Chapter 662 The Little Princess (Third Update)
After the last class in the morning, Gu Jiao went to find Gu Xiaoshun for lunch.
Mu Qingchen thought for a moment and called out to her, "Are you really that short of money?"
Gu Jiao looked at him.
He opened his mouth and said, "There is indeed a job, it's a bit tough. If you want it, I'll take you after school."
"Okay," Gu Jiao replied.
Mu Qingchen frowned and looked at her: "Aren't you going to ask what kind of job it is?"
Without hesitation, Gu Jiao said, "What kind of inhumane jobs could a young master like you possibly be involved in?"
Mu Qingchen was speechless.
After school, Gu Jiao told Gu Xiaoshun to go home first, as she had some errands to run.
"Sis, do you want me to go with you?" Gu Xiaoshun asked in a low voice.
"No need," Gu Jiao said.
She can manage on her own.
Gu Xiaoshun always listened to her, and upon hearing this, he scratched his head and said, "Oh, then I'll go first. You should come back soon too."
After seeing Gu Xiaoshun off, Gu Jiao turned right and took a dozen steps to get into Mu Qingchen's carriage, where she sat down in the side seat.
Mu Qingchen had probably already told them where to go, and the coachman started the carriage without saying a word.
It was still early, and the carriage was stuffy, so Gu Jiao slightly opened the window.
Bright sunlight streamed in, making everything inside the car clearly visible.
Mu Qingchen turned his gaze and caught sight of the ice-blue hairband on her head.
This ice-blue silk fabric is extremely precious and cannot be bought in the outer city. Of course, it can be purchased in the inner city, but Gu Jiao does not usually have a habit of dressing extravagantly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gu Jiao noticed his scrutiny.
"Nice hairband." Mu Qingchen withdrew her gaze.
Gu Jiao raised her hand to touch the hairband Xiao Heng had given her, and shook her head inwardly, "Hmm, I think it's nice too!"
Mu Qingchen couldn't help but glance at her again. There was an undisguised joy in her eyes. Whether it was because of the hairband that she obviously didn't buy herself, or because of the money she was going to earn next, it was hard to tell.
"Now that you've made a name for yourself, many people will want to get to know you. Don't get too close to just anyone."
"Oh," Gu Jiao replied.
Gu Jiao thought he would take her into the inner city to do some work, but unexpectedly the carriage turned and headed in another direction from the outer city.
After traveling about ten miles east, the carriage arrived at a grand and magnificent mansion. Several guards stood at the entrance of the mansion. The coachman showed his token, and the guards came over.
Mu Qingchen lifted the curtain and said to the guard, "It's me."
The guards quickly bowed and let the carriage pass.
After the carriage entered the mansion, it traveled along the path for a while before finally stopping outside a meadow.
"Young master, we've arrived," the coachman said.
Mu Qingchen got off the carriage.
Gu Jiao then jumped down as well.
"Wow."
Upon seeing the scene before her, Gu Jiao couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
Is this really inside the mansion?
What a huge meadow!
To the east of the meadow was an orchard, to the south a grove of trees, and to the west was the side they had come from, with a deep, winding path leading to the north, where a lotus pond lay.
The lotus leaves in the pond are as green as jade, and small white and pink lotus blossoms peek out from behind the pond.
The scenery is so beautiful.
"Where is this?" Gu Jiao asked.
“The residence of Lord Yanshan,” Mu Qingchen said.
"Lord Yanshan?" Gu Jiao had never heard of him.
Mu Qingchen didn't explain much. At this moment, a pretty maid came over with small, quick steps and greeted Mu Qingchen with a smile: "Young Master Qingchen!"
Mu Qingchen nodded slightly: "Is your young master here?"
"Yes, he's here," the maid said with a smile. "I'll take Young Master Qingchen over there. And this is—"
Her gaze fell on Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao was wearing the same uniform as Mu Qingchen from the Sky Dome Academy.
She just looks a bit young, and the birthmark on her left cheek is impossible to ignore.
Mu Qingchen calmly introduced, "My classmate's surname is Xiao."
"Young Master Xiao," the maid greeted him politely.
Gu Jiao nodded.
