Ren Yaoqi slowly took a breath, forcing herself to calm down: “When are you leaving?”
Xiao Jinglin helped Ren Yaoqi sit down on the southern kang and replied: “Right away. As soon as Hongying assembles the men, we’ll go.”
Ren Yaoqi nodded, wanting to ask more but not knowing what to ask. She hadn’t experienced this kind of unsettled feeling for a long time.
Remembering what Xiao Jingxi had said when he left, Ren Yaoqi felt she should trust Xiao Jingxi and believe he would return completely unharmed for her and their child’s sake.
Xiao Jinglin looked at Ren Yaoqi, feeling somewhat worried. If it were any other woman hearing this news, she would surely cry, but Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t. It was precisely because Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t that Xiao Jinglin was more worried, afraid she would bottle up all her emotions and harm her health.
But she couldn’t think of any words to comfort her now. With Ren Yaoqi’s intelligence, any comforting words she said would be useless. What she could do now was only to reach Xiao Jingxi as quickly as possible and bring him back safely.
When Xiao Jinglin said “right away,” she truly meant it. Before long, Hongying came to report.
Xiao Jinglin thought for a moment, then finally just placed her hand on Ren Yaoqi’s shoulder and said: “Don’t worry.”
Ren Yaoqi had already calmed down by now, at least showing no trace of panic on her face. She looked up at Xiao Jinglin with a smile and nodded: “Mm, you also be careful. I’ll wait for you both to return.”
Xiao Jinglin nodded, stood up, and left.
After Xiao Jinglin left, Ren Yaoqi casually picked up a book she had placed on the kang table to read, wanting to calm her mind. But after looking at it for a long time, she realized she hadn’t even turned half a page.
Ren Yaoqi smiled bitterly, finally put down the book, and dropped her pretense of composure. She was just an ordinary woman who would be restless and troubled over her husband trapped in danger.
The northern situation was complex. With Xiao Jingxi’s whereabouts unknown, even though Xiao Jinglin had taken people to provide backup, Ren Yaoqi still couldn’t completely relax.
Could she only sit here waiting for news of him? Ren Yaoqi had always believed that one should exhaust human effort before accepting heaven’s will. Although Xiao Jingxi was now thousands of miles away and she was confined to the manor’s inner courtyard, there were always some things she could do.
Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi stood up.
Pingguo, who had been carefully attending nearby, immediately came to support Ren Yaoqi: “Miss, what do you need?”
Ren Yaoqi said, “To the study.”
Pingguo thought Ren Yaoqi wanted to go to the study to practice calligraphy or painting, but unexpectedly, Ren Yaoqi headed outside.
There were two studies in Zhaoning Hall. The western secondary room among the five main hall rooms was a small study that Ren Yaoqi usually used, where sometimes Xiao Jingxi would accompany her to read and write.
But Xiao Jingxi had his study in the outer hall of Zhaoning Hall, where he usually handled official business. The study Ren Yaoqi mentioned was this other study.
Pingguo glanced at Ren Yaoqi but said nothing, quietly following beside her and supporting her arm.
Xiao Jingxi had never prevented Ren Yaoqi from going to his outer study, but Ren Yaoqi herself rarely went there. She observed all the proper rules for inner quarters women impeccably.
Although Xiao Jingxi wasn’t there, his study still had guardians—Xiao Jingxi’s attendants, Tongxi and Tonghe.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi approach, Tongxi and Tonghe respectfully stepped forward, bowed, and called out “Young Madam.”
Ren Yaoqi nodded and asked: “Do you have the study key?”
Tongxi and Tonghe exchanged glances. Tonghe lowered his head and said, “Replying to Young Madam, we clean the study daily, so the key is with this servant.”
“Then please open the door for me. I need to go in.”
Tonghe glanced at Ren Yaoqi, thought for a moment, then, without asking anything, took out the key and opened the study door behind him.
Logically, Xiao Jingxi’s study was where he handled official business daily, considered an important area of the manor. When Xiao Jingxi wasn’t there, no one else should be allowed in; otherwise, if anything happened, these attendants would lose more than just their lives.
If it were someone else guarding the study today, they might not dare let Ren Yaoqi in while Xiao Jingxi was away. But Tonghe had served Xiao Jingxi since childhood and understood his master’s intentions extremely precisely, so after just a moment’s thought, he made his decision.
After Ren Yaoqi entered, both Tonghe and Tongxi stayed outside to avoid impropriety, with only Pingguo following in to attend.
Tongxi moved his lips slightly and whispered: “This isn’t proper, is it?”
Tonghe lifted his eyelids to glance at Tongxi, similarly moving his lips: “Why didn’t you say so when I was opening the door?”
Tongxi blinked. He was originally from Prince Xian’s manor and had always considered Ren Yaoqi his master. When the master gave orders, he only had to obey, right?
