Princess and the General

The Hedgehog Under the Table (Part One)

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Gu HanMo had entered the prime minister’s manor on his own but had people from Marquis Gu’s Manor waiting to receive him on his way back.

The people sent out by Yin Shuo watched the carriage depart but did not dare step forward to stop it.
Any carriage with Marquis Gu’s Manor’s name on it would attract the attention of the citizens.
If they dared to step forward and stop them, would they not be signing their own death warrants?

They had no choice but to return in a dejected state.

Gu HanMo led Yin JiYao into the manor.
When Yin JiYao saw Marquis Gu’s Manor’s plaque, she blankly stared at it with something seemingly on her mind.

She did not know whether following Gu HanMo today was the right choice or not.
When she had told Gu HanMo to leave, he had looked at the scar on her forehead and insisted on taking her with him.

“Though second brother is known for being a playboy, he is not a frivolous person who judges others based on their appearances.
With me leaving, Yin Shuo will surely place the blame on you, and I would have no way of providing second brother with an explanation.
It would be best if you came with me.”

Yin JiYao was stunned at that time, never expecting that someone as quiet as Gu HanMo would think about how things would go for her.
He even thought of taking her out of the manor.

At that time, she had said: “But I don’t know martial arts.
If those highly-trained guards come back, won’t I end up as a dead weight for third young sir?”

Gu HanMo gestured for Pei’er to pack some clothes for her, “Don’t worry.
How could I take on this risk on my own? There is someone waiting for me outside the prime minister’s manor.
It won’t be a problem for me to take you out of this courtyard.”

…

“Young miss Yin? What are you thinking about?”

Gu HanMo saw her in a daze after stepping inside the manor and thought that she still had some concerns.
Yin JiYao quickly shook her head, “It’s nothing.”

He nodded, “I need to go and see father first.
Young miss Yin is a female guest, so please go and see Yu Fu first.
I will send someone to let second brother know and have second brother go and find you at the Western Wing.”

“I…”

Yin JiYao had not thought through whether or not she wanted to see Gu JiuGe.
The scar on her forehead was her greatest concern, but she was reluctant to give up on the chance to see him.

It had been nearly half a year since she had last seen him, and she had been in dire straits during this time.
At the same time, he was fighting on the battlefield.
They both had some bitter experiences.

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How many times had she seen him in her dreams.
In some of the dreams, something would happen to him on the battlefield, and in some of the other dreams, he would marry someone else…

Yin JiYao gently shook her head to chase away those nonsensical thoughts, “Third young sir, please go ahead.”

She curtsied, and Gu HanMo cupped his hands before heading toward the main hall.

“Father, son has returned.”

Gu HuaiJiang had been looking through some reports when he saw Gu HanMo enter.
He looked him over, “Are you alright? How is Princess DanYang?”

Gu HanMo said: “Son is fine.
Though I was discovered by Yin Shuo’s people, it was fortunate that young miss Yin helped son out.
Princess DanYang did not wish to return to the palace, but…”

“But what?”

“But son brought young miss Yin back.
It seems that she has been mistreated by Yin Shuo this entire time, and she has been disfigured.”

When Gu HuaiJiang heard him mention her being disfigured, he was a little shocked before nodding, “JiuGe previously mentioned this girl, and she doesn’t seem to be on the same path as her father and brother.
She has had a difficult life, and she helped you out today.
You getting her out is good too.”

If word got out about the prime minister’s manor’s daughter being taken away by Marquis Gu’s Manor’s people, there would surely be a great deal of criticism; however, there was currently no way to worry about so many things.

All that separated them from Yin Shuo was a single layer of window paper that had not been poked through.
Such a trivial matter would not be enough to tip the scales.

Gu HanMo said: “Son has sent her to the Western Wing and has already told someone to have second brother go there.
There are some things that she only wants to tell second brother… Father, if the truth behind young miss Yin’s background is revealed, will Yin Shuo be unable to continue causing trouble?”

Gu HuaiJiang looked at him.

If he had considered such a thing, Gu HuaiJiang would naturally have considered it too.

Yin JiYao was the daughter of a general from Western Kun.
If the matter of Yin Yan, Eastern Ling’s former prime minister, secretly having a daughter with a female general from Western Kun was exposed, the Yin family would surely be unable to avoid trouble.

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Gu HuaiJiang waved his hand, “This matter can be verified, but it can’t be revealed to the public for the time being.
Our mission is to find out the truth behind His Majesty’s assassination, not to topple the prime minister’s manor.
Do you understand the difference between these two?”

Gu HanMo cupped his hands, “Yes, son understands.”

…

Yin JiYao was led to the Western Wing.
Yu Fu and Kun YuYang were currently chatting inside and were startled when they suddenly saw Yin JiYao.

She was even thinner than before, and the most frightening thing was the dark scar on her forehead.
Her previously delicate features had been completely ruined.

Yu Fu stood up in confusion, “Young miss Yin?”

