Li Qitian never would have imagined that Pang Xiao would dare to challenge him so brazenly in public.

He was the emperor, the supreme sovereign of nine and five, and this entire realm belonged to him! Pang Xiao was merely a subject, yet he dared to speak to him in such a manner. Could it be that he still harbored thoughts of rebellion!

Li Qitian felt his dignity had been damaged and immediately pointed at Pang Xiao in furious rebuke: “Do you know to whom you are speaking! Do you know whom you are accusing! Would I actually send people to kidnap your wife!”

Pang Xiao restrained himself again and again to avoid directly striking down the person before him to vent his rage.

“Your Majesty.” Pang Xiao cupped his hands in salute. His muscles, drenched by rainwater and muddy water, moved fluidly, and his wheat-colored skin was covered with scars large and small – all traces left by years of warfare, enough to inspire respect from all present.

His voice was not as shrill as Li Qitian’s, but rather he spoke in a flat, direct manner: “My humble wife accompanied this subject in suffering through the disaster areas, going hungry all day in such harsh conditions while worrying about the people’s hardships. Though she is but a woman, because she harbored a compassionate heart that cared for the people, she wholeheartedly wanted to help the common folk in some way, so she never complained of hardship or fatigue before this subject.

“Seeing that the disaster victims had nothing to eat and no medicinal herbs, she even took the initiative to sell her own dowry to exchange for silver to buy grain for the people, and had all the grain from the estates under her name transported to the porridge stations without collecting any payment.

“It can be said that because of her assistance, this subject was relieved of much pressure regarding relief grain distribution, and countless people escaped the fate of starving to death. This is not this subject boasting of her merits – what she has done is known by Governor Gong, known by Magistrate Li, and known by all the people of the former capital and Yang County.

“Even when she herself fell ill, she still could not let go of matters in the disaster areas and refused to leave. It was this subject who forcibly made her return to the capital to recuperate. Her constitution is weak, unlike this subject who is a rough man with thick skin and coarse flesh who can withstand hardship. How could a delicate woman like her endure the environment of the disaster areas with its hunger and lack of medical care?

“But this subject was wrong. Truly wrong. If this subject had known that she would encounter the Dragon Guard Army who would abduct her and cause her to be buried in this place during her journey here, this subject would rather have let her remain ill by his side than lose her life. This subject has fought to conquer the realm for Your Majesty, serving as Your Majesty’s blade. Many outsiders say this subject can be considered a good man.

“But this good man could not even protect his own wife.”

Pang Xiao hung his head, and whether it was rainwater or tears, droplets fell from his disheveled hair, sliding down his resolute and handsome face, dripping from his chin onto his robust chest.

His words stirred the compassion of everyone present.

A battle-hardened tough man who could not protect his own delicate newlywed wife – what was buried in this underground cave was clearly the Dragon Guard Army arranged by Li Qitian to search for treasure. If anyone claimed that the fate of Princess Zhongshun had nothing to do with His Majesty, who would believe it?

Upon hearing this, Li Qitian was so angry that his lips trembled, and for a long while he did not know what to say.

For whom was Pang Xiao putting on this display of deep affection and unwavering devotion? If he truly held the Qin family’s life and death in his heart, how could he have originally forced himself upon Qin Shi and made things difficult for her in every way?

Li Qitian strongly suspected that Pang Xiao had participated in the loss of the treasure, deliberately sending Qin Yining out to die in order to gain others’ sympathy and cover up his own sordid actions.

“You need not be so sorrowful,” Li Qitian said in a deep voice. “I will not pursue your responsibility at this time. Everything should focus on excavation first. Since we have not yet excavated clearly, let us wait until this matter is clarified before discussing it further.”

“Does Your Majesty’s words mean you are certain this subject arranged for a woman to come out and seize the treasure?”

Li Qitian’s face darkened.

Indeed, no man would entrust such a momentous matter to a woman to handle. Li Qitian knew that Qin Yining was supremely intelligent and different from ordinary boudoir ladies, but all those present did not know this.

His earlier words of feigned magnanimity but actual plans for settling scores later made him appear too nitpicking and harsh, revealing his low character before so many Dragon Guard soldiers.

“Enough, I pity you for losing your princess consort and the bitterness in your heart, so I will not hold your inappropriate words against you. But you must also be more careful.” Li Qitian placed one hand behind his back and pointed at Pang Xiao with the other.

Pang Xiao currently had no mood to argue with Li Qitian, and rationally should not quarrel with Li Qitian in public, so he cupped his hands in salute and turned back to continue at the excavation site.

The soft earth beneath the collapsed underground cave was dug away bit by bit, and the corpses of the Dragon Guard Army and Azure Sky Alliance dead were gradually revealed.

Finally revealed were several boxes, with silver faintly visible placed on top.

Li Qitian’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly ordered people to move the silver out for counting. Pang Xiao, however, discovered a cave opening not far behind the boxes on the cave wall, and could faintly hear the sound of dripping water from within.

Pang Xiao quickly leaned forward to look, then turned and instructed Huzi, “Quick, bring a lamp!”

Huzi hurriedly shouted up to the people on the surface for a lamp, then received the lantern and handed it to Pang Xiao, who was crouching in the earthen pit.

Pang Xiao again extended the lamp into the cave opening. “Is anyone there? Yining?”

From within the cave, the sound of rustling could faintly be heard, followed by a weak female voice: “My lord? Is it my lord?”

Pang Xiao was overjoyed and quickly said: “It’s me. Are you Bingtang? Where is the princess consort? Come out quickly. Who else is inside?”

Bingtang’s voice was as faint as gossamer: “My leg is broken, I can’t come out. There’s also Ji Yun, who is injured and also here.”

Seeing this, Pang Xiao was extremely anxious. Without saying more, he first worked with Huzi to rescue Bingtang and Ji Yun one after the other.

Ji Yun had sword wounds on her body and had already lost too much blood and fallen unconscious.

Bingtang’s leg was likely fractured – any movement caused her face to turn deathly pale with pain.

Li Qitian had also heard that survivors were found and walked over with his hands behind his back to look.

Pang Xiao grasped one of Bingtang’s arms and asked: “Where is the princess consort? Where is the princess consort?”

Bingtang’s tears immediately flowed down: “I, I don’t know either. At that time there were people attacking. The princess consort hid me behind the boxes and told me to find a way to escape. I kept hiding. I saw the princess consort struck by someone wearing Dragon Guard Army uniform – a blade cut a huge gash in her shoulder and back, bleeding heavily. At that time, there was fierce fighting in the underground cave.”

At this point, Bingtang glanced at Li Qitian nearby, then changed course: “We were traveling peacefully with the princess consort when we happened to encounter bandits. Those people even disguised themselves as Dragon Guard soldiers and captured the princess consort. The guards by the princess consort’s side resisted to the death, but were outnumbered. Now we don’t know whether the princess consort is dead or alive…”

After hearing Bingtang say that Qin Yining was injured and bled heavily, Pang Xiao was already filled with panic.

He no longer had the mind to think about which of Bingtang’s descriptions of the scene were true and which were false, because now his mind contained only one thought: whether Qin Yining was dead or alive. She had told Bingtang to hide, but she herself had not managed to escape. Bingtang and Ji Yun usually stayed close to Qin Yining – they were both hiding in that small ventilated cave opening, so why was Qin Yining not seen?

Had Qin Yining been killed, or was she buried here?

Thinking of this, Pang Xiao had no other thoughts and anxiously jumped down to continue moving earth and excavating.

Huzi arranged for people to settle Bingtang and Ji Yun, finding ways to get medicine and medical treatment for both of them.