Qin Yining's heart had been hanging in the air for the past few days. When he saw Qin Huaiyuan being led in by Qi Tai, he finally relaxed. However, when he saw his father's sorry state, Qin Yining's footsteps paused, and tears almost fell from his eyes.
When he was imprisoned, the emperor had decreed that his official robes, boots, hat, belt, and other items had been stripped off. Now, Qin Huaiyuan was only wearing a dirty inner garment and silk pants. His hair was loose and crooked, and strands of hair fell down messily. There were even two strands of straw stuck to the top of his head, and even his beard was tangled into a ball.
His father, who was as confident and wise as a banished immortal, was now in such a sorry state.
Qin Yining clenched his teeth and used all his strength to not cry out loud. He quickly ran forward and knelt down, hugging Qin Huaiyuan's leg.
"Father!"
Qin Huaiyuan lowered his head and raised his hand to pat his daughter's head. However, when he saw the dust on his palm and the dirt under his fingernails, and then looked at Qin Yining's neatly combed and shiny black hair, he hesitated and withdrew his hand. He only smiled and said: "Quickly get up. Father is fine. Didn't I come back in one piece?"
This scene made the servants at the side unable to stop themselves from sobbing.
Qin Huaiyuan stood there in a daze. He didn't expect Qin Huaiyuan to fall to such a state.
Qin Yining rubbed Qin Huaiyuan's knee with longing and blinked back his tears. Only then did he stand up and smile brilliantly at Qin Huaiyuan. "Father, do you want to take a bath first, or do you want to go see old madam first?"
Qin Huaiyuan smiled and said: "Let's take a bath first to avoid scaring the old madam." Seeing that Qin Huining was also present, Qin Huaiyuan said: "Sister Hui has returned?"
Qin Huining came back to her senses. She quickly walked forward and kowtowed to him.
"Father, daughter has returned. In the past, I was immature and made many mistakes. I have disappointed you, Father. Please be magnanimous and forgive me. "Qin Huining's forehead was pressed to the ground. She was very humble.
Qin Huaiyuan looked at Qin Huining with a complicated look in his eyes for a moment before he said, "Yes. Since Sister Yi has allowed you to come back, you should stay here. In the future, you must abide by your duty and never do that kind of thing again. "
Qin Huining's heart skipped a beat.
Since returning to the marquis fu today, this was the first time he had seen Qin Yining's position in the fu.
Now, Qin Yining was the one in charge of the inner residence. Old Madam, the Sun Clan, Second Madam, and Third Madam all had to listen to her arrangements!
Why did she curry favor with old madam and the Sun Clan in the past? Wasn't it because the Patriarch had the right to speak?
Now that Qin Yining was in charge, she had actually schemed against Qin Yining just now …
Qin Huining suddenly realized that she and Qin Yining were no longer opponents.
Because opponents first had to stand on equal footing.
She and Qin Yining could never be equals.
Qin Yining had stepped on her head so easily and proudly. And if she wanted to preserve her life, she could only rely on her Family Qin. As long as she relied on her Family Qin, she could not offend Qin Yining.
This realization made her heart ache, but there was nothing she could do about it. However, she had suffered enough in the farmstead. She did not want to live another day of being harassed by refugees in the chaos of war.
"Father, daughter understands. In the future, I will definitely listen to old madam, father, and mother. I will also listen to fourth young miss's orders."
Hearing her sincere tone and change in the way she addressed him, Qin Huaiyuan nodded and said, "That's good."
At this time, Qin Yining had already arranged for people to report the news to various parts of the inner residence. He also had people prepare a fragrant bath in the side room of the outer courtyard's study.
When Qin Huaiyuan and Qi Tai went to bathe and change clothes, Qin Yining ordered the kitchen to prepare a banquet. It would be held in the reception pavilion of Ci Xiao Garden later. Qin Huaiyuan was safe and sound, and the whole family was reunited. They had to be happy.
