Qin Yining had a long and heavy nightmare. In her dream, there were constant sounds of killing and the lingering smell of blood. There were also people chasing after her, shouting to kill her. She was originally very confident that she could escape, but when she took a step forward, she realized that she was just a child with short arms and legs. Very quickly, someone caught up with her.
The moment the knife pierced her shoulder, she screamed in horror. Her body shook violently and she suddenly opened her eyes.
Pain, her shoulder really hurt!
Looking at the familiar light blue bed curtain with elegant magnolia embroidery, Qin Yining couldn't tell if she was awake or dreaming for a moment.
Her last memory was that her family was trapped in a dead end. On one side was a fire, and on the other side was an assassin. She leaned on her father's arm and saw concubine mother Lin commit suicide in despair because of sixth and seventh sister's death.
Why did she return to her bedroom? Was everyone alright?
"Miss, you're awake!" Bing Tang, who was guarding the bed, said happily, "How do you feel?"
Qin Yining opened her mouth, but her throat was dry and painful. She couldn't speak.
Bing Tang hurriedly brought a small white porcelain bowl over and used a spoon to feed her half a bowl.
The water in her mouth was salty and sweet, but her burning throat felt better. She then asked hoarsely, "How long did I sleep? What day is it now? What time is it? "
"In response to Miss, you slept for a day and a night. It's just past nine. This servant received the news early this morning and came back. You had a bad fever at that time. Fortunately, your body is good. You're much better now. "
Qin Yining nodded and asked again, "Who else is in the family?"
Bing Tang heard this and hesitated for a moment before saying carefully, "Don't ask so much. Old madam, the marquis, and Madam are all fine. Ji Yun said that when you fainted last night, reinforcements came. After that, everyone was fine. Even the injured Eleventh Master woke up and said that he was hungry. Ji Yun has a few minor injuries on her body. They're all superficial wounds. It's not a big deal. I've given her some medicine and let her sleep first. "
"I remember that Ji Yun wasn't injured last night." Qin Yining turned his head weakly to look at Bing Tang. She thought that Ji Yun must have put in a lot of effort in the fight later.
Bing Tang recalled what Ji Yun had told her and still had lingering fears. She helped Qin Yining up and placed a soft pillow behind her back. She took a bowl and continued to feed Qin Yining water.
"It is said that after the group of assassins left, another three experts quietly snuck in. At that time, the Marquis arranged for you to stay in the outer courtyard's study for the time being. Only Ji Yun was there to guard you. Those three people's martial arts skills were too high. Ji Yun barely managed to fend them off. Fortunately, the people arranged by Little Wang Ye arrived just in time to subdue those three assassins. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Pang Zhixi arranged for people?"
"That's right. The person who came was a young chivalrous man. His martial arts skills are excellent, and his medical skills are probably above mine. The medicine he prescribed was very effective. He even captured the three assassins alive. "
"What about the assassins?"
"They have been handed over to the Marquis. I still don't know how the Marquis will deal with them. " Bing Tang put down the bowl and tested the temperature of Qin Yining's forehead. She advised, "Miss, you injured your blood vessels and lost a lot of blood. You have injured your foundation. You should take care of your body now. You don't have to worry about other things. Everything outside is being discussed and handled by the Marquis, Second Master, and Third Master. I believe that with the Marquis's intelligence, he will definitely handle it well."
Qin Yining closed her eyes tiredly and gently shook her head.
"We can't just let this matter go."
"Even if we can't just let it go, you can't torture yourself anymore. If you don't take care of your body, how will you have the strength to care about other things?"
Qin Yining suppressed her desire to immediately deal with this matter and said in a low voice, "Where is my medicine? Give it to me. "
When Bing Tang heard this, tears almost fell from her eyes.
Qin Yining was simply the strongest woman she had ever met.
After experiencing such a tragedy of family extermination and witnessing the death of her relatives with her own eyes, and the assassin kept shouting that he would spare her family if she was handed over. Concubine Lin resented her for the death of Sixth Young Lady and Seventh Young Lady, so she killed herself in front of her.
The anger of having her family annihilated, the fear of being hunted down, the resentment of her family, and the fact that she had personally witnessed the death of someone close to her. It was said that Song Lan had even taken a stab to save her life before dying …
If it were anyone else, they would probably have gone crazy. Even if they were fine, they would definitely feel sorry for themselves and wait to rely on others.
However, Qin Yining had always been very rational and very tenacious. She never felt sorry for herself and always knew what she should do.
