Si Kong Ting shot him a glare and signaled him with his eyes to speak quickly.
Dou Yuan found a seat and sat down. He took out a note from his bosom and handed it to Si Kong Ting, saying, "The spies reported that there are traces of people from Loulan active in the capital."
Si Kong Ting raised his eyebrows, took the note and glanced at it. The words on the note were brief and messy: "It is suspected that Yaze Bu, a warrior from Loulan, has appeared in Yonghui Tower."
"Yaze Bu?" Si Kong Ting frowned. He knew this Yaze Bu. He was one of the four warriors of Loulan, with a burly figure, skilled in riding, shooting, and field battles. He was a junior general from Loulan who even gave Qin Feng a headache.
The Central Plains and Loulan were naturally at odds. Since Qin Feng pacified the border and drove Loulan out of the Protectorate General to Pacify the West, there had been peace for as long as ten years. Now, for Yaze Bu to enter the capital in this way at this critical moment, there must be some conspiracy.
Si Kong Ting asked, "Have you sent people to investigate?"
"I've sent people to follow him, but there's no news yet." Dou Yuan poured himself a cup of tea, sipped it, and said, "Ah, ask the imperial kitchen to send me some of this tea later."
"Get it yourself." Si Kong Ting gave him a calm look, then stood up and began to tidy his clothes.
"Got something to do?"
"Accompany the queen mother."
Hearing this, Dou Yuan laughed: "Actually, the queen mother wants you to meet those concubines in the harem, right?"
Si Kong Ting didn't comment. He lowered his head and neatly packed up the memorials one by one. Although he didn't say a word, the expression on his face betrayed his mood.
Yes, Si Kong Ting, who suffered from gynophobia, didn't want to enter a place like the harem at all.
But unfortunately, Si Kong Ting was a filial son and would do whatever the queen mother told him to do. So every time, Dou Yuan would gloat.
Dou Yuan thought for a while and said, "By the way, someone told me that a group of doctors from Qionglai Island are going to come to the Central Plains for medical consultations soon. Should I catch one to treat you?"
Si Kong Ting shot him a glare and said, "Mind your own business!"
Dou Yuan continued to provoke him: "How can it be minding your own business? As the most important official of the dynasty, everything I do is for the emperor, for..."
Before Dou Yuan could finish his words, he was thrown out of the imperial study by Si Kong Ting. He landed face - first on the ground in front of the stone steps, sprawling out, which startled several maids who came to report.
"Ouch..." Dou Yuan rubbed his nose and stood up. He smiled at the frightened maids, then hummed a tune and headed for the imperial kitchen.
Si Kong Ting naturally knew what the queen mother was thinking, but his illness was congenital. He had once tried to get treatment, but the results only made it more difficult for him to be in contact with women. He thought that after all these years, the queen mother had gradually given up. But now that he had just ascended the throne and the political situation was unstable and everything was in need of reconstruction, the queen mother went to the imperial astrologer and found out about Qin Huailian.
Just thinking of Qin Huailian, a look of disgust flashed across Si Kong Ting's face. He lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and said, "Stop."
He needed to take a walk by himself to avoid meeting the queen mother with a bad temper.
Although Si Kong Ting's father was mediocre in governing the country, his aesthetic sense was beyond ordinary people. Coming from the area around Suzhou, his renovation of the Forbidden City even more highlighted his artistic attainments. Originally, there was only one imperial garden in the Forbidden City for people to visit. Since the late emperor ascended the throne, more or less, some gardens, big or small, had been built inside the Forbidden City, decorated with carved balustrades and painted beams, pavilions and towers, looking like a landscape painting.
Si Kong Ting was in a bad mood, so he naturally wanted to take a longer walk. The gentle breeze brought a faint fragrance of peach blossoms. Si Kong Ting hesitated for a moment, then turned towards the peach orchard.
It was early spring. Some peach blossoms in the orchard had bloomed in twos and threes, and there were still some flower buds, showing their faces on the branches but shyly reluctant to bloom. But even though only a few had bloomed, the hazy fragrance was even more refreshing.
