"Chang Lin! Chang Lin!" Inside the Ningfu Palace, Concubine Shu tightly clutched Chang Lin's sleeve. Some of the makeup on her face had smudged, and her hair bun was in disarray, but she had no mood to tidy herself up.
Chang Lin looked at her and sighed softly, asking, "What's going on?"
"It's Concubine De—!" Concubine Shu stared at him, fear flashing in her eyes. "Concubine De came to see me today. She... she showed me a piece of cloth torn from your clothes and said she was going to the Court of Judicial Review to investigate."
Chang Lin frowned. "Cloth?"
"Yes, it's the same fabric as the eunuchs' standard uniforms."
Chang Lin was taken aback for a moment and said, "But my clothes aren't damaged."
Concubine Shu shuddered all over. The fear in her eyes grew stronger, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. "No... no... She's found out... She's found out it was me?!"
Seeing this, Chang Lin quickly reached out and grabbed her, consoling her, "Yan'er, it's okay. She's probably just testing you. If you panic, you'll easily show your true colors. You know, she has no evidence."
After hearing this, Concubine Shu calmed down a bit, but still said fearfully, "But I always feel that she... she knows something. If the matter of me trying to kill her maid is discovered and it involves the people of Loulan, then I'll be accused of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! Chang Lin! Think of a way!"
Chang Lin patted her on the back and said, "Calm down, calm down. Trust me. She has no evidence to prove it was you. As long as you act naturally as usual, she won't be able to do anything."
Concubine Shu suddenly grabbed his hand, tears welling up in her eyes. She said tremulously, "Chang Lin, I'm still scared... Think of a way quickly. Why don't we just kill her? Then everything will be clean. Once she's dead, the harem will be much more peaceful. By then, I'll still be the emperor's favorite concubine, and I'll surely reward you handsomely."
Chang Lin paused for a moment. Pain and struggle flashed in his eyes. He gently brushed away Concubine Shu's hand and changed his form of address, saying coldly, "I... Your humble servant doesn't want that kind of reward from Concubine Shu."
Concubine Shu was stunned.
Chang Lin turned his head to the side and no longer looked at her. Concubine Shu saw the complex emotions in his eyes, and suddenly a burst of anger welled up in her.
She slapped the teacup beside her to the ground and shouted, "Chang Zixuan! What are you still thinking about?! I'm currently the leader of the four concubines in the harem. It's impossible for us to be together again! Since you were willing to ruin your own future and enter the palace back then, you should understand this. Don't you know that you're a eunuch now?"
Chang Lin stiffened all over. A glint of something flashed in his eyes, replaced by a look of self - blame, self - abasement, and pain all mixed together. He slowly looked at her, as if presenting his already badly - damaged heart to her again.
"Yes, I'm just a eunuch now." He said this in a voice so calm that it was terrifying.
Concubine Shu was stunned. She could clearly feel Chang Lin's pain, a pain that had persisted in his heart for so long that she had become used to it, so long that she had thought his pain was deserved and selfish. But she had to admit that when she saw the look in Chang Lin's eyes as he looked at her, her nose felt sour and tears suddenly welled up.
The next second, she stepped forward and gently hugged him.
"Help me." She no longer addressed herself as "This Palace." She nestled in his arms, sobbing like a wounded peacock.
"Help me... In this palace, you're the only one I can trust." Concubine Shu buried her head in his chest. Chang Lin could clearly feel that Concubine Shu's tears were dripping one by one onto his chest and into his heart.
He slowly reached out his hand and placed it on top of her head.
"Okay."
Concubine Shu rubbed against his palm, her voice muffled. "I did some embroidery today. I'll give it to you later."
"Okay."
"I also finished drinking the barley and chicken soup you sent me today."
"Um..."
As the night grew deeper, he held her, and she nestled against him. Both of them gradually fell silent, letting their thoughts drift back to many years ago.
———————————————
"You said Chang Lin went to the Ningfu Palace?" The next day, Qin Huaiqiu was having breakfast when Qin Lan came back to report, but he didn't expect such a result.
"Yeah." Qin Lan nodded. "I saw Ying'er go to Jingshan to pick him up with my own eyes."