After giving these orders, Qin Yining could not sit still for a moment. His heart was filled with happiness and excitement that his father had returned safely. He stood outside the study and waited for Qin Huaiyuan.
After a full hour, Qin Huaiyuan finally came out.
At this time, his hair was half dry and tied loosely on the top of his head. He wore a black net to hold it in place. He wore a jasper-colored silk robe and soft cloth boots. Although he had lost some weight, he still looked as elegant and graceful as before.
Qin Yining said with a smile, "Father, let's go back together."
"Okay." Qin Huaiyuan smiled and nodded, "Qi Tai just told me about the matters in the residence. You did very well."
"Father, don't praise me. It was my first time managing the household, and I was in a panic. It was thanks to old madam and mother's guidance that I was able to stabilize myself."
"Girl, you've learned to be modest." Qin Huaiyuan laughed in spite of himself, "You're very smart and courageous. You're even better at figuring out people's hearts. This is very good. This time, what you did at home and what you did outside were all very good. If you didn't take in the refugees, I'm afraid father would have to spend a lot of effort to come back. "
Qin Yining was naturally happy to be praised by her father, but what she cared about the most was the last sentence.
"Father, is His Majesty angry?"
Qin Huaiyuan nodded, "He is angry. After all, your residence on Changchun Mountain is adjacent to the empress' residence. I won't go into detail about what the common people think. You can also analyze why His Majesty was angry. However, because of this, the common people's voices became louder, and Cao Guozhang couldn't do anything to me. His Majesty was also somewhat afraid. Taking advantage of the fact that the people of Qingliu pleaded for me again, His Majesty relented. It's just that your second uncle was implicated and was transferred to the Ministry of Rites as an assistant minister. "
The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites were both third-rank officials, but the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites were naturally different. The reason why His Majesty was willing to release Qin Huaiyuan earlier was probably because he was afraid that Cao Guozhang would take the opportunity to make a move, right? After all, even if His Majesty was angry, he still retained a trace of reason. He wanted to keep Qin Huaiyuan, a good helper, to restrain Cao Guozhang in the future.
In fact, Qin Yining was already very happy that His Majesty didn't remove all the officials in the Family Qin in one breath.
The most fortunate thing was that she didn't do anything wrong.
"As long as I can help Father, it's fine. What I'm most afraid of is doing something wrong and making things worse."
"How could that be." Qin Huaiyuan smiled, "Fortunately, you, your second uncle, and third uncle are outside taking care of things. Also, I've received the things you had people send over. That medicine is indeed very good at preventing mosquitoes. Otherwise, I might have been bitten all over by now. "
Qin Yining smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Master Zhong's thoughtfulness."
… …
The father and daughter chatted casually as if they had endless things to talk about. Qin Huaiyuan also acted as if he had never experienced the calamity of being imprisoned. Their attitudes were normal, and it was as if this chaos had never bothered them.
At this time, the entire family was gathered in old madam's Cixiao Garden. Even eleventh cousin, who rarely appeared, was there.
As soon as she saw Qin Huaiyuan, old madam couldn't stop crying. She hugged her eldest son and cried until her face was covered in tears and snot.
Second Master and Third Master also circled around Qin Huaiyuan. They patted his shoulder and comforted him about his suffering.
The womenfolk on the side smiled and wiped their tears. The members of the Sun Clan were grinning and smiling. Their eyes were red from crying.
Not long after, a servant reported that the banquet had been prepared.
Qin Yining smiled and went to support old madam, "Today, the entire family is here. Let's have a good reunion dinner. Old madam is a person who has both good fortune and longevity. In the future, our family will be safe and sound. Have more good fortune and longevity."
Old madam was very happy to hear this and repeatedly said, "Good, good!"
The entire family laughed and entered the banquet. Because it was a family banquet and Qin Huaiyuan was rarely scared but not in danger, old madam ordered the screen in the middle to be removed. Although the family abided by the rule of not talking while eating, the atmosphere during the meal was very cheerful and harmonious.
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