At the Chen hour (7-9 AM).

Several carriages departed through the Zhengyang Gate, meeting with Gu Changtong and Wang Zibo’s carriages outside the southern city gate. The convoy then proceeded south along the official road toward Qu City.

Gu Yi sat in her carriage, lifting the curtain to look outside. At the front were mounted guards, followed by blue cloth-covered carriages that seemed to belong to Wang Zibo and Gu Changtong.

All the carriages on this journey were covered with blue cloth, and she didn’t know which one Xiaoyan was in.

Seeing her looking outside, Duo Luo smiled and said, “Is the Noble Lady looking for Master Gu? This servant heard that when night falls, the caravan will stop at a post station. Then the Noble Lady can meet with Master Gu…”

Hearing this, Gu Yi lowered the curtain and nodded, then reclined on the soft cushions in the carriage. “I feel uncomfortable riding in carriages and need to rest. When we reach the post station, you can wake me.”

“Yes, Noble Lady.” Duo Luo then took a cloak from the bamboo box in the carriage and loosely covered Gu Yi’s legs.

Gu Yi found a comfortable position to lie down, covered her eyes with a silk handkerchief, and gradually felt drowsy.

She hadn’t slept all night before, and now quickly dozed off.

After some time, a loud neighing outside the carriage startled Gu Yi awake.

She removed the silk handkerchief from her eyes and saw that it was already dark outside the curtain, and the carriage had stopped.

Seeing her sit up, Duo Luo hurriedly said, “Noble Lady, you’re awake? This servant was just about to wake you. We’re already at the entrance of the post station.” As she spoke, she handed her a water flask.

Gu Yi had slept the entire journey, and her throat was dry. She took a sip of water first, then poked her head outside, just in time to see Gu Changtong alighting from the carriage ahead.

She quickly put on her cloak and said to Duo Luo, “Let’s get off too.”

After descending from the carriage, Gu Yi quickened her pace to catch up with Gu Changtong, calling out, “Master Gu.”

Gu Changtong turned around, saw her, and bowed first, “Congratulations on your promotion, Madam.”

Gu Yi laughed, knowing he was referring to her rank as Noble Lady. “Thank you, Master Gu.”

An attendant came out from the post station to greet them and bowed, “Madam, your room is on the second floor. The young master said that if Madam has anything to discuss with Master Gu, you may go upstairs to talk.”

Gu Yi looked into the post station and saw that Xiaoyan had already entered and was going up the stairs.

She shook her head and said, “It’s late. Master Gu should rest early. We still have many days to reach Qu City, there’s no rush.”

Gu Changtong nodded, giving Gu Yi an approving look. “Madam should also rest soon.”

Gu Yi then walked into the post station.

An attendant led her up to the second floor and opened the door to reveal Xiaoyan already seated at the table, pouring himself a cup of tea.

Gu Yi entered the room with a smile, “Young Master, was the carriage journey tiring?”

Xiaoyan asked instead, “Why didn’t you speak more with Master Gu?”

Gu Yi removed her cloak, “Master Gu is tired from the journey; he should rest early.”

The key reason was that with you standing here, who could talk freely?

Xiaoyan smiled and said, “If Madam had said something, I could have stepped away for a while.”

Gu Yi laughed dryly, “The Young Master is truly considerate…”

There was no rush tonight.

However, she did need to find a suitable opportunity to speak with Gu Changtong alone.

After the carriage reached Qu City, Gu Yi finally got such an opportunity.

On the day they stopped at Qu City, Xiaoyan left early in the morning, so Gu Yi invited Gu Changtong to her room for a talk.

Seeing her smiling face, Gu Changtong’s partially suspended heart settled.

He had originally thought that the Emperor’s selection of his daughter to accompany the tour was a commendation for him.

But after observing for a few days, he gradually figured it out.

The Emperor wasn’t just commending him.

Gu Yi first poured a cup of tea for Gu Changtong, gathered her thoughts for a moment, and asked, “Father, have you seen Dowager Consort Liu before?”

Gu Changtong’s body stiffened, and he spoke in surprise, “Did the Young Master tell you about this?”

