Yet Lu Heng still felt comforted that Pang Xiao had come to find Qin Yining.

Because she had not entrusted herself to the wrong person.

Pang Xiao was a true man who harbored deep feelings for Qin Yining.

Ordinary people might not know the inner workings of the court, but Lu Heng had spent years maneuvering within the Lu family estate, and was most clear about the complex relationships between these nobles and the imperial court.

Presumably, for Pang Xiao to be able to come to the Tatar lands, pass through the no-man’s land and find Qin Yining, he must have endured many hardships and borne enormous pressure. He might have even voluntarily surrendered some leverage. At the very least, by leaving the capital, his family was already exposed to danger.

Moreover, bringing dozens of brothers to leave the country’s borders, enter the Tatar lands filled with enemies, and risk his life entering the desert to search for Qin Yining…

One must know that the terrain in the no-man’s land desert changes in an instant, and sandstorms are frequent. It could be said to be fraught with danger at every turn—it was very possible that before finding the person, one would already perish on the road.

That Pang Xiao was able to overcome all obstacles and rescue Qin Yining at this critical moment was sufficient proof of his deep feelings for her.

To be treated with such genuine sincerity by someone, Lu Heng felt happy for Qin Yining.

But thinking that if Pang Xiao hadn’t been able to arrive in time, Qin Yining would probably have met her end today, Lu Heng felt another wave of lingering fear.

“Why did you agree to such an unreasonable demand from Prince Xiyue?”

Lu Heng didn’t answer Qin Yining’s question, but instead said, “If Prince Zhongshun hadn’t arrived in time this once, what would you have done? Would you really have married that Prince Xiyue?”

Qin Yining said somewhat awkwardly, “Of course I wouldn’t have married him. Actually, I had already prepared to kill him.”

“Kill him, and then be killed by his guards? Would doing that be fair to your family and friends?” Lu Heng frowned tightly and couldn’t help but scold, “I’ve said before that you should think of yourself. No matter what you do, we can all understand. Yet you chose to sacrifice yourself. Do you think that if you truly sacrificed yourself, the people of the Minuo tribe could live on with peace of mind?”

Qin Yining was somewhat at a loss being scolded like this, but facing Lu Heng’s deathly pale complexion and Uncle A’er Han’s tearful appearance at this moment, she still sighed and said, “I’m sorry. At that time, I was only thinking of letting more tribespeople survive. I didn’t consider so much.”

“Because you felt that in this lifetime you might never see your family again, so you threw caution to the wind, feeling that even if you died it wouldn’t matter, isn’t that right?” Lu Heng’s question was extremely sharp, his attitude aggressive.

These words truly struck at what Qin Yining was thinking in her heart, but being asked this in front of Pang Xiao and his subordinates, Qin Yining felt very embarrassed.

She was not someone good at expressing herself, never one to have words of love and affection on her lips, much less able to directly confess any feelings to Pang Xiao.

Now, having Pang Xiao hear that she had decided to die because she felt it impossible to return to Great Zhou, she felt very awkward.

But Pang Xiao only felt his heart was both sweet and sour, as if gently tickled by a small feather dipped in honey. Thinking of all the suffering Qin Yining had endured while away, his heart ached beyond measure, wishing he could make time flow backward so he could bind her firmly to his side, never letting her go out and take risks again, never letting her suffer the slightest grievance.

Pang Xiao sighed and pulled Qin Yining’s shoulder into his embrace. Seeing her rarely acting like a child, scolded into speechlessness, he couldn’t help but smooth things over for her.

“Brother Lu, long time no see.”

Lu Heng had finished his scolding, and after all, it wouldn’t be good to appear too excessive in front of Pang Xiao, so he alertly restrained his emotions and cupped his hands in greeting to Pang Xiao.

“Your Highness, my sincere apologies. Along this journey, the Princess and I have shared hardships and become good friends. Seeing her take such risks, I truly couldn’t restrain myself.”

How intelligent was Pang Xiao? Actually, when he had brought Qin Yining to the outside of the camp, he had already seen Lu Heng’s expression clearly from afar.

Previous rumors, combined with observations all this time, had already allowed Pang Xiao to confirm that Lu Heng probably harbored deep feelings for Qin Yining.

To say he wasn’t jealous would be false.

But Lu Heng was so restrained, seemingly never overstepping boundaries, and Qin Yining appeared to know nothing about it. Moreover, he had never doubted Qin Yining’s faithfulness to him. As a man, there was no need to hold onto such matters and deny someone’s character because of them.

Lu Heng liked Qin Yining, but he restrained himself and acted rationally. Such a person was instead worthy of admiration.

Pang Xiao’s thoughts turned in just an instant. He solemnly returned Lu Heng’s greeting and said, “Brother Lu need not say more, I understand everything. That my wife could be safe and sound this time is entirely thanks to Brother Lu’s full support and protection. This great kindness and virtue will surely be repaid in the future!”

Seeing Pang Xiao bow so solemnly to Lu Heng, the Jinghu Guards also bowed in unison, their voices shaking the clouds as they said, “Thank you, Second Master Lu!”

Such a display was both shocking and intimidating.

Although Lu Heng felt sour inside, since he had already come to terms with it, he had to force himself to adapt to all this.

