Hearing this, Qin Yining couldn’t help but smile bitterly: “At this time, where could I flee to? If His Majesty issues an edict and the Qin family cannot produce me, what do you think His Majesty would do to the Qin family?”
“This… sigh! What can we do about this?”
Yuchi Yan knew his father emperor’s temperament all too well. Just like with Duke Dingguo’s manor back then—Sun Yu was such a man of integrity who chose such an unyielding way to die rather than submit to the Great Zhou emperor’s threats. If it were him, he would only feel admiration and praise, and would definitely take good care of the Sun family. But what did his father emperor do?
When he thought about how the Sun family was also Qin Yining’s maternal family, how Qin Yining’s maternal grandfather, uncle, cousin, and even the several-year-old young nephew were all dragged away to be beheaded, and that the one who caused all these consequences was still his own father emperor, Yuchi Yan felt a wave of shame, his face quickly flushing red.
In outsiders’ eyes, he was the lofty Crown Prince, the emperor’s sole heir, the future Son of Heaven, heaven’s favored child.
But only Yuchi Yan himself knew clearly that his imperial identity brought him not glory, but shackles and burdens.
Because of his father emperor’s incompetence, he now didn’t even dare pursue the woman he loved with confidence.
And the woman his heart favored—his father emperor actually wanted to grind her up for the empress to eat…
Seeing the Crown Prince’s fair complexion had turned purple like an eggplant, Qin Yining could guess the general situation. She no longer discussed this problem with him, but bowed sincerely: “Thank you for Your Highness’s righteous assistance today. If Your Highness hadn’t informed me in advance, I probably could only have been offered up by my family.”
Seeing her bow gracefully, Yuchi Yan quickly helped her up, saying shamefully: “Miss Qin truly needn’t do this. I am truly incompetent—even after receiving the news, I can only inform you of the matter but cannot think of a proper solution for the moment… However, please rest assured, Miss Qin. I’ll go back and make contact. Once Father Emperor issues the edict, I will definitely unite with others to petition Father Emperor to withdraw the order. I absolutely won’t let you die in vain!”
“This subject-daughter appreciates Your Highness’s kind intentions. However, this subject-daughter has her own plans for this matter. Your Highness should refrain from rash actions for now.”
Her complexion was somewhat pale, but her brow was serene, her eyes clear and steady—one could tell at a glance that she had settled down from her initial panic.
Last time when he anxiously caught up with the peace negotiation delegation, single-mindedly wanting to confess his feelings and let her know his heart, only to be publicly rejected by her, Yuchi Yan later reflected carefully on the reasons and consequences, realizing this woman was definitely not an ordinary young lady. She was extremely intelligent and truly worthy of being the daughter of “Wise Panan.”
Now seeing her calm in the face of danger with a confident appearance, that composure and tranquility even infected him.
Yuchi Yan asked himself—if suddenly one day someone wanted to grind up his flesh and blood for someone to eat, and he learned of this news, he definitely wouldn’t be as composed as Qin Yining.
Admiration arose spontaneously, followed by uncontrollable emotions surging like a tide, causing words that had lingered in Yuchi Yan’s mind for a long time to slip out.
“Miss Qin, have you and Prince Zhongshun truly pledged yourselves for life? Do I really have no chance left?”
Qin Yining’s pretty face suddenly flushed bright red, even her ears turning red.
“Your Highness, marriages are naturally determined by parents’ commands. How could I decide to pledge myself to anyone? Please don’t speak this way anymore, Your Highness.”
Looking at her beautiful face tinged with rosy clouds, Yuchi Yan felt that she was adorable and exquisitely pleasing from head to toe. Just standing before him with lowered head made him feel as if he were in a bright landscape painting, as if he could hear birds singing and smell flowers’ fragrance, making his heart surge uncontrollably.
“Good, I understand.” Yuchi Yan smiled slightly. Since she said this, he only needed to persuade Qin Huaiyuan. Although his father emperor was somewhat shabby, his own character could be guaranteed.
“You still have matters to handle, and I should return as well, lest staying here too long arouse suspicion.”
“Yes, thank you very much today, Your Highness.” Qin Yining bowed again.
