger: "Just one year old!"
Gu Yan looked up at the sky: "That's still big!"
The two were bickering when Yu Ya'er suddenly rushed in, panicked: "Something's wrong! Something's happened!"
Hearing the commotion, Gu Jiao came out of the house and asked Yu Ya'er, "What happened?"
Yu Ya'er rushed to Gu Jiao, grabbed her arms, and sobbed, "Madam took Xiao Bao... to the teahouse to buy snacks... the teahouse suddenly caught fire... Xiao Bao and Madam are trapped inside... and haven't come out!"
Today is another day I want monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)
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