Chapter 33

Before the 19th, Queen Mother Wang and others had actually asked Qi Xinglan whether she wanted to hold a birthday party, but no one knew whether Huilin could come back.

It was not until the day before that Qi Xinglan decided to say, "Mother, let's not do it this time."

We are in the midst of a war, so it would be bad to hold an extravagant banquet.

"That's good. There are still many days to come. Besides, Lan'er, your belly is getting bigger, so you shouldn't work too hard. There's no need to rush." ​​The Queen Mother patted Qi Xinglan's hand soothingly, but he clearly saw the tears in her eyes.

"Mother..."

"My mother will go back first. You must eat on time. Your health is the most important thing. Government affairs are secondary."

Qi Xinglan listened to the Queen Mother's advice and said in a half-coquettish tone: "I know, don't worry, mother, I'm an adult now."

"Then the Queen Mother is really gone?"

"Yeah." Qi Xinglan nodded obediently.

Even though the Queen Mother repeatedly told her not to send him off, Qi Xinglan still sent him to the palace gate.

The five and a half month pregnant belly wasn't that big, and Qi Xinglan didn't ask anyone to support her.

After entering the hall, Qi Xinglan lay down on the recliner again. She was busy dealing with the affairs of the previous dynasty all day long, and the time she had to rest every day could be counted on one hand.

Fortunately, the next day was the day when Lin Shengchen would return. Even though he was not in the royal court, all the ministers could still have a day off, and Qi Xinglan could also have a day off.

Qi Xinglan took the box on the desk, opened it and took out the peace locket inside. It was the one that the jade craftsman from the Princess's Mansion had helped make that day.

Originally, it was a birthday gift he wanted to give to Hui Lin, but unfortunately, it hasn't been received yet.

Although no one was there and the banquet was not a big one, Qi Xinglan still asked Fu Wen to have someone prepare a table of wine and food.

Even Qi Xinglan himself knew it in his heart, and he was also looking forward to Hui Lin's return.

But still no.

A table full of delicious food cannot be wasted, as the Queen Mother would definitely come. Qi Xinglan also made an exception and asked Fu Wen to eat together. Qi Chaoting even came uninvited, so the Lanquan Palace finally became a little lively.

However, the excitement died down in the middle of the night, and Qi Xinglan was the only one left in the room. He had clearly taken a shower and lay down on the bed, but he still hadn't fallen asleep.

Her belly grew bigger and bigger, causing Qi Xinglan's waist to ache and her legs to cramp from time to time. This could be said to be the most tiring time for Qi Xinglan since she grew up.

"I'll have to settle the score with him when he comes back," Qi Xinglan said to herself.

Qi Xinglan was half asleep and half awake at night. Occasionally he heard someone calling his name, but he did not wake up and thought he was just dreaming.

Having been busy with things for days, Qi Xinglan woke up naturally very early the next day. He opened his eyes and was actually aware that his vision was obstructed. He stretched out his hand and shook it, but the shadow was still there. Qi Xinglan suddenly realized that the shadow was a human figure.

The person is still asleep, and the voice is sticky: "Who is it......"

"Hiss..." Just as he was about to get up, his calf started to cramp because he had stayed out of the quilt and got in the cold in the middle of the night. He quickly reached out to touch it, but before his hand could touch it, a hand covered his leg and began to massage it.

A familiar voice echoed in my ears, "A person really can't take care of himself. I was right."

Tears fell before words, almost at the same time, Qi Xinglan rushed into his arms, crying and punching his shoulders, "Why did you come back so late!"

Hui Lin hugged him tightly, not knowing how to express her love for him and kissed his forehead lovingly, "I'm sorry... I made you worry."

When Fu Wen heard what was going on inside, she felt the same way and her eyes unconsciously became red.

The king came back very early, but he had to bathe and shave carefully before he dared to sit beside Qi Xinglan's bed. Fu Wen asked him why. Hui Lin was very sleepy and his voice was hoarse: "Lan'er can't stand the smell of blood."

Inside the house, Qi Xinglan had forgotten the pain from the calf cramps. She didn't know when the pain in her calves stopped on its own. Qi Xinglan sniffed and came out of his arms.

"Lan'er, have you been feeling miserable these days? Have you been crying secretly?"

Qi Xinglan curled her lips and whispered, "No."

"I really meant to make you worry. After being ambushed, I stayed in a hunter's house until I was almost healed. I kept the news a secret for fear of alerting the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu thought something had happened to me."

"If it weren't for this, we wouldn't be able to remove the Xiongnu nail all at once."