"This way, please." The maid didn't ask Mu Qingchen why she brought her classmate over, and led the two of them to the orchard on the other side of the meadow.
Along the way, they encountered many servants, all of whom recognized Mu Qingchen.
Upon entering the orchard, Gu Jiao heard several anxious girls' voices.
"Princess! You mustn't climb trees!"
"Princess, come down quickly!"
"Princess! If you do this, we won't be able to explain it to our master!"
Gu Jiao was wondering who the princess they were talking about was, and whether she was a girl about the same age as Su Xue, when she saw a beautiful little girl on a peach tree.
The little girl climbed to the top of a tall branch. The servants dared not climb because the branches were very thin, and they would break them if they went up.
"Little princess."
Mu Qingchen spoke softly.
The little girl suddenly looked over, her big eyes lighting up: "Mu Qingchen!"
Hmm, she actually calls me by my first name.
Mu Qingchen walked over, and the little girl opened her arms and jumped down without hesitation.
The maids screamed in fright.
Mu Qingchen easily caught her and put her on the ground.
The little princess raised her head and asked very seriously, "Why haven't you come to see me for so long? Are you trying to slack off and not teach me?"
Her voice is sweet and childlike.
Mu Qingchen smiled gently and said, "I've been too busy these days, and I came here as soon as I finished."
The young princess nodded: "Yes, I heard you went to participate in the polo competition. Did you win?"
Mu Qingchen answered very seriously, "Thanks to the princess, we won two matches."
"Well, you're not bad." The little princess said, then turned her head and saw Gu Jiao walking towards them. "Huh? Who are you?"
Mu Qingchen introduced, "He is the tutor I chose for the princess. He is an excellent horseman."
The young princess tilted her head to look at Gu Jiao, then turned to Mu Qingchen and asked, "Is it better than yours?"
Mu Qingchen nodded with a smile: "Yes, he's even better than mine. He's tamed the wild horse king of our academy. He's also in this polo match."
Mu Qingchen was a stern and unsmiling gentleman, but his gentle and warm smile was exceptionally heartwarming.
The maids stared wide-eyed.
Young Master Qingchen only shows such a gentle side to the little princess; it's truly captivating!
The young princess crossed her arms and said slyly, "Actually, you didn't want to teach me, so you sent someone else instead, didn't you?"
Mu Qingchen, without changing his expression, plucked a leaf from her head: "Why don't you give it a try, little princess?"
The young princess looked at Gu Jiao again, scrutinizing her from head to toe, probably curious about the things on her face: "Why are there flowers on your face?"
She is clearly younger than Xiao Jingkong, yet she doesn't use reduplicated words.
"Drawn?" Gu Jiao asked.
The young princess said with particular authority, "Draw one for me too later."
The maids pursed their lips and chuckled.
The job that Mu Qingchen introduced to Gu Jiao was to teach the little princess to ride a horse. Mu Qingchen herself was not very good at teaching children, but she saw Gu Jiao getting along well with Su Xue's roommate's younger brother in the stands yesterday and felt that Gu Jiao had a talent for communicating with children.
"This is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
Mu Qingchen said, "The young princess has asthma. You are skilled in medicine. There is no one more suitable than you."
"Oh." Gu Jiao understood. "Do you come every day, or—"
Mu Qingchen shook his head: "No need, just come once every three to five days. You can decide how long each time to practice based on the little princess's physical condition. It will cost fifty taels a month."
Gu Jiao was very satisfied with the workload and compensation.
Since it was the first day, Mu Qingchen was worried about whether Gu Jiao could handle the job, so she stayed with Gu Jiao.
The two first went to the stables to accompany the young princess in choosing a horse.
The young princess has her own private stable.
The stable was full of gentle foals. The young princess let Gu Jiao choose one, and Gu Jiao picked a white one: "You're wearing a white fairy dress today, it matches you perfectly."
Perhaps it was the word "fairy" that pleased the young princess, for she raised her chin and said, "That's right, that's what I think too!"
The servants in the stable brought over the little princess's special saddle. Gu Jiao secured the saddle and lifted the little princess onto it.
Before the little princess could even settle into her seat, she kept clinging to Gu Jiao, crying, "Wait, wait, wait! I'm scared!"
