Yazeibu showed his teeth in a smile. "You'll know soon enough."
Sikong Ting watched the two of them chatting back and forth and couldn't help getting angry. He slapped the table and said sharply, "Yazeibu, you invited me here and abducted Concubine De from my Dacheng harem. Your guards even fought with her. For any one of these offenses, I could take your life!"
"Oh? Why is the Han emperor putting on airs?" Yazeibu retorted. "You wouldn't dare to kill me. If you do, Loulan will send its troops immediately. Are you willing to take that risk?"
Sikong Ting narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Sir, have you forgotten that our army's iron cavalry once flattened Loulan? The only reason you can sit here and shout at me is that the former emperor was merciful and didn't massacre all of you in Loulan!"
"Then we're truly grateful," Yazeibu laughed. "But the courage of the predecessors can't be boasted about by the later generations forever. Back then was back then, and now is now. I'll say this: if Loulan sends its troops, Qin Feng won't be able to hold off our Loulan iron cavalry for five days."
Qin Huaiqiu shuddered.
Sikong Ting sneered. "Anyone can talk big. Or have the people of Loulan become good-for-nothing big talkers now?"
Yazeibu wasn't angry but instead laughed. "Whether it's big talk or not, you can just give it a try. Oh, right. I came here this time to tell you a secret. A secret about Qin Feng."
Sikong Ting stared at him without saying a word.
Yazeibu glanced sideways at Qin Huaiqiu. He saw that Qin Huaiqiu's fingertips had turned white and he was gripping the teacup tightly without saying a word. The tea in the cup was swirling in circles, creating tiny ripples.
He let out a laugh. "Do you think Qin Feng will surely defend the Protectorate General's Mansion? But you probably didn't expect that we've already found Qin Feng's weakness. So, either you make Qin Feng retreat obediently, or we'll beat him until he has to retreat."
What weakness could Qin Feng possibly have? Sikong Ting and Dou Yuan didn't believe it. As everyone knew, Qin Feng had been on the battlefield for more than a decade and had rarely been defeated. And the opponents were the people of Loulan, who Qin Feng knew like the back of his hand.
... Was it Lian'er? Qin Huaiqiu felt his chest tightening. A stabbing pain was spreading through his chest. He gritted his teeth tightly, and his hands were almost crushing the teacup.
"In my opinion, you people of Loulan are colluding with the Xiongnu to threaten our Dacheng. You should be beaten up severely and then sent back," Dou Yuan said. "Or is it that they sent you here to negotiate because they don't want to fight? Are they too scared to fight?"
"Humph, scared?!" Yazeibu shifted his gaze from Dou Yuan and Sikong Ting and suddenly turned to look at Qin Huaiqiu. "I think the one who's scared is Qin Feng!"
"What did you say?!" Dou Yuan shouted sharply.
Qin Huaiqiu's face grew even paler. He felt as if countless hands were scratching at his heart, and he was in pain but couldn't find any relief.
It seemed that Yazeibu was going to reveal it, and there was nothing he could do to stop him!
If Yazeibu dared to expose this, he would have to take the blame all by himself at the first moment so that he could protect the others. But just thinking about the possibility of Sikong Ting looking at him with that kind of disgusted and nauseated look again, Qin Huaiqiu felt as if his heart was being stabbed. He put down the teacup, covered his mouth with his sleeve, and tried his best to remain calm. He took a few deep breaths, trying to ease the stabbing pain in his heart. But somehow, his mind was filled with all kinds of speculations again and again. His heart felt as if it had been dug out and stabbed repeatedly, making his face even paler.
Yazeibu looked at Qin Huaiqiu and then turned to Sikong Ting. "Han emperor, I don't know if you're stupid or just naive. You can't even see clearly the people around you."
Sikong Ting widened his eyes and suddenly looked at Qin Huaiqiu. He saw that Qin Huaiqiu was covering his mouth, and his body had started to tremble slightly. He was looking at the teacup in his hand and never once looked up at him.
How did Yazeibu know? No, could it be... Sikong Ting felt a sense of uneasiness rising in his heart.
Yazeibu gave a cruel smile and said loudly, "Qin Feng's daughter has long been kidnapped by our people and taken to Loulan. The person in your bed now is her twin brother, and he's a real - man!"
Sikong Ting's mind exploded!
Dou Yuan was also shocked. Although they had known Qin Huaiqiu's identity for a long time, the news that Yazeibu had revealed caught them off guard - Qin Feng's daughter had been kidnapped?!
