Lu Heng knew her heart was claimed by another, and he himself had held back because she was married. But though he could control himself to not set a toe over the line of friendship, he couldn’t prevent his feelings from slowly deepening.
As fugitives, she never once muttered a word of complaint despite the bleak harshness of their difficulties. Her heartfelt stubbornness had never once wavered when she faced Anari’s spite and verbal abuse. Even when injured, even when facing death, she’d never once cowered.
And now, her faith yet remained strong when the crowd once again raised their concerns in traversing the desert.
Uncontrollably, his heart flitted ever closer to her. It would be a happy memory to be friends, even if they were never more than just that.
When Qin Yining found the medicine, she turned back and happened to catch Lu Heng’s overly gentle gaze, highlighted by the orange-red flames of the bonfire. Her thoughts on a proper path, she didn’t think much of it and smiled.
“I found it. I’ll go scoop up some clean snow and melt it to brew your medicine. Don’t worry, since we’re taking a break to regroup, you can take advantage of this time to rest with peace of mind.”
Lu Heng nodded smilingly. “I’ll do everything you say, thank you for going to the trouble.”
“There’s no need to be so polite,” Qin Yining dimpled. “We’re friends that have gone through life and death together. I haven’t even thanked you for saving my life. If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve already settled on your partnership with Siqin and wouldn’t be in these straits right now.”
Lu Heng shook his head. “Don’t think like that. I hadn’t actually talked any concrete terms with him. Though we’re deep behind enemy lines, I know where my roots are. How can I possibly give him any major concessions? I used ambiguous language to hold his interest, making so that he wouldn’t touch me for now out of hope for a potential deal. As for him making use of Anari’s death like this, neither you nor I thought of this possibility.”
“Who would’ve had the same idea as a wife-murdering aberration? Siqin will be visited with karma sooner or later. He might be proud of himself now, but I quite look forward to when he falls from grace.”
“Indeed. I also believe that he’s not necessarily the prince’s match in the battlefield, and he’ll have no hope of victory at all if Prince Consort Ji is in the mix.”
Longing surged like the floodwaters when the conversation mentioned Pang Xiao, but Qin Yining never allowed such things to make her weak. She had to grin and bear it. All this would pass, and she would see her husband soon again. She knew that he and her father must be thinking of ways to save her, that her family wouldn’t give up on her.
She wasn’t wrong, but Pang Xiao and Qin Huaiyuan had run into some trouble.
Chapter 505.2: Denouncement
After Siqin took the throne, he sent official correspondence to Great Zhou and hotly demanded the reasons behind Li Qitian sending people to assassinate Anari, as well as declaring that blood would be answered by blood.
The letter so infuriated the Great Zhou emperor that he flung it to the floor and summoned the bedridden Patriarch Lu, Qin Huaiyuan, and Pang Xiao.
“Look at the fine grandson and daughter the two of you have raised! They ran off to Tatar to assassinate their khan! Beloved subject Lu, you are one of Our most experienced subjects. We trust you and the Lus so much, and suspected you not one iota even when Lu Heng schemed to lay claim to the treasure himself. Just look at what your precious grandson’s done now!
“Would he have been captured if he didn’t covet the treasure?! And he doesn’t even know to keep his place after being taken. He assassinates Anari before Our ambassador can negotiate with them! Does he think Great Zhou is too stable and at peace??
“Beloved subject Qin, look at that wonderful daughter of yours. It is indeed pitiable that she was kidnapped, but she can’t go about raising storms and kicking up a fuss in Tatar! A woman’s place is to sit quietly and wait for rescue, but she borrowed a lion’s heart and killed her captors’ ruler!
“She is such a blasted troublemaker, we don’t even dare contemplate how lacking in her womanly virtues she must be!” With that last censure, Li Qitian smashed the teapot that’d been sitting on the study table.
The porcelain shattered with piercing loudness, frightening the eunuchs in the study to their knees—Li Guanwen included. Their foreheads touched the ground in mute reaction, ignoring the fact that they might be cut by broken porcelain.
