Chapter 34

"That's it?" Qi Xinglan stood up from the chair, holding her waist, with a nonchalant look on her face.

After Fu Wen finished talking about the public's comments about Qi Xinglan, she was so angry that she couldn't bear it anymore. She didn't expect Her Majesty the Queen to not care at all. "Your Highness, I am just angry. You are so kind but you are being slandered like that..."

Afterwards, Fu Wen took a half step forward and followed Qi Xinglan, "Otherwise... I will ask people to spread some clarification among the people..."

Before she could finish her words, Qi Xinglan paused and said, "No need. I had expected all this. It won't have any impact on me anyway. Let them say whatever they want."

Qi Xinglan glanced at Fu Wen after he finished speaking. The girl still had a frown on her face, and it was obvious that she was still angry, so he said, "Okay, help me. I'm so bloated that I feel very tired after just two steps."

“...Yeah.” Fu Wen reached out to help.

"Why didn't Miss Chao Ting come to see you today?"

Qi Xinglan finally lay down and took the water that Fu Wen had just poured. After thinking for a while, she realized, "This kid with a crooked elbow should have gone to Yan Cheng to say goodbye to him. After all, there will be another war soon."

Qi Xinglan recalled her listless look before she left, and said with a smile, "She was so upset after she knew there was going to be a war, no one could persuade her, wait till she reaches the age of marriage in two years, and I will marry her off as soon as possible."

"Although Miss Chao Ting is already thirteen, she still has the mentality of a child. It is inevitable that she will worry about something like this that has to do with war."

Fu Wen squeezed his calf, which was prone to cramps, and asked him, "Your Highness, why are you not worried about the king's safety this time?"

Thinking of He Fei's military strength, Qi Xinglan couldn't help but sneer: "Compared with the Xiongnu, the Great Zhou's military strength is simply not up to par."

Even though Qi Xinglan had been warning Hui Lin not to underestimate the enemy, they all knew that conquering the Great Zhou seemed to be an easy task.

Fu Wen seemed to understand, so she lowered her head and concentrated on massaging Qi Xinglan's legs.

In the evening, Huilin came back very late again.

Qi Xinglan felt heavy, but she still insisted on going into the bathroom alone, but there had to be someone guarding outside just in case.

There was a burst of intense water sounds, and soon after, Qi Xinglan came out dressed.

When he came out, he was still wondering why there was no one there. When he took two steps outside, he found that the person guarding had been replaced by Hui Lin.

Qi Xinglan asked in confusion: "You came back a little early today?"

Hui Lin went over to hug him and said, "Because we have to go to war tomorrow, I told them to go back and rest early."

He took over Fu Wen's previous role, holding Qi Xinglan's arm and carrying her to the bed.

Qi Xinglan pushed him and urged him, "Then you should go wash up and go to bed as soon as you come back. Tomorrow... I want to see you off..."

Hui Lin shook her head, leaned over and kissed him gently, "Don't go, I don't know how long it will take you to come back. By the time I come back, I'm afraid you won't even have the baby, I won't be able to bear it..."

Qi Xinglan was very adamant about this. "No! Last time you went to war, I didn't even hear a sound. If I miss it again this time, I might not have this opportunity again in the future."

If we win this time, we probably won't have to fight many wars in the future.

Without waiting for Hui Lin to speak, Qi Xinglan turned around and insisted, "I have to go anyway, don't worry about it."

Seeing that he was pouting, Huilin had no other choice but to go along with him and reminded him, "Then put on more clothes. It's cold in the morning."

Qi Xinglan turned around and was happy. She pushed him and urged him to go wash up. Her voice was sweet, which was rare. "Then my husband, please come back soon. I'm very sleepy. I want to hold you to sleep tonight."

These words made his heart itchy. He went back to Lin and remembered Qi Xinglan's instructions, and washed faster than usual.

Hui Lin was still steaming after taking a shower. After lying on the bed, Qi Xinglan first protected her belly and found a good position, and then happily held Hui Lin's waist.

Qi Xinglan closed her eyes and smiled, "Husband, let's go to sleep."

It's not that easy to fall asleep. Huilin won't allow that.

