The Whole Family is Reborn, But I Transmigrated into a Book - Chapter 12

Liu Qingyue and Gu Qingjia had no idea that Gu Qingzhan was in such a rush, spurring his horse on day and night. The two of them were more like elementary students on a spring outing—unhurried and leisurely.

“I don’t know if there are wild beasts in this wilderness. You sleep first tonight, and I’ll keep watch. When you drive the carriage tomorrow during the day, I can catch up on sleep. Once we enter a city, we can have a proper rest.”

Liu Qingyue’s lively eyes scanned the surrounding scenery. This forest looked lush and pleasant during the day, but at night, it felt a bit eerie. It was her first time camping in the woods, and she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“The probability of encountering wild beasts isn’t high. Rest easy and sleep; I’m here.” Gu Qingjia shook his head. As a man, there was no way he would let his wife keep watch while he slept peacefully.

Liu Qingyue felt the same. She couldn’t sleep soundly while leaving Gu Qingjia to pull an all-nighter alone. “Then I’ll sit with you. You’ll have some company.”

She shifted her body to sit closer to him. Gu Qingjia wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary, but looking at her sparkling eyes, he swallowed his words.

“Then stay closer to me. The night wind is strong; be careful not to catch a cold.” Gu Qingjia wasn’t afraid of the cold; in his younger years in the palace, he used to get up and practice martial arts even in the freezing depths of winter. But Liu Qingyue looked so delicate; he felt she couldn’t handle even a bit of hardship.

Unaware that she seemed so “fragile” in his eyes, Liu Qingyue didn’t stand on ceremony and scooted even closer. “Husband, you are truly thoughtful. If you had been born into an ordinary family, you would certainly be a wonderful husband.”

She sighed inwardly. It was a pity he was born into the Imperial family, destined never to have just one wife. Gu Qingjia assumed she was commenting on him being the least capable of the princes, so he simply gave a good-natured smile and said nothing.

Liu Qingyue stopped talking as well. She casually pulled her clothes tighter, thinking: The temperature at night really is much lower than during the day.

Even though her movement was small, Gu Qingjia noticed. “Tell me if you’re cold, and I’ll add more wood.” He picked up a few branches and tossed them into the fire, which immediately began to crackle and pop. Some of the wood wasn’t fully dry yet.

The flames grew brighter, and Liu Qingyue warmed up. She whispered her thanks, feeling more than ever that Gu Qingjia was a good person.

“If only I knew martial arts. We wouldn’t have to travel so cautiously, and we could go faster with two horses.” She spoke the words, but realized how absurd they were. As a noble lady, let alone martial arts, she never even had the chance to learn how to ride a horse. The Liu family would never have allowed her to contact such things.

“This is fine too. Though we’re slow, we get to see the scenery along the way. Weren’t we very happy today?”

Gu Qingjia didn’t comfort her directly, but his words were more effective than any platitude. Liu Qingyue turned to look at him. From the moment they left the estate until now, he hadn’t complained once; his temperament was incredibly stable.

“Yes, very happy.” She gave him a smile, her voice softening.

“In the future, I will try my best not to let you spend the night in the wild,” Gu Qingjia promised. This was his first time traveling as well, and he lacked experience.

They chatted for a while longer until the night grew deep and even the forest insects fell silent. At some point, Liu Qingyue leaned against Gu Qingjia’s shoulder and drifted off to sleep. Gu Qingjia remained in that same position, sitting still all night long.

Fortunately, nothing happened that night; otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to manage in the dark.

When Liu Qingyue woke up, she realized she had spent the night leaning on him. She peeked at him with a bit of a guilty conscience. When he had merely held her while drunk, she had pinched his ear; now she had used him as a pillow for an entire night. It felt quite inappropriate.

“Awake?” Gu Qingjia’s voice was raspy from staying up all night, which gave it a bit of a magnetic quality.

Liu Qingyue rubbed her nose awkwardly and whispered, “I’m awake. Sorry about last night—I accidentally fell asleep. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Sitting like that all night must have left him stiff everywhere, she thought, her eyes blinking nervously.

Gu Qingjia didn’t mind. He had already made her endure the hardships of the road; if he couldn’t even let her rest well, he would feel truly uneasy. “I’m fine. Since you’re up, let’s get moving. We’ll speed up this morning so we can make it into the city for lunch.”

