Chapter 115: Have You Missed Me?

When Qian Cheng was loaded into the prisoner's cart, Pan Yueqing deliberately went to take a look at him in the dim light of the dawn. When Qian Cheng saw her, he was so frightened that he looked as if he had seen a ghost. His mouth was gagged, and he couldn't make a sound. Pan Yueqing looked down at Qian Cheng, who was kneeling and kowtowing, and she smiled. "Do you know how my father plans to deal with you?"

Under Qian Cheng's terrified gaze, she said, "Originally, he said that beheading you in public would be enough. But I thought it was too lenient for you, so I suggested having you executed by lingchi (death by a thousand cuts)."

"Wuuu..." Qian Cheng couldn't speak, and the sound he made was just a low moan.

"I told you, you deserve to die," Pan Yueqing stood up, grabbed Qian Cheng's collar, and slammed his face against the wooden fence of the prisoner's cart. She roughly pulled out the cloth that was gagging Qian Cheng's mouth. Before he could speak, she poured an entire bottle of "ginseng pills" she got from Li Zhe into Qian Cheng's mouth. "They say ginseng can prolong life. I won't let you die so easily."

Qian Cheng was sweating profusely and hanging on the frame. The thin knife cut off his flesh piece by piece. Each cut seemed to make him suffer excruciating pain, as if he was about to die. But for some reason, he fainted several times and was revived with water each time. In the end, he didn't have the strength to scream anymore, and he didn't even have the strength to open his eyelids.

Pan Haiyun would never forget that afternoon. With each cut, the common people cheered in response to Qian Cheng's screams. Beside him, Pan Yueqing watched Qian Cheng's suffering without changing her expression, showing no trace of the delicacy of a young lady from a boudoir.

Later, Qian Cheng died after receiving fifty-six cuts.

Looking at Qian Cheng's lifeless body, Pan Yueqing sneered faintly, almost imperceptibly. "I should have poured another bottle down his throat."

Ten days passed quickly. Since Pan Haiyun dealt with Qian Cheng, the relief food and supplies he brought soon ran out. Fortunately, Pan Haiyun had the foresight to report to the court in advance. Moreover, under the leadership of Hong Qiqiao, the merchant teams were very enthusiastic in donating rice and flour. In the end, they managed to hold out for another ten days.

The city gates of Suoyue City were opened again. Pan Yueqing, representing Pan Haiyun, was guarding the city gate, waiting for Qi Simeng, who was escorting the relief food and supplies. From a distance, a long line of soldiers in armor pulling many carriages appeared in the wilderness. Pan Yueqing stood on the city tower and squinted her eyes to see the surname on the flag.

As expected, it was a guard team with the character "Qi" on the flag.

The team gradually approached, but the person in the lead was not Qi Simeng. Instead, it was a young man who didn't seem to be very old. He was dressed in dark black clothes. When he raised his eyes and met Pan Yueqing, who was guarding the gate, he dismounted his horse, bowed to Pan Yueqing first, and then said, "His Highness, the Prince of Xiangyang, has arrived."

Qi Si'an?! Pan Yueqing looked up in surprise. On the tall horse was Qi Si'an, dressed in armor. His face was still as pale as the last time they met in the palace. Sitting on the horse, he exuded a certain natural dignity. Pan Yueqing cupped her hands and bowed to him, saying politely, "I didn't know that His Highness, the Prince of Xiangyang, was coming. I apologize for not welcoming you properly. Please forgive me."

"Ordered by the Emperor, I've brought the first batch of relief food and supplies. It should be enough to last for a month," Qi Si'an dismounted his horse and held the reins. "As for you..." He swallowed the words "a girl going on a long march is really bold".

He noticed that Pan Yueqing was dressed in men's clothing and was wearing a waist token of the Su family army at her waist. He let out a soft snort.

Pan Yueqing nodded. If she had known that Qi Si'an was coming, she might not have come to greet him. She had thought that Li Shuran would come with Qi Simeng... At the moment, she replied perfunctorily, "I thank the Emperor for his grace! I thank Your Highness for your hard work!"

"Hmm?" Qi Si'an followed behind Pan Yueqing and smiled. "Aren't you going to kowtow then?"

"I was just saying it for the occasion," Pan Yueqing turned her head and gave Qi Si'an a cool glance.

Qi Si'an avoided her gaze and coughed softly. "Tell me about the situation."

"There's no situation. The worst has passed," Pan Yueqing suddenly stopped. "Why don't you leave?"

"?" Pan Yueqing looked sincere. "Look, there's nothing wrong now. But since you're here, when my father submits the report in the future, he'll have to be polite and fulfill his duty as a subject. He'll have to say that 'His Highness, the Prince of Xiangyang, has sharp eyes and excellent leadership'. " After saying that, she let out a helpless sigh. "Our family will suffer a great loss like this."

Qi Si'an couldn't help frowning. "Do I need to take credit for this?"

Pan Yueqing raised her eyes to meet Qi Si'an's gaze and sighed again. "My father will think it's necessary."

Qi Si'an clicked his tongue and drawled, "Pan, I'm here on the Emperor's orders." After saying this, he lowered his eyes. He had traveled thousands of miles in ten days just to see you one step earlier.

Shi Guang, who was following behind, couldn't stand it anymore and coughed softly. "Well... Miss Pan, my master has been traveling day and night for ten days to come here early." Meeting Pan Yueqing's puzzled gaze and Qi Si'an's almost murderous look, he said bravely, "My master has trouble walking. He's worked so hard just to see someone."

"Stop talking nonsense," Qi Si'an interrupted Shi Guang and ordered him to lead the hundred or so carriages of relief food and supplies to report to Prime Minister Pan. When there was no one around, Qi Si'an coughed softly. "I heard from Ping An that you want to be a female count?"

"Yes," Pan Yueqing admitted without hesitation.

Seeing Qi Si'an's eyes slightly narrow, Pan Yueqing knew that from the moment he decided to speak, he was going to deny her. She didn't say anything and just waited for Qi Si'an to fly into a rage and scold her for being unruly and overestimating herself.

Seeing Pan Yueqing suddenly become as defensive as a bristling hedgehog, Qi Si'an let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "I see."

The two of them walked aimlessly for a while. Qi Si'an suddenly said, "If I had the right to make the decision, I would allow you."

Qi Si'an looked at Pan Yueqing. "Wan Guichou... You and I share the same fate and cannot be separated. Do you remember?"

"..." She remembered, but Pan Yueqing had always thought that these words were made up by Yang Lin to deceive people.

Seeing Pan Yueqing nodding dully in a bewildered manner, Qi Si'an couldn't help but smile in his eyes. "Miss Yue, we haven't seen each other for a month. Have you... thought of me?"

"??" Pan Yueqing frowned more and more tightly. She thought for a moment and said, "Have you been stimulated by something?"

Unexpectedly, Qi Si'an didn't fly into a rage or retort. Instead, he nodded. "Yes, it was quite a shock."

Qi Si'an let out a soft laugh. Out of the blue, he said, "Anyway... I think that only you, who share the same fate with me, will definitely not betray me."

Pan Yueqing stopped in her tracks. Looking at Qi Si'an, she said seriously, "Young man, read fewer strange storybooks." Although Qi Si'an was in a difficult situation, at least his mother and uncle would never give up on him. And there was really no need for Hong Gong to be so sentimental. The only explanation was that young men and women of this age would be sentimental after listening to a few plays.