Chapter 29: Advancing by Retreating

Pan Yueqing was full of anger, but she finally stopped before entering the flower hall. She turned around and looked at Liu Yingwei and Pan Miaoqian who were hurrying over ten steps away. She gave the mother and daughter a meaningful smile, pushed the door with her hand, and instantly filled her eyes with tears. When she stepped over the threshold, she deliberately pretended to trip over it and fell to the ground with a thud.

"What a disgrace!" Pan Haiyun originally saw Pan Yueqing with a messy hair bun, pushing the door in without being announced, and was about to let out a low scolding. But then he saw Pan Yueqing actually fall to the ground. He immediately shouted loudly, "Yue'er!" and got up at once to help her.

Pan Yueqing raised her head and placed her hand in Pan Haiyun's palm. She slightly raised her eyes and softly called out, "Father."

Pan Haiyun took a deep breath. Pan Yueqing's eyes were filled with tears, and there was still dried blood on her cheeks. There were abrasions from stray arrows and scars from the tip of a whip under her lower eyelids, making her look extremely pitiful.

"Pan Haiyun! You'd better give me an explanation!" The one speaking was Su Jing, the Marquis Dingyuan. He took two or three steps forward to Pan Yueqing, gently supported her arms with his hands, and his eyes were full of pity. He raised his hand to touch Pan Yueqing's face but was afraid of hurting her, so his eyebrows furrowed. "Yue'er... Let your uncle take a look. Does it hurt?"

"Uncle... I don't feel the pain..." Pan Yueqing slightly raised her eyes, and the glistening tears were like short blades piercing Su Jing's heart. He seemed to see his little sister Su Lan when she was young, injured and strong with tears in her eyes!

"Qing Shan!" Pan Haiyun shouted in a low voice. Qing Shan knelt down in response. Pan Haiyun's eyes were burning with anger, and he almost gritted his teeth and said, "What on earth is going on?!"

"Father..." Pan Yueqing reached out and grabbed Pan Haiyun's sleeve. When she turned around and saw Liu Yingwei and Pan Miaoqian coming in with smiles, she let out a loud cry as if she had been greatly frightened, "Help me!" and hid behind Pan Haiyun like she was avoiding a snake or a scorpion.

This action carried a lot of meaning. Su Jing raised his eyes and looked at Liu Yingwei and Pan Miaoqian, his eyes blazing with anger.

Liu Yingwei smiled and stepped forward. She curtsied slightly to Pan Haiyun. "This child has been frightened outside and has been talking nonsense for a while..." But before she could finish her words, she heard the old man sitting at the back chuckling while sipping tea. Meeting Su Jing's angry gaze, she involuntarily stopped speaking.

Su Jing straightened up, put his hands behind his back, and said to Pan Haiyun seriously, "The affairs in your mansion are truly extraordinary, Brother Haiyun. Mr. Hong, you've seen a lot in your life. Have you ever seen such a scene?"

Mr. Hong had been sitting on the chair throughout. He came to Prime Minister Pan's mansion today just because of someone's request. He had trouble with his legs and feet, so he just sat upright on the chair, held a tea cup, and smiled. He followed Su Jing's words and asked, "What scene?"

"Since when can a concubine casually enter the main hall?" Su Jing slightly supported Pan Yueqing with his hand, glanced at Liu Yingwei, shook his head, and said to Pan Yueqing gently, "Yue'er, your uncle will send someone to bring you some good beauty cream later."

"Uncle, the beauty cream can heal the wounds on my face, but it can't heal the wounds in my heart." Pan Yueqing slightly pursed her lips, trying hard to hold back the tears in her eyes. She got up and stood in front of Pan Haiyun, raised her hands above her head, and knelt down in front of Pan Haiyun to perform a proper bow.

"Yue'er, what are you doing?" Pan Haiyun immediately bent down to help her up.

"Father..." Pan Yueqing raised her eyes, and the tears finally fell at that moment. "I beg you, Father, to show some love for Yue'er and let Yue'er go!"

Hearing Pan Yueqing's sad words, Pan Haiyun felt a shock in his heart. He couldn't say a word and also lost the strength to help Pan Yueqing up. Once upon a time, this child had told him in the Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion with tears, "Yue'er's life was desperately saved." At that time, he had promised to protect her. But unexpectedly, just a few days later, this child was in a sorry state again.

Pan Yueqing glanced at Pan Haiyun. Seeing his expression, she knew that Liu Shi and Pan Miaoqian wouldn't be able to cause any trouble today.

"Liu Yingwei!" With his elder brother-in-law in front and Mr. Hong behind, one of these two people had control of 400,000 troops, and the other was someone he had been eager to befriend for years but had never had the opportunity. Pan Haiyun gritted his teeth and scolded.

Pan Yueqing raised her eyes and looked at Liu Yingwei who was so scared by Pan Haiyun's scolding that she knelt on the ground. She smiled in her heart: How could she leave? She had said that she would pay them back tenfold.

Pan Miaoqian knelt down at Pan Haiyun's feet with a thud. "Father, please listen. When Second Sister came back, she hit me. I was so angry that I fought back. Mother came to stop the fight. This matter has nothing to do with Mother!" After saying that, she lifted her sleeve to reveal the wound bitten by Gu Pan, and with a half-frown and tears in her eyes, she said, "Second Sister forced me to do this..."

Pan Miaoqian always looked so pitiful. She wiped her lips with a handkerchief, bit her lip, and with her red eyes, she really looked pitiful.

But today she miscalculated! How could there be a poor soul who tries to prove her innocence without caring about her reputation? Pan Yueqing had grasped the thorn of Pan Haiyun's guilt in his heart. She didn't need to argue. She advanced by retreating.

Pan Yueqing frowned with tears in her eyes. "I'm a girl. I can't do the act of showing my body in public. I don't want to argue with Third Sister about who is telling the truth and who is lying. I just beg Father to let me go today. Then Yue'er can still be intact and can pay you respects during festivals."

Pan Miaoqian originally saw that Pan Haiyun's expression had softened, but as soon as Pan Yueqing said these faltering words, she knew that her father wouldn't believe her anymore. She bit her lip. Fortunately, just as Pan Haiyun was about to get angry, the doorkeeper reported, "The Old Madam is here."

The Old Madam Pan, with an angry face, was surrounded by a group of people. She said forcefully to Pan Haiyun, "You have no shame! You don't care about your innocent daughter but believe this孽障 who has lost her chastity and brought shame to the family!"

Pan Haiyun's face turned red with anger at these words. He even wanted to go up and slap her, but this person was his mother! His face turned frighteningly cold at once, and he lashed out at the maid behind him, "Who informed the Old Madam?"

"Madam, you'd better make it clear. Who has lost her chastity and brought shame to the family?" Pan Yueqing met the Old Madam Pan's extremely disgusted gaze. Her tears suddenly fell, and she deliberately held her breath, making her cheeks turn red. She looked wronged and angry but dared not speak out. "You're Third Sister's grandmother, so you only love Third Sister?"

"I said I don't want to argue, but I won't let you casually pour dirt on me. I desperately escaped from that dreadful place and was rescued by Mr. Hong by chance. I finally managed to come back to serve Father..." Pan Yueqing's steps faltered, and her lips turned pale. "I didn't come back to be trampled on!"