Chapter 90 Undercurrents Surging

"Does Second Miss want some tea?" The maid who was cleaning the study lowered her head and whispered respectfully in Pan Yueqing's ear.

Pan Yueqing slightly shook her head and declined the maid's concern. Instead of just standing there, she paced around and picked up one by one the scrolls of paintings that Pan Haiyun had placed on the side. There were paintings of flowers and birds, landscapes, meticulous brushwork paintings, and splash - ink paintings... She was unconsciously attracted by a particularly small jade scroll placed in the corner.

She reached out and picked it up. After gently unfolding it, she saw a small portrait on it. A beautiful lady was holding a swaddling baby, and her eyes were looking straight in the direction of the painter. Pan Yueqing was drawn to those bright and expressive eyes with a smile. She even felt that the eyes of the person in the painting were enveloping her.

The paper was very wrinkled. The clothes of the beautiful woman at the bottom seemed to have been diluted by drops of water. The watercolor was smudged, and the obvious round edges were clearly visible. The paper was also pressed very flat, and every stroke on the beautiful woman's face was clearly visible. One could feel the love and care for it in every inch. These were the marks of tears dripping on the rice paper, drying, and then being smoothed out. The layers upon layers showed the sadness of the person who often looked at it with tearful eyes.

"Cough, cough."

Pan Yueqing suddenly turned around and saw Pan Haiyun, who had appeared behind her at some point. She slowly averted her gaze, composed her emotions, sniffed, and curtsied slightly towards Pan Haiyun, but didn't address him.

"Yue'er," Pan Haiyun looked at this polite but distant child and sighed inwardly. He walked to Pan Yueqing's side, "This is you, when you were three months old." For the first time in front of Pan Yueqing, he didn't hide his recollection of Su Lan. Pan Yueqing nodded numbly and heard Pan Haiyun continue, "If you're really... heartbroken, you can also go and live with your grandmother. Daddy knows that you've never been wronged in your grandmother's house."

She looked up at Pan Haiyun in surprise. Although she knew that her father had feelings for her, at first, she firmly believed that the biggest link of this feeling was that her identity as the legitimate daughter of the Pan family in her father's eyes could bring him political benefits. She didn't resist it because she knew that this was the fate of a woman from a noble family, and she hadn't met anyone who could make her choose to abandon all her status and position.

So she was convinced that when Pan Haiyun had been in a hurry to pick her up from the Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion, he just didn't want her grandmother and others to interfere in her marriage.

"One day you'll leave Daddy. If you get married, I don't know if you'll suffer or not. When you're a girl at home, be happy if you can. This is what your mother once told me," Pan Haiyun said these words very gently. Pan Yueqing blinked and turned her head away, gently wiping away the tears that came unbidden. That's why Pan Haiyun had chosen to send her to be raised by her grandmother when she was a child.

Pan Yueqing regained her composure and asked calmly, "At first, did you blame me?"

Pan Haiyun was silent for a moment and then said slowly, admitting it frankly, "Yes."

Pan Yueqing raised her eyebrows. She had thought that he would explain next, but unexpectedly, after answering, Pan Haiyun walked slowly behind the desk, spread out the rice paper, placed a paperweight on it, dipped the brush in ink, and wrote a big character on the rice paper without the slightest hesitation. Pan Yueqing leaned over the brush holder and looked at Pan Haiyun's character. It was the character "filial piety" .

If it were an ordinary person, they would surely think that Pan Haiyun was using this character to give a lecture. But Pan Yueqing pondered for a moment, concentrated on looking at the character written by Pan Haiyun with a swift hand, and said silently, "Your calligraphy has the strength of the grass in the wind, elegant and free in the gust. Especially this stroke of the left - falling stroke, it's the best." Pan Yueqing pointed at the long left - falling stroke of the character "filial piety" and then looked up and smiled, "But a sharp state of mind isn't suitable for writing such a peaceful character." Pan Haiyun put down the brush, turned his back, and looked out the window without saying a word.

"You want to tell me that you're in a difficult situation, and this character of filial piety binds you," Pan Yueqing said, facing Pan Haiyun's back. After all, she couldn't bear to hurt someone who truly cared for her. She said slowly, "But if things continue like this, this character will also make Yue'er feel very difficult."

The undisguised hostility of the Old Madam Pan towards her would have made others tremble with fear. But she was different. She had come from hell and wasn't afraid of ghosts and demons. Why should she be afraid of this?

It was just that Pan Haiyun, who was caught between her and the Old Madam Pan, was in a difficult situation, and she, who had to consider Pan Haiyun, was also in a difficult situation.

"When I heard about Miaoqian's matter from the official office, I had no way of knowing the cause and effect. As soon as I came back, I heard that it was your and Lianshan's fault. I was also muddle - headed. I thought that you, who could discover the value of Shangbei Fang, wouldn't stand by and do nothing if you could save the situation. After all, one small move can affect the whole situation, and if anything happens to any one of us in our family, it concerns the whole family," Pan Haiyun didn't continue the previous topic. He just hinted at the thoughts in his heart, and it was enough for them to understand each other clearly.

"You want me to break away from this directly through this matter," Pan Haiyun let out a long sigh. It was because he was still struggling and still indulging in the Emperor's favor. Pan Yueqing just smiled and didn't speak. She looked at the maids coming and going outside the window, "You're wrong. I don't have that ability. It was Pan Miaoqian and Yao Zhen who wanted to harm me. I just took advantage of the situation. But the value of Shangbei Fang is huge, and I think it's better to keep it in our own hands. You originally rose from the common people to the imperial court. Compared with those who are high above, you can attract more candidates. Therefore, it's naturally better for you to keep these land deeds."

The deeper reason was that the hidden power struggles in the Northern Qi Dynasty made the Emperor, who secretly adhered to the idea of promoting commoner officials, in need of more support.