“Explain? I don’t want to hear your explanations! You’ve grown up now, become more scheming, and your mind has grown deeper. You no longer take the words of this old woman to heart. Now that you’re wealthy and successful, you’ve thrown away all those good qualities you once had! If this is what being an official is like, I’d rather you remained a cook!”
Nanny Ma threw her shoe at Pang Xiao, turning her face away. “What I hate most in my life are people like you who abandon others after getting what they want. If this were years ago, with my temper, I would have kicked you to death if you weren’t built more solidly than others!”
Pang Xiao held Nanny Ma’s shoe, seeing that his grandmother had finally stopped beating him, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Grandmother, please calm down. This time, Yining and I deliberately put on this act.”
“Deliberately again?” Nanny Ma was somewhat stunned upon hearing this.
Pang Xiao nodded and said in a low voice, “Too many things have truly happened these past two days. His Majesty set up a trap to harm me, but it was Yining who helped me think of a counterstrategy, allowing me to safely pass through this crisis. Not only did I suffer no losses, but I smoothly entered the Cabinet and became Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall. My heart is filled with both respect and pity for her. How could I abandon her? It’s just that something happened to her family…”
Pang Xiao explained how the Qin family members had been kidnapped, how the bandits used Qin Huaiyuan and his wife as hostages to force the Qin family to send Qin Yining to participate in the imperial consort selection.
Both Yao Shi and Yao Chenggu listened with grave expressions. They had always been deep thinkers and had already vaguely guessed some of the implications.
“This is… Sigh! What kind of matter is this!” Nanny Ma nearly beat her chest in frustration.
Such a good granddaughter-in-law—not only outstanding in appearance and character, but also loved by Pang Xiao, and most importantly, intelligent and filial. She found her pleasing in every way. Who would have thought such a thing would happen!
“Yining is a good child who knows to think of her family.” After remaining silent for a while, Yao Shi touched Pang Xiao’s beaten shoulders and arms. “Don’t be too upset. This is something that can’t be helped. Yining has her own difficulties, and you can’t ignore the bigger picture either. Dafu, when it’s time to let go, you must let go.”
Although he knew his mother meant well, hearing Yao Shi say this still made Pang Xiao’s heart feel blocked.
“Mother, things between us won’t end like this.” Pang Xiao spoke with great certainty.
Yao Shi said in shock, “Don’t be so stubborn. With Yining’s beauty and character, as long as she participates in the selection, being chosen is inevitable. If His Majesty likes her, are you planning to risk everything for a beauty? Don’t you value your life!”
Yao Chenggu also thought of this possibility and lost the mood to smoke.
But Nanny Ma said, “If you really have the courage to risk everything for a beauty, at least you’d be a good man!”
“Mother!”
“Wife!”
Both Yao Chenggu and Yao Shi were shocked, raising their voices in unison.
Nanny Ma looked at Pang Xiao, then at the fox-like father and son, and sighed. “You two are just too scheming, considering too much and thinking too much. But doesn’t a person live their whole life just to live freely? If I had calculated gains and losses like you two back then, would I have followed this penniless nobody who had no skills and was poor as a church mouse?”
Yao Chenggu touched his nose and muttered in a low voice, “Wasn’t it because you loved eating the food I cooked?”
Nanny Ma slapped the table, making all the cups and dishes clatter. “If I had married a high official, how many delicacies couldn’t I have eaten?”
Nanny Ma grabbed Pang Xiao’s collar and said, “Don’t learn from them, worrying about this and that—what can you accomplish that way?”
Pulling Pang Xiao’s clothes to make him sit sideways on the edge of the kang, Nanny Ma said earnestly, “Do you think a person’s lifetime is very long? Actually, it passes in the blink of an eye! While you still have this heart and this strength, fight for what you like and do your best at what you want to do!”
“Don’t worry about your grandfather and me, and don’t worry about your mother either. We were originally common folk anyway. At worst, we’ll start over from the beginning and go back to farming—that would be even more relaxing. How is that not living? But remember one thing: the best hunters are those who know best how to seize opportunities. You can’t use brute force. Remember that, won’t you?”
Listening to Nanny Ma’s words, Pang Xiao was truly moved.
With Pang Xiao’s intelligence, he wasn’t necessarily ignorant of Nanny Ma’s reasoning. But the smarter a person is, the more comprehensively they think, and they’re often restricted by unnecessary conditions. It was better to be as carefree and straightforward as Nanny Ma.
Ever since following Li Qitian to conquer the empire, he had gradually learned to show people different faces, saying what people wanted to hear and what ghosts wanted to hear. To climb to the peak step by step and to protect himself, Pang Xiao carefully considered every action he took, which was how he achieved his current position.
For someone like him who had always been self-disciplined and suppressed his own desires, what he lacked was precisely Nanny Ma’s kind of free spirit.
Pang Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he nodded vigorously. “Grandmother, I understand what you mean. Actually, Yining deliberately went out like this to solve the matter of the consort selection.”
“Oh?” Nanny Ma asked, “What can a young lady do?”
“I can’t step forward in this matter. Due to my relationship with His Majesty, I can only remain silent. So Yining has to be the one to stick her neck out.”
Pang Xiao sighed and shook his head. “In any case, no matter what rumors you hear tomorrow, don’t worry. Yining and I have a good relationship. Everything we’re doing now is so that we two can be together in the future.”