Si Kong Ting couldn't help but stop in front of the peach orchard, greedily enjoying this quiet afternoon, with the singing of birds, the fragrance of flowers, the gentle breeze caressing his face, and some noisy frolicking sounds.
Huh?
Frolicking sounds?
"Quick, quick, Qin Lan. I've picked a lot more!"
"But... the bag is already full."
"Spread out my clothes. Right, wrap them up with my clothes. I'm going to throw them!"
Whoosh—
A shower of peach petals was thrown down from the tree, covering Si Kong Ting's face.
Qin Huaiqiu, sitting on the tree branch, was stunned.
Qin Lan, who was squatting on the ground to pack things, was also in a daze.
Si Kong Ting stood under the peach tree, suppressing his great anger and said word by word: "Qin, Huai, Lian!"
Oh no! How could he run into Si Kong Ting here! Wasn't he supposed to be admiring cherry blossoms in the imperial garden!
Qin Huaiqiu was frozen on the tree. He looked at the peach petals all over Si Kong Ting's head, then looked down at his own hands. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
Seeing Qin Huaiqiu still sitting on the tree, Si Kong Ting flew into a rage and roared, "Get down here for me right now!"
"O - okay... I'm coming down." Qin Huaiqiu lifted the hem of his clothes, grabbed the branches, and skillfully jumped onto the trunk, then climbed down along the trunk.
Since Qin Huaiqiu had taken off his outer robe, he was now only wearing a light - yellow inner robe. Si Kong Ting looked at his protruding buttocks and the faintly visible legs under the hem of his clothes. Immediately, he roared at the eunuchs and maids behind him, "Get out of here for me!"
The servants didn't dare to say a word and quickly walked out of the peach orchard. Xu Xian, Si Kong Ting's personal eunuch, walked last and kindly closed the door of the peach orchard.
With a loud "bang", it was as if a heavy blow had landed on Si Kong Ting's heart, making his face even darker.
After Qin Huaiqiu got off the tree, seeing Qin Lan kneeling on the ground beside him, not daring to say a word, he swallowed hard and bowed to Si Kong Ting, "Your servant pays respects..."
"What are you doing?" Si Kong Ting said with a dark face, his eyes fixed firmly on Qin Huaiqiu, full of great anger.
Qin Huaiqiu felt the gaze on top of his head and naturally didn't dare to look at him. He could only lower his head and answer in a low voice, "Picking... picking peach blossoms."
Si Kong Ting gritted his teeth, "What for?"
"Making wine." Qin Huaiqiu wasn't lying. It was too cold at the border, and there were very few peach trees. Even if there were some, they didn't bloom much. Every time it was the season for making wine, the peach blossoms they picked were not even enough to make one jar of wine.
He and Qin Lan were wandering around in the palace. When they smelled the fragrance of peach blossoms and saw the peach blossoms filling the yard, Qin Huaiqiu immediately felt greedy. At that time, there was no one around, so Qin Huaiqiu got bold and directly climbed up the tree to pick them. Who would have thought that he would be so unlucky to run into Si Kong Ting.
"Humph."
Si Kong Ting clearly didn't believe what he said. Every time he looked at Qin Huaiqiu now, he would think of how Qin Huailian had deliberately seduced him before entering the palace. Not to mention that now he was only wearing an inner robe and the action of getting off the tree just now was so revealing. Si Kong Ting stared at him firmly, with the disgust and disdain on his face fully displayed.
But it really wasn't Qin Huaiqiu's intention. As a man, he didn't think the action just now was indecent.
"Qin Huailian, you really have good tricks." Si Kong Ting suddenly said harshly.
"?" Qin Huaiqiu was a bit confused.
"Are you done with your seductive tricks?!" Si Kong Ting kicked away the wrapped - up peach petals on the ground. With a hard kick, the clean peach petals immediately scattered all over the wet mud.
Qin Huaiqiu stared with wide eyes. More than being frightened, he was puzzled.
Seeing Qin Huaiqiu standing there stupidly, Si Kong Ting suddenly laughed.
His laugh was cruel and determined.
He stepped forward, stepped on those pink peach petals, tiptoed slightly, and turned his heels, again and again, completely grinding the peach blossoms into the mud.