Qin Yining’s hand was held within Pang Xiao’s large palm, where she could clearly feel the friction from the rough calluses on his hand, as well as the temperature that was obviously higher than her own.

She hurriedly tried to withdraw her hand, but her wrist was gripped by Pang Xiao with neither too much nor too little force—not enough to hurt her, yet she couldn’t retreat even half an inch.

Qin Yining’s cheeks flushed like flying clouds, her lustrous watery eyes glancing at Pang Xiao with annoyance. Knowing she couldn’t break free, she stopped struggling and merely gave a cold laugh: “You underestimate me far too much. She had the intention to bully me, but now she’s the one in a worse state.”

Pang Xiao watched as the person who had been soft and delicate just moments ago suddenly became fierce, finding her gentleness even more gentle and her fierceness even more fierce. She was like Er’Bai when stirred up—seemingly harmless but then scratching him once before turning her little bottom toward him. This truly made him like her intensely.

Seeing the atmosphere between the two had eased, Bingtang finally said: “Your Highness, please sit down first. The acupuncture isn’t finished yet. You have quite a few old injuries on your body that inevitably ache and itch during rainy weather. Later, this servant will prescribe a restorative formula for you. You’ll need to take it for at least a year or two before seeing improvement.”

Huzi said: “Your Highness spends most of his time in military camps, making it difficult to take medicine for recuperation. But as long as you’re willing to prescribe a good formula, even if I have to carry medicinal herbs onto the battlefield, I’ll persist in brewing medicine for Your Highness.”

Pang Xiao sat down on an embroidered stool near Qin Yining, and Bingtang took up the needles to continue her treatment.

However, Qin Yining caught the implication in Huzi’s words and asked: “How is it that Your Highness’s Huben Army achieved great merit but isn’t returning to receive rewards? Could it be there’s another battle ahead?”

Upon hearing this, Huzi secretly cursed himself for his slip of tongue, while marveling at Qin Yining’s keen perception. Not daring to look at Pang Xiao, he lowered his head.

Pang Xiao merely smiled: “Don’t worry. No matter how busy training becomes, I’ll find a way to come see you.”

Qin Yining heard the implication of parting in his words. She knew that as a prince of Great Zhou, he couldn’t possibly remain in Great Yan forever. Though she felt reluctant to part, this person spoke far too recklessly.

“Your Highness should be more cautious with your words. Aren’t you afraid of criticism and misunderstanding by acting this way?”

Pang Xiao raised an eyebrow: “How strange. From the very first day I had feelings for you, I’ve never concealed them. Go ask anyone—don’t they all know that I’m fond of you? What is there for them to criticize? What is there to misunderstand?”

This man was simply incorrigible!

Qin Yining said with both shame and anger: “How can you be so domineering! I hope you won’t speak this way in the future. Whom you fancy is your business—you needn’t use me as the subject of your jokes. We two are from different countries with different positions, with national enmities lying between us. Knowing it’s impossible, why do you persist in behaving this way time and again?”

“So you’re saying that if there were no national enmities, no differences in nationality, you would think we might have a chance? At worst, I’ll just remove these differences.”

Qin Yining looked in astonishment at Pang Xiao’s completely serious expression. At this moment, he had shed his usual frivolous attitude in front of her, his expression extremely focused and earnest.

Qin Yining’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat: “You really needn’t use such weighty topics to joke with me. I’m just a small woman who cannot bear such things.”

“Who told you this was a joke?”

“You…”

Qin Yining was so angry her face flushed red, but facing Pang Xiao, she simply couldn’t fathom what this man was truly thinking.

He was always domineering toward her, acting without asking her opinion, yet everything he did was for her benefit, making it impossible for her to truly be angry. His actions followed no pattern, making it impossible to strategize against him or predict what he would do next.

This type of person in the political arena would naturally be the kind that others hate to the point of gnashing their teeth yet can do nothing about. How did she end up encountering him!

Seeing Qin Yining turn her face away and fall silent again, Pang Xiao smiled helplessly: “Why are you angry? Don’t overthink things—you know well that many matters follow the general trend.”

As if seeing that Qin Yining was unwilling to discuss this topic further, Pang Xiao stopped pursuing it, sighing: “I know you feel uneasy. Rest assured, I’m not such a frivolous person. Have you ever seen me flirt with others?”

Qin Yining’s face burned hot again, and before she could speak, Huzi spoke up first: “Fourth Miss, this subordinate can testify that our prince has never been so devoted to any other woman!”

His expression was so serious he nearly raised three fingers to swear an oath.

Pang Xiao looked at Huzi with satisfaction, then said to Qin Yining: “Put your mind at ease. I will definitely find a way to marry you properly.”

A thunderous roar exploded in her mind. Qin Yining stared at Pang Xiao with a crimson face and burning ears, a hundred different feelings mixing together until she didn’t know what she was truly feeling.

“When did I ever say I would marry you?”

“Everyone under heaven knows you’re my woman. If you don’t marry me, who else would you marry?” Pang Xiao narrowed his phoenix eyes, danger gleaming in his gaze. “Or are you saying you fancy bookworms like Yuchi Yan?”

Hearing him actually drag the Crown Prince into this, Qin Yining found it even more unbelievable: “Why must you speak such nonsense to provoke me?”