Qi Xinglan didn't care about these things. She just looked at Hui Lin's face and body carefully, wondering if he was seriously injured. "Is the injury serious? Is he recovering quickly?"

Hui Lin grabbed Qi Xinglan's hand, held it in his hand and kissed it carefully, "It's okay, everything is okay."

He then asked, "What about you? Did Fu Cao cause trouble to you? Did he listen to you? Did the ministers cause trouble? Did anyone take advantage of the opportunity to seize power and attack you?"

When Qi Xinglan heard this, she immediately remembered the account she was going to settle, and snorted, "Nonsense."

"I'm getting older and my belly is pressing on me, causing back pain and occasional calf cramps. He's always moving around in my belly, not at all at peace."

"I woke up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable, and I thought you were there too. I reached out and touched the other side, only to find that I was the only one in the room..."

As Qi Xinglan spoke, she couldn't help crying.

Hui Lin felt distressed when he heard this, but he also knew that no matter how much he said, it would be useless, so he could only hold the person back.

Qi Xinglan came over slowly and realized that this was not what Hui Lin wanted to see, so she said, "Okay, it's all right. I just said it suddenly because I remembered it. Don't feel guilty."

After saying that, she pulled her hand out and searched for the buttons on her pajamas. When Hui Lin was about to ask him what happened, Qi Xinglan exposed her belly.

"As a father, you haven't seen him for a long time. You probably don't know that he can move. Do you want to... listen to his movements?"

Huilin couldn't get what he wanted, so he bent down and followed the posture of the orchids walking in parallel.

Qi Xinglan was white, all over her body, including her belly, which was now bulging due to the growing baby. Hui Lin gently put his hand on her, moving so gently as if he was afraid of scaring the baby. Qi Xinglan was anxious and just pressed down on him.

"He's not that fragile...Don't look at me, look at him."

Hui Lin did as he was told. In fact, he probably didn't hear anything, but in order to make Qi Xinglan happy, Yingshi nodded and said he heard it, "He said hello to me."

Qi Xinglan knew he was pretending, so she just smiled and ignored him.

When Huilin was about to stand up, he suddenly felt a bulge on one side of his belly. He had never seen anything like this before, so he asked in panic, "Is this... is this normal?"

Qi Xinglan was speechless, but still answered in a gentle voice: "Yes, it happened many times before you came back."

He then asked, "When he moves like this, do you feel uncomfortable, Lan'er?"

As he spoke, he stood up and put Qi Xinglan's clothes on carefully.

"Hmm? It's not uncomfortable, it's just... I feel it." Qi Xinglan said truthfully, not knowing the meaning of his question.

I only heard him say sincerely: "Thank you, Lan'er, you have worked so hard."

Qi Xinglan felt sad when she heard this, "His father is the one who is tired, he has been out there building his empire."

Qi Xinglan then remembered to ask, "Have you not rested for a long time?"

Hui Lin's eyes were dark blue and his brows were full of fatigue.

Without waiting for him to say anything, Qi Xinglan stood up and said, "I'm going to wash up. You should lie down and have a good sleep first, then we can talk about other things."

Hui Lin didn't let him go, she took his hand and sat him on her lap, "No hurry."

"ah?"

Qi Xinglan didn't have time to figure out what he meant before she was caught and kissed carefully.

The two bodies that had not touched for a long time almost ignited at the slightest touch.

"Hmm..."

The aura between the two people was almost entirely that of each other.

"Return to the forest..."

He looked at Qi Xinglan's body and knew that he was almost reaching his limit, so he let him go.

Qi Xinglan was upset and stared at him with watery eyes, but there was no intimidation at all.

"Okay, you should rest soon. I'm leaving." Qi Xinglan almost ran away.

The ministers also learned early in the morning that the king had led his army back in triumph, and thought they would be able to see the king during the court session today.

It turned out that the person who came was Qi Xinglan.

He glanced down and knew what they were thinking. "The king is tired and resting today. You can only see him tomorrow. Let me take his place today."

"Your Highness, I obey your orders."

"Then follow the old rules. If you have anything to say, please send the memorial to Lanquan Palace. I will leave first."

"Let's adjourn the court." Qi Xinglan said nothing more and adjourned the court in half an incense stick of time.

"Let's go back to Lanquan Palace."

*

After this battle, Xiyuan suffered a great blow, and the army will probably need some time to recuperate before recovering.

Therefore, He Fei began to think about the feasibility of starting an uprising at this time.

He immediately summoned the counselor.

"At this time, the West Plains are severely weakened and have no chance of winning against our He family army. This is a good time to start a war."

