The south in July was already extremely hot. Qin Yining wore light summer clothing as she sat sideways in front of Pang Xiao, while Pang Xiao held the reins with one hand and held up an oiled paper umbrella to shade Qin Yining with the other.
Their return journey had been rainy and overcast throughout, so they hadn’t felt the heat. When traveling, Pang Xiao had wrapped Qin Yining tightly in a cloak, not letting her get wet in the rain at all. Although they hadn’t traveled day and night as they had when going, they had still returned at the fastest possible speed.
Perhaps because Qin Yining was about to return home and was in good spirits, the weather finally began to clear. They had no pursuers along the way, everything went smoothly, and Pang Xiao was also in good spirits, so he simply took Qin Yining to enjoy the scenery. Whenever they encountered anything beautiful to see, delicious to eat, or interesting to experience along the way, he would have Qin Yining try it.
“Have you settled everyone at home properly?”
“Don’t worry. Mr. Xie and Mr. Xu are both there, so both sides will definitely be well settled.” Pang Xiao lowered his head to kiss Qin Yining’s temple: “I had the Qin Manor cleaned up and arranged for Old Madam and the others to return to the Qin Manor. As for my maternal grandfather and grandmother and my mother, I arranged them in a residence not far from the Qin Manor.”
Actually, if the two families got along harmoniously, having everyone live in the Qin Manor would be the best choice and would also be convenient for deployment and protection.
But this time, Yao Shi had driven people away when the Qin family was in their most difficult situation. Even if the Qin family members said nothing about it, everyone wasn’t stupid – it was impossible for them not to harbor resentment toward the Pang family.
Thinking of this, Pang Xiao was troubled and didn’t know what to do. If his father-in-law were home, he would have someone who could speak reasonably with him. But his father-in-law happened to be away. What could he explain to Qin Yining’s two uncles? Facing his mother-in-law, he was even more afraid that Sun Shi would hold grudges in her heart.
Pang Xiao furrowed his brow helplessly. Someone who usually never showed his emotions on his face now looked completely troubled.
Qin Yining could hear the helplessness in Pang Xiao’s tone and smiled to comfort him: “Don’t think too much about it. When we get back, I’ll arrange things. It’s better for family to live together.”
Pang Xiao smiled bitterly: “Let’s not do that for now. I’m afraid if we really live together, with my mother’s temperament, she’ll make mother-in-law furious.”
Qin Yining looked thoughtful. With father not at home, the smartest person who was best at controlling situations wasn’t there, making everything feel constrained.
Qin Yining sighed.
“Don’t sigh. I’ll resolve this matter properly. When we get back, I’ll have a good talk with mother. Even if we want to live together, my mother must first apologize for her mistakes. There’s no reason for the wronged party to have to compromise again.”
Hearing this, Qin Yining didn’t say much more, only smiled and said: “You can arrange it as you see fit.”
Learning from experience, Qin Yining would no longer forcibly arrange anything for Yao Chenggu and Yao Shi. Anyway, no matter what she did, in the eyes of those who found her displeasing, everything she did was wrong.
Qin Yining chatted with Pang Xiao along the way, and soon the towering city walls of the old capital appeared before them.
Huzi and the others following far behind all relaxed their expressions.
They had been mentally tense throughout the journey, afraid that someone might suddenly appear and harm Pang Xiao and Qin Yining. Now that they had finally reached their own territory, even if any blind fool came to cause trouble, they could crush them with a single finger.
“Your Highness, shall we not enter the city?”
Pang Xiao said: “Huzi, bring two people to follow. The rest of you return to the Pingnan Army camp to check. If anything happens, report to me immediately.”
“Yes!”
Everyone cupped their hands in acknowledgment. Only two people remained with Huzi to follow far behind Pang Xiao, while the remaining nearly hundred men formed neat ranks and galloped toward the Pingnan Army camp direction. Soon their figures disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Pang Xiao smiled and said: “My excuse for going out this time was taking people to investigate whether there were signs of bandit resurgence in the vicinity. But this reason was rather hastily made up. If a whole group entered the city together, it might attract attention from various parties.”
Qin Yining smiled and nodded: “I know you have everything figured out. You can arrange it as you see fit.”
After entering the city gate, Pang Xiao dismounted and tossed the reins to Huzi who was following behind. He took Qin Yining’s hand with his large one and walked slowly toward the direction of the Qin Manor.
Qin Yining’s beautiful eyes looked at the surrounding streets and scenery. Nothing here had changed much, but returning this time, she felt even more strongly the sense of surviving a catastrophe. Her heart was filled with countless emotions, but Qin Yining wasn’t someone who was good at acting coquettish, nor did she want to tell Pang Xiao about those vulnerable feelings of hers.
So what Pang Xiao saw was only Qin Yining’s very beautiful smiling profile.
“What are you smiling about, Yi Jie’er?”
“Nothing really. I’m just somewhat happy to be able to return.” Qin Yining said: “Let’s go to our manor first later, and go to the Qin Manor after we’ve settled in.”
After all, she was the Pang family’s daughter-in-law. If she didn’t pay respects to her own family first and went straight to her natal family upon returning, Yao Shi would have even more reasons to gossip in the future. It wasn’t that she was afraid of Yao Shi, but she just found it annoying to always have such incidents arise.
