She didn’t actually want to take Bingtang and Songlan with her, but they’d been adamant about it. Songlan had sworn up and down that she would drown herself if she was left behind, and Bingtang had gone silent and steely-eyed as she’d gathered her poisons, ready to go down with the trampress in a fiery blaze. Qin Yining couldn’t convince them no matter what she said, so she ended up taking them with her.
The carriages swayed as the entourage slowly set off. Née Sun pulled Jin-mama with her and took two steps forward. She drew a shaky breath, and called out loudly, her voice still choked up, “Daughter Yi, you come back, do you hear?! I’ll be waiting for you to come back!”
Qin Yining’s firmly suppressed sorrow at parting came rushing to the fore with her mother’s words. She screwed her eyes tightly shut and tilted her head back as she tried to will her tears away.
Née Sun sobbed soundlessly as she watched the retinue vanish into the distance. “The child’s only come back for two months. I haven’t even started treating her well yet!”
Hardships were the true test of relationships. Née Sun no longer suspected Qin Yining anymore and could also tell who treated her with sincerity in this household. Qin Yining was a genuinely filial girl and had thought only for her mother. But in return, née Sun hadn’t taken care of the child even when she had the ability to. At that moment, the madame truly regretted her actions over the past two months.
Jin-mama, the third and eighth miss were all trying to comfort née Sun.
“The fourth miss will surely return safely. Don’t worry, madame.”
“Indeed, senior aunt. Fourth sister has courage and wits. Surely she’ll return safely.”
The old dowager wasn’t feeling well about this entire matter either. On that carriage was a beautiful girl, a child with a personality and looks so similar to that of her most beloved son. But such were the times they were in. There was nothing they could do but accept fate’s ham-fisted grip.
“Let’s go back.” The old dowager sighed. But just as the words escaped her mouth, scattered and urgent hoof steps traveled in from the distance.
Everyone turned back questioningly, and was greeted by the sight of the crown prince, garbed in light purple and a cape with a white fox fur collar, riding hard towards them on the back of a fast horse. He was trailed by a group of panting eunuchs wearing gray cotton uniforms.
Weichi Yan didn’t dismount, only asking hurriedly, “Where’s the fourth miss? Is she already gone?”
He didn’t ask about his tutor, Qin Huaiyuan, but was concerned only with Qin Yining. Who would still be oblivious to the crown prince’s thoughts now? If it wasn’t for this imperial decree, they could’ve had a crown princess consort and a potential future empress!
It felt like knives were slicing themselves across the old dowager’s heart when she thought of all this. Regret dyed her tone as she shook her head slowly. “Gone, she’s gone.”
“Gone?!” Weichi Yan’s heart skipped a beat. Did she take her own life because she wasn’t willing to suffer humiliation?
The second madame quickly piped up when she saw the crown prince’s face suddenly drain of all color. “Your Highness, the fourth miss and Grand Preceptor Qin have just started their journey. You still have time to catch up to them if you ride fast.”
Weichi Yan came back alive at those words, color returning to his pallid face. He nodded sharply to the second madame and old dowager and whipped his horse in hot pursuit without another word.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Oh my goodness.” The eunuchs tore off in mad chase.
The retinue had taken a large road away from the crowds. On the other hand, Weichi Yan hadn’t picked his path carefully in his haste. He made his way straight through the market and so naturally didn’t meet up with them. When he reached the northern city gate and saw that the carriages hadn’t arrived yet, he wanted to double back to find them. One of his eunuchs, panting heavily, acted as a voice of reason. “What if you choose the wrong path again, Your Highness? Why not wait on a path outside the city that they’re sure to take?”
Weichi Yan smacked his forehead and heaved a long sigh. “I’ve completely lost my wits in my panic.” Calming himself down, he chose to wait in a copse of trees about twenty miles out from the city.
Within that same copse, Pang Xiao was perched up in the branches of a large tree with Huzi, the two munching on buns. They slowly stilled when they heard footsteps draw near.
“Master, it seems that someone’s coming here.” Huzi muttered.
