The Prime Minister’s Darling

Gu Xiaobao couldn't understand what a nephew or niece was, but when Gu Jiao explained "little uncle" to him, he finally got it. This he understood.

"Am I the little uncle?" he asked.

"Yes." Gu Jiao said.

He thought seriously for a while: "Alright."

He is a year older and no longer pats his chest with open fingers and waves his tiny hands like he used to.

To him, those are things that little babies do.

Gu Jiao was surprised by his change, kids indeed change every day.

Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun went to school, leaving only the Yao Family and a few little maidservants at home.

The Yao Family brought a plate of homemade snacks to the east room, knowing her daughter didn't like things too sweet, so she only added a little sugar to the snacks.

"Busy from early morning, you must be hungry, have some food." The Yao Family handed the snacks to Gu Jiao.

Gu Jiao took a piece of almond cake, tasted it, it still had the familiar taste, delicious.

The Yao Family placed the plate of snacks on the stool and turned to look at the two little ones.

Today was hot, so Gu Jiao loosened their swaddles. Xiao Cong was still a quiet little handsome boy, while Xiao Yang curiously looked around and occasionally stretched lazily, extremely adorable.

Both kids were very healthy, Xiao Yang was a bit chubbier.

The Yao Family looked at them and couldn't help but think of Gu Yan and Gu Jiao from the past; missing the chance to watch her own daughter grow up was a lifelong regret.

The pain of missing out on those precious moments wasn't something that could be compensated for just by reuniting later. In her heart, there was a void that could never be filled.

However, the appearance of Xiao Cong and Xiao Yang gradually began to fill that void.

She loved the two kids so much and was deeply grateful to them.

"Mom, the nephew and niece are so small." Gu Xiaobao voiced his opinion once again.

"You were just as small when you were little." The Yao Family said, suddenly looking at him in surprise, "You know what nephew and niece are?"

"Sister said it." Gu Xiaobao said, "I'm the little uncle."

The Yao Family smiled and patted his little head: "Xiaobao is really smart."

The little uncle had the heart to be a good elder, but the forty-day-old nephew and niece only ate and slept, and couldn't play with him.

After sitting on the bed for a while, feeling bored, he went out to find his little friends in the alley.

Gu Lord Marquis arrived at the door simultaneously with Xiao Hen, who had just finished work. Coincidentally, so had he.

Both were still wearing their official robes.

In Zhan Country, only officials of the third rank and above were qualified to wear purple. Gu Lord Marquis was a fourth-ranked Ministry of Works deputy minister, his official robe was crimson.

He looked at Xiao Hen, younger, lower in status, but already donning the purple robe, and felt suddenly uncomfortable.

A father-in-law looking at his son-in-law, getting more irritated.

He truly hadn't expected that the poor boy he always looked down on was actually the lost young Marquis of Zhaodu!

No wonder he managed to top the imperial examinations.

No matter how much he disapproved of this kid, he had to admit that the young Marquis of Zhaodu's scholarship was genuine.

Oh well, being the father-in-law to a young marquis wasn't bad either.

With thoughts flashing by, he cleared his throat, striking the pose of a father-in-law, and said, "You're here, and you wouldn't even greet your father-in-law?"

Xiao Hen dusted his wide sleeves and said with a carefree attitude, "I married the daughter of Yan Country's Duke Residence, it's Duke An who is my father-in-law."

Gu Lord Marquis was left embarrassed, twitched his mouth, and stormed inside angrily!

Stupid girl, what kind of husband did you find? No manners at all!

Seeing that girl later, he must give her a good talking to!

He strode over the threshold, tripped on his foot, and with a cry, fell flat on his face!

Gu Jiao, who had just come out of the east room, looked at him bewildered, for a long while, raised an eyebrow, and said: "Oh, rise."

Gu Lord Marquis: "???"

...

Gu Lord Marquis, with a bruised and battered face, went to the Yao Family to complain. Just as he entered the room, he couldn't help but notice the twin babies lying side by side on the bedchamber.

He paused in his steps.

Twins are quite rare, and boy-girl twins are even rarer. The last time he saw such a small pair of boy-girl twins was when Gu Yan and Gu Jinyu were young.

He still remembered how they lay in the swaddles back then; the difference was that Gu Yan, suffering from a heart condition, didn't want to lie with Gu Jinyu, often leading to him crying and causing a scene, an unpleasant sight.

The two little ones now clearly lay separately, yet there was a sense of connection through their shared bloodline.

A thought crossed Gu Lord Marquis's mind: so this is what true boy-girl twins are like.

"Marquis."

The Yao Family was in a good mood today and rarely showed a friendly face to Marquis Gu.

Marquis Gu walked over, staring blankly at the two: "They..."