Gu Yi nodded, “The Young Master said that Zhou Tinghe was rewarded for rescuing Dowager Consort Liu. I wanted to ask Father where Dowager Consort Liu is now. Is she still in Fuzhou?”

Gu Changtong put down his teacup and lowered his voice, “She’s still there. Dowager Consort Liu is at the Zhou family’s Lishan tea garden, being looked after by special personnel. She has no worries about food, clothing, or safety.”

Gu Yi felt somewhat relieved, “Does Dowager Consort Liu know Father’s identity?”

Gu Changtong shook his head, “When I went to the tea garden, I only said I was an old friend, but I don’t know if she has already guessed…”

“What are the Young Master’s plans? Does Father know?”

Gu Changtong pondered for a moment, “The Young Master has sent people to guard the tea garden. It seems that he won’t bring the Dowager Consort to the capital shortly…”

Gu Yi took a sip of tea and asked again, “When Father went to the Zhou family tea garden, did you see any strangers there?”

“Strangers?” Gu Changtong frowned.

“A man with a beard covering his face, tall and lean.”

Gu Changtong thought for a moment, “No.” He looked at Gu Yi with confusion, “Why do you ask?”

Gu Yi replied, “I fear bandits causing trouble, that’s why I ask.”

Gu Changtong carefully recalled but found no one matching this description. “There was no such person.”

Gu Yi smiled, refilled Gu Changtong’s tea, and changed the topic.

“Tomorrow I will accompany the Young Master by boat down the Luo River. I don’t know when I will see Father again…” She raised her teacup, “Today, let’s use tea instead of wine for a toast to Father. Take care on your journey back to Fuzhou.”

Gu Changtong also raised his cup and drank it in one go, “I also wish you all a smooth journey to Qingzhou.”

He suppressed mentioning that he might come to the capital next year after his term evaluation, and earnestly instructed Gu Yi, “Since you are accompanying the imperial tour, it is by imperial grace. The Emperor telling you about Dowager Consort Liu’s matter shows his immense trust in you… You must not betray the Emperor’s trust…”

Gu Yi drank her tea and nodded, “Don’t worry, Father. I remember all the kindness the Emperor has shown me.”

*

Early the next day, the two groups went their separate ways.

The surface of the Luo River was like a mirror. Winter had passed, the ice on the river had melted, with only occasional fragments of ice and snow floating by.

Gu Yi, wrapped in a rouge-colored cloak, boarded the wooden boat, feeling as if the banner of plot was again unfurling above her head.

She carefully recalled that this boat journey south would first pass through Ji Prefecture, stop at Cang County for a few days, then continue toward Qingzhou.

When they reached outside Qingzhou Prefecture, Bogu would ambush them.

It would be Bogu’s desperate fight.

Blades and swords are blind.

She must calculate the days carefully and preserve her little life!

Even if she had to hide in the bottom of the boat cabin to protect herself with difficulty, she had to survive!

If this were an ordinary transmigration into a book, she could play the role of a wise emperor, telling Xiaoyan that someone had warned her in a dream about an ambush on the Luo River, thus avoiding this calamity.

But in this terrifying book, transmigration, if she dared to avoid this plot point, Gu Yi did not doubt that the plot would reset in an instant, teaching her a lesson.

Gu Yi stood at the bow of the boat facing the wind, immediately filled with mixed emotions.

She couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

It was too difficult for her.

Xiaoyan had somehow walked up behind her without her noticing. “What are you sighing about again?”

Is she truly unhappy?

These days, Gu Yi sometimes sighed even in her dreams.

Gu Yi turned to look and saw Xiaoyan approaching, his long eyebrows slightly furrowed, his eyes containing scrutiny.

She smiled brightly, “Your subject is sighing at the magnificent rivers and mountains of the Great Mu Dynasty!”

Xiaoyan naturally didn’t believe her and raised an eyebrow, “Were you also sighing about these rivers and mountains in your dreams?”

Gu Yi was startled, not expecting that she would sigh even in her sleep.

She must be mentally unhealthy.

She laughed awkwardly, “Please don’t blame me, Young Master. I talk in my sleep—did I disturb your rest?”

