Li Qitian gazed at a coral bonsai in the corner of the inner hall, lost in thought for a moment. Emotions struggled uncertainly in his eyes. He remained in a daze for a full half hour before his expression shed its hesitation and became resolute.

“Li Guanwen.”

“This servant is here.” Li Guanwen, who had been standing in the shadowy corner, immediately stepped forward and bowed.

Li Qitian’s voice echoed through the spacious hall: “Go to Cining Palace and send some fashionable fabrics to Helan. Tell He Xiang to serve her mistress well and not to harbor any crooked thoughts. If I find out otherwise, I definitely won’t spare her.”

“Yes. This servant will go immediately. Your Majesty, will you be selecting a tablet tonight?”

After thinking for a moment, Li Guanwen said: “I will go see the Empress.”

Qin Yining had been living increasingly peacefully these days. Ever since that day when she encountered the two concubines and was furiously scolded by Pang Xiao, she had been confined to her quarters. Suxue Garden had pleasant scenery, and the people serving her were confidants arranged by Pang Xiao. She only kept Lian Xiaozhou by her side, living together with her. When free, she would teach Lian Xiaozhou various things.

For instance, she would try to ask Lian Xiaozhou questions, letting her practice answering. She would also teach Lian Xiaozhou common knowledge and etiquette of the mortal world, or teach her tea ceremony and cooking. In short, whenever Qin Yining encountered something that Lian Xiaozhou didn’t know but she understood, she would patiently explain it to her.

This day, after finishing lunch, Qin Yining was feeling bored when she heard several dog barks.

The barking sounds included one deep and one thin and small. The thin, small one was clearly from Da Bai’s commotion. The other unfamiliar one had an unknown source.

Hearing the sounds, Lian Xiaozhou jumped up happily, “Sister, doggies!” She said this while running outside.

There was a dog hole in the back wall of Suxue Garden, and Yao Shi’s Pekingese Da Bai often crawled through to play.

Qin Yining chased after her to put a cotton cloak on her, instructing: “Go slowly, don’t fall!”

The main maid serving her, Xianyun, smiled and said: “Miss really treats Miss Lian like a real younger sister.”

Xianyun had a delicate figure and beautiful features. Like Ji Yun, she was one of Pang Xiao’s confidants, worthy of trust.

Ji Yun excelled in martial arts, so Pang Xiao had given Ji Yun to Qin Yining that day to protect her closely.

Xianyun didn’t know martial arts, but she was cautious and clever. She was very knowledgeable in tea ceremony, cooking, needlework, and women’s crafts, and was very capable at managing the maids in the courtyard. She could handle matters properly without Qin Yining having to worry about them. She was extremely clever and sensible. Now living in the prince’s mansion, Pang Xiao had also given Xianyun to Qin Yining.

Qin Yining smiled and said: “Xiaozhou saved my life. Back in the mountains, if I hadn’t met her, I would have frozen and starved to death long ago. This child’s father just died, and she was alone in the mountains with no one to rely on. Though she’s already ten years old, she still looks like a small child. I thought that as long as I could get out alive, I would definitely bring her along to repay her kindness properly. Now that I have the opportunity, naturally I want to take good care of her.”

She was afraid Pang Xiao would discover something suspicious, so she had always instructed Lian Xiaozhou to claim she was one year older.

“Miss is a person of deep emotion and sincerity. No wonder the Prince only has Miss in his heart.” Xianyun brought a white fox fur coat to drape over Qin Yining, and also brought a hand warmer lined with white rabbit fur on the outside and cotton padding inside to give to Qin Yining.

“Miss grew up in the south and surely cannot immediately adapt to our northern winters. Please wear more before going out. If you catch a chill, the Prince will surely be heartbroken.”

“Thank you.” Qin Yining smiled as she inserted both hands into the hand warmer. Indeed, it was soft and warm inside, apparently having been kept warm on the kang, ready for whenever Qin Yining’s hands got cold.

When Qin Yining walked to the door, Xianyun lifted the warm curtain for her.

