After Spending a Passionate Night with the Eldest Princess - Chapter 11

After looking at each other for a moment, the young man in white gave up struggling. “Who exactly are you people?”

They had seen through her but had not exposed her, and they had even agreed to escort her to the capital. What exactly did they want?

Don’t talk about kindness. There was no such thing as a female Bodhisattva who saved all living beings in this world.

Xin Yuan shook her head. “That Miss Qin and I only met by chance. We’re not on the same side.”

The young man in white raised her brows. “So we’re the ones on the same side. We were both saved by the female Bodhisattva.”

Xin Yuan smiled faintly without speaking. Those words were not wrong. The reason she had come to find this person was because she wanted to see if she could gain another helper.

After all, all the guards in the group belonged to Miss Qin. Whatever Xin Yuan wanted to do, she was alone and powerless.

Especially since she was still planning to test tonight what would happen if she let that dream continue developing. If anything unexpected happened, at least there would be someone to help cover her escape.

The young man in white seemed to see that Xin Yuan had no ill intentions. She cupped her hands and said, “My surname is Guo, given name Xiaowu. You can just call me Xiaowu.”

“Xin Yuan.” Xin Yuan gave her own name, then thought of something. “Your surname is Guo. The same Guo as Prince Chang?”

That really was quite a coincidence. There was another Young Master Guo following behind them.

Guo Xiaowu froze. “How did you know?”

“I guessed.”

Xin Yuan did not mention Young Master Guo. What if this person went to acknowledge kinship with that Young Master Guo, and the happy family joined together? Where would she find an ally then?

Guo Xiaowu looked astonished. “Then you’re really good at guessing. Prince Chang Guo is my uncle.”

Seeing that she believed her, Xin Yuan lowered her voice. “That Miss Qin is no ordinary person, and her so-called kindness may not be genuine either. I was originally just a refugee. She first saved me, and then became determined to take me to the capital. To be honest, even if I wanted to leave now, I couldn’t.”

Her expression was sincere, and Guo Xiaowu could not help believing her. “I could tell she wasn’t ordinary. From what you’re saying, could it be that she saw I was a woman and that’s why she agreed to take me to the capital?”

In other words, she could not leave either?

Xin Yuan did not confirm it. “I don’t know either.”

She had not lied. This sister was the one filling in the blanks herself.

Privately, Xin Yuan felt that Miss Qin might genuinely be kindhearted. Seeing that Guo Xiaowu was alone and a young woman, she had agreed to let her travel with them.

Guo Xiaowu immediately turned pale with fright. “Then why don’t we run?”

“Can we run? She has at least two hundred guards.”

“Then what do we do?”

“This matter cannot be rushed. We can only act according to the situation.”

Guo Xiaowu nodded, her face pale. “If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have run away from home.”

How was she so unlucky? She had just escaped the tiger’s den only to enter the wolf’s lair.

Hearing this, Xin Yuan asked in confusion, “With things so chaotic outside right now, why did you run away from home?”

Refugees were everywhere. With this sister’s status, she did not lack food or drink. Instead of staying safely at home, why was she playing at running away?

Guo Xiaowu sighed. “It’s all because of my father. He insisted on marrying me off to an old man. I’m only eighteen this year, and that old man is already fifty. How could I not run?”

That old man already had grandchildren. If she married him, she would become a grandmother right away.

It was not as if water had gotten into her brain. Of course she had to run.

Xin Yuan could not help patting her shoulder sympathetically, offering comfort. Although this sister had been born into a rich and noble family, her fate was not very good.

Guo Xiaowu shifted her shoulder awkwardly. “You don’t have to pity me. When I ran away from home, I borrowed several tens of thousands of taels in banknotes from my father. The world is vast. From now on, I can live however freely I want…”

Halfway through speaking, her expression turned bitter. It seemed she could not live freely after all. That Miss Qin probably would not easily let her go.

Xin Yuan’s eyes widened. Several tens of thousands of taels!

Good heavens. This sister was far too rich. She was practically dripping with wealth.

“Your father is truly a good man.”

Huh? Wait, that was not right. Hadn’t this sister run away because she was escaping the marriage her father arranged? Why did that father of hers not stop her and even lend her so many banknotes?

As if seeing Xin Yuan’s confusion, Guo Xiaowu coughed lightly and said, “When I left, my father wasn’t at home. He didn’t know I borrowed his banknotes.”

Xin Yuan: “…”

That explanation went in such a circle that she almost did not understand.

“You stole several tens of thousands of taels in banknotes from your father!”

Guo Xiaowu frowned. “He was already planning to send me to some rotten old man as his second wife. What’s wrong with me taking a few of his banknotes?”

If she had not worried that carrying too many banknotes would draw attention, she would have loved to empty out that old bastard’s entire fortune.