“Mm.” Pang Xiao shoved the last bit of his bun into his mouth, popping his cheeks out as he swallowed slowly.
Huzi also finished off his bun and rose to look in the direction of the road. He whispered back, “It looks like they’re here to send the group off. Judging from their outfit and those followers, it should be the crown prince of Great Yan.”
“Mm.” Pang Xiao leisurely tightened the fine cotton cloak around him. He clearly couldn’t be bothered with more words.
Huzi rolled his eyes privately at his master. You turn into a scoundrel whenever you see the Qin miss, but you can’t be bothered with more than a word for me? The difference in this treatment is too much! He sat down next to the prince. “Master, should we take advantage of this to kill him?”
“Do you serve the Great Yan emperor?” Pang Xiao arched a brow.
Huzi blinked and shook his head dumbly. “No.”
“Then why are you helping that scum?”
Even though the Great Yan emperor had only one heir, he was still wary of his own son. He wasn’t willing to admit that the years had caught up to him and refused to vacate the position he was occupying. In fact, he wished desperately his son would die so there would be one less threat to his imperial throne.
“Leave him.” Pang Xiao closed his eyes lazily.
“But then we don’t need to wait here. With the speed of their carriage, they’ll reach Xihua in two days no matter how slow they’re traveling. What can happen in two days?”
Pang Xiao closed his eyes as if he hadn’t heard anything. Huzi knew that he was being thoroughly ignored again and could only squat on the branches and pick at the tree bark for entertainment.
The sound of carriages rattling on the road sounded before long. Pang Xiao’s eyes flew open, but he remained absolutely still, concentrating to listen to what was going on.
Weichi Yan immediately steered his horse forward when he saw the retinue approach.
“Halt!” The accompanying one hundred soldiers and fifty guards dismounted and bowed when they saw the crown prince. Someone ran back quickly to report, “Sir, the crown prince is here.”
Weichi Yan snapped his reins and steered his horse to the side of Qin Huaiyuan’s carriage. He raised his hands. “Grand Preceptor Qin.”
“Your Highness.” Qin Huaiyuan alighted and returned the gesture with a slight smile. He wanted to exchange some pleasantries, but the crown prince quickly interrupted him.
“Grand Preceptor Qin, I have some words for the fourth miss. I hope you’ll allow me to delay the convoy for a bit.”
Qin Huaiyuan blinked and then looked at the carriage behind them. The door was pushed open, and Qin Yining looked blankly out, wrapped warmly in a white rabbit fur collar cloak.
When Weichi Yan’s eyes met with Qin Yining’s, his heartbeat sped out of control as he dismounted and sped unconsciously towards her.
“Fourth Miss, I’m so glad I caught you! Don’t worry, no matter what happens, I’ll request an imperial decree from my royal father as long as you come back! I swear that only you can sit in the crown princess consort seat!”
Qin Yining’s mouth was agape as she looked at Weichi Yan. He looked ardently back at her. Everyone had fallen silent in the wake of such a declaration. Within the trees, Pang Xiao snorted softly, his face now thunderous. Huzi scrambled away from his master as quickly and silently as he could, almost falling from the tree in his haste. Aiya! My master is too scary when he’s angry!
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Chapter 108: Protection
Chapter 108: Protection
Qin Yining blinked a few times, spending quite a few moments before she digested the meaning behind Weichi Yan’s words. She was a bit moved, but was even more surprised and thoughtful. She wasn’t that familiar with Weichi Yan, but his actions would make others think that they’d already exchanged unending vows of love. If he really wanted to share those words with her, why say them in front of so many people? If he was afraid that she’d take her life because she couldn’t endure the humiliation, why not tell her surreptitiously to give her the hope to live on?
The officials from the Ministry of Rites as well as the emperor’s hundred soldiers and fifty guards were all present today. There were naturally many people from different factions arranged in the convoy as well. Weichi Yan was publicly tying her to his ship and planting Qin Huaiyuan firmly on his side. He was thinking of her reputation at all and in fact wanted everyone to misunderstand that she and the crown prince had illicit relations and privately committed themselves to each other.
