After Spending a Passionate Night with the Eldest Princess - Chapter 9

Miss Qin looked steadily at Xin Yuan, inquiry in her eyes. “Miss Xin truly does not know?”

Xin Yuan was speechless. She knew jack shit.

“I’ve never left my village since I was little. This time fleeing disaster is my first time traveling far from home, so I’m very ignorant and ill-informed. Miss Qin, there’s no need to speak in riddles with me.”

Miss Qin’s gaze paused slightly. This explanation sounded true, but the young woman before her not only came from Dingzhou in the north, her identity was also suspicious, and she was connected to the State Preceptor. How could she possibly not know the Guo clan’s name?

Was she deliberately hiding her abilities?

Yet her expression did not look as if she were lying.

Miss Qin frowned slightly. “North of Dingzhou is Xidao’s border. That place is Xiangzhou, the fief of Prince Chang. Prince Chang’s surname is Guo. Has Miss Xin truly never heard of him?”

Xin Yuan understood now. After circling around for so long, this woman was still suspecting her identity?

“I haven’t heard of him.”

“But from your expression just now, you did not look like someone who had never heard of him.”

Xin Yuan tugged at the corners of her mouth. After lying down, she said leisurely, “I thought you were interested in that Young Master Guo, so I got a little curious.”

What strange expression? She had simply wanted to watch the gossip.

Realizing that this woman was testing her, Xin Yuan simply made it clear.

Miss Qin looked at the young woman’s indifferent face and found it absurd. She was interested in that Young Master Guo?

She was more interested in the military power in Prince Chang’s hands.

After thinking for a moment, Miss Qin pretended to be puzzled. “Why would you think I am interested in Young Master Guo?”

“You’re mistaken. I meant that he is interested in you,” Xin Yuan blurted out.

Miss Qin fell silent again. She had originally wanted to probe her, but not only had she failed to obtain anything useful, she had repeatedly made herself fall into a speechless state.

Either the young woman before her truly knew nothing, or she was unfathomably deep and skilled at disguising herself.

For some reason, Miss Qin actually leaned more toward the former.

Could it be that she had truly overthought things, and the person before her had only been accidentally dragged into this and was innocent?

Thinking of this possibility, she closed her eyes somewhat wearily.

Seeing her close her eyes to rest, Xin Yuan also felt sleepiness come over her. Before long, she fell asleep.

Because the carriage was moving quickly, it was somewhat bumpy. The sleeping person shifted with the rocking of the carriage and unconsciously rolled over.

Suddenly having her legs hugged, a faint trace of embarrassment and annoyance appeared on Miss Qin’s calm face.

It was noon in early spring. The sunlight was bright, and light occasionally swept in through the gaps in the carriage curtain as it swayed in the wind, falling onto the sleeping person.

A thought suddenly rose in Miss Qin’s heart. If she also fell asleep, would they meet in the dream again?

Dreaming in broad daylight, then being tied up again…

Unconsciously, she curved her lips, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked outside, ignoring that fleeting thought.

White clouds scattered across the horizon, and the sun gradually moved toward the south.

Tang Er rode his horse closer to the carriage and asked for instructions. “Master, it is noon. Will you take a meal?”

Miss Qin looked at the sky and said calmly, “Rest briefly. Let everyone eat their fill, then continue the journey.”

Tang Er cupped his fists and ordered the procession to stop and rest. Then he brought over some food and respectfully placed it at the front of the carriage.

In her daze, Xin Yuan smelled the fragrance of food. When she opened her eyes, she saw someone eating a rolled flatbread in small bites.

After Miss Qin finished the rolled flatbread in her hand, she took an apple from the food box and slowly bit into it.

Xin Yuan watched and unconsciously swallowed.

“Do you want one?” Miss Qin noticed her movement and asked gently.

“Thank you.” Xin Yuan sat up in one swift motion and reached out, intending to take the apple in Miss Qin’s hand.

Miss Qin’s expression paused. Amused, she pushed the food box toward her. “There are more inside.”

This person actually wanted to eat the apple she had bitten into. Was she still half-asleep?

Xin Yuan lowered her gaze and saw the rolled flatbread and apples inside the food box. She felt awkward inside, but forced herself to remain calm. “Oh, I thought there weren’t any left.”

She was hungry now too, so she did not act reserved. After eating the rolled flatbread in large bites, she picked up an apple and began gnawing on it.

Her mouth was instantly filled with a sweet-and-sour fruity fragrance. As she ate, she casually asked, “Is that Young Master Guo still following us?”

Hearing this, Miss Qin did not answer immediately. First, she moved her leg.

Only then did Xin Yuan belatedly realize that she had been pressing down on the other woman’s skirt. She hurriedly got up.

