Chapter 275: Chapter 276: Distress

Gu Yifeng saw her spacing out again as she spoke. He put down the book in his hand, raised his hand, and gently brushed the hair beside her temple, gently stroking her hair.

“Spacing out again! What are you thinking about?”

The intimate gesture left Lin Youning with no time to think about anything else. She quickly sat up, awkwardly turned her body, and touched her own temple, “Nothing, just thinking about how we’ll have to wait a few more days to get there. Although we just set out today, it’s only been a day, and I already feel a bit unbearable. But you’ve always ridden a horse to get there in the past, and now you’re slowly walking with me. It must be even more boring for you, right? If you’re really busy, you can take the guards and go ahead. You don’t have to worry about me; I’m fine.”

The path they took was the official road, and Lin Youning knew it would be safe.

Most importantly, she didn’t want to continue having such intimate contact with her elder brother. The more contact like this, the more she would fall into that whirlpool. Even though she had clearly given up, those sordid thoughts unknowingly resurfaced, even making her somewhat dependent.

She didn’t want to end up making herself despised by her elder brother or even distant from her.

So she would rather maintain distance from her brother now so that she could at least remain his sister for life.

Gu Yifeng’s expression slowly turned serious as he sat up, “There’s no rush to get there. Although you’ve just left the Capital and the Eldest Prince has gone to Jiangnan, it’s not clear if he’s sent someone from the Capital to watch us here. We can take our time; it’s been exhausting rushing back and forth before. I’ve never seen the scenery along the way. This time, I’ll take the opportunity to see it with you.”

This time, as he spoke, Gu Yifeng did not make any intimate gestures. He wondered if it was his earlier actions that made Sister Ning start to reject him.

Gu Yifeng felt a kind of unspeakable depression in his heart, even a bit angry, but he knew he couldn’t lose his temper at Sister Ning. After all, his actions and her unusual behavior lately had made Sister Ning a bit fearful.

Gu Yifeng knew Sister Ning was very sensitive and that things had to come slowly.

Lin Youning lowered her head and naturally did not see the fleeting look of regret on Gu Yifeng’s face. “Since that’s the case, that’s good. Otherwise, I’m always afraid I’ll delay your journey. Actually, regarding the Eldest Prince, I’m also quite worried. It seems that when we arrive in the Northwest, staying at the mansion for some days will be wise.”

“I have already arranged for someone to secretly monitor the Eldest Prince’s actions. If anyone he sends comes to the Northwest, we will be informed immediately, so there’s no need to fear him.” Gu Yifeng instinctively moved his body backward to maintain some distance from Sister Ning to save her from feeling nervous and pressured, “When you reach the Northwest, you can freely go out, but you should wear a veil. There’s no need to worry about anything else. Once we’re in the Northwest territory, it’s my domain. Everyone entering the city will be checked, and any anomalies will be reported directly to me.”

Regarding this, Gu Yifeng was confident. Moreover, earlier, he was unaware the Eldest Prince would target Sister Ning, which had allowed the Eldest Prince to exploit the situation.

The few Hidden Guards he had left at the mansion had already been entangled by the Eldest Prince’s assassins. Now it was different; once they reached the Northwest, it would be his territory, and he had added more Hidden Guards around Sister Ning. Such situations would no longer occur, or else he wouldn’t be worthy of being the Dingyuan Marquis.

Lin Youning lifted her head and smiled, “I trust you, my elder brother. Once we reach the Northwest, I shall go out and explore. Many young ladies in the Capital envy me.”

Thinking about just now, her despondency had made her elder brother look so stern. Lin Youning felt guilty and mustered up her spirits, discarding her earlier thoughts.

As long as she could control her heart, no matter what her elder brother did, she wouldn’t let him discover her feelings.

Gu Yifeng, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly unsure of what the little girl before him was thinking. She appeared very conflicted, sometimes tangled and sometimes relaxed. He couldn’t figure out what she was worried about.

Though she always had a smile on her face, anyone could see that she was carrying a heavy burden on her mind.

But it was clear the little girl before him wasn’t planning to tell him. He had tried to talk about it a few times, but the little girl always sealed her lips tightly, and if he tried to probe further, she would immediately close herself off.

She maintained a relaxed demeanor, but maybe she didn’t even realize how tense she appeared?

“Once we get to the Northwest, I have some matters to attend to first, so if you want to have some fun outside in the first few days, you can take Li Si with you and take a few guards along.” Gu Yifeng spoke about the local customs and practices of that area, “There, grapes are grown and fruit wine is plentiful. If you like, you can learn from them. There are even people from other ethnic groups, and their roasted lamb is very delicious.”

Lin Youning smiled with pursed lips. Inside the carriage, only Gu Yifeng’s voice could be heard, not too fast nor too slow, neither too high nor too low. Meanwhile, Hailan and Shanzhong Mei outside the carriage turned slightly to listen.

Shanmoi leaned against Hailan, who smiled and shook her head. The coachman next to them seemed unaware of anything around him. The sky outside was already cold, but Shanmoi and Hailan were both wrapped in a large cloak together, shielding them from the cold wind and leaving them feeling not too cold.

Though they were heading to the Northwest, having traveled for almost a day until late afternoon, sitting in the carriage was indeed tiring.

Zhang Wu had already left, but Shanmoi noticed this and asked Hailan about it. Hailan shook her head and said nothing more. After all, Zhang Wu was someone close to the Marquis, and whatever he was doing must have been under the Marquis’s orders. They hadn’t expected to see a bonfire on the road above and thought something had happened. When they saw Zhang Wu standing by the roadside, they realized the bonfire was Zhang Wu’s doing.

After spotting Zhang Wu, the coachman halted immediately, and the surrounding guards also stopped.

Once the convoy in the front stopped, those in the rear naturally followed suit, slowing to a stop. Inside the carriage, Wu Xueqin felt the carriage stop, sat up, and became alert, even though she had been dozing off. Now that the carriage had stopped, she was instantly awake.

“What happened in front?” Other than Yangtao, there was no one else in the carriage.

Yangtao responded, “I’ll go find out.”

But before she could inquire, the carriage started moving again, and Yangtao looked up at her mistress.

Wu Xueqin leaned back on the soft cushion, “Seems like nothing happened.”

However, her expression clearly wasn’t good.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep