Chapter 10: 第087章 落脚，素问

“It is merely a rumor; how can one take it as truth?” If he were truly as formidable as the rumors suggested, he wouldn't have stood by and watched helplessly as the Empress Mother...

“Whether it is a rumor or not, you and I both know the truth,” Si Jingjun said with a shallow smile.

Although he didn't know what that fleeting moment of self-mockery in Dugu Chen's eyes was about, he truly felt a sense of admiration for him.

Dugu Chen smiled but did not respond further.

*** ***

By the time they reached the small town, it was nearly noon.

Gu Xizhi pulled the carriage to a stop in front of an inn. Gu Xiaowu had intended to walk down on her own, but Gu Xizhi insisted on carrying her into the inn personally.

Seeing Gu Xizhi's persistence, and considering that the wound on her chest was indeed quite painful, Gu Xiaowu stopped resisting.

“Guest, would you like to stay the night or just grab a meal?” Seeing Dugu Xun and the other two enter, the waiter hurried forward to greet them.

“Staying the night. Prepare three superior rooms, and then bring out a few of your shop's signature dishes,” Dugu Xun commanded casually, tossing a silver ingot to the waiter.

“Yes, yes, yes. May I ask, guest, would you like your meal served in your room or here in the main hall?” the waiter asked cautiously.

Though he hadn't seen much of the world, the clothes these three were wearing were made of high-quality fabric. It was obvious their status was either wealthy or noble; it was always better to be careful.

“In the main hall is fine. Have someone prepare the rooms first. As for the food, just prepare a few signature dishes as he said. You may go!” Gu Xizhi added.

“Ah, alright! Please wait a moment, guests. This humble one will go and have the food prepared immediately.” The waiter led them to an empty table.

“Put me down!” Gu Xiaowu said somewhat unnaturally. This was truly her first time being carried princess-style in public; the gazes of the people around them made her feel quite uncomfortable.

While she wasn't the type to feel embarrassed, being stared at like this still felt unpleasant.

Gu Xizhi nodded and carefully placed Gu Xiaowu onto a stool.

“Cheng'er, tell me if you feel unwell.”

“...No, I'm fine.” It was just that the wound was a bit painful; it wasn't anything major. It was normal for a wound to hurt, wasn't it?

“After lunch, rest in the inn for a while. I will go to the town's apothecary to buy some medicine first,” Dugu Xun said in a voice only the three of them could hear.

They didn't know if there were any people from the Southern Barbarian Empire here yet; it was best to remain cautious.

Gu Xizhi and Dugu Xun exchanged a glance. “Go ahead with peace of mind. I will take good care of Cheng'er.”

“Please, don't talk as if I'm a child who needs looking after,” Gu Xiaowu complained somewhat dissatisfiedly.

Although she was injured, her wound wasn't so severe that she was on the verge of death.

Even if there were people from the Southern Barbarian Empire here, so what? She had already sent word to her potential Southern Barbarian subordinates along the way; she believed they would arrive before evening.

“Cheng'er is still a child, after all!” Gu Xizhi said with a smile. No matter how old children grew, in the eyes of their parents, they were always children.

“Actually, she's not that small. Children in ordinary families are already engaged at this age,” Dugu Xun teased.

“If you put it that way, Xun, people your age are already holding babies!” Gu Xiaowu retorted.

Although the laws of Tianchen stipulated that regardless of gender, no one under sixteen could marry, children in ordinary families would begin marriage negotiations at eleven or twelve. From the start of negotiations to the formal engagement, it would take at least a year or two, and then they would generally marry once they turned sixteen.

The princes in the palace generally married concubines after sixteen. Like Dugu Xun, who was eighteen and still unmarried, there was only Dugu Chen. Even Eleven, who always acted like a child, already had a betrothed.

“My elder brother has not yet married; how could I, as his younger brother, dare to jump ahead of him?” Dugu Xun defended himself with a laugh. The title of "Imperial Brother" was truly not suitable to be spoken here.

He wasn't sure what price his elder brother had paid to be able to choose his own consort, but the reason he could freely choose his own marriage was because of a promise his Imperial Father had made to compensate him.

In other words, his ability to freely choose his wife could almost be said to have been bought with his mother's life.

“Alright, stop discussing this matter. If we don't eat quickly, the food will get cold,” Gu Xizhi interjected to smooth things over upon hearing this.

Dugu Xun's gaze swept across the dining table, then he quickly swapped several dishes in front of Gu Xiaowu to his own side, placing several lighter dishes in front of her instead.

“Xiaowu's wound hasn't healed yet, so eat something light for now!” Dugu Xun smiled slightly, looking every bit as if he were considering Gu Xiaowu's well-being.

Gu Xiaowu's teeth itched with resentment. He was definitely doing this on purpose! To actually take away all the dishes she liked—if that wasn't intentional, what was?