Patriarch Lu was also on his knees and panting heavily, shaking all over from emotion. However, no one knew if it was out of discomfort from an illness beyond recovery, out of anger from that unfilial Lu Heng, or indignation from Li Qitian’s words.
Qin Huaiyuan struck a prim and proper posture on the ground, head down and eyes on the floor in carefree leisure. No one could tell what he was thinking, but no one thought that he felt the slightest bit of guilt.
Pang Xiao’s back was ramrod straight, his head high and eyes on a straight course to the table next to Li Qitian. Two high stacks of petitions were the object of his focus, and no one knew what the silent prince was thinking about either.
The treasure was lost, the nation’s coffers were empty, and Tatar’s new khan would very likely use current events as a pretext for war. Such a mess of circumstances irked the hell out of Li Qitian like none either.
He’d thought that with a display of temper, Pang Xiao, Qin Huaiyuan, and Patriarch Lu would be sure to kowtow and admit to their faults. He’d be able to take a step back and have the three of them take care of the issue. Whether it was contributing money or ideas, at least someone else would shoulder the burden for him. But none of them were picking up the line of conversation!
Surreptitiously grinding his teeth, Li Qitian cursed inwardly and struggled more to keep his temper under wraps. What a bunch of wily foxes!
“We truly regret having agreed to beloved subject Qin’s request, knowing full well that the Faithful Prince of the First Rank disliked née Qin! Look at what that plague of a woman’s brought upon us all! Assassinating the Tatar khan, inciting war between two nations. Who knows how many innocent citizens on the border will die if war truly breaks out! This is all née Qin’s fault! Beloved subject Qin, you say what should be done!”
The emperor’s voice rose in pitch until it was almost shaking dust down from the rafters. Qin Huaiyuan remained his cool, unruffled self, but Pang Xiao shot to his feet.
“Your Majesty!” he rumbled. The prince had lost a great deal of weight during this time and looked quite the degenerate with a face full of beard stubble. The cold glint in his phoenix-shaped eyes couldn’t be concealed, neither could how handsome his increasingly angular face was. When combined with his deeply resonant voice, his sudden motion made everyone in the study jump.
Likewise startled by the sudden address, Li Qitian flew into a rage. “Pang Xiao, are you looking to rebel?!”
Hands balled into fists, the prince looked Li Qitian evenly in the eyes. “Please choose your words carefully, Your Majesty! You know just as well as I why née Qin was captured! No one present is a fool, and no one is a traitor, including my wife. She’s also an innocent victim!
“How many of the imperial court’s holes has she filled throughout the course of disaster relief? How many lives has she saved? If it hadn’t been for her silver and father-in-law helping, that would’ve been the site for rebellion long ago! Would Your Majesty have the silver to put down a rebellion if that had happened? Has Your Majesty forgotten all of her achievements!
“Not to mention, are we to believe everything Siqin says when it comes to the assassination? Without personal inspection, we can’t confirm that our people killed Anari. Siqin is cunning and shrewd, and he lacks not for schemes. He’s also hotly ambitious—his thirst for power is why he spent so many years suffering by Anari’s side.
“He gained her favor first as a nameless soldier, then became prince consort, then helped her
coup, and finally killed her in the end. To be frank, Anari is just a launching step for Siqin to take the throne himself, she was just a pawn. Your Majesty must be aware of such a simple logic, so why speak such unreasonable words in a fit of anger!”
Chapter 506.1: Chiming in One After Another
“You!” Li Qitian was robbed of his breath by the prince’s rejoinder. Though these were obvious truths that he knew deep within, they made him look like a tantruming brat when Pang Xiao put it that way.
His dignity as an emperor had been violated! Li Qitian strode forward angrily and grabbed Pang Xiao by the collar, leaning in to snarl next to the prince’s ear, “Pang Xiao, are you rebelling?!”
This prince looked at Li Qitian calmly and responded in a deep voice, “If this subject had such intentions, would I be in a position of being a scapegoat for my wife being kidnapped?”
“What do you mean by that?!” Li Qitian glared hotly, venom spewing out of his eyes. Pang Xiao was clearly saying that if he harbored mutinuous intentions, he’d be the one sitting on the throne!
