Chapter 14

The ministers all knew the purpose of Princess Alxi's coming to the royal court with Prince Zhuoke, but the next day, the news that Princess Alxi had left with the envoy spread throughout the court.

Is this king really not planning to leave one or two descendants for the Xiyuan royal family?

"Your Majesty! If you don't leave any offspring, how will Xiyuan develop in the future?"

Kneeling at the foot of the hall were highly respected officials. Huilin sat at the top and looked at them coldly. He then glanced at the officials around him. When those people met Huilin's eyes, they lowered their heads silently.

The minister who was kneeling on the ground and unable to get up listened to Hui Lin for a long time without saying a word. Perhaps he felt that his words had touched him. He just raised his head slightly and heard the leader say: "Mr. Zhao, I also heard that you only have concubines in your house..."

Lord Zhao felt more and more hopeful. His expression softened, and then he replied to Lin You, saying something that almost made his heart beat faster.

"How about - I give you a few male concubines." Hui Lin's tone was normal, without any sign of anger.

One person around couldn't help laughing, and the rest of the people followed suit.

"I dare not!"

"I have no interest in that man at all."

Hui Lin's tone became stern, and he waved his wide sleeves and pointed at those people and said, "You keep saying that you are doing this for the good of Xiyuan, but if I am not well, how can Xiyuan be well?"

"Retreat!"

Without waiting for anyone to react, Hui Lin stood up and left without looking back.

The ministers looked at each other, no one dared to say anything, "Lord Zhao, you should go back. No one can force the king to do so if he doesn't want to."

The matter was left unresolved. After all, he had said so in Lindu. If anyone dared to let him take a female concubine again, what would he do if he gave you a few male concubines?

Do you favor or not favor the person the king has rewarded?

So no one wants to speak anymore.

But this matter spread everywhere, and everyone was saying that the king had a deep affection for the queen and never even glanced at anyone else.

Naturally, the people in Lanquan Palace had known about it a long time ago, and as time went by, the news reached Qi Xinglan's ears.

"What? Is this true?"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely true!"

Qi Xinglan put down the teacup, feeling that Lin Shi was really brave this time, as he just said no and that's it. If it were the old emperor of the Great Zhou, he would have accepted it long ago.

"Lan'er!"

Qi Xinglan was just thinking about it when Huilin came. He didn't let anyone report it, but he shouted all the way from outside the hall to inside, and it was hard for Qi Xinglan not to hear it.

He also stood up pretentiously and looked up and down at his court robes, which he had not yet changed out of. "You came here right after the court session?"

Hui Lin also glanced at himself, sat down and said, "It happened suddenly, and I was so angry that I didn't have time to change my clothes."

Qi Xinglan glanced at him and said, "Are you still angry? Aren't you very happy to be given a male concubine?"

"I was just trying to scare them. It would do me no good to disturb their backyard."

Qi Xinglan nodded. He had not completely lost his mind.

Qi Xinglan knew Hui Lin had been watching her the whole time. Thinking of what she had asked him last night, she wanted to ask him again today, "You really don't want to have children?"

He seemed to have made up his mind. He first lowered his head and seemed to glance at his belly, then said, "If you want, I can also..."

"no!"

Hui Lin knew that her tone was too harsh, so she hugged him again and gently advised him, "It is very difficult for a woman to give birth to a child, let alone a man."

"Besides, you would get sick even if you did it to me too hard, let alone having a baby."

"You!" Qi Xinglan blushed again because of his outspokenness.

"Okay, Lan'er, I will arrange everything. You don't have to worry about those ministers coming to you. All problems are not a problem here." Hui Lin said in a serious tone, stroking his back up and down.

Qi Xinglan's heart seemed to suddenly flow with warm blood, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as usual, "You..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Qi Xinglan shook her head in his arms, and then she heard him chuckle, "Nothing, I just suddenly think you're pretty good."

"Changed suddenly?" Hui Lin's tone turned dangerous. Qi Xinglan also heard it and quickly said, "No, no, no, it has always been fine."

