Presumably, it was alright to assume that this young man had never heard of the description: A sweet burden. Because all his life, he had only ever seen a woman either as a tool for creating descendants or a plaything to spend his free time on.
Though, regardless of the complications going on within Mu JinYu’s mind, Gu MingYue already had her mind made up to follow him on this trip.
There was no way she would miss such an important occasion, which was the fateful first meeting of the male protagonist and the heroine.
How could she? This would determine the success or failure of her entire mission in this world!
Furthermore, in the original plot, Princess XiLiang had fallen in love with Mu JinYu at first sight, and Mu JinYu, being someone who spent years hooking up with women, and knowing that he needed her status to overthrow the new Duchess, he had easily gained her favor and reciprocated her feelings. And within days, the two had already hooked up and prepared for marriage.
This time around, there was no way Gu MingYue would allow the two to have such an easy chance to fall in love with each other, in fact, it would be idiotic if she did so.
Hence, seeing that he was still sitting still with a vacillating expression on his face, Gu MingYue decided no to casually start a conversation, and instead, she started observing the inside of the carriage carefully.
This carriage was about the same size as the carriage she had ridden in her previous mission, but this one was made of previous teak wood, which had a beautiful texture to it. The color of teak ranged from honey to brown, becoming darker and denser over time, while the wood itself is extremely firm and durable.
Furthermore, it seemed like the teak carriage was coated in oil, making it resilient to the various changes in weather such as the heaty sun, rain, or cold, as the firm wood would not be warped, cracked or deformed no matter what happened to it. It is also resistant to corrosion, and the corners were sealed professionally, hence water would not leak into the carriage during rain.
The inner walls of the carriage were also reinforced with balsa wood, and though the weight of balsa wood is only one-tenth of the weight of ordinary wood, it is warm during the winter and cooling during the summer, and most importantly, it is soundproof.
It can be assumed that although Mu JinYu is extravagant, he was not someone who is not so surreal.
The entire carriage was divided into two parts, one section for sleeping and another for sitting. The sitting room is in the outermost section, accounting for almost one-third of the entire area.
And after entering the sliding wooden door of the carriage, a narrow short table could be seen fixed vertically in the middle of the sitting room, while brown cushions lined the seats and the walls.
Meanwhile, the floor under the cushioned seat was divided into a number of squares the size of the cushion, and if one were to pick up a cushion and remove the wooden board below, you can see that there were plenty of empty storage spaces. It was extremely convenient and did not occupy too much space.
Meanwhile, the inner and the outer room were separated by another carved wooden sliding door. The storage box in the inner room was installed on the back of the carriage wall, therefore, causing the ceiling of the inner room to be slightly lower than the one in the outer room. The floor of the carriage was filled with a brocade mattress, which was embroidered with five bats holding onto clouds, while similarly colored pillows and blankets were placed neatly on the side.
There were windows on both sides of the walls, which both could be opened for ventilation at any time. Lastly, because the sliding door does not reach fully to the roof, the night pearl situated right on top of the door frame would illuminate both the interior and exterior parts of the carriage at the same time.
It seemed like the person who designed this carriage was extremely thoughtful… Gu MingYue wondered secretly, and because there was really nothing else to do, and the movements of the carriage would make reading difficult and dizzying, she decided to take a rest within the carriage. And even when the various carriages stopped and allowed the passengers to take a rest and allowed the men to socialize, as a woman, Gu MingYue could only stay within the carriage.
But it seemed like their carriage was nearer to the back, because of Mu JinYu’s personal status, hence when Mu JinYu left the carriage to socialize, the other nobles were all young and unranked like him.
In fact, the ones nearer to the front were all young men who managed to secure a position in the court, and further in front and around the group were military officers and guards of honor, while the Emperor’s imperial guard surrounded the center of the convoy, protecting the safety of the monarch diligently.
Hence, people like Mu JinYu, who was nearer to the end, were much more relaxed and comfortable than the noble sons moving by the monarch’s side.
In truth, not long after she finished observing the carriage’s interior, Gu MingYue had leaned her head against the cushioned walls and had fallen asleep, and all because Mu JinYu would stare at her with obscure eyes from time to time for no reason but determined to stay silent the whole time. His unreserved gaze almost made her feel as if she was being exposed from the inside out, hence she could only shut her eyes with a guilty conscience in order to escape his all-seeing glare.
Meanwhile, after getting rid of the curious warm sensation in his heart, Mu JinYu had focused his gaze on the beauty sitting opposite of him. After taking off the thick and ugly outer gown from before, it could be seen that she was dressed in a plain silk shirt with a sleeveless back and a high-waisted pomegranate-colored skirt. The skirt was held firmly around her slender waist with a pink silk ribbon, tied into a butterfly knot.
Her lustrous black hair was all tied up into a simple spiral bun on top of her head and being held steady only with a pink crystal hairpin. Her face was milky-white and her skin looked extremely smooth and tender, with cheeks stained with a natural blush. The thin gold earrings she wore dangled slightly with the swaying of the carriage ever so often.
After who knows how long, Mu JinYu let out an inaudible sigh, before reaching out a big warm hand towards her cheeks and caressed it tenderly, before going back and forth her face with his slightly chilled fingers, as if observing the curves and bends on her face intently.
Gu MingYue was somewhat nervous at his sudden actions, and could not figure out what was going on within his mind, as he had been strange the entire day.
She tried her best to relax her body and kept her eyes tightly shut, even keeping her breathing long and even, making it seem as if she was not yet awake.
“How are you falling asleep in this carriage, isn’t it swaying too much?” The man’s voice was low and gentle, as intoxicating as mellow wine. His interrogative sentence was soft, as if he did not expect Gu MingYue to wake up and answer him.
Meanwhile, Gu MingYue had been so nervous that she had genuinely fallen asleep while pretending to be so, hence, she had missed the scene where the man kissed her softly on the forehead, and the wonderful tsundere-like pretentious anger on his face.
Part 2, enjoy!
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