"But General, if Xiyuan and Nanjiang in the south join forces, then my Great Zhou's chances of winning are still only 50%."

"Southern Xinjiang is nothing to be afraid of." The latter stood up and analyzed the situation for He Feirang. "We should catch them off guard. Southern Xinjiang is far away, and distant water cannot quench nearby fire."

This was exactly what he wanted to say. "You are right."

"Huai Yang, do you want to tell me what you think?"

Seeing that He Fei was interested in raising his eldest son, the crowd also echoed, "What do you think, Mr. Huaiyang?"

"Young Master Huaiyang has been intelligent since he was young, so he can naturally get along better than you and I."

"Yeah yeah."

He Yin stood aside, his bewildered expression seen by everyone.

"Father, I...I can't really explain it."

"Everything will be decided by you and the other gentlemen." He Fei was about to scold him when He Yin went out.

"This kid!"

"General, don't be angry. The young master is a thoughtful person. He will understand your good intentions as a father." They all laughed along.

He Fei glared at the door where no one was seen for a long time, then sat down again with his sleeves brushed. "Forget it, let's not talk about him anymore, let's continue."

*

Whatever was said here was sent to Shen Fuxuan word for word.

The letter, which had been encrypted by Shen Fuxuan, was then sent to the royal court of Xiyuan.

"Is He Fei finally going to take action?" Qi Xinglan came to this conclusion after reading it.

He turned around and asked Hui Lin, who had already rested, "Are you prepared for this?"

When Qi Xinglan saw that Hui Lin was not nervous at all, she knew that they were sure to win again this time.

"I have already communicated with Nanjiang. They will send troops to help us in Xiyuan at the critical moment. As for Shen Fuxuan, I have also asked him to find evidence..."

"What evidence?"

Hui Lin took Qi Xinglan's hand and said, "I need to borrow Lan'er's name now."

Qi Xinglan looked puzzled, frowning, obviously not understanding. She only heard him say, "Hasn't Lan'er always wanted to avenge her father-in-law and mother-in-law?"

Qi Xinglan understood immediately and asked in surprise, "You mean you asked Shen Fuxuan to help you collect evidence?"

Hui Lin nodded, "But... I actually had some intention of taking advantage of this matter..."

Qi Xinglan patted his shoulder and said, "It's just a small matter. We are husband and wife, and you should do whatever you want."

He thought further, "At worst, it would be a good excuse to start a war. The people of Xiyuan would think that I seduced you and you would avenge me regardless of the military strength of Xiyuan."

Seeing that Hui Lin didn't say anything, he knew that he had guessed right. Qi Xinglan raised his eyebrows and asked, "Did I guess right?"

Qi Xinglan raised her chin and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as that bad guy He Fei can be taught a lesson, I can do anything."

He then remembered that Xiyuan had just experienced a big battle, and now he didn't know if he could fight another one.

He thought of his brother and sister-in-law who had long since distanced themselves from the dispute, and who were probably eager to avenge his adoptive father. If at this moment...

"How about I give my brother and his wife another letter of divorce and persuade him to join my Xiyuan Army as a general?"

"...who?"

Qi Xinglan slapped her head and remembered that she had never told Hui Lin that he didn't know who Wei and Wen Jiayu were.

"My father adopted a son named Bu Yiwei. Later, my father was wronged and he left the army in anger."

"Later, I built a stronghold, but I didn't want to be recruited by the imperial court, so I disbanded it. From then on, I wandered around the world. I really didn't tell you that?"

Hui Lin recalled that when Qi Xinglan was rescued from the assassination, he did keep talking to him about brother and sister-in-law. He thought Qi Xinglan just recognized her because she saved him. Unexpectedly...

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Qi Xinglan bit her finger guiltily, "Uh... don't you know it now? It's... not too late."

Hui Lin agreed with him: "Well, it's not too late. You can tell me when the baby is born and you want to take him to them."

Qi Xinglan knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't argue with him. She lowered her voice and said, "Oh, I know I was wrong. Pregnancy makes women stupid for three years. I just forgot. So I write a letter now? Is it too late?"

......

The letter was written very quickly and someone delivered it that evening. I would receive a reply the next day.

When Hui Lin saw Qi Xinglan had nothing to do, he reached out and picked her up and walked towards the bed.

"Hui Lin, what are you going to do..." Qi Xinglan panicked.

"Don't mess around. I'm telling you, I'm heavy. You can try to make me fall."

"Don't worry, you won't fall. I was just thinking, Lan'er, haven't we been intimate for a long time?"

Hui Lin's words made Qi Xinglan blush, and he kissed her as soon as he put her on the bed.

"You... um..."

