Everyone held their breath and listened as the voice speaking outside the door belonged to a child of tender years, speaking in a low voice as if afraid to disturb the master.
“Sister, is there a sister here who can treat illnesses? Grand Manager Cheng has developed a high fever, and it’s so late now – we really have no other choice.”
Qin Yining recognized this as the young eunuch who had been following Grand Manager Cheng, not very old, perhaps only eight or nine years.
Qiu Lu looked back toward Qin Yining.
Qin Yining pondered for a moment, nodded, and made a gesture.
Qiu Lu then said in a low, intimidating voice: “There is a Miss Bingtang, but tonight is not her shift. She’s next door. Keep your voice down – the Princess Consort has already retired. If you disturb the Princess Consort’s rest, none of us will have a good end.”
“Yes, yes, thank you, sister.” The young eunuch outside sounded on the verge of tears from fright and quickly tiptoed away.
Moments later, the door next door was gently knocked upon.
Jingzhe walked to the window, lifted the curtain, pushed open a gap in the window to look outside, and saw that the heavy snow was even heavier than when they had taken lodging. The faint footprints outside had already been mostly covered. He returned and reported in a low voice: “Princess Consort, it’s snowing heavily outside.”
Qin Yining immediately understood Jingzhe’s meaning – heavy snow would naturally help conceal their tracks.
Qin Yining sat on the edge of the bed, looking inquiringly toward Lu Heng.
She had hidden in haste earlier, her long hair slightly disheveled. Though her clothing was neat, the sight of her sitting wrapped in bedding still stirred Lu Heng’s heart and gave rise to certain thoughts.
He quickly collected his thoughts, walked to the bedside, bent down to approach Qin Yining, and said in a low voice: “Don’t worry. Though the marriage alliance is inevitable and you have already received the imperial edict and must serve as this marriage envoy, I can still arrange some things from behind the scenes.
“I heard that His Majesty plans to use this opportunity to demonstrate our nation’s propriety. After you return to the capital, His Majesty should assign you a teacher to learn ancient rites. During the reception process, His Majesty will also arrange some palace servants around you. I will arrange for people to respond to you then. These people are all ones I’ve arranged long ago – you can trust them. When the time comes, they will take the initiative to respond to you.”
After saying this, Lu Heng gave Qin Yining a reassuring smile, straightened up, and walked to the window, signaling Jingzhe to take him away.
Jingzhe looked at Lu Heng with unfavorable eyes. He could see this man’s intentions clearly and was very contemptuous of Lu Heng’s underhanded thoughts of trying to steal someone’s wife.
Qin Yining got off the bed and said in a low voice: “I appreciate your kind intentions, but this matter could be big or small – I cannot trouble you. You’d better not arrange people.”
Lu Heng frowned slightly, turned back to look at Qin Yining, his eyes quite disappointed.
He knew that with Qin Yining’s intelligence, even if she was slow in matters of emotion, she must have seen through his intentions.
Qin Yining was a person of upright thoughts, and her feelings for Pang Xiao made him almost mad with jealousy. If she became convinced of this point, it was very likely that she would never give him another chance to approach her in the future.
Lu Heng smiled, politely and restrainedly saying, “It’s just friends helping each other. In the future, I might have need to ask you for something. When that time comes, I hope you can look upon today’s favor and not refuse within your capabilities.”
Without waiting for Qin Yining to speak, Lu Heng had already signaled Jingzhe to take him out.
Jingzhe was eager for this person to leave quickly, so without much thought, he silently opened the window and took the man out.
Qin Yining frowned and took two steps forward, always feeling that leaving things unsaid was not good. However, the other party had not given her the opportunity, and if she spoke up, it would seem presumptuous.
Thinking of this, Qin Yining could only let it go for now, thinking she would clarify their situation when there was another opportunity.
Jingzhe did not return after escorting Lu Heng away.
Qiu Lu served Qin Yining in removing her outer garments and letting down her hair, making the bed for her, her brow furrowed: “Princess Consort, that Princess Tana is truly difficult to deal with. You must be extremely careful.”
Having heard Lu Heng’s words and thinking of Khan A’na Ri’s death, Qiu Lu was breaking out in a cold sweat for Qin Yining. Unfortunately, she was just a maid without much capability. Though she had the heart to help, she was powerless.
Qin Yining laughed – it seemed Lu Heng’s words had frightened this girl.
“Don’t worry, I know all this. When we return to the manor, you’ll still need to bind me and manage the finances, and also restrain those mischievous little maids in the courtyard. If I go to learn proprieties, you’ll need to keep your eyes and ears open to help me watch various situations. Also, in a few days, Manager Zhong will follow and return to the capital. At that time, there might be a pile of account books sent over, and you’ll need to help me keep track of those too.”
“Yes, Princess Consort, rest assured. I will definitely manage all these things well.” Qiu Lu nodded heavily. She was steady in her work and was the earliest to follow Qin Yining. She was like Qin Yining’s lock – whatever was placed in Qiu Lu’s care was guaranteed to be kept clear and organized.
With Qin Yining saying this, Qiu Lu immediately smiled, feeling that she still had some usefulness and wasn’t entirely dragging down her master.
Qiu Lu sat down on the footstool and asked in a low voice: “Just now that young eunuch came asking about Bingtang. I wonder if Grand Manager Cheng discovered something, or if it was just a coincidence.”
Qin Yining was thoughtful: “It’s hard to be certain. If it wasn’t a coincidence, he very likely discovered something and deliberately had someone come to remind us. But none of this matters much. Even if he heard some commotion, he wouldn’t know exactly what was going on.”
People of their status all had their secrets. As long as no one heard the exact content of their conversation, it would be fine.
Seeing Qin Yining so calm, Qiu Lu no longer dwelt on this matter and smiled: “Princess Consort, please sleep. It’s already late.”
Qin Yining nodded.
Originally, she had been unable to sleep from missing Pang Xiao and the two children, but after all this commotion, she was truly tired.
The next morning, the heavy snow continued unabated. Ji Yun and Xian Yun went to the inn’s kitchen to bring back food boxes.
Lian Xiaozhou and Qiu Lu helped Qin Yining with her toilette and dressing in the room.
“Last night Sister Bingtang was called away in the middle of the night. Grand Manager Cheng had a high fever. Sister Bingtang only came back to sleep for a short while and went back again early this morning.” Lian Xiaozhou complained somewhat, because that Grand Manager Cheng had caused Bingtang to not rest well all night.
Lian Xiaozhou’s speech was now very fluent, all thanks to Bingtang taking her under her wing and patiently teaching her, even teaching her how to identify medicinal herbs and how to treat people, saying that it was good for a girl to have an additional skill.
She knew that whether it was Qin Yining or Bingtang, they all genuinely cared for her, and she genuinely cared for them in return.
Qin Yining looked at Lian Xiaozhou through the mirror with a smile and said: “It’s fine. Today we’ll enter the city and can go home. There are many doctors in the city who can help Grand Manager Cheng with his illness. Then Bingtang can go back and rest well.”
“Mm!” Lian Xiaozhou nodded heavily and obediently pulled open the drawer of the cosmetic case, asking Qin Yining what kind of hair ornaments to wear.
After finishing her toilette and having breakfast, Bingtang finally returned from Grand Manager Cheng’s quarters.
Qin Yining asked with a smile: “How is Grand Manager Cheng?”
“His fever has broken.” Bingtang sat down wearily next to Qin Yining and sighed: “Being a palace servant isn’t easy either. Even when ill, there are things to avoid. Grand Manager Cheng caught a cold on the road, but because he was rushing, he never properly treated his illness. The further north we came, the colder the weather became, and his condition worsened. Last night he developed a high fever, and we couldn’t find a doctor on short notice. He was also afraid of delaying his return and reporting back. When he heard someone say I could treat illnesses, that’s when he came to find me.”
Hearing this, Qin Yining felt somewhat relieved. It seemed last night really was a coincidence.
Before long, the inn courtyard became lively as the attendants began preparing the horses and carriages.
Grand Manager Cheng personally came to knock on the door.
“Princess Consort, we can depart now.”
Qin Yining heard that Grand Manager Cheng’s voice was still hoarse and said with concern: “The Grand Manager must take good care of his health. After getting in the carriage, please take your medicine and sleep. After all, we’re already close to the capital.”
Grand Manager Cheng smiled and nodded, saying gratefully: “Thank you for the Princess Consort’s consideration.”
“Grand Manager Cheng has exerted himself to the utmost in carrying out His Majesty’s duties – it’s truly moving.”
Grand Manager Cheng repeatedly shook his head, saying with trepidation: “How can this slave deserve such praise from the Princess Consort? This slave is merely doing his best to fulfill his duties.”
As they spoke, attendants came to report that the horses and carriages were ready.
The group left the inn and boarded their respective vehicles.
The long procession wound along the snow-white official road. Looking out, everything in sight was vast and boundless. Goose-feather snow was blown by the north wind into people’s faces. The Jinghu Guards and secret agents riding on horseback could all feel their skin as if it were being cut by knives.
Qin Yining and several others squeezed together in the carriage, yet could still feel the cold wind drilling in through the gaps between the carriage door and body, their feet so cold they nearly cramped.
“Why is this winter so cold? It seems even colder than last year.” Ji Yun rubbed her hands.
Bingtang hunched her neck, holding a hand warmer, and shook her head: “Fortunately, the situation in the capital is still relatively stable, not like the old capital with so many refugees. If the old capital encountered weather like this, I’m afraid many people would freeze to death.”
Qin Yining nodded.
Actually, at this moment, she still felt somewhat emotional. Though Li Qitian’s character wasn’t great, at least he had expanded territory and established Great Zhou, giving the people of Great Zhou relatively stable lives. This was also why Pang Xiao was unwilling to see war break out.
For common people, whoever was emperor made no difference to them at all. Whoever could bring them stable and peaceful lives, allowing them not to live from day to day constantly worrying about losing their lives – that was what mattered most. So Pang Xiao had never wanted to break this balance and cause innocent people to suffer disasters.
She thought of Pang Xiao again.
Qin Yining sighed lightly and closed her eyes to rest.
When he was always by her side, she didn’t feel much, but once separated, her heart felt like it was tied by a silk thread to a distant place – it didn’t hurt, but she could never find peace.
Because of the heavy snow making travel difficult, when the group reached the city gates, it was already past the hour of shen. Before they could even approach the city gates, Jingzhe’s voice came from outside the carriage: “Princess Consort, up ahead looks like the master!”
Hearing this, Qin Yining was startled and immediately pushed open the carriage door. Through the thick curtain of snow, she saw two azure-curtained carriages stopped in the distance. Qin Huaiyuan, wearing a black fur coat and a matching fur hat, was standing by the carriage looking out along the official road. The black fur was covered with snow – he had almost become a snowman.
“Stop the carriage!”
Qin Yining cried out with joy and quickly called for a halt. Not caring about propriety, she jumped down from the carriage and ran toward Qin Huaiyuan.