Pang Xiao carefully studied her expression, his tone softening slightly: “That boy only has a pretty face. He’s indecisive in his actions and only knows how to write and paint. He’s not worthy of you.”

Qin Yining very much wanted to say: “And you think you’re worthy of me?”

But the words reached her lips only to be swallowed back down. Her face turned as red as the evening clouds on the horizon, her face, neck, and ears all flushed.

Pang Xiao saw her entire person turn pink, soft like glutinous rice cake that made one want to take a bite, and felt his heart itch unbearably.

At this time, Bingtang had finished removing the needles. Huzi went to prepare robes for Pang Xiao, who gave Qin Yining a deep look before turning to enter the inner room to change clothes. Bingtang went to one side to write prescriptions.

Qin Yining lowered her head to look at her right hand, which Pang Xiao had carefully re-bandaged while speaking, becoming lost in thought in her daze.

Did she hate Pang Xiao?

The answer was naturally negative.

Not only did she not hate him, sometimes when she saw him, her heart would even secretly give birth to some joy.

He was indeed too domineering, but everything he did showed his regard and affection for her. All of this made her unable to resist, yet also warmed her heart.

Especially his repeated rescues and protection of her.

Qin Yining was someone who had been lonely and independent since childhood. She was always planning for herself and also for others. Whether it was for her adoptive mother in childhood or for Sun Shi after returning home, she was always habitually taking these people under her protection.

From childhood to now, she rarely experienced that feeling of being protected by others herself. She even felt that despite being born with a female body, she was actually stronger than men inside.

Only when encountering Pang Xiao did she truly feel that she was also a woman. She could know that she too would have moments of vulnerability and need to rely on others.

This feeling made her heart race.

But while secretly rejoicing and feeling elated, reason kept telling her that too many things lay between them.

Qin Yining’s slender, pale left hand gently caressed her right hand, her downcast eyelashes concealing the emotions in her eyes.

Pang Xiao emerged wearing a dark python robe and saw Qin Yining with her head lowered in contemplation.

Her hair, like satin, fell smoothly behind her. Her fair, delicate neck appeared elongated, and her profile was also quite beautiful. Her slightly furrowed willow-leaf brows and downcast long lashes all indicated she was troubled, as if filled with sorrows she couldn’t vent.

This realization made Pang Xiao feel as if a stone pressed on his heart.

Previously, he hadn’t been clear about his own thoughts, only feeling that his care and curiosity toward Qin Yining should be based on their childhood encounter.

Or perhaps because all her current sufferings stemmed from his father’s advisor, he felt she was innocent and harbored some desire to make amends?

Or maybe because they shared similar fates of being controlled by others?

Pang Xiao admitted he had been too domineering toward her, entirely due to that bit of possessiveness.

But during this period, whenever he encountered matters concerning her, he always lost control of his emotions. Often reason would retreat and emotion would take the upper hand, with everything he did favoring her. This made him understand that perhaps his heart was more honest than his reason—his affection for her might be more than he had anticipated.

Initially, he felt that with national boundaries between them, their complex relationship, and her father being a renowned minister of Great Yan, it would likely be very difficult for him, as Great Zhou’s only prince with a different surname, to marry her properly.

But the more they interacted, the more his heart inclined toward her.

He even began to feel that even if marrying her would be extremely difficult, requiring tremendous effort, even needing to change many of his previous plans and redeploy many arrangements, it all seemed worthwhile.

Perhaps Qin Yining was still resistant.

But in Pang Xiao’s heart, he already considered her his woman. And making his woman frown was his greatest failure as a man.

“What’s wrong?” Pang Xiao crouched in front of Qin Yining.

Qin Yining was surprised by his action and hurriedly shook her head, the pearl hair ornaments swaying behind her head, creating bright halos of light.

“If there’s anything that makes you unhappy, tell me.” Pang Xiao’s tone was very serious.

His intimate and natural words made Qin Yining feel somewhat dazed, as if they had known each other for a long time and such natural conversation was commonplace.

“Your Highness, you needn’t…”

“Just call me Zhixi.” Pang Xiao pulled her hand and stood up. “I told you long ago that my courtesy name is Zhixi.”

Qin Yining’s face flushed red again as she lowered her head, unwilling to respond.

Addressing a man by his courtesy name—how intimate a gesture was that?

Seeing her about to bury her face in his chest, Pang Xiao was in excellent spirits and smiled: “My subordinates sent several fine horses from Great Zhou. I selected two gentle ones—one for you and one for Miss Tang as thanks for treating my illness. The weather is fine today. How about I take you both to the outskirts to exercise the horses?”

Bingtang’s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. Forgetting to pack her medical kit, she asked eagerly: “Does Your Highness truly mean this?”

“Of course I mean it.” Pang Xiao bent slightly to look at Qin Yining’s face: “How about it? Will you go?”

Qin Yining very much wanted to go.

Though she had never learned proper horsemanship, she could ride. Due to her past experience of being saved by wild horses and living with a wild herd, she had a special fondness for horses.

However, going horseback riding with him was somewhat improper.

Pang Xiao grabbed her uninjured left hand, his grip gentle but his words full of impatience: “I shouldn’t have asked your opinion. Next time I’ll just tie you up and take you directly.”

Qin Yining was thus pulled downstairs.

Huzi and Bingtang followed cheerfully behind the pair.