Return of the Swallow

Qin Yining hadn't seen Pang Xiao look like a child for a long time, and couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Pang Xiao strode to Babu's bed and sat down next to Qin Yining. His eyes were still full of surprise, and he looked at Qin Yining up and down, as if he was firming up his treasure.

Bingtang and Jiyun looked at each other, then quietly retreated with Ziyuan and Hanxiao, and gently closed the door.

"What are you looking at? Is this the first day you recognize me?"

Stretching out his long arms, he held Qin Yining in his arms. Pang Xiao sighed contentedly and happily, "That's great. Brother Zhao and Brother Han are going to have younger brothers and sisters."

Qin Yining rested her head on his shoulder, her whole body surrounded by the faint fragrance of grass and trees on his body and the unique cold fragrance in winter. She nodded with peace of mind, "I just hope that Brother Zhao and Brother Han won't leave me alone next time they meet me." I recognize my mother."

Pang Xiao pinched her cheek and said, "No, my father-in-law and grandma pay special attention to this. Didn't the two children always look at the portraits of you and me? Besides, I will end the current situation as soon as possible and will not let you and me." The children have been separated."

Hearing the excitement in his tone, Qin Yining asked with a smile: "But what progress has been made in the court?"

"The Holy One has decreed that the troops from all over the world should march to the capital to serve the king."

"This was to be expected."

The Tatars are about to reach the capital. If Li Qitian doesn't issue an order, will he just sit back and wait to be killed?

Qin Yining sat up straight, her long hair hanging smoothly on her shoulders as she moved, reflecting her fair face, which seemed to glow under the light.

"So, you want to lead the soldiers to the capital to Qinwang?"

"There is also the Pingnan Army. Feng Dazhuang has come to discuss it today. The Holy One also asked King Qin's army to prepare their own food and fodder."

Qin Yining laughed sarcastically, "If you eat this bowl of soup now, it will not be easy to overcome it in the future." When the world is in chaos, there are many people with lofty ideals in various places. Who can guarantee that everyone will have no different intentions after entering the capital? What will Li Qitian use to prevent it, and what will he use to reward it? Are you still just talking?

Pang Xiao's slender fingers slid through her silky long hair, and his tentacles felt slightly cold. "I originally planned to take you with me to Beijing this time. But your situation is different now..."

Qin Yining smiled and interrupted Pang Xiao's unfinished words, "You don't want to leave me in the old capital, do you?"

Pang Xiao was speechless for a moment.

That's what he thought.

But looking at Qin Yining's bright eyes that seemed to see everything, Pang Xiao couldn't say anything.

"Aren't you afraid that I will be kidnapped? This place is not far from the Qiu family's property. Qiu Feishan is unscrupulous in doing things. The last time we talked with you, she will never give up easily. She will definitely look for all kinds of things. ways to achieve the goal."

Pang Xiao's expression changed after hearing this.

"You come back with me." Pang Xiao took her hand and placed his dry lips on the delicate back of her hand.

Qin Yining burst into laughter, "Don't worry, I know what to do. Let's go back to the north first. If it's really not suitable to take me with you, you can find a good place to hide me."

He said it as if he wanted to hide a treasure, but she really was his treasure.

"Okay, it's all up to you."

Pang Xiao looked at Qin Yining, told her to eat first, and then went outside to meet with counselors to discuss returning to Beijing.

"Although the disaster relief in the south was not smooth, the prince dispersed the treasures, which at least gave the people some time to survive and breathe. Now in two months, spring will be warm and the flowers will bloom. I have worked hard this year, and at least I will not be starving to death." ." Xie Yue smiled, two more wrinkles appeared on his face.

Xu Weizhi also said: "Maybe by the time of autumn harvest, the Tatars will have been driven out."

"How can it be so easy?" Pang Xiao couldn't help but smile and said, "The Tatars have the support of the Lu family this time, and the Lu family has united with many old tribes from the Northern Hebei country to restore the country. This war is going extremely well. Anxious. Ji Lan is not a stupid person. When it comes to using troops in a war, even if I were to confront him, I would not be able to gain the upper hand. Being suppressed now is entirely due to objective reasons."

"What the prince said is absolutely true. Duke Dingguo is also brave and good at fighting, but he can't control the court's supplies. The soldiers are hungry and naturally resentful. In addition, Gao Wenliang is gesticulating from the side, which makes it even more difficult to deploy these troops. , not to mention that the war was defeated once or twice, and morale was damaged afterwards. All kinds of unfavorable conditions were superimposed on one place, but at the same time, Duke Dingguo caught up. "

Everyone was sighing for a while. The time, place and people were equally unlucky, and it was difficult for Ji Zeyu to persist until now.

Pang Xiao discussed it carefully with all the counselors. The army's departure was not like dozens of them just leaving at will. It had to go through strict deployment. Fortunately, everyone was experienced and the march was not a problem. Pang Xiao led the army After everyone had finalized all the details of their return to Beijing, they ordered people to prepare first, then got up and went to the inner house.

"Why is the prince in such a hurry today?" Looking at Pang Xiao's back, Xu Weizhi was a little confused.

"Perhaps we are about to leave, and there are still many things we need to prepare to take with us." After all, this is the princess's natal home.

Everyone was puzzled, but in a blink of an eye they dropped their hands and went about their business.

