Pang Xiao lifted the seal and patted away the dirt on it.
The wind in the mountains caused the torches to flicker, but the words "Treasure of Northern Ji" could still be seen clearly.
Huzi and Mu Jinghu were dumbfounded.
"This is the Imperial Jade Seal of Northern Ji!"
"How did this appear here?"
Mu Jinghu and Huzi turned to look at Qin Yining at the same time. Qin Yining had marked out this piece of land and she even knew the depth of the excavation. It was obvious that the Imperial Jade Seal that Li Qitian could not find was indeed hidden by Qin Yining.
Huzi lowered his voice and could not hide his excitement as he said, "I did not expect the Princess Consort to hide such a treasure!"
Pang Xiao smiled and said, "You can't say such things carelessly. Just treat it as if this item has a mind of its own and ran here on its own."
Qin Yining burst out laughing. Lian Xiaozhou also smiled until her eyes turned into crescents. The slightly tense atmosphere immediately eased.
Huzi also suddenly realized that his words were inappropriate. He smiled apologetically and scratched the back of his head.
Pang Xiao turned around and handed the Imperial Jade Seal to Qin Yining. "Take it." She said, "Let's restore this place to its original state."
"Okay!" Huzi and Mu Jinghu did not have any objections. Very quickly, they began to work in full swing.
Qin Yining held the heavy Imperial Jade Seal and showed it to Lian Xiaozhou.
Lian Xiaozhou's slender and white fingertips gently stroked the muddy words "Treasure of Northern Ji". Her eyes were already wet.
It was impossible to say that she did not feel a bit of disappointment about the past. But she was no longer an insensible child. She understood what she could and could not do now.
Moreover, in order to protect her, Qin Yining had hidden the truth from his most beloved for so many years. No matter how difficult her life had been, he had never mistreated her. Even if he wanted to take out the Imperial Jade Seal now, he had considered everything for her before telling her about it. If it was someone else with bad intentions, they would have deliberately left her behind or even killed her. Wouldn't she have to bear with it?
Qin Yining was kind and did his best for her. He treated her like a younger sister. She could not be conflicted over the past that she could not remember clearly. it was not worth it to use the past to hurt the people closest to her.
Northern Ji's fate was already over. It was already in the past.
Pang Xiao and the other two restored the place to its original state. They also brought some snow to cover the ground.
"Fortunately, the snow has been heavy recently. It won't be long before these traces and our footprints are covered," Pang Xiao said with a smile.
Qin Yining nodded and handed the Imperial Jade Seal to Pang Xiao for safekeeping. "I don't think anyone will come here in the wilderness. Let's think about how to spend the night. It's not suitable to go down the mountain now. "
As soon as he finished speaking, they heard a wolf howl.
Qin Yining and Lian Xiaozhou could not help but tense up.
Pang Xiao hugged Qin Yining's shoulder.
As far as the eye could see, the branches of the forest were baring their fangs and brandishing their claws. The sound of wolves howling could also be heard. The north wind whistled, mercilessly drilling into people's necklines. The rustling sound of falling snow in the dark and silent night was like the footsteps of an unknown object.
He suddenly remembered when Qin Yining was young. The dark night, the cold, the hunger, and the possibility of wild beasts pouncing on them at any time. They had to work non-stop every day …
What if they suddenly fell sick? What if they encountered wild beasts or got injured?
While other girls were living a comfortable life, his darling had already tasted the cold and warmth of the world in order to survive.
Qin Yining did not notice Pang Xiao's strange emotions. He held Lian Xiaozhou's hand and asked, "Is there a cave nearby where we can take shelter for the night?"
Lian Xiaozhou nodded. "Yes, let's walk this way along the slope. Sister, come with me. "
Lian Xiaozhou held Qin Yining's hand. The two of them skillfully picked up a thick wooden stick to clear the obstacles in front of them. Their nimble footsteps surprised Pang Xiao and the others.
Pang Xiao, Mu Jinghu, and Huzi hurriedly followed.
After walking for about ten minutes, Lian Xiaozhou found the familiar place. That place could not be considered a cave. It was just a depression formed by the thick roots of a large tree on the slope. It could cover half of the top of the head and block the wind.
The five of them lit a fire in the middle. Qin Yining hung his cloak to make a curtain. Lian Xiaozhou followed suit. She took off her cloak and stood next to Qin Yining.
Qin Yining ordered the three men. "Go find snow and pile it up. Once the snow is piled up and compacted, it will block the gap."
The three obediently did as they were told. Everyone worked together and quickly made a cave for them to hide in.
They entered the cave through a gap that only allowed one person to pass through. The warm bonfire's heat hit their faces. The slightly damp branches were abandoned. The dry branches that were chosen did not create much smoke when they burned. As a result, the heat from the bonfire quickly solidified the snow inside the house.
"I didn't think that wang fei was so skilled to be able to create such a warm snow house." Huzi smiled and said.
Qin Yining smiled and said, "This is nothing. We are just temporarily squeezing in. If we live in a place like this for a long time, we will get sick."
