The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1146

Chapter 1146: 559 Asking the Gentleman to Enter the Jar (Part 2)

Imperial Study Room.

Sitting beside the Emperor, Princess Ning An looked dim-spirited.

The Emperor patted the back of her hand and said, "Don’t take it to heart, the truth of the case will eventually come to light."

With a low voice, Princess Ning An said, "Sometimes I wonder if I should not have returned. I was the one blinded, disregarding the advice not to marry to the distant border pass. In the end, the trust I placed was misplaced, bringing harm to hundreds of thousands of civilians at the border, suffering from warfare, and so many military officers lost their lives. When Your Majesty proposed to bestow upon me the title of Princess Protector of the Nation, I actually understood I was not worthy."

The Emperor looked at her: "Ning An ..."

Princess Ning An met his gaze: "Brother Emperor, hear me out."

The Emperor nodded helplessly: "Alright, speak."

Princess Ning An spoke with self-reproach: "For me, already bearing sins, to be accepted back into the royal family is already an enormous grace from Brother Emperor. Please don’t mention bestowing rewards upon me anymore."

The Emperor spoke earnestly and sincerely: "It wasn’t your fault. Regardless of whether or not you were there, remnants of the former dynasty would have caused trouble in Zhan Country. You were just a pitiable person exploited by them. It wouldn’t have been you, it would have been someone else. Don’t blame yourself anymore. Your words, however, remind me—perhaps my excessive doting on you has made some people jealous and discontent, stirring up a great many problems?"

Princess Ning An remained silent.

The Emperor comforted her: "I have my own judgement on this matter and will certainly not let you suffer. Pretend you have heard nothing today, I will find out the truth."

Princess Ning An’s eyes reddened slightly.

Seeing her like this, the Emperor couldn’t help but think of her childhood. Ning An was a lively child, not given to crying like the usual young girls. When she felt wronged, she would find a secluded place to sit in silence, struggling to hold back her tears.

It was always him who would find Ning An and cheer her up.

Thinking of the past, the Emperor felt even more distressed for Ning An.

One can only wonder how many times she, alone at the border, hid in a corner, privately heartbroken. Did anybody find her? Did anybody care for her?

The Emperor called for Eunuch Wei: "Go to the Ministry of Justice and instruct Minister Xing to keep hushed, and not to reveal any information about this case for the time being."

"Yes."

Eunuch Wei left to carry out the order.

But it was too late.

On the way to the Ministry of Justice, Eunuch Wei already heard people heatedly discussing the matter.

"You two young gents, what were you just talking about?" Eunuch Wei pulled aside the carriage curtain, addressing two young fellows by the road in a pleasant tone.

Since it was meant to be confidential, he couldn’t let his identity slip, so he wore the attire of an ordinary nobleman.

Thinking he was a wealthy man from Capital City, the two young men told him the news they had heard in the Tea House.

"I heard that Xianle Inn colluded with the royal family and killed military officers returning from the border pass!"

"Is, is there such a thing?"

The old sacrificer knew well that the speed at which rumors spread depended entirely on the sensationalism of the rumor itself. It didn’t matter whether it was exaggerated or not, as long as it was widely circulated!

"Who was killed?"

"The young master of the Gu Family army! Gu Changqing!"

"Cough, cough!" Eunuch Wei nearly choked himself to death!

How did it get connected to Gu Changqing?

Wasn’t it said that the assassination attempt was on Miss Gu, and that it was an attempt and did not succeed?

"That must be a mistake, right? The young heir of the Gu Family went to offer condolences to the families of the soldiers."

"That’s right. He was killed on the way out of the city! It’s not far from Fen County; people coming from nearby post stations saw the snowfield full of bodies and bloodstains!"

That was clearly where Miss Gu and the assassins of Xianle Inn clashed, with all the dead belonging to Xianle Inn!

This, this, who concocted such nonsense!

"Ah, how tragic! The young heir of the Gu Family bravely fought enemies at the border, only to be assassinated by the royal family upon his return. They must fear his merits overshadow the master, thus deciding to rid themselves of him once his purpose is served!"

"Not dying at the enemy’s hand but instead at our own people’s, it is truly disheartening."

"It seems he didn’t die but managed to escape." _{frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓}

"Does that mean the young heir of the Gu Family will have to hide and flee from now on?"

This was the first version Eunuch Wei heard.

There was also a second version.

It was mostly the same regarding Gu Changqing encountering an assassination attempt outside the city, Xianle Inn colluding with the royal family. But instead of a story about the royal family wanting to dispose of him after his purpose was served, it was about a princess of the royal family who took a fancy to Gu Changqing and wanted to make him her consort.

Gu Changqing disagreed, which angered the princess, leading to her savage revenge.

"What nonsense!" Eunuch Wei was exasperated.

The third version was the one that gave Eunuch Wei the biggest headache, with the victim still being Gu Changqing instead of Gu Jiao.

"It’s said to be the remnants of the former dynasty!"

"Haven’t the remnants of the former dynasty been entirely exterminated?"

"It seems some fish slipped through the net and infiltrated Capital City, colluding with Xianle Inn, seeking vengeance on the Gu Family army and the young heir!"

"Poor young heir Gu is gravely injured, his fate uncertain."