Before they could react, Qin Huaiqiu suddenly stood up.
He felt as if his chest had been ripped open. Enduring the intense pain, he slowly fixed his gaze on Sikong Ting.
He saw the look of shock and disbelief in Sikong Ting's eyes. For a moment, he felt as if the world had collapsed.
Sure enough... he would look at him with this kind of look after he found out...
Qin Huaiqiu gave a bitter smile. His nose felt sour, and a few tears welled up in his eyes.
It was all over.
During the past six months in the palace, he had only wanted to enter the palace on behalf of Lian'er as a formality. But he never thought that he would lose himself and his heart.
Qin Lan was right. He was the emperor, and he was the son of a general. There was a huge gap between them. But he had just indulged in Sikong Ting's tenderness. Just now in the courtyard, that kiss with Sikong Ting had almost exhausted all his strength and courage.
Qin Huaiqiu slowly walked up to Sikong Ting. Enduring the intense pain in his chest, he knelt down straight in front of Sikong Ting.
Sikong Ting was stunned. In Qin Huaiqiu's eyes, there was a mixture of affection and desolation, like a blazing reed that burned fiercely but also extinguished quickly and resolutely.
The light in Qin Huaiqiu's eyes faded like a shooting star and was quickly replaced by pain and torment.
He bowed his head slowly to Sikong Ting, with tears in his eyes and enduring the pain.
"... Your subject... Qin Huaiqiu, out of admiration for Your Majesty, entered the palace as a concubine on behalf of my sister without permission..."
Qin Huaiqiu gritted his teeth, and tears dripped from his eyes onto the stiff floor, shattering.
"... I ignored the court's regulations, disgraced Your Majesty's grace... deceived the emperor... "
The pain in his chest never stopped. He felt as if his heart was bleeding. The memories he had with Sikong Ting shattered like a broken bronze mirror in his trembling voice. The fragments stabbed into his chest one by one, making it difficult for him to breathe.
"... I have disgraced the loyal and heroic Qin family. I am a disgrace to the military generals of Dacheng. Now that this matter has been exposed, please Your Majesty grant me death to uphold the court's regulations..."
"... Concubine De?!" Sikong Ting widened his eyes. He was shocked. Qin Huaiqiu's face was as pale as paper. Although he was kneeling in front of him, shedding tears, in Sikong Ting's eyes, it was as if he was bleeding!!
"What's wrong with you?!"
"... Your... Majesty..." The intense pain in Qin Huaiqiu's chest suddenly reached its peak. He felt as if something had exploded in his chest. Before he could make a sound again, he felt a sweetness in his throat, and a mouthful of black blood spurted out -
Time seemed to slow down suddenly.
He slowly fell down. In his hazy vision, he only saw Sikong Ting's blurred figure running towards him. His mouth was wide open, as if he was shouting something, but he couldn't hear anything in his ears.
He looked at Sikong Ting's familiar but blurred figure, and hot tears welled up in his eyes.
Was this it?
At that moment, a long - ago memory suddenly flashed through Qin Huaiqiu's mind -
Ask the world, what is love? It makes people willing to live and die for it...
He was only fourteen years old at that time. Pointing at this sentence in the storybook, he laughed at Nie Rong and said, "What thing could make people willing to live and die for it?"
Nie Rong rubbed his head at that time and said, "It's written here. It's love."
What is love?
Love... What do you, a little kid, know?
How do I not know! Hey! Nie Rong! Don't run away! I order you to tell me!
Ouch ouch... Don't pull! I'll tell you... Well, love is something that you can't get even if you try, but you still have to try and get it.
What... It's too confusing. I don't understand.
Hahaha... It would be strange if you understood, little kid...
Suddenly, the scene changed like a carousel.
Qin Lan held his hand and said, "He is the emperor, and you are the young master of the general's mansion. It's impossible for the two of you..."
In the future, you'll find a woman you love, get married, have children, gallop on the battlefield, and become a famous general through the ages...
The scene changed again. This time, it was hazy and fixed on the kiss he and Sikong Ting had in the courtyard just now.
Qin Huaiqiu suddenly wanted to shout out.
Sikong Ting.
Sikong Ting!
I seem to... really like you.
Suddenly, the world spun, and darkness filled his vision.
Qin Huaiqiu's body crashed to the ground -
"Concubine De! -!"