Qin Huaiyuan gazed quietly at Qin Yining, as if only now truly understanding his daughter for the first time.

She was like a flower that had left the greenhouse too early, struggling to survive in stone crevices, enduring the ravages of violent storms, yet surviving with the most tenacious willpower and still able to bloom the most beautiful flowers.

She had always been a child who could surprise him. She was constantly learning, constantly improving. Every time he was delighted to discover she had yet another new facet, soon she would show him an even more brilliant side.

Compared to those ordinary young ladies raised in inner chambers, her intelligence, courage, ability, and methods had long surpassed ordinary people. Now she even possessed a breadth of mind that many men couldn’t match.

Qin Huaiyuan felt comforted, but even more, he felt guilty.

What hardships must an unmarried girl not yet of age have endured to possess such a mindset and courage that could view storms lightly? How much helplessness had she experienced, crushed by cruel reality to what extent, to learn at such a young age to calmly accept fate?

How could this child be so sensible, so heartbreaking?

Qin Huaiyuan stretched out his arm, his large hand reaching across the square table to touch Qin Yining’s head, his voice hoarse as he said, “It’s Father who has wronged you.”

“What is Father saying?”

Qin Yining’s misty, water-like large eyes gazed brightly at Qin Huaiyuan. “Father hasn’t wronged me, not at all! I believe that if Father had even the slightest way out, he wouldn’t take me along. It’s just that the imperial decree has been issued – Father can’t be charged with disobeying imperial orders just to protect one daughter. Father isn’t only my father, but also the Qin family’s patriarch. The Duke Dingguo household’s tragedy cannot happen again in our family.”

“I usually enjoy the privileges that come with being the Grand Preceptor’s legitimate daughter. There’s no reason I shouldn’t share the burdens when danger comes. If I could only share the good times but not the hardships, what kind of family would that be? If that were the case, I wouldn’t deserve to be Father’s daughter.”

“Good. Good.” Qin Huaiyuan’s eyes grew moist. After years of struggling in court, Qin Huaiyuan felt he had been hardened into a bronze pea, yet now his daughter’s words made his nose sting uncontrollably.

He tilted his head back and blinked hard, and only after a long while did he resume his usual appearance, sighing, “Yining, no matter how you see things clearly, Father knows I have wronged you. Promise me, no matter what happens in the future, you must strive to stay alive.”

What he worried about most was that she, a pure and innocent young girl, might commit suicide from being unable to bear the humiliation.

“That’s only natural. I’m quite ‘greedy for life and afraid of death.'” Knowing Qin Huaiyuan’s worries, Qin Yining smiled and said, “I worked so hard to survive until now, preserving this life required much effort. I don’t want all that effort to be wasted.”

“Good child.” Seeing that she spoke sincerely and had truly accepted and let go, not just trying to comfort and deceive him, Qin Huaiyuan could finally feel at ease.

Infected by Qin Yining’s calm and positive attitude when facing difficulties, the stale air that had been stuck in Qin Huaiyuan’s chest all night finally began to dissipate somewhat.

After sitting for a brief moment, Qin Yining took her leave and returned to Shuoren Studio.

Thinking of what Sixth Miss and Qin Huining had said and done earlier, then comparing it to Qin Yining’s sensibility and obedience, Qin Huaiyuan felt even more indignant on Qin Yining’s behalf. He decided to support Qin Yining and help her vent her anger. After some thought, he personally went to the Old Madam’s Cixiao Garden.

On Qin Yining’s side, after returning to Shuoren Studio, Bingtang and Song Lan, who had been holding back tears the entire way, began wiping their eyes as soon as they entered.

They had been serving outside just now and heard every word of the conversation between Qin Yining and Qin Huaiyuan clearly. They were moved by the father-daughter bond, impressed by Qin Yining’s composure, but even more filled with anger and resentment.

“The muddle-headed ruler hasn’t done enough harm to our family, hasn’t harmed enough innocent people – now he wants to harm Miss too!” Bingtang sobbed, forcefully wiping her tears until her apple-round face was rubbed red.

Qin Yining took a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Keep your voice down, be careful of ears behind walls.”

“I’m not the only one cursing the muddle-headed ruler – that old thing should have died long ago!”

Thinking of how good Qin Yining was to her, wholeheartedly planning for her future, never coveting the earnings from her rouge and face powder sales, even helping her expand business opportunities, and giving her everything when the families of upright officials sent gifts, never keeping anything private, and all the care and consideration in daily life – it wasn’t just a little bit.

Such a person of good character and kind heart now had to be offered to an old lecher for defilement because of one word from the muddle-headed ruler.

Why didn’t the muddle-headed ruler choke to death on his food or water!

Song Lan, Qiu Lu, Liu Ya, and Nanny Zhu all began sobbing sadly as well.

Seeing them like this, Qin Yining also felt upset.

To say she felt no resentment or fear would be lying.

It was just that she had seen too much darkness, struggled at the bottom for so long, learned to accept fate, and also learned how to fight against fate’s arrangements.

Since it was something that couldn’t be changed, worrying and fearing would be useless. What she needed to think about now was how to survive the peace talks, how to live well in the days ahead.

Seeing Qin Yining so composed, the servants felt it wasn’t good to keep crying, so they all wiped their tears.

Bingtang blew her nose, then remembered the important matter, pulling Qin Yining to a corner to whisper, “Miss, that young master at the inn sent someone with a message for you today. He said that after so many days without you visiting him, it’s truly perfunctory, and asked whether you’ve forgotten his life-saving grace and don’t plan to care about him anymore.”

Hearing this, Qin Yining was startled and smiled awkwardly.

She hadn’t forgotten Yao Zhixi’s life-saving grace, but these past days her mother had been suppressed and her mood consistently poor. She was already overwhelmed just dealing with inner courtyard matters each day. Although Bingtang went daily to give Yao Zhixi acupuncture and detoxification treatments, and she would ask about the detoxification progress, she had never thought to personally visit him.

After thinking it over, Qin Yining said, “Fine, I should go see him. I have to depart on the sixteenth of the first month – that’s nine days from now. I don’t know what other arrangements His Majesty might have during this time. Rather than that, I’ll take advantage of today’s free time to see him, and consider it a farewell.”

The word “farewell” made hearts ache.

Bingtang silently nodded and went to arrange for a carriage.

Qin Yining took Bingtang, Song Lan, and Qiu Lu with her, informed Qin Huaiyuan, and left the house. The Old Madam’s heart had become so biased there were no boundaries – Qin Yining now avoided dealing with the Old Madam whenever possible.

Today, Pang Xiao had specially bathed and changed clothes, wearing a moon-white brocade robe, and was currently sitting on a luohan bed by the window reading a book.

He sat with perfect posture, focused expression, reading with great concentration.

Only the book hadn’t been turned a single page from early morning until now.

Huzi came and went serving tea and water, looking at Pang Xiao’s appearance of seeming refined and scholarly but actually lost in thought, his mouth nearly twisted to one side.

If Fourth Miss Qin refused to come today, his master would probably go mad!

Just as he thought this, he suddenly saw his master spring up. Then Huzi heard light footsteps and women’s voices outside.

Huzi breathed a sigh of relief and went out to greet them. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed his prince sitting back down with a nonchalant expression.

Huzi silently rolled his eyes again, opened the door, and bowed with a face full of smiles, “You’ve come, please enter quickly.”