Yuchi Yan waved his hand, gazing at her for a moment before reluctantly donning a light blue luxurious cloak and walking out.
Manager Zhong was already waiting at the door, carefully seeing the Crown Prince off while putting on a regretful expression as if the business negotiations hadn’t been successful, not letting anyone become suspicious.
Qin Yining sat beside the table, gazing at the green tea leaves in the teacup as she fell into deep thought.
Soon Manager Zhong ran in anxiously: “Owner, what can we do? What can we do? Sigh! That demon empress is simply not human! How can there be such a vicious woman in the world, actually wanting human flesh to preserve youth, and His Majesty is actually willing to listen! Owner, what should we do? We should quickly tell Marquis Anping and ask His Lordship to think of a solution!”
The study wasn’t large, so Manager Zhong had naturally heard the conversation between Qin Yining and the Crown Prince clearly.
But Qin Yining shook her head: “If I tell my father, given his position and perspective, he would either have me flee or sacrifice me. But the Qin family has a whole household of people. Would father sacrifice the entire family for me alone? For safety’s sake, I should handle this matter personally.”
“But what can we do?” Manager Zhong was so worried his hair was about to turn white.
Qin Yining stood up and paced, analyzing: “Now the two countries have ceased hostilities. In this peaceful and prosperous era, without Great Zhou people pressing at our doorstep, His Majesty probably can hardly find an appropriate reason to hand me over to the empress. Could His Majesty directly issue an edict telling my father, ‘Hand over your daughter for the empress to eat, or you’re a treacherous subject’?”
“Given His Majesty’s usual way of doing things, he might really be capable of such a thing.” Manager Zhong frowned and sighed.
Qin Yining shook her head: “If he really did that, he would truly have no face left at all. Under the pressure of war, His Majesty could be shameless to save his life. But in peaceful times, if His Majesty still wants to sit securely on his throne, he probably cherishes his reputation. So even if His Majesty wants to capture me, he won’t issue a direct edict, but will definitely pin a crime on me to make my death seem justified.”
“A crime? Your father is a meritorious official who successfully facilitated the peace negotiations, and you also contributed considerably to the peace talks. Your whole family are loyal subjects. For His Majesty to pin a crime on you would probably be difficult too.”
Qin Yining stopped walking and gripped the back of the round chair tightly.
Actually, His Majesty truly did have a reason to convict her.
The Azure Sky Alliance!
Her maternal grandmother was the leader of the Azure Sky Alliance, the mastermind who ordered the assassination of the emperor!
What if the emperor announced to the world that he was capturing her as the granddaughter of the Azure Sky Alliance leader?
As soon as this thought emerged, Qin Yining dismissed it herself.
The emperor’s willingness to entrust the background of his most trusted silver-masked secret agent to Qin Huaiyuan already demonstrated the emperor’s determination to deal with the Cao family. To counter Imperial Uncle Cao, the greatest weapon was Qin Huaiyuan.
If he wanted Qin Huaiyuan to wholeheartedly deal with Imperial Uncle Cao, the emperor would never shake the foundation of the Qin family, so even if he wanted to eat her flesh, he would only target her alone.
Therefore, such a major matter as the Azure Sky Alliance wouldn’t be exposed, as it would shake the foundation of the Qin family. Moreover, if the Azure Sky Alliance matter remained hidden, it could serve as leverage for the emperor to control the Qin family.
Thinking of this, Qin Yining began pacing again, murmuring: “…Since that matter won’t be revealed, what excuse will be used?”
She thought left and right, pondering for a long time, when suddenly inspiration struck.
Seeing Qin Yining’s eyes light up, Manager Zhong knew she already had a plan.
“Owner, what do you plan to do? Just say the word, and this old man will face ten thousand deaths without regret!”
Qin Yining shook her head and smiled: “It’s not that serious. However, this time we’ll need to spend some money. Manager Zhong, please prepare five thousand taels in silver notes for me, as quickly as possible—preferably right now.”
Upon hearing this, Manager Zhong didn’t ask further questions and immediately nodded: “Ah! I’ll go prepare it right away!”