Tonghe’s expression remained unchanged as he slightly moved his lips: “Master instructed long ago that Young Madam’s orders are his orders. I’m just following orders. No matter how important the rules, they’re not more important than master’s commands.”
Tongxi looked at Tonghe, grinned, and honestly stood guard for the master inside.
The lip-reading conversation between Tongxi and Tonghe was so subtle that even standing beside them, one might not hear clearly, so Ren Yaoqi, who had already entered the study, naturally didn’t hear.
After entering, Ren Yaoqi looked around, then walked directly to sit behind the desk piled with official documents and began reading through the papers.
Though there were many things on the desk with documents piled high, Xiao Jingxi had organized them by category, so it wasn’t messy. Ren Yaoqi wasn’t in a hurry either, picking up the official documents one by one to read carefully.
Pingguo stood silently behind Ren Yaoqi, attending without a word.
Ren Yaoqi sat there for several hours. As the sky darkened, Pingguo brought in a lamp stand, lit candles, and placed them on the desk, then quietly withdrew.
After a while, Pingguo entered with a tea tray and set it on a nearby small table. The tray held a cup of chicken soup, a bowl of porridge, and several small plates of pastries.
“Miss, please have something first.”
Ren Yaoqi, who had been pondering a document, came back to her senses. Though she had no appetite, thinking of the child in her belly, she didn’t make Pingguo persuade her further. She put down what she was holding, walked to the small table, sat down, and ate everything Pingguo had brought, leaving only a few pieces of cake.
After eating, Ren Yaoqi walked around the study, then sat back behind the desk.
It wasn’t until the third watch drum sounded outside that Ren Yaoqi rose and left the study with Pingguo.
Tongxi and Tonghe were still waiting outside. They had originally wanted to go in and remind her it was getting late, but unexpectedly, the master came out herself.
After Ren Yaoqi left, Tongxi said to Tonghe: “Don’t worry, Young Madam knows what she’s doing. She’s aware when it’s time to eat and rest.”
Ren Yaoqi indeed knew what she was doing. She was now with child and wouldn’t use the baby to throw tantrums.
Ren Yaoqi’s several hours in the study weren’t fruitless. After resting for the night, she ate her usual portion for breakfast the next day, satisfying the head maid the Princess Consort had sent to watch her eat, who returned contentedly.
After breakfast, Ren Yaoqi went to the study again with Pingguo.
Ren Yaoqi gathered the documents she had found the previous day, read through them carefully once more, and then became thoughtful.
From these documents, Ren Yaoqi pieced together some clues. At this moment, she was especially grateful to Master Pei. When studying under Master Pei years ago, the Imperial Tutor most enjoyed testing her ability to analyze useful information from texts. Sometimes one book couldn’t give you answers, but several books pieced together could provide the answer.
Ren Yaoqi thought for a long time, then took a blank sheet of paper from Xiao Jingxi’s desk and wrote a letter.
After writing and sealing it, Ren Yaoqi handed the letter to Pingguo: “Have Yuan Dayong go to Hezhong and deliver this letter personally to my maternal grandmother.”
Pingguo received the letter with both hands and bowed in acknowledgment.
After they left the study, Pingguo called Leshan and Leshui to attend to Ren Yaoqi while she hurriedly left with Ren Yaoqi’s letter.
Ren Yaoqi then went to Jiuyang Hall with Leshan and Leshui, remembering the Princess Consort’s instruction to walk around more when she had nothing to do.
That day, after Xiao Jinglin left Yanbei Prince’s Manor, she immediately left the city with her people and rode north at full speed.
Half a day after leaving Yunyang City, upon reaching Sheng’an County, Xiao Jinglin suddenly stopped her horse without warning.
The people Xiao Jinglin had brought were all her trusted elites. When she stopped and raised her hand, everyone stopped with unified movements, and even their horses’ neighing was synchronized.
“Princess? Shall we rest here?” Hongying tightened her reins and asked for instructions.
Xiao Jinglin was rushing to Wuzhou at full speed, so logically, she wouldn’t stop to rest now.
Xiao Jinglin remained silent in place for a moment, then said calmly: “You lead them to continue. I’ll meet you at the next rest point.”
Hongying acknowledged with a bow, then made a gesture to the people behind her before spurring her horse forward. The entire team followed without anyone glancing at Xiao Jinglin, standing aside.
Only after everyone left did Xiao Jinglin turn her horse around.
They hadn’t taken the main road but rather a fairly wide, small path. Besides the dust raised by the cavalry’s passage, there was nothing on the road they had come from.
Yet Xiao Jinglin said coldly, “You’ve followed us all this way. Come out.”
There was still no movement ahead. Xiao Jinglin said nothing more, only staring coldly at a mountain path entrance hidden behind stone walls not far away.
After a while, there was finally movement there. One person and one horse emerged from behind the stone wall, walking out from the side path.