Pang Xiao shook his head, signaling for Ji Yun and Bingtang to rise, and analyzed: “Yining should not have been buried. Now we can confirm that she was taken away together with the Azure Sky Alliance people and Lu Heng’s men. Those four secret agents who followed you are all still unconscious with severe injuries, only Guard Cao is nowhere to be found. Given her character, she would certainly try every means to pursue them.”

“Yes. Guard Cao always protected the princess consort closely without retreating. At that time, this servant and Guard Cao together shielded the princess consort behind us. This servant’s martial skills are inferior to Guard Cao’s. Guard Cao fought very fiercely, and under the chaos of blades, her injuries should be even more severe than this servant’s.” Ji Yun said with certainty.

Pang Xiao nodded. “Then it means those four unconscious people were most likely rescued by Guard Cao. And she now might be pursuing that group of kidnappers while wounded.”

Upon hearing this, both Ji Yun and Bingtang’s eyes lit up.

“This means the princess consort should be fine!”

Pang Xiao exhaled lightly and said: “At least at that time, under the circumstances of the earth dragon turning over, her life should have been safe. It’s just that we don’t know the situation after leaving.”

Speaking of this, Pang Xiao once again furrowed his brow with worry. “She was injured after all, and had just recovered from illness recently. Now she’s injured and lost blood again, I wonder if she…”

Pang Xiao felt he couldn’t continue speaking.

Because he simply could not imagine the scene of Qin Yining covered in blood being kidnapped. Just thinking about Qin Yining suffering such hardship made him wish to immediately kill all those who had caused her to reach this state, including himself!

Pang Xiao not only doubted himself but even began to regret.

If he hadn’t persistently pursued her from the beginning, insisting on entangling with Qin Yining, she could have married a peddler or laborer and still lived a prosperous life. With her abilities, building a business empire wouldn’t have been difficult. She might have long since lived a stable and peaceful life – how could she have encountered so many disasters and difficulties!

At that time, he always thought that since he had feelings, he must live without regrets.

Who knew that now he had implicated her in court turmoil, causing her to suffer so much.

Ji Yun and Bingtang both saw Pang Xiao’s struggle and self-blame, but aside from offering words of comfort, they could find no other way to console him, because their hearts actually felt the same self-blame and heartache as Pang Xiao’s. Unfortunately, their abilities were limited, and they couldn’t save Qin Yining’s life.

If Qin Yining truly couldn’t escape this calamity, they would have no other path except to follow her in death.

While overseeing disaster relief, Li Qitian still continuously arranged for people to search for the treasure’s whereabouts in Yang County. Unfortunately, after searching for so long, they found nothing – all that gold and silver seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Li Qitian couldn’t stay in Yang County indefinitely either, as he feared someone might take advantage of his absence from the capital to cause trouble. So after ordering people to continue searching here, Li Qitian decided to return to the capital.

Before departing, Li Qitian instructed Pang Xiao: “Come back with me. After being away for so long, there must be many court affairs accumulated in the capital requiring attention. Staying here won’t help much, and state affairs are more important. I have already ordered people to search for the Qin family’s whereabouts here as well. You need not be anxious anymore.”

Upon hearing this, Pang Xiao only sneered coldly: “Your Majesty may return as you please. Your subordinates can’t even find treasure – dead objects that don’t move – so how dare this subject hope they could find a living person? This subject will search for his own wife. As for court affairs, Your Majesty is exceptionally talented with so many capable ministers to assist you. Really, having one less subject makes no difference.”

Li Qitian’s face flushed red with anger at Pang Xiao’s words, and he scolded in a deep voice: “Pang Zhixi, do you think you know to whom you are speaking! Your disrespectful words toward me are simply treasonous!”

“This subject cannot bear such praise from Your Majesty.” Pang Xiao’s smile was mocking, his words carrying towering murderous intent. “If this subject had even the slightest treasonous heart, he wouldn’t have fallen to this state, lacking even the manpower to search for his wife!”

In the past when leading the Huben Army, let alone searching for a person, even an ant hole could be carpet-searched and found.

But now he was short of manpower, stripped of military authority. Even if he disregarded Li Qitian’s opposition and surveillance and mobilized all one hundred Elite Tiger Guards, that would still only be one hundred men.

Li Qitian’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You harbor resentment and are actually blaming me!”

Pang Xiao’s voice rose even higher: “This subject currently has no energy or mind to blame anyone. This subject only wants to find Yining. If she can be found, then so be it – I believe Your Majesty also has questions to ask her. But if she can’t be found, this subject truly doesn’t know what he might do.

“What did she do wrong? She was simply returning to the capital to recover from illness, and halfway there encountered kidnappers. What we dug up were all Dragon Guard soldiers arranged by Your Majesty!”

“Don’t let your thoughts run wild.” Li Qitian felt somewhat guilty.

“This subject makes no wild speculations, only sees the facts before his eyes! This subject has devoted himself entirely to Your Majesty’s service, yet Your Majesty has caused this subject’s wife to die!”

“You! Pang Zhixi, how dare you! Do you think I don’t dare kill you!”

“Your Majesty possesses all under heaven – what would you not dare!” Pang Xiao glared fiercely, his usual calm and wisdom long since replaced by violence.

With Qin Yining in trouble, he felt as if his soul had been extracted. He felt he was no longer a complete person. Unless he could find her, he truly didn’t know what mad things he might do. He even no longer wanted to protect the realm, wanted to destroy this empire, no longer wanted to consider human lives.

Pang Xiao was truly someone who had fought with iron and blood on battlefields. Once he turned cold and fierce, the killing intent around him could freeze the very air. Li Qitian felt superior when facing Pang Xiao’s submission, but when facing an angry Pang Xiao, he temporarily truly didn’t dare provoke him.

“Enough, do as you please!”

Li Qitian thought it best not to suffer immediate losses – better not to let Pang Xiao go mad in front of him and harm him.

Pang Xiao saw through Li Qitian’s concerns and couldn’t help but sneer coldly. When Qin Yining was by his side, he felt that life was peaceful and beautiful, everything worth anticipating.

Now that she was gone, leaving only him clawing at his heart and scratching his liver in search, he finally understood that his peaceful years were all tied to that one person.

If this world no longer had this person, then what use were peaceful years?

Better to destroy everything!

After Li Qitian returned to the capital, he issued edicts on average every four to five days, urging Pang Xiao to return to the capital.

But Pang Xiao acted as if he couldn’t see them, persistently searching for clues around the former capital and continuously expanding outward.

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed, and heavy snow was falling in the former capital.

Pang Xiao had defied a full twenty-three imperial edicts and had been impeached by censors and court officials over fifty times, yet Li Qitian consistently held back from acting, as if always indulging and tolerating him.

This was also the first time since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Just as Pang Xiao was anxiously searching for Qin Yining’s whereabouts, outside Xiongmen Pass in the north of Great Zhou, a merchant caravan was struggling to traverse a vast desert located on Tatar territory.

Author’s Note: Have any little darlings already guessed that the Tatars have gotten involved?

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