"The court is a deep and treacherous place..." Qin Huaiqiu sighed. Although he had always been well - protected by Qin Feng, even though they were far away from the capital, as a military general in the court, they were well - informed of many things. After all, most of the military forces of the Great Sheng Dynasty were in Qin Feng's hands. Although Qin Feng had sworn in front of the late emperor to guard the border and never return to the capital, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in the Protectorate General's Office, many in the court couldn't ignore him.
Qin Huaiqiu was different from Qin Huailian. Qin Huailian was doted on like a little troublemaker, while Qin Huaiqiu was always rational. Since childhood, he had read military books and practiced marksmanship on his own. Even if he couldn't go to the battlefield, he would privately discuss military strategies with Nie Rong. He always knew that he lived under Qin Feng's protection, and his dream was to become a man like Qin Feng, with even more powerful wings to ensure the safety of the entire Qin Mansion.
"Moreover, there's an even more important issue." Qin Huaiqiu frowned. "This incident happened so suddenly that many of my actions are no longer in line with how 'Qin Huailian' would act. I'm afraid Si Kongting has become suspicious."
Nie Rong and Qin Lan exchanged a look but said nothing.
When they were fleeing in the jungle, Qin Huaiqiu had no time to think about so many things. After all, when one's life is at stake, who cares about the disguise? But now that the incident was over, Qin Huaiqiu had to face these problems.
"Nie Rong." Qin Huaiqiu said in a solemn voice. "You must find Lian'er. I don't know how long I can hold on in front of the emperor. Whether you can find Qin Huailian as soon as possible is related to the survival of the Qin family. Do you understand?"
Nie Rong gritted his teeth and said, "Your subordinate understands."
"How many people did Father send to search for Lian'er? And what's the result?" Qin Huaiqiu asked.
Nie Rong replied, "The general has sent out all the secret guards of the Qin Mansion. So far, the capital area has been searched, and there's no news of the young lady. Our search has now expanded to other towns."
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a while and said, "Lian'er alone doesn't have the ability to go far. Since the secret guards of the Qin Mansion have been dispatched but haven't found her, it means she has someone to help her. You should focus on investigating the official and noble forces in the capital."
"Your subordinate understands."
He stood up and said, "Good, Nie Rong. You set off immediately. Report any findings to me through Qin Lan during the investigation."
"Yes." Nie Rong stood up, bowed to Qin Huaiqiu, glanced at Qin Lan, and then turned around and used his light - footed skill to leave.
"Young master..." Qin Lan called out.
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry, Sister Lan. I won't let anything happen to the Qin Mansion."
Qin Lan said, "But if the emperor becomes suspicious, how should we deal with it?"
Qin Huaiqiu stroked his chin and pondered for a while. "I remember that two years ago, we went to Ye City with Father to recruit soldiers, right?"
Qin Lan nodded.
"Do you still remember the name of the city - guarding general in Ye City at that time?" Qin Huaiqiu asked. "The one you knocked down."
Qin Lan thought for a while and said, "I remember his name was probably He Yanzhi?"
Qin Huaiqiu murmured, "He Yanzhi... The He family. They are the retainers of the Third Prince, Si Kongchen, and also the Third Prince's maternal family."
Qin Lan slapped her forehead. "Yes, yes. I remember. He Yanzhi refused to let us recruit soldiers at that time and said he was a subordinate of the Third Prince. Without the Third Prince's order, he wouldn't allocate any troops to the general."
Qin Huaiqiu smiled. "So that's how it was. But I remember that later, because he refused to accept that you were a woman and lost to you in a one - on - one fight, he lent Father 50,000 troops?"
Qin Lan shook her head. "Not entirely. Mainly, the Third Prince knew that the general's army had been guarding the border for a long time, and most of the soldiers in the army were recruited from the Central Plains ten years ago. They missed their hometown and needed to be replaced. But He Yanzhi didn't understand. Later, the general still returned 50,000 troops. Those 50,000 people were all from the Central Plains. After going to Ye City, they were much closer to home."
"That's great." Qin Huaiqiu said. "Do you still remember what Father said when you were fighting He Yanzhi?"
Qin Lan thought for a while and shook her head.
Qin Huaiqiu said, "I was right there at that time. To provoke He Yanzhi, Father publicly invited him to have a one - on - one fight with his 'daughter'. Have you forgotten?"
