Qin Yining frowned with distress and carefully helped him wash, afraid he would catch cold. She used a cloth to help him dry off and hurried to take a clean undergarment from her bundle to drape over his shoulders, then looked away and avoided looking at his legs. “You go get dressed and sit down first. I’ll help you dry your hair.”

Pang Xiao looked down at his magnificent certain part, grinned mischievously, and stole a resounding kiss on Qin Yining’s flushed cheek before happily putting on his clothes quickly.

Qin Yining soaked the clothes Pang Xiao had changed out of in the bath water, then took a dry towel to help him dry his hair.

Her slender fingertips scratched across his scalp with just the right pressure, causing waves of trembling throughout Pang Xiao’s body. He pulled her into his arms in one motion, pressing her onto his lap, and kissed her deeply.

Qin Yining’s hand gradually tightened around the towel, her breath taken away as well. After a good while, sensing that someone’s condition wasn’t quite right, she blushed and tried to dodge away.

But Pang Xiao grasped her slender waist, pressing her little bottom onto his leg, holding her tightly, burying his face in the hollow of her neck, and said hoarsely, “Don’t move, Yining, let me hold you for a while.”

Qin Yining’s heart beat like thunder, her face flushed crimson, but inside she felt both tingly and soft, not daring to move at all.

After a good while, when Qin Yining saw he had calmed down, she smiled and teased, “Big lucky one, be good and don’t move around. Your hair isn’t dry yet. Be careful not to catch cold.”

Pang Xiao burst into laughter at Qin Yining’s words and deliberately rubbed his stubble against her face. “Naughty girl, is ‘Big Lucky’ something you can call me? You should call me good big brother!”

Qin Yining snorted lightly and laughed, “So conceited.”

Pang Xiao closed his eyes, feeling the tingling sensation as she slowly scraped the silver comb across his scalp, and said lazily, “How is calling me good big brother being conceited? I haven’t even made you call me good daddy yet.”

This man really dared to joke about anything!

Qin Yining grabbed his ear and twisted it, only to discover that his ears were somewhat soft.

She couldn’t help but touch them again—they really were!

“Who would have thought you’d be such a hen-pecked husband?”

“That’s right, you’re only just finding out? I’m afraid of my wife and I’m a wife-obsessed man. Now everyone under heaven knows it!”

Pang Xiao answered matter-of-factly, making Qin Yining laugh with delight.

While Pang Xiao used a razor to shave facing Qin Yining’s mirror, Qin Yining carefully washed his clothes.

“You just left the capital like this—isn’t His Majesty going to be furious? Did you arrange everything at home?”

Pang Xiao looked at his chin in the mirror and rubbed it with his fingers a couple of times. “Don’t worry, I entrusted grandfather, grandmother, and mother to father-in-law’s care. When I left, A’lan also promised to help me look after them. Everything is fine. But because of your disappearance, father-in-law and mother-in-law were extremely anxious, especially mother-in-law, who cried time after time. The old madam at your mansion made trouble several times and even planned to give me your eighth sister as a concubine. I rejected it on the spot. If mother-in-law knew about this, who knows how she’d quarrel with the old madam.”

Thinking of family matters, Qin Yining also felt somewhat melancholy and worried.

However, since father was a clear-headed person, Qin Yining wasn’t too worried. Father was resourceful and clever—if he wanted to protect mother and the family with all his heart, he should be able to do so.

But when Pang Xiao mentioned Ji Zeyu…

“Prince Consort Ji is very loyal to you.”

“Indeed.” After Pang Xiao finished shaving and tidying up, he rolled up his sleeves and came to the wooden tub, pushing Qin Yining aside. “Stop washing, be careful not to roughen your hands.”

His large hands were long and powerful, grabbing the clothes and scrubbing them with great ease.

Seeing this, Qin Yining didn’t compete with him for the chore and sat down nearby, cupping her face. “Do you trust Prince Consort Ji?”

Pang Xiao said without looking up, “I trust him. Don’t worry, I’m quite accurate at reading people. Sometimes we fight and oppose each other, even engage in some harmless scheming that won’t hurt each other’s foundations—that’s all just surface appearances. We have an understanding in our hearts. In major matters, I believe in him.”

Hearing this, Qin Yining nodded.

She naturally trusted Pang Xiao’s judgment.

Only what she didn’t say was that although Ji Zeyu was loyal and righteous toward Pang Xiao, he was full of hostility toward her. She could see that Ji Zeyu didn’t much like her and didn’t quite approve of Pang Xiao marrying her.

But there was no need to say such things and create discord between Pang Xiao and his friend.

Before long, the clothes were washed. Pang Xiao found a place to hang them casually, carried the basin in one hand and the bucket in the other, and had Qin Yining help lift the tent flap so he could go out and empty the water.

Qin Yining wanted to help carry water but couldn’t be of any assistance. Watching Pang Xiao easily carry the wooden basin and bucket away, she couldn’t help but find it amusing.

By this time, cooking smoke was already rising in the camp.

Lu Heng came over with a smile and said, “We’ve cooked porridge, but there are only some pickled vegetables and bean paste that the Xiyue people sent earlier—no other dishes.”

Pang Xiao laughed heartily. “This is already very good. Much better than gnawing on rock-hard flatbread in the desert.”

The Jinghu Guards had also finished their preparations and were now all refreshed. Hearing Pang Xiao say this, they all laughed as well.

