The road ahead was very smooth. However, due to Xie Yan's injury, he and Qin Miao squeezed into the carriage with Qin Lang. Poor Zi Xuan could only wear a veil and sit outside the carriage with Cheng Ying, who was saying cold words to her.

  As a result, Qin Miao was annoyed by Xie Yan to the point of being speechless, while Zi Xuan was chilled by Cheng Ying and lost interest. She felt that this person not only loved to speak sarcastically but also loved to hold grudges. Wasn't it just that she had confronted him once before? At the time, he hadn't reacted, but now he remembered it after a night's sleep. What a petty person, Zi Xuan thought.

  At this moment, Xie Xuan was leaning against the carriage wall, pondering something. Although he had been shamelessly taking advantage of his injury to talk to Qin Miao these past few days, Qin Lang would occasionally intervene with a disapproving look on his face. However...the way he spoke wasn't like a husband protecting his wife; at least, he had never explicitly declared his authority in front of Xie Xuan. And Qin Miao's attitude was even more suspicious, despite their close relationship, it wasn't intimate.

  Xie Xuan naturally had no scruples, but after all, he felt that this matter was strange. Obviously, the two of them already had children... There must be a reason behind it that he didn't understand.

  A few days later, they arrived in Hangzhou. Xie Yun immediately bid farewell to Qin Miao and others, citing military affairs.

  "Miss, I thought the young master had come to see you off in person. Who would have thought that he was just busy with official duties and happened to do it along the way." Zi Xuan gazed at the distant figures of Cheng Ying and the others, sighing softly.

  Qin Miao's expression unconsciously darkened for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. "Don't spout nonsense, nowadays I have nothing much to do with him. He just happened to lend a hand due to past connections. But in any case, he did save us. Alright, let's hurry up and find an inn to stay at."

  The next day, Qin Miao and Qin Lang got up early. After carefully checking all the materials needed for the ancestor worship, they hired a horse-drawn carriage and headed to the Qin family cemetery in the suburbs.

  The Qin family spent a lot of money to find a piece of auspicious land on the half mountain in the suburbs when old Mr. Qin was still alive, and all the ancestors of the Qin family were buried here after they passed away.

  The car drove to the foot of the mountain and couldn't go any further, so the three people got out and walked up the mountain on foot. Since Qingming Festival was only the next day, there were no people on the mountain today. After about an hour, they arrived at their destination. They set up the incense table, lit incense and kowtowed, Zi Xuan stayed to one side silently crying and burning paper money. Qin Lang, being a man, stood solemnly behind Qin Miao after finishing the incense offering. Only Qin Miao was left kneeling on the mat, chatting with their ancestors for a long time.

  When Ah Niang gave birth to Qin Miao, she had a difficult labor and Qin Lao Ye was often away from home. Therefore, the old ancestors were both father and mother since childhood, raising her with hardship and bitterness. So Qin Miao's feelings for Qin Lao Tai Tai are the deepest, but unfortunately, she married too far away and when she rushed back to the Qin family, she only had time to see Lao Tai Tai hastily before she passed away.

  Qin Miao knew that the old lady's greatest concern was the safety of the Qin family. She stood in front of the tomb, reporting to her ancestors, without crying or making a fuss, as if she were still chatting about family matters in the Qin family's large courtyard. Behind her, Qin Lang couldn't help but have his eyes redden. He often had to go out on business trips, and now the entire Qin family was shouldering everything alone. She was originally petite, and now looked even more frail.

  "Second brother, let's go." Qin Miao stood up and gave Qin Lang a warm smile. "Our ancestors and father must know that we are safe now, they will be very happy."

  Qin Lang heard this and responded with a warm smile, nodding gently. "Mmm, it will be better later."

  The brother and sister finished speaking and went down the mountain. Not long after, two men appeared out of the bushes.

  Cheng Ying patted the dust off his clothes and smiled mockingly, "Master, I'm not saying you're wrong. If you want to come pay your respects, why sneak around? Why not just come openly?"

  "You don't understand anything!" Xie Yun slapped her hand and hit Cheng Ying's occipital bone.

  "Hey, I'm telling you. I'm not your punching bag, don't lay a hand on me."

  Xie Xun ignored his awkward appearance and solemnly bowed to the graves of Qin Lao Tai Tai and Old Master.

  Just now, in the dark, Xie Yun quietly listened to Qin Miao's words and seemed to understand why she had left Beijing without saying goodbye back then. In fact, he was very similar to Qin Miao, both of whom were raised by their grandmothers since childhood without parents around. At this moment, he also understood the weight of this old ancestor in Qin Miao's heart, fearing that no one could compare to her.

  "I sometimes really don't understand you. Why bother yourself so much for a woman?"

  Cheng Ying had been following Xie Yun for half the journey, and when they first met, he had already heard of his reputation as a cold-faced jade gentleman. This name has a story behind it. Since Xie Yun went to the battlefield at the age of 15, he showed a tough side of his personality. Whenever he killed an enemy, he didn't even blink, completely unlike a young man who had just left his hometown. From then on, in the army, he was known as the cold-faced King Yan, and this name was passed down to the capital, where it was spread among the women in the harem, but it was distorted into "cold-faced jade gentleman". However, this is not surprising, who let Xie Yun be so handsome?

  Now looking at Xie Yun again, when it comes to that woman's affairs, is there still a cold color in his eyes? It's all unresolved melancholy. Wanting to protect her, but not speaking directly, he had to find an excuse to say that he came to Hangzhou because of military duties. Wanting to accompany her to pay respects to their ancestors, he hesitated for half a day, and ended up hiding in the grass with his wife who hadn't even crossed the threshold yet, losing all face. Cheng Ying never thought that one day she would see Xie Yun like this.

  "It was me who didn't know how to cherish her before, so I lost her heart. Now it's time for me to make up for it."

  "Do you know, at that time I just found out she had left without saying goodbye. My heart felt like it was pierced by a thousand arrows, and I couldn't control myself at all. It's all because of my belated realization that I messed up something good. Do you understand that feeling? The feeling of hating to death."

  Xie Xuan lowered his eyes, as if he had fallen into deep thought again. He wanted to bring Qin Miao back, but after many times of pouring out his heart, he finally realized that he was really too self-righteous. Qin Miao was too stubborn and had never directly responded to him. If he urged her too hastily, would she disappear from his sight without saying goodbye like she did that year?

  Just thinking about this possibility, Xie Yun became even more afraid to make a move. He could only quietly guard her, waiting for the right moment to openly and honorably take the beauty into his arms.

  "Alright, let's hurry up and go. Let's take a look back and see when they will return."

  Cheng Ying hummed softly: "You still want to follow them?" He had seen Qin Miao's second brother with a guarded expression, as if Xie Yan was a rogue who would abduct his own sister at any moment. And that Zi Xuan, always giving him the cold shoulder on purpose, yet he had taken care of her all along.

  "Shut up!" Xie Yun glanced at him and continued walking down the mountain on her own.

  "Right, can those bandits send someone to investigate?" Xie Yun asked.

  "Fortunately, you haven't been blinded by beauty yet. I've already sent word to the brothers in the mansion, and there will be results soon. This group of thieves, I think half of them are escaped convicts from some large camp, every one of them is a practiced hand."

  Xie Yun nodded. He had the most dealings with that group, and his formation was well-trained. However, it's hard to say if he came from a military camp. Now is the time when the northern region is wary of Yu Zhang Wang, and it's the most taboo to make trouble.