Hearing that they could eat lychees, Yalan happily trotted over. Looking at the table full of lychees, she burst into tears and said, "Your Ladyship is so kind. I've wanted to eat lychees since I was a child, but I couldn't afford them. After entering the palace, I could only watch others eat... Wuwuwu."
Yalan was so touched that she couldn't stop crying. Ziyun directly peeled a lychee and stuffed it into her mouth just as she was about to cry herself to the ground.
Qin Huaiqiu smiled and asked Yalan, "Is it delicious?"
"Um! Delicious!" Yalan nodded vigorously and said to Ziyun, "Sister Ziyun, I want another one."
"Peel it yourself." Ziyun rolled her eyes.
"嘤..."
Qin Lan was eating lychees and said, "They're so fresh. Just picked, right?"
"I heard from the maid beside the Empress Dowager that they were transported from Sichuan. Four horses took turns running and delivered them in just three days," Ziyun said.
Qin Huaiqiu sat beside them watching them eat. Still feeling lingering fear from the abdominal pain just now, he rubbed his stomach. Ignoring them, he calmly closed his eyes and basked in the sun. When there was no one else in the Kunning Palace on normal days, this was how they got along. At first, Yalan and Ziyun were not used to it, but since Qin Huaiqiu never liked the tedious court etiquette, over time, they just followed Qin Huaiqiu's wishes.
Qin Lan ate another lychee and sighed, "No wonder it's the royal family."
Yalan had her mouth full and said indistinctly, "When I was outside the palace before, a bunch of lychees cost two taels of silver! It was so expensive!"
"Eat slowly," Ziyun said, looking at Yalan gobbling down.
Qin Lan laughed and said, "Yes, yes. Don't be like someone who ate so much that they got diarrhea."
"..." Qin Huaiqiu scolded, "Qin Lan!"
"Hahaha!"
"His Majesty the Emperor is arriving—" Xu Xian's voice suddenly rang out at the door. The four people in the palace instantly panicked. Yalan even peeled the remaining lychees as fast as she could and stuffed them into her mouth. Then she immediately stood up with Ziyun and ran to stand beside Qin Huaiqiu.
Qin Lan went to open the door and led Sikong Ting all the way in.
In the afternoon, just as Sikong Ting had finished discussing state affairs with a group of ministers, he heard from Xu Xian that the Noble Consort De had diarrhea from eating lychees and had just returned to the Kunning Palace. After hearing this, he put down the memorials and rushed over. As a result, he saw the table full of lychee shells.
Qin Huaiqiu stood beside the table and bowed to Sikong Ting, saying, "Your servant pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Be excused," Sikong Ting sighed and said, "You already felt unwell from eating them. Why are you eating them again?"
Qin Huaiqiu couldn't very well say that he was giving them to his maids, so he braced himself and said, "They're so delicious that I couldn't help but eat a little more."
A little more?
Sikong Ting looked at the table full of lychee shells, rubbed his forehead and said, "If you eat so many, what if you get diarrhea again later?"
Just thinking about his embarrassing situation just now, Qin Huaiqiu couldn't help but blush. He lowered his head and said nothing.
Seeing this, Sikong Ting thought he had said something too harsh. He walked up to Qin Huaiqiu, rubbed his head and gently comforted him, "If you like them, I'll have them send you some every day. But don't eat so many at once, okay?"
Sikong Ting's tone was a bit too gentle. Qin Huaiqiu was stunned for a moment and looked up at him. Just inches away, Sikong Ting was lowering his head, carefully sizing him up. His eyes were gentle and burning, making Qin Huaiqiu feel a bit uncomfortable for a while.
Just then, Sikong Ting slowly raised his hand.
Here it comes again! Qin Huaiqiu instinctively closed his eyes.
But the scene of being grabbed by the back of the head and forcefully kissed as he imagined didn't happen. Sikong Ting just pinched his blushing cheek and chuckled, "What are you thinking with your eyes closed?"
Qin Huaiqiu suddenly opened his eyes and looked at him. His mind went blank and his face instantly turned even redder.
Seeing this, Sikong Ting laughed and said, "Why are you so shy?"
"Who, who's shy!" Qin Huaiqiu scolded with a red face, which was not very convincing at all.
"Okay, not shy, not shy," Sikong Ting coaxed him and said, "I've had the imperial kitchen prepare some light food. Have dinner with me?"