Lu Heng politely said to Pang Xiao, “Your Highness need not be so courteous. Previously, I didn’t have deep interactions with Your Highness, but now it seems Your Highness is a magnanimous and perceptive person, which Lu deeply admires. What I did hardly amounts to anything. We are all people of Great Zhou, and when encountering danger abroad, mutual support is only proper.”

Pang Xiao couldn’t help but nod inwardly. In front of so many Jinghu Guards, Lu Heng attributed everything to “mutual support among Great Zhou people,” which was considering Qin Yining’s wifely virtue and reputation. Such thoughtfulness was truly admirable.

“Brother Lu is the one I admire. Great kindness needs no words of thanks, but I’ll say it again—in the future, I will surely repay this debt!”

Pang Xiao’s gaze was sincere, and he bowed again.

Both he and Lu Heng were intelligent men. Without saying much, they already understood each other’s meaning.

At this moment, Lu Heng couldn’t help but once again admire Pang Xiao’s character. When facing him, a rival in love, he could still think rationally, not erasing everything Lu Heng had done just because he had feelings for Qin Yining. Such magnanimity and sincerity toward people—no wonder every single one of the one hundred thousand soldiers of the Huben Army recognized him as their master and followed him loyally!

While the two men were talking, Qin Yining had already gone to discuss with Uncle A’er Han, asking the tribespeople to help fetch water so the Jinghu Guards could first eat, drink, and rest, and heat water for washing.

Uncle A’er Han nodded and quickly gave instructions. Soon the camp was bustling with activity.

Everyone was arranged to wash and rest, while the Minuo tribe members tightly guarded the camp.

Pang Xiao temporarily bid farewell to Lu Heng and went with Qin Yining to the tent prepared for her.

Lu Heng watched the two enter the same tent, sighed lightly, and turned to organize the tribespeople to start fires and cook.

Inside the tent, tribespeople had already brought a large basin of hot water and a large bucket of cold water.

Regardless of everything else, Pang Xiao first drank deeply, then threw down the wooden ladle and smiled at Qin Yining, “Yining, help me wash my hair later. I feel like my scalp is full of sand.”

Qin Yining nodded and smiled as she approached to help him remove his outer garments. “It’s too cold, don’t catch a chill. Just wipe down simply and wash your hair. You wash your hair first, and I’ll help…”

Before she could finish speaking, Pang Xiao bent down, pulled her into his arms, and captured her lips, blocking all words in her throat.

His agile tongue moved and sucked, and Qin Yining’s hands gripped his clothing tightly.

The familiar kiss, the familiar scent, made tears flow uncontrollably as she tilted her head back in his strong embrace, letting tears slide from the corners of her eyes into her temples and ears.

“Don’t cry, it’s alright, don’t cry.” The deep kiss turned into tender pecks, and Pang Xiao’s eyes also reddened as he treasured each kiss that wiped away her tears.

“Yining, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have let you go alone to scout the treasure location… When you disappeared, I felt like the sky was falling. I regretted it to death. I don’t care about any silver, I don’t care about any power or position, I just want you by my side. At that time, I wanted nothing more than to kill Li Qitian…”

Qin Yining buried her face in his chest, sobbing too hard to speak.

Pang Xiao kissed the top of her head again and again. “Thank heavens you’re still alive, thank heavens you’re alive! When I brought my men out and met Guard Cao at the border, hearing her say you were still alive, I was almost mad with joy! Guard Cao happened to have a brother from the Azure Sky Alliance who could use tracking insects, so we followed him into the desert. My heart was suspended the entire way, I was so afraid, afraid something would happen to you in the desert!

“At that time, having you scout and then return to the capital, your body still hadn’t fully recovered. After being captured to the Tatar lands, you suffered displacement and hardship. I was afraid you’d fall ill, afraid people would bully you… Yining, I’ll never let you leave again. Whether in life or death, we must be together, through life and death we must be together…”

Pang Xiao was like a drowning man clutching driftwood, constantly murmuring, pouring out the confusion and longing of this period.

Qin Yining stretched out her arms to tightly embrace Pang Xiao’s lean waist, nodding forcefully, “Me too, me too. This time I really thought I’d never see you again. That Prince Xiyue claimed I was the divine maiden recorded in the holy book of the Xiyue religion, saying the legend in the holy book stated that the divine maiden should become his princess consort.

“After observing, I found that although the Xiyue oasis is nourished by an inner lake and the soil is fairly fertile, the plant varieties are limited. They probably fled here about a hundred years ago during the Northern Ji period, and didn’t bring enough seeds with them. Their staple food is beans, so they extremely value the grain we brought. He forced me to marry him and arranged troops at the Minuo tribe’s camp. I was afraid the Minuo tribespeople would die needlessly because of me, so I gritted my teeth and agreed.”

Qin Yining looked up at Pang Xiao and said, “I never intended to actually marry him. I originally planned to kill him when he relaxed his guard.”

Pang Xiao kissed her eyes and said, “You don’t need to explain, I understand everything. At that time, there was probably already a knife at your throat. If you hadn’t agreed, whether you or the Minuo tribespeople, all would have been killed together.”

Qin Yining nodded and pulled Pang Xiao to help him wash his hair and wipe his body.

Only when he removed his undergarment did Qin Yining see just how much weight Pang Xiao had lost. Looking at his narrow, thin buttocks and long, powerful legs, Qin Yining couldn’t help but sniffle again. It seemed that during this period, it wasn’t only she who had suffered—Pang Xiao hadn’t had a single peaceful day either.