The Prime Minister's Darling

Yao’s family said, “Not great, I have trouble falling asleep.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Your appetite?”

Yao’s family shook her head slightly, “Can’t eat much either.”

Gu Jiao paused for a moment, “Was it like this even before the cold?”

Yao’s family: “Yes.”

Gu Jiao: “How long has it been approximately?”

Yao’s family: “I can’t remember exactly, but it’s been a long time.”

Gu Jiao asked some more questions.

Actually the imperial doctor had also asked, but Yao’s family was unwilling to open up and always gave perfunctory answers.

Yao’s family trusted Gu Jiao and answered all her questions truthfully.

Gu Jiao added: “Lady Gu, you visited the doctor before, right? What did they say?”

Yao’s family gave a bitter smile, “They said I was weighed down by worries, asked me to relax, not to overthink, and they also prescribed medication. But after taking it, it didn’t help much, so I eventually stopped taking it.”

This was it.

What the doctor referred to as being weighed down by worries, using modern terms, could be referred to as depression.

But she was also suffering from hysteria, which could be dangerous when it flares up.

Gu Jiao took two boxes of antidepressant medications from her first aid kit and replaced their packaging with a porcelain bottle.

Yao’s family sat across Gu Jiao, and only saw the kit’s lid being raised, failing to see Gu Jiao’s movements.

Gu Jiao passed the porcelain bottle to Yao’s family, explained the usage and dosage, and warned, “Lady Gu, you must take the medication. Only then will the illness get better.”

How could a medication handed out by a young girl be effective when the imperial doctor’s medicines were all ineffective?

But the young girl had been busy for half the day, and Yao’s family didn’t have the heart to reject her kind intention, she accepted the medicine and smiled: “Okay.”

Gu Jiao gazed seriously into her eyes: “You can’t throw away the medication. You have to promise me, you will really take the medicine on time.”

Yao’s family hadn’t seen such sincere eyes in a long time. Those who wanted to cure her, they weren’t curing her, but the Lady of Marquis’s residence.

If she wasn’t the Lady of Marquis, no one would spare her a glance.

But this young girl in front of her, sincerely wanted to cure her as a person.

Yao’s family wanted to pay Gu Jiao for the consultation, but Gu Jiao shook the mulberries in her basket.

Yao’s family smiled.

However, Gu Jiao did ask Yao’s family for some extra consultation fee, not in silver, but in homemade pastries.

Yao’s family was very happy.

She had not been this happy in a long time.

Every time she met her, she always had good luck, either being saved or healed by her.

Was this girl her lucky star?

Perhaps due to their similar ages, Yao’s family quickly thought of Gu Jinyu.

Although they were mother and daughter, her relationship with Jin Yu wasn’t as close as with Gu Yan.

Even if Gu Yan always wore a stern face, she could feel Gu Yan’s need for her.

If she stayed at the villa and let Gu Yan go to Capital City, Gu Yan wouldn’t agree. But Jin Yu could leave without a problem, she seemed to long for the prosperity of Capital City and the bustle of Marquis Residence more.

It’s not that Jin Yu didn’t love her as a mother but Jin Yu’s world didn’t just consist of her mother.

Without her, Jin Yu could still live well.

She thought, this might be a good thing.

After all, if there came a day when Gu Yan wasn’t around anymore, she wouldn’t want to live either.

At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Jin Yu.

On the way back, Gu Jiao asked the second shopkeeper about the affairs of Marquis Residence.

“What specifically are you referring to?” The second shopkeeper asked.

“Madam Marquise.” said Gu Jiao.

Asking about the Madam Marquise wasn’t strange, after all, they had already met the three masters of the villa, with the only remaining being the madam, whose face they had never seen.

The second shopkeeper didn’t suspect Gu Jiao had any ulterior motives. He thought for a moment and said, “The Madam Marquise’s surname seems to be Yao. She has quite a story. She’s the Marquise’s second wife, coming from a declined family. Her father once held a nominal position in the household ministry, but it is said that he offended someone. In the end, he lost even his nominal position. When the former Madam Marquise was gravely ill, she visited several times. There were rumors in the Capital City that she took advantage of the former Madam Marquise’s illness to seduce the Marquise.”

Gu Jiao’s brow furrowed slightly. She didn’t seem that kind of person.

