Qin Yining felt like a small fish floating and sinking in water. The river water warmed by sunlight was clear and warm, and she cast aside all her troubles, swimming freely and carefree, not remembering who she was or where she was swimming to.
At some unknown time, the water became increasingly shallow, and a pair of large hands scooped her up.
That person lifted one corner of his mouth in a smile, his phoenix eyes clear as he held her before him.
She seemed to hear someone calling her by her ears—Xiao Xi, Xiao Xi, little rabbit, little rabbit.
Qin Yining suddenly became angry.
She was indeed called Xiao Xi, but now she was called Qin Yining. And who was this little rabbit?
The sudden surge of anger brought all her memories flooding back into her mind. Thinking of her mother on the execution ground, Qin Yining suddenly opened her eyes and sat up with a start.
“Mother!”
“Miss, you’re awake?”
“Yi’er, do you feel better?”
Qin Yining looked at her mother sitting by the bedside holding her hand and her father watching her with concern, then glanced around at the somewhat unfamiliar room. For a moment she couldn’t react to the situation before her, and was already being embraced by Sun Shi.
“Yi’er, you’ve finally awakened. Do you know you’ve been unconscious for an entire day?”
“Mother?” Qin Yining slowly raised both arms to embrace Sun Shi, feeling certain she must be dreaming.
Her mother was cold toward her most of the time—when had she ever been so gentle with her?
Qin Yining rested her face against Sun Shi’s shoulder. If this was a dream, then let this dream last a little longer.
Her incredulous, cautious, yet especially treasuring expression made both Qin Huaiyuan and Pang Xiao feel a pang of heartache.
Pang Xiao frowned, secretly wondering just how much grief this biological mother had caused this foolish girl.
Qin Huaiyuan’s large hand unconsciously stroked her head.
Qin Yining felt something was even more amiss.
How could the sense of touch in a dream be so clear? Her mother’s embrace was so warm, the few drops of warm tears that had fallen on her neck had already turned cool, and her father’s hand touching her forehead was warm and real.
There were also Pang Xiao, Bingtang, Song Lan, and Huzi watching her with smiles nearby.
She came to her senses and said with surprise and joy, “Mother, you’re all right!”
“All right now, all right now.” Sun Shi touched Qin Yining’s cheek, “Do you feel better?”
“I’m fine, I’ve always been fine.”
“That’s good. Seeing you faint gave me such a fright.”
“Mother frightened me too. I thought I’d never see you again.” As Qin Yining spoke, tears were already welling up in her eyes. But she forced a smile and didn’t let the tears fall, looking at Qin Huaiyuan and saying, “It must have been Father who came to rescue Mother.” Otherwise, the supervising executioner would still have proceeded with the execution even with Pang Xiao present.
Qin Huaiyuan said with shame, “It was Prince Pang who saved your mother. Your father was with His Majesty in the palace the whole time and never got the chance to come out. It was only later when His Majesty heard that Prince Pang had personally arrived that he brought your father along.”
Qin Yining looked at Pang Xiao in surprise.
She remembered now.
Pang Xiao had arrogantly told the supervising executioner to get the Emperor to speak. Given the foolish ruler’s temperament, wouldn’t he wet his pants upon seeing Pang Xiao? Naturally, whatever Pang Xiao said would go.
So it really was Pang Xiao who had saved Sun Shi?
Adding this to Pang Xiao’s previous life-saving grace at Immortal Maiden Temple for her, her mother, and grandmother, his protective kindness toward her in Xihua City, and now saving Sun Shi at the execution ground—he had already saved her three times.
Qin Yining threw off the covers, got up and went to the ground, kneeling on both knees before Pang Xiao to kowtow.
Her face was as white as snow and her body weak. How could Pang Xiao bear to let her perform such ceremony? He hurriedly reached out to support her, “What are you doing? Get up quickly.”
Qin Yining refused to rise, but being supported by his hands on her arms, she couldn’t kowtow either. She could only look up gratefully at him as he bent over.
“Your Highness has rescued me multiple times, and this time saved my mother’s life. I have no way to repay you. In the future, if Your Highness has any commands, just speak them, and this humble woman will go through fire and water without hesitation, even unto death.”
Who would bear to have you die?
Pang Xiao looked at Qin Yining’s pretty face up close, his ears growing hot. He applied slight pressure with both hands and helped her to her feet.
“Miss Qin need not do this. This prince was merely acting in passing.”
Huzi, hearing this, couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth twice.
Clearly he had been living well at Immortal Maiden Temple, but upon receiving the secret report from the Elite Tiger Guards, he had rushed here with all speed. Yet in front of the person concerned, instead of taking credit cleverly, he actually spouted nonsense about “acting in passing.” How could he win the beauty’s heart this way? It was maddening!
“There’s no such thing as such an easy coincidence in this world.” Qin Yining smiled, “Your Highness has a special status—being able to move about in Great Yan is already difficult. I’m not someone who doesn’t know what’s good for her. Although Your Highness sometimes speaks in ways that are… rather unconventional, I can see clearly what Your Highness has done. When I say I will repay you, I certainly will.”
Upon hearing this, Pang Xiao’s admiration for her increased another level.
He knew she was a perceptive person, and indeed, she had not disappointed his affection. She could always intelligently look past appearances to see the essence of things. Though she didn’t like the things he said, she also wouldn’t erase what he had done for her.
Pang Xiao waved his hand, “Miss Qin need not take it to heart. Since you’re all right, this prince will take his leave.”
Qin Yining, thinking he must have other matters to attend to, curtsied deeply, “Your Highness, farewell.”
Pang Xiao looked at her deeply once more before leaving with Huzi.
