Liang Shengjie saw that Pang Xiao was about to commit violence again and shrieked in terror, hurriedly rolling on the ground to narrowly avoid another blade strike.

Pang Xiao’s blade, whether intentionally or not, actually struck deep into the side table, the blade sinking in more than halfway while the table remained completely undamaged. He pulled hard twice but couldn’t extract it, so he simply grabbed Liang Shengjie’s collar with his bare hands and delivered a punch.

Liang Shengjie cried out in pain, covering his blackened eye with one hand while grabbing Pang Xiao’s wrist with the other, shouting loudly: “Pang Zhixi, you dare assault a court official! I will definitely impeach you, impeach you!”

“If you’re a man, then fight back! All you know how to do is tattle!” Another punch landed on his abdomen.

“I won’t give you the chance to impeach me!” Liang Shengjie clutched his stomach, trying to resist but being suppressed again. “I will definitely impeach you! Make you lose your position and be stripped of your title!”

“As you wish!”

Pang Xiao pressed Liang Shengjie to the ground and rained down punches.

The crowd finally recovered from Pang Xiao’s declaration of “my woman.”

Zheng Pei rushed forward in panic, grabbing Pang Xiao’s arm and saying anxiously: “Young Prince, you, you’re too impulsive! He is the commander after all!”

Pang Xiao added another kick: “This lord is beating him precisely because he is!”

Qin Yining stared blankly at Pang Xiao, her mind already in complete chaos.

No wonder this man’s courtesy name was “Zhixi” – he was actually Pang Zhixi!

She had always felt this person was not simple, and indeed, he turned out to be the terrifying, bloodthirsty Young Prince Pang who struck fear into people’s hearts!

Why did he go to the Great Yan capital?

What was his relationship with Immortal Liu?

She remembered that the emperor was still taking the immortal pills that Immortal Liu had presented?

Pang Xiao’s father had died due to a sowing discord stratagem – he should hate the Qin family to the bone, so why had he repeatedly helped and saved her?

If he had ulterior motives, why hadn’t she sensed any hostility from him?

Pang Xiao turned around, shook his fingers, and smiled at Qin Yining with raised eyebrows, his expression seeming to say, “How about that? Wasn’t this lord’s beating satisfying?”

Qin Yining’s face grew hot, but for a moment she didn’t know how to react.

Pang Xiao’s attitude toward her seemed the same as before, but she didn’t know how to face him…

Liang Shengjie covered his blackened right eye and struggled to get up unsteadily.

Zheng Pei hurried to support him but was pushed away by Liang Shengjie.

“Pang Zhixi! You have improper relations with the Great Yan Grand Preceptor’s daughter – this clearly shows treasonous intent!”

“Which of your eyes saw this prince having improper relations with anyone?”

“You clearly said so just now!”

“This prince fell in love at first sight!”

“You’re being unreasonable!”

“You’re the one this prince beat, and Miss Qin is the one this prince has taken a fancy to! If you can produce evidence of this prince’s treason that would convince His Majesty, then do as you please – provided you can try to stay alive.”

After delivering this statement, Pang Xiao turned and walked away. Before leaving the tent, he stopped and looked back at Qin Huaiyuan and Qin Yining.

Qin Huaiyuan gazed back at Pang Xiao with calm eyes and an inscrutable expression.

But Pang Xiao didn’t look at him much, only smiled at Qin Yining again with that half-crooked grin before striding out spiritedly through the tent flap.

Qin Yining’s heart raced wildly at his smile, and she unconsciously retreated further behind Qin Huaiyuan.

Qin Huaiyuan frowned as he looked at the bruised and swollen Liang Shengjie.

Zheng Pei sighed deeply, glared at Qin Huaiyuan, then glared at Qin Yining, stamped his foot and said: “Really, a source of trouble, a source of trouble!” Then he left in a huff.

The tent that had been noisy moments before was now quiet again, with only Liang Shengjie’s pained groans. The content of the peace talks had yet to be determined, but the person was beaten black and blue. Qin Huaiyuan and Cui Wenqing didn’t know what to do for the moment.

Liang Shengjie got up, supported by his deputy general, and headed outside.

