"Your Majesty, have you given any thought to my previous suggestion of having Qin Huaiqiu lead the troops?"
As soon as these words were uttered, both Sikong Ting and Dou Yuan paused in their actions.
Wu Qiuyang still refused to give up. "As far as I know, the younger son of the Qin family has been staying in the Qin Mansion since he sent Concubine De into the palace and has not returned to the Protectorate. Although he is still young, he is extremely capable in leading troops into battle. Moreover, he has already been to the battlefield with Qin Feng. Your Majesty is worried about General Qin's health. Why not give Qin Huaiqiu a try?"
After hearing this, Dou Yuan偷偷 glanced at Sikong Ting.
He saw Sikong Ting frowning, pursing his lips, and that complex look appearing in his eyes again.
Dou Yuan couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart.
"I'm considering what you said," Sikong Ting's voice was a bit hoarse. "When the time is right, I will naturally have him replace Qin Feng."
Wu Qiuyang said happily, "Your Majesty, why not let Qin Huaiqiu return to the Protectorate now to get familiar with the battlefield situation?"
Sikong Ting frowned and said, "There's no hurry."
"Your Majesty?"
"Let's talk about it when the actual war begins." Sikong Ting said, then walked back to the table and stared at the map, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Dou Yuan timely changed the topic. "By the way, today after the court session, Yazebu suddenly found me and said that he hopes Your Majesty can go to Jingshan tonight for the fifth round of negotiations."
Sikong Ting's veins bulged and he said angrily, "If he really wants to negotiate, why has it dragged on to the fifth round?"
Dou Yuan said, "Yazebu said he has a surprise to tell Your Majesty. The surprise is very important. He hopes Your Majesty can go—Your Majesty, shall we go?"
Sikong Ting gritted his teeth and said, "Go! If we still can't reach an agreement this time, let their mission leave Dacheng and wait for the battle!"
In the Kunning Palace.
Qin Huaiqiu looked at the investigation report that Qin Lan had just brought back from the Supreme Court and nodded in satisfaction. "This Liu Yun is quite capable. He directly secretly inserted a patrol team from the Supreme Court and patrolled during the previous patrol gaps. They actually saw Chang Lin twice."
Qin Lan said, "The matter of Concubine Shu having an affair with the eunuch has basically been confirmed. Now Liu Yun has started an investigation on the maids and eunuchs who were busy in the Yushan Palace at that time. They seem to have interrogated them again and are currently sorting out the information."
"What about the situation with the secret guards?" Qin Huaiqiu asked.
Qin Lan said, "They have found three witnesses who can testify and can provide them to Liu Yun at any time."
"Good!" Qin Huaiqiu clapped his hands happily. "Now everything is ready except for the east wind."
Just then, someone knocked on the door of the Kunning Palace. Coincidentally, Yalan was passing by with the laundry. She quickly put it down and opened the door. She saw that it was Jimin, one of the members of the Loulan mission.
But Yalan had never seen him before and didn't know who he was. She was just startled by his dark skin color and thought he didn't look like a Central Plains person.
"Y-you... who are you looking for?" Yalan asked timidly.
Jimin kept a straight face. He didn't seem to be good at talking. He opened his mouth and said, "I'm looking for your mistress."
"O-oh... okay. Wait a moment." Yalan quickly ran towards Qin Huaiqiu's room and called out at the door, "Mistress, there's a big man at the door looking for you."
Qin Huaiqiu and Qin Lan in the room looked at each other. Qin Huaiqiu said, "A big man? This is the harem. Where did a big man come from?"
Yalan wiped the sweat off her forehead and said, "I don't know how he got into the harem, but he doesn't seem to be from the Central Plains."
Qin Huaiqiu was stunned for a moment and then suddenly stood up. "I'll come right away."
Not from the Central Plains? At this critical moment, which country could he be from?
Qin Huaiqiu strode out of the door and walked straight to the gate of the Kunning Palace. When he saw Jimin standing with his head down, his eyes darkened. There was a distance of six feet between them. Before Jimin could say a word, Qin Huaiqiu said in a deep voice, "Do you know where this is? You dared to break into the harem without the Emperor's order! I can just call someone now and you'll be dead."
Jimin still maintained his calm expression. He didn't seem to be worried about this at all. He bowed to Qin Huaiqiu and said, "My master invites the mistress to a banquet at Jingshan tonight."
Qin Huaiqiu squinted his eyes and said, "Why should I go?"
Jimin straightened up and said word by word, "My master said that he knows where your younger sister is."
Jimin's words were like a thunderbolt. In an instant, both Qin Huaiqiu and Qin Lan froze on the spot.
The air suddenly became tense. Only Yalan was still confused. She looked back and forth among the three of them and kept silent, not daring to say a word.
"What... did... you... say?" Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth and his voice gradually became louder. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands were clenched into fists, trembling.
Jimin repeated it expressionlessly and then said, "My master also said that if you go, he will tell you."
"You—!" Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth. He never dreamed that Qin Huailian had been captured by the people of Loulan! He originally thought that Qin Huailian was still hiding somewhere to avoid marriage. He didn't expect that she had something to do with the people of Loulan! No wonder! No wonder Nie Rong couldn't find her no matter how hard he tried. No wonder Nie Rong had found signs of the people of Loulan when he was tracking Qin Huailian!