Pang Xiao said: “That’s good. We can go back to our manor to change clothes before going to mother-in-law’s house. That way we can also tell everyone the good news that father-in-law is still alive.”
“Exactly so. After we establish ourselves at home first, we can go to my family’s house. I wonder how Old Madam’s health is. Don’t look at how Old Madam usually acts somewhat unfairly, but in her heart, my father is her most precious treasure. I’m really afraid Old Madam might have some misfortune.”
“Of course, she’s getting on in years now, and people always have birth, aging, sickness, and death. But if something happened to her under the circumstances of my father having such an incident, my father would definitely blame himself for a lifetime when he returns.”
“Yes. Father-in-law is a filial son.” Pang Xiao nodded.
Qin Yining continued: “You didn’t see how Concubine Cao looked when she returned. And the illness my mother had was also extremely dangerous…”
Qin Yining had already told Pang Xiao about this matter on the road, but thinking about it still made her feel emotional.
Pang Xiao thought about what Qin Yining had said about how when they set up the mourning hall at home, no one came to pay condolences except Ji Zeyu who dared to come, only to have his military tally taken away by Li Qitian afterward. His smile faded.
All these matters would have their resolution sooner or later.
Pang Xiao had been living in the military camp during this period. He was accustomed to hardship and wasn’t particularly particular about luxury. Moreover, with the Qin Manor locally available, Pang Xiao hadn’t arranged for any grand mansion in advance. The “prince’s manor” where Yao Chenggu, Yao Shi, and Ma Shi resided was actually just an ordinary two-courtyard compound, separated from the Qin Manor’s grand residence by one street, making it look much more modest in comparison.
Qin Yining followed Pang Xiao to the front gate. Huzi stepped forward to knock on the door. Someone inside quickly responded, and when they came out to see it was Pang Xiao and Huzi, the gatekeeper called out joyfully: “Your Highness has returned!”
“Yes, quickly open the door and go inside to inform the Grand Master, Grand Madam, and Old Madam!” Huzi smiled.
The gatekeeper quickly nodded, opened the door for them, and limped into the manor.
Pang Xiao explained to Qin Yining: “The servants and guards in the manor are all people who suffered some disabilities during the war. These people received little compensation back then, and almost all have disabilities. Returning to their hometowns to farm might be inconvenient and could become burdens to their families. After much consideration, I found such a group of people to come to our manor. I can guarantee their character.”
“Your arrangement is very good.” Qin Yining smiled: “You’re a commander and have led troops for years, so it’s natural to care for your subordinates. It’s just that our manor is small – how many people can it accommodate?”
Pang Xiao smiled: “Yes, we can help one person at a time. We can’t just watch them return home to starve to death.”
Qin Yining nodded and said: “You know I run many factories. Although these people can’t do complex work, they can certainly guard gates, or they can also help at my estates, doing simple farm work, raising chickens and pigs. In any case, we can always find them a place to settle. I won’t let them starve to death. If you have such people, once you’ve confirmed they’re reliable, you can tell me, and I’ll contact Steward Zhong.”
The two talked as they walked into the manor.
Not only did Pang Xiao feel warm and proud in his heart, but even Huzi and the others following behind felt very grateful.
Huzi smiled: “Having the princess consort’s consideration is a blessing for the brothers.”
“Yes, yes.” The manor servants who heard this also nodded. They all had some disabilities and poor family situations. Being able to serve in Pang Xiao’s household was already a stroke of great fortune. Now hearing the princess consort’s words, they felt overwhelmed with emotions, and those with shallow tear ducts were already moved to the point of getting teary-eyed.
The cruelty of war was real, and these years had seen continuous warfare. They had seen too many brothers who lost arms and legs end up as beggars and starve to death.
Following Prince Zhongshun, not only would they not have their rations taken, but the prince would also take them out to make money. With his strategic command, even their chances of winning battles were greater. Now the prince even cared about their lives after leaving the army.
Being able to follow the prince was truly wonderful.
Qin Yining smiled, feeling very good seeing these people’s reactions.
By now they had reached the hanging flower gate. The woman guarding the gate had long heard that Pang Xiao and Qin Yining had returned and had been waiting respectfully for a long time. Upon seeing them, she performed a deep bow: “Greetings to Your Highness and Princess Consort.”
“Rise. Where are the Grand Master and Grand Madam now?” Qin Yining asked.
“Princess Consort, the Grand Master, Grand Madam, and Old Madam are all in the main hall.”
Qin Yining nodded: “I understand.” She took the lead walking toward the main hall.
Seeing that Qin Yining showed no signs of difficulty or embarrassment, Pang Xiao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew Qin Yining had suffered many grievances, and he had reprimanded Yao Shi behind the scenes several times. But with his family on one side and Qin Yining on the other, he still hoped they could coexist peacefully.
However, the more Qin Yining made such concessions, the more Pang Xiao couldn’t let her suffer grievances.
He strode quickly to catch up with Qin Yining, taking her hand with his large one and smiling: “I was just about to go pay my respects too.”
The two took only a few steps to cross through the passage hall into the inner residence, walking straight along the stone brick path covered with new moss toward the main hall.
Just then, they saw a beautiful woman in peach-red palace dress with red lips, white teeth, and a face like a peach blossom lift the curtain and come out from the main hall. She smiled as she curtsied and said sweetly: “Your Highness, you’ve returned. Old Madam has been thinking of you for quite a while.”