The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1017

Chapter 1017: 484 Unrivaled Jiaojiao (Part 2)

The war-torn Lingguan City was a sight of devastation, where soldiers outnumbered the commoners on the streets, and innocent civilians were arbitrarily arrested without cause.

Gu Chengfeng constantly reminded himself that he was a great thief, that the life and death of the commoners had nothing to do with him. Yet, when he actually witnessed such scenes before him, the blood in his veins couldn’t help but boil with anger.

He clenched his fists tightly and it took tremendous effort to barely suppress the urge to kill those Zhan Country soldiers who bullied the commoners with his sword.

He couldn’t expose himself.

Not yet... not yet...

"Let’s find an inn!" he said, turning away, afraid that another glance would make him unable to hold back and rush over.

"All right," Gu Jiao replied, calm and collected as she nodded her head.

She seemed indifferent to everything, with the life and death of others appearing insignificant in her eyes. Yet, she had traveled thousands of miles to this bitterly cold and perilous land for the sake of the "fool" and brothers she spoke of.

Suddenly, Gu Chengfeng realized he couldn’t understand her.

The two found an inn nearby.

The inn bore signs of being plundered. The shopkeeper’s face was horrifically marked with the imprint of a slap. As for the servers in the inn, they were either injured or in pain, with swollen eyes.

They were busy setting upright chairs that had been knocked over. The inn was devoid of other guests, and it was unclear if no one had stayed there to begin with or if they had all been scared away.

Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng approached the counter.

The shopkeeper, trying to gather his spirits, looked at them with a voice still trembling from previous sobs, "Are the honored guests here to eat or to stay?"

Gu Chengfeng told the shopkeeper, "Give us a room. If there’s food, bring it up; if not, never mind."

"Please follow me," the shopkeeper said, holding back his sorrow, and led Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng upstairs to a room that was still relatively clean and tidy, "This is our inn’s best room, one hundred wen per night, including two meals."

"One... one hundred wen?" Gu Chengfeng doubted he had heard correctly.

The shopkeeper hastily said, "Does the guest think it’s too much? I can give a discount, how about eighty wen?"

Gu Chengfeng opened his mouth and said, "That’s not what I meant."

One hundred wen was really too cheap. On their journey, they had never stayed in such an inexpensive inn, and it was the best room, with two meals included.

"One hundred wen it is," Gu Chengfeng eventually relented, not having the heart to haggle with the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper gratefully said, "Thank you, honored guest. I’ll go prepare the food right away, though you might need to wait a bit."

Gu Chengfeng understood his meaning; with the inn looted by the soldiers, the kitchen likely didn’t even spare the fine foods. They would need to purchase more supplies.

Gu Chengfeng’s heart was a mixture of emotions.

Gu Jiao ate and slept without a care, seemingly heartless, and showing no signs of worry or compassion.

Gu Chengfeng watched the person hugging a Red-Tasseled Spear and snoring heavily on the bedchamber, his mouth twitching!

A little girl, whose heart seemed even bigger than that of a man like him!

After dinner, the two prepared to set out.

They changed into night garments and put on masks, ready to depart.

But just as Gu Chengfeng had opened the door, he immediately closed it again.

"Someone’s coming?" Gu Jiao asked.

Gu Chengfeng’s throat moved, he steadied his spirit and said, "It’s Zhan Country soldiers, a large troop of them."

A large troop meant dozens of them, virtually filling the Grand Hall of the inn in an instant.

For a moment, Gu Chengfeng suspected that his and Gu Jiao’s whereabouts had been exposed, but fortunately, those people settled directly in the Grand Hall, it seemed they were only there to freeload food and drinks.

Gu Chengfeng let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of these soldiers; he could handle them on his own in a real fight, but if a battle were to break out and the heavy forces of the Governor’s Mansion were alarmed, that would be bad news.

The room had no windows. They could only wait for the group of soldiers to leave.

Those soldiers had no idea anyone else was staying at the inn, thinking it was all their own people. They spoke without any reservation, which allowed Gu Jiao and Gu Chengfeng to overhear some incredible information.

As it turned out, the capture of the old marquis was indeed Tang Yueshan’s "handiwork!"

The son-in-law placed Princess Ning An under house arrest. The old marquis sought Tang Yueshan’s help in borrowing a few archers to sneak into the Princess Residence and rescue Princess Ning An, but Tang Yueshan refused the old marquis, citing the pretext of needing to dispatch troops to quell rebels.