Chapter 550.1: Treason
The thought of Zhou Meng’s odd passing, in which he’d suffered no physical wounds at all, had everyone shuddering. Though some wanted to speak in defense of the senior princess consort, they shut their mouths after some thought.
Zhou Meng’s passing had already been determined as divine punishment; if they spoke carelessly and angered the gods, they might possibly meet the same end! The prospect of a sudden death like that with no forewarning had chills running down their backs.
The senior consort’s expression twisted even further.
Never once had she imagined that when the opportunity she’d waited for so many years presented itself, it’d develop into the situation as it was now!
Of all the women in the imperial harem, she held the longest tenure by Zhou Meng’s side. Her son was the most qualified of them all to inherit the prince’s position! If anyone wanted to stop her from living the rest of her life in the lap of luxury, she would fight them to the death!
“You fools! Utter stupidity! That witch is ensnaring your hearts and misleading you all on purpose, and you actually believe her! She’ll devour you till not even your bones remain! I'll mmph…….”
The rest of senior consort’s poisonous jabs were muffled by the second princess consort’s maids.
“You may die yourself if you so desire,” the second consort hissed through clenched teeth, “but you will not drag all of us down with you!”
A number of officials were already fed up with the senior consort’s uncouth ranting. Upon seeing the second consort give orders to bind her arms, muffle her, and drag her away their respect for the second consort grew even greater.
However, the goddess had already been enraged, and the people probably didn’t have the courage to steal the provisions. If the officials didn’t bend to the will of the people, they would likely be torn to pieces and eaten alive!
They’d spontaneously agreed to fulfill the citizens’ wishes—otherwise, they could very well drown to death if everyone decided to spit just once at them, what with how large the population was!
Everyone present directed their attention at the second consort. Even Zhou Meng’s sons, now scared senseless, looked to her in hopes that she could come up with an idea.
The second consort pulled her two sons to her side, her hands tightening involuntarily.
In the past, the second consort would’ve rejoiced over having so many people look up to her.
But now, all she felt was how their stares pricked at her like needles, sending chills through her body and raising goosebumps to dot her skin. However, she was different from the reckless senior and third princess consort.
An astute individual, she’d been born to a family of scholars. As such, she contemplated things more deeply than the other two and was the most adept at reading the room. Whether Zhou Meng’s death was divine punishment or not, the people believed it to be so. Even if that were not the truth, it was now.
In other words, she wouldn’t change their minds even if she talked until her lips bled. If the ruling class wanted to live, they had to go with the flow. Their only option was to follow the hearts of the people!
She quietly expressed her thoughts to the officials, young princes and princesses. Finding her analysis reasonable, everyone agreed. As for the senior consort, she’d been bound and gagged, her sons and daughters similarly treated to prevent any trouble from developing.
Thus agreed, the group left the palace walls and went to open the gates. The creaking of the wooden doors caused a brief lull in the crowd gathered in the plaza.
Heads turned to the gates to see the second consort at the head of a group of officials and Zhou Meng’s children. When they reached ten steps from Qin Yining, they got on their knees and kowtowed.
The second consort pressed her forehead to the ground. “O Goddess above, please accept our worship! We believe all that the goddess spoke of, and the prince has indeed gone to his final rest.
“He did not succumb to illness and he did not suffer any physical wounds. He was not murdered, nor did he take his own life. The gods took him away, and they sent the goddess in turn to bring prosperity to the people of Xiyue.
“The senior princess consort should not have given offense to the goddess, so we have tied up all those who expressed dissent. From now on, we are at the goddess’ beck and call! Goddess, we beseech you, please grant the people of Xiyue your provisions as per the plans of the gods.”
Though her voice wasn’t loud, all of the surrounding citizens heard her quite clearly. Touched by her actions, they felt sincere gratitude toward those who’d opened the gates to plead on their behalf.
They kowtowed to Qin Yining once again, everyone babbling at the same time, “Please have mercy, Goddess!”
Qin Yining had anticipated this outcome, and her eyes welled up with compassion for a quiet reply. “Very well. Seeing the sincere hearts of the people of Xiyue, how can I not follow the mandate of the gods?”
She then introduced Pang Xiao to the crowd. “This man is the true prince of Xiyue. The sacred texts also hoped that I may join the true prince in marriage. Today, with the witness of all those present, we shall hold a simple wedding. Afterward, I will distribute the provisions as dictated by the sacred writings.”
Listening silently, the people burst out cheering at the end. Some of the more boisterous of the children even danced with joy, ecstatic as if the new year had come.
The second consort touched her forehead again to the ground. “As the goddess says. The goddess is acting with the guidance of the gods, so your decisions are naturally correct. We just didn’t know Zhou Meng was posing as the false prince, which means the first prince was an imposter from the start. We were unaware of the specifics and allowed Zhou Meng to lead us astray. We can only beseech the goddess to show us mercy.”
In saying so, not only did she extract herself from the situation, she even made it appear as if the officials and citizens of Xiyue were also innocent.
As her explanation benefited the greater good, the second consort won herself much approval. The citizens promptly echoed her words, saying that they’d acted the way they did because they’d been deceived.