Huzi was particularly lively, laughing loudly. “Exactly! That flatbread was so hard it could chip your teeth. Coming out of the desert, all we wanted was something liquid. Eating porridge is perfect!”

Lu Heng then invited everyone to sit around the steaming large iron pot. Each person was given a rough ceramic bowl filled with steaming, soft, sweet brown rice porridge, and then Lu Heng carried around a bowl of pickled vegetables, giving everyone some pickles and a chopstick-full of bean paste.

More than fifty men held their ceramic bowls, slurping and eating with great enthusiasm. Pang Xiao finished two large bowls in one breath and then asked for water to rinse his mouth.

Qin Yining formally introduced Uncle A’er Han, Ha’er Bala, and Chagan Bala to Pang Xiao.

“If Ha’er Bala and Chagan Bala brothers hadn’t helped hide us then, we probably would have been captured immediately. And thanks to the Minuo tribe taking us in so I could recover from my injuries, otherwise I don’t know if I could have held on.”

Upon hearing that A’na Ri had actually sent guards to assault Qin Yining, Pang Xiao’s veins bulged on his forehead in anger, and he ground his teeth. “A’na Ri deserved to die!”

Lu Heng continued, “Because the Minuo tribe’s chief and some leading tribesmen were all taken by A’na Ri to the hunting grounds to be fed to wolves, Ha’er Bala and Chagan Bala brothers swore that whoever killed A’na Ri would become the Minuo tribe’s chief. The Princess and I happened to encounter this situation and were recognized as chiefs.”

Uncle A’er Han understood Lu Heng’s words and quietly explained to the two brothers in Tatar. The Ha’er Bala brothers nodded and said in Tatar, “That’s right. The chief is also very responsible toward us. We’re all very grateful.”

Seeing that Lu Heng was holding back in his words, and originally suspecting that there might be other hidden circumstances behind A’na Ri’s death, Pang Xiao didn’t inquire about this matter in front of the Minuo tribespeople. Instead, he said to the Ha’er Bala brothers in Tatar, “We’re all family, no need to be so polite. I should thank you all for taking care of my wife!”

Seeing that Pang Xiao could actually speak Tatar, Qin Yining widened her eyes in surprise. Uncle A’er Han and the two brothers were very happy, feeling that their language and people were being respected, and chatted enthusiastically with Pang Xiao.

Qin Yining couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh. Looking at it this way, she was the dumbest one. Having been in contact with Tatars for so long, she had only learned a few simple daily phrases.

Everyone gave Pang Xiao a detailed account of how they intercepted grain supplies along the way, how they fought guerrilla warfare with Tatar pursuers, how they entered the no-man’s land desert, and how they were temporarily settled in Xiyue, with particular emphasis on describing the customs and conditions of Xiyue and the situation of Prince Xiyue.

Pang Xiao listened very carefully and finally frowned. “This matter is somewhat difficult to handle. Although these people aren’t strong in combat, their desire for grain is extremely great. If our men only fight against Xiyue soldiers, we’d have certain victory, but if all the Xiyue people rush over, things would be troublesome. So for now, our best plan is to avoid fighting them and not make enemies of all the Xiyue people.”

Lu Heng nodded in agreement. “Your Highness is right. But given the situation just now, your group’s arrival has already disrupted the wedding scene and forced Prince Xiyue to close his palace gates. We’re temporarily stable now because the Xiyue people haven’t experienced war for a long time and are currently confused, but once they come to their senses and mobilize their army, things won’t be so manageable.”

Pang Xiao nodded. “I think the same way. However, I have a method that could resolve this matter without losing a single soldier, though it’s somewhat shameless.”

Qin Yining asked curiously, “What method? Tell us about it.”

Pang Xiao smiled, lowered his voice, and explained the method once in Great Zhou dialect and once in Tatar.

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh after hearing it.

Lu Heng smiled and said, “Worthy of being the God of War Prince whose cunning military tactics make enemies flee in terror. Lu truly admires this.”

“Brother Lu, you’re not mocking me, are you? This method can hardly be called honorable and upright.” Pang Xiao laughed heartily.

But Lu Heng said, “Your Highness’s method, though devious, can minimize harm to both sides. It’s actually the most benevolent approach. I think it’s feasible.”

Pang Xiao smiled and asked Qin Yining, “Yining, what do you think?”

Qin Yining nodded. “I also think this method is feasible.”

Uncle A’er Han, Chagan Bala, and Ha’er Bala all nodded with smiles.

Pang Xiao then said, “Good, then Yining, please ask Guard Cao to help. This kind of thing is best handled by professionals. We’ll make other preparations.”

“Alright!”

Everyone dispersed to take action.

Soon, before dark, the Jinghu Guards all mobilized collectively, riding horses to scatter the hastily written leaflets throughout the streets and alleys.

Since the writing was mutually intelligible, even though not every Xiyue person was literate, seeing the sudden appearance of black-clothed men scattering leaflets, everyone was still curious.

Moreover, those black-clothed men were all gathered in the divine maiden’s tribespeople’s camp and hadn’t come out to cause trouble, so the people became somewhat bolder.

Some ventured out courageously, and nothing untoward happened. This put everyone’s minds at ease.

The Xiyue people then began going from house to house discussing the content of the leaflets.

“Tomorrow at noon, a wedding ceremony between the divine maiden and the King of Xiyue will be held on the high platform in the square. After the grand wedding, grain seeds will be distributed to all the people of Xiyue. Please attend in person to witness this.”