The Whole Family is Reborn, But I Transmigrated into a Book - Chapter 33

“Bah! You rogue!”

Liu Qingyue spat at him, her face flushed red. “I knew you were up to no good.”

She knew exactly what kind of character Gu Qingjia was; she really shouldn’t have followed him into the room only to let him tease her like that. Seeing her reaction, Gu Qingjia didn’t get angry; instead, he bowed his head and admitted his fault.

“My Lady, it was my mistake.”

He knew that Liu Qingyue was the type who loved to play along but had zero “defense”—as soon as he actually teased her, her skin proved to be incredibly thin. This was far from the first time he had turned her face crimson.

“Hmph.” Liu Qingyue turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Deep down, she knew she was being a “sore loser.” Gu Qingjia was simply being indulgent. After a moment to compose herself, she asked him seriously:

“What were you doing out there today? You came back looking far too pleased with yourself.”

She guessed it had something to do with the Eldest Prince. After all, those two were lifelong rivals, and the last time they met, Gu Qingjia’s smugness had been off the charts.

“It was the most marvelous coincidence,” Gu Qingjia said, his eyes dancing with mirth. “I intended to just take a walk, but I happened upon the Eldest Brother’s father-in-law. He had fallen and injured his arm, so I lent him a hand. He insisted I come over for a visit. Faced with such warmth, how could I possibly refuse?”

The thought of his brother’s frustrated expression made him feel immensely refreshed.

Liu Qingyue looked at him skeptically. “That sounds too convenient. You didn’t pull any strings, did you?”

She couldn’t be blamed for thinking so; such coincidences were rare in this world. But this time, Gu Qingjia was truly innocent.

“Pure luck. I wouldn’t have believed it myself, but Heaven has truly been kind to me today,” he chuckled. “I told Big Brother that when he gets married, I’ll be bringing you along to the feast.”

His pride was palpable. Liu Qingyue wondered how on earth Gu Qingzhan hadn’t punched him yet. In this moment, Gu Qingjia seemed more vibrant and alive than he ever had in the capital. To her, this felt like a much-needed release for him.

“Big Brother must be fuming,” she said with a smile. “He clearly doesn’t want to see us, and yet you’re crashing his wedding.”

“Let him fume,” Gu Qingjia replied. “His father-in-law, mother-in-law, and wife all agreed. We’re going.”

With three days left until the wedding, Liu Qingyue decided to explore. “You stay here and be happy by yourself. The weather is nice; I’m going for a walk.”

“My Lady, don’t be in such a hurry to leave,” Gu Qingjia called out. “I’ll go with you. I can’t let such a beautiful wife wander out alone.”

“You should rest,” she countered. “You’re so hyper, you’d be better off finding Yue Qing for a spar to burn off that energy.”

She wasn’t about to spend her energy keeping up with his antics. With Shuanghua by her side, she felt perfectly safe.

“Fine. Since you won’t take me out, I shall simply have to guard this empty room alone,” he sighed melodramatically.

“Stop acting. I’m not leaving you alone; I’ve arranged for Yue Qing to keep you company, haven’t I?”

Gu Qingjia dropped the act and turned serious. “Dinner is soon. Don’t stay out too long, or I’ll come looking for you myself. Be careful—the countryside has snakes and insects.”

“I know. I have Shuanghua with me.”

Liu Qingyue wanted to see if she could find mushrooms in the woods. She had never done anything like that before and didn’t care if they were edible—she just wanted the experience.

As she left, Gu Qingjia watched her go. He realized she seemed much happier here, as if she had shed all her burdens. He remembered how she had acted so maturely when they first met to negotiate their “contract,” but at her core, she was just an innocent girl caught in the Liu family’s schemes.

On their wedding night, he hadn’t even looked at her. She was just a wife thrust upon him by his father and the concubines. He had simply fulfilled his duties at the banquet and fallen asleep. He never expected his life to turn into this drama—being woken up by his wife and chasing a runaway brother across the country.

Don’t push me, he thought with a soft sigh. He didn’t want to break this hard-won peace.

The same anxieties were plagueing Gu Qingzhan—now Jian Fan. He had truly intended to give up the throne, but he didn’t know if his father believed him.

His father always spoke of “brotherly love,” but he had raised them like Gu—poisonous insects in a jar, forced to kill one another until only the strongest remained. In his past life, Jian Fan had won that battle and killed all his brothers. This time, he only wanted to grow old with his wife.

He felt that if he didn’t settle things with Old Five, his wedding wouldn’t be peaceful. Thus, he grabbed a jar of wine and sought out Gu Qingjia.

“Old Five. You win. Let’s talk,” Jian Fan said, setting the wine on the table.

“Big Brother, I never thought I’d hear you say that to me,” Gu Qingjia replied, taking a seat. It was surreal; the “Perfect Eldest Son” was bowing to the “Notorious Waste.”

“I should have said it long ago,” Jian Fan admitted. “None of us truly understood you.”

“There was never a need to. You all had mothers. I was the one no one wanted. If not for Father’s ‘Gu-breeding’ methods, I would have died in the inner palace long ago.” Gu Qingjia spoke freely; they were in the middle of nowhere, after all.

He took a sip of wine and smiled. “Do you know why, of all the brothers who bullied me, you were the only one I truly held a grudge against?”

Jian Fan looked at him, waiting.

“Because one Lantern Festival, you deliberately took the lantern your mother made for you just to show it off to me. Then, you stepped on mine and broke it. I made that lantern myself. I had saved materials for months to build it. It was the only year I ever had a lantern of my own.”

To a prince, a handmade lantern was nothing. But to the lonely, neglected boy Gu Qingjia had been, it was the only piece of beauty he owned.