Chapter 550.2: Treason
The situation was developing as exactly as Pang Xiao planned; naturally, Qin Yining wasn’t about to allow any mishaps to disrupt the turn of events.
“One cannot be held responsible for their actions if they were not in the know. The will of the gods is to bring seeds to the people of Xiyue. Naturally, that includes each and every one of you.”
Elated, the second consort kowtowed repeatedly. There was no possible chance of her continuing to be a princess consort, but if they could obtain the seeds, provide for themselves and live together with family, then she saw nothing bad about such an outcome either.
Evidently, many shared the second consort’s sentiments. Everyone present collectively thanked the goddess.
Qin Yining and Pang Xiao’s wedding this time around was a simplistic, yet grand affair as they joined hands amidst the cheers of the Xiyue. Soon after, they ordered their people to distribute the provisions and seeds, everything proceeding exactly as Pang Xiao had planned.
Three days passed before they ensured that every Xiyue citizen had been given food and seeds and everything documented.
The Minuo no longer had to stay confined to their campsite and were free to move about as they wished. They were always greeted passionately whenever they encountered citizens of Xiyue. Even the soldiers previously stationed around the campsite acted warmly to them; some of them even approached to apologize.
Zhou Meng, on the other hand, was buried after simple funeral proceedings.
As for the senior consort and other equally uncooperative parties, Pang Xiao handed them over to the Xiyue officials and allowed them to conduct the situation as they saw fit. His own standing was rather awkward, after all—no matter what he did, someone would have something to say abo
ut it, so he was better off letting the people of Xiyue deal with the situation themselves.
In the afternoon, everyone gathered inside the largest tent in the Minuo campsite.
“Your Highness,” said Lu Heng, “what do you plan to do next moving forward?”
Uncle Alham and the others all looked at him as well.
Pang Xiao laughed heartily. “Truth be told, I did come here without permission. His Majesty refused to allow me to leave the capital, and I trust everyone knows why that is without needing an explanation. However, I worried that something would happen to my darling, so I stole out on my own with my subordinates. My actions angered His Majesty, so by the time I left the country, His Majesty had already charged me with treason and announced it to the entire nation.”
His words had everyone furrowing their brows. Qin Yining’s brows could have crushed a fly to death from how tightly they were pinched together.
“How can this be? Why didn’t you mention something as serious as this until now?” Lu Heng sucked in a breath, tsking. “His Majesty is truly… How hard has His Highness worked for all of Great Zhou? One can even say that without His Highness, Great Zhou wouldn’t exist. Who knows if we could’ve successfully defeated Northern Ji without you!
“Furthermore, the princess consort had just killed the previous khan of Tatar then, yet he said that you committed treason? How treacherous could you be? Is he trying to make people laugh until their teeth fall out??”
His words aggravated everyone present and stirred them up into righteous anger. Qin Yining was also furious; however, her anger left her with a sense of clarity and helplessness.
Her husband’s many achievements left his liege feeling threatened—such was the near inescapable dilemma of accomplished subjects and aristocrats from all dynasties throughout history.
She didn’t wish for history to repeat itself with Pang Xiao, but how could anyone escape history’s heavy wheels when it came barreling their way?
Seeing his beloved scrunching her brows wordlessly, Pang Xiao patted her shoulder in a reassuring manner. “It’s of no concern to me, this isn’t my first time being scolded. Didn’t the Yan citizens used to invoke my name to stop children from crying through the night? Yet here I am, alive and well, very much in one piece. A man of honor sees the bigger picture and cares not for hollow prestige.”
“Is being so scary that you stop children from crying something to be proud of?” Rendered speechless, Qin Yining rolled her eyes at Pang Xiao, though her anger and stress did alleviate considerably.
Lu Heng had been observing them closely all the while. Pang Xiao didn’t seem to care about his predicament in the slightest, nor did he blame his troubles on Qin Yining. On the contrary, he thought extremely little of such pretenses.
This display of magnanimity and loyalty elicited great respect from the Lu scion. Though they were rivals in love, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Pang Xiao at all.
“If that is the case, I fear returning will be dangerous,” Lu Heng mused, brows furrowed. “His Majesty is a paranoid person, and he is especially mistrustful toward you. Now that you’ve been branded with the crime of treason, I'm afraid you will face arrest and interrogation upon your return. Not only will you be in trouble, your families may not get off easily either.”
How would Pang Xiao not understand such a thing?
However, he couldn’t not return, as his family and Qin Yining’s were still in the capital. Even though Li Qitian didn’t dare take action lightly, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t fly into a rage and take out his anger on their families.
Neither of them were people who could sacrifice their families for the sake of their own happiness, so returning to Great Zhou was non-negotiable.
Chapter 551: A Way Out
The group fell into a collective silence. The severity of the situation was beyond anything that Qin Yining or Lu Heng could have anticipated.
The only one who seemed perfectly at ease was Pang Xiao, who acted as if Li Qitian declaring him a traitor and announcing that to the entire nation wasn’t a big deal at all.