Gu Jiao grunted and said, "What's there to be afraid of? It's very docile. As long as you hold the reins, it won't fall off."
The little princess clung to Gu Jiao, her little arms tightly wrapped around her neck, not daring to turn around: "I...I...I'm just scared!"
She absolutely refused to get on the horse.
Mu Qingchen was not surprised at all. He had taught the little princess several times, but each time she failed to mount the horse.
Gu Jiao paused, then asked the little princess who was trembling in her arms, "If you're afraid, why do you still want to learn? Children don't have to ride horses."
The young princess, though outwardly fierce, inwardly trembled and declared, "I'm going to learn!"
Gu Jiao looked at Mu Qingchen, who raised an eyebrow helplessly, indicating that he was also at a loss.
Gu Jiao pondered for a moment and said, "Then watch me ride first?"
"Okay." The young princess got off Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao asked the servants at the stable for a fine adult horse. She rode the horse around the pasture at a moderate speed so as not to frighten the children.
Sure enough, her dashing figure on horseback made the young princess eager to try her luck.
Mu Qingchen gave a wink to her servant.
The servants brought over the white foal.
Mu Qingchen picked up the little princess and said, "Little princess, try it."
"No, no, no!" The little princess buried her face in Mu Qingchen's arms.
Gu Jiao rode over, grabbed the little one, and put him on the horse.
"oops--"
The little princess struggled on the saddle!
The wind was howling, making her little cheeks puff up.
The children in the family are all tough, including Gu Xiaobao who is only a few months old. Gu Jiao lacks experience in dealing with delicate little girls, and in the end, she successfully made the little princess cry.
...
After leaving the grassland, Gu Jiao got into Mu Qingchen's carriage.
The young princess was crying so hard she could barely breathe, so Mu Qingchen went to comfort her.
About fifteen minutes later, Mu Qingchen returned to the carriage.
Gu Jiao wondered if this counted as a failed interview; she really hadn't expected the little girl to cry so easily.
"I'm sorry to have wasted your kindness, next time..."
"The young princess is asking when you'll come next time?"
Gu Jiao was taken aback.
Mu Qingchen glanced at her: "Don't want to come?"
Gu Jiao said, "No, it's just strange. She was crying so much, why did I have to come?"
Mu Qingchen gave a faint smile: "The little princess said that only you dare to help her onto the horse. No one else dares to. She will never learn to ride a horse if she follows anyone else. But with you, perhaps she can."
Hmm, still a stubborn little crybaby.
Gu Jiao turned her head to look at Mu Qingchen.
Mu Qingchen was puzzled by Gu Jiao's gaze: "What's wrong?"
Gu Jiao asked, "Who is the young princess to you?"
Mu Qingchen said, "Her father, Lord Yanshan, was a close friend of Duke Anguo. He lived in Duke Anguo's estate in his early years and taught me to play chess. He also taught Yinyin to play chess."
"Yinyin?" Gu Jiao paused for a moment. "Your childhood friend?"
"Mm." Mu Qingchen nodded.
This was the first time Mu Qingchen had mentioned the name of her childhood playmate.
Gu Jiao felt that the name sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
“Lord Yanshan is not at home these days; he has gone on a long trip,” Mu Qingchen said, as if explaining why she hadn’t been taken to pay her respects to Lord Yanshan.
Gu Jiao responded with an "oh".
She didn't care about that.
She was thinking about that name.
Sound.
It's something that just keeps lingering in my mind.
The carriage left the mansion.
"Young master, where are we going now? Back to the academy?" the coachman asked.
Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Jiao.
Gu Jiao said, "Let's go back to the academy."
This means he still refuses to give him his address.
Mu Qingchen didn't say anything.
The carriage headed back to the Sky Dome Academy. They had come from the South Inner City Gate, and naturally they would have to pass through there on the way back.
It was hot, so Gu Jiao kept the window open.
As they approached the city gate, a large procession of people suddenly appeared on the official road. Leading them were several government officials on horseback, followed by a group of ragged laborers with their hands bound by ropes.
Gu Jiao was never curious about government affairs. She just glanced at it casually, but unexpectedly, she saw a familiar figure.
She swiftly pushed the half-open window all the way up!
(End of this chapter)
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