How could the old matriarch have imagined that Pang Xiao would actually want to hit her? She was already at such an advanced age—if she truly took a beating at the prince’s mansion, how could she face people when she went out?

“You can’t hit me!” The old matriarch stared at the prince’s mansion servants pouring into the front hall and roared with fierce outward appearance but inner cowardice, “I am the old titled lady of the Anping Marquis Mansion! Let me see which of you dares to hit me!”

Though her voice roared loudly, her continuous retreating and panicked appearance had already revealed her anxiety and fear.

Second Madam was also extremely nervous, spreading her arms to shield the old matriarch behind herself, casting a pleading gaze toward Qin Yining.

Qin Yining frowned but did not immediately speak.

Xu Weizhi had already heard about the old matriarch’s temperament from Xie Yue and greatly disliked such profit-seeking people, saying mockingly: “Anping Marquis? I’ve never heard of such a title. Which dynasty’s marquis is this?”

“You!” The old matriarch was so choked she could barely breathe.

But the fear in her heart grew even deeper.

Yes, Great Yan had fallen, her most accomplished son’s life or death was now uncertain, and she could no longer show off in front of Prince Zhongshun.

The old matriarch somewhat regretted that she shouldn’t have been so rude to Qin Yining just for a moment’s satisfaction, otherwise the situation wouldn’t have become so awkward.

“What are you waiting for? Drag her out.” Pang Xiao waved his hand extremely impatiently.

Both Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue hesitated at this moment.

Given Pang Xiao’s current status and situation, he really shouldn’t confront the old matriarch directly. It was just that His Highness was currently in a fit of anger—if they tried to persuade him, it would instead make people laugh at His Highness, as if he were afraid of an old woman.

As the two hesitated, servants came forward and grabbed the old matriarch from left and right, dragging her outside.

“No, no!” The old matriarch was terrified. She wasn’t just afraid of pain—most importantly, she was afraid of losing face. Slapping had always been something she did to others; when had others ever hit her? At such an advanced age, to be dragged out and slapped for offending the powerful would truly lose all the dignity of her lifetime.

Seeing the old matriarch’s fearful appearance, Qin Yining helplessly let out a soft sigh.

Though she found the old matriarch extremely annoying, from Pang Xiao’s perspective, punishing the old matriarch at this time was definitely not a wise move.

Li Qitian clearly had intentions to win over Great Yan’s surrendered officials. If Pang Xiao beat the old matriarch to stand up for her, given the old matriarch’s nature, she would definitely spread this matter around afterward, making things difficult for Pang Xiao in the end.

She was grateful for Pang Xiao’s care and protection for her, but she couldn’t let him offend Li Qitian again because of her.

Thinking of this, Qin Yining looked deeply at Pang Xiao. The two exchanged glances, then Qin Yining lifted her skirt hem and gracefully knelt down, bowing and saying: “Please calm your anger, Your Highness.”

Seeing Qin Yining speak up to plead, both the old matriarch and Second Madam breathed sighs of relief.

Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue at the side both looked deeply at Qin Yining, understanding her intention and secretly praising and feeling fortunate. Fortunately Qin Yining was a sensible person—otherwise, if His Highness had really beaten someone in his rage, there would be even more trouble later.

Outsiders could understand, so how could Pang Xiao not comprehend Qin Yining’s meaning?

It was just that as a man, not being able to stand up for his beloved woman when she was wronged felt truly unbearable. He wasn’t someone who specialized in hiding behind women’s backs. For someone accustomed to controlling the overall situation to be so constrained by reality felt really uncomfortable.

Pang Xiao put on a stern expression, really wanting to pull Qin Yining up and hold her in his arms to comfort her properly. Unfortunately, in front of outsiders, the act had to be performed completely, so he could only darken his face and say coldly and irritably: “What status do you have? You can’t even protect yourself—what qualification do you have to plead?”

Qin Yining lowered her head and said nothing.

That fragile, thin back, along with the clothes on her body that absolutely couldn’t be called luxurious, once again reminded the old matriarch and Second Madam that Qin Yining had fallen from favor and Pang Xiao could no longer love her as he had before.

However, she was willing to plead for the old matriarch and was similarly scolded by Pang Xiao without courtesy, which made the old matriarch and Second Madam feel much more comfortable and less resentful toward her.

Pang Xiao called Xu Weizhi over and whispered a few instructions in his ear. Xu Weizhi was stunned for a moment, then nodded and turned to say a few words to Huzi. Huzi’s eyes lit up as he listened, and he hurriedly withdrew.

Then Pang Xiao still ordered: “What are you standing around for? Are you all deaf? Still not dragging this old witch who insulted this prince out to slap her mouth?”

“Yes!” Xu Weizhi immediately called for servants to come forward, grab the old matriarch and Second Madam, and push them out of the front hall.

This time the old matriarch was truly frightened, repeatedly speaking soft words and begging for mercy, but Pang Xiao was completely unmoved. In desperation, the old matriarch began acting shamelessly again, cursing loudly at Pang Xiao, greeting all the deceased ancestors of the Pang family, especially the female elders of the Pang family, with such vulgar language that even the maidservants dragging the old matriarch couldn’t stand to listen and secretly pinched her several times.

Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue walked at the back, becoming more indignant the more they listened. How could such a wonderfully intelligent, well-educated, and reasonable girl like Qin Yining have such a shrew of a grandmother? Could this be the principle of “bad bamboo producing good shoots”?

