He Yanzhi was almost carried out of the Imperial Study by the servants.
He had been so frightened by Sikong Ting's expression that he didn't dare to move at all. As soon as the door of the Imperial Study closed, He Yanzhi could clearly hear the sound of things breaking inside.
Dou Yuan sat on one side, watching silently without trying to persuade him. Sikong Ting smashed several cups on the table and then slumped dejectedly into the dragon throne.
Dou Yuan put down the tea in his hand and said, "Your Majesty, the crime of deceiving the monarch will result in the execution of the entire family for nine generations."
Sikong Ting suddenly looked at him, his eyes sharp as if he wanted to devour Dou Yuan alive.
Dou Yuan ignored him. He took out his folding fan from his bosom, opened it leisurely and fanned it, saying, "Your Majesty, you're already so angry just because you know he lied to you. If you heard the news I've found out, I don't know what you'd do."
Sikong Ting stared at him, his lips pale and pressed into a straight line.
Dou Yuan couldn't bear to see his friend suffering like this, so he sighed and said, "Your Majesty, you've fallen in love with him, haven't you?"
Sikong Ting finally opened his mouth and said, "Get to the point."
Instead of answering, Dou Yuan asked, "Your Majesty, do you remember Qing Luo? The young male entertainer I saved from the brothel back then."
Sikong Ting ignored him and turned his head away.
Dou Yuan indulged in his memories and said, "I remember that back then we skipped the grand tutor's class with the Second Prince and sneaked off to the brothel. The Second Prince waved his hand and booked all the women in the brothel. But then a group of strong men came downstairs. Since there were no women left, the madam arranged some young male entertainers for them to amuse themselves.
"Qing Luo was among them. Later he told me that he only performed arts and didn't sell his body. If I hadn't saved him at that time, he would probably have been tortured to death by those strong men.
"At that time, I only thought that saving a life was better than building a seven - story pagoda. I only met him by chance. But then I met him again on my inspection tour. He was on the verge of death after being beaten. I saved him again and took him into my mansion ever since."
Dou Yuan looked at Sikong Ting and said, "Your Majesty, do you know what they said about me at that time?"
Sikong Ting didn't say a word.
Dou Yuan looked elsewhere and recalled, "My father said that a brothel entertainer was inauspicious. The Empress also told me to send him away as soon as possible. In the end, it was the Second Prince who persuaded me to keep him. The Second Prince only said one sentence, which I've believed in until now.
"He said, 'Since there's a fateful encounter, why not let things develop according to fate?'"
Sikong Ting turned to look at him and said, "What on earth are you trying to say?"
Dou Yuan looked at him and was silent for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, the current Imperial Concubine De, Qin, in the palace is not Qin Huailian, but her twin brother, Qin Huaiqiu."
Sikong Ting couldn't believe his ears. It was like a thunderbolt out of the blue or a bucket of cold water poured over him from head to toe. He went completely numb.
"What did you say...?"
Dou Yuan frowned and said, "Your Majesty, actually you've been suspicious from the beginning, right? You specifically asked Liu Zhen the place where he found you. You were also very confused about why 'she', as a 'woman', knew so much about military strategies. The words 'Is he a woman?' have actually been on your lips for a long time. You just didn't dare to face it."
Sikong Ting's face was pale. He was silent, looking down at his own hands. His lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't make a sound.
"Why are you so surprised, Your Majesty?" Dou Yuan smiled and said, "Don't you like him? Now that you know he's a man, do you still like him?"
Sikong Ting looked at him, his eyes showing a trace of confusion.
Dou Yuan said, "Then let me ask in another way. Qin Huaiqiu has committed the crime of deceiving the monarch. Now the evidence is sufficient. Tomorrow I can take him to the Supreme Court for trial and execute the entire Qin family. At the very least, I can kill Qin Huaiqiu to vent your anger. Does Your Majesty agree for me to do so?"
Sikong Ting trembled all over and blurted out, "I don't allow it."
"See." Dou Yuan shrugged and said, "Actually, this matter is not that complicated. It's just that Your Majesty likes to get stuck in a dead end since childhood. So what if he's a man? In ancient times, Emperor Cheng of Han was infatuated with Zhang Fang, and Emperor Wen of Chen wanted to make Han Zigao his queen. You've just fallen in love with a man. What's so strange about it?"
Sikong Ting was stunned for a moment and hesitated, saying, "I... I..."
Dou Yuan nudged him with his arm and said, "I heard you just went to the Kunning Palace. How was it? What did you say to the Imperial Concubine De?"
Sikong Ting bit his lower lip and said, "He told me to get out."
Dou Yuan: "...Ah?"
Sikong Ting covered his face with both hands. He seemed to have lost all his strength and slumped into the chair.
Dou Yuan scratched the back of his head and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Well... maybe it's because he's not used to being with a man...? But it's said that Qin Feng's son is brave and war - like, with arrogance in his bones. He should be a hard nut to crack." The implication was that His Majesty should work harder.
Sikong Ting sighed. The matter that had been torturing him was finally over. He couldn't tell how he felt. He wasn't very disappointed, nor was he very happy. Dou Yuan was right. Since they were fated to be together, did it mean that he could let things develop according to fate?
"Dou Yuan." Sikong Ting said, "Why did he enter the palace in place of Qin Huailian?"
Dou Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know about this, Your Majesty."
Sikong Ting sighed and stood up.
Dou Yuan smiled and said, "Is Your Majesty going to pursue the Imperial Concubine De full - steam ahead?"
Sikong Ting turned back and glared at him, saying harshly, "Keep your mouth shut about this. If you dare to leak it out, I'll take your life."
"Yes, yes." Dou Yuan said happily with a laugh, "I'll definitely take good care of the head of the Imperial Concubine De who has deceived the monarch, so as not to let our Emperor of Dacheng be a widower."
Hearing this, Sikong Ting rushed forward and kicked him, saying, "Get out!"
Dou Yuan laughed even louder, "Hahaha!"
This night passed slowly, ordinary yet extraordinary.
In the Kunning Palace not far from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Qin Huaiqiu, who didn't know that his secret had been exposed, was sleeping soundly and even reached out to scratch his chest.
In the Ningfu Palace, a man dressed as a eunuch sneaked up to the door and gently knocked on it. Ying'er quickly opened the door and called him in.
In a small town five hundred miles away from the capital city, Yazebu was sitting in the room of the post station, looking at the secret letter in his hand. His eyes quickly scanned the brief content on the paper. Then he snorted coldly and slowly lit the secret letter on the candle.
Even further away, in the Protector - General's Mansion and the Qin Mansion, Nie Rong was accompanying Qin Feng, studying the intelligence just obtained by the scouts on the unfolded map.
The moon rose above the willow branches. The spring breeze gradually passed by, bringing the breath of summer. The evening wind lingered in the darkness. Some invisible things were quietly growing in the dark. They were silent, but as the course of history advanced, they slowly dropped a seemingly very insignificant drop of ink on the history books.
On the other side of the Protector - General's Mansion, a black - clothed woman was secretly brought into the bedroom of King Sare of Loulan by Keze'er, one of the four warriors of Loulan.
Sare stood up and stared at the black - clothed woman in front of him, his eyes deep and terrifying. After the woman entered the room, she was neither overbearing nor timid. She directly reached out and took off her black hood.
In the firelight, a face extremely similar to Qin Huaiqiu's was revealed -
"Are you King Sare of Loulan? I'm Qin Huailian."
End of Book One