The Whole Family is Reborn, But I Transmigrated into a Book - Chapter 37

Gu Qingjia and Liu Qingyue settled into Gu Qingzhe’s manor, behaving with a level of decorum that was, frankly, a bit excessive. This sudden obedience actually made Gu Qingzhe somewhat uneasy. He wondered what the two were up to; if the Fifth Prince was truly only here to appease their Imperial Father, he should have been ready to leave after only a few days.

Gu Qingzhe had allowed his brother to stay, yet he felt more anxious now than if he had turned him away.

“General, perhaps we should just tie up Prince Jing…” Zhao Lin’an suggested. Before he could finish his ill-conceived plan, Gu Qingzhe silenced him with a sharp look.

“Lin’an, although the Fifth appears incompetent, he is no fool. Furthermore, the skills of the people around him are no less than those of my own personal guards. Stop these foolish schemes.”

Gu Qingzhe sighed. He knew Zhao Lin’an didn’t understand the true nature of the princes. In no other dynasty did an Emperor raise his sons the way their father did—keeping them all together and treating them with equal rigor. Aside from the Seventh Prince, who was sickly, all the brothers had undergone the same harsh training. Because the Emperor had an obsession with “fraternal devotion,” the brothers had all become experts at putting on a show of affection in his presence.

“Don’t worry about him. If he wants something, he’ll speak up.” Gu Qingzhe waved it off. “It’s late. Go rest. The physician I requested should arrive tomorrow.” At the thought of the physician, his mood improved slightly.

Meanwhile, having been “well-behaved” for two days, Gu Qingjia decided he had had enough of the quiet life. He rose early the next morning specifically to intercept Gu Qingzhe.

“Good morning, Second Brother,” Gu Qingjia greeted him with a smile. To Gu Qingzhe, however, the smile looked like a fox eyeing a hen.

“Do you need something?” Gu Qingzhe asked bluntly. He had no desire to deal with his troublesome younger brother, but he couldn’t ignore him. Among the brothers, Gu Qingzhe had the strongest sense of responsibility—the very reason the Emperor had allowed him to go to war at such a young age.

“It’s nothing major. I want to go to the camp with you to broaden my horizons,” Gu Qingjia said, skipping the pleasantries. He knew his brother preferred directness. The Second Prince was upright and suited for military command, but as an Emperor, he lacked the cunning of the Eldest.

“You?” Gu Qingzhe raised an eyebrow, his disbelief evident.

“Does Second Brother think I’m not up to it?” Gu Qingjia addressed his brother’s doubts head-on. “We grew up together. Regardless of our feelings, I studied everything you studied. You were leading men in your teens; surely at my age, I have the ability to at least step foot in a military camp?”

Gu Qingzhe lacked his brother’s silver tongue and didn’t care to argue. If he can’t handle it, I’ll just send him back and he’ll never mention the camp again, he thought. Gu Qingjia saw through this but said nothing. He knew the Emperor hadn’t sent him to the border for a vacation.

While the brothers rode to the camp, Liu Qingyue and her maid, Shuanghua, headed out into the city. Yu City was well-governed; the people lived in peace, seemingly untouched by foreign threats.

“Shuanghua, how do you think Yu City compares to Ruzhou or Jiangzhou?” Liu Qingyue asked.

“I think Yu City is quite nice,” Shuanghua replied cautiously. “Every place has its own charm.” What she didn’t say out loud was that the Second Prince had governed the city exceptionally well.

“You’re right,” Liu Qingyue agreed. Her primary goal today was to taste the local delicacies. Gu Qingjia had encouraged her to explore the local customs as a way of sharing the burden of their mission. While he observed the military, she would observe the civil governance. Though she was a noble lady and not a politician, she relied on Shuanghua—who, as a secret guard, was an expert at gathering intelligence—to see what she might miss.

After a few hours of walking, they sat down in a teahouse. “I wonder if your master has arrived yet,” Liu Qingyue mused. “Let’s buy some local gifts for him later, so he doesn’t complain that we forgot him.”

At the military camp, Gu Qingjia was indeed making himself at home.

“So, Second Brother, do you plan to just leave me in your tent to drink tea?” Gu Qingjia asked with a smirk. He knew his brother looked down on him.

“Once I finish my work, I’ll show you around,” Gu Qingzhe replied without looking up.

Just then, a soldier entered. “General, the physician you requested from the capital has arrived.”

A strange light flickered in Gu Qingzhe’s eyes before vanishing. He didn’t want the Fifth to notice anything amiss. “Send the physician in.”

If Liu Qingyue had been there, she would have known that this physician was the Second Prince’s future love interest. Gu Qingjia didn’t ask questions, but he watched his brother closely.

Ren Songyan entered the tent and bowed. She knew Prince Jing had left the capital to find the Eldest Prince, but she hadn’t expected to find him here in Yu City. “Greetings to the Second Prince and Prince Jing.”

Although she was frustrated that the Second Prince had dragged her to the border, she maintained her etiquette.

“Physician Ren, there is no need for such formality,” Gu Qingzhe said with a light laugh. “The lives of my soldiers will depend on you from now on.”

“Second Brother, if you’re going to rely on Physician Ren, you should be a bit more polite,” Gu Qingjia interjected. He sensed a strange tension between the two. “Physician Ren is a healer, not a hardened soldier like you.”

Gu Qingzhe glared at him but didn’t argue. “The Fifth is right. If you need anything, just ask. I will provide whatever I can.”

Sensing he was the “third wheel,” Gu Qingjia stood up. “The physician just arrived and likely doesn’t know the rules. As an idle observer, I shouldn’t eavesdrop. I’ll go for a walk while you explain the camp regulations.”

Once Gu Qingjia was gone, Ren Songyan’s expression shifted to one of wariness. “Your Highness, I haven’t offended you, have I? Why go to such lengths to bring me from the Imperial Academy? If I have done something wrong, I will apologize.”

She was indignant. She had worked hard to secure a place in the Imperial Academy to prove her worth to her father, only to be tossed into a camp full of men. She was a woman disguised as a man; staying in a military camp where everyone lived and ate together was a death sentence if her secret was discovered.

“Why do you say that?” Gu Qingzhe asked calmly. “I brought you here because I trust your skills. You are young, but you have courage and talent. My camp needs someone like you.”

It sounded professional, but Ren Songyan didn’t believe a word of it. “You trust me? We’ve only met once, and I’ve never even treated you. You overrate me, Your Highness.”

“I am a man of my word,” Gu Qingzhe replied. “Once I’ve seen someone, I know if I can use them. In war, there is no time for long investigations.”

Ren Songyan realized she had no choice. But in her heart, she still wanted to know: Of all the doctors in the Imperial Academy, why me?