Qin Yining admitted that she was being far too cynical. But she was an official daughter of the grand preceptor. She couldn’t just fling herself headlong into a relationship without thought of the political situation. If Weichi Yan was the son of an ordinary family, she’d think that he was just expressing his honest feelings.
But he was the crown prince.
And the crown prince was in a precarious position these days.
The crown prince was also very close to the Prince of Ning.
When the Prince of Ning had carried off Bingtang and she fell for their plot to rescue the maid, that had forced the Duke of Ding and her father into the Prince of Ning’s camp. That was how the Prince of Ning had successfully censured then Grand Preceptor Cao and how her families had offended the Caos. This was why the trampress made moves against them at every possible opportunity. This had caused the death of Sun Yuanming, the destruction of the Suns and robbing support from so many women, as well as indirectly causing her mother’s troubles in the Qin Manor.
This series of interconnected reactions were all a result of schemes from the Prince of Ning and the crown prince’s faction. She’d really naively thought she was saving someone that day, but reality had given her a harsh lesson and her gift was the blood of the Suns.
With these experiences, Qin Yining was no longer a young girl with her brains full of love. She smiled slightly and took Bingtang and Songlan’s hand when alighting from the carriage. She took two steps backwards and spoke crisply, “Please be mindful, Your Highness. Matters of marriage have always been decided by parents and matchmakers. Your Highness’ actions are inappropriate.”
Weichi Yan paused and his pale face rapidly flushed red. He took two quick strides to Qin Yining and reached out for her hand.
“Fourth Miss, you’ve misunderstood. I…”
Slap! His hand caught one of her hands but was immediately slapped away by her other hand, leaving a red welt behind.
Qin Yining frowned and spoke coldly, “Your Highness, there should be a distance kept between men and women! Although others create fanciful, dirty lies about my acceptance of the imperial decree to join the peace talks, that’s all because I’m willing to make this sacrifice for my country! Your Highness’ frivolous actions in front of the group today is a complete disregard of my reputation!”
Weichi Yan looked dumbly at his hand and then at the crowd more than hundred strong around him, then turned to the frowning Qin Huaiyuan. Some parts of his simple mind were finally making the connections!
He thought of how the Prince of Ning had persuaded his father to unground him last night, and then had come to him first thing this morning to urge him to quickly chase down the Qin miss. Some foggy notions were beginning to form in his mind. Weichi Yan felt that he’d been used, but he didn’t know the exact details yet. He only knew that his confession of love hadn’t been answered with Qin Yining’s emotional tears or moving pledge to him. Instead, it’d been interpreted as a frivolous action in public and debasing her.
That was true! She wasn’t a brothel worker, she was a noble daughter. When it came to relationships, it would be illicit relations even if he mentioned all this between only the two of them. Not to mention that he announced it openly like this and gone to grab her hand…
Weichi Yan was the epitome of regret as his face flushed beet red.
“The days are cold. Your Highness must be busy with official matters. Please return to the palace.” Qin Yining bent her knee to curtsey and returned to the carriage, leaving the crown prince stunned where he was, looking dumbly at her pretty figure.
Qin Huaiyuan had observed everything from the side and naturally understood his daughter’s concerns. He had an even deeper understanding of her intellect from what had just happened. When she’d plotted against others in the manor before, that displayed only her wits and methods. What she did now truly showcased her political sensitivity and acumen. She had rejected the crown prince so severely not only to protect her own reputation, but also to indicate to others that he was stoutly loyal to the emperor. That even though he was the Grand Preceptor to the Heir Apparent, he hadn’t become a blade in anyone else’s hand.
She was an unmarried girl, so her censure and rejection of the crown prince’s thoughtless actions in broad daylight were completely justified. She’d also said that marriage was up to the parents, so that also left room for the Qins to maneuver for a possible marriage to the crown prince.