"You're very good to me." He raised his head and looked into Hui Lin's eyes, which were full of sincerity. Hui Lin scratched the tip of his nose and said, "That's nonsense!"

The two hugged each other quietly for a while. Qi Xinglan changed from sitting in her own seat to sitting in his arms. Hui Lin's actions were of course impossible to be honest, so as expected, the two kissed while hugging each other.

With this movement, Qi Xinglan's feet could barely touch the ground, but he liked it so much that he deliberately suspended his feet in the air and dangled them gently.

"Your Majesty, Lord Yan is in the Purple Palace requesting an audience."

The palace maid was tactful enough not to come in and say anything, but just listened from behind a door. When she heard people talking, Qi Xinglan became nervous and clasped her arms even tighter.

When she left his lips, the bright light pulled out a thread, and Qi Xinglan's eyes were also bright, "Is it my uncle?"

Hui Lin nodded, his chest heaving.

Qi Xinglan was still sitting on his lap, so she could sense something and asked him again, "What should we do?"

As he said this, he rubbed it playfully.

Hui Lin was stimulated and said helplessly: "Lan'er!"

He took Qi Xinglan's hand and rubbed it, "It's not decent to go out and see your uncle like this..."

"I'll have to trouble Lan'er."

Qi Xinglan agreed with a blushing face.

.......

Hui Lin left Lanquan Hall contentedly, but poor Qi Xinglan's fingers were still trembling in the hall.

After returning to Lin and going to the Zichen Palace, Qi Xinglan was naturally busy. She wanted to call Qi Chaoting to ask about her studies, but she found out that she was out playing with Yan Cheng again.

Qi Xinglan:......

Finally, he went to Chongyun Palace to talk to Queen Mother Wang.

The Queen Mother always treated him like her own son and would send good things to Lanquan Palace from time to time.

"Mother!"

When Qi Xinglan entered, the Queen Mother was holding a small white porcelain cup and drinking something. She noticed Qi Xinglan coming and asked someone to bring him a cup.

"This is rose cheese, freshly made in the kitchen. Lan'er, come and try it."

Qi Xinglan was very considerate and ate half of the bowl as soon as she sat down. "It's delicious! I knew I could eat good food when I follow my mother."

The Queen Mother was amused. "Your Majesty treats you better than A-Lin does. When you go back later, take the master who makes rose cheese here back to Lanquan Palace."

Qi Xinglan's eyes lit up, "Really? Thank you, mother!"

The Queen Mother also heard about what happened this morning. "Lord Zhao really doesn't know the rules. He even wants to put his hands into the King's harem. It's time to teach him a lesson."

"Mother, Lord Zhao is also thinking about Xiyuan. You don't have to be so angry."

"Mother, do you like children?"

How could the Queen Mother not know what Qi Xinglan meant? "The child can be born anywhere else. Why must we take the child back to Lin Sheng?"

"It is enough for me to watch the prosperity of the current generation of Xiyuan. Let the next generation think about the future."

"Mother..."

For a moment, Qi Xinglan even wanted to tell the Queen Mother that she was able to have children, but she couldn't help but worry in her heart that if the Queen Mother knew about this, she would change her mind.

In fact, Qi Xinglan himself doesn't like children, but if the royal court really needs a child, he is the queen of Xiyuan...

"Mother, I actually..."

Facing the Queen Mother's concerned gaze, who was afraid that something might happen to him, he was determined to tell the truth, "I can actually have children..."

When the Queen Mother heard this, she knew that this was no small secret. She glanced around and the palace maids immediately retreated.

"What's wrong?"

"Mother, I can give birth to a child, if you..."

"Lan'er, keep this to yourself and don't tell anyone from now on!"

Qi Xinglan was puzzled, and the Queen Mother saw this and lovingly smoothed his hair in front of his forehead.

"If anyone hears this, and this matter spreads throughout the court and the Western Capital, those ministers will definitely force you to have a child. They are all concerned about the Western Plains, and they will definitely not care about the body of a young boy like you."

"Whether you have children or not is your business. You can choose a younger child from the side branches of the Western Plains royal family and raise him by your side."

