"Mom, please don't be like this. Dad and I don’t mean to divorce née Qin or cut her off. We’re just talking about the matter at hand, aren’t we? Nothing’s been done. It’s only natural for people to consider such things out of self interest, no? There is nothing hard to understand about that, right? Don’t you feel sorry for your grandson?" Née Yao's expression filled with helplessness and indignity.
Née Ma sniffed coldly. "I do. But I also know Dafu is a right and proper man who understands the ways of this world. He knows what can and cannot be done. I may not be as educated as the two of you, nor do I have the same ability for mind games, but I’m well aware that people should do no evil and have a clear conscience.
“Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before you face karma for your actions. I have nothing more to say if you can’t accept this. I know you think I’m crude and unrefined, so if you don't change your repulsive ways and continue to meddle in Dafu's household, don't blame me if I beat you to death!"
Chapter 499.2: Squabble (II)
Thoroughly scolded and humiliated, tears poured down née Yao's face as she sniffled and sobbed. Meanwhile, Yao Chenggu put down his pipe and knelt to prop the table upright.
"Alright, alright, let’s all of us settle down. Don’t we all have Dafu's best interests in mind? We’re just talking, there’s no twists or turns about this. All in all, if née Qin manages to return, she is still the princess consort. Even if Dafu takes a hundred concubines, none of them will ever rise above her."
White with fury, née Ma glared at Yao Chenggu, not knowing what to say.
"It’s normal for a man to have multiple concubines and bed warmers, no?” Yao Chenggu patted his wife on the shoulder to console her. “Don’t you wish for a few more grandchildren to spoil?"
"I do, but there’s a time and place for that! It would be normal for Dafu to marry other girls he fancies or if lass Yi arranged marriages for him. I don’t care about official or concubine-born children, any child of his will be my dear grandchild. But if you look upon the lass with disdain just because she was kidnapped, that’s betrayal!”
Née Yao and Yao Chenggu exchanged looks, silently agreeing to cease arguing with née Ma. The matriarch’s obstinance meant there was no getting through to her in certain matters. Furthermore, it was too early to elaborate upon the subject.
The two fell silent and listened to née Ma nag for half a day.
Meanwhile, Pang Xiao had raced to the Qin residence on horseback and was waiting in the front hall.
"Please wait momentarily, Your Highness. Milord is currently attending to the old dowager’s illness. This servant will send someone to inform milord of your visit and ask him to come meet you." The steward leading him around the estate bowed respectfully.
"Is your esteemed old dowager unwell?" Pang Xiao inquired with a hint of worry. "Has she seen a royal physician?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The old dowager has caught a cold, and a doctor has been by already."
Pang Xiao's brows knitted even closer together. He waved a hand, indicating for the steward to send in the messenger. Unlike young folks who could make a full recovery from a cold, the elderly had weak bodies. Someone of the old dowager’s age was a ripe melon waiting for the heavens to pluck her from the vines. Considering Qin Huaiyuan’s filial piety, it went without saying for him to attend to the old dowager on her sickbed.
Qin Yining's disappearance coinciding with the old dowager’s illness had taken a great toll on the minister. Pang Xiao couldn't help but feel even guiltier. He lowered his head to look at the note's contents again.
Perhaps Mu Jinghu had been worried that the note would fall into someone else's hands, for his words were rather vague. However, they got the main idea across: Qin Yining and Lu Heng had been captured by Siqin and they were alive. No further details were provided.
That simple statement had Pang Xiao’s worried thoughts spiraling down several possible outcomes. If Mu Jinghu was in Tatar, that meant the Soothsayer was as well. The priestess was a wily one who kept her cards close to her heart—there was no telling whether she would scheme against Qin Yining and Lu Heng or not.
Though Mu Jinghu didn't specify the circumstances of his encounter with Qin Yining, he was the Soothsayer’s bodyguard. According to Pang Xiao's understanding of the priestess, it was very likely she was currying favor with Siqin and residing in the Tatar royal palace.