If this kind of tenacity appeared in a matriarch of a household who had seen thousands of sails, it would be natural.
However, she was only 15 years old!
Bing Tang and Qin Yining were the same age. When the Tang family was annihilated, she was sent away half a year earlier. In the end, she only heard the news and didn't see the tragedy with her own eyes.
Even so, every time she thought about it, she couldn't sleep at night. She was filled with hatred and fear and couldn't control her emotions at all.
If she personally experienced everything that Qin Yining went through, Bing Tang felt that the grass on her grave would be three feet tall by now.
Bing Tang sniffed and got up to bring a bowl of thin brown sugar corn porridge. She smiled and said, "Miss, eat something first. This is good for your body and it's good for your blood. Let's eat it first before you take the medicine."
Qin Yining nodded and raised her weak hands to take the bowl. She trembled as she ate the warm porridge. She took the medicine that Bing Tang brought and drank it in one gulp. Then, she rinsed her mouth.
The medicine relieved the pain and calmed the nerves. Qin Yining lay on the bed and soon felt tired. Before she fell asleep, she didn't forget to instruct Bing Tang, "Go tell my father and mother that I'm fine. Take care of their bodies. "
"Yes, Miss. Don't worry. Master Zhong got the news and arranged for many people to come to our residence to help. Master Zhong didn't go back himself and listened to Master Hou's orders. You just rest well and we can do more things when your body is better."
Qin Yining's eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. After hearing Bing Tang's words, she finally felt at ease and fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up again, it was still night. At this time, Qin Yining felt that she had regained some energy. She forced herself to eat the brown sugar porridge and some mushy vegetables. She also took some medicine. After that, she didn't want to rest anymore. Bing Tang and Qiu Lu helped her down the stairs and towards the mourning hall in the front yard.
Although it was a summer night, Qin Yining was extremely afraid of the cold. When the wind blew, she felt extremely cold.
She gritted her teeth and endured the cold all the way. She walked out of the Chuihua Gate and turned into the main yard. She saw that the yard was draped in white and the mourning banners hung high. What entered her sight was a sea of white. In the yard and in the hall, coffins were placed. The white paper lanterns flickered in the wind and the air was filled with the smell of burnt paper.
When they saw this scene, Bing Tang and Qiu Lu felt their hair stand on end. When they thought about how these people had died in vain and how many of them were familiar with each other, they couldn't help but shed tears.
Qin Yining walked past the open coffins. She only glanced at them a few times and then stopped looking at them.
When she entered the mourning hall, she saw Qin Yu, Qin Han, Second Old Master, Third Old Master, and Qin Huaiyuan all standing in front of the coffin. They were all dressed in plain clothes and were placing paper money in clay pots.
"Father," Qin Yining called out.
Qin Huaiyuan turned around and saw Qin Yining dressed in plain clothes with a pale face.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm here to light incense for everyone and kowtow."
In front of Qin Yining lay Third Old Madam, who was dressed in a sapphire blue shroud.
She only took one look and her tears couldn't stop. She knelt in front of the coffin and kowtowed. In a low voice, she said, "It's my fault. I've let everyone down. "
When they heard Qin Yining's words, the room was filled with sobbing sounds.
Third Old Master wiped his face and shook his head. "Sister Yi, you don't have to blame yourself. I've said it before. This incident wasn't anyone's fault. It's just that we were unlucky and happened to be in this chaotic world. "
Qin Yu's wife didn't escape this calamity either. They were a young married couple and were usually very loving. Although the Yao Clan hadn't produced any children for many years and Qin Yu wasn't willing to take in a concubine for her sake, now that the Yao Clan was gone, Qin Yu felt a part of his heart was empty. After hearing Third Old Master's words, she didn't say anything. She just blankly placed paper money in the clay pot.
Qin Yining forced herself to stay awake. She didn't want to try to figure out what her family was thinking. Even if she was hated by her family, she deserved it because she had implicated them.
She was now concerned about another matter.
"Father, do you know where the assassin came from?"
"Yes." Qin Huaiyuan's face was illuminated by the firelight. He slowly said, "The matter has been investigated clearly. The assassins were sent by the Zhou Dynasty's Emperor. First, it was because the Tian Jizi calculated your fate. Second, it was because they tried to assassinate the Emperor. This time, there were more than a hundred assassins from the Zhou Dynasty. Two days ago, they disguised themselves as merchants and entered the city. They were already targeted by the Silver Masked Secret Agents and the Warden's Office of the Five Cities. "
Second Old Master, Third Old Master, Qin Yu, and Qin Han all put down the paper money in their hands and handed it to the servants who were keeping watch over the coffin.