Qi Xinglan was so engrossed in listening that when he came to his senses he found his eyes were wet.

"Mother..."

"Why are you crying? Come on, go back quickly. Ah Lin will definitely go to Lanquan Hall to look for you after finishing his official duties. What if he can't find you?"

"Well, Lan'er will leave first."

Qi Xinglan calmed down and faced the Queen Mother with a cheerful expression again.

Of course, before leaving, he did not forget to go to the kitchen and bring back the chef who was best at making rose cheese.

—

Just as the Queen Mother said, when Qi Xinglan returned to Lanquan Palace, Hui Lin was already waiting for him.

When he saw Qi Xinglan coming back, he ordered someone to serve dinner. Qi Xinglan heard Hui Lin and the palace maids talking and realized that it was already time for dinner.

Only after Hui Lin finished giving the instructions did he have time to pull Qi Xinglan to take a closer look. Only then did he realize that Qi Xinglan's eyes were red and a little wet.

He reached out and wiped it off, trying to wipe off the wetness. "What's wrong? Why are you sad?"

Qi Xinglan did not tell him and sat down silently, "I just think that my mother is a very good person. She treats me very well, just like her own son."

Hui Lin breathed a sigh of relief, as if nothing happened.

"Mother has long treated you better than her own son, me."

Qi Xinglan looked at him, only to hear him say, "My mother told you when you first came with me to Xiyuan that your hometown is thousands of miles away, and you have no old acquaintances here except your sister Ting'er."

"Tell me to treat you well, not to let you suffer any injustice, and to let you stay here with peace of mind."

"She also said that you looked like you were raised by everyone in your family, and you still want me to treat you well and well when you get to Xiyuan."

"Otherwise she will be punished according to my family rules."

Qi Xinglan was stunned. He had never heard of these things before, whether it was Hui Lin or the Queen Mother.

"I..."

Hui Lin saw that Qi Xinglan was about to cry again under his nose, so he hurried to comfort her, and just as he caught up with Fu Wen who had brought up dinner.

The others didn't look around or listen to anything. After putting their things away, they turned around and left. Hui Lin took the opportunity to say, "Well, if you cry now, the palace people will think so. They will spread the news all over the palace. In the end, it might turn out that I was the one who made you cry."

"Besides...you're crying now, why are you crying at night?"

Qi Xinglan's eyes were red, but her tears had not fallen yet. She reached out and slapped him, though not hard. Then she pressed his hand against her chest and said, "Lan'er, feel my heart."

"I feel bad for you whenever you cry."

Qi Xinglan wanted to slap him again, "Then you still..."

Then why are you still going so far every night?

Seeing that the topic was about to develop in an uncontrollable direction, Qi Xinglan took a deep breath and withdrew her hand.

"Okay, let's eat."

"It seems that Lan'er wants to go to bed with me earlier..."

"Go back to the forest!"

"Lan'er, eat quickly?" Huilin picked up a small piece of beef and put it to Qixinglan's mouth.

Qi Xinglan opened her mouth and bit back.

He wasn't used to eating beef before, but now he finds it delicious.

Things are so unpredictable. While Hui Lin was picking up some food for herself, Qi Xinglan stole a glance at him again, as if she had already gotten used to having this person around.

The two of them ate slowly until the evening, and it was almost time to go to bed.

Hui Lin was much more restrained tonight. After asking for it once, he let Qi Xinglan slow down for a while.

"Lan'er, do you still want it?" He was asking Qi Xinglan, but there was no hint of negotiation in his tone.

This time he learned how to ask questions, but Qi Xinglan was so confused that she didn't know what to say in response.

It's not up to you to decide whether to do it or not.

"You...if I say I don't want it, you won't give it to me?"

Hui Lin leaned down again, "Of course not, I must give it to Lan'er."

"Give it all to Lan'er."

.......

After the two times, Qi Xinglan closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. After all, he couldn't bear it if it happened a third time.

Hui Lin saw through his little trick but didn't expose it. She just carried him to take a bath obediently.