Qin Huaiqiu took a mung bean cake and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it loudly and saying indistinctly, "A grade - eight junior eunuch, and still a subordinate of Xu Fu? I really didn't expect it."
Qin Lan thought for a while and said, "I think his relationship with Concubine Shu is quite special."
"Anyway, it mustn't be a physical relationship. He doesn't have that part." Qin Huaiqiu joked. "But there might be some other kind of connection."
He stroked his chin and thought for a while. "A grade - eight junior eunuch should have just entered the palace not long ago, right?"
Qin Lan said, "Eunuchs are recruited once every three years in the Dacheng Dynasty. The latest batch was three years ago."
"If he's a grade - eight junior eunuch, he should be from that batch three years ago." Qin Huaiqiu said. "Send the secret guards to investigate. Just investigate this Chang Lin. Maybe this name is fake. Tell them to investigate carefully."
Qin Lan wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Currently, all the secret - guard networks of the Qin Mansion are investigating the young lady..."
"What the hell are they still investigating for? If she wanted to come back, she would have come back long ago!" Qin Huaiqiu cursed. "Don't you know Lian'er's methods? When Nie Rong was here, I still had a glimmer of hope. Now that Nie Rong has returned to the Protectorate General's Office, there's no way those other secret guards can find her. Letting them investigate the power system in the capital was just a guess of mine. Since they haven't found any results, it's better to let them do something useful."
Qin Lan scratched his head and said, "After I give the order, how should I explain it to the master?"
Qin Huaiqiu sighed and said, "Tell my father to kill a few more people from Loulan. It's best to kill them to the point that even if the emperor finds out about our absurd deeds and wants to execute our whole family, he won't be able to bear it."
Qin Lan curled his lips and went out to release a carrier pigeon.
On this day's morning court session, Yazebu arrived on time.
He brought Kuer and Jimin with him. Almost under the malicious gazes of all the ministers, he swaggered into the main hall.
Sikong Ting, wearing a dragon robe, sat on the highest throne, looking down at them from above with a strange and unpredictable look in his eyes.
Yazebu stopped in front of the steps. He looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Sikong Ting sitting on the dragon throne.
He sneered and said in a voice full of insincerity, "Yazebu, a warrior of Loulan, represents the King of Loulan and pays homage to the Han emperor of Dacheng. I wish the Dacheng Dynasty to last for thousands of years and enjoy national peace and prosperity."
Sikong Ting looked at him coldly and said in a deep voice, "Rise. I wonder why the King of Loulan sent your warrior mission to the capital?"
Yazebu clasped his fists and said, "Naturally, it's to ask the Han emperor to withdraw his troops."
Hearing this, all the ministers below the steps immediately exploded.
"The thieves of Loulan were the first to invade our border. How dare they make such absurd remarks?"
"If the Loulan army hadn't colluded with the Xiongnu and confronted the Protectorate General's Office, Dacheng wouldn't have even bothered with you!"
"The barbarians of Loulan! They're so ungrateful!"
Dou Yuan, standing at the head of the ministers, squinted his eyes and turned his head to look at Yazebu standing beside him, not knowing what he was thinking.
Sikong Ting raised his hand to stop the ministers' discussion and looked at Yazebu, saying, "What capital does the King of Loulan have to ask me to withdraw my troops?"
Although Yazebu bowed to Sikong Ting, there was no trace of respect in his eyes. On the contrary, his look at Sikong Ting seemed as if he had the winning card. "By Dacheng's dignity."
As soon as he said this, everyone was in an uproar.
Sikong Ting pursed his lips and motioned for him to continue.
Yazebu said, "Loulan has never sought to compete for the world with Dacheng and the Xiongnu. We're just a small country. Our territory is less than one - tenth of Dacheng's. The total military strength of our Loulan is only about 150,000, but the emperor, with the might of Dacheng, has stationed 200,000 troops in the Protectorate General's Office. They say that Dacheng has a strong army. Then, why does the powerful Dacheng Empire use its 200,000 elite troops to threaten our tiny country? Could it be that the military myth of Dacheng is just a boast?"
"How dare you?!" Sikong Ting slapped the table and stood up. The veins on his forehead bulged, and he shouted, "How dare you talk to me like this?!"
