The Noble Consort De was rescued by the emperor.
The Empress Dowager finally managed not to faint from anger. She was sent back to the Cining Palace by Xu Fu.
The cherry - viewing event ended abruptly, and everyone returned to their respective palaces.
Only the Noble Consort Shu stood by the lake, staring at the calm lake surface with her hands tightly clenched into fists inside her sleeves.
"Did the emperor really say that?" In the Kunning Palace, Qin Lan held a bowl of freshly - cooked ginger soup and fed Qin Huaiqiu spoon by spoon.
Qin Huaiqiu nodded and said, "Yes. Do you think Si Kongting is crazy? Since he hates Qin Huailian so much, why doesn't he just divorce her? Didn't he marry her himself? Can't he even reverse his own decision?"
Qin Lan blew on the ginger soup in the spoon and brought it to Qin Huaiqiu's mouth. "Maybe there's a hidden reason."
Qin Huaiqiu took a sip of the soup and scoffed, "What hidden reason? Isn't he impotent? Making his concubines live like widows. It's a sin. The Noble Consort Shu, the Noble Consort Xian and Concubine Zhang are so pitiful."
Qin Lan scooped up another spoonful, blew on it and then offered it to him. "Did he touch you?"
Qin Huaiqiu took the soup and pointed to the bruise on his chin. "He pinched me."
"He's really strong."
"Sure is. Maybe he's lifting tripods every night."
After Qin Huaiqiu finished the soup, he wanted to play for a while longer. But since it wasn't completely warm yet and he had walked a long way in wet clothes, Qin Lan was afraid he would catch a cold, so she urged him to go to bed.
"Qin Lan, I can't sleep," Qin Huaiqiu said, clutching the quilt.
"What's on your mind, young master?"
"I think there's something wrong." Qin Huaiqiu pursed his lips. He remembered Si Kongting's inexplicable words 'Isn't this what you want?' and fell into deep thought.
It was certain that Qin Huailian had offended the emperor before entering the palace. But if she wanted to become the Noble Consort De, why did she try to escape before the wedding?
Did she discover something?
Qin Huaiqiu sat up, grabbed Qin Lan's hand and said, "Qin Lan, do you think Huailian tried to escape the wedding because she found out that Si Kongting... has a problem in that area?"
Qin Lan was a bit stunned and asked, "How could the young lady have found out before the wedding?"
Qin Huaiqiu scratched his head. "I don't know. But there must be a reason for her to run away."
Qin Lan thought for a while and said, "The fact that the emperor has a hidden illness is just our speculation so far and hasn't been confirmed. Although Nie Rong was quite sure that the emperor wouldn't touch you, to some extent it was because of the emperor's past marriage experiences. But Nie Rong had no reason to tell the young lady about this, right?"
Qin Lan nodded. Nie Rong was the most senior secret guard of the Qin family. He had extensive sources of information and was excellent at gathering intelligence. But without proof, it could only be a guess.
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out. So he simply stopped thinking and urged Qin Lan again, "Has Nie Rong sent any news about Huailian?"
Qin Lan shook her head. "No."
Qin Huaiqiu let out a wail and covered his head with the quilt.
The next day.
Although Qin Huaiqiu had always been in good health, he still caught a fever after walking from the imperial garden to the Kunning Palace in wet clothes while being exposed to the cold wind.
The Empress Dowager had cried so hard yesterday that she suffered from a fit of rage and was still ill in bed. But out of concern for the Noble Consort De, she could only send people to deliver various tonics like ginseng and angelica. Ziyun and Yalan unloaded them from the carriage box by box and piled them up in the side room.
Then the Noble Consort Shu and Concubine Zhang also sent some tonics as a formality. But Qin Huaiqiu never expected that the Noble Consort Xian would come to visit him in person.
The Noble Consort Xian was led into the room by Qin Lan. She looked at Qin Huaiqiu lying in bed with a cold compress on his forehead, sighed softly and walked closer. "Sister Noble Consort De, how did you end up like this?"