He knew she had a good appetite and that the flatbread from last night—half of which she gave to him—wasn’t enough to fill her. He had wanted to go hunting, but he didn’t trust leaving her alone. A weak woman with no martial arts would stand no chance against a villain.

“Then let’s go quickly. You’ve been up all night; you must get a good sleep once we reach the city.” She wasn’t worried about her stomach; she was worried about his exhaustion. “Teach me how to drive the carriage so you can sleep in the back for a while.”

She had watched him and didn’t think it looked too hard; she wanted to share the burden.

Gu Qingjia instinctively shook his head. While not impossible, driving a carriage wasn’t exactly easy. A weak lady like her…

“Don’t always look at me like I’m useless. I may be a woman, but it doesn’t mean I can’t do anything. If I couldn’t help at all, I wouldn’t have asked to come with you,” she said, seemingly reading his mind. “We are husband and wife, so you should look after me, but you’ve been up all night. As your… lady, I should share your burden.”

She really wanted to say “business partner,” but she clearly couldn’t.

Hearing this, Gu Qingjia raised his deep eyes to look at her, as if he might drown her in them. “Do you really want to learn?” He asked hoarsely. What he really wanted to ask was: Do you truly think this way? Do you like me a little?

As the least favored prince, no one had ever offered to share his burdens. He had struggled to survive in the ruthless palace since childhood. Even after the Emperor ordered all princes to be educated together, life only got slightly better. Someone always wanted him dead; no one ever told him he didn’t have to fight so hard because they would help him.

“Of course, I always mean what I say,” she said, patting her chest. “If I weren’t too old to start, I’d even want to learn martial arts.” Now that she had a healthy body, she was curious about everything.

“Then get on the carriage. I’ll teach you.”

Gu Qingjia covered the remains of the fire and helped her up. He sat beside her, teaching her the techniques he had just figured out himself the day before. He had been trained in riding and archery since childhood, so while he was a novice at driving a cart, he could manage. Liu Qingyue, however, was a complete amateur and was visibly flustered at first.

Gu Qingjia wanted to tell her to give up, but she had a stubborn streak and refused. Eventually, she actually got the hang of it, and the ride became steady.

“I think I’ve got it. Go back and sleep in the carriage.”

Liu Qingyue had never intentionally pulled an all-nighter; her health had always been poor. In her past life, “all-nighters” only happened when she was in critical condition and the pain was unbearable. To her, staying up all night was associated with immense suffering.

Gu Qingjia was worried, but she was so certain that he didn’t refuse. He went into the back to doze. That way, if anything happened, he could react immediately. But she drove steadily, and nothing went wrong.

“We’re almost at the city. Take a break.” Gu Qingjia emerged from the carriage, looking much more refreshed after his nap. Seeing his complexion improve, she didn’t argue.

“We’re covered in dust. Let’s find an inn first,” she said. She wanted to bathe and change into clean clothes.

Gu Qingjia agreed and drove toward the city. Since they were dressed as poor commoners, they couldn’t exactly afford to keep a horse and carriage at a nice inn.

“Lady, go grab a bowl of wontons first. I’ll go take care of the carriage.” They were going to stay here for a few days, so they couldn’t keep the cart. Besides, he planned to buy a fast horse when they left to head straight for Jiangzhou. Driving a cart was simply too slow; it had taken a day and a half just to reach Yingzhou, the closest city to the capital.

“Alright, you handle it.” She planned to ask him more once they were settled in an inn.

They split up. She went to a wonton stall near the city gate and ordered two bowls. As he said, she had a large appetite, and one bowl wouldn’t be enough since she had skipped breakfast. By the time he found her, she was only eighty percent full.

“Husband, I saved this bowl for you. Eat up, and then we’ll go look for Big Brother.” She winked at him. Now that they were in the city, they had to keep up the “searching for a relative” act.

Gu Qingjia understood and began eating. Unlike his brothers who were used to luxuries, he didn’t mind street food. When he was young, there were times he didn’t even have a meal; a bowl of wontons like this was a luxury.

“I asked around just now. No one has seen Big Brother. Perhaps we came to the wrong place,” he said aloud, as if they really were looking for someone.