The Whole Family is Reborn, But I Transmigrated into a Book - Chapter 11

The sky gradually darkened, and they had yet to reach a post station.

“It looks like we’re destined to sleep out in the open tonight,” Liu Qingyue lamented, propping her chin in her hand, though her spirits remained high. “Luckily I bought a few sesame flatbreads when we left the city, otherwise we’d be in even worse shape.”

Hearing this, Gu Qingjia didn’t miss the chance to tease her. “I thought you’d already finished those as a snack, considering how good your appetite is.”

Liu Qingyue felt that if looks could kill, she would have murdered Gu Qingjia a thousand times over.

“How can my Lord be so stingy? Before I was married, I could have anything I wanted to eat. How is it that after marrying you, I can’t even have a few flatbreads?” Liu Qingyue feigned grievance. Despite having no tears, she ceremoniously covered her face with a handkerchief.

“My Lady should be careful. Your husband is poor; watch out that you don’t wipe off that fresh makeup you just applied to your face.” Gu Qingjia played along, putting on the act of a miserly husband.

Seeing him like this, Liu Qingyue couldn’t keep a straight face. She clutched the handkerchief and burst into laughter. “Husband, you really are quite funny.”

She never knew Gu Qingjia could be so entertaining. In the book, he was depicted as being so honest that he was almost stiff—like a cardboard cutout of a person.

Gu Qingjia wasn’t angry at her laughter. He had already grown used to this lively version of her.

“In the middle of nowhere like this, it isn’t safe to travel at night. I’ll find a place to stop the carriage and build a fire. We’ll wait until daybreak to move again.” If he were alone, he wouldn’t mind traveling at night, but he was with Liu Qingyue, who had no martial arts skills. He had to be careful.

Liu Qingyue had no objections. She knew perfectly well that without any survival skills, she was currently a liability.

“You are a dignified Prince, yet you not only have to drive the carriage for me but also act as my bodyguard. You’ve truly been wronged.” She sighed. She knew that any other prince would have been incapable of this; they would have been furious the moment she suggested traveling without an entourage.

Gu Qingjia didn’t care. Despite the toil, he was seeing a world he had never known.

“If we’re talking about being wronged, you are too. You could have lived a leisurely life in the Prince’s estate, but you were dragged out of the capital because of a single word from me. Let’s not point fingers. If we’re losing out, we both are; if we aren’t, then neither of us is.”

Gu Qingjia knew her original intent was just for him to protect himself at court, but in a moment of impulse, he had taken her right out of the capital. The two of them weren’t on the same page, yet they got along remarkably well.

He parked the carriage securely and gathered firewood before it got completely dark. Liu Qingyue warmed the flatbreads over the fire and shared them with him.

“I haven’t seen such a beautiful moon in a very long time.” She looked up at the sky. She didn’t know how long she had spent in the hospital; every day she woke up to white walls and IV bottles. Before coming to this world, she hadn’t been able to leave her bed for a long time.

Gu Qingjia didn’t know this and assumed her strict upbringing had kept her indoors. “You’ll see it often from now on,” he said, taking a bite of his flatbread. “At the rate we’re traveling, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to sleep under the stars.”

Liu Qingyue knew this, and she wondered if the First Prince was as miserable as they were. If they were the only ones suffering, she would be truly annoyed.

In reality, the only “unskilled rookies” suffering were the two of them.

After leaving the palace, Gu Qingzhan headed straight east. In his past life, he had sat securely on the throne and was praised by the people as a sage and wise ruler, but only he knew how much he had suffered. He was the Emperor’s firstborn son, his eldest. His political abilities were outstanding, the officials were submissive, and the people loved him—but his father never truly saw him.

He originally thought his father favored the Second Prince most, since the Second Prince was the legitimate son of the Queen and held military power. But he was wrong! The Emperor actually favored that “waste” of a son!

Gu Qingzhan had spent his entire life looking up to his father, wanting his recognition. Even when he became the man above all men on the throne, his father, on his deathbed, only forced him to swear one thing: that he would never harm his own siblings.

He had broken that oath and killed all his brothers. Knowing his sins were heavy, he spent the rest of his life in atonement. He campaigned in the west, the north, and fought off pirates in the south to ensure decades of peace for future generations.

The wars ended, but his health was terminal. Years of campaigning had broken his body. His first wife, whom he had wed while among the common people, had died long ago during the struggle for the throne. On his deathbed, he thought of her again—to his dying day, he had never given her the status of a legal primary wife.

If there is a next life…

Gu Qingzhan’s hand rose and fell as he closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he was back on the day of his fifth brother’s wedding. Without a second thought, he left the palace. He couldn’t wait to find his wife. In this life, he would protect her and keep her safe.

Money, power, status, beauties—he had possessed them all and cared for none of it. He finally understood that even standing at the highest peak could not buy a heart that truly loved him.

He traveled for four nights straight. He didn’t know what his father thought of his departure and didn’t care. Since his rebirth, his heart had not been able to find peace; perhaps only seeing her again would truly calm him.

A journey that should have taken twenty days was nearly half-finished in four. He didn’t dare stop. He knew the Emperor had a secret force of Shadow Guards who only took orders from the monarch. If his father truly wanted him back, they would find him in days. If his father let him be, he could spend a beautiful time with his wife.

The more he thought of this, the more motivated he became. At this moment, he was too caught up in his emotions to even think about gathering his former influences; he no longer had the desire. He had already been Emperor once and had been shackled by that high seat for a lifetime. Now that he was young again, he longed only to be himself.

With this belief, he traveled day and night and finally arrived at the gate of his wife’s home. He straightened his clothes and rehearsed his words in his mind. She was gentle and refined; he couldn’t be too abrupt and scare her.

Feeling slightly nervous, Gu Qingzhan knocked on the wooden door.

“Who is it?” A crisp, lovely voice rang out, matching the voice in his memory perfectly.

Gu Qingzhan’s throat tightened and his hands clenched into fists. He hadn’t heard that voice in many years.

Li Qingge grew suspicious when no one answered. Was it a neighborhood prankster? If so, she wouldn’t let them off easily! She opened a crack in the door and peered out, only to see a man slumped at the entrance.

“Hey, are you alright?” Li Qingge hurried out and reached to check his breathing. He was still breathing! He must have fainted right as he reached her door. Seeing that the man was handsome and had an upright air about him, she decided he didn’t look like a villain and dragged him into her house.