Xiao Tian nodded, his eyes glinting with a fierce light. "If it's really her, I won't spare the Ping family this time."
He had given Ping Xinian enough face. If she didn't know her place, he wouldn't hesitate to teach her a lesson.
For Yi Qing's safety, he was willing to bear the reputation of being ungrateful.
Baozi came back from the academy. Although Yi Qing had tried to cover it up, being as observant as he was, he still noticed the injury on her face.
"Mother, what happened to your face? Who hit you?" Baozi asked seriously, his small fists clenched tightly by his sides.
Yi Qing replied, "I accidentally bumped into something. It's nothing serious."
She was too proud to admit that she had been beaten on the road and dragged away like a dead pig.
Moreover, she didn't want Baozi to have nightmares about her being kidnapped.
But Baozi came over, holding her chin with both hands. His eyes were almost touching her face as he stared at it intently.
Yi Qing: "..."
"Uncle Xiao, Uncle Xiao!" Baozi shouted angrily and ran out with his short legs.
Yi Qing was helpless. Did he think it was Xiao Tian who hit her?
"Baozi, come back!" she called out, but Baozi ignored her.
After Xiao Tian brought him back, he was stopped by Xiaodezi at the second gate. Xiaodezi insisted that he go to the palace, so he was delayed for a while. He just came in at this moment.
"Uncle Xiao!" Baozi grabbed his hem and said angrily, "Uncle Xiao, my mother was beaten! Do you know who did it? I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me. I'm going to avenge my mother!"
Yi Qing chased after them. Hearing this, she leaned against the door and said with a smile, "Why don't you guess it was Uncle Xiao who did it?"
"Uncle Xiao would never do that," Baozi said loudly. "Uncle Xiao said we should protect mother together. Uncle Xiao always keeps his promise!"
Tsk tsk tsk, he was really good at fooling kids.
Xiao Tian led Baozi in and sat him on the couch. The two of them sat across the small table and had a frank and in - depth conversation like real men.
"Can't we find the culprit yet?" Baozi frowned, showing a maturity far beyond his age.
"Not yet, but we will definitely find them," Xiao Tian said firmly.
"Okay." Baozi nodded like a little adult. He turned to Yi Qing, who had been displaced and was now sitting on a chair, and asked, "Mother, does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore."
"Don't go out alone next time. It's very dangerous."
Well, she had already been nagged by Xiao Tian until her ears were about to wear out, and now there was this nagging son.
Yi Qing felt like she was the youngest and most worrying person in the family.
"Oh, my lord!" Xiaodezi's voice came from outside the courtyard. "Please go to the palace with me quickly. The emperor is so anxious that he's furious. How can you be so calm?"
Baozi looked puzzled. "Is Uncle Xiao summoned by the emperor?"
Yi Qing waved at him, signaling him to sit beside her. Then she said to Xiao Tian, "Maybe you should go to the palace and check it out?"
"I'm not going," Xiao Tian said. "I can't leave the capital with peace of mind until I find out who hurt you."
This was really comforting to hear.
Xiaodezi had already run in. Since he was a eunuch, it wasn't against the rules for him to walk in the inner courtyard.
Maybe because he was in a hurry, his forehead and nose were covered in sweat. He couldn't help but raise his sleeve to wipe it off while saying to Yi Qing, "Madam, please persuade Guard Xiao for me. If he doesn't go, I'll lose my head. The emperor is on the verge of flipping the table."
The emperor had actually thought about flipping the table, but the imperial desk was too heavy, so he gave up.
Yi Qing didn't care.
She reached out to adjust her perfectly straight hairpin and said lazily, "The emperor always complains that I interfere in Guard Xiao's outside affairs. I don't dare to say anything. Otherwise, it will be used against me in the future."
Come on, did the emperor think he couldn't sit firmly on the throne without Xiao Tian?
But without Xiao Tian, she might be in trouble soon. After all, she had no clue about who was plotting against her.
She was never a self - sacrificing and virtuous woman. Her own life was the most important thing.
Xiaodezi secretly groaned in his heart: This lady was really a tough nut to crack.
It was Xiao Tian who took pity on him and said, "You go back first. I'll go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow."
Xiaodezi had no choice but to go back nervously.
Baozi didn't understand and asked Xiao Tian why the emperor wanted him to go to the palace.
Xiao Tian patiently explained the whole thing to him in more detail than when he told Yi Qing. He even told him about Deng Xiao's character and the impressive things he had done before.
Yi Qing benefited from Baozi's curiosity and overheard a bit. In summary, Deng Xiao was not a good person.
This guy was truly unpredictable and ruthless. His sudden disappearance was really strange.
Xiao Tian even explained to Baozi why Deng Xiao couldn't disappear.
Baozi obviously understood.
Because he said, "Uncle Xiao, since it's such an important matter, maybe you should go and help the emperor first. As long as mother doesn't go out, there are so many guards in the mansion. They can definitely protect her."
Yi Qing: "..."
She was starting to not want this son anymore.
If she knew that Baozi had secretly changed his address, she might want to disown him even more.
Xiao Tian said, "It doesn't necessarily have to be me. I'm not a constable. The emperor will make other proper arrangements."
On this point, he and Yi Qing thought alike.
But Baozi said seriously, "What if others leak the secret if they handle this matter?"
Yi Qing sneered, "Is the emperor's matter more important than mother's matter?"
"No, mother's matter is also important," Baozi said. "But if the emperor is well, we will be well too."
Xiao Tian couldn't hide his admiration for Baozi's sense of the overall situation.
However, when the people who went to investigate Ping Xinian came back and said that no one matched the description and that Ping Xinian had been away from the capital for a long time, taking all her people with her, Xiao Tian still decided to stay.
In a sense, he actually hoped that Ping Xinian was the mastermind.
Because she was already an enemy, so there would be no new enemy. Moreover, he saw through all her tricks clearly. Giving her a good lesson would completely settle this matter.
But now... With this only suspect ruled out, finding out who was behind the kidnapping case was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Unexpectedly, the emperor, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, came to the general's mansion through the secret passage again at night.
"Xiao Tian, Xiao Tian. I misjudged you. You value your woman over your friend! Is my country more important or Yi Qing more important?"
Yi Qing, who was being ignored, raised her eyebrows as if to say, Is that even a question?
Asking was just asking for humiliation!
Sure enough, Xiao Tian said, "You still have so many ministers, but Yi Qing only has me."
Yi Qing looked at the emperor's face turning red with anger and almost burst out laughing.
This retort was so great!
"No, you have to go. This matter is settled!" The emperor paced back and forth on the ground.