Qin Yining put on her cloak and watched with a smile as Pang Xiao and Yuchi Yan exchanged veiled barbs while maintaining superficial harmony. Seeing that Yuchi Yan had backed down, she immediately stopped hesitating and headed outside with the children.
Pang Xiao followed closely behind, courteously bidding farewell to his colleagues and catching up with Qin Yining’s pace.
However, Huzi and the guards didn’t dare relax or slack off in the slightest. Their muscles were taut like leopards ready to pounce and tear at prey at any moment, escorting Pang Xiao’s party toward the palace exit. As they walked, one person after another rejoined the group, making the guard formation even stronger.
Yuchi Yan and Gu Shixiong led everyone to see them off, observing how each of Pang Xiao’s elite soldiers was tall and strong, their weapons gleaming coldly in the torchlight. This made them doubt their earlier plan to capture Pang Xiao in one fell swoop.
Forget it. Better not to move against this fierce man right now.
Just as Pang Xiao had said, there was always tomorrow. As long as they remained in this territory, there would be no shortage of opportunities to strike. The people here were all wholeheartedly loyal to Great Yan!
Thinking of this, Gu Shixiong’s expression relaxed.
Yuchi Yan had also abandoned his thoughts of confronting Pang Xiao head-on, and with a sullen face, escorted them out of the palace.
Qin Yining had been tense the entire way. Upon reaching the palace gates, she immediately let out a long breath and looked back at the vermilion palace doors, saying in a low voice: “We should leave this place first. Imperial palaces of all dynasties are the places with the heaviest ominous aura. Look, as soon as we came out, the children stopped crying.”
Pang Xiao collected his thoughts and looked at his two sons wearing tiger-head caps, dressed in red padded jackets, and wrapped in bright red cotton quilts. Their eyes were bright and sparkling, curiously observing their surroundings. Indeed, they had both stopped crying.
Pang Xiao clicked his tongue in wonder, then said: “It’s cold. Let’s quickly get in the carriage so you and the children don’t catch cold.”
Qin Yining nodded and got into the carriage with the children. Bingtang nimbly fanned the fire in the delicate charcoal brazier to make it burn brighter.
This time Pang Xiao didn’t ride horseback either, simply getting into the carriage and sitting shoulder to shoulder with Qin Yining.
Ji Yun and the others all got out of the carriage.
Qin Yining held Zhao Ge’er in her arms, and before getting out, Bingtang stuffed Han Ge’er into Pang Xiao’s embrace.
The two children grew more beautiful as they developed, and both seemed to be sensible from an early age, never crying and fussing in the middle of the night, being particularly considerate of Qin Yining and the wet nurse.
At this moment, Han Ge’er was grasping Pang Xiao’s collar, his round, bright eyes examining the surroundings.
Zhao Ge’er, meanwhile, was squinting and leaning against Qin Yining’s shoulder as if about to fall asleep, the small red mole between his brows making his little face as adorable as a New Year painting doll.
Qin Yining coaxed the child while saying softly: “Just now in the palace, I thought we’d have to go through quite an ordeal to escape. Fortunately, you used both carrot and stick to intimidate them.”
Pang Xiao smiled and lowered his head to play with Han Ge’er in his arms, keeping his voice low: “They originally intended to make their move today. It was only later, fearing the strength of the Tiger Guards, that they didn’t act rashly. But I don’t think they’ll give up. They’ll definitely look for another opportunity to strike.”
Qin Yining naturally understood. If they eliminated Pang Xiao, it would be equivalent to cutting off half of the Great Zhou emperor’s support. Yuchi Yan’s group would definitely not want to miss such an opportunity.
Qin Yining was somewhat worried, but she wouldn’t voice these needless concerns to make the atmosphere even more tense.
“Will you go to the military camp later?”
“Yes.” Pang Xiao said, “The military camp is a must. I suspect something’s gone wrong with Deng Minchang. Otherwise, with so many former Great Yan ministers coming today, there’s no reason for a garrison general like Deng Minchang not to come personally to welcome me.”
“I think so too. Prince Zhengnan’s behavior just now was enough to indicate the problem.” Qin Yining pondered for a moment, then said, “But it’s too late now. Why don’t you go tomorrow instead and get a good rest today?”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate. After all, I’m the Pingnan Grand Marshal. Coming to the old capital without first taking up my post, but instead staying home with wife and children by the warm kang—if I were impeached for this, it would be a major weakness. I’ll send you and the children back to the old residence first, then I must go to the military camp.”
Upon hearing this, Qin Yining could only sigh helplessly.
At the thought of parting from Qin Yining, Pang Xiao felt reluctant. He stretched out his long arm to embrace Qin Yining’s shoulder, letting her lean into his embrace, then lowered his head to kiss her forehead: “Don’t worry, I can handle it. I’ll leave all the Tiger Guards to protect you and the children. Just stay peacefully, and we can contact each other anytime.”
To say she wasn’t worried at all would be a lie.
If it were before, Qin Yining could have dressed as a man and followed Pang Xiao to the military camp. But not now. Her two little treasures couldn’t endure the hardships of military camp life. Children inevitably cried, which would have a bad influence in the military camp and could easily cause trouble for Pang Xiao.
She had no other choice—she really could only take the children to stay in the Qin family’s old residence and wait for news.
“You don’t need to leave the Tiger Guards for me. The situation on your side is unknown—who knows how many people you might need? I have my own people to use. Don’t forget, I’m a alliance leader too, however small.”
Pang Xiao chuckled and pecked at her forehead again: “I wondered why you released so many carrier pigeons along the way. Did you contact Master Liao and the others?”
“Mm. Besides, coming here, I should also greet Grandmother. When things settle down, I can even visit her. My grandmother isn’t an ordinary person. When she was the Duke Dingguo’s wife, she was skilled at managing both inside and outside affairs. Even after all the men of the Duke Dingguo mansion were gone, she could lead the old, weak women and children to survive, and even become the alliance leader of the Azure Heaven Alliance to avenge my grandfather and uncles. During this period when I went to the capital with you, my farms and businesses in the south could develop smoothly partly because Grandmother secretly helped a great deal.”
Speaking of this, Qin Yining smiled proudly: “Don’t worry. I’m something of a ‘local snake’ here, you could say. You really don’t need to leave everyone for me. If you take the Tiger Guards with you, I’ll feel more at ease and won’t constantly worry about you.”
Pang Xiao’s heart nearly melted into a puddle.
So understanding and well-behaved, working hard to ensure he had no worries, yet capable herself—even without him there, she could still handle things independently.
How could he be so fortunate as to marry her as his wife!
Pang Xiao held a child with one hand and embraced his wife with the other, his body swaying slightly with the carriage’s motion, completely immersed in contentment.
“Yining, how wonderful.”
That kind of happiness couldn’t be described in words.
But Qin Yining understood Pang Xiao’s meaning and smiled: “Don’t worry, our future days will be even better.”
“Yes. I believe it.”
The group returned to the former Qin family residence.
After renovation, the current Qin Manor had taken on a completely new appearance, though in this vast mansion, there were no longer any of the original Qin family members present. Only a few old servants remained to watch over the house.
Pang Xiao held Qin Yining’s hand and walked into the manor by the light of lanterns carried by the guards, smiling: “Where do you plan to stay? In the Shuoren Studio where father-in-law once lived, or in the Xueli Courtyard where you stayed when you first returned to the manor?”
Qin Yining asked in surprise: “How do you know all this so clearly?”