Chapter 6

Qi Xinglan paused for a moment, not deciding to reveal his identity right at the beginning, so he straightened his clothes, sat down, and said slowly: "I was picked up by the king during the battle with the Huns. I am just an attendant."

The man snorted and said, "I heard that the king fell in love with a young man from the Central Plains at first sight when he was on the expedition, and he was determined to marry him no matter what. I haven't seen him yet, have you?"

Yan Ziping did not think that the person his nephew liked was the young man in front of him, and he indeed treated him as a servant, trying to find out something from him.

Qi Xinglan looked at him strangely, guessing that he was related to Hui Lin, otherwise his tone would have sounded so familiar.

"Of course I have seen him. That young man is truly a beautiful and charming man, with a face as beautiful as a pine tree and a graceful demeanor. He is absolutely worthy of our king, so you don't have to worry, my lord!"

Qi Xinglan did not even blush when she praised herself and never stopped.

Yan Ziping glanced at Qi Xinglan, and it seemed that he did not agree with what he said. He said with dissatisfaction, "She is indeed good-looking. If she had not wanted to marry someone, she would have wiped out the Xiongnu by now."

Qi Xinglan originally just wanted to chat with him casually, but when it came to the Xiongnu, Qi Xinglan couldn't help but become serious again, "Sir, that's not what you said!"

"Although the Xiongnu are a small country, their cavalry are fierce. Even in the heyday of the Zhou Dynasty, the most powerful generals of Qi could only barely defeat the Xiongnu. Now that Xiyuan has just risen to power and the country is not yet rich, it is enough for us in Xiyuan to defeat the Xiongnu."

"Perhaps the Xiongnu have been badly wounded this time. How can Xiyuan be any better? How can they hold on to the end?"

Qi Xinglan's words made him speechless. Yan Ziping hesitated for a long time before asking, "Boy, what's your name?"

With such a smart and eloquent person around, his nephew would definitely notice it.

Only then did Qi Xinglan smile and explain her name, "Qi Xinglan."

Yan Ziping stroked his beard with his right hand. He had originally thought that he would remember the name and tell it to Hui Lin when he came back, but the more he thought about it, the more familiar the name became.

"Orchids walking in a row...Orchids walking in a row?"

"Are you Qi Xinglan?"

Yan Ziping finally remembered! Qi Xinglan was the name of his future niece-in-law!

Qi Xinglan raised her chin and nodded with a proud look, "Yes..."

Without waiting for Qi Xinglan to say anything, Hui Lin walked in.

He first saw Qi Xinglan sitting there, and was about to hug him and kiss him with a smile, but when he took another step inside, he saw his uncle sitting on a chair near the inside.

Only then did he straighten his expression and called out "Uncle".

Then he pulled Qi Xinglan up again, "Uncle, this is Lan'er, you should know him."

Yan Ziping looked at Qi Xinglan meaningfully, and the latter looked back at him without feeling guilty. Yan Ziping then said to Hui Lin, "I just came to take a look. Now that everything is fine, I should leave. Just call me when you get married in a few days."

Hui Lin realized that the two of them must have talked about something he didn't know about when he was not around.

"Okay, uncle, take care."

After Yan Ziping left, he actually pulled Qi Xinglan all the way to his original office seat and sat down, and then pressed Qi Xinglan on his legs. At this time, he felt a little embarrassed and had no time to pay attention to the action. He just said guiltily: "That...that's your uncle..."

"Yes, he is also Yan Cheng's father. What did you say? Did he treat you badly after he found out your identity..."

"No!" Qi Xinglan looked up and saw Hui Lin looking at him with an expression that seemed to show that he was afraid he had been wronged. He then explained, "No, maybe he is quite satisfied with me..."

Hui Lin didn't ask him any more questions, but just gently hugged Qi Xinglan's waist, rested his chin on his shoulder again, and stroked his waist from time to time with his hands.

As long as Lan'er is not wronged, he doesn't care about anything else.

"Lan'er, the Ministry of Rites is very fast. Three days later will be an auspicious day. Are you willing to..."

"I do!" Before he could finish his words, Qi Xinglan hugged him.

He no longer had a home, and the traditional three books and six ceremonies of the Central Plains were no longer necessary. Qi Xinglan had heard that there were not so many red tapes in Western Plains, which was actually the best case scenario.

Hui Lin was somewhat flattered upon hearing this, and looked at Qi Xinglan happily, his hands so strong that he almost broke his waist, "Lan'er, are you really willing?"

Qi Xinglan replied in a bored tone, "Really? Your Majesty, are you relieved?"

Seeing Hui Lin still didn't say anything, Qi Xinglan started to think again. She struggled to get out of his arms and called out tentatively, "Husband?"

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and the next moment, Qi Xinglan was suddenly carried away by someone. After only a few steps, she was placed on the couch where Hui Lin often took naps in the Zichen Palace.

Qi Xinglan was put on and tried to get up again, but was pushed down by someone. The man's shadow loomed over her, and she was frightened so much that her heart started beating wildly.

Qi Xinglan swallowed her saliva and put her hands on his chest to try to keep some distance. Looking at Hui Linhu's eager eyes, Qi Xinglan couldn't help but say, "You...you can't even wait until your wedding night?"