Huzi wanted to ask what kind of place Qin Yining had lived in when he was in the mountains. Was it a house or a cave? But when he saw Pang Xiao's distressed expression, he swallowed the words that had reached his mouth.
Qin Yining and Lian Xiaozhou sat in the innermost corner. Pang Xiao spread out her cloak for Qin Yining and Lian Xiaozhou to use as a blanket. She sat down next to Qin Yining. Huzi and Mu Jinghu also sat down next to Pang Xiao. They took out the flatbread they had on them and used tree branches to skewer them over the fire.
Qin Yining let Lian Xiaozhou lean against her shoulder. She leaned against Pang Xiao's shoulder. In this simple and warm environment, there was a faint smell of firewood and the fragrant flatbread in the air. It made people feel at ease.
Perhaps because Pang Xiao was beside her, Qin Yining was not as vigilant as before in the mountains. She quickly fell asleep.
Pang Xiao originally wanted to wake her up to eat some flatbread. But when she saw that she was sleeping peacefully with her face flushed red, she could not bear to wake her up. She simply ate some flatbread with Huzi and Mu Jinghu in the snow. After arranging for them to take turns to keep watch, they went to sleep peacefully.
The next day, the sky was bright. The five of them ate a few bites of flatbread and found their way down the mountain. After they were done packing, they returned to Liang City.
Bing Tang guessed that Pang Xiao had brought them out for a night and even called Lian Xiaozhou along. What they did must have had something to do with Lian Xiaozhou's background. But even though Qin Yining, Lian Xiaozhou, and Huzi had all gone, Bing Tang did not take the initiative to ask any of them. She did not need to ask what she should know. Qin Yining would have told her long ago. If it was dangerous to her, Qin Yining would only hide it from her.
Everyone else had the same thought as Bing Tang and tacitly did not ask any more questions.
Qin Yining changed out of her wet clothes. When the cold wind blew, she covered her mouth and sneezed three times.
"Princess Consort, don't catch a cold." Bing Tang said nervously. "I'll go and prepare some ginger soup first. You and Little Congee should eat a big bowl of it. It'll drive away the cold."
Qin Yining smiled and nodded. "Give some to the three of them as well."
"Got it."
Bing Tang quickly went to borrow the inn's kitchen.
Ji Yun took a hot handkerchief to help Qin Yining clean up.
"The closer we get to the capital, the colder it gets. Princess Consort's body is cold. You should be more careful. That's why your hands and feet are as cold as ice."
"It probably won't happen in the future. It can't be helped. Last night, I slept in the snow. Achoo!" Qin Yining rubbed her itchy nose and said with tears in her eyes, "It was very cold at night. Luckily, we found a very small cave and made a fire. Otherwise, who knows how cold it would be right now."
Qi Yun sighed. "You've caught a cold. You don't have to wash your hair today. Wipe it clean and wear something thicker. Have some ginger soup and sweat it out. It'll be even better if you can sleep."
"En." Qin Yining nodded and wiped her nose with a piece of straw paper.
Pang Xiao ate the ginger soup next door. When she heard Bing Tang say that Qin Yining seemed to have caught a cold, she hurriedly returned to her room. Qin Yining had already finished the ginger soup in one gulp and chewed on a piece of ginger. It was so spicy that her forehead and neck were sweating.
Pang Xiao came in and saw Qin Yining wrapped herself in a blanket. Her heart ached as she said, "It's all my fault. I didn't consider everything thoroughly and didn't prepare to spend the night on the mountain. That's why you caught a cold."
"It has nothing to do with you. Everyone is fine except for me who caught a cold. That's my own problem." Qin Yining said with a smile, "Have you finished discussing? When are we leaving? "
"You're sick. Let's rest here for two days before leaving."
"Weren't we supposed to rush to Mao City for New Year's Eve? If we delay any longer, I'm afraid we'll be in the wilderness on New Year's Eve. "
Pang Xiao thought for a while and said, "Let's see how you're doing first. If it doesn't work out, we'll just stay here for New Year's Eve before leaving. Anyway, it's not the first time I've disobeyed an imperial decree."
Qin Yining shook his head in amusement. "That won't do. You've already been caught red-handed. You can't add fuel to the fire." At this point, Qin Yining waved at Ji Yun and Bing Tang and called Lian Xiaozhou over.
Bing Tang and Ji Yun knew that Qin Yining had something to say. They quickly retreated to guard the door and didn't let anyone near.
"Zhixi, I want to discuss something with you."
"What's the matter?" Pang Xiao asked seriously.
Qin Yining held Lian Xiaozhou's hand and looked at her slightly nervous expression. He touched her cheek tenderly and said, "I want to ask for your help to find someone suitable to take care of Xiaozhou and place her in a safe place. We've found that thing, but I'm afraid that sooner or later, we won't be able to hide Xiaozhou's identity. When that time comes, we'll get her killed."
Pang Xiao lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. She nodded. "You're right. It's best to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Lian Xiaozhou shook her head. "Sister, I'm not afraid. I don't want to be separated from you, and I don't want to be separated from Sister Bing Tang either …"
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