Chapter 23

Qi Xinglan mounted the horse and pulled the reins to turn.

"Let's go!" Qi Xinglan said, squeezing the horse's belly with her calves and directing the horse to return the same way. Her movements were so smooth that you wouldn't be able to tell that she was a pregnant woman.

Hui Lin saw that Qi Xinglan was indeed not feeling unwell, so he followed her with peace of mind.

While the group was rushing back, a few people gathered in the study of Prince Ning's Mansion in Xidu City.

"Your Majesty, should we reply to the East immediately?"

The person sitting in the main seat was thinking about the letter that had just been sent to him by express delivery eight hundred miles away, while subconsciously turning the gold and jade ring on his thumb with his left hand.

Prince Ning took a long while to make a decision: "Not yet. Since the assassination failed, let's just watch my good nephew catch the murderer."

Thinking of the news of the failed assassination attempt from the hunting ground, King Ning asked the counselor, "Have we dealt with all the people?"

The young strategist to the right of his desk stood up and showed a worry-free expression to the person in the main seat, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Whether any of our people come back alive or not, there will be no substantial evidence to prove that it was us who gave the order."

Prince Ning nodded, "In that case, then everyone here can go home. If the king of Japan can accomplish great things..."

He didn't say the rest, but everyone understood what he meant and then left respectfully.

—

The journey from the hunting grounds to the Western Capital was already long, and the ride on the horse was quite bumpy, so halfway through the journey Hui Lin refused to let Qi Xinglan ride the horse by herself.

"Lan'er, I'll help you down. You walk with me. It's such a long distance and your waist will be tired. You'll be the one who suffers."

Hui Lin's expression was serious for once. Although Qi Xinglan still didn't feel anything was wrong, she still dismounted obediently. Hui Lin had already dismounted and was waiting for her.

Seeing Qi Xinglan coming over, she reached out to him.

"I don't need anyone's help to get on the horse..." He muttered, but his hand reached out subconsciously.

After Qi Xinglan got on the horse and sat firmly, Hui Lin followed, leaning forward to get close to Qi Xinglan's back.

The familiar breath of the man surrounded him. Qi Xinglan moved her body, not knowing what to do, but Hui Lin got closer to her, and when he was free, he would pretend to kiss Qi Xinglan on the cheek casually.

"You...they are all beside us!" Qi Xinglan couldn't even think about what would happen if someone saw this and spread it around the royal court.

"Don't be afraid, they are far away. Besides, isn't it natural for me to kiss you?"

Qi Xinglan knew she couldn't argue with him, so she simply kept silent.

Fortunately, we moved quickly and arrived at the royal court of Western Capital at noon.

Both of their horses were led back by special personnel. Hui Lin accompanied Qi Xinglan back to Lanquan Palace. Fu Wen had received the news long ago and was waiting in the palace. Fu Tuan in her arms had a keen sense of hearing and jumped down before Fu Wen saw anyone.

Before Fu Wen could chase them, the two men arrived in front of her, so she didn't care about anything else and bowed to greet them first.

"Get up, let's go in quickly."

Fu Tuan was rubbing against Qi Xinglan's feet. Qi Xinglan wanted to bend down to pick up the cat, but Hui Lin got there first.

"I don't usually see you like Fu Tuan so much, why are you so close to it today?"

Hui Lin held its chin with his hand, and the cat made a comfortable "gulp gulp" sound. He pinched the loose fur on the back of its neck with his big hands and put it aside, "I'm afraid it will scratch you."

Futuan was released just when he was feeling comfortable, and he meowed in confusion.

Qi Xinglan's hands itched after seeing this, so she could only reach out and touch its head.

"When will I tell everyone about my pregnancy?"

The belly won’t hide, and this day will come sooner or later, so it’s better to think of a solution early.

"You people in the Central Plains, don't you believe that the first three months of pregnancy cannot be made public, otherwise it will... offend the fetal god?"

Qi Xinglan thought about it and it seemed to be true, "But this is in Xiyuan, so we don't have to follow the customs there completely."

Hui Lin shook his head firmly, "No, I'll just listen to you. What if it's really bad for you and the child?"

Qi Xinglan found his expression and tone funny and asked him again, "Am I really that important?"

Hui Lin said nothing after hearing this and held the man in his arms. In this position, Qi Xinglan seemed to be able to hear the man's heartbeat and feel his warm chest.

"That's beyond doubt, Lan'er."

Qi Xinglan was laughing secretly in her heart, but soon someone grabbed her shoulders and asked her venomously, "Then to be fair, Lan'er, can you tell me why you like me?"

Qi Xinglan's eyes flickered, and she wanted to escape immediately, but she saw Hui Lin staring at her, so she had to straighten her back and tell the truth, "I just like you now, what's wrong?"

His tone was very domineering, but his face had already turned red.

Hui Lin was very happy, and gently pinched the soft flesh on his cheeks, then hugged him again, "In fact, I realized that you liked me before you did, even earlier than you did."

"What do you mean?"