“Your Highness, the auspicious hour cannot be delayed. We must be on our way again.” Qin Huaiyuan bowed with a slight smile. His attitude and courtesies were the same as usual, giving no hints as to what he was really thinking.
“Grand Preceptor, I…” Weichi Yan was so anxious that beads of sweat had popped out on his forehead.
“There’s no need for further words, Your Highness. This subject understands all.”
Understand what?! I’m worried you understand the wrong thing! Weichi Yan cried out in his heart as his lips moved, unsure of what he should say.
Up in the branches, Pang Xiao relaxed and closed his eyes to rest. Once Qin Huaiyuan had gone through all proper courtesies with Weichi Yan, the grand preceptor climbed into the carriage again and gave orders for the convoy to set off.
The convoy moved off slowly, with Weichi Yan and the eunuchs sending them off to the side. It took the crown prince a long time to come back to his senses. He climbed listlessly into the saddle with none of the high spirits he’d come riding up with. The eunuchs following him tried to guess their master’s mood from his expression.
“Your Highness, that Qin chit is simply too blind and ignorant! How dare she be so arrogant when someone as dashing as Your Highness still wants a sullied woman like her! Your Highness, how about…”
“Move!” Weichi Yan cracked his whip over and ordered angrily, “To the Prince of Ning’s manor!”
The eunuch realized to his horror that this bit of flattery had been aimed in the completely wrong direction. He didn’t dare say anything and bowed in acknowledgement, leading the eunuchs in tailing the crown prince back to the city.
Peace slowly reconvened back on the road. Pang Xiao opened his eyes and landed lightly on the ground, Huzi close behind him.
“Master, that crown prince really does like the Qin fourth miss.”
“He does, but he really go about things brainlessly.” Pang Xiao walked further into the copse of trees to where their horses were tied.
The guard was surprised that Pang Xiao had responded and quickly followed up. “Master, although the crown prince didn’t consider the fourth miss’ reputation with his public actions, it was a display of honest emotion.”
“The hand in the shadows was making use of precisely that. He was sold and turned around to count money for the one who sold him. It’s not a bad thing to keep this
kind of corn prince around.”
“Master, I don’t understand.”
“Didn’t he say to head for the Ning Manor?” Pang Xiao had reached the horses and were untying the reins. “The crown prince was ungrounded only last night. He spent the entire new year reflecting in the Eastern Palace. He rushed here as soon as he regained his freedom and did this idiotic thing. Now he’s gone back to find the Prince of Ning. Do you still not get it?”
Huzi blinked before he gave a long “ohhhh”.
“It’s that Prince of Ning again! He wants to recruit Qin Huaiyuan still! Aiya, last time he tried, all of the Sun males lost their heads. This time, tsk tsk. Thank goodness the fourth miss knew the importance of her reputation and avoided the entire mess.”
“She’s a smart one.” Pang Xiao caressed the gleaming black fur of his treasured horse. What a waste of my nervous sweat just now.
“Master, do you mean that the fourth miss did that on purpose just now?”
“Let’s go.”
“Eh, master, you haven’t answered me yet.”
Pang Xiao had nothing more to say. Huzi pouted with dejection and followed Pang Xiao in leading their horses to the road.
“It’s just us two,” he muttered. “What can we do even if the Tatars do show up? Besides, their convoy has at least a hundred fifty men. The Tatars number thirty at most. They won’t kill the entire retinue.”
Pang Xiao arched an eyebrow at Huzi and tugged out a black leather necklace from his collar. There was an exquisitely carved, red jade whistle in the shape of a tiger’s stripes.
“You’re going to summon the Elite Tigers?” Huzi was greatly taken aback. Pang Xiao answered with blowing on the whistle. A high, desolate hawk’s cry soared through the skies.
A short while later, ten extremely fit men came thundering down the road on horseback from the capital’s direction. They were all just over twenty, tall, and stocky. They rippled with vitality, making it obvious at a glance that they possessed great martial skill. When they saw Pang Xiao sitting commandingly atop his black horse, they jumped down in unison and went one knee to the ground.
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