Yazebu's words were extremely malicious. Although it was true that Loulan's military strength was not much, according to the memorial that Qin Feng had submitted before, the estimated military strength of Loulan was between 150,000 and 200,000. The reason why Dacheng had stationed 200,000 troops was that everyone knew very well that although the Loulan army only had about 150,000 people, what about the Xiongnu?
With such a good opportunity to go to war with Dacheng, no one would believe that Chanyu Huye wouldn't join in. It was just that Chanyu Huye hadn't publicly declared it yet.
So, the 200,000 troops led by Qin Feng were actually guarding against the Xiongnu who might take the opportunity to attack the Central Plains.
Although everyone knew this, there was no actual and conclusive evidence. Who would have thought that Yazebu would use this as an excuse, taking advantage of his weakness to seek benefits, trying to put pressure on Dacheng from the aspect of public opinion and forcing Dacheng to withdraw its troops.
How absurd!
The ministers below were extremely angry, and the scolding voices never stopped.
"Your Majesty has misunderstood. As a general of a small country, how dare I contradict you, the true dragon emperor? I'm just telling the truth." Yazebu ignored the important ministers around him and stared directly at Sikong Ting with a sharp look in his eyes.
"According to what you mean, is it that I'm bullying you by asking Lord Qin to station troops in the Protectorate General's Office within our own territory?" Sikong Ting's voice was low, suppressing his anger as he scolded, "Then should I... should I just open our doors wide to your Loulan army to prove that I'm not bullying you?"
Yazebu bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I wouldn't dare."
"Humph, you wouldn't dare?!" Sikong Ting sneered. "I think you dare a lot! Where were you all when Qin Feng flattened your royal capital back then? The late emperor was merciful and spared your lives, but it wasn't for you to come in front of me and shout arrogantly!"
Yazebu said, "Bringing up the great achievements of ten years ago now, Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not appropriate, right?"
"What's inappropriate?" Before Sikong Ting could say anything, Dou Yuan, who was standing beside him, spoke up. His voice wasn't very loud, but it just happened to be heard by everyone in the main hall. When the ministers saw that the left prime minister had spoken, they naturally stopped scolding and just waited for Dou Yuan to say something.
Dou Yuan turned around and stared directly at Yazebu, saying, "Dacheng stations troops to defend its own territory, while Loulan stations troops coveting other people's territory. In my opinion, it's very appropriate to deal with such evil deeds."
Yazebu didn't know who Dou Yuan was beforehand. He straightened his body and looked at Dou Yuan, saying, "This minister, Dacheng and my Loulan are currently in a tense situation on the verge of breaking out. Are your words a declaration of war against my Loulan?"
"So what if it's a declaration of war?" Dou Yuan smiled. "I'm just afraid that your Loulan doesn't dare to fight. Or is it that the Xiongnu haven't reached a unified agreement with you yet, which makes you only dare to confront but not send out troops for now?"
Yazebu stared at Dou Yuan and said in a deep voice, "The feud between my Loulan and Dacheng, why do you involve the Xiongnu?"
"Really?" Dou Yuan smiled and bowed to him. "Then it seems that I've judged the gentleman's heart with the heart of a villain?"
Yazebu stared at Dou Yuan, and his eyes gradually narrowed dangerously into a slit.
The atmosphere between the two became tense instantly, and the whole main hall was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
The civil officials standing on one side kept scolding, and several military generals led by Wu Qiuyang almost rolled up their sleeves and rushed up to fight him.
"Your Majesty." Liu Cheng suddenly stepped forward to defuse the situation. "The Xiongnu mission has come to the capital. The ceremony should be arranged first."
Sikong Ting was already annoyed by them. When Liu Cheng mentioned this, Sikong Ting took the opportunity to step down and said, "Then this matter will be arranged by the Minister of Rites. Court is adjourned!"
After Sikong Ting finished speaking, he flicked his sleeve and left. Inside the hall, the civil and military officials bowed and then dispersed one after another, but Yazebu and Dou Yuan stood up and looked at each other.
"Humph." Yazebu was the first to speak. "I didn't know that Dacheng had such a strange person like you."
Dou Yuan retorted, "As one of the four military generals of Loulan, you're also a strange one."
"What's your name?" Yazebu looked down at him.
"No comment."