Hui Lin lowered his head and kissed his lips the next second. Without waiting for anyone to react, he moved down and kissed Qi Xinglan's slender white neck. He did not let go until there were red spots on it when he moved away.

His chest was heaving and his voice was erratic, but Qi Xinglan could still hear it clearly, "Since you know the wedding date is not here yet, Lan'er, don't bother me."

He didn't get up after saying that, but buried his head directly in Qixing Lan's neck, with warm breath spraying on him. He couldn't push away and could only be held obediently.

Fortunately, Hui Lin calmed down soon, stood up and sat back down.

Qi Xinglan was able to sit up now. He waited for a while for the blush on his face to fade away before he got out of bed. The atmosphere was very awkward at this moment.

"I...I'm leaving first." Qi Xinglan said and turned around and ran away, much faster than he had just spoken.

Hui Lin's efficiency was extremely high. The royal edict spread throughout the royal court that afternoon. Not long after, everyone in the entire Western Capital knew that the king would marry the queen in three days.

Their queen is still an eighteen-year-old girl from the Central Plains.

—

The king's wedding was celebrated by the whole nation.

Qi Xinglan got up very early. The wedding dress was very complicated, and Qi Xinglan asked someone to guide her. It took her a long time to learn how to make it.

This wedding attire does not completely follow the customs of the Central Plains, but it still uses bright red, and also has a red veil embroidered with auspicious clouds and mythical birds.

Qi Xinglan's black hair was half tied up with a bead chain, and the remaining two strands were braided with the bead chain into a thin braid that hung in front of her body. The red beads shone faintly among his black hair.

She also wore a gold necklace around her neck, engraved with the Xiyuan sacred bird pattern. It really looked very beautiful when she wore it, but it was a bit heavy, so Qi Xinglan had to rub the back of her neck from time to time.

After putting on the clothes and wearing a white jade belt with coral hanging on it, it was ready.

"Queen, the time has come," Fu Wen reminded.

"Queen," to be honest, Qi Xinglan herself was not familiar with this title, and she even didn't think that people were calling her. However, the palace maids in Lanquan Palace all looked excited.

Qi Xinglan also heard from them privately that they had finally risen to heaven.

There was no need to cover one's head during a grand wedding ceremony outside the Hengyi Palace. Qi Xinglan and Hui Lin stood side by side above the ministers. If he said he was not nervous, he was just pretending.

Only Hui Lin knew that the palms of their clasped hands had already become damp.

"Don't be afraid, Lan'er."

Qi Xinglan nodded almost imperceptibly, and the two of them climbed up to the high seat hand in hand, then turned around to face the courtiers.

A large group of people lifted their official robes and knelt down, saying in unison: "Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

"Stand up."

The two men entered the hall and knelt in front of the prayer hall to light two incense sticks and worship their ancestors. From then on, Qi Xinglan's name was written into the royal register.

Finally, they entered the wedding room where someone had been waiting.

The wedding room is also red, and today's royal court is dazzlingly red everywhere.

Qi Xinglan sat side by side with him on the couch, and saw him take the cup of wedding wine and hand one to her.

Then Hui Lin stretched out his other hand. Qi Xinglan was stunned for a moment, and after understanding what he meant, she passed the hand holding the wedding wine through his arm. Drinking the wedding wine meant that the two of them would drink and eat together and be one as husband and wife.

"Lan'er, I have to be present at the banquet with all the ministers today. I will come to see you later, okay?" Hui Lin's voice was filled with obvious joy, and she said to him with a smile.

Qi Xinglan nodded, "That's what you should do. Go ahead."

Hui Lin bent down and kissed him again before she was willing to leave.

—

When he returned to Lin, he was naturally drunk.

He was in a particularly good mood today, so naturally he was happy to have a few more drinks. However, he had a good alcohol tolerance, so he remained calm when he arrived at the door of the bridal chamber.

Qi Xinglan was wearing a red veil at this time, so she could not see anything but could hear the sounds. Hui Lin practiced martial arts all year round, so her footsteps were steady and powerful, making them very easy to recognize.

The sound was getting closer and closer, and before Qi Xinglan could react, the veil had already been lifted by him.

The sudden brightness made Qi Xinglan unable to open her eyes. It took her a while to adjust before she saw Hui Lin's smiling eyes in front of her.

Qi Xinglan hadn't looked at him carefully all day, and now she realized that his clothes today were very similar to hers. The red color suited him particularly well, making him look less sharp and more gentle.

"Haven't you seen enough of Lan'er?" Hui Lin sat down, his tone not serious, "But I can't see enough of Lan'er either, Lan'er looks especially good today."

Qi Xinglan looked at him angrily, "Can you please stop saying things like this? It's so corny!"

"Are you hungry after a tiring whole day?" Hui Lin ignored his words and asked concernedly.

This made Qi Xinglan not know what to say, so she said in a weak tone, "A little bit."

"Fu Wen!" Hui Lin called out, and Fu Wen came in with a few palace maids carrying the freshly prepared food.

The aroma filled her nose, and Qi Xinglan swallowed unconsciously, "...quite thoughtful."

Qi Xinglan spoke in a low voice, and when Hui Lin heard it he just smiled and pretended not to hear it.