Xiaoyan lowered his gaze and said, “It’s fine.” He stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder, gazing at the rippling gray-white river surface reflecting the half-circle of the slowly rising red sun.

He had been having strange dreams lately.

When he woke up, he only remembered scattered fragments of images.

But he remembered that the person he dreamed of was Zhao Wan.

Always Zhao Wan.

He had suspected it might be some kind of impure nightmare, but after a thorough investigation, he found no evil arts at work.

Just these strange dreams, bizarre and fantastical, seeming real yet unreal.

In the dreams, Zhao Wan was still a palace concubine, yet he saw her in a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, sitting high on a golden platform, the Empress he had personally enthroned.

Xiaoyan slightly turned his head to look at Gu Yi beside him, seeing her gazing intently into the distance. The soft sunlight shone on her face, her eyebrows and eyelashes trembling slightly, her eyes encompassing a halo, giving her a somewhat unreal appearance for a moment.

Xiaoyan’s heart sank.

People say that what one thinks about during the day, one dreams about at night.

But he had never dreamed of Gu Yi.

In his dreams, though fragmented, the palace was still the palace.

Besides Zhao Wan, he occasionally glimpsed Eunuch Gao and others from the Six Palaces.

The only person who was gone was Gu Yi.

Never seen, as if she had never existed there.

Gu Yi keenly sensed that the silence of Xiaoyan beside her had suddenly become more oppressive.

She turned to look at him and saw his dark brown, glass-like peach blossom eyes reflecting the morning glow yet appearing like a deep pool. The shallow scar by his temple was reddened by the sunlight, like a blood moon.

Her heart inexplicably paused, and she advised, “Your Majesty, the wind is strong at the bow, it makes me dizzy. Let’s go sit in the cabin.”

Xiaoyan came back to his senses and saw Gu Yi’s face right before his eyes, clear and bright.

He couldn’t help but reach out to touch her cheek.

Warm and soft.

Gu Yi stood still, not daring to move, feeling the thin calluses on his fingertips gently brush across her cheek.

A strange sensation, both ticklish and warm.

Suddenly, a pain on her cheek.

She cried out “Ah!” and immediately stepped back half a step, rubbing her face, “Why did you pinch me?”

Xiaoyan had momentarily lost himself, driven by the strangeness in his heart to confirm that the Gu Yi before him truly existed.

As a result, he hadn’t controlled his strength well.

Seeing Gu Yi covering half her face, he could only fake a cough and say, “I was absent-minded.”

Gu Yi was quite angry.

Her face hurt.

She rubbed it for a while, finally feeling the pain dissipate.

Xiaoyan looked up to see her face suddenly flushed red, and frowned, “You… are too delicate.”

Gu Yi: …

Faced with Gu Yi’s gaze, Xiaoyan turned away his eyes, spun around toward the cabin, not forgetting to remind her, “Let’s go. The wind is strong at the bow.”

The cabin was like a small palace hall, complete with a flower room, bedchamber, and study.

Zhao Wan was sitting in the flower room drinking tea. Seeing Xiaoyan enter, she stood up and asked, “Young Master, shall I call for breakfast?”

Xiaoyan nodded to Eunuch Gao, “Bring the meal.”

A moment later, an attendant brought in food boxes.

Gu Yi also walked to the table and sat down. Seeing Zhao Wan smile at her, she smiled back.

After Xiaoyan sat down, the three sat at one table, forming a triangular power dynamic.

Gu Yi felt quite awkward.

Previously, they had traveled together with Wang Zibo and Gu Changtong at the same table.

But now, only the male lead, the female lead, and she remained.

The early meal was eaten in silence, the atmosphere strangely tense.

Gu Yi struggled to maintain her composure, lifting her chopsticks without speaking.

She hadn’t taken several dishes and hadn’t tasted what she ate.

Only when Xiaoyan stopped using his chopsticks did she feel reprieved and put down her bamboo chopsticks as well.

An attendant brought fruit.

Gu Yi said, “Young Master, I haven’t yet counted my clothes since boarding the ship. Since we’ll be staying on the boat for several days, I need to go back to my room to arrange things.”