“Dugu is right. Your wound isn't healed, so bear with it for a bit. Eat lightly for these next few days. Once you are better, I'll have someone make whatever you want to eat,” Gu Xizhi said with a thin smile, her tone exceptionally gentle.

Gu Xiaowu gripped her chopsticks and stabbed fiercely at the grains of rice in her bowl, looking as if she were stabbing Dugu Xun instead of the rice.

After eating lunch reluctantly, Gu Xizhi sent Gu Xiaowu back to her room, while Dugu Xun went out to buy medicinal herbs.

“Cheng'er, I'll be in the next room. If anything happens, just call out,” Gu Xizhi instructed Gu Xiaowu from the doorway, looking worried.

Gu Xiaowu kept her head down, not looking at Gu Xizhi. “I know. Go back and rest! I'll call you if something happens.”

Having traveled all night, it would be a lie to say she wasn't tired. Even she, who had been lying in the carriage the whole time, was exhausted; how much more so for the one driving the carriage?

Gu Xizhi nodded and said, “Then I shall go rest first. Remember to call me if you need anything.”

“I know, go on!” Gu Xiaowu nodded, then turned around to enter the room and locked the door from the inside.

Just as Gu Xiaowu walked to the window to lock it, someone swept in through the window before she could even reach it.

“Subordinate Su Wen has come to receive orders.”

The newcomer was actually Su Wen, who was supposed to be in the Yan Kingdom!

“Su Wen?” Gu Xiaowu looked at the visibly thinner Su Wen in surprise. “How did you get here?”

Previously, she had sent Su Wen and Su Xin to the Yan Kingdom to find A Zhi's whereabouts, but after finding A Zhi, she had left Su Wen in the Yan Kingdom to protect him in secret. Thus, she never expected Su Wen to appear here at this time.

“After you and Yan Feng left Jiangning City, Su Xin sent word to this subordinate to rush to the Southern Barbarian Empire. This subordinate only arrived early yesterday morning, but learned that you had already returned to Tianchen. I originally intended to catch up to you quickly, but I did not expect to receive your signal last night,” Su Wen explained, kneeling on one knee with her hands clasped in a salute, her head bowed toward Gu Xiaowu.

“Enough, get up quickly. And stop with the 'subordinate' this and 'subordinate' that; it makes my head spin.” Gu Xiaowu walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

Gu Xiaowu had many headaches regarding Su Wen's refusal to use "I" or her own name in her presence.

If it were anyone else, she wouldn't care, but Su Wen and the others were different to her. She didn't want them to lower themselves so much in front of her.

“...Yes, subordinate... Su Wen obeys,” Su Wen stood up where she was, her expression exceptionally solemn.

“Su Wen, actually, there is a question I've always wanted to ask you.” Gu Xiaowu suddenly changed the subject, looking at Su Wen with great interest.

Su Wen broke into a cold sweat under Gu Xiaowu's piercing gaze. “...Master, please ask.”

Her intuition told her that her Master was definitely going to ask another question she couldn't handle, yet she had no choice but to endure it.

“Are you and Su Xin really twin sisters? To be honest, aside from looking almost identical, there really isn't a single other similarity between you two!” If they didn't look the same, no one would ever associate them as sisters.

The elder sister was so lively, while the younger sister was so rigid, like a little old man.

Su Wen's lips twitched helplessly. “Master, this question... you have already asked many times.”

She had answered it so many times she didn't want to answer it anymore. Almost every time her Master saw her, she would ask this question; she really felt it was getting tedious.

“But every time I see you, I can't help but want to ask!” It was a fact. Generally speaking, shouldn't the personalities of twin sisters be similar? But their personalities were far too different.

“...Master, what exactly are your orders in summoning us so urgently?” Su Wen's lips twitched as she quickly diverted the topic back to the main point.

Gu Xiaowu shrugged, choosing to ignore Su Wen's use of "subordinate" once again.

“It's nothing much. It's just that your Master has been hunted recently and is also injured, so I summoned you all. Before we return to Tianchen, you will stay in the shadows to protect the three of us. However, unless it is absolutely necessary, you do not need to appear,” Gu Xiaowu said with a serious expression.

She didn't want to expose the fact that she had such a group of experts too early. Unless it was a matter of life and death, she truly had no intention of letting people know exactly how much power she possessed.

Especially after provoking those people from the Dugu family, she had to leave herself several escape routes. Furthermore, the mysterious Holy Spirit Island had just emerged.

“Master, you are injured?” Su Wen looked at Gu Xiaowu in shock, seemingly trying to find where the injury was.

“It's nothing, just that I can't make too many sudden movements for the time being.” Gu Xiaowu had no intention of letting Su Wen know that she had actually been pierced through the chest by a sword; even if she did know, it would only cause one more person to worry.