Qi Xinglan hadn't felt Hui Lin's movements since she finished speaking. Just when he opened his eyes to look at him, her slightly open mouth was penetrated by his tongue.

"Hmm..."

......

Before Hui Lin had enough fun, Qi Xinglan slapped his arm violently, forcing him to let go of Qi Xinglan.

"What's wrong?" Hui Lin asked, while carefully wiping the corner of Qi Xinglan's mouth.

Qi Xinglan's face was indescribably red. She hesitated for a long time before she pointed at her belly and said, "Just now, when you kissed me... the baby moved..."

Seeing this, Hui Lin wrapped the man up again, no longer caring about laughing, and explained to Qi Xinglan in a forced tone: "It must be that Fu Cao knows that his father and mother love each other very much, and even he applauds for us."

Qi Xinglan slapped him in anger and said with red ears, "Not serious."

Hui Lin kissed his forehead again. When Qi Xinglan looked at him again, her eyes became serious. "Then Lan'er, let me talk about something serious now. Have you heard what people say about you..."

"I know." Before Hui Lin finished speaking, Qi Xinglan knew what he wanted to ask.

"That--"

"So what? They just said a few words, and what they said was all lies. I won't lose a piece of meat, so why are you feeling sad?" Qi Xinglan asked him calmly.

Hui Lin didn't look relieved at all, "How could I not feel sad..."

Qi Xinglan said to him, "You are useless. What's the problem? At most, they will know what happened after the war is over. I will not be scolded for my whole life."

The illiterate people don't know that this is the best time to attack the Great Zhou, but there must be a few educated people who understand it and will clear his name sooner or later.

Qi Xinglan hugged him tightly and patted his chest with her other hand, "Okay, don't think about it, go to sleep quickly!"

"...good."

"Then you should hold me!"

All I heard was a burst of crickets. "Are you holding me tight enough?"

"...Just barely."

**

The next day, Qi Xinglan dressed in the queen's gorgeous clothes, with her hands on her waist, stood in front of the royal court to see the army off.

Hui Lin saw that he was smiling, and even from a distance she could tell that he was looking at her. Hui Lin's heart moved, and she dismounted and walked over, hugging Qi Xinglan without waiting for her reaction.

Qi Xinglan didn't understand why, but she subconsciously leaned close to his chest and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Lin Que smiled back. Qi Xinglan could not see him smile, but she could feel his trembling. She only heard him say in her ear: "Actually, there is nothing wrong. I just want to tell you that when I come back, I will take you to Shangjing City to be my queen."

Only the two of them could hear these words. Qi Xinglan felt a lump in her throat for some reason, but she said something completely unrelated to what she was thinking, "That's more like it."

Hui Lin realized his stubbornness, let him go, turned around and went back, and the army officially left.

After everyone had left, Fu Wen came up from behind and saw Qi Xinglan staring at the direction the army was leaving. She asked, "Your Highness, what did the king say just now?"

Qi Xinglan's eyes did not move, but she said, "Well, he said... he wanted me to be the queen."

Fu Wen then asked him how he felt, "Is Your Highness moved?"

Qi Xinglan shook her head and said, "It's not touching, it's heart-throb."

"It's really cold here, Fuwen, let's go back."

**

Qi Xinglan returned to Lanquan Hall but did not rest first, but sat in the main hall waiting.

"Your Highness, are you waiting for someone?"

Fu Wen doesn't know who will come today.

Qi Xinglan just nodded, her eyes fixed on the door, muttering: "Why hasn't he arrived yet..."

The next second, Qi Xinglan saw the person coming and shouted, "Sister-in-law!"

Fu Wen saw Qi Xinglan's expression change from anxiety to joy. She looked outside in the direction of Qi Xinglan's gaze and saw a young man in blue walking in.

He started by paying his respects, but it was the Great Zhou etiquette that Fu Wen could not understand. She didn't know that Wen Jiayu was from the Great Zhou and had not come into contact with too many people from Xiyuan.

Although she didn't know him, Fuwen still followed suit.

Wen Jiayu nodded to her, and Fu Wen was so stunned that she was speechless.