This was a truly insubordinate remark, and to add insult to injury, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that it was the truth. All of the eunuchs and two old officials in the study had heard him loud and clear as well. This was a blatant slap across the face!
Li Qitian flushed beet red with anger. Hands that were crushing Pang Xiao's collar trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word for a very long time.
“Eldest brother, you and I are sworn brothers. Would you not know what I’m thinking of?” Pang Xiao’s tones took a sad turn. “I could overlook my father’s murder and accept née Qin simply because I do love her. If I didn’t love her, why would I accept an enemy’s daughter into the family and address an enemy as my father-in-law?
“It’s all in the past and I don’t want to dwell on it anymore either. We’ve been through hell and high water all these years and have finally found some peace. I too want to live a quiet life, but my wife was snatched from my arms just after our wedding. And now, out of the blue, that mutt Siqin is accusing née Qin of murdering Anari!
“That’s just what he says, are we to accept it as incontrovertible evidence? Well I don’t, and I don’t believe it!” Pang Xiao looked like a child who’d been driven into a corner by his bully. He slumped to the ground with reddened eyes and looked like he was about to cry.
Li Qitian was baffled by the sight and at a loss of what to do.
This ruthlessly domineering man known as a ‘violent demon’, slayer of countless enemies on the battlefield, was now a helpless child. The emperor didn’t know how to react to the stark contrast. If he continued to blame Pang Xiao while the prince was in this state, then he would appear a heartless ruler.
Pang Xiao’s weakness at this moment shocked even Li Guanwen and the rest kowtowing on the ground. So it would seem that even the most valiant of heroes will fall to a beauty’s allure in the end! Even someone as tyrannical as the Faithful Prince of the First Rank would find himself in circumstances in which his valor didn’t win out.
Qin Huaiyuan glanced at his aggrieved son-in-law out of the corner of his eye, then flicked a glance at Li Qitian. Amusement crept into his heart, but the expression on his face remained clear of expression.
Such was Pang Xiao’s modus operandi. Sometimes he’d throw his weight around like the most uncivilized barbarian and even swear in front of Li Qitian. If he decided to defy an imperial decree, there was no changing his mind. Other times, he would show the most tender side of his vulnerabilities, particularly when Li Qitian was irked to the point of wanting to kill someone. Thus arousing pity in others, Li Qitian wouldn’t be able to punish him then, out of consideration for his own reputation. Such flexibility carved him the greatest space to maximize his gains.
Qin Huaiyuan kowtowed at an impeccable timing, then offered earnestly, “Your Majesty, please quell your anger. The Faithful Prince of the First Rank spoke rashly only due to his heightened temper from all his worries as of late. Please overlook his tantrum for the sake of his devotion toward his wife.”
Li Qitian seethed through clenched teeth. Tantrum? The man was in his twenties; commoners his age were the father of multiple children already. This was supposed to be the fretting of a child??
But if he were to hold Pang Xiao accountable for this, then wouldn’t that make him someone who argued with a child? If he did that, his subjects would surely perceive him as immature as well.
In any case, Li Qitian had also calmed down after losing his temper.
Since he was a noble and wise emperor, he couldn’t ignore his reputation and take Pang Xiao to account for this. Moreover, the Tatars intentions to invade the south were more than obvious. There was no telling when he might need Pang Xiao to go into battle.
Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu were valuable assets of the Great Zhou court, and he felt far more confident with the two generals by his side. Factions abounded in his enormous court, while the imperial treasury sat empty. Lacking the Great Yan treasure, how was he to continue occupying the throne if he didn’t even have at least a capable general to fight Siqin?
Furthermore, even if the sight of Pang Xiao irritated him to the point of wanting the prince’s death, his intentions couldn’t be obvious on the surface. He’d run the risk being judged for murdering a meritorious official. There were many ways he could take Pang Xiao’s life, so it would only be wise to strike when no one knew it.
With this in mind, Li Qitian put his arms around Pang Xiao and helped the prince up. He then turned to Qin Huaiyuan and Patriarch Lu. “You may all rise, We acted too much in haste just now. Li Guanwen, fetch some chairs.”
