Chapter 149 Let's Talk about the Serious Matter

Qi Sian probably hadn't recovered from the bitterness yet. After coughing several times with his fist clenched, he raised his eyes and looked at Pan Yueqing's indifferent expression with a hint of melancholy: "I suspect you're scolding me."

Pan Yueqing smiled faintly and shook her head: "No, Your Highness is overthinking."

Shiguang couldn't help but let out a laugh. After receiving Qi Sian's stare, he coughed softly, put away his smile, and then slowly retreated back into the shadows. Qi Sian rubbed his forehead: "Let's talk about the serious matter."

When he raised his eyes and saw Pan Yueqing looking attentive, he coughed softly and said: "Your current situation is extremely passive. I thought about using the power of the two Empresses Dowager to secretly get you out, but now... you've seen my situation..." He paused, averted his gaze, shrugged, and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Now it seems that the plan of secretly getting you out has already alerted the enemy."

Pan Yueqing's heart moved. She suddenly remembered what Consort Shu had said before, that the Prince of Xiangyang had just taken the blame for her. It wasn't just taking the blame for her, but also Qi Tai, as a father and a monarch, warning him not to touch what he shouldn't touch and not to reach out where he shouldn't.

Pan Yueqing nodded. In front of Qi Sian, she didn't hide the displeasure in her eyes and nodded: "His Majesty seems to have some obsession with this matter. This is originally a very thorny issue. After all... he is now in power and is no longer the young emperor who could be manipulated by the Empress Dowager in the past."

"At least within this imperial city, you can't leave quietly. If you leave, it may cause unrest among various forces. I have deduced this with the gentlemen in my mansion... It's just that it's very difficult to find a perfect solution to this matter." Qi Sian let out a tired sigh. In fact, they had reached a conclusion. For any other woman, Qi Sian would tacitly allow her to stay by His Majesty's side. After all, this is a unique opportunity. Keeping one's own person by the emperor's side can inherently put oneself in an invincible position.

Unfortunately, it happened to be the woman in front of him.

Qi Sian clicked his tongue, feeling an inexplicable restlessness in his heart. He refused to give Pan Yueqing to others. He snapped his fingers, took a glass of water from Shiguang's hand, took a sip, and suppressed his emotions for the time being: "You always have your own ideas. What do you think about this difficult situation today?"

"I don't have any ideas," Pan Yueqing said truthfully: "I can't leave, and I can't really stay by his side. I don't dare to act rashly either. Wan'er's life is still in his hands."

After saying that, she smiled softly: "I'm afraid he wants to force me to beg him and please him."

"No, he's taking revenge." Qi Sian lay down, and the slight movement of his body slightly tugged at the wound on his back. The smile on his lips was filled with sarcasm: "He's taking revenge on the Empress Dowager for forcing him to marry the Empress." However... compared to the Empress, he was still a more competent father. Qi Sian faded the smile, his eyelashes hiding his emotions, and swallowed the complaint that was on the tip of his tongue.

Qi Sian seemed to remember something: "I think it will be useful if you ask the Empress Dowager for help."

Pan Yueqing raised her eyes in surprise and met Qi Sian's expression that didn't seem to be joking. She said indifferently: "It's impossible. You saw it on the horseback riding field. Your Empress Dowager wanted to kill me."

"I didn't ask you to go to her directly," Qi Sian rested his head on his hand, smiled, and softly uttered three words: "Shangbei Fang."

Pan Yueqing suddenly raised her head. The last card she had been holding in her hand, with the handling of Shiji Ting, was Shangbei Fang, which attracted almost all the scholars from the southern region to stay there. It was the "Langguan Alley" that she and Qi Sian had stumbled to create. The existence of Shangbei Fang was a huge threat to the noble families in the capital and also a threat to the Emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Without Shangbei Fang, these poor scholars would, as they had done for hundreds of years in the past, rely on the major noble families because they couldn't afford the huge living expenses in the capital. But with Shangbei Fang, it had invisibly cut off the way for the noble families to win the hearts of the people. For Shangbei Fang to exist safely, it must be under the control of the imperial power. Qi Tai wouldn't sit back and watch the downfall of Shangbei Fang, but he also wouldn't allow Shangbei Fang to remain in the hands of others. This was her bargaining chip. She hadn't mentioned it for more than a month and almost forgot about it. Qi Sian smiled: "But this matter needs the help of Prime Minister Pan."

"But Prime Minister Pan has been feigning illness for three days." Qi Sian sighed.

He said "feigning illness" instead of "being ill". Pan Yueqing clearly noticed the oddity of this word. She said indifferently: "What's wrong with my father?"

Qi Sian: "On the day you entered the palace, Prime Minister Pan declined all the rewards. It was the first time in the Northern Qi Dynasty that a row of things was carried to a courtier's mansion, but they were all returned to the Imperial Household Department intact."

Pan Yueqing's heart trembled slightly. Both the imperial rewards and punishments represented the emperor's grace. Returning the rewards was simply a heinous act and a capital crime! If Pan Haiyun was expressing his dissatisfaction with her entering the palace without any notice... At that moment, she felt extremely upset. She knew that Pan Haiyun had studied hard for more than ten years and had stumbled his way to the position of a high-ranking official. It was by chance and great luck that he had managed to stand out among all the noble families and reach this position. All of Pan Haiyun's achievements actually relied on the emperor's grace. But now Pan Haiyun was about to completely offend Qi Tai.

Without Qi Tai's protection, without the need for anything else, Pan Haiyun's position as prime minister would probably be lost soon...

"Should I go to Empress Dowager Su and offer to give up Shangbei Fang, but ask her to send me out of the palace safely?" Pan Yueqing shook her head: "No, Empress Dowager Su doesn't have the possibility or the necessity to compete with His Majesty now. I might as well go directly to His Majesty."

Qi Sian looked at Pan Yueqing's determined appearance and was a bit dazed. The words in his heart involuntarily blurted out: "I'm just afraid that you... can't go..." If His Majesty not only didn't agree but also took advantage of her... After realizing what he had said, he took a deep breath and smiled helplessly: "Of course Qingqing can go. When she tortured that so-called night watchman, she dried him into a human mummy alive."

When he saw the dry and dead night watchman, he was really shocked. But it was this femme fatale in front of him who, regardless of her own life, slowly uncovered the mystery of the northern border. He couldn't help but be attracted to her.

Pan Yueqing clicked her tongue: "I've always believed that in troubled times, severe punishments are needed to deter people's wavering hearts. Facts have proven that it really has an effective result."

Qi Sian closed his eyes and perfunctorily agreed: "What Qingqing says is all right."

Pan Yueqing looked at his perfunctory appearance and clicked her tongue. Before she could speak, a low and soft announcement came from the door. It was the palace maid from the middle of the courtyard: "Miss Yue, Consort Shu said she's leaving and asked if you want to go back with her."

"I'll be right there." Pan Yueqing called out to the outside. Before she left, she turned her gaze to Qi Sian, who was resting with his eyes closed: "What does my father need to do?"