The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 1572: Grandfather and Son-in-law Meet (Third Watch)

Jing Erye said, “I thought you didn’t even recognize your Uncle Jing anymore.”

Wait, shouldn’t I politely call you Uncle Jing?

How did you become my Uncle Jing?

Isn’t this getting a bit too familiar?

Jing Erye, who could even claim Xuanyuan Sheng as a brother-in-law, said that being called Uncle Jing was nothing to fuss about!

He didn’t consider himself an outsider at all.

Remembering something, Jing Erye looked at Gu Jiao, then at Xiao Hen, and asked, “By the way, Liulang mentioned earlier that you are his friend. Do you know Liulang?”

“I… yes, we know each other. My mother was gravely injured, and Liulang treated her. Now, Liulang is staying at Qilin Palace, convenient for continuing to treat my mother.”

“I see.” Jing Erye suddenly realized, not questioning the truth of the matter. Firstly, he had heard earlier about the Princess being injured, and secondly, he had witnessed Xiao Liulang’s medical skills himself.

“How is your mother’s condition now?” Jing Erye asked.

“The surgery was very successful, she has passed the critical period, and she is currently recovering in the National Master Hall,” Xiao Hen said.

Jing Erye breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s good to hear.”

Although the Official Government had announced to the outside world that Shangguan Yun was out of danger, it was only after hearing the confirmation from Xiao Hen’s mouth that his heart truly settled down.

“Your voice has changed a bit,” Jing Erye said. “It sounds better than before. I always said, once a boy’s voice changes, it’s no longer a gander’s throat!”

Xiao Hen was frightened into a cold sweat.

Xiao Hen smiled: “Uncle Jing is right.”

“Let’s go, let’s talk in the carriage! Your Aunt is also there!” said Jing Erye as he pulled Xiao Hen onto the Duke Residence’s carriage, and Gu Jiao was also brought onto the carriage.

Xiao Hen cast a subtle glance at Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao took a look at the Duke and made eye contact.

The Duke’s gaze fell onto Xiao Hen’s handsome face.

Xiao Hen subconsciously touched the fake tear mole under his right eye and greeted with a smile, “Aunt.”

The Duke’s eyes flickered, and dipping his fingertip in water, he wrote on the armrest, “I want to eat fruit, you two go pick some for me.”

“The two of us…” Jing Erye counted in the carriage, his eldest brother in a wheelchair, Shangguan Qing ill, and it seemed that both he and Xiao Liulang were meant.

Having a rare moment of understanding with his elder brother, he said to Gu Jiao, “Liulang, I’ll go pick fruit over there.”

“Oh,” Gu Jiao stood up, giving Xiao Hen a glance.

Xiao Hen nodded slightly towards her.

Gu Jiao and Jing Erye exited the carriage.

The Duke saw all the subtle exchanges between the two.

After their footsteps had faded away, the Duke wrote on the armrest, “You are not Shangguan Qing.”

Xiao Hen’s fingers tensed.

The Duke continued to write, “Who are you to her?”

It was “her,” not “him.”

Xiao Hen didn’t believe that the foremost scholar of Shengdu, filled with knowledge and wit, would make a mistake in writing.

There was only one possibility: he knew that Gu Jiao was a woman.

How did he find out? Did he discover it himself, or was he told by Gu Jiao?

Gu Jiao had participated in the selection for the Hei Fengqi commander using the identity of the Duke’s adopted son, a ruse set up by the National Master. Xiao Hen hadn’t thought much about it.

But now it seemed that the Duke knew and cared about Gu Jiao more than he had imagined.

The Duke wrote again, “Who are you to her?”

The second “her” confirmed it.

Xiao Hen was now certain that Gu Jiao’s identity as a woman had been exposed to the Duke.

After realizing he was not Xiao Qing, the Duke’s question was not “Who are you?” or “Why are you pretending to be Shangguan Qing,” but rather “Who are you to her.”

From this, one could see the place that Gu Jiao held in the Duke’s heart.

Why did the Duke care so much about Gu Jiao?

Just because Gu Jiao had treated the Duke for an illness once or twice?

Many doubts flashed through Xiao Hen’s mind, but one thing he could be sure of: the Duke would not harm Gu Jiao.

“I am her husband,” Xiao Hen told the truth.

The Duke’s face darkened instantly.