The Yao Family automatically ignored his injured expression, their brows and eyes full of indulgence for the dragon and phoenix twins: "Ahen and Jiaojiao's dragon and phoenix twins, Congcong and Yangyang."

Marquis Gu opened his mouth.

That girl gave birth to them...

The Yao Family smiled and said: "Aren't they adorable?"

Marquis Gu wanted to refute, but he couldn't find a point to argue.

The two little ones were indeed quite adorable.

He couldn't help but think of Gu Jinyu, who married into the Marquis Changping's residence far away. Jinyu and that girl got married on the same day. That girl already had dragon and phoenix twins, so Jinyu should be expecting as well, right?

...

Fengcheng was a city in the easternmost part of Zhan Country, and the Marquis Changping's residence was located on the most affluent street of Fengcheng, surrounded by local gentry and dignitaries.

In contrast to the advantageous location occupied by the Marquis Changping's residence, the courtyard allocated to Gu Jinyu was not so satisfactory.

Luoshui Courtyard, a temporarily tidied-up garden.

Gu Jinyu had married into the Marquis Changping's residence for more than half a year, yet she was still a virgin.

Initially, she found it hard to talk about this matter, but afterward, the Marquise Changping urged her to quickly give birth to an heir for Lord Quan, so she confessed the truth to her mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law intervened in their marital relationship, and it had some effects. Since then, on the first and fifteenth of each month, Lord Quan would visit her chamber.

However, even if they lay on the same bed, Lord Quan still wouldn't touch her!

She once doubted whether she wasn't attractive enough to Lord Quan, or if she had inadvertently done something that repelled him, until one time, she personally made soup, spending an entire afternoon brewing a bowl of lotus seed porridge to deliver to him.

But as soon as she arrived at the study room, she heard shameful noises.

She thought it was some maid seducing Lord Quan during the day. In a moment of heat, she pushed the door open, only to witness a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.

Lord Quan was lying on the study desk, with another man—

She felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue, stunned completely.

Lord Quan, embarrassed and furious, expelled her out, and she, driven by anger, quarreled with him a few times, saying some unpleasant words, causing a nasty fallout between them.

In the end, she moved out of Lord Quan's courtyard, staying with Chun Liu and several companions in this secluded Luoshui Courtyard.

This was the great marriage she would rather break with the Yao Family than give up, this was the heir of the Marquis Residence she insisted on marrying.

How ironic.

Did the elder lady of the Gu Family know about this? Intentionally sending her into the fire pit, only seeking to win over the Marquis Changping's residence, disregarding her life!

Her kind grandmother, always worrying about her granddaughter.

But all this was merely the elder lady's wishful thinking. With ten thousand Gu Family troops from the Ding'an Marquis Residence, why would there be a need to align with the Quan Family?

A shortsighted woman of the inner quarters just sold her off like that!

"Miss."

Chun Liu brought a bowl of freshly cooked thin porridge to the window, carefully handing it to Gu Jinyu, "It's getting cold, drink it while it's hot."

Gu Jinyu blew in the cold wind: "I have no appetite."

Chun Liu said, concerned: "You haven't eaten anything for several days."

Gu Jinyu still didn't want to eat.

Since coming here, she had severed all ties with the Capital City, but today, for some unknown reason, she inquired, by sheer chance: "Is there any news from the Capital City?"

Chun Liu pursed her lips, lowered her head.

Gu Jinyu glanced at her, calmly saying: "Speak up."

Chun Liu bit her lip, softly saying: "It's said that the big lady has given birth to a pair of dragon and phoenix twins for the young marquis."

"Less than a year into the marriage, already spreading branches and leaves for the Xiao family... dragon and phoenix twins... hahaha... haha..." Gu Jinyu clutched her chest as if cut by knives, sneering, with tears in her eyes, "Good, good, truly good!"

...

Capital City.

The wedding date for Gu Changqing and Yuan Baolin was originally set for December. However, due to the sudden illness of Yuan, the chief assistant, the date was repeatedly postponed. In March, Yuan's health improved, and finally, their wedding was held in lunar April.

To attend Gu Changqing's wedding, Gu Jiao postponed her trip to Night Island.

Xuanyuan Qi and Liao Chen had long since returned to Yan Country, leading the Hei Fengqi and Shadow Division.

Liao Chen remained as the third Shadow Master, and Gu Jiao was still the young commander of the Hei Fengqi. Even though she wasn't in Yan Country, her legends were everywhere in Yan Country.

Regarding military training, it was temporarily handled by Xuanyuan Qi, the Grand Marshal.

April twelfth, hour of the dragon, Gu Changqing's wedding procession grandly departed from Ding'an Marquis Residence.