The feeling of exchanging breaths between lovers is so overwhelming that one cannot help but feel lost.

I don't know who untied whose belt, nor who hugged whose shoulders.

Hui Lin stretched out his hand and pulled the curtain, and all of a sudden, the entangled figures of the two people became charming under the reflection of the curtain.

Fu Wen, who was guarding outside the door, heard the noise and consciously asked the people downstairs to prepare water.

I just hope that the king will take Her Majesty the Queen's health into consideration and not go too far.

Inside the house, Hui Lin Zong was extremely furious, and he also knew that Qi Xinglan's body was different from usual. He was about to get it out by himself, but Qi Xinglan grabbed his retreating shoulders.

Qi Xinglan hooked him and said, "I heard from the imperial physician that even men can have sex during the second trimester of pregnancy, but they need to pay attention..."

Before Qi Xinglan could finish her words, she was kissed.

While tossing and turning, Hui Lin twisted Qi Xinglan's lips with his thumb, "Does that mean you want Lan'er to sit up?"

......

Afterwards, Qi Xinglan had fallen asleep, and half of the people returned to Lin Huaili.

Hui Lin was tucking him in when he noticed a box on the cabinet beside him. He took it with great effort without waking Qi Xinglan and opened it gently.

It is a bracelet woven with red rope, with a peace locket made of extremely transparent jade in the middle.

He took it out and compared it carefully. He knew Qi Xinglan very well. Lan'er's wrist was very thin. This bracelet must not have been made for him. It could only be...

When I returned to the forest, I remembered that my birthday seemed to have just passed.

He was so happy that he put it on himself. He turned around and saw Qi Xinglan sleeping peacefully in his arms.

Hui Lin's hands were busy, he pinched the soft flesh on the side of Qi Xinglan's face and kissed the corner of Qi Xinglan's mouth.

"What should I do, my dear Lan'er?" His voice was very clear in the empty room, but it was not enough to wake up the sleeping Qi Xinglan.

*

Great Zhou.

"Your servant, Shen Tinghan, will today redress the injustice done to General Qi Liang who was executed long ago." Shen Fuxuan knelt before the old emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the memorial he presented with both hands had already been delivered to the emperor by the eunuchs.

"Shen Fuxuan, are you trying to question me?" The emperor was angry, his voice was hoarse and had lost some of the oppressive feeling of power.

"I have absolutely no such intention, but Your Majesty thinks that if you can honestly admit your mistakes in front of tens of millions of people, it will show the world that you are a virtuous emperor who treats his subjects well."

Seeing that the emperor was silent and looked as if he was in deep thought, Shen Fuxuan glanced at the eunuch beside him, who nodded almost imperceptibly, so he continued speaking.

"I know that in the face of such a thing, anyone would be embarrassed, let alone Your Majesty. But you only need to write a few words to express your apology to the Qi family, and you will have the opportunity to be recorded in history. Your Majesty, the time will not come again."

The old emperor was not stupid. He knew that the people had long been resentful of him, and uprisings were breaking out everywhere, which he could never suppress.

if...

He looked at Shen Fuxuan, who was kneeling with his back straight. He knew that all the Shen family members were upright.

After a while, he said, "Fuxuan, you go back first. I will...take care of it myself."

"I obey your command." Shen Fuxuan stood up and left.

On the way back, the followers around me asked about the situation.

"It seems to have been done, but the emperor must be planning to kill me."

"Ah? Why does His Majesty want to kill you? If he wants to kill someone, it should be... that person." The followers didn't understand.

Shen Fuxuan smiled, "But I'm afraid he won't have the chance to kill me."

A secret informant reported that the old emperor did not have much time left.

The followers asked again, but Shen Fuxuan just smiled and said nothing, refusing to say anything more.

*

At the end of that month, the Emperor of the Great Zhou issued an imperial edict.

It explained that Qi Liang's family, who had been wrongly convicted before, had been framed, but the culprit was not mentioned in the imperial edict.

Mid-October.

King Xiyuan declared war on the Great Zhou.

The family of Queen Xiyuan suffered this misfortune and were unjustly destroyed. Even if there is an imperial decree to redress the injustice, what is the use? The person is gone.

Nishihara used this as an excuse to start a war.

The reason was actually a bit far-fetched, and everyone could see what was going on, but the people of Xiyuan didn't understand it.

There have been rumors among the people these days that although Her Majesty the Queen is a man, she was able to confuse the King and make him declare war on the Great Zhou despite the weakness of the Western Plains' military strength.

What's more, some people say that the reason Qi Xinglan was willing to have a child was to win the king's heart.