Qin Huaiqiu's stomach was empty at this time, but he still stubbornly said, "I won't eat! I'm not hungry!"
Sikong Ting raised his eyebrows and looked at him, saying, "Really not hungry?"
Qin Huaiqiu blushed and turned his head, saying, "Not hungry!"
Then his stomach very timely let out a growl.
Qin Lan, Yalan and Ziyun beside them were almost dying from holding back their laughter.
Damn...
What's going on today!?
It's a huge embarrassing scene.
The young master was so embarrassed that he even wanted to die on the spot in front of Sikong Ting.
"Pfft..." Sikong Ting held back his laughter and quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Well, I'm hungry. I can't walk anymore. I'll just eat here."
Qin Huaiqiu's face was almost red enough to drip blood.
"Are you going to eat?" Sikong Ting asked again.
Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth, turned his head to look at him and almost spat out a single word from between his teeth: "Eat!"
Sikong Ting was very good at ordering dishes. Qin Huaiqiu even thought that if Sikong Ting wasn't the emperor, maybe in the common people's world, with this level, he could even be the owner of the famous Xianyan Restaurant in the capital.
White-robed shrimp, boiled Chinese cabbage, Golden Twigs and Jade Leaves Soup, cuttlefish egg soup, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall... Qin Huaiqiu ate to his heart's content and once again sighed that this was the only pleasure that made him feel that living in the palace was not bad.
Moreover, recently Qin Huaiqiu was still growing. Sikong Ting kept putting food on his plate and he accepted it all. He didn't stop until he was so full that it reached his throat. Then he let out a satisfied belch.
"Are you full?" Sikong Ting wiped his mouth and said.
Qin Huaiqiu leaned back on the soft chair and lazily nodded.
Sikong Ting said, "I received news that the Yazeobu mission will enter the palace after the morning court tomorrow. There will be a lunch banquet after they enter. According to the laws of the Great Sheng, the high-ranking concubines in the harem have to attend the banquet with me. That is you, the Noble Consort Shu and the Noble Consort Xian."
Qin Huaiqiu understood what he meant and said, "Your Majesty doesn't want your servant to go?"
Sikong Ting looked at him and said, "I've said before that for your safety, I still hope you don't meet him."
Qin Huaiqiu thought for a while and said, "This matter can't be decided by your servant alone. He tried to assassinate us both in the Fengquan Hot Spring. He must already know your servant's identity. This time when he enters the palace, since your servant is one of the four noble consorts, if I don't meet him, doesn't it mean that the Great Sheng is afraid of him? In your servant's opinion, the threat from a small country is not worth fearing."
Sikong Ting looked at him and reached out to nervously pinch his hand.
Qin Huaiqiu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. Since we're in the palace, it's your world. Are you still afraid of a barbarian from Loulan?"
Sikong Ting also laughed and said, "That's good. But just in case, you sit beside me then."
Qin Huaiqiu nodded.
Sikong Ting came and left in a hurry. He left after the meal.
Since Sikong Ting returned to the capital from the Fengquan Hot Spring, he hadn't stayed the night in the Kunning Palace. One reason was that state affairs were tense. The other reason was that Sikong Ting knew that he had to take things slowly with Qin Huaiqiu, this tough nut to crack.
Although Qin Huaiqiu didn't know about these things, Sikong Ting not staying the night gave him a lot of room for action.
As the sun was setting, Qin Lan was summoned to Qin Huaiqiu's room.
Qin Huaiqiu said, "I'm going to take Ziyun to visit the Noble Consort Shu. It's almost getting dark now. You still go to stake out as planned. Pay attention to see if there's anyone suspicious."
Qin Lan said, "You're going so late?"
Qin Huaiqiu said, "I didn't want to go today originally, but just now Sikong Ting told me that the Loulan mission will enter the palace tomorrow. They'll stay in the palace then. I'm afraid it'll be inconvenient for me to move around."
Qin Lan nodded.
The few of them quickly got ready and then Qin Huaiqiu pulled Ziyun out of the door.
As the sun was setting, the shadow of the sedan chair was stretched very long on the ground. Qin Huaiqiu looked at a small piece of torn cloth he had grabbed from the storeroom in the Kunning Palace and a faint smile curled up on his lips.