The second part begins.
In the 138th year of the Dacheng era.
This is a year worthy of record. Since Qin Feng swept through Loulan ten years ago, this is the first time that Dacheng has allowed the Loulan mission to enter the capital.
Although Qin Feng opened up the Silk Road ten years ago, the Loulan people still harbored hatred towards Dacheng. Even though the Silk Road passed through Loulan, the Loulan people refused to do business with the Central Plains. Dacheng didn't mind whether they paid tribute or not. After all, the tributary system would function just fine without them. As long as they didn't block the Silk Road, Dacheng hardly bothered to deal with Loulan.
Moreover, the hostile relationship between Loulan and the Central Plains became even tenser with the Huns eyeing them from the north, especially now that the Huns had been biding their time for decades.
Currently, Qin Feng had an army of 200,000 facing off against the Loulan people. But at this moment, the Loulan mission slowly walked into the capital of Dacheng along with the caravan.
Yazeb yawned and looked at the various people on the road, his face showing undisguised contempt.
This time, as he represented Loulan to enter Dacheng, it was naturally different from his secret infiltration into the capital last time. This time, he was wearing traditional Loulan clothing. His hair was braided into strands with threads made from wild animal fur. There was a string of wild animal fangs hanging around his neck. He was wearing a standard Loulan silk cloth diagonally across his body, exposing his strong right chest and the entire right arm. The exposed parts were all painted with white and red patterns.
He reached out to fan the air and spat, "It's starting to get hot, isn't it?"
"Warrior Chief," another Loulan youth in the same carriage as Yazeb said, "Shall we rest at the post station now or go directly to the Dacheng imperial palace?"
Yazeb leaned against the window and thought for a while, then said, "What's the rush? Let's have some fun first."
The young man's name was Kuloer. After hearing this, he said something to Jimin, another Loulan man driving the carriage outside. Jimin received the order and directly stopped the carriage in front of a posthouse.
When the posthouse owner saw three strong foreigners getting off the carriage, he couldn't help but feel a bit scared. He quickly stepped forward himself and asked, "Are the three heroes just passing by for a meal or planning to stay overnight?"
Yazeb got out of the carriage and stood beside the owner. He was almost half a head taller than the posthouse owner. He lowered his head and sneered contemptuously, then said arrogantly, "I'll be staying overnight."
"Sure, sure," the owner wiped the sweat off his forehead. He couldn't afford to offend these people. He quickly arranged three upper - class rooms and told the servant to park their carriage in the courtyard and lead the horses to the stable to rest.
After a simple tidying up, they gathered in Yazeb's room to discuss their next move.
"The Han Emperor must know that we've entered the capital, but don't be in a hurry. It's not easy to come here. Let's have fun for a few days first," Yazeb said with a sly smile.
Kuloer said, "Warrior Chief, if we don't go directly into the palace to meet the Han Emperor, will something go wrong?"
Yazeb snorted from his nose and said, "What's the rush? We just want them to wait."
In the imperial study in Taihe Hall.
Dou Yuan received the news from the spy and rushed into the imperial study. He said, "Your Majesty, the Loulan mission member Yacob has entered the capital."
"Good," Sikong Ting put down the pen in his hand and said, "Have they entered the palace?"
"Uh," Dou Yuan said, "Not yet. After resting at the post station for a while, they went directly to the Spring - Roving Pavilion."
Sikong Ting raised his eyebrows and said, "The Spring - Roving Pavilion? A brothel?"
"Yes."
Sikong Ting snorted disdainfully and said, "They're doing it on purpose. Ignore them. Anyway, keep a close eye on them for me. If they dare to make any extra moves, arrest them directly."
"I understand, Your Majesty." Dou Yuan bowed to Sikong Ting and then rushed out of the room.
Sikong Ting tidied up the disorderly memorials on the table and glanced at the time on the sundial outside the window.
Well, it's time to have lunch with Concubine De.
Indeed, since Sikong Ting found out that Concubine De Qin was a man, with Dou Yuan's instigation and advice, Sikong Ting began to get in touch with Qin Huaiqiu.
This kind of contact was not the one - sided and overbearing contact at the beginning, but a real contact on an equal footing between the two sides.
In Dou Yuan's words, he was trying to make Qin Huaiqiu fall in love with him.
The sedan chair soon arrived at Kunning Palace. Sikong Ting walked in familiarly. As soon as he looked up, he saw Qin Huaiqiu dozing off in a chair in the sun.
His heart warmed. He stepped forward and touched Qin Huaiqiu's forehead, then said softly, "Still sleeping?"
Qin Huaiqiu had been in a light sleep. As soon as Sikong Ting touched him, he woke up. He looked up at the emperor who came uninvited every day, sighed in his heart, and said, "Time for lunch?"
"Yeah," Sikong Ting said. He waved his hand, and several servants carried the newly - cooked dishes from the imperial kitchen one by one.
Half of the dishes on the table were his favorites, and the other half were dishes he had never eaten before.
The reason for this was that since Sikong Ting decided to court him, he had been trying various ways to please Qin Huaiqiu. Just in terms of meals, Sikong Ting would ask the imperial kitchen to cook a lot of dishes, and then see which dishes Qin Huaiqiu picked up more often, and make a note of them. He would cook those dishes again next time. After so many times of testing, even if Qin Huaiqiu were a fool, he could tell that Sikong Ting was silently noting down his preferences.
Although Sikong Ting used to be domineering and unreasonable, he was really meticulous in this regard. Qin Huaiqiu was too lazy to argue with him. He just picked up whatever he liked and was not polite to Sikong Ting.
Sikong Ting really wanted to put his arm around Qin Huaiqiu and sit with him, but he knew that as a man, Qin Huaiqiu still resisted his contact for the time being. So he could only sit beside him and pick up dishes for him with chopsticks. He said, "Look, the imperial kitchen made your favorite braised lion's head again today."
Qin Huaiqiu picked up the lion's head and swallowed it in one bite.
"And this sauce - flavored meat. Try it?" Sikong Ting picked it up for him.
Qin Huaiqiu ate it from his chopsticks and smacked his lips. "It's too sweet."
"Then don't eat it," Sikong Ting smiled and picked up another piece of meat for him. "Then try this salted duck?"
"Yeah. It's delicious," Qin Huaiqiu nodded.
"Then eat more," Sikong Ting picked up another piece for him.
Ziyun, who was standing aside to serve, swallowed her saliva and whispered to Xu Xian, who was also standing aside, "The way the emperor and the empress are eating makes the food seem so delicious."
Xu Xian smiled meaningfully and stroked his whisk. "I think so too."
Ziyun looked at the two people enjoying their meal on the table and sighed softly.
Xu Xian asked, "What's wrong, Miss Ziyun?"
Ziyun complained, "Eunuch Xu, next time please ask the emperor to prepare more vegetarian dishes for the empress. If we keep eating so much meat, Sister Qin Lan will scold me again."
Xu Xian was stunned for a moment and then burst out laughing. "I'll remember. I'll tell the emperor later."