After Spending a Passionate Night with the Eldest Princess - Chapter 20

Guo Xiaowu finished saying everything in one breath. Seeing that Xin Yuan had no reaction at all, she raised a hand and waved it in front of her eyes. “Xin Yuan, did you hear what I said?”

Xin Yuan came back to herself and quickly held Guo Xiaowu’s shoulders, her expression serious. “Listen to me. Go to the back courtyard of the inn right now and lead out a horse. Wait for me outside the back door.”

Guo Xiaowu’s eyes widened. “You mean…”

Xin Yuan nodded. “We only have this one chance. Once we enter the capital, it’ll be too late. Hurry. I’ll deal with that woman and come right away.”

She could almost imagine her own fate. At best, she would lose her freedom. At worst, she would become someone’s concubine. No matter which one it was, neither was the result she wanted.

So she had to seize this chance.

“Then be careful. I’ll only wait for you for fifteen minutes.” Guo Xiaowu reacted and also realized that this was the best time to escape. She could once again wander the world freely.

Opportunities could not be missed. If Xin Yuan could not reach the back door on time, she would not wait.

Xin Yuan nodded, and the two of them left together.

Guo Xiaowu went straight toward the back courtyard, while Xin Yuan entered the room opposite again.

“Has Tang Er already escaped? Is Jiang Si here? How are the others?” Miss Qin’s voice came from behind the bed curtain. Judging from her silhouette, she was still sitting.

Xin Yuan nervously swallowed and tried to keep her tone calm. “Tang Er is gone. Jiang Si and the others were all sent outside the inn to stand by.”

She did not say that Jiang Si and the other guards had all fainted. If this woman, who was clever almost to the point of being demonic, learned that no one was watching them, it would be bad if she guessed Xin Yuan wanted to escape.

The most urgent thing was to steady this woman first and delay as much time as possible.

Hearing this, Miss Qin did not speak. It was unclear what she was thinking.

“Are you all right? Do you want me to call someone up?” Xin Yuan secretly took a breath. If she delayed any longer, she feared that blockhead Guo Xiaowu would lose patience and run off alone first.

Xin Yuan did not know how to ride a horse. If she relied only on her legs to run, the risk of being caught and brought back was very high.

Besides, it was a disaster year. Refugees were everywhere outside the city. It was not safe for her to travel alone.

“Only call Jiang Si up to receive orders,” Miss Qin said faintly.

“All right. But my clothes were torn. Please wait a moment. I’ll wash up and change clothes, then go call him.”

As for what exactly needed to be cleaned up and why she had to wash and change clothes, both of them understood.

Miss Qin was silent for a moment, then gave a soft “Mm.”

Xin Yuan secretly let out a breath of relief. She even walked to the bed, picked up the red dress from the floor, slightly lifted the bed curtain, and placed the clothes by the bedside without looking sideways, not daring to look at the person on the bed.

After that, she turned around and left at an unhurried pace, then closed the door.

Glancing at Jiang Si lying on the ground, Xin Yuan carefully stepped around him. She lightened her footsteps, but her speed gradually increased. Before long, she had left the inn and arrived at the back door.

Seeing her run out, Guo Xiaowu immediately asked, “Why didn’t you also lead out a horse?”

Only after she had hurriedly led the horse to the back door did she realize that Xin Yuan had only told her to take one horse.

Could it be that this sister only wanted to help her escape, while she herself would stay behind to steady the Eldest Princess?

What a great person!

Xin Yuan rushed to the horse in a few quick steps and said urgently, “I don’t know how to ride. You take me. Hurry.”

After saying this, she stepped onto the stirrup and tried to mount, but her body swayed and she fell directly to the ground.

Guo Xiaowu looked at her with an indescribable expression. She had thought this sister was sacrificing herself for righteousness, but after all that, it turned out she simply did not know how to ride.

Seeing that Xin Yuan wanted to try again, Guo Xiaowu leapt up on the spot and neatly swung herself onto the horse. Then she held the reins with one hand and stretched out the other.

“Grab on. I’ll pull you up. Once you’re up, hold me tight.”

Xin Yuan obediently did as she was told. This was not the time to be delicate. If she could not hold on and fell, it would be terrible. She knew her own limits.

Guo Xiaowu knew they could not waste time. With no time for more words, she flicked the reins and urged the horse into a gallop.

By now, the sky had brightened considerably. The city gate had only recently opened, and there were barely any people on the road.

The two rode all the way out of Yongzhou City. Without hesitation, Guo Xiaowu avoided the official road and chose a smaller path.

Half an hour later, Guo Xiaowu finally slowed down a little. “Hey, you don’t have to hold on that tightly anymore. My waist is almost being strangled in half by you.”

Xin Yuan loosened her arms slightly. “Thank you.”

After saying that, she looked back. The city was no longer in sight.

