The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 1280

Chapter 1280: 622 The Beauty at Midnight (Second Watch)

After all the hassle, Gu Jiao emerged from the residence to find the sky had already darkened.

Normally, even if it were dark, it wouldn’t matter much; Shengdu was so bustling that businesses operated well into the night. But her luck was out—she ran smack into a curfew.

The number of pedestrians on the street swiftly dwindled as shops on either side began closing one after another.

Gu Jiao was completely bewildered.

What in the world was going on?

Had she forgotten to check the almanac before leaving home?

She had inquired before: In Shengdu, the city gate of the inner city wouldn’t close until two quarters past the hour of Xu, and it was just past the hour of Xu now, so she still had half an hour.

It seemed she wouldn’t make it in time to gather information about the Medical Hall today.

She needed to leave the city quickly and could not walk; she wouldn’t make it in time otherwise.

Gu Jiao quickly identified a carriage parked in an alleyway.

It had been a long time since she’d engaged in this sort of robbery, but today she had done just that.

The coachman was absent.

Who knows if he was off attending to some other task, but there was someone in the carriage—the candlelight cast the silhouette of a man inside.

Intending to put on her mask, Gu Jiao reached for it and discovered it was missing.

It must have been lost somewhere.

No matter, she thought. Without the mask, she grabbed a handful of wall grey and smeared it on her face, then tightly grasped the dagger in her hand, jumped onto the carriage, and pressed the dagger to the man’s neck.

"Don’t move,"

she threatened with a low and inexperienced youthful voice.

This was a young man dressed in a plain white robe with a dark blue gauze coat draped over it, his waist belted with jade. His side-profile was refined and exquisite, with long, delicate eyelashes.

Even having seen a beauty like Xiao Hen, Gu Jiao had to admit that this was a remarkably handsome man.

He appeared to be about the same age as Xiao Hen, with a noble bearing and composed demeanor; he did not show a trace of panic even with a blade against his throat.

Gu Jiao said, "Drive me out of the inner city, and I won’t hurt you—south city gate."

The young man did not say whether he agreed or not.

Just then, the coachman returned, "Young Master, I’ve asked, and the owner said it’s not ready yet, and told us to come back in a couple of days. Are we heading back now?"

Sitting beside the man, Gu Jiao pressed the dagger a bit more against the man’s neck as a clear threat.

The young man said, "I need to leave through the south inner city gate."

Separated by a curtain, Gu Jiao could still sense the coachman stiffening sharply, "Didn’t you just come in? Why are you leaving again? There’s a sudden curfew tonight, if we go out, we can’t come back in."

The young man said nothing more.

Perhaps accustomed to treating the young man’s silence as commanding, the coachman mumbled and then said, "Alright, alright, I can’t argue with you."

The coachman took his place in the driver’s seat outside and steered the carriage toward the south inner city gate.

But as the proverb goes, when luck is against you, even water chokes you. The city gate had closed early due to the curfew, even though it wasn’t yet two quarters past the hour of Xu.

"We can’t leave, Young Master," said the coachman.

The young man remained silent, and Gu Jiao understood that he was waiting for her to respond.

With one hand holding the dagger against him and the other lifting a slit in the curtain, Gu Jiao looked out to see if there were any inns along the way where she could stay.

Suddenly, the young man spoke, "I advise you not to stay at inns casually, without a travel permit you’ll be arrested."

"What’s a travel permit?" asked Gu Jiao.

Speaking leisurely, the young man said, "It’s the certificate people from the outer city need to enter the inner city."

Gu Jiao was about to ask, how do you know I’m from the outer city, but then thought better of it; if she were from the inner city, she would go home at curfew, not hijack a carriage to rush out of the city.

Gu Jiao glanced at him and asked, "Do you have a travel permit then?"

The young man responded, "People from the inner city have fish tokens, no need for a travel permit."

Gu Jiao was familiar with Yan Country’s fish tokens, a token to prove one’s identity.

She looked at him, "Where’s your fish token?"

The man did not move.

Gu Jiao glanced toward his waist and, with one hand, removed his money pouch, and from it, she pulled out a bronze fish token.

"Young Master?" the coachman called from outside. "Who are you speaking with? Is there someone else in the carriage?"

Gu Jiao’s dagger twitched, signaling him with her eyes.

Calmly, the young man replied, "Where is there an inn nearby that hasn’t closed yet?"

The coachman, thinking he’d heard a voice, but with his young master unwilling to confirm, said, "If you go back two miles, I think there’s an inn."

"Let’s go there," said the young man.

"Yes," the coachman steered the carriage toward that inn.

Then the young man continued, "Stop the carriage here; go find out if there are any other inns nearby."

"Yes,"

And the coachman did as instructed.

By using this method to send the coachman away, Gu Jiao of course didn’t think he was considering her interests; it was more likely that he was worried she would knock the coachman unconscious.

He was quite clever.

Suddenly thinking of something, Gu Jiao asked, "Are you going to report to the authorities?"

The young man spoke indifferently, "Do you think the Official Government can search every inn in the inner city overnight?"

"True," Gu Jiao nodded.

It appeared he had guessed she wouldn’t stay at the inn he had found for her.

He was indeed a clever person.

And attractive, too.

No, that’s not right, the surname on the pass token was Mu, while the gentleman at the post station belonged to the Su Family. _{ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm}