Naturally, Qin Yining had no interest in having people inquire about what happened at the Prince’s mansion. It was only when Jingzhe and the others discovered that both Yao Chenggu and his daughter had swollen faces and told Qin Yining about it that she realized Ma Shi must have taken action.

For husband and wife, mother and daughter to quarrel like that was truly quite tragic.

Sun Shi had a high fever all night, only showing slight improvement when dawn broke faintly. Qin Yining had already been frightened out of her wits by that dangerous appearance, so she had even less mind to pay attention to Yao Shi. She only instructed Jingzhe to keep watch secretly and not let Ma Shi suffer any losses.

After two full days of turmoil, Sun Shi’s condition finally stabilized, and she regained consciousness from her coma.

But as soon as she opened her eyes, tears flowed unceasingly.

“Princess, please don’t worry. Madam’s condition has stabilized. As long as she recuperates well, there should be no serious problems.” Bingtang tiredly rubbed her dry eyes, then pulled Qin Yining aside to whisper, “Princess should also find ways to console Madam. Madam’s heart is filled with unresolved melancholy – she’s too heartbroken.”

“How could I not know this? It’s just that things have come to this point, and there really is no perfect solution.”

Consoling was just a matter of moving one’s lips – that was easy enough. But having truly experienced such things, how could a few words from others provide real comfort? She didn’t even dare imagine what would happen if she lost Pang Xiao. Just seeing the reactions of Cao Yuqing and Sun Shi, such scenes were already enough to keep Qin Yining lying awake with open eyes until dawn when she woke from midnight dreams.

By the time Sun Shi’s health improved enough for her to visit the mourning altar daily, most of the forty-nine days of lying in state had passed.

Yet Li Qitian still had not stepped forward to say that Qin Huaiyuan had died in the line of duty. The only stance he had taken during this period was to strip Ji Zeyu of his tiger tally because he had come to help the Qin family.

This made the area in front of the Qin family gate even more desolate. No one dared approach even half a step, fearing they would be contaminated by trouble.

“The current situation couldn’t be clearer, and His Majesty’s attitude is very obvious. Just as we discussed before, it’s time to leave the capital.”

Hearing Qin Yining say this, both Qin Han and Qin Yu felt somewhat sad.

Although they hadn’t developed deep feelings for the capital yet, they had experienced many hardships and dangers on the road when they first came to the capital. It hadn’t been easy for their family to establish a firm foothold in the capital.

But now, with Qin Huaiyuan gone and the family’s pillar of support lost, Second Master Qin had also become disheartened and retired to return home. They had once harbored hopes that the Qin family could achieve glory again, but now it was a case of sudden decline with no one to acknowledge it. The Qin family, which had been extremely illustrious during the Great Yan dynasty and had maintained heights that ordinary people couldn’t reach in three generations even after arriving in Great Zhou, had finally reached the end of its prosperity.

Seeing both men hanging their heads dejectedly, Third Master couldn’t help but shake his head with amusement. “You two should look at things more openly. This is also just a temporary measure for now. If we continue to covet the capital’s prosperity, our entire family might very well perish here. Being able to leave the whirlpool of power struggles under the pretext of escorting the coffin home is already very good.”

“Yes.” Both Qin Han and the other nodded, and though they understood in their hearts, they still felt unsettled.

How could Qin Yining’s heart feel any better? It was just that things had come to this point, and their family had no other choice.

“Our enemies now openly consist of two groups. Not counting that person above, there’s also the Qiu family behind us.”

Qin Yining roughly explained how Qiu Yuanqing had seized the position of family head and the entanglements between him and Pang Xiao.

“Given the Qiu family’s connections and methods in the court, if they want to target the Prince, they certainly won’t let our family off either. So on this journey escorting the coffin home, even if there’s no assassination attempt from that person above, the Qiu family will definitely not spare us.

“With the whole family together, we’re still too big a target. So I have an idea – Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and both brothers, please listen.”

Second Master nodded: “Speak.”

“I want to start immediately by separating the family members and secretly sending them south. The guards left by the Prince and the members of the Azure Sky Alliance can help with escort duties. Additionally, we can secretly hire some escort masters to protect some of our family’s hereditary servants. As long as people reach the Prince’s territory in the south, they’ll be safe. But traveling together is definitely not feasible.”

“Leave immediately?” Third Master was thoughtful.

Qin Yining nodded: “Yes, by the time we escort the coffin, I hope our entire family will have already completed the transfer.”

Second Master and Third Master exchanged glances, both somewhat worried: “This method is stable enough. But when it comes time to escort the coffin, won’t people see at a glance that our family numbers are wrong? As you said, neither that person above nor the Qiu family members are blind fools.”

“So I have another arrangement.” Qin Yining’s eyes sparkled brightly. “I heard that a while ago, Minister Wu from the Ministry of Revenue retired to return home and hired people to help. As a result, halfway through the journey, those people all turned traitor, revealing their true identities – they were actually a group of bandits pretending to be from the Halftown Idle Gang! Not only did they rob Minister Wu of all his wealth, they also broke one of his legs, causing the old man to die from his injuries.”

“That did happen.” Second Master said. “Such incidents occurred even before the New Year. There’s a group of idle gangs gathered together in the capital, specifically targeting wealthy families’ weddings and funerals. When they encounter happy events, they say auspicious words; when they encounter mourning events, they wail loudly. At the very least, they go to people’s gates to help sweep up firecracker debris for reward money – if they don’t get any, they curse people. Even worse cases like what Minister Wu encountered, where they help retiring officials maintain face but end up robbing them instead, have happened more than once. After several investigations, they say those people are bandits from near the capital pretending to be someone else. What Minister Wu encountered was probably this group of bandits.”

“Yes, I’ve also heard of such things.” Third Master also said. “The Shuntian Prefecture is searching everywhere for this group. But these people are too cunning. If they only sought money, it would be one thing, but they also harm lives and even abuse women. Yining, why are you asking about this?”

Qin Yining smiled slightly: “I want to hire people to help escort the coffin.”

Qin Han understood.

“Fourth Sister, you want to use those bandits to fill in for the family members we send away?”

Qin Yining nodded: “Exactly. Anyway, those spies monitoring our family don’t know each person in our household exactly. The guards left by the Prince and the Azure Sky Alliance members under my command aren’t pushovers either. Those people can’t enter the mansion to check individually who has left and who hasn’t – at most they can roughly see whether we’re missing people.

“With our family handling such a major event, people coming and going is normal. Our family members won’t all leave at once – we’ll send them away gradually, and I’ll gradually hire people to help. On the surface, the numbers won’t change.”

Third Master was somewhat hesitant: “That may be so, but will this actually work?”

“There’s no better method now. I think we can just say our family has few members, and with my father being such a high-ranking Minister of Rites, having such a cold and cheerless funeral would look inappropriate. That group of bandits, since they make this their business, will definitely notice our family.

“When the time comes, I’ll investigate carefully. If those who come are really those villains, I’ll have no psychological burden about having them help escort the coffin.”

Qin Han asked: “What if we encounter assassination attempts on the road with them escorting the coffin?”

“Then those people will be unlucky.” Qin Yining’s eyes were ice-cold. “If they can help us muddle through while also helping the authorities eliminate a menace, that would be a worthy death for them.”

Hearing this, both Second Master and Third Master nodded.

“It’s just that if our family members gradually leave starting now, who will go and who will stay?”

Qin Yining smiled slightly: “Young Master Mu and I will stay behind. Everyone else, whether master or servant, must leave.”

“This won’t do!” Second Master said sternly. “With such danger, how can I let you stay alone? Your father only has you as a daughter – I cannot let you face even the slightest danger. Yining should leave, and I’ll stay behind. That would also look more credible to observers. Otherwise, if you’re a young wife surrounded by bandits, how could you protect yourself?”

Qin Yining said: “I understand Second Uncle’s good intentions. But me staying behind is most credible, because His Majesty’s and the Qiu family’s eyes are all focused on me. If I don’t appear during the coffin escort, the effect would be completely different from you all not appearing.

“As for safety, I’m confident. Young Master Mu is highly skilled in martial arts – he could escape unharmed with one person even from between two armies, let alone facing some bandits.

“The outcome will be one of two scenarios: either we first encounter assassination attempts during the coffin escort, and Young Master Mu escapes with me while the bandits deal with the assassins, or before any assassination attempts, we first encounter the bandits trying to rob us, and Young Master Mu can still escape with me unharmed, leaving them empty-handed. By then, all our family members will have gradually reached safe places – what would there be to fear?”

“This really is a good method.” Qin Han and Qin Yu said in unison.

Third Master hesitated: “It’s just too dangerous for Yining to stay alone.”

Seeing that Second Master also looked hesitant, Qin Yining persuaded: “Second Uncle and Third Uncle, please listen to me this once. Because of the Prince, so many eyes are watching me – it’s not easy for me to leave. But if I’m here, I can actually attract people’s attention, and you can take the opportunity to secretly leave. As long as you all leave the capital, it will be easy for Young Master Mu to escape with me whenever we want.”

The hall fell silent as Second Master, Third Master, Qin Han, and Qin Yu all contemplated in silence.

After a long while, Second Master finally sighed softly: “I have to say, the method Yining has thought of is the most appropriate. It’s just too worrying.”

Qin Yining secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they were willing to listen to her, that was good. Otherwise, she really had no confidence in ensuring the entire family could escape unharmed. If anyone were lost, she would have no face to meet her father.

“Second Uncle, please don’t worry – I know what I’m doing. Since Second Uncle and Third Uncle think this is feasible, let’s discuss how to divide the family members into several groups, who goes first, and who will escort them.”

“Very well.”

The group huddled together and divided the remaining Qin family members into several groups.

After reaching an agreement, Third Master spread word outside that the Qin family’s funeral was too sparse and needed idle gangs to fill out the proceedings.

At the same time, Qin Yining took Mu Jinghu and Ji Yun and rode in a carriage to the Prince’s mansion.

While the Qin family could scatter and escape, she couldn’t leave Pang Xiao’s relatives in the capital as sitting ducks.