Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[J Jean] [K.Rom] [Manon] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Fav Akira] [Leticia P.] [Maria P.] [Mel Melz] [Nicole] [Passerby]
G O L D S T A R
[Cindy] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Reece P.]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Amanda] [Book W.] [Britnae M] [Caroline] [Christigale M.] [DetectiveGeek421] [Haruka N.]
[Hong] [Kiiayame] [kuroneko_chan] [Lily J.] [Liznel M.] [Michelle K.] [onepiece]
[Quae] [Ray] [Smurfinbatik] [Victoria]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧?≦*)
Little Jing Kong said, "Why don't we go to my house? There is an orchard near my home, and there is also a bird's nest to pluck!"
Xu Zhouzhou was fine with that.
Qin Chuyu sighed helplessly, "Since you insist, all right." He then said to the junior eunuch, "I'll play somewhere for a while and then go back!"
Junior eunuch: "Ai, but..."
But what?
Qin Chuyu had already got rid of his book bag and ran away like a hurricane with his two little friends.
He was obviously a little fat man; the junior eunuch simply had no idea how he could run so fast.
Gu Jiao stroked her chin. It was a pity that she couldn't follow them into the palace.
Gu Jiao accompanied several little fellows to the orchard. With the Xu Family’s servant and the eunuch of the palace watching them, Gu Jiao didn't have to worry about anything.
The rice and spices at home happened to have run out. Gu Jiao went to the market to buy some, but the spices in the market were sold out. Then she remembered there was also a spice shop on Chang'an Street, which wasn’t far from here.
Gu Jiao, carrying her back basket, made her way to Chang'an Street.
Chang'an Street was more lively than Xuanwu Street, with more carriages and horses, as well as pedestrians coming and going. The time right now was close to dinner, and all the major tea houses and restaurants were emanating delicious aromas.
"Freshly cooked steamed bun—— Freshly cooked steamed bun——"
Several vendors could be heard shouting at the roadside.
"Girl, do you want some steamed bun?" The vendor looked at Gu Jiao and asked.
Gu Jiao shook her head, "No."
She went into the spice shop and bought some spices. When she came out, she saw someone selling candied haws. She bought a bunch for several children, the elderly woman, Gu Yan and Xiaoshun.
Her back basket became heavy, and she turned to go home. Just as she walked a couple of steps, she caught sight of a familiar figure in the corner of her eye.
It was familiar because the other person was wearing a white dress and a white veiled hat, and was accompanied by two court ladies, one of whom she had seen before.
That was when the music house had collapsed.
She was lured by Fei Shuang to the basement of the music house to stumble upon the meeting between the Crown Princess and Marquis Xuanping. At that time, the Crown Princess was wearing the same attire, and it was also that same court lady she had with her.
It was indeed ‘searching high and low only to find it easily by chance’.
"Girl, girl!"
The vendor selling candied haws came after her.
Gu Jiao turned to look at him, "What's the matter?"
"I overcharged you just now. Here!" Embarrassed, the vendor handed five copper coins to Gu Jiao. "I'm really sorry!"
"It's okay." Gu Jiao said.
With such an interruption, the figure of the Crown Princess disappeared.
Gu Jiao looked at the endless stream of people and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
Inside a private room of a teahouse, the Crown Princess met with Marquis Xuanping donned in a heavy purple robe.
Marquis Xuanping was seated upright in the official hat chair, with Chang Jing standing beside him, clutching a sword in his arms.
"Both of you are to wait outside." The Crown Princess instructed her accompanying court ladies.
The two people responded agreeingly and obediently waited outside the door.
The Crown Princess entered the room and bowed to Marquis Xuanping, saying, "Uncle."
Marquis Xuanping said, "This humble official doesn’t deserve such favor from the Crown Princess."
"Don't say that, uncle," The Crown Princess responded. "In this room, there is no Crown Princess, only Linlang. Linlang will always be your younger generation, and it is just right for me to salute you."
Marquis Xuanping sighed, "Have a seat."
"Yes." The Crown Princess sat down across from Marquis Xuanping.
Chang Jing wasn’t going to pour tea for anyone. He was an assassin, his hands were used to harvest people's lives, as well as play marbles.
He remained standing on his spot very proudly.
The Crown Princess's eyelashes trembled and she reached for the teapot herself, but Marquis Xuanping was one step ahead of her and poured her a cup of tea.
The Crown Princess said in a warm voice, "Thank you, uncle."
Marquis Xuanping put down the teapot, saying, "What did you want to see me about today?"
The Crown Princess lowered her eyes with a bitter smile, then she looked up at him and asked, "Uncle, is he really not Ah Heng?"
Marquis Xuanping’s expression froze for a moment, "Didn't Steward Liu already tell you? He is my illegitimate child from Song County."
The Crown Princess said with a lonely look on her face, "But he and Ah Heng look so alike..."
Marquis Xuanping picked up the teacup in front of him and said, "I also wish he is Ah Heng. I even asked him face to face."
The Crown Princess's eyes moved slightly, "What did he say?"
Marquis Xuanping replied lightly, "What else would he say? Naturally, he is not."
Having said that, Marquis Xuanping took out a rolled sheet of paper from his wide sleeve, "This is the draft of his palace exam. Take a look and see if it’s Ah Heng's handwriting."
The Crown Princess took the paper, checked it carefully, and finally looked disappointed, "It's completely different from Ah Heng's handwriting. Sometimes I wish that New Year's Eve four years ago was just a nightmare, and when I woke up, Ah Heng was still in the estate."
Marquis Xuanping gripped the teacup in his hand tightly.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up the tragic things of that year." The Crown Princess said guiltily.
"It's all in the past." Marquis Xuanping responded.
The Crown Princess smiled bitterly, "If Ah Heng can come back alive, the princess will be very happy. But it's meaningless to say these now..."
Marquis Xuanping said, "If there’s nothing else, I'll excuse myself first."
The Crown Princess stood up and watched him go out.
Chang Jing went ahead and opened the door for him.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the Crown Princess called out to him, "Ah Heng is afraid of cats, does uncle know? If uncle wants to know whether he really is Ah Heng or not... "
Marquis Xuanping interrupted her, "Ah Heng is dead. Ah Heng doesn’t exist in this world anymore."
……
After Marquis Xuanping left, the Crown Princess sat in the teahouse for half an hour more before going downstairs.
Just after she walked out of the private room, the door of the next private room also opened.
Gu Jiao, who came out of the next private room, narrowed her eyes dangerously.
The Crown Princess’s carriage stopped in the alley next to the teahouse.
The Crown Princess was traveling incognito so she didn’t take many guards, only one imperial expert serving as a coachman.
The carriage was just ahead.
She walked towards the carriage and was about to board it, when suddenly a small figure fell from the roof and landed behind her, quickly putting a sack over her head!
Raz P.'s Thoughts
To read advance GSPW chapters! Updates 7x a week (daily).
You can read up to 20 advance chapters in our patreon so you should go check it out. ^^
No patreon but want to support us? Then,
OR if you can't support us in money, you can always support us emotionally -just hope into . Hehehe~
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om