The crimson hem that had been pressed down for the whole journey was finally freed and gathered back.

Only then did Miss Qin answer, “He is still following. There is no need to pay him any mind.”

Xin Yuan drank some water. Seemingly interested, she gossiped, “If that Young Master Guo keeps following us all the way to the capital, learns which household you belong to, and comes to propose marriage, what will you do? Would your elders agree?”

She had a purpose in asking this.

Since Young Master Guo was connected to Prince Chang, his background must not be poor.

According to ancient customs, if an ordinary family encountered such a matter, even if the daughter was unwilling, the elders might find it difficult to refuse. They might even be pleased to see it happen and use it to attach themselves to the powerful.

So what about this woman? What exactly was her family background like? Would she dare refuse the powerful?

Or rather, did she need to attach herself to the powerful?

Miss Qin seemed not to hear the implication in her words. Her voice was calm as she said, “My mother would not agree.”

In Mother Empress’s heart, there was only her imperial younger brother. The two people closest to her both did not wish for her to associate with the powerful. Her prince consort could only be the son of a humble family. He could even be a peddler or a laborer, but he absolutely could not come from a noble or prestigious clan.

Moreover, Prince Chang occupied the northern lands and held tens of thousands of soldiers in his hands.

Xin Yuan asked without revealing anything, “Is your mother not afraid of offending Prince Chang?”

Miss Qin glanced at her, her lips pressing slightly together. “Putting aside the fact that my maternal uncle serves in the Ministry of Revenue, although my father is no longer alive, he was once renowned in court. His lingering prestige remains.”

She was the current dynasty’s Eldest Princess. It should be others who did not dare offend her.

Xin Yuan froze for a moment and said uncomfortably, “Sorry. That was presumptuous of me.”

“It is no matter.” Miss Qin swept her a glance, then turned and lifted the carriage curtain, signaling Tang Er to order everyone to set off.

Xin Yuan had accidentally touched upon someone’s painful matter, so she could not help abandoning her thoughts of probing further.

But she had confirmed one thing. This woman’s father must have been a high-ranking official in the capital while he was alive. Since she did not even fear a prince, he must have once held great power.

Miss Qin was silent for a moment, then lowered her eyes and asked, “Just now, did you dream?”

As soon as Xin Yuan heard this, she knew what she wanted to ask. “I didn’t dream of you.”

Shared dreaming probably required certain conditions. For example, perhaps they had to fall asleep at roughly the same time, or perhaps the dream could only happen at night.

Wait!

Xin Yuan abruptly realized something, and her pupils trembled violently.

Miss Qin nodded once.

What Xin Yuan had thought of, she naturally had thought of as well. The key was how to verify these guesses, and whether there was any need to verify them.

There were still two days of travel left before reaching the capital. If everything went smoothly on Qiuyue’s side, then perhaps the day they entered the capital would be the day the problem was solved. In that case, there would be no need to verify anything.

But there was always the possibility of an accident.

What if the matter was not as simple as she imagined? What if, even after entering the capital, they were still disturbed by these dreams every night? Then they would have no choice but to verify it.

If they could not get rid of the dream in a short period of time, then understanding more about the conditions that triggered the dream might allow them to avoid being so passive every time.

Thinking this, Miss Qin raised her eyes to look at Xin Yuan.

Xin Yuan was also sizing her up, her expression very strange.

The two silently looked at each other for a while before Miss Qin took the initiative to ask, “Does Miss Xin have something to say?”

Xin Yuan frowned. “If this dream does not stop for the time being, or even never stops in the future, what should we do?”

She had finally realized that Miss Qin was not the only passive one. She was just as passive.

If this dream never ended, she could not spend her whole life dreaming of this woman!

Miss Qin’s gaze focused slightly. Would such a possibility exist? She felt it would not, but she was not completely certain…

For a moment, the atmosphere was quiet.

The carriage continued forward as usual. The curtain swayed slightly, and the spring breeze brought cool air, but it could not blow away the turmoil in their hearts.

“Miss Qin.”

“Please speak, Miss Xin.”

Xin Yuan took a light breath and spoke very quickly. “Why don’t we try letting the dream continue on its own? Maybe once the dream finishes, it’ll stop.”

“Improper.” Miss Qin rejected it without even thinking. Based on her previous experience, she was almost certain that what happened in the dream would truly be reflected on her body in reality.

If something absurd happened in the dream and caused an irreparable change in their bodies in reality, what then?

Xin Yuan gave a hum, but what she thought was: how would they know whether it was improper without trying?

Speaking of which, she could seemingly extend the dream unilaterally. All she had to do was follow along with the Miss Qin in the dream…