“Alright, there’s no need to worry about this, everyone. There’ll be a solution to the problem one way or another.”
Uncle Alham greatly admired someone as manly as Pang Xiao. Since he was the husband of Qin Yining—to whom the Minuo tribe owed a great deal—the old veteran was especially worried for the newest member of their group.
“If there isn’t, why not stay here? Your emperor won’t be able to find you here. There’s enough for everyone to be able to provide for themselves,” Uncle Alham said this all in the Tatar language. Beside him, Harbhara and Caganbhara bobbed their heads rapidly in full agreement.
“What good would it do for you to go back, anyway?” they urged. “Your emperor is probably even jealous of you for being better than him! Just like how the she-demon Anari envied our aav and eej, she ended up plotting their deaths at the very end. We used to be a big tribe, but our numbers have fallen to a few thousand because of her persecution. When we fled into the desert, all of our women, children, and elderly had to be left behind outside.”
This saddened a number of the Minuo as well. Thoughts of family members who’d met gruesome deaths, as well as wives and daughters who’d been left outside the desert, floated to the forefront of their minds.
They still wished to go back for their families, but the no man’s area of the desert remained the biggest obstacle standing in the way of their reunion. They didn’t feel that they possessed the requisite abilities to cross the desert again, find their people, and successfully bring everyone to this oasis, all the while evading pursuit from Utkin Khan.
Perhaps there truly was no chance that they would ever see their separated kin again. Morale dropped, even Pang Xiao couldn’t help heaving a sigh.
“Just as you cannot part with your people,” he responded in the Tatar language, “My wife and I have our parents and relatives in the capital. If we do not return, they will pay the price with their lives. Can we allow others to charge in front of us and sacrifice themselves, so that we can live in comfort here? Other matters aside, we would simply die from our guilty conscience.”
Hearing this, Uncle Alham and the others nodded in understanding.
“When you put it that way, we understand. Can you find your way back home once you leave the desert?” In truth, Uncle Alham asked this because he still harbored a shred of doubt. Once the Minuo had entered the desert, their fates had been up to the heavens. Truth be told, they’d wandered around aimlessly until they happened upon the oasis.
Pang Xiao, Cao Yuqing and the others, however, had rushed here just in the nick of time; it was as if they’d been following a predetermined route.
Cao Yuqing chuckled and came forward to explain. “In regards to this, we have Mister Liao of the Azure Justice to thank.”
She described how Mister Liao had arrived with Lu Heng’s subordinates and planted a tracking bug on the young master, how they’d realized Lu Heng’s kidnapping, determined where he’d gone, and rescued him.
“Because the tracking bug in Second Master Lu has yet to die off and its range is extremely wide, I kept this in mind when Yining decided to follow you all into the desert. After I had certain discussions with Mister Sir Liao and the other Azure Justice comrades, we left the group together.
“But it was by pure happenstance that we ran into His Highness, and His Highness was only able to find his way here because of Mister Liao’s tracking bug. Whether you’d found the oasis or not, we all decided to follow the tracking bug into the depths of the desert.”
Hearing this, Lu Heng’s eyes went round with astonishment. “I have something like that in my body?”
“Yes.” Liao Zhibing smiled. “However, Second Master Lu has no need for concern. This bug’s life expectancy is three years at the most. It will disappear on its own, and will not affect your body in any way.”
Lu Heng nodded in understanding. “Who knows what w
ould’ve become of me when I was taken if not for this bug, so I suppose it saved my life.”
Cao Yuqing couldn’t help but not. Lu Heng’s character was noble indeed, but Pang Xiao wasn’t bad himself either. Thinking this, she looked at Qin Yining with a smile. “So it seems, Yining, that His Highness cares very much for you.”
After all, not many would’ve willingly put themselves in danger like this—despite knowing there was no going back once they entered the desert, he still went after her with no hesitation whatsoever, as if it were only the most natural thing in the world.
Qin Yining flushed at the sudden mention of her name, a sweet and bashful sensation fluttering in her heart. Rather than look at the expression on her husband’s face, she elected to reply to Cao Yuqing forthrightly, “Thus, I am grateful to Auntie Cao for being willing to take the risk and enter the desert to find me. The same goes for our Elite Tiger comrades as well.”
She stood and faced Huzi and the troop of more than fifty Elite Tigers. “For following His Highness through thick and thin, you are all men of indomitable spirit in my heart. I offer my deepest thanks to you all!”
Everyone present had seen how Qin Yining stayed calm in the face of the Xiyue threats and executed their plan flawlessly. Thus, such praise from her lifted their hearts even higher than it might have originally.
“Your Highness exaggerates our accomplishments,” Huzi replied cheerfully. “Our lives belong to His Highness. We’d go through hell and high water so long as His Highness gives the word, so Your Highness has no need for formalities with us.”
All of the Elite Tigers nodded as well. “It is our honor to have been selected by His Highness!”
Pang Xiao turned around and threw his head back in laughter with his men. What greater contentment could there be to have such passionate brothers-in-arms with him? Their enthusiasm was so infectious that Uncle Alham, Harbhara, and Caganbhara also felt their blood boil with excitement.
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