Qin Yining and Lu Heng were held captive at the palace, so clearly Anari and Siqin wanted to use them to negotiate with Great Zhou.
However, Pang Xiao knew that Li Qitian's fear of him was growing. If the Tatars merely sought to use the two of them as blackmail, the emperor would never agree to any of their terms. He cared most about keeping up with appearances—how could he possibly allow barbarians to threaten him?
But Qin Yining was his life, as little as that mattered to others. Ever since he’d lost her, he felt like he’d lost his soul with her. Disobeying more than thirty royal decrees was grounds enough for an execution, but Li Qitian had seen how driven to distraction Pang Xiao was. Fearing that outsiders would criticize him for treating meritorious subjects harshly, Li Qitian opted to leave him alone.
How Pang Xiao wished he could sprout wings so he could fly directly to Tatar and bring Qin Yining back!
"You Highness." Just as Pang Xiao lost himself in thought, a girl called to him gently from the doorway.
Following the voice to its source, he was met with the sight of the eighth miss, Qin Baoning. Dressed in a pink cotton jacket and a matching eight-panel skirt, she walked up to him holding a black tray to serve him tea with a smile.
"Here is your tea, You Highness."
Pang Xiao didn't have much of an impression of Qin Yining's younger cousin. He didn't dislike her though, so he inclined his head in thanks. He didn't take the tea, nor did he strike up a conversation; he was evidently waiting for the eighth miss to put the tea down and make herself scarce.
Gingerly placing the tea set on the table, Qin Boaning hugged the black rectangular tray to herself and nervously lowered her head, her eyes flicking up shyly to steal a glance at Pang Xiao.
Perceptive as he was, Pang Xiao noticed something was off about her. However, he was preoccupied with thoughts of his darling's safety—he couldn't care less about what a little girl he barely knew was thinking, so he cut to the chase. "Do you have any other business here?"
Chapter 500.1: Treacherous Heart
"N-none at all. Brother-in-law, I-I'll be excusing myself then." The eighth miss curtsied, her earlobes bright red and face pale as a cloud. Lowering her head, she moved to make herself scarce.
Pang Xiao sniffed at the eighth miss' retreating form and cut to the chase. "Who sent you?"
The eighth miss stopped in her tracks and looked back in both alarm and embarrassment.
"It is impossible for the Qins to not have any maids around to serve tea. You, at the very least, are a Qin daughter. Whose idea was it for you to come to the front hall and wait upon me?"
Pang Xiao had yet to rein in his imposing aura—his temper was already volatile as of late, punctuated by a haggard appearance and hostility tinging his features. His chilling glare seemed as piercing as arrows, sharp enough to strike terror in even big, burly men, much less a little girl like the eighth miss.
She scrambled back until her back was pressing against the wall by the doorway and stammered, "It w-wasn't anyone's idea."
"Lies." Seeing how terrified she was, Pang Xiao didn't bother elaborating. "Whoever sent you clearly doesn’t know their place. Though you may be concubine-born, your senior uncle is still the Minister of Rites. This alone makes you eligible to be another man's official wife, yet the person ordering you to attend to trivial matters means to make you a concubine. You are no longer a child, so I shall offer some words of advice as your brother-in-law: don’t listen to just anyone from now on. You would be wise to think for yourself more."
Finished, Pang Xiao wav
ed his hand. "You are excused."
Not only was the eighth miss' face ruddy, but her eyes red as tears streamed down her cheeks. She turned to leave, only to immediately run into Qin Huaiyuan as soon as she reached the covered hallway. She had no idea how much her senior uncle had overheard of her encounter with Pang Xiao.
The eighth miss felt so ashamed that she couldn't bring herself to look up. She hastily curtsied with her head down as she addressed her senior uncle.
"Tell the old dowager she should focus on her health," Qin Huaiyuan remarked. "She will not overcome her illness if she continues meddling in the affairs of others."
The eighth miss nodded, her tears pouring even more freely. She ran away, sobbing.