Xin Yuan said with a sincere expression, “That’s fine. Your father sold his daughter for glory. He deserved it.”

This sister was ruthless.

Guo Xiaowu said proudly, “I think so too. That old bastard deserved it.”

Xin Yuan did not take up that thread. This sister really was ruthless. One moment she called him Father, and the next she called him an old bastard. She was a straightforward person.

Just then, the carriage stopped. It turned out they had arrived at the city gate.

Tang Er took out a token and showed it to the soldiers guarding the city, then said something in a low voice. The soldiers immediately knelt in unison toward the carriage Miss Qin was in, allowing the procession to pass without even daring to raise their heads.

Seeing this, Guo Xiaowu clicked her tongue in amazement. “Those city guards actually let us pass without checking anything.”

Thinking of what Miss Qin had said before, Xin Yuan explained, “Miss Qin said her maternal uncle serves in the Ministry of Revenue, and her father was also a high-ranking official in the capital before he passed away. She should come from a prestigious family.”

Guo Xiaowu stuck her head out and stared fixedly at the kneeling soldiers.

An ordinary high official’s daughter would not have such a grand display. She could travel unimpeded with so many guards. That Miss Qin’s identity was probably not ordinary.

Something flashed through her mind, but it disappeared too quickly for her to grasp.

Not long after entering the city, the procession stopped again.

Tang Er walked into an inn and returned not long after.

He first reported something to Miss Qin in a low voice, then walked over to their side.

“Ladies, please get down. We will rest at this inn tonight.”

Xin Yuan and Guo Xiaowu exchanged a glance, then got out of the carriage one after the other.

Because it was a disaster year, traveling merchants had sharply decreased, and there were almost no people in the inn.

There was only one table of guests in the main hall. Seeing so many guards, they subconsciously lowered their voices, seemingly apprehensive.

As before, Miss Qin generously rented out the entire floor. Including Xin Yuan, Guo Xiaowu, Tang Er, and several leading guards, they filled the private rooms on the second floor.

As for the rest of the guards, a small portion took turns keeping watch outside the private rooms, while most did not follow them in and seemed to have found another inn to settle in.

Because she was thinking about the dream that night, Xin Yuan was somewhat distracted while eating, and so she did not notice Guo Xiaowu hesitating several times as if wanting to speak.

After dinner, Miss Qin went straight upstairs, and Xin Yuan instinctively followed.

Guo Xiaowu’s eyes were almost twitching from how hard she was blinking. Seeing that Xin Yuan still did not look at her, she could not help calling out, “Xin Yuan.”

Xin Yuan unconsciously glanced in Miss Qin’s direction.

Miss Qin stopped and quietly looked at them.

Guo Xiaowu winked at Xin Yuan. “Come to my room for a moment.”

Xin Yuan glanced at Miss Qin, who was looking over, and pretended to be troubled. “Young Master, if you have something to discuss, why not talk about it tomorrow? A lone man and a lone woman being together would not be appropriate.”

After saying this, she pushed open the door and entered her room.

Guo Xiaowu: “…”

To hell with a lone man and a lone woman. Had this sister eaten her brain along with dinner?

Miss Qin swept Guo Xiaowu a glance with a half-smile.

Guo Xiaowu looked up at the beams, whistled as though nothing had happened, and forced herself to calmly enter her own room.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a light knock at the door.

Guo Xiaowu opened it and saw that it was Xin Yuan. She furtively poked her head out, then pulled her inside.

The corner of Xin Yuan’s mouth twitched. “It’s not as if those guards are blind. Aren’t you just making it obvious that something is being hidden? It makes it look like we have some shameful deal going on.”

Guo Xiaowu rolled her eyes at her. “I’m making it obvious? Weren’t you also adding unnecessary details earlier? Do you think that Miss Qin couldn’t guess we wanted to avoid her?”

They were both the same. Neither had the right to criticize the other.

Xin Yuan had nothing to say. She had indeed failed to react in time and had spoken without thinking because she felt guilty.

“What did you call me here to talk about? If you have something to say, say it quickly. I’m sleepy.”

She still wanted to sleep early and dream early.

Guo Xiaowu closed the door tightly and gestured for Xin Yuan to walk farther inside.

Seeing her mysterious manner, Xin Yuan cooperated and walked over.

“Are you certain Miss Qin’s surname is Qin, that she is from the capital, and that her father was once a high-ranking official in court?”

“That’s what she said herself. Is something wrong?”

Guo Xiaowu lowered her voice. “Of course it’s wrong. As far as I know, going back several hundred years, the capital has never produced a high-ranking official surnamed Qin.”

The fleeting thought she had earlier had finally become clear when she walked into the inn.

Xin Yuan did not understand. “You mean her surname is fake?”