Qin Huaiqiu still remembered Qin Lan's warning to be on guard against the Noble Consort Xian, so he didn't elaborate. He just said, "I got a chill after falling into the water."
The Noble Consort Xian said with concern, "Didn't the emperor rescue you? How did you still catch a chill?"
It was the emperor who made me catch the chill. Qin Huaiqiu thought to himself.
Of course, Qin Huaiqiu couldn't say this. He could only make up an excuse. "I'm just in poor health."
"Has the fever gone down?"
"Seems like there's still a bit left."
The Noble Consort Xian hesitated, as if weighing her words.
Seeing that the Noble Consort Xian seemed to have something to say but held back, Qin Huaiqiu sat up and asked, "Sister, do you have something to say?"
Seeing him sit up, the Noble Consort Xian quickly supported him. "Oh, you're sick!"
"It's okay. I'll just lean against the bed frame." Qin Huaiqiu said, "Sister, just say what you want. It's okay."
The Noble Consort Xian hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Qin Lan standing beside them.
Qin Huaiqiu understood and exchanged a look with Qin Lan.
Qin Lan bowed to them, turned around and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her and then stood guard outside.
Seeing Qin Lan leave, the Noble Consort Xian let out a sigh of relief. Her tense body relaxed.
Seeing her expression, Qin Huaiqiu guessed that she must have something important to say. So he sat on the bed quietly, waiting for her to speak.
After hesitating for a while, the Noble Consort Xian said, "Do... do you still remember me?"
Qin Huaiqiu blinked. He had thought the Noble Consort Xian would say something else, so he was a bit surprised. He looked at the Noble Consort Xian and said honestly, "Sorry, sister. I don't have any impression."
The Noble Consort Xian clenched her handkerchief tightly. "Five years ago, in Suiye City, we met once. My father is the Minister of Works, a disciple of Master Wen."
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a long time.
It was true that Suiye City was the border town where Qin Feng had once been stationed. But five years ago, he had followed his father to fight in many cities. He had even gone as far as Shatuo, a border town of Loulan. As for whether he had met the Noble Consort Xian and where, he really had no impression at all.
Seeing that he couldn't remember, the Noble Consort Xian had to continue on her own. "At that time, my father received a task from the late emperor to strengthen the defense facilities along the border. Just as we arrived in Suiye City, we were attacked. Fortunately, General Qin Feng was there. We defended the city for a whole month."
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a while. It seemed that there was such a thing. At that time, he was only eleven years old. If he remembered correctly, Qin Feng had already taught him how to shoot an arrow. In the battle of Suiye City, he didn't listen to Qin Feng. He piled up some stones and climbed onto the city wall by himself. He drew his bow and shot at the Xiongnu. Finally, Qin Feng found out and scolded him before driving him off the city wall.
But had he met the Noble Consort Xian?
Seeing that Qin Huaiqiu still couldn't remember, the Noble Consort Xian got a bit anxious. She even started to gesture with her hands. "In the military camp of Suiye City, because of the war, I was so scared that I hid in the granary. It was you and your sister who found me."
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a while and slapped his thigh. "Oh! I remember. Were you that sister? You even followed us to eat in the military camp later."
"Yes!" The Noble Consort Xian smiled brightly when she saw that Qin Huaiqiu remembered.
Qin Huaiqiu didn't expect to meet an old acquaintance here. He grabbed the Noble Consort Xian's shoulders and laughed. "I knew it. So did you recognize me when we first met?"
"… Ah, yes." The Noble Consort Xian looked at the hand on her shoulder, and her face gradually turned red.
"Haha, I didn't expect it's already been five years. We used to play together back then. We almost burned down the steamed - bun shop in the north of the city. I and my sister..."
Qin Huaiqiu suddenly stopped. He looked at the Noble Consort Xian's increasingly red face and then at his own hand on her shoulder. His expression instantly froze.
"I... I..."
Qin Huaiqiu's arm went stiff. He slowly moved his hand away from the Noble Consort Xian's shoulder. "I and my... brother..."
The Noble Consort Xian blushed and shook her head. She said softly, "I know... you're Qin Huaiqiu."