Qin Huaiqiu almost gritted his silver teeth to pieces. He knew that Qin Huailian was smart. If it weren't for some special situation, how could she have been captured by the people of Loulan! She must have been captured for some reason! Where was she now? Was she still safe?
Qin Huaiqiu didn't dare to think about it. Because as soon as he thought about the possible tragic situation of Lian'er, he felt his heart was about to break.
So, since Jimin dared to use this matter as a condition with him, it meant that after they captured Qin Huailian, they naturally knew that he was the "fake Concubine De".
No wonder he dared to swagger into the harem to find him. Because they expected that he didn't dare to inform the guards in the palace because of this matter. They were threatening him with this!
"How dare you do anything to her? I'll kill you!" Qin Huaiqiu's eyes were bloodshot. His voice almost squeezed out from between his teeth. He stared at Jimin with eyes that seemed to tear him apart.
Jimin looked at Qin Huaiqiu indifferently and said, "I'm just here to tell you. It's up to you whether you go or not."
"You—" Qin Huaiqiu couldn't bear it anymore. He directly stepped forward and grabbed Jimin's collar. He said fiercely, "Tell me, is Lian'er safe now! Don't think you can threaten me. I can kill you right now. I mean what I say!"
Jimin was also a martial artist, but he was easily grabbed by the collar by Qin Huaiqiu within six feet. He couldn't help but be shocked. He looked at Qin Huaiqiu and swallowed nervously. He said truthfully, "Your younger sister is in the Loulan Royal City now. She's very safe."
After hearing this, Qin Huaiqiu let go of him and pushed him out forcefully.
"Very good." Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth and showed a bloodthirsty smile. "Go back and tell your master that I will go to the banquet tonight. Let him be prepared. He'd better pray that he doesn't say the wrong thing. Otherwise—"
After saying that, Qin Huaiqiu stared at Jimin for a while and then "bang" closed the palace gate.
Yalan had been too scared by Qin Huaiqiu's expression to say a word. It wasn't until Qin Huaiqiu closed the palace gate and then entered the room again with Qin Lan that she came to her senses. She quickly trotted to find Ziyun.
"Damn it! Those beasts from Loulan!!" As soon as Qin Huaiqiu entered the room, he began to fly into a rage. He supported the edge of the table with both hands and tried his best not to imagine Qin Huailian's situation.
Seeing this, Qin Lan quickly helped him sit down and said, "Young master, calm down. Since they dared to use the young lady as a condition, it means that the young lady is currently their hostage and is still safe for the time being."
Qin Huaiqiu looked at her and said, "Does father know that Lian'er is in Loulan? What if the people of Loulan threaten father with Lian'er? He's currently confronting the Loulan army!"
Qin Lan was stunned for a moment and then shook her head. "Nie Rong hasn't told me about this yet. Presumably they don't know."
Qin Huaiqiu turned his head and looked elsewhere. He gritted his teeth and said, "So it means that they want to threaten me with this? What do they want to get from me?"
He suddenly thought of something. He looked at Qin Lan in horror and said, "Don't tell me... they want to tell Sikong Ting about the fact that I replaced Lian'er and entered the palace?"
Qin Lan was stunned for a moment and her eyes also became horrified.
"Damn it!" Qin Huaiqiu punched the table and said fiercely, "Now there's only my father in the Protectorate to face the enemy. If Sikong Ting knows that the Qin family has committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor, what if he doubts my father's loyalty? Then the Qin family..."
Speaking of this, a painful look appeared on Qin Huaiqiu's face. He said, "They've already planned this. They started their plan when they captured Lian'er. They want to use this matter to undermine the court's trust in the Qin family. With the war imminent, if the Emperor loses trust in the Qin family, it's no different from directly undermining the court's support for the Qin family from the inside. My father may..." Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth and finally said tremblingly, "may... be abandoned by the court..."
Qin Lan also understood this. She sat facing Qin Huaiqiu. Her expression was also very painful because they had no way to solve this problem at all.
They were completely passive. As long as Sikong Ting had doubts and sent someone or came to check Qin Huaiqiu's body himself, this matter would be exposed.
They never expected that while they were investigating the collusion between Concubine Shu and the people of Loulan, the people of Loulan had already woven a net and they had already fallen into it.
"Young master..." Qin Lan gritted her teeth and said, "Why don't we run away? Go back to the Protectorate directly."
Qin Huaiqiu's first thought was also this, but he still shook his head. "If we run away, won't it directly confirm the charge of deceiving the Emperor?" The Qin family couldn't lose the court's trust. He had to stay in the palace and continue to deal with the situation. If necessary, he would take all the blame on himself and then commit suicide with a guilty conscience. Because if he died, he could not only protect Qin Feng but also protect the 100,000 soldiers of the Qin family on the battlefield. Maybe he could also save the court's trust in the Qin family.
Qin Huaiqiu looked at Qin Lan and said in a deep voice, "Qin Lan, you go back to the Protectorate quickly now and tell father about this."