“Understood.” The servants quickly moved forward in an orderly fashion to arrange the chairs, then helped the trembling Patriarch Lu to his seat. Pang Xiao took the first seat. He had his head lowered and was lost in thought.
Chapter 506.2: Chiming in One After Another
Li Qitian continued, “Regardless of whether there truly was an assassination, the information spread by Siqin is already quite detrimental to Great Zhou when it comes to public opinion. Thus, We think that Siqin has another ulterior motive.”
“Your Majesty is noble and wise.” Qin Huaiyuan stood up and bowed. “In this old subject’s humble opinion, the Faithful Prince of the First Rank’s analysis from earlier makes sense. Siqin might be shifting a disaster elsewhere and leveraging this to stir up conflict. His ambitions are not limited to Tatar.”
Li Qitian nodded and recalled Siqin’s journey to the top. The new Tatar ruler had climbed to his current position through various schemes. He’d used Anari as a springboard to bound to a high position, then rid himself of her in the end so that he alone would be on the throne.
Perhaps Lu Heng and Qin Yining just had the most unfortunate timing of being scapegoats. Even if the two of them hadn’t been captured, Siqin might have had some other ways to frame Great Zhou and stir up trouble from there.
War was a perfect excuse. Why, all of the evil deeds had been committed by others! Not only did he become khan in the end, he also earned a sterling reputation for loving his wife.
Even Li Qitian had to admit that this man was highly shrewd.
“Well then, beloved subject Qin, what is the next course of action?” Li Qitian looked to Qin Huaiyuan for answers.
Qin Huaiyuan lowered his gaze and thought for a while before speaking, “No matter who murdered Anari, Siqin is ready to throw the dirty water at us. This old subject thinks that it’s now time for us to prepare for Siqin’s next steps. I agree with the Faithful Prince of the First Rank that he might seize the opportunity to invade south. With two war gods in Great Zhou, there is naturally nothing to fear about Siqin. Yet, this old subject knows that Your Majesty dearly loves the people.”
Li Qitian instantly nodded, Qin Huaiyuan’s words spoke to his heart. Not only was he worried about the people, but more importantly, the nation was too poor to meet their enemies!
Though Great Zh
ou was glorious on the outside, it was quite hollowed out on the inside. Money was required to mobilize an army and fund rations to keep it going. Where could he possibly find the silver to do that? He wouldn’t have to worry if they’d found the treasure, but no one knew its whereabouts anymore.
Li Qitian’s mind was so occupied by both the treasure and potential war that he momentarily pushed Lu Heng and Qin Yining to the back of his head. He pulled Qin Huaiyuan, Patriarch Lu and Pang Xiao into a long discussion, only releasing them when it was very late into the night. When they left, he immediately gave an order to Li Guanwen, “Go summon Prince Consort Ji into the palace.”
Nowadays, Ji Zeyu was Li Qitian’s most trusted person.
Outside the palace gate, Patriarch Lu was being lifted into a carriage. Qin Huaiyuan and Pang Xiao respectfully saw Patriarch Lu’s vehicle off before heading to their own respective carriages.
Pang Xiao seized the opportunity to whisper, “Father-in-law, we have to find a way to save my darling. From what I see, His Majesty is very likely to shift all the blame to her and Lu Heng once news gets out about the assasination. After all, sacrificing two people and a bit of compensation is much cheaper than starting a war.”
“I think so too. It is unfortunate that Jingzhe and the rest are under surveillance, along with the other Silver Masks after returning to the capital. I have no one to use for the time being.”
“What was your plan, father-in-law? I have some people available on hand. All the one hundred Elite Tigers are my weapons who can be trusted.”
“Then please send your men to Tatar. Find my daughter and protect her, but don’t let them come back to Great Zhou. They are to wait in Tatar for the time being and see what develops with the situation.”
“It shall be done as you’ve instructed.” Pang Xiao nodded, then looked lost. “How I wish I could go there myself! I just don’t feel right if it’s someone else going.”
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