There were too many people here and it wasn't suitable for this topic. Everyone tacitly left the front hall and went to a reception pavilion in the courtyard next door to sit down. They also arranged for trustworthy people to stand guard outside.
Qin Huaiyuan then said, "Those people's plan was very thorough. First, they sent people to our residence. Then, they arranged a large number of people in the Imperial Palace. That's not all. They even had a backup plan. This time, if Young Master Mu hadn't come in time, Sister Yi might not be here now. "
Second Old Master and Third Old Master both sighed and shook their heads.
Qin Yu asked, "Who is Young Master Mu?"
Qin Huaiyuan said, "Young Master Mu was sent by Little Wang Ye to protect Sister Yi.
”
Third Old Master said in surprise, "You're saying that Little Wang Ye sent people to protect Sister Yi?"
Qin Yining knew that right now, in front of his family, even half a sentence of concealment could easily cause misunderstandings. Therefore, he said bluntly, "Yes. When Pang Zhixi got the news that Emperor Zhou sent people to the capital to assassinate me, he immediately arranged for a Jianghu hero with excellent martial arts to help. However, he came too late and didn't catch up with the first batch of assassins. He only managed to capture the three assassins alive."
Second Old Master nodded silently.
Qin Han frowned and said, "It seems that Emperor Zhou and Pang Zhixi don't have the same opinion."
Qin Han sneered, "In my opinion, no matter where it is, the Emperor is always the same. They only care about the stability of their own position, and simply do not consider the suffering of the people. Fourth Sister was only spread with that kind of baseless rumor, and the Zhou Emperor was able to send people from afar to assassinate her. Moreover, he even killed so many people in our family. It is enough to show that he is also a person who acts arbitrarily and disregards human life.
Qin Yining lowered his head, "In the end, I'm the one who harmed everyone." He took a deep breath and didn't wait for anyone to say anything to ease the situation. He turned to Qin Huaiyuan and asked, "Father, did you get anything out of those three assassins?"
"They were tortured and spat out everything. However, the remaining assassins are still running away. That day, the people of the Qingtian Alliance arrived in time and drove them out. Later, they lost track of them. The capital is now under martial law, so they can't get out. They can only break up and hide in the city. The Warden's Office in the five cities has been searching for them all day, but they haven't found anything yet. "
"What if they're caught?" Qin Yining asked, "Did the Emperor say what to do with them?"
Qin Huaiyuan slowly shook his head, "The Emperor didn't say anything."
"He didn't say anything?" Qin Yining sneered and said meaningfully, "If he didn't say anything, then this matter won't be easy to handle. Father, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, with the Emperor's temperament, if Da Zhou puts pressure on him, do you think he'll let these assassins go? "
"That's very possible," Qin Han said bitterly. "Think about what happened to the Duke Ding's Mansion and the Sun Family. The people of Da Zhou didn't say anything, but the Emperor already began to kill his loyal officials. If the Emperor of Da Zhou casually said, 'Hand over these people and I'll spare your lives,' wouldn't the Emperor happily return them? Then wouldn't all our family members have died in vain?! "
Qin Yu closed his eyes and tightly gripped the armchair with both hands.
Third Master thought of his eleven-year-old son and his considerate third wife and couldn't help but burst into tears. He was already an adult, but he was crying like a child who had lost his way.
"It's my incompetence. I couldn't protect your mother and younger brother. If the Emperor still wants to let these assassins go, I, I'll fight the Emperor to the death!"
"Father." Qin Han grabbed Third Master's hand, "Father, don't cry. It'll hurt your body. Mother's spirit in heaven wouldn't want to see you like this. Natural disasters and man-made disasters can't be avoided. It's not your fault. As people who are still alive, we have to seek justice for the people who died. We have to bear a heavier responsibility. Father, you must calm down. "
Third Master used his sleeve to wipe his face and forced himself to control his emotions.
Qin Yining wiped his tears and said hoarsely, "We definitely can't let the Emperor hand over the assassins. It doesn't matter if it's the three that we caught or the group that escaped. If we can't catch them, then they'll be a huge hidden danger for us. If we catch them, but the Emperor doesn't allow us to kill them, then I'll have to think of a way. "
"It's not wise to directly disobey the Emperor's orders. If we confront him directly, it'll be like striking a stone with an egg. We must think of a proper way to make these assassins pay with their lives! "
Qin Huaiyuan asked Qin Yining, "Sister Yi, do you have a plan?"
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