Qi Zhou reported: “Young miss, it was third young sir who directed us to bring young miss Yin here.
Young miss Yin is a female guest.
Young miss, please take care of her for a bit.”

Yu Fu furrowed her brows in thought.
She had heard that her third brother would be sneaking into the prime minister’s manor today to look for Princess DanYang to discuss bringing her back to the palace.
How did Yin JiYao end up being brought back?

Seeing her like this, she must have suffered quite a great deal in the prime minister’s manor.
Yu Fu nodded to Qi Zhou, “Don’t worry, young miss Yin will be fine with me.
We’ve troubled steward Qi.”

Qi Zhou bowed and then retreated.

Kun YuYang had never met Yin JiYao before.
Seeing Yu Fu get up, she also got up.

The girl before her was thin and fragile.
She looked like a sentimental girl from a prominent family, but the large scar on her forehead was terrifying.
It was like a piece of black coal on a field of snow.

Here, it was hard to tell where there was snow and where there was coal.
All she could do was sigh and lament how pristine the snow had been!

Had been.

Yu Fu saw Yin JiYao standing uneasily by the door and hastily stepped forward to bring her to a chair.
Seeing that she was wearing thin clothes, she had Lian Zhu and the others bring a cup of hot tea and a brazier.
Yin JiYao repeatedly thanked her.

“YuYang, this is Prime Minister Yin’s younger sister, young miss Yin.
She is second brother’s friend.
Young miss Yin, this one was formerly a princess of Western Kun and is currently married to a member of the imperial family.”

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Yin JiYao quickly stood up and bowed, “Greetings, madam Ning.”

Kun YuYang returned the greeting, “Greetings, young miss Yin.”

After this greeting, the atmosphere was a little stuffy, as Yin JiYao kept her head down for fear of others looking at the wound on her forehead.
Yu Fu and Kun YuYang wanted to ask but were afraid of making her sad.

Yin JiYao looked up, “When I was outside, I heard you two chatting happily.
Did I disturb you two?”

“No, no.”

Kun YuYang immediately shook her hand, “I came to Marquis Gu’s Manor to take refuge.
I have nothing better to do than to pester Yu Fu for information on what is happening outside.”

Yin JiYao thought for a bit, “What a coincidence, I also came to seek refuge.
Third young sir entered the manor to look for Princess DanYang but was chased by eldest brother’s people into my courtyard.
I hid him, and he helped me escape.”

Kun YuYang let out a sigh of relief.
She initially thought that Yin Shuo’s younger sister could not be any good.
She never thought that she would help Gu HanMo.

Yu Fu said: “Many thanks, young miss Yin, for helping third brother.
May I ask young miss Yin about how you injured your forehead and how it got so bad?”

Yin JiYao paused for a moment then suddenly remembered that Yu Fu was a disciple of Immortals Valley.
If she was asking about the scar, she might have a way of treating it, thus she immediately spilled all of the details.

After hearing everything, Yu Fu furrowed her brow, “It’s no wonder the scar became so bad.
It turns out that you used that sort of medicine.
If young miss Yin does not mind, would you push your hair behind your ears and allow me to take a closer look?”

Yin JiYao bit her lip and slightly nodded.

Out of sensitivity and vigilance, she did not hope for others to see the wound, and her gaze landed on Kun YuYang.

Kun YuYang quickly understood, “Ah, about that, Yu Fu, please take your time chatting.
I’ll go out for a walk.
My husband might be coming to see me soon.”

After saying this, she tacitly left.
Yu Fu watched her parting figure and helplessly shook her head.

Yin JiYao reached up and brushed her hair behind her ears, fully exposing the large black scar.
It was much larger than it seemed before.

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Yu Fu examined it while questioning her, “How did this injury come to be?”

“I fell over and hit my head on a corner of something made of wood.”

Yu Fu nodded, “Endure it for a moment.
I will take a look at the situation under the scar.
It might hurt a bit.”

She pulled out a silver needle and pierced it into the side of the scar.
Yin JiYao closed her eyes from the shock of the pain.

The silver needle was poked into the scar and then pulled out.
The needle was covered in the stuff that lay beneath the scar, and Yu Fu examined it for a long time with the light that came in from the outside.
Her expression could not be considered pretty.

The injury had been around for too long, and the medicine that had been used on the girl’s skin had caused a significant amount of damage.

She put down the silver needle and let out a slight sigh.

It would have been great if her master was here.
After all, the poisons that she was proficient in were not suited to treating scars.
If her master was here, he might have been able to treat Yin JiYao’s face…

Yin JIYao slowly opened her eyes and felt the scar on her forehead.
Seeing that Yu Fu’s expression was not great, her heart seemed to fill with dread.

She inadvertently looked toward the door and suddenly saw a tall figure standing there.

That person was tall and handsome, and his charming eyes were full of concern.

His eyes were focused on Yin JiYao’s forehead.

“Ah!”

She let out a shrill scream and covered her wound, as she curled into a ball under the table like a frightened hedgehog.

Yu Fu let out a faint sigh, “I’m going out to look for YuYang.
You two can talk.”