Seeing this, Pan Wenjun also bowed to Li Qingchen along with her father. Seeing that Pan Wei was stubborn, Li Qingchen accepted their bow and then began to discuss serious matters.
“Commander Pan, although you have not been exposed today, the news will reach the palace and His Majesty will surely summon you. If you are not in your residence, His Majesty will first suspect you. Therefore, you must not be discovered to have left the city. You should return to your residence immediately and await His Majesty’s summons.”
Pan Wei was well aware of this, but when he looked back at Pan Wenjun, he said with some concern, "But I'm always worried about my daughter leaving the capital alone."
“I’ll stay with Wenjun!” Sun Xingjian said immediately.
Wei Shuwan interrupted in time: "No! Uncle, like Envoy Pan, cannot be exposed. The princess who was sent for marriage has been kidnapped. You should immediately return to the palace to apologize to the Emperor."
“Yes, Xingjian, if you don’t return to the palace to see the Emperor, then the Emperor will conclude that you are colluding with those mountain bandits from the inside.” Pan Wei agreed.
“But we can’t let Wenjun travel alone…” Sun Xingjian was extremely conflicted.
Wei Shuwan's gaze fell on Pan Wenjun. "Now that Sister Pan has been kidnapped, her portrait will probably be plastered all over the streets and alleys soon. It will certainly not be easy for her to return to the border."
Pan Wenjun thought for a moment, then suddenly seemed to have an idea. She turned to Sun Xingjian and asked seriously, "Brother Sun, is it just that you like Wenjun's face?"
Sun Xingjian looked at her with some confusion, not understanding why she asked such a question, and replied truthfully, "Of course not!"
“Alright!” Pan Wenjun smiled, then took off a hairpin from her head and suddenly pointed it at her cheek.
"Wenjun, what are you doing!" Sun Xingjian exclaimed in shock.
Pan Wei also called out anxiously, "Wenjun!"
Pan Wenjun smiled calmly and said, "As long as I disfigure this face, those people will naturally not recognize me, and I can return to the border smoothly and wait for you. Otherwise, even if I have a way to deceive the people along the way, I will still be timid and afraid to be seen when I get to the border."
Just as Pan Wenjun was about to apply force, Wei Shuwan spoke up to stop her: "Sister Pan, there is actually another way!"
Pan Wenjun hesitated for only a moment before Sun Xingjian rushed up and snatched the hairpin from her hand, throwing it aside angrily.
Wei Shuwan looked at Feng Wan and asked, "Your Highness, do you also have a way to change Sister Pan's face?"
Feng Wan was slightly taken aback, then looked at Li Qingchen to ask for his opinion. Li Qingchen nodded, and Feng Wan nodded in response.
Wei Shuwan couldn't help but say happily, "Then Sister Pan won't have to hurt herself. From now on, you can wear a mask during the day and take it off when you go back to your room with my uncle at night. It won't cause any problems. After ten or twenty years, people will gradually forget what Sister Pan looks like, and you will also change a little with age. At that time, you can take off the mask and show your true face, and no one will suspect anything anymore."
Pan Wenjun blushed with embarrassment at these words, while Feng Wan walked to her side and said, "Come with me."
Pan Wenjun followed with great joy, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They had just witnessed Consort Jieyu's abilities, which allowed her to perfectly transform a soldier into Awuge. They had great confidence in her skills.
Before an incense stick could burn, Feng Wan returned with a completely new Pan Wenjun. Everyone present, including Pan Wei, her biological father, looked left and right but couldn't find a trace of Pan Wenjun.
At this moment, Pan Wenjun had also taken off her flamboyant auspicious robe. Underneath was a middle garment, and over it was Feng Wan's cloak. There was no trace of Pan Wenjun left.
Li Qingchen then spoke up: "Since you have already shown your loyalty, Madam Pan naturally doesn't need to return to the border at this critical juncture. She can simply pretend to be a servant in the Pan family and stay there peacefully until the storm passes, and then return to the border with Envoy Pan and Marquis Pingyang."
Pan Wei pondered for a moment, then said, "Prince Li's arrangement is certainly appropriate, but compared to the Pan family, it would be safest to let Wenjun stay in the Wei family."
Li Qingchen immediately understood. Pan Wei was worried that if the emperor found out about his plan to kidnap a bride, the Pan family would be raided, and all the servants would suffer a terrible fate.
So he nodded in agreement.
Wei Shuwan was very pleased: "That's wonderful! I can arrange for Sister Pan to stay in my Fuqu Pavilion so she can keep me company every day!"
Sun Xingjian was also pleased, because this way he could see Pan Wenjun every day while living at the Wei family's house.
With the matter resolved satisfactorily, everyone immediately returned to the capital to avoid arousing suspicion from their superiors. Moreover, apart from Sun Xingjian, the others deliberately took a side gate on their return journey to avoid leaving any trace of their departure from the city.
After returning to the Wei family, Wei Shuwan had just settled Pan Wenjun when she heard Ziqiao's report that Caidie and Wei Chengxu had been released that day.
She wasn't too surprised by this, as she had heard the news of the Emperor's amnesty on the day of the Autumn Festival and knew that they had been released recently.
"I remember that even during a general amnesty, people were still punished with caning. How many strokes did each of them receive?" Wei Shuwan asked curiously.
Zi Qiao, who had been holding back her anger, laughed. "Miss, the eldest young master was beaten thirty times. The second madam was so anxious that she wanted to go to the Sheng family to ask for the family doctor, but they didn't give her any face at all. So she had to find a traveling doctor outside. I heard that his buttocks are all bruised and battered!"
After laughing twice, Zi Qiao continued, "The second young lady also received more than a dozen blows, but as a woman, she can't withstand the same kind of treatment as a man. She looks even more disheveled than the eldest young master."
"Hopefully these sticks will teach them a lesson and prevent them from doing evil or foolish things again."
"Does that girl intend to forgive them and keep them in the Wei family?" Although she had seen some jokes, Zi Qiao was still somewhat indignant.
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