The Whole Family is Reborn, But I Transmigrated into a Book - Chapter 10

As soon as they stepped out of the eatery, Liu Qingyue dragged Gu Qingjia into a cosmetics shop.

“Lady, why have you brought me here?” Gu Qingjia was puzzled. He didn’t think Liu Qingyue was the type of person who needed to carry makeup on a journey; besides, she was already very beautiful without any powder or rouge.

“To buy cosmetics, of course! What else would we do here?” Liu Qingyue gave him a look as if he were a bit slow and laughed.

Gu Qingjia knew she was buying cosmetics, he just didn’t understand why.

Liu Qingyue didn’t want to waste time. Standing close to him, she stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “I want to darken our complexions. That way, we’ll look more like ordinary people.”

Neither Gu Qingjia nor she looked like people who had weathered storms or suffered hardships. They might be able to fool shallow observers, but if they encountered someone with a keen eye, they would be seen through instantly.

Although Gu Qingjia had experienced many moments of proximity with Liu Qingyue, this was the first time she had leaned on his shoulder to speak so intimately. His gaze darkened, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

“Everything as you wish.”

At this moment, he seemed a bit light-headed; no matter what she said, he would respond with a simple “Alright.”

Liu Qingyue didn’t notice his unusual reaction. She remained completely unguarded around him, viewing him as a rare gentleman. They were traveling together for a common purpose; rather than a married couple, the term “business partners” felt more appropriate to her.

“Let’s not dawdle. If we keep lingering, we won’t even make it out of the city gates today.” She grabbed his hand and headed straight for her target. She didn’t plan to buy a lot—only what she needed.

Gu Qingjia followed her pace faithfully. Even when she pulled him into a dark alley, he didn’t question her. Seeing him so cooperative made her increasingly satisfied. In an era like this and a situation like theirs, if her teammate were stupid or uncooperative, she’d lose the will to struggle and just choose to “restart” her life.

Standing on her tiptoes, Liu Qingyue applied the mixtures to Gu Qingjia’s handsome face. Soon, the elegant and striking Prince Jing was transformed into a very ordinary-looking man.

“Hmm, not bad.” She tilted his chin, looking left and right, and nodded with satisfaction. “I don’t know the art of disguise, but my makeup skills are quite good. Like this, I guarantee no one will recognize you.”

Gu Qingjia didn’t know what she had turned him into, but he didn’t need to look to know he wasn’t handsome anymore. “It’s a bit unfair to only make me ugly, lady. After all, all the other men’s eyes are fixed on your face.”

His words carried a hint of jealousy, but Liu Qingyue completely missed it.

“Of course I won’t let you be ugly alone. Don’t worry.” She patted his shoulder like they were old pals.

Gu Qingjia remained silent. His Princess Consort certainly didn’t play by the rules.

Liu Qingyue focused on her own makeup. She knew her features were too fine and her skin too fair, so after darkening her complexion, she added a few freckles. Despite this, when Gu Qingjia looked into her clear, bright eyes, he could still see her beauty shining through.

“Lady, can we go now?” Gu Qingjia took her hand and leaned down slightly to whisper in her ear.

If he were in his original form, she might have found this enticing, but looking at him now, she only thought: Where did this ugly thing come from!

“Stay a bit further away from me…” She gave him a slight push, sighing inwardly. Having makeup skills that are too good is its own kind of trouble.

Gu Qingjia wasn’t angry at being pushed. They changed into their outer commoner clothes and walked out of the alley side-by-side.

“Like this, even our own relatives wouldn’t recognize us,” Liu Qingyue said with a smile as they walked down the street. It was true; one was an Imperial Prince and the other a pampered noble lady—no one would imagine they could dress themselves down to this extent.

“You are right. It’s getting late, let’s hurry.” Gu Qingjia nodded.

Since Liu Qingyue insisted on traveling this way, they hadn’t even prepared a proper carriage. He wondered when they would ever reach Jiangzhou.

“No rush. There’s still one more thing to do.” She led him around several streets, mostly because she didn’t know the way. Eventually, she found a place to buy horses. For just two taels of silver, they obtained a thin horse and a simple cart.

Gu Qingjia truly didn’t understand. The Prince Jing Estate had plenty of fine steeds; why go through the trouble of buying a scrawny horse?

Liu Qingyue seemed to read his mind and explained with a smile, “Husband, you don’t understand. Our journey to find our relative is long and our travel funds are limited. If we don’t buy a thin horse and rely only on our legs, when will we ever find Big Brother?”