Seeing Fu Wen like this, Qi Xinglan didn't ask her to leave.

Qi Xinglan stood up quickly, and Wen Jiayu hurried to help her up, "Lan'er, how many months are you pregnant?"

Qi Xinglan remembered clearly: "It's already seven months."

"Sister-in-law, please sit down. I thought you were going to come yesterday and I have been waiting for you."

"Nonwei left this morning. He asked me to accompany him until today."

Qi Xinglan nodded, then realized that it was impolite, and said to Fu Wen: "Fu Wen, go serve tea to... the general's husband——"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

Qi Xinglan only saw Jiayu smile softly and touch her belly again, "You probably can't drink tea when you have a child."

Fu Wen saw that Qi Xinglan was happier than Wen Jiayu. If she wasn't so heavy, she estimated that Qi Xinglan could jump up. "Really? That's great! The two children were born at about the same time, so they can be playmates when they grow up."

"Fuwen, go get someone to cook something for a pregnant woman to drink." Qi Xinglan thought for a moment and added, "Go get Ting'er too."

"Yes, Your Highness." Fu Wen also went out.

After being happy, Qi Xinglan thought of asking something else, "Sister-in-law, when did you... take the fertility medicine?"

"Not long ago, Bu Wei had a big fight with me about this. Seeing that I was already pregnant, he agreed reluctantly. In Xiyuan...it seems that fertility drugs are not very popular."

Qi Xinglan also knew that there were very few couples with children on the street.

In comparison, it was more common in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"I don't know why. Maybe it's just that men in Xiyuan generally can't accept it?"

Wen Jiayu thought about what he had seen and heard before, "Maybe there are fewer cases of love between men in Xiyuan."

"Brother!" Qi Chaoting came here as soon as he received the news and now appeared in the main hall of Lanquan Palace.

Although Wen Jiayu didn't know Qi Chaoting, she knew that this was her adoptive father's little daughter. "Is this Chaoting?"

Qi Chaoting then noticed the person sitting next to him, and asked Qi Xinglan with shining eyes: "Brother, who is this? It's so beautiful!"

Wen Jiayu laughed at the compliment. Qi Xinglan pulled him over and introduced him to her: "This is Wen Jiayu. You can just call him...sister-in-law."

"Sister-in-law..." Qi Chaoting was puzzled, "Then my brother is..."

Qi Xinglan understood her look, which seemed to say: It can't be you? My brother-in-law just left and you found a new one and brought him to the royal court openly?

He poked Qi Chaoting's head and explained the matter to her again in detail, thus clearing up the misunderstanding.

There are not many people in the royal court now. Qi Xinglan is too pregnant to read the memorials anymore, so when she returns to Lin, she lets Yan Ziping take over the government temporarily.

Originally they wanted Liang Yin to come, but several generals wanted him to accompany the army as a military advisor.

Therefore, Qi Xinglan was very bored every day, and he would live in boredom until the day before the end of the war.

Wen Jiayu lived in the remaining side hall. In order to avoid wasting food, the three of them had lunch and dinner together.

After dinner, he was free again and had nothing to do, so Qi Xinglan took a shower early and went to bed.

Because his calf was cramping again, the older female official who was good at massage and who was prepared by Hui Lin for him was already massaging him.

"Your Highness, how do you usually solve the problem at night?" the lady-in-waiting asked as she pressed on him.

Qi Xinglan thought of every night before and couldn't help but touch the tip of her nose, "Um... Hui Lin always gave me the massage."

The lady-in-waiting was a little surprised, but she just said, "You and the king have a very good relationship."

She had also heard that ever since the king married Her Majesty the Queen, the Hengyi Palace where he had lived since he was a child had become a decoration.

Qi Xinglan was a little embarrassed and could only find something to say. He looked at Fu Wen beside him and said, "Why don't you let the person next to me learn massage techniques? She is young and inexperienced, but I am still used to her staying by my side at night."

Fu Wen hurriedly stepped forward and saluted the female official.

The elderly lady-in-waiting took one look at her and called her to her side.

"Come here, girl. The massage starts from here and goes upwards..."

"Fuwen understands. Please continue."

"then..."