The second shopkeeper continued, “The truth is, she never even met the Marquise when she was in the Marquise Residence.”

“How do you know?” Gu Jiao asked.

The second shopkeeper gave a faint smile, “Our Huichun Hall is quite famous in the Capital City. The imperial physician who treated the former Madam Marquise had some dealings with my family. The former Madam Marquise did indeed request Madam Yao to look after her children.”

Gu Jiao asked, “Did the former Madam Marquise have children?”

The second shopkeeper replied, “Indeed, she had three sons. The former Madam Marquise had the idea of Yao being a second wife to the Marquise, but Yao herself didn’t agree. It was she herself who personally refused, incident that was wholly witnessed by the imperial physician who was brewing medicine at the time.”

“But in the end, the Marquise did cross paths with Yao, and he fell for her at first sight. He personally asked the Yao Family for her hand in marriage, and without hesitation, the Yao Family said yes. After that, as you may well imagine, all sorts of slanderous rumors about Yao started in the Capital City.”

“For these past few years, Madam Marquise has stayed in the Hot Springs Villa to take care of Gu Yan’s illness and because she didn’t feel comfortable in the Capital City.”

“The Marquise doesn’t have much affection for his original wife, on the contrary, he cherishes Yao. Given Yao’s background, she was technically not enough to be the Marquise’s second wife. It was he himself who insisted on marrying Madam Yao. The more he cherishes Madam Yao, the more others perceive her as a seductive enchantress.”

The second shopkeeper has seen Madam Yao once before. She was a woman without schemes, and her eyes were as clear as a lake showing its bottom.

If she were a seductive enchantress, then everyone in this world is.

—

Ten days after the prefectural examination ended, the results were announced at the Yamen.

The candidates rushed to the Yamen first thing in the morning hoping to find out if they had passed.

The number of candidates admitted in the prefectural examination was very limited. Out of hundreds of candidates, only fifty were accepted, divided into Class A and Class B, with ten in A and the rest in B.

Fen Lin was woken up by Du Ruohan, who sneaked out of the Governor’s Mansion before dawn, “Fen Lin! Fen Lin! Time to get up! Time to lose your silver!”

Du Ruohan had made a unilateral bet with Fen Lin that Xiao Liulang would fail the exam, the bet being ten taels of silver.

Fen Lin, yawning, opened the door, ” … I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

Du Ruohan stuffed a large meat bun into his mouth and began to pull him towards the lower floor.

Fen Lin takes out the steamed bun, “Liulang hasn’t eaten yet…”

Du Ruohan said, “Alright, alright! He’s capable of taking care of himself, he’s not going to starve to death, is he!”

Without waiting for a response, Du Ruohan forcibly pulled Fen Lin to the entrance of the Yamen’s office.

Many candidates had already gathered there, crowding around the Announcement Board. Using all his might, Du Ruohan managed to squeeze Fen Lin into the innermost part of the crowd.

In Du Ruohan’s view, the chances of a blockhead like Xiao Liulang passing the exam were extremely slim.

“He he, get ready to give me your silver, Feng Xiaodun!”

“I’m not Xiaodun! And I didn’t even…” His words were cut off halfway as his gaze landed on a name that was so conspicuous that no one could overlook it. He stammered, pointing to the name on the list, “Look!”

Du Ruohan followed the direction of his finger.

He saw a name in a highly conspicuous position – the top of the list for the prefectural examination, Xiao Liulang!

Du Ruohan’s jaw nearly dropped, “No way! Did that guy actually make it? And he topped the list? How is that possible?”

What happened to the good old silly Xiao Liulang?

The one who couldn’t even recite the three-character scripture was now the top of the prefectural exam?

The difficulty of topping the list in the prefectural exam was far beyond the county exam, they were completely different scales.

Besides, the exam questions came from his twisted uncle, which were utterly baffling!

Fen Lin extends his hand.

Du Ruohan, “What for?”

Fen Lin, “A bet is a bet.”

Wait, didn’t you say you didn’t want to bet?

That guy’s a bad influence on you!

Fen Lin returned to the inn in high spirits with all of Du Ruohan’s money. He gave half of it to Xiao Liulang. There was no need to speak of the exam results. People had already come to the inn to offer congratulations.