Cui Wenqing chased after them: “General Liang, our peace talks…”

“What talks! Can’t you see our general is severely injured! You have no sincerity whatsoever, yet you dare to pursue and question us!” The deputy general rebuked them and carefully helped Liang Shengjie away.

Cui Wenqing turned back and said anxiously: “Grand Preceptor Qin, what should we do now?”

“Don’t be too anxious. Originally, peace talks like these couldn’t be completed in a single day anyway – there always needs to be a period of discussion. We’ll stay for now, observe the situation, and it won’t be too late to talk again tomorrow.”

Seeing Qin Huaiyuan so composed, Cui Wenqing also felt reassured.

Thinking back to that earlier farce, he couldn’t help but curse in a low voice: “The Great Zhou people are truly full of schemes! I heard that Pang Zhixi originally lost his position as Marshal of Pingnan precisely because of his unruly nature. When the Zhou Emperor arranged for that Liang fellow to come, Pang Zhixi had been holding a grudge. Some days ago he even left in anger. Today he used our presence as a pretext to actually find an opportunity for revenge against that Liang fellow, yet he shamelessly dragged Miss Qin into it, damaging Miss Qin’s reputation. How absolutely detestable!”

Qin Huaiyuan sighed: “When one is under another’s roof, what choice does one have? Lord Cui, let’s settle in for today. We’ll see how things go tomorrow.”

“Sir is right, we’ll settle in for today.”

Qin Huaiyuan, Cui Wenqing, and Qin Yining left the main tent and headed toward their own territory on the eastern side of the camp.

After bidding farewell to Cui Wenqing, Qin Huaiyuan and Qin Yining entered their tent and arranged for guards to stand watch ten feet outside.

“Father, I never expected he was actually Pang Zhixi. I truly didn’t know beforehand.” Qin Yining lowered her voice, speaking anxiously.

Qin Huaiyuan waved his hand to interrupt Qin Yining’s explanation and smiled: “Father knows this. It’s not your fault.”

“But today’s incident was indeed his doing.”

“Yining.” Qin Huaiyuan smiled and patted her head. “Actually, when he burst in and disrupted that scene, not only was Father not angry, but very grateful to him.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Yining’s eyes filled with tears.

Recalling Liang Shengjie’s brazen harassment, treating her like some common pleasure woman for his amusement, and doing so in front of her own father and other strange men – if she were truly a virtuous woman raised in seclusion with the three obediences and four virtues, she should have hanged herself long ago to prove her innocence.

But at the crucial moment, her father was still desperately trying to protect her.

“Father, your heart in protecting your daughter moves me greatly. However, His Majesty’s imperial edict cannot be disobeyed. Today’s peace talks were unsuccessful, and we’ll have to report back to His Majesty. If His Majesty truly blames us and says you have no concern for the country, that you can’t even bear to part with a daughter and disregard the nation’s safety, then even with a mouth full of explanations you couldn’t clear yourself. Next time, if that Liang fellow acts like this again, you, you should abandon your daughter.”

Qin Huaiyuan knew Qin Yining was right.

But his only daughter, who looked so much like himself when he was young and had such an endearing personality – how could Qin Huaiyuan bear to abandon her?

“Father will definitely think of another way. Yining, don’t worry.”

Qin Yining suddenly looked up, gazing at Qin Huaiyuan with tears glistening on her lashes.

Being looked at with such bright, clear eyes, Qin Huaiyuan’s heart nearly melted into a puddle of water. His large hand gently patted her forehead again: “Father’s greatest regret in this life is that you didn’t grow up by my side. We’ve only recently met, yet we’re often apart.”

Qin Yining’s smile was so broad that it squeezed the tears from her eyes.

Qin Huaiyuan used his sleeve to wipe her face: “Silly girl, what are you crying for? If you had grown up by Father’s side and received Father’s careful cultivation, you would surely be more outstanding than ordinary men. We cannot disobey His Majesty’s edict. When His Majesty ordered Father to bring you, Father brought you. But if the Great Zhou people themselves are unwilling, we can hardly force them to accept, can we? How could His Majesty blame us?”