Qin Huaiyuan rose to see them out.
Only then did Qin Yining take Sun Shi’s hand and say, “Mother, you’ve suffered. When I returned home and found you weren’t in the residence, I heard you had entered the palace with Madam Cao? Did they mistreat you?”
“Staying briefly in the palace, no one really mistreated me, but facing someone like the Empress made me very nervous.”
Qin Yining nodded and asked again, “Then why did you offend the Empress and His Majesty that day?”
Sun Shi was startled by the question and said in surprise, “When did I ever offend His Majesty and the Empress?”
Seeing Sun Shi’s expression, Qin Yining’s doubts grew even stronger.
The fact that Sun Shi was sitting perfectly fine before her had already aroused her suspicions.
Sun Shi was not a bold person. Having just nearly been executed, she should be frightened and weak right now. How could she appear to be perfectly fine?
“Mother didn’t offend His Majesty and the Empress? But I heard from outside that the Empress wanted to bestow two of His Majesty’s palace concubines to Father as concubines. You disagreed and argued with the Empress in court, insulting her, which led to your initial death sentence. Later when the Emperor came to mediate, you called the Emperor a foolish ruler, and His Majesty in his rage sentenced you to public beheading.”
Sun Shi’s face turned deathly pale upon hearing this, and she shook her head repeatedly, “Do you think I’m insane! Even with the greatest hatred, I know the gravity of situations. How much courage would I need to call His Majesty a foolish ruler? If you say I argued because of the Empress bestowing concubines, that’s even more impossible. I’m not that kind of jealous woman… Well, although I don’t like your father taking concubines, I certainly wouldn’t forbid it. Why would I openly confront the Empress?”
“So you did none of these things? Then how were you sent to the execution ground?”
Sun Shi shook her head, “I’m puzzled too. I was resting well in the palace when a nanny called me out. That nanny only said it wasn’t really to kill me, gave no explanation, then gagged my mouth, bound me, and escorted me to the Meridian Gate.”
Just as Sun Shi finished speaking, they heard the creak of a door opening.
Qin Huaiyuan slowly walked in.
Qin Yining looked at Qin Huaiyuan with confusion.
Qin Yining believed Sun Shi’s words. Sun Shi was not a very scheming person and wouldn’t lie about such matters.
Then how could palace servants dare to drag a legitimate wife of an official from her bed, gag her mouth, and escort her to the execution ground?
Though the imperial family was indeed august, if such a thing were done without any explanation to Father, how could Father have no complaints at all? His Majesty could indeed raise his hand and destroy the Qin family, but Qin Yining also believed her father was definitely not the kind of soft persimmon who could be kneaded and shaped at will.
So there was only one conclusion.
Father knew about this matter.
“Father?” Qin Yining asked with confusion, “Do you know what really happened in all this?”
Qin Huaiyuan sat in the round chair by the window, lowering his eyes to fiddle with the covered teacup in his hands, sighing, “I don’t know the specific situation. His Majesty kept me in the imperial study, saying he wanted to chat idly with me, and wouldn’t let me return. As for the matters at the execution ground, I only learned of them when I arrived there.”
“So the so-called palace banquet never took place either?”
Qin Huaiyuan shook his head, keeping his eyes lowered and avoiding Qin Yining’s gaze.
Qin Yining frowned in thought.
The Emperor had used their Qin family to set up a scheme.
But what was His Majesty’s purpose?
Out of nowhere, he had bound her mother to be escorted to the execution ground, claiming she would be publicly beheaded. This clearly looked like a large trap, as if to test someone.
Thinking of this, Qin Yining was suddenly alarmed.
The Emperor wasn’t really going to kill her mother. If the people she had arranged had really gone to rescue her from the execution ground, what would have happened?
The Emperor must have secretly deployed additional forces. She had only found four people—whether they could even successfully escape was questionable. If these four people were captured and the Emperor’s men interrogated them to discover the mastermind was actually her, then the entire Qin family might…
Qin Yining broke out in a cold sweat down her spine.
At this moment she was infinitely grateful that Pang Xiao had arrived in time and disrupted this scheme. Otherwise, her impulsive actions this time might really have brought great disaster upon the Qin family!
And Father…
Qin Yining looked at her father in terror, murmuring, “Father, after this round of peace negotiations, has His Majesty’s attitude toward you changed? Should we be keeping a lower profile now?”
The Emperor’s actions this time might also have been to test Qin Huaiyuan. Perhaps he suspected Qin Huaiyuan of having treasonous intentions?
Qin Huaiyuan looked at Qin Yining with complex emotions.
There were some things he couldn’t tell her and Sun Shi, so he could only let Qin Yining speculate wildly on her own.
Qin Huaiyuan felt he was wronging Qin Yining and Sun Shi, but some matters, if spoken of, might invite even greater disaster.
He could only sigh softly and say, “Yi’er need not worry. Your father will handle these matters well. Now that you’re awake, we haven’t returned home since coming back to the capital. Why don’t we pack up and set out for home?”
Qin Yining knew Qin Huaiyuan must have his difficulties, so she didn’t press further.
Thinking of the Old Dowager’s expression, Qin Yining shook her head, “Father can return to the residence first. But I won’t return with Mother so easily.”
Qin Huaiyuan was startled and asked in confusion, “Yi’er, what do you mean by this?”
Qin Yining smiled, but that smile looked worse than crying.
“Father, I don’t want to speak of the rights and wrongs of my elders. After Father returns to the residence, you’ll know what happened with a single inquiry. Yi’er is not unfilial, but for the sake of Mother and me being able to live better in the residence in the future, please understand your daughter’s actions at this time.”