Qin Huaiqiu quickly returned to the Kunning Palace and went straight into the room to discuss things with Qin Lan.
"It's really a stroke of luck! He has a birthmark!" Qin Huaiqiu said excitedly. "If that's the case, as long as we can catch Chang Lin in the Consort Shu's palace at night, we can get Concubine Zhang to prove that he is Chang Zixuan. Then their affair will be exposed."
Qin Lan said, "I'll send someone to investigate their past right away."
Qin Huaiqiu nodded. "Right. One is the son of the top scholar, and the other is the daughter of the Minister of Rites. If they have any relationship, there must be people who know about it. You go out later and tell the secret guards to investigate. Ask as many people as possible. I must find out their connection. Then we'll only need a breakthrough."
Qin Lan said, "To prove that it was Consort Shu who instigated Chang Lin to collude with the Loulan people at the Yushan Palace, we also need to prove that it was him who called me there."
Qin Huaiqiu slapped his palm. "This is actually easy. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack for Liu Zhen before, so it was hard to be sure. Now that we have a suspect, we can just ask Liu Zhen to investigate specifically. Just carefully check who saw him or didn't see him at that time, and the problem will be solved."
Qin Lan shook her head. "No. Liu Zhen is distantly related to Consort Shu."
Qin Huaiqiu patted his head. "Oh, right. Look at my memory. Then we'll disclose this to Liu Yun, the Minister of the Supreme Court. I heard that Sikong Ting has also assigned this matter to him. Liu Yun is a very meticulous person. If we let him confirm the suspect, he will surely investigate to the end."
Qin Lan thought for a while and asked, "Then how can we make him suspect Chang Lin?"
Qin Huaiqiu tapped the table with his hand. "How about... directly telling him in my name that I suspect Consort Shu? It's normal for concubines in the harem to fight for favor, but if this involves the Loulan people, it's a different matter. Liu Yun won't take it lightly."
"But this must only be known to him. Don't tell Liu Zhen. Then tell him not to tip off the enemy. Have someone secretly keep an eye on Chang Lin's movements. You cooperate with him. It would be best if he finds out that Chang Lin often goes to Consort Shu's palace. Then you can reveal the past relationship between Chang Lin and Consort Shu to him at the right time." Qin Huaiqiu said, "In this way, he will find out that Consort Shu and Chang Lin have an unusual relationship. If the eunuch who called you at the Yushan Palace is screened out to be him, then the charge of Consort Shu colluding with the enemy will surely be confirmed."
Qin Lan nodded. Suddenly, she thought of something and said, "But... what if Chang Lin flatly denies that this has anything to do with Consort Shu?"
Qin Huaiqiu was stunned for a moment and pinched his chin, thinking seriously.
"You're right... As the son of a top scholar, Chang Lin could have had a promising official career, but he entered the palace for Consort Shu. It's obvious that their relationship is unusual. He may very well take all the blame on himself to protect Consort Shu." Qin Huaiqiu pinched his chin and hissed. "Is there no evidence?"
Qin Lan shook her head. "The three Loulan people are all dead. There are no confessions."
Qin Huaiqiu tugged at his hair irritably. All he wanted was to seek justice for Qin Lan, but he didn't expect that Nie Rong's killing of those three people had cut off the clues.
"Don't worry about that for now." Qin Huaiqiu thought for a while and said, "If Chang Lin doesn't expose Consort Shu, but the fact that he colluded with Consort Shu is undeniable. What's the punishment for a concubine in the harem colluding with a eunuch?"
Qin Lan sighed. "Probably being sent to the Cold Palace?"
"She's getting off too easily." Qin Huaiqiu said angrily. "She wanted someone to kill you. I actually hope she'll die."
"Master..." Qin Lan looked at Qin Huaiqiu gratefully and said, "It would be good if we can send her to the Cold Palace. Life is long. If she just dies, it would be too easy for her."
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her and smiled. "Okay. I'll make her regret it for the rest of her life."
After they finished discussing and checked again, Qin Lan set off for the Supreme Court with the secret letter written by Qin Huaiqiu.
