The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1001

Chapter 1001: 475 Her Secret (Second Update)

Marquis Xuanping came out of the Imperial Palace and unexpectedly found a familiar carriage parked nearby.

It was Princess Xinyang’s carriage.

He frowned slightly, unsure whether she had entered the palace or what, but if she wasn’t there to see him, there was no need to embarrass himself.

Just as he was thinking this, the curtain of Princess Xinyang’s carriage was lifted from the inside.

Yujin bowed respectfully as he stepped down from the carriage and walked towards Marquis Xuanping.

"My lord," Yujin greeted with a respectful bow, "the Princess wishes to see you."

Quite the rarity.

In the many years they had been married, the days Princess Xinyang came to find him could be counted on one’s fingers.

He hardly went to see her either; since their wedding night, when she requested a marriage in name only, he had maintained only a superficial relationship with her.

After a moment’s contemplation, Marquis Xuanping got into Princess Xinyang’s carriage.

Marquis Xuanping’s own carriage was also extremely luxurious, but in terms of details, it was not as exquisite as Princess Xinyang’s, which was clearly a woman’s carriage, fragrant and particularly delicate.

If it had been twenty years earlier, Marquis Xuanping might not have found a place to set foot in.

Nowadays, he was no longer the crude man of his youth; he too was quite particular, graceful and composed, with an elegant and scholarly bearing, well... at least on the surface. _{fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓}

Marquis Xuanping sat down on the bench next to Princess Xinyang, glanced at her, and asked, "What’s the matter?"

Princess Xinyang opened her mouth, a trace of hesitation flitting across her brows.

Marquis Xuanping did not rush her, casually playing with an orange in his hand.

It took Princess Xinyang a while before she finally spoke, "When did you know there was something wrong with the Dragon Shadow Guard beside me?"

Marquis Xuanping asked, "Is that what you sought me out for?"

Princess Xinyang demanded, "Just answer me."

"Not long after Xiao Qing’s incident," Marquis Xuanping said truthfully.

"Did you find something?" Princess Xinyang asked.

Marquis Xuanping shook his head, "No, on the contrary, it was because I found nothing that I found it odd. Your Dragon Shadow Guard has always lurked in the shadows, but..."

Princess Xinyang gave a bitter smile, "But you already knew."

"Hmm," Marquis Xuanping did not deny.

From the first day Princess Xinyang had married into the Residence, he had detected a few unusual presences in the shadows.

He had felt a similar presence from the Dragon Shadow Guard around the Emperor and hence guessed that she also had Dragon Shadow Guards by her side.

But it wasn’t until the night of Xiao Qing’s incident that he was certain of their identities.

When he discovered that the two children had been poisoned and urgently sought an antidote, the Emperor had in his possession a detoxification pill from Yan Country, claimed to cure all poisons.

Alas, there was only one.

To ensure her son received the antidote, Xiao Hen’s mother went so far as to capture Xiao Qing.

But in the process of capturing Xiao Qing, she almost mistakenly entered Princess Xinyang’s room, and it was then that a Dragon Shadow Guard appeared and clashed with her.

"At that time..." Princess Xinyang’s voice interrupted Marquis Xuanping’s train of thought, but she seemed hesitant.

Marquis Xuanping weighed the orange in his hand and said, "If you want to ask, just ask. You needn’t consider whether I want to answer or not. If I don’t want to, I’ll tell you directly."

Princess Xinyang asked, "After confirming that the Dragon Shadow Guard was the murderer who killed Xiao Qing, did you ever think about taking revenge?"

Marquis Xuanping tugged at the corner of his mouth indifferently, "If I said I didn’t, would you believe me?"

Princess Xinyang pursed her lips, "Then why didn’t you take revenge?"

Marquis Xuanping answered earnestly, "First of all, they are just the executioners; the one who gave the order was the late Emperor."

Only two people could command the Dragon Shadow Guards, the late Emperor and Princess Xinyang; it couldn’t have been Princess Xinyang herself who ordered the killing of her own son.

Arriving at this conclusion wasn’t difficult, accepting it was the hard part.

Marquis Xuanping chuckled, "A debt has its debtor, as does a grievance its master. If I were to take revenge, it would be against the late Emperor. Why should I trouble a few executioners who were just following orders? A coward would vent anger on subordinates without confronting their master."

This arrogant tone could only belong to Marquis Xuanping.

Princess Xinyang pressed, "Is that the only reason?"

Marquis Xuanping gave her an odd look, lips curving slightly, "What are you expecting, Qin Fengwan? Are you hoping I’ll tell you it’s because you still needed them, so I painfully spared them? Qin Fengwan, my feelings for you aren’t as deep as you think."

"Good, it’s not," Princess Xinyang sighed with slight relief.

Marquis Xuanping looked at her with a half-smile, squinting, then suddenly leaned closer, propping an arm beside her as if pinning her against the carriage wall, "Qin Fengwan, you seem disappointed?"

Princess Xinyang turned her face away, "I’m not."

Marquis Xuanping laughed carelessly, his expression tinged with a cold derision, "Disappointed or not, it’s too late. You were the one who refused me back then. Even if you now lowered yourself to plead with me, my heart wouldn’t stir for you again."