If one old matriarch was already so difficult to deal with, who knew what His Highness’s future father-in-law would be like.

The old matriarch’s cursing continued from the front hall all the way to outside the mansion gate.

When Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue ordered people to throw the old matriarch and Second Madam out the door, the old matriarch still hadn’t quite reacted.

Was Pang Xiao planning to slap her mouth right in front of the mansion gate?

Just as she thought this, she saw Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi turn around and go back.

The old matriarch immediately felt greatly pleased, spitting harshly: “Yellow-mouthed child! I knew you were just making a lot of noise—if you have the ability, really lay a finger on me! When my son returns, he’ll definitely impeach you severely!”

“Old matriarch, old matriarch…” Second Madam pulled at the old matriarch’s arm from the side, trying to drag her away.

With things having developed to this point, it was inseparable from the old matriarch’s attitude. They hadn’t even gotten to tell Qin Yining the news before being driven out. Fortunately, Prince Zhongshun was only frightening the old matriarch—they should quit while they were ahead. Acting shamelessly in front of the prince’s mansion like this, where was there any dignity left?

Just as she was thinking this, the two suddenly heard a low dog bark.

Then they saw a black shadow squeeze out through the crack of the prince’s mansion’s side door. Following the sound, they saw it was actually a robust, shiny-furred large black dog. The big dog stared fixedly at the two of them, barking wildly, with its open mouth drooling as if it hadn’t eaten for many days.

Both the old matriarch and Second Madam were so frightened their bodies went rigid.

But the big black dog didn’t care about their panic, howling and charging toward them.

“Ah! Help!” The old matriarch could no longer care about anything else and turned to run.

Second Madam also ran wildly all the way, pulling the old matriarch’s hand. The two small-footed women struggled to run to the carriage, climbed up without waiting to sit properly, and urged the coachman to hurry away.

The dog barking continued, chasing them out for a whole street before that black dog seemed tired and turned to leave.

Huzi crouched in front of the prince’s mansion gate. Seeing Da Hei return, he quickly fed him a few pieces of dried meat, praising: “Da Hei, well done! That old shrew was very arrogant—she deserved to be taught a lesson!”

After Da Hei contentedly finished the dried meat, Huzi smiled and patted its dog head, saying: “Come on, let’s go back.”

Da Hei barked a few times and followed Huzi toward the front hall.

Qin Yining was holding Da Bai, her face worried as she repeatedly smoothed the little white dog’s fur. As if able to sense that Qin Yining’s mood wasn’t good, Da Bai lay obediently nestled in Qin Yining’s arms, only its little tail wagging back and forth.

Pang Xiao stood by the window with his hands behind his back, his face dark as water. After a long while, he finally suppressed the anger about to explode in his heart and said: “You’re going back? Where can you go back to? To live with those inhuman creatures at the guesthouse? You simply shouldn’t pay attention to them—let me see what waves they dare to stir up! Imperial selection? With so many girls in the family they don’t send, is Qin Yining the only daughter in the Qin family? I think these people are shameless—they won’t give up until they’ve exploited you to the extreme!”

“How can I ignore them? I was at peace living here with you before because everyone outside knew you had kidnapped me—I had no other choice. But now that the old matriarch has come and spoken about the imperial selection, if I continue to stay, I’ll only harm you.”

“You don’t need to be afraid—I can naturally protect you!” Pang Xiao suddenly turned around, the flames in his eyes seeming capable of burning people.

Qin Yining shook her head: “I naturally know you can protect me, but think about it—how many people outside are waiting to catch you making mistakes? His Majesty’s suspicion of you has never changed. You destroyed Great Yan for him, yet he hasn’t given you any actual rewards and keeps provoking the relationship between you and Duke Dingbei. You’re already walking on thin ice—how could I add to your troubles?”

“Not to mention anything else, just consider this: you already know I’m the woman the Qin family is about to send for selection. If you still hold onto me and won’t let me go, isn’t that obviously defying authority? If someone with ulterior motives catches this as ammunition to accuse you before His Majesty, think for yourself—how many mouths could explain it clearly?”

Pang Xiao understood everything Qin Yining was saying.

But precisely because he understood, and there was no definite solution at hand, Pang Xiao felt angry.

“You… you really plan to participate in the selection?” Pang Xiao strode to Qin Yining’s front, gripping her delicate shoulders with both hands. “Qin Yining, I forbid it. You can only be mine—do you hear me!”

This was the first time Pang Xiao had called her name so seriously, even with what could be called fury. His eyes burned with fierce fire, as if he wanted to burn them both to ashes together.

Qin Yining soothingly patted Pang Xiao’s hands, nodding: “I’ve long been yours—how could I go serve others?”

The water-like gentleness extinguished Pang Xiao’s rage.

Pang Xiao truly lacked confidence, because he was in the midst of chaos and really couldn’t promise to immediately give Qin Yining a life of wealth and peaceful days. All he could guarantee was his own sincere heart.

Any woman who was even slightly realistic wouldn’t consider him as a husband when he was constantly suspected by His Majesty. But serving His Majesty—with her abilities, she would definitely rise through the ranks.

Yet she only had eyes for him.

Pang Xiao stared fixedly at her watery eyes, suddenly overcome with emotion and kissed her fiercely.