The Prime Minister’s Darling

Chang Kun took out an old portrait: "This is what he looked like the first time I saw him. I was afraid I would forget, so I painted it early on."

Gu Jiao saw a tall man wearing military boots, draped in a cloak, with a cold expression.

"Godfather..."

So the person Master Rong had seen was indeed the Godfather. His appearance hadn't changed, not because he had taken some elixir of immortality, but because he had crossed over here again and again.

Gu Jiao clutched the portrait tightly. "Where has he gone?"

Chang Kun said sadly, "He died."

Gu Jiao's eyes shuddered. "What did you say?"

Chang Kun sighed, "Every time he came here, he planted a batch of purple herbs, but for some reason, they just wouldn't grow initially. Later, he passed away, and on his deathbed, he asked me to bury him under the purple herbs. Isn't it strange? The following year, large swathes of purple herbs grew where he was buried."

Gu Jiao stared blankly at the portrait, and suddenly tears fell down.

...

At night.

Ye Qing came to Gu Jiao's room.

Gu Jiao sat quietly by the window.

Ye Qing opened his mouth and said softly, "How should I address you now? Miss Gu, Little Commander, Madam Xiao, or—"

Gu Jiao replied, "Anything is fine. Your master..."

Ye Qing stood in front of her, lowered his eyes, took a deep breath to suppress the lump in his throat, and spoke as usual, "My master, the old man, went off to roam the world. Before he left, he came to see me on Dark Night Island. He had something for me to give you."

Gu Jiao took the box and opened it.

Inside were the three clay figurines sitting under the peach tree and an unfinished portrait of a general.

Now, the National Master had filled in the missing face.

It was her face.

Ye Qing turned away and subtly wiped the tears from his eyes, calmly saying, "My master has a story for me to tell you."

Gu Jiao said, "Tell me."

Ye Qing considered his words and slowly began.

"Once upon a time, there was a down-and-out magician who was beaten and left for dead on the streets after offending the young master of a wealthy family. In his dying moments, an ethereal woman saved him. She said, 'You remind me so much of an old acquaintance of mine.'

"Because of a similar face, the woman treated him, took him in, taught him everything, and even introduced him to the young master of the Xuanyuan family.

"He thought that the old acquaintance must have been very important to her. He considered pretending to be that person, but ultimately, he didn't do it.

"The luckiest thing in his life was meeting her, but his biggest regret was predicting that one fortune.

"Don't seek him out beyond the distant back mountain.

...

When Xiao Hen entered the room, Ye Qing had already left.

Gu Jiao was burning paper money.

Two braziers.

Xiao Hen looked at her with pity and said, "One is for the first island owner of Dark Night Island, and the other is—"

Gu Jiao whispered, "An old acquaintance."

...

Dark Night Island is even farther than Yan Country. Returning now would mean facing the extreme weather of the ice fields, so Chang Kun and Chang Jing temporarily stayed at the Marquis Residence.

This suited Gu Jiao's plans; she also intended to visit Dark Night Island. By spring, she would likely give birth.

By then, she would return with Chang Kun and Chang Jing.

In October, Shangguan Qing returned to Yan Country.

In the same year, during the twelfth lunar month, Prime Minister Yuan caught a cold and became much weaker.

Feeling overwhelmed and powerless, Prime Minister Yuan submitted his resignation to the Emperor.

The Emperor, after several attempts to persuade him to stay, finally accepted his resignation in February of the following year, appointing Xiao Hen to the position of Prime Minister.

Thus, the youngest prime minister in the history of the six countries took office.

And on Xiao Prime Minister's first day in office, Gu Jiao went into labor.

The newly appointed Prime Minister, who hadn't even settled into his seat yet, stumbled down in front of his subordinates who had come to pay respects, knocking his official hat askew!

The Cabinet officials had never seen Lord Xiao so flustered before, and they were all stunned.

Xiao Hen didn't care about his image anymore and immediately rode back to the residence!

Gu Jiao was carrying twins; her belly was larger than that of the average pregnant woman, and her due date came half a month early.

She had gone into labor while strolling in the Garden with Princess Xinyang. She remained relatively calm.

Princess Xinyang, however, wasn't calm at all. Seeing Gu Jiao able to walk back on her own almost made her question her life.

Xiao Ji: Ha, when I watched you calmly walk back to the birthing room, I also felt like questioning life.

Originally, there was one fetus that had already engaged, but today, the positioning of the twins was off!

The midwives and female doctors were shocked.

Generally, once a fetus has engaged, the position doesn't change.

So what exactly is the situation? Could it be that one... was kicked to the side by the other?

The midwife took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and said, "Don't panic, don't panic. If the fetal position is off, we'll just adjust it. Which one should we turn first?"

She touched Gu Jiao's belly, "This one, this one is closer!"

As soon as she said that, ready to exert force, the other baby kicked Gu Jiao's belly and shook their little foot next to her belly.

The midwife was once again bewildered, "What's going on now?"

The female doctor hesitated and said awkwardly, "Maybe he (or she) means... they want to come out first?"

As evening approached, a loud cry pierced the tranquil sky, announcing the birth of the Prime Minister's little daughter!

A quarter of an hour later, the Prime Minister's little son was born too.

With the auspicious birth of the dragon and phoenix twins, the horizon was covered in a glow that enveloped the entire residence, and all the citizens of the Capital City witnessed the celestial omen, exclaiming that it was truly a divine blessing.

Xiao Hen hadn't paid attention to the two little ones yet; his first move was to go to the birthing room.

The little ones, held by the midwife and female doctor, seemed a bit aggrieved, as if accusing their father for not holding them right after birth.

Xiao Hen went directly to the bedside.

Gu Jiao, having just given birth, was tired and weak, unable to muster the strength to speak.

In a daze, she saw a tall figure emerging from the glow of the sunset.

He reached out his cold, pale, slender hand to touch her forehead.

That was the most beautiful hand she had ever seen.

(The end of the main story—)