Cold wind hit her face. The snow in the courtyard had been swept very clean, with only occasional snow fluttering down from the walls and tree branches. Lian Xiaozhou, wearing a red jacket, was hugging a snow-white Pekingese while squatting on the ground, staring blankly at a large black dog baring its teeth not far away.

Qin Yining was also stunned for a moment and asked Xianyun: “What’s that?”

“That’s Da Hei. I heard it’s already ten years old. It used to be raised in the old master’s house. It’s very good at guarding the home and compound, and very smart – it can understand human speech.”

Qin Yining laughed: “So Da Hei and Xiaozhou are the same age.”

Xianyun looked at the muscular and strong Da Hei, then at the little girl in the red jacket squatting on the ground, and couldn’t help but giggle.

Qin Yining went down the steps. Thinking that this Da Hei dog was luckier than herself, having actually seen young Pang Zhixi, she couldn’t help but smile as she bent down to play with it: “Da Hei.”

Da Hei immediately looked over, its ears perking up and moving. Its tail wagged hesitantly, and it stopped baring its teeth.

Hearing Qin Yining’s voice, Lian Xiaozhou ran over holding the small Pekingese, her eyes bright and sparkling: “Big dog!”

“Yes, it’s a big dog. Does Xiaozhou like it?”

Lian Xiaozhou nodded repeatedly: “Like, roast!”

Qin Yining nearly fell over. No wonder the smart and spiritually aware Da Hei would bare its teeth at Lian Xiaozhou – this little girl actually wanted to roast it!

Having lived in the mountains for so many years, Lian Xiaozhou’s main food was roasted, so she had great interest in roasted meat. Yesterday she had even caught sparrows in Suxue Garden to roast and eat. Even now that she had full meals, she still couldn’t help but think about barbecuing.

Qin Yining tapped her forehead and said: “No, don’t we have food to eat now? Pan-frying, stir-frying, boiling, deep-frying – all kinds of delicious food, isn’t that enough for you? Da Hei has an owner and can’t be roasted to eat. Do you understand?”

Lian Xiaozhou frowned and nodded aggrievedly. She understood everything and was extremely clever, but her speech still showed no progress and remained very clumsy.

However, her greatest virtue was obedience, and she only listened to Qin Yining. Since Qin Yining said she couldn’t eat roasted Da Hei, she no longer harbored such thoughts.

Perhaps sensing that the little girl no longer coveted it, Da Hei no longer felt her malicious intent. It lifted its head and stood in place, barking twice and wagging its tail.

Qin Yining went to pet Da Hei’s head and scratched under its chin, giving it a good scratch.

Da Hei barked “woof woof” a few times, making happy sounds in its throat. Its tail wagged frantically, and it simply hooked its paws and lay down on the ground, exposing its belly.

Qin Yining couldn’t help but laugh, never expecting that the legendary guard dog Da Hei would be so affectionate with people.

Da Bai in Lian Xiaozhou’s arms twisted its small body and jumped down to the ground, also circling around Qin Yining’s feet. Qin Yining gave the hand warmer to Xianyun to hold and took time to pet it as well.

The small animals’ bodies were soft, warm, and had an extremely comfortable fluffy texture. Qin Yining couldn’t help but pet them a few more times, feeling that the depression accumulated in her heart had dissipated.

“You’re more gentle with them than with me. I’m really jealous!”

Suddenly, Pang Xiao’s magnetic, laughing voice came from above.

Qin Yining looked up and saw Pang Xiao standing in front of her with his hands behind his back.

Both Da Hei and Da Bai got up, one black and one white, one large and one small, both frantically wagging their tails and wiggling their bottoms, circling around Pang Xiao’s feet. Their affectionate and ingratiating intentions were extremely obvious.

Qin Yining stood up. Xianyun immediately handed over a hot towel to serve her in wiping her hands, then put the hand warmer back on Qin Yining.

Qin Yining smiled: “Why didn’t you go out today?”

“I did go out for a while and just came back. I have two pieces of news to tell you.”