Hui Lin recounted the past events again, "When I first brought you back, you appeared willing to marry me, but in reality you always obeyed me. I also know that you must have regarded me as the King of Xiyuan, better than your husband."

"Maybe he just sees me as someone he can use to avenge his family in the future..."

Qi Xinglan listened quietly and actually heard a hint of grievance in his tone.

"It's the same on the bed. Even though you say no..." While Hui Lin was talking, he still had one free hand to hold down Qi Xinglan's hand that was pinching his ribs.

"But in reality, no matter how many times I ask for it, you will never refuse me. Unless you really reach your limit, you will cry and beg for mercy—"

"But I've rarely had you beg me like this before."

As Qi Xinglan listened to his words, the smile on her face gradually disappeared and her expression became more and more serious.

"What about now?" Qi Xinglan asked.

"Now..." It seemed that Hui Lin had been thinking hard for a long time and found that he could not seem to find any difference between Qi Xinglan and the person sitting on the bed.

When two people are in tune with each other, they will naturally be immersed in love. Who would take the time to remember those things?

The only thing she will remember is the return trip to Lin that her husband disliked at the beginning.

But there must be some clues, and he still thought of some.

"Recently at night, Lan'er seems to be quite proactive and dares to stop at will, not caring about my physical feelings at all."

Qi Xinglan finally laughed again and punched him in the chest.

But Hui Lin was pretending to be in pain, but when she looked down at him she found that his eyes were red, as if tears were about to well up at any moment.

Qi Xinglan knew that Hui Lin had seen his appearance, so she snuggled into his arms again, with Hui Lin's warm big hand caressing her back to comfort her.

"In that case... let's go back to Lin and live a good life from now on."

When Hui Lin heard this, his body suddenly stiffened and he hugged Qi Xinglan tightly again.

"You can't regret it."

Because of this sentence, he actually waited for quite a long time.

The atmosphere was ambiguous. The sun of this season shone through the window, making the room feel warm. Hui Lin couldn't help it and rubbed Qi Xinglan's cheek and kissed her gently again and again.

The two people's breath was intertwined with each other, seemingly the same as before, but also a little different.

Qi Xinglan was not satisfied with just being kissed on the face, so she boldly took advantage of Hui Lin's support and kissed him directly by tilting her neck.

In such a good atmosphere, if his husband had not been pregnant with their child, he would have rushed back to Lin just like he did every time before.

child...

Hui Lin remembered this and finally let go of Qi Xinglan, "Why don't you kiss me anymore?"

Hui Lin suppressed his impulse and talked about serious matters with others.

"Lan'er," he said, glancing at Qi Xinglan's belly, "Let's first think about a nickname for the child."

Qi Xinglan thought about it, and immediately came up with an idea, "Why bother? Just call it Fucao."

Hui Lin: "......"

"Lan'er, our child...is of the same generation as the Futuan..."

Qi Xinglan rolled her eyes at him and said, "Then Fu Wen has the word 'Fu' in it, just for good luck. Besides, I raised Fu Tuan and Fu Cao, too, so how can they not belong to the same generation?"

"Anyway, Xiyuan doesn't have the complicated rules like the Great Zhou where you can't violate this name or that name, so it doesn't matter what you choose, right?"

Hui Lin was busy trying to make Qi Xinglan happy, and after only a short struggle he finally accepted the nickname for their unborn child.

Hui Lin thought to herself, "Forget it, kid. Let me make your mom happy first. When you're born, I'll definitely give you a nice name."

—

Although they had agreed not to make the news public before Xiao Fucao was three months old, someone like Fu Wen who served her closely must know about it. Also, the doctors from the Imperial Hospital selected three veterans to stay with Qi Xinglan during her pregnancy.

"Her Majesty the Queen is pregnant!"

Fu Wen never dreamed that one day she would be summoned by the king alone.

The purpose of summoning her was to make her take good care of the pregnant Queen at all costs!

"Your Majesty, is it Her Majesty the Queen who...took the initiative to get the young master?"

Hui Lin raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He wanted the whole royal court to know about this. "Yes, Lan'er took the initiative to ask for it."

This is quite surprising, but Fu Wen thinks that nothing is more surprising than the fact that Her Majesty the Queen is willing to use fertility drugs.

But this is not their business.

"Yes, I will do my best to take good care of Her Majesty the Queen and the Little Prince."

Then there is the Queen Mother of Chongyun Palace. She will have grandchildren soon. How can a grandmother not know about it?

But this matter was too serious, so the two decided to go together to "Bear the Confession and Apologize" tomorrow.

......

The Queen Mother waited for a long time yesterday but the two did not come to Chongyun Palace to report their safety. She also heard that they were assassinated. It was too dangerous.

The palace maids nearby advised the Queen Mother that the fact that the King and Queen had not come here must have meant that they were safe. If something had really happened, the news would have been passed on long ago.

The Queen Mother naturally hoped so, but she could not rule out the possibility that they were deliberately deceiving an old woman like her.

Therefore, when Hui Lin Hao and Qi Xinglan arrived, they saw the Queen Mother sitting in the middle with a serious look, as if she was going to judge someone.