Qin Huaiyuan had taken to dressing himself more simply than usual—his inky blue Taoist robes complemented his slim physique perfectly, accentuating his otherworldly elegance. When he was greeted by a slovenly Pang Xiao, he couldn't help but sigh. This period of time hadn’t been easy on the prince either.
"You've come."
"Father-in-law." Pang Xiao knelt before Qin Huaiyuan and raised a cupped fist salute.
Qin Huaiyuan sighed as he helped Pang Xiao to his feet. "We are family, so there’s no need for such formalities. Does your sudden visit imply there is news regarding my dear daughter?"
The minister’s wits were as sharp as ever.
Pang Xiao didn't beat around the bush, either. He passed the note to Qin Huaiyuan and replied, "This is a message from Sir Mu, Mu Jinghu. He is currently in Tatar, where he spotted Yining."
Qin Huaiyuan carefully reread the note several times, looking as if he was rearranging every written character to ensure he wasn’t seeing things. "Are you certain this is from Sir Mu?"
"Yes."
Qin Huaiyuan's shoulders instantly relaxed, the news of his daughter's safety assuaging his tense nerves. "This is good news indeed." He let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
Qin Yining was his only daughter. When he first learned of her disappearance, he’d been so frustrated at how he was unable to personally conduct a search. When Jingzhe returned with the others and briefed Qin Huaiyuan on what had happened in the cavern, he felt the situation grow ever bleaker. Now that he learned that Qin Yining had made her way to Tatar—what was there not to understand about what that entailed?
"It appears the Tatars infiltrated Great Zhou to find the treasure and had been tailing you for quite some time."
"Indeed, father-in-law. It was my carelessness that allowed this to happen. If I had taken care to set up the necessary precautions, I wouldn’t have been so oblivious to their presence that I didn’t even realize they were here." Pang Xiao was torn with regret—if he had the chance to do things all over again, he would have rather disobeyed orders than bring Qin Yining with him.
Qin Huaiyuan smiled as he consoled Pang Xiao. "You’re not the one at fault. How could you rush to take action with His Majesty setting up troops around the old capital? What's more, the disaster zone was in a dire state. The people lacked access to medical care and government aid didn’t arrive in a timely fashion. You also had to deal with the possibility of riots at any given time. You had so much to consider that you couldn’t have anticipated this turn of events."
Qin Huaiyuan described the situation completely, but at the end of the day, Pang Xiao still couldn’t forgive himself for losing his wife. The minister reached out to clap the prince on the shoulder. "Don’t shoulder all the blame for what’s happened."
Pang Xiao's heart clenched and swelled, his eyes reddening. He would’ve preferred it if Qin Huaiyuan beat him within an inch of his life and yelled at him. The more understanding the man was, the more his guilty conscience gnawed at him.
Qin Huaiyuan shook his head with a sigh, "Alright. Since you and my daughter are married and you call me your father-in-law, I consider you my son.
"If I’m to be completely honest, even if the worst were to happen to my daughter, you’re still half my son. That is the indisputable truth. If I were to lose my daughter, I cannot go on to lose my son. Wouldn’t that be a terrible loss for an old man like me? Even if you remarry, you would have to continue calling me your father-in-law, regardless.
"Fortunately, we can rejoice over the fact that darling Yi is well, so you shouldn’t blame yourself any longer. What happened to her was not your fault to begin with. Our priority now is to discuss how to ensure her safety going forward."
Chapter 500.2: Treacherous Heart
Pang Xiao was so moved by the words that it took a long while and a great deal of effort to calm his tumultuous emotions.
“It seems the Tatars pinpointed the treasure's location a long time ago. I'm afraid my darling’s kidnapping was just collateral damage. The situation in the cavern was complicated: Siqin suddenly arrived at the scene with his men, and seeing the key players were all present, he decided to nab them all in one fell swoop. We still don’t know what became of the Azure Justice. However, I would presume what happened to those who were captured wasn’t pleasant."
Qin Huaiyuan nodded. "I agree. Considering the allure of the treasure, it’s impossible for the Tatars to not take any interest in its whereabouts after almost four months.