Nanny Ma nodded. Thinking that she wouldn’t have to change granddaughters-in-law made her feel much more at ease.
But Yao Chenggu and Yao Shi suddenly thought of many things. However, seeing Pang Xiao’s expression, neither said much more.
The father and daughter both felt that things wouldn’t end so easily. For Qin Yining to openly and legitimately refuse the consort selection and not serve His Majesty, she would have to do something significant.
And events developed exactly as they had anticipated.
The next afternoon, while Yao Shi was accompanying Nanny Ma in conversation, a little maid from the second gate rushed in urgently to report: “Grand Madam, Old Madam, something terrible has happened!”
“What is it? Why are you in such a panic?” Yao Shi frowned.
The little maid said anxiously, “That Miss from the Qin family went to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen to file charges against the Prince. Because the matter was so serious and the Prince’s status so noble, Shuntian Prefecture didn’t accept the case. That Miss Qin actually went to beat the Dengwen Drum and file an imperial petition!”
“What?” Nanny Ma was so shocked her mouth gaped open.
Even though Pang Xiao had told her the previous day “no matter what rumors you hear, don’t worry,” when the matter was going to be brought before His Majesty, how could it be a small affair?
“What is that Yining girl thinking? Our Dafu just entered the Cabinet, and his situation just improved a little. It’s not even enough to avoid trouble—why is she going out to cause more?”
Yao Shi was much calmer than Nanny Ma. She gripped Nanny Ma’s hand and said, “Mother, don’t worry yet.”
Then she instructed the maidservants, “See where the old master is and have him return quickly. Also, is the Prince currently in the mansion? If so, summon him too. Go quickly.”
“Yes.”
The maids all knew the matter was serious and hurried to find people.
Soon Yao Chenggu returned.
But Pang Xiao was not at home—it was said he had just been summoned to the palace by His Majesty’s people!
“Quickly invite Master Xu and Master Xie.” Now Yao Shi was also anxious.
But Yao Chenggu remained calm and collected as he smoked, saying, “You should all stay calm. Nothing will happen.”
“You old fool, and you’re still smoking at a time like this. Smoke, smoke, smoke—choking everyone to death!” Nanny Ma usually disliked Yao Chenggu’s smoking but never restricted him. Today she was truly too anxious, and in her emotional state, she snatched away the brass pipe bowl and dunked all the freshly lit tobacco into the tea bowl.
“Ay! You! Sigh!” Yao Chenggu couldn’t save it in time. He stretched his neck to look at his precious tobacco extinguished in the tea, but ultimately didn’t dare reassert his masculine authority.
“Tell me, what is this all about? I’m completely confused. Yining girl goes to accuse our Dafu, but last night Dafu was confident that Yining girl was doing it for their future. But isn’t this actively offering her face for His Majesty to slap?”
Yao Chenggu said gloomily, “Can’t you figure this out? Let me ask you, how did Yining girl come to our house?”
“Didn’t Dafu bring her back that day… No, wait, publicly it was said that Dafu abducted Yining girl.”
“There you have it. Dafu abducted Yining girl. Although the two of them are completely innocent, how outsiders might talk about it is another matter entirely. Yining girl is using exactly this point. How can a woman participating in consort selection have any stain on her reputation? Wouldn’t that be disloyalty to His Majesty?”
“Ah?” Nanny Ma said in shock, “But, but then Yining girl’s reputation would be…”
Yao Chenggu calmly rescued his pipe bowl from the tea bowl, lovingly wiping it gently with a cloth.
“Ever since she came to the capital and was brought back by our Dafu, her so-called maiden reputation was probably already cast aside. In my opinion, Yining girl going to accuse our Dafu before His Majesty is actually a good thing. Not only can it clear her own name, but it can also let His Majesty personally see that the Qin family is not on good terms with our family. Furthermore, it can give His Majesty a handle on our Dafu, making him more at ease when employing him.”
“Master is absolutely right.” Xu Weizhi and Xie Yue, led in by Yao Shi’s trusted maid, had just reached the door when they heard Yao Chenggu’s analysis and said admiringly, “That is indeed the reasoning.”
The two men came forward to pay their respects.
Neither Yao Chenggu nor Nanny Ma put on airs, politely having people bring chairs and tea, courteously inviting the two to sit.
Nanny Ma sighed, “You two gentlemen must be laughing at us. I’m just worried about the Prince’s safety. Court matters are complicated, and I, a mere woman, don’t understand so much. I just want to ask you two gentlemen whether the Prince will be unharmed this time?”
Xu Weizhi stood and bowed, saying, “In response to the Grand Madam, whether this matter succeeds or not depends entirely on Miss Qin’s performance before His Majesty. If she performs well, not only will the Prince be unharmed, but His Majesty will greatly relax his guard. Although it will provide entertainment for outsiders, it will be absolutely beneficial for the Prince.”
“Really?” Nanny Ma couldn’t help but worry about Qin Yining again. “That girl is still young. I wonder if she can remain composed.”
While the family was anxiously waiting together, Qin Yining had already been personally escorted into the palace by Li Guanwen, the head eunuch beside Li Qitian.
This was Qin Yining’s first time entering the palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The palace was renovated based on the original palace of the Northern Ji Kingdom, and beneath its simple and magnificent grandeur, it revealed the particular splendor and majesty unique to the imperial family.
Qin Yining kept her head lowered, eyes straight ahead, following Li Guanwen’s footsteps. Soon they arrived at the imperial study.