As Qin Huaiqiu's personal maid, she could go out of the palace on the pretext of buying things for the concubines. But if she went to the Supreme Court to see Liu Yun, this matter would surely be reported to Sikong Ting by the Supreme Court. So Qin Huaiqiu specially wrote a secret letter, stating the reasons for his suspicion of Consort Shu, and even writing down the incident of Consort Shu pushing him into the water.
The Supreme Court is in charge of all kinds of cases in the country. Naturally, the disputes in the emperor's harem also fall under its jurisdiction. Since they didn't know Sikong Ting's attitude towards Consort Shu, Qin Huaiqiu specially wrote, "Recently, the emperor has been busy all night dealing with the Loulan mission and the border frictions with Loulan. Such a small matter in the harem is really not suitable to bother the emperor. I hope Lord Liu will investigate first and then report. Don't let such a small matter disturb the emperor's mood. I would be extremely grateful."
Almost all the court officials knew that the emperor doted on the Noble Consort De. There were naturally many people who wanted to curry favor with him. Qin Huaiqiu's words seemed like a request to Liu Yun, and at the same time, gave Liu Yun a legitimate reason to do so. If Liu Yun managed to handle this matter, he could justifiably have the emperor's favorite concubine owe him a favor. Why wouldn't Liu Yun be willing to do it?
Sure enough, after Qin Lan arrived at the Supreme Court and handed in Qin Huaiqiu's personal letter, Liu Yun stroked his beard. After thinking for a while, he agreed and told Qin Lan that considering Liu Zhen's relationship with Consort Shu, he would follow the Noble Consort De's advice and not tell Liu Zhen about this. At the same time, he would also secretly send someone to keep an eye on Chang Lin's movements in the palace to verify Qin Huaiqiu's speculation.
As for the unknown secrets between Consort Shu and Chang Lin, Qin Lan returned to the Qin Mansion after going out of the palace. Now the Qin Mansion was the stronghold of the Qin family's secret guards in the capital. It was currently closed to visitors on the pretext that Qin Huaiqiu was out. She told them about this matter in the mansion. These secret guards of the Qin family in the capital were originally there to protect Qin Huaiqiu and Qin Huailian. Since there had been no news of Qin Huailian recently, after receiving Qin Huaiqiu's order, those secret guards immediately started investigating.
Qin Lan returned to the palace and told Qin Huaiqiu everything in detail. Qin Huaiqiu nodded in satisfaction.
In this way, everything was within his plan. As long as this matter was investigated, Consort Shu would receive the punishment she deserved. The incident of Qin Lan being insulted had always made Qin Huaiqiu angry until now. He couldn't wait to see Consort Shu being punished after this matter was exposed.
Four days later.
It was the fifth day since Hu Yelu led his troops into the Loulan territory.
Yaze Bu and Sikong Ting had had four consecutive rounds of negotiations in these few days, and each time they parted on bad terms.
Yaze Bu, representing the Loulan King Salei, only conveyed one message to Sikong Ting, which was to demand that Dacheng withdraw its troops. But when Dacheng withdrew its troops, the Loulan army would not withdraw.
In Yaze Bu's words, they would withdraw their troops only after Dacheng withdrew its troops and they had "confirmed" that Loulan was no longer "threatened" by Dacheng.
Sikong Ting and a group of military generals in the court naturally disagreed. If Dacheng withdrew its troops while Loulan didn't, it would be like directly handing over the Protectorate General's Mansion to others.
The Protectorate General's Mansion was originally a strategic location. Once it was lost, a large area of Dacheng's western territory would be exposed to the iron hooves of Loulan and the Xiongnu due to the loss of the protection of the Protectorate General's Mansion. Not to mention that the Silk Road might be completely cut off, and Dacheng would lose its commercial exchanges with the European continent. This would be equivalent to directly cutting off Dacheng's connection with the outside world.
Moreover, this was originally a very unreasonable request. In a war between two armies, why should I believe that you will withdraw your troops after I withdraw mine? War is not a child's play. Loulan's unyielding and unreasonable actions this time didn't seem like they were here to negotiate with Dacheng at all, but rather to show off.