Qin Lan was Qin Feng's adopted daughter, but Qin Feng had regarded Qin Lan as his own daughter since childhood and never said in public that Qin Lan was his adopted daughter. This could be seen from the name Qin Feng gave her.
So, outsiders generally thought that Qin Feng had two daughters and a son. But who could tell which daughter was which?
The next morning, in the Qingning Palace.
After a night of treatment and rest, Si Kongting finally opened his eyes.
Due to excessive blood loss and a long - time of running around, his whole body was weak. He slowly opened his eyes and coughed lightly.
This made the concubines, ministers, and maids who were kneeling outside the palace cry with joy. Several old ministers almost fainted from crying.
The empress dowager had been guarding the bedside all night. Seeing this, she cried like a delicate flower in the rain. She quickly took Si Kongting's hand and softly called out, "My son... My son..."
"... Mother." Si Kongting's voice was a bit hoarse. He gave the empress dowager a comforting smile.
"Ah, ah... Come on, serve the emperor." The empress dowager waved her hand. Several maids quickly brought water and served Si Kongting to drink. He was helped to sit up against the head of the bed. The concubines and ministers below cried even more loudly. Since Si Kongting had just woken up, the empress dowager was afraid that they would disturb his rest. After a few words of greeting, she let the ministers leave.
As for the concubines in the harem, only the Virtuous Concubine, the Wise Concubine, and Noble Consort Zhang were kneeling below. The Virtuous Consort was nowhere to be seen.
Si Kongting's eyes darkened.
"Your Majesty..." Among the concubines, the Virtuous Concubine cried the most bitterly. She knelt on the ground, her whole body trembling with sobs.
Si Kongting couldn't bear it and comforted her, "Virtuous Concubine, I'm fine."
The Virtuous Concubine nodded with red eyes and slowly straightened up.
Si Kongting sighed and said, "Don't kneel anymore. You can go back first. I'll be fine after a rest."
"Your Majesty..." The Virtuous Concubine wanted to say something else, but Si Kongting interrupted her. "Virtuous Concubine, go back."
The Virtuous Concubine bit her lower lip, lowered her head, and said, "Yes. Your servant will take her leave."
The Wise Concubine and Noble Consort Zhang left together. The Qingning Palace became quiet. Only the empress dowager was sitting beside Si Kongting's bed.
When the empress dowager saw that everyone had left, she waved away the maids. Holding Si Kongting's hand, she asked, "My son, quickly tell mother what happened during the spring hunting!"
Si Kongting sighed and said, "Mother... You'd better leave this matter to me. Don't worry."
"How can I not worry!" The empress dowager said. "You and Lian'er came back all injured. Just thinking about how dangerous it was for you two in the woods, I... I..." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Mother." Si Kongting held the empress dowager's hand back. "Mother, don't worry. We're fine, aren't we?"
The empress dowager nodded with tears in her eyes.
"Was the Virtuous Consort also injured?" Si Kongting asked anxiously.
The empress dowager said, "When you came back, I had the imperial physician treat her. He said they were just superficial wounds and not serious."
Si Kongting let out a sigh of relief and said, "Mother has been guarding all night. You'd better go back and rest quickly. I'll handle this matter properly. Mother, please rest assured."
But the empress dowager still refused to leave. Si Kongting had no choice but to tell her some of what had happened, glossing over the serious parts. Finally, he managed to persuade the empress dowager to go back.
Si Kongting leaned against the head of the bed. He reached out his hand and covered his wound, quietly looking at the empty air in front of him, his eyes a bit obscure.
"Xu Xian."
Hearing this, Xu Xian at the door quickly came in and said, "Your servant is here."
"During the time I was unconscious, did Liu Zhen start the investigation?" Si Kongting asked.
"Your Majesty, General Liu has already sent people to investigate the Fengquan Hot Spring. He said he would come back and report to Your Majesty as soon as he had any news."
Si Kongting nodded and continued, "Pass on my order. Let Dou Yuan go to the Minister of the Court of Judicature to assist Liu Zhen in investigating this matter. This incident happened in the royal hunting ground and has a bad influence. All those involved in this matter must be captured for me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You may go." Xu Xian bowed his head and went out. But just a short while later, he said at the door again, "Your Majesty, the Virtuous Consort requests an audience."
Si Kongting was stunned for a moment and quickly said, "Let her in."