Qin Yining’s eyes widened as she quickly grasped Qin Huaiyuan’s meaning: “Father means that today when Pang Zhixi caused that disturbance, it was also for this purpose? He beat that Liang fellow so severely that Liang himself… can’t perform, so it’s not our fault?”

“I’m afraid that’s exactly what Pang Zhixi intended.” Qin Huaiyuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze deep and profound. “I’m finding him somewhat inscrutable. When I first met him, I felt this person was unfathomably deep. Now it turns out his background is indeed extraordinary, and though his actions are erratic, they have their own logic.”

“They say on the battlefield he uses devious military tactics, often making unexpected moves that catch people off guard. In their court, he also never follows rules. Some say he’s an upright man who cannot be subdued by force, others say he’s a devil-may-care rogue who dares to throw tantrums even in the imperial court. Anyway, there are all kinds of stories about him. Even the Great Zhou Emperor has no way to handle this person. This was also Father’s first meeting with him today, and I indeed find it difficult to fathom what exactly he wants to do.”

Listening to her father’s description and recalling how Pang Xiao had hardly stopped teasing her whenever they were together, yet somehow she couldn’t truly dislike him, Qin Yining gained even more understanding of this person’s inscrutability.

“Enough, you’re tired today too. Go back and rest. This military camp is full of men everywhere – be more careful yourself.”

“Yes. Your daughter takes her leave.”

Qin Yining curtsied and withdrew. Led by a Yan soldier, she walked toward her own tent.

Since the entire military camp was full of men, living together was truly inconvenient. Qin Yining’s tent was specially separated by wooden fencing and built on the northern side of the Great Yan camp. Within the wooden fence stood a single large tent in solitary splendor, looking somewhat isolated from the world. Two soldiers were stationed as guards on this side of the fence.

Qin Yining returned to her tent without lighting a lamp. She first washed and changed clothes, then tucked a dagger she had deliberately hidden on her person when leaving Xihua City under her pillow, and lay down to sleep fully clothed.

Over the following days, the peace talks entered a deadlocked state.

After being beaten by Pang Xiao, Liang Shengjie claimed illness and refused to get up.

Since Liang Shengjie was the Great Zhou official presiding over the peace talks, without his appearance to sign and seal documents, no matter how much others discussed, it was useless.

The Great Yan people maintained their composure for the first two days, but by the third day, imperial edicts began arriving continuously from the capital.

Xihua City was not far from the capital, so the emperor’s edicts came one after another. Basically every hour or so, Qin Huaiyuan would receive an edict with the emperor furiously berating him for his incompetence.

The content of the edicts was monotonously the same – cursing Qin Huaiyuan for his incompetence, saying that he had brought his daughter but refused to offer her up, that if he were willing to sacrifice his daughter the peace talks would have succeeded long ago. Could it be that Qin Huaiyuan was unwilling to sacrifice his daughter because he had developed disloyalty toward Great Yan?

Though Qin Yining lived separately, hearing the eunuchs delivering edicts coming every hour outside to thoroughly berate Qin Huaiyuan, she couldn’t help but worry for her father.

It seemed the emperor was truly both urgent and fearful, otherwise he couldn’t possibly be so reckless with manpower and resources, so anxious he didn’t even care about face.

By now, they had been at the peace talk camp for seven days.

Liang Shengjie still remained behind closed doors claiming illness, refusing to sign and seal.

And tonight, the rebuke Qin Huaiyuan received was more severe than ever before – the emperor had even cursed Qin Huaiyuan as a “worthless husband and base slave” in the edict!

Qin Yining understood what Liang Shengjie was doing. He simply hadn’t gotten his way and wanted to wait for their side to actively send someone over, to salvage the face he had lost that day. These past days, her father indeed hadn’t actively offered her up again.

Could she just keep hiding under her father’s protection like this? Would it really not harm her father?

Thinking of this, Qin Yining suddenly sat up and looked at the sky outside.

The sky was already dark – it was past the first watch.

She gritted her teeth and made up her mind, hiding the dagger from under her pillow in her sleeve pocket. She arranged her long hair, put on that jade-colored cloak with the white fox fur collar, and left her tent, heading straight for the Great Zhou camp across the open ground.

Author’s Note: Back to work, feeling scattered…