She winked at him. How could poor people afford a fine horse?

Gu Qingjia quickly understood. “You are right. I was foolish.”

Leaving the horse market, they finally exited the city. By now, it was actually a bit late; they likely wouldn’t reach the next official post station before dark. However, neither had experience traveling far, so they were “crossing the river by feeling the stones,” taking it one step at a time.

Liu Qingyue sat inside the cart, chatting with Gu Qingjia. “My Lord, how long will it take us to get to Jiangzhou?”

In her memories of the original host, she had never left the city. The Liu family was strict; even when the ladies went to temples to offer incense, they went to those within the city, accompanied by wet nurses and maids to prevent them from interacting with outside men. While noble ladies usually guarded their reputations, there were always some with overactive ambitions who tried to climb high and become “phoenixes,” only to bring shame to their families and become the laughingstock of high society. If one girl in a family acted out, the reputations of all the others suffered.

The Liu daughters all had missions; accidents were not permitted.

Hearing her excited tone, Gu Qingjia smiled and replied, “At this speed, it might take us a month.”

Jiangzhou was far, and Gu Qingjia was a novice at driving a cart. He didn’t dare go fast, so “a month” was a conservative estimate. Liu Qingyue wasn’t disappointed; she was just happy to be out. In her past life on a hospital bed, even leaving the hospital was impossible, let alone traveling.

“Then we’ll just take it slow. If you get tired of driving, we’ll stop and rest.” She really acted as if she were on vacation. As for finding the First Prince, that was secondary.

As a “reader” of the book, she knew exactly where the First Prince had gone. Finding him didn’t even require her or Gu Qingjia to do much, but since she was out of the capital, she wanted to relax first.

Gu Qingjia felt the same. Raised in the palace, he rarely went out, especially beyond the city walls. Sometimes he envied his Second Brother; although the border was dangerous, it was free. He was just the unfavored “Waste Old Fifth,” meant to stay in the palace as a filial son.

Affection in the Imperial family was thin. His father was the high and mighty Emperor with so many favored concubines and sons; he was merely the most unremarkable one. How could he beg the Emperor for a father’s love like an ordinary person? He had understood this since he was old enough to remember.

“Lady, would you like to come out and see the scenery?” Gu Qingjia looked at the lush green mountains, his heart light. This freedom felt like a clear sky after the clouds had parted, or a bird spreading its wings.

Hearing his invitation, Liu Qingyue poked her head out. “Make some room for me so I can sit beside you.” She couldn’t resist seeing such pleasant views.

Gu Qingjia wasn’t pretentious about “men and women being separate,” especially since they were husband and wife. He moved over to give her space. “Be careful. Our cart isn’t fast, but the road is bumpy.”

He cautioned her out of duty as a husband. Though they had no romantic feelings, he fulfilled his role by trusting her, cooperating with her, and taking care of her as best he could.

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let myself fall off.”

The scenery outside was indeed beautiful. Despite the bumps, Liu Qingyue remained in high spirits. They laughed and chatted, covering a long distance without realizing it.

“By now, Imperial Father should know we’ve left the city,” Gu Qingjia said suddenly. “We left the estate quietly, and I didn’t inform him. He might be angry.”

Just as he thought, the Emperor did know.

“Your Majesty, the Prince and Princess Consort left the city alone without a single guard. I fear…” The head eunuch beside the Emperor trailed off, observing his expression.

The Emperor continued reading his memorials without reaction. After a while, he sighed. “De Quan, you must understand—when children grow up, you have to let them go out.”

Although he didn’t know why “Old Fifth” had suddenly done this, he wasn’t angry. “Old Fifth is mediocre, but he is my son. It’s just a trip out of the palace. If you are this nervous now, how will you handle it when I am old and his brothers are fighting for the throne? Will you worry every single day?”

The Emperor didn’t mind the topic; he was getting old and had many thoughts.

“Your Majesty, as you know, Prince Jing does not have such ambitions,” De Quan said. He had watched Gu Qingjia grow up and knew the boy lacked ambition.

“It is precisely because he has no ambition that I am worried,” the Emperor said simply, before falling silent. “Forget it, there’s no use talking about it. I only hope this experience brings him some growth. He mustn’t be too far behind Eldest Brother.”

The Emperor laughed. He knew Eldest Brother’s abilities well. If one truly compared Old Fifth to him, Old Fifth would never win. Old Fifth had no political talent and wasn’t ruthless enough.

“Don’t mind them. Let them go.”

Hearing this, De Quan stopped speaking. He could not interfere in the Emperor’s family matters.