Guo Xiaowu smiled. “The two of us can be considered to have gone through hardship together. Saying thank you makes us sound like strangers. By the way, where do you plan to go?”

Xin Yuan asked, “Where does this road lead?”

Guo Xiaowu looked ahead. “This is the road to the capital. I’ve been away from home for so long and have wandered all over the place. The capital is the only place I haven’t gone.”

Xidao was very small. In more than half a year, she had visited all the well-known prefectural cities.

And Yongzhou was right next to the capital. On horseback, it would only take two hours to reach it.

Xin Yuan was silent for a moment. To her, every place in this country was unfamiliar.

“Then let’s go to the capital. I also want to see what the capital looks like.”

Hearing this, Guo Xiaowu could not help turning her head to glance at her before looking forward again. “Aren’t you afraid of running into Chang—cough, cough. Aren’t you afraid of running into Miss Qin? Miss Qin is from the capital.”

She had almost let it slip. But should she tell this sister that Miss Qin was the current Eldest Princess?

Since they had already escaped from the Eldest Princess’s grasp, there should be no harm in saying it, right?

Xin Yuan’s expression changed slightly. “The capital isn’t her family’s property. Aren’t you also not afraid?”

She said it casually, but Guo Xiaowu fell silent.

Under the whole sky, could there be any land that was not the king’s? In a certain sense, the capital really could count as the Eldest Princess’s family property.

Guo Xiaowu thought for a moment and did not respond to that. Instead, she asked, “Xin Yuan, you were a refugee before. If you followed Miss Qin, you wouldn’t lack food or drink. Why did you want to run?”

She wanted to run for freedom, carrying a huge sum of money and living freely.

As for Xin Yuan—not that she looked down on this sister, but refugees were all so poor they rattled. They could not even eat their fill. Talking about freedom was too much of a luxury.

Xin Yuan tugged at the corners of her mouth, her mood complicated. “To be honest, at first, I also thought following Miss Qin wasn’t bad. At least I would have food to eat and could survive. But not anymore.”

“How so?”

“She plans to take me as a concubine after we enter the capital. How ridiculous. I would rather starve to death than become someone’s concubine.”

As Xin Yuan spoke, she touched the banknote in her clothes. With this one hundred taels, she would not starve in the short term. So what was there to hesitate about? Run.

Guo Xiaowu was shocked. What had she just heard?

In her shock, she pulled the reins and stopped the horse, then turned to stare at Xin Yuan, confirming, “You said… Miss Qin wants to take you… as a concubine?”

This development was far too fantastical. She could not quite accept it.

Wait. So the Eldest Princess actually liked women?

Xin Yuan curled her lips self-mockingly. “You heard correctly. She wants me to become her concubine. It’s too insulting.”

She was a perfectly good person. How desperate would she have to be to share one… woman with others?

To hell with that &&****.

Guo Xiaowu: “…”

Wait a moment. Let her sort this out.

Since the founding of Xidao, all imperial princesses had only ever had one prince consort. Unless they divorced, or the prince consort died or became disabled, they would only then marry a new one.

Looking back, there had been a few princesses who, apart from their prince consort, also kept male companions in their residence.

But a princess taking a concubine was something Guo Xiaowu had heard of for the first time.

However, a concubine was about the same as a kept companion, right? No name, no status, only there to amuse the princess…

“It is quite insulting,” Guo Xiaowu said with great agreement after sorting it out.

“Let’s not mention her anymore. Let’s go to the capital.” Since Xin Yuan had transmigrated to ancient times, of course she wanted to see what an imperial city looked like.

Guo Xiaowu hesitated for a moment, then felt that she was worrying too much. The capital was the largest city in Xidao. In such a sea of people, as long as they were careful, it would be impossible to run into the Eldest Princess.

Unless the Eldest Princess mobilized all the troops in the city and issued arrest notices everywhere…

Rumor had it that the Eldest Princess loved the people like her own children and never let private matters interfere with public affairs. She definitely would not make the matter known to everyone just to take a concubine.

Thinking this, Guo Xiaowu raised her brows and said loudly, “Then to the capital it is. Sit tight. Hyah!”

The sound of hoofbeats faded into the distance, startling a flock of birds into flight.

At this moment, inside Yongzhou City.

In the main hall of a certain inn, people knelt in neat rows across the floor.

At the very front, Jiang Si lowered his head to the ground, not even daring to breathe loudly. Master had woken him up, and then he had woken everyone else.

After that, they discovered that Tang Er had vanished. Even Xin Yuan and Guo Xiaowu were gone.

Fortunately, nothing had happened to Master. Otherwise, even ten thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for their guilt.

Amid the suffocating silence, Miss Qin slowly said, “Jiang Si will temporarily act as commander. Set off for the capital at once.”

“Yes.”