Pang Xiao rushed back to the inner house, staring at Qin Yining, fearing that something would happen to her if she bumped into him. Even when Bingtang and Jiyun were busy packing their luggage, Pang Xiao was afraid that they would disturb Qin Yining.

"What are you doing, Your Majesty? I'm feeling very well now and I don't feel anything wrong with my body. Why is Your Majesty so nervous?"

Pang Xiao shook his head repeatedly: "You are pregnant, so you have to be more careful about everything. I will ask someone to prepare a few more layers of mattresses later, as well as the duck feather mattress you rushed to make for me. I will give it to you this time. Use it to prevent the carriage from jolting."

Qin Yining could only nod in agreement, "With you by my side, there won't be any accidents. Why are you so nervous?"

How could he not be nervous? The reason why she was so determined to take that medicine was because she was afraid that Qin Yining would be pregnant and suffer the pain of childbirth. Who would have thought that God had his own arrangements and she would still be pregnant. Pang Xiao now feels scared when he thinks back to all the things he did back then. It is really too dangerous for a woman to give birth. Pang Xiaogan is anxious and unable to help, so he can only pay attention to Qin Yining's situation all the time, pay attention to all the details, and do everything he needs to do to the extreme.

While Pang Xiao and Qin Yining were busy arranging the itinerary and preparing the commander-in-chief to return to the capital, Li Qitian was sitting in the imperial study in a daze.

The battle report in his hand seemed to have a temperature, getting hotter and hotter, so hot that he couldn't help but let go.

A thin piece of paper fell to the ground, but the news on it seemed to weigh more than a thousand pounds, making Li Qitian unable to breathe.

"Bastards, bastards! They are all a bunch of trash!" Li Qitian suddenly burst into anger and yelled angrily, "A hundred thousand Tiger and Ben troops, plus the Fifth Army Camp and the Shenji Camp, can't even defeat a mere Tatar! Retreat to the capital? What if the capital fails again? , the Great Zhou Dynasty no longer exists, where can we continue to retreat!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!" The Minister of War plopped down on his knees, shaking like chaff in fear.

Xiong Jinshui and other chamberlains knelt down in the corner one after another, not daring to make a sound for fear that the Holy Emperor would draw his attention to them.

In addition to the fear of Li Qitian, everyone seemed to have a dark cloud hanging over their hearts.

Ji Zeyu and Gao Wenliang were defeated like a mountain, and the group was already retreating to the capital. Once the Tatar's iron hooves broke through the city gate, wouldn't they all be buried with them!

They really wanted to leave and leave this place of right and wrong, lest they not get much money but end up losing their lives.

Li Qitian was filled with anger and had no place to dissipate, but he couldn't think of any other way, so he had to play it accurately.

When he returned to Yangxin Hall, he felt restless as if there were grass growing on his body. He walked out the door holding his breath and wandered outside without knowing it.

There was warmth in Kunning Palace in the afternoon, and silver frost and charcoal were burning inside and outside. The queen was leaning on the warm bed reading a book. When she heard the greetings from the palace people, she hurriedly got up and went to the ground, and saluted elegantly: "I, my concubine, see you, Your Majesty."

Li Qitian seemed to be an enraged bullfight. He let out a sound from his nostrils, and Da Ma Jin Dao sat down, breathing heavily with a sullen face.

Such an angry look caused everyone in Kunning Palace to remain silent.

The queen tried hard to recall what she had done recently, for fear that she might have done something wrong and make the emperor unhappy. But after racking his brains, he couldn't think of a reason, so he could only give up and blame everything on the court affairs.

The maid brought the tea tray. The queen turned around and took the white porcelain bowl, placed it gently in Li Qitian's hand with both hands, and said softly: "Your Majesty, please have some tea."

Li Qitian looked at the tea bowl with a ferocious face and gritted his teeth. His raging anger, fear for the future, and jealousy towards Pang Xiao seemed to no longer need to be concealed in front of his wife.

With her wide sleeves raised, the teacup was violently knocked over to the ground, and the sound of broken porcelain made the queen tremble all over.

"Your Majesty, calm down." The queen hurriedly ordered the maids to pick up the fragments. She did not dare to use brooms and dustpans for fear that the sound of sweeping the floor would disturb the emperor.

Li Qitian didn't appreciate it. In his anger, he didn't care about his face and shouted: "Calm down my anger, calm down! Everyone will only ask me to calm down my anger, but they can't think of a practical way! Are all the soldiers of my Great Zhou Dynasty... A three-year-old kid would be so scared when he met a Tatar that he would just retreat all the way!"

The Queen did not dare to say a word. It was no wonder that the Holy Emperor was furious when she heard such bad news. Even her female relatives felt chills in their hearts. The knife of ruining the country and the family seemed to be hanging above their heads.

Li Qitian slapped the table and said angrily: "That insidious and cunning bastard Pang Zhixi! I've known for a long time that that guy is very scheming, but now I can't believe that he would ignore the safety of the imperial court!"

When the queen heard Li Qitian mention Pang Xiao, her heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Pang Xiao went to the south and started a rebellion?

Li Qitian patted the table and said angrily: "He didn't know where the money came from, and he bought grains on a large scale. If he hadn't been a hindrance, there would have been no shortage of grains and grass in the Dingguo army, and the morale of the army was in chaos! Pang Zhixi was really born to do this. It’s my fault!”

The queen blinked when she heard this. It turned out that it was not Pang Xiao who rebelled.