"If they weren paying this much attention to the treasure, they will definitely seek to use my darling and Lu Second Master as bargaining chips." Pang Xiao surmised with a note of worry. "My circumstances are rather tense right now, though. His Majesty has yet to set a punishment for me defying thirty-odd royal decrees, and I’ve offended quite a few people during this time out of stress. I only fear His Majesty doesn’t care about whether my darling lives or not."
"The most important matter at hand is that the Lu patriarch has been extremely ill of late, and the change in guard at the Lu clan is at a critical stage. I worry the Lus will elect to abandon their second master." Qin Huaiyuan stood to pace, hands clasped behind his back. "My daughter is a woman, so I assume anyone outside of family considers her as a piece of furniture. Even if the Tatars succeed in negotiating terms, they would focus on the Lus. If they can’t procure the treasure, they can still obtain ransom money or other benefits. If even the Lu clan gives up, I fear that would place my daughter at an even greater disadvantage."
"Highness! Your Highness!" Just then, Huzi ran inside and shoved a messenger pigeon at Pang Xiao. "Look, this is from Sir Mu."
Pang Xiao sprang to his feet and removed the small roll of paper from the pigeon's leg. He hastily unrolled the note and was met with three words: Khan killed. Escape.
"Father-in-law." Pang Xiao passed the note to Qin Huaiyuan, brows pinched.
The elderly man looked at the message and muttered, "What is the meaning of this? The khan has been killed? No… can it be?"
"Who’s killed the khan and escaped after the deed? My darling?”
"It must be, or Sir Mu wouldn’t have sent you this message. My daughter isn’t one to act recklessly, so she must’ve had a reason for killing the khan. However, her consort Siqin has most certainly filled the power vacuum she left behind. Someone as cruel as him is sure to magnify her assassination." Qin Huaiyuan could already envision what Siqin planned to do—he had gathered substantial intel regarding the khan's consort, so he had some notion of the man’s ambitious nature.
"Things aren’t looking good if they continue like this. Whether my daughter truly killed the khan or not, this news comes from Sir Mu, so everyone in Tatar must already think her to be the killer. The way I see it, Siqin will surely use this as a pretext to take the throne for himself before planning his next move. Perhaps the assassination was all according to Siqin's plans," Qin Huaiyuan surmised.
Pang Xiao nodded in agreement. Father and son-in-law both fell deep into contemplation and worry.
If news of Qin Yining assassinating the khan had already spread throughout Tatar, that meant regardless of the terms Siqin wished for Great Zhou to comply with, Qin Yining was most definitely in danger. The two men shared a look, then threw themselves into disc
ussing the many possible outcomes and solutions.
Meanwhile, Qin Yining had recovered significantly from her injuries and remained hidden among the Minuo tribe, along with Lu Heng.
Over the past few days of getting acquainted with the Minuo, she came to see that they were warm-hearted, kind, and honest. Brothers Harbhara and Caganbhara, for example, both had a shrewd streak about them since they’d been exposed to politics as the sons of the former chief. However, they went about whatever they set their minds to in a straightforward manner. It was clear they didn’t possess a rotten core.
Anari had refrained from killing them because of their unique status and young age. It had been better to keep them around as punching bags and scapegoats. However, the humiliation they’d endured and their hatred of their parents' killer were deeply ingrained in their hearts.
They were also people of their word—they had sworn whoever avenged their chief and people would be their next leader. Thus, even if Harbhara and Caganbar weren’t entirely happy with the appointment of Lu Heng and Qin Yining, they went through with it all the same. They especially held Qin Yining in high regard.
After days of searching, Siqin had nothing to show for turning the entire city of Khanbaliq inside out. Busy with solidifying his hold on the throne, he could only send subordinates to supervise the search. Despite combing through every nook and cranny, they found no trace of the ‘murderers’.
When the situation returned to the forefront of his mind, he considered his options with furrowed brows. "Search again. Pay close attention to tribes that were wiped out by the late khan such as the Minuo tribe. They hold a grudge against her, so it is highly likely that they are working with the killers.
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