Chapter 42: Xue Pinggui Returns to the Cold Cave

Wang Yincuan learned from her father that what Wang Baochuan said was true. It took her a long time to accept this fact.

She couldn’t believe that Wei Bao was such a beast in human form. Her father reminded her to pay more attention to Wei Hu, and that Baochuan’s matter might be related to Wei Hu as well.

Xue Qi stayed in the Wei Mansion. After Wei Bao was buried, she left without saying goodbye.

She left the city. She wanted to take Xu Wanning with her to find Xue Pinggui in Xiliang, but Xu Wanning was not well and had been sick on and off.

She was worried that if she went with Xue Qi, she would be a burden.

With no other choice, Xue Qi could only set off alone with a merchant caravan heading to Xiliang.

Xu Wanning stayed in the Cold Cave. Ge Da and his sister often came to visit her and brought her some food. Those things were all they had begged for. Xu Wanning felt uncomfortable, so she deliberately looked down upon those things and asked them to take them away.

Back and forth, she was truly a lonely person, living on wild vegetables every day.

Her mother came to the Cold Cave to see her, crying and asking her to go back and apologize to her father. She refused, her heart set on waiting for Xue Pinggui to return.

Because Xue Pinggui was accused of rebellion, Censor Xu was impeached by his colleagues for this matter. He spread the word that he considered Xu Wanning dead and had nothing to do with them!

It took Xue Qi a long time to reach Xiliang. She was just a weak woman, and it was difficult for her to enter the Xiliang palace without a name or status.

One day, Xue Pinggui and Princess Dai Zhan went out for a stroll. She stopped Xue Pinggui’s horse on the street and finally saw him.

Xue Pinggui was overjoyed. He had been thinking about going back to find his sister, and he didn’t expect her to come to Xiliang herself.

Xue Qi told him about what happened in the capital. Xue Pinggui had hated Wei Bao to the core, and when he heard that he was dead, the hatred in his heart dissipated a little.

“You said Third Miss told you that I came to Xiliang?”

“Yes, Third Miss said that you caught the eye of the Xiliang princess.” Xue Qi whispered, “Brother, although this Xiliang princess is beautiful, have you forgotten that Sister-in-law is still waiting for you in the Cold Cave?”

Xue Pinggui’s heart jumped into his throat. He was afraid that Dai Zhan would hear about Xu Wanning.

“Sister, I’m a prisoner of Xiliang now. I want to go back to find Wanning, but I can’t go back!”

“I see that the princess treats you very well. Just tell her the truth.” Xue Qi was anxious for Xu Wanning, “Do you know that you are now accused of treason in the capital? Sister-in-law is living alone in the Cold Cave, with no military pay and no support from her family. She’s having a hard time.”

“Okay, we need to think about this carefully. Come back to the palace with us first.”

Xue Pinggui introduced Xue Qi to Dai Zhan. Dai Zhan was very kind. Hearing that she was his sister, she immediately ordered the palace servants to treat Xue Qi as a distinguished guest.

Later, the King and Queen of Xiliang saw that Dai Zhan was determined to marry Xue Pinggui, so they agreed to their marriage. Who knew that Xue Pinggui hesitated and finally confessed to the King and Queen that he was already married.

The Queen was furious and asked him to divorce his wife. He glanced at Xue Qi and said frankly that he would rather die than divorce.

The matter reached a stalemate. Finally, Ling Xiao stepped in to mediate, saying that they could let Xue Pinggui go back and bring his wife to Xiliang.

Xue Pinggui agreed. He and Xue Qi returned to Chang’an secretly, accompanied by Ling Xiao’s group.

At this moment, Xue Pinggui didn’t know that Ling Xiao had been ordered to secretly eliminate his wife, Xu Wanning, and he didn’t know that as soon as he entered Chang’an, Xu Wanning disappeared.

In the spring, the mulberry leaves grew very well. She wanted to pick more mulberry leaves, so she went to the edge of the cliff. She was pampered and had never walked such a steep path. She lost her footing and fell.

Although the cliff was high, there was a river at the bottom, so she wouldn’t fall to her death. She followed the river downstream and was rescued by fishermen on the bank.

She recuperated at a nearby farmhouse for half a month. It was during this time that she missed Xue Pinggui, who came back to find her.

Seeing that Xu Wanning was not there, Ling Xiao secretly spread the word that Xu Wanning couldn’t stand the hardship of the Cold Cave and had returned to the Xu family.

Xue Pinggui’s crime had not been cleared, so he couldn’t go to the Xu Mansion to investigate. He could only rush back to Xiliang.

The night before he left, he asked Xue Qi to send a letter to Wang Baochuan. Xue Qi didn’t know what was written in the letter. He sat at the desk, scratching his head and thinking for a long time before writing several sheets of paper.

Xue Qi gave the letter to Wang Baochuan. Wang Baochuan heard that it was Xue Pinggui’s letter, but she didn’t even bother to read it. She directly asked Qingqing to burn it.

Early in the morning, Xue Pinggui and his group had everything ready and were just waiting to leave. But Xue Pinggui kept delaying. Xue Qi told him that Wang Baochuan wouldn’t come to see him off. He didn’t believe it and waited for a while. Ling Xiao warned him that the longer he delayed, the greater the danger. He reluctantly left after hearing this.

He returned to Xiliang and married Dai Zhan according to the wishes of the King and Queen, becoming the Prince Consort of Xiliang. Although Ling Xiao had always admired Dai Zhan, he was willing to let her be with Xue Pinggui.

Later, he married Lina under the Queen’s arrangement. The two couples, with different thoughts.

In the capital, Wang Baochuan had been living a peaceful life recently. Wang Chengxiang had been deliberately distancing himself from Wei Hu, but he had become more fond of Su Long.

Since his brother’s death, Wei Hu had also become low-key, staying indoors and avoiding contact with others.

As for Wang Yincuan… Wang Baochuan realized that she hadn’t seen her in the Wang Mansion for over a month.

Wang Baochuan strolled under the apricot blossom trees, playing with the half-opened flower branches in her hand, “Embezzlement… military pay…”

“Miss, what are you muttering about?”

Qingqing stood beside her, holding a tray of refreshments, “What military pay?”