This made Sikong Ting, who had been turned away by Qin Huaiqiu for four days, even more irritable.
After another round of negotiation, Sikong Ting summoned Dou Yuan and Wu Qiuyang to the imperial study again. In front of the two of them, he angrily tore the so - called "peace - seeking conditions letter" handed in by Yaze Bu into pieces.
"I think they're just here to annoy me!" Sikong Ting roared. "Loulan is just a tiny country. Relying on the support of the Xiongnu, they even dare to challenge me! They deserve to die!"
Wu Qiuyang hesitated for a moment and said, "General Qin has sent three urgent letters, constantly requesting to send troops."
Sikong Ting took a deep breath. He knew that although Qin Feng was old, he still had the desire to lead troops. In the past few days, he had screened through the people in the Ministry of War again. After really not finding anyone who could replace Qin Feng, Sikong Ting's idea of not allowing Qin Feng to send troops before began to waver.
Wu Qiuyang added, "General Qin is still in good health. In his letter, he also emphasized that he can still ride a horse and fight the enemy. I think we can allow General Qin to handle this matter."
Sikong Ting thought for a while and said seriously, "Okay, but you tell Qin Feng that Dacheng must not take the initiative to attack first. That scoundrel Yaze Bu has already used Dacheng's dignity for moral blackmail. To deal with such people, we must beat them into submission."
He looked up at Wu Qiuyang and said, "Pass on my order. Let the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works speed up the construction of the defense facilities of the Protectorate General's Mansion. At the same time, you ensure that the supply routes of food, grass, soldiers and horses to the Protectorate General's Mansion are unblocked. Let Qin Feng wait for orders and not take the initiative to attack first. But if the Loulan people start to attack the city, let Qin Feng send troops immediately and beat them back for me!"
Dou Yuan had been standing on the side, poking his chin with his fan and staring at the unfolded map, not knowing what he was thinking. As soon as he heard this, he suddenly frowned and said, "I think that the Xiongnu's alliance with Loulan at this moment is actually largely because they want Loulan to be their pawn. They provide a certain amount of help themselves and can still get a share of the spoils in the end."
He pointed to the Northwest and Hetao regions on the map and said, "According to the current information, the Xiongnu have the actions of setting up camps in the Hetao and Northwest regions respectively. That's why the Third Prince, General Han Yushan and General Zhu Bu have been pinned down in the Hetao and Northwest regions by them and can't effectively reinforce the Protectorate General's Mansion. Dacheng's current military deployment is actually part of the plan of Loulan and the Xiongnu. So I guess that if the war starts, we will face attacks from three directions."
Sikong Ting and Wu Qiuyang both stared at the map without saying a word, which was a tacit agreement to Dou Yuan's idea.
"The Loulan people are just tools for the Xiongnu to attack Dacheng." Sikong Ting said. "Since they have allied with Loulan to confront Qin Feng, it means that in fact, they still set the main battlefield around the Protectorate General's Mansion. The Northwest and Hetao regions actually play a pinning - down role."
Wu Qiuyang nodded. Then he thought of something and asked, "Then what the hell are they doing here for negotiation? Why don't they just attack! In recent years, Dacheng has had good weather and abundant food and grass. We're not afraid of them at all!"
Dou Yuan thought for a while and said, "Maybe there was something they couldn't agree on before. But now Hu Yelu has led his troops to support Loulan, which means that Loulan and the Xiongnu have reached an agreement. But they're still hesitating to start the war. It seems that they're waiting for something."
"Let's make a plan." Wu Qiuyang thought for a while and said, "If this war breaks out, it won't be a small one. The Loulan army and the Xiongnu army have never cooperated before. They also need a running - in period."
Dou Yuan nodded. "General Wu is right."
Sikong Ting said, "Anyway, Qin Feng's situation is very difficult, so we must ensure that all the supplies are in place."
Wu Qiuyang responded. He looked at Sikong Ting and hesitated for a moment. "Your Majesty, what's your decision on my previous suggestion of letting Qin Huaiqiu lead the troops?"