Chapter 8

After leaving Chongyun Palace, Qi Xinglan walked fast, so Huilin followed him slowly. When he saw Qi Xinglan suddenly slow down, he walked in front of him, "What's wrong? Weren't you walking very fast just now? I thought you really recovered that quickly."

Qi Xinglan wanted to refute but was speechless. He had just pretended to be lively and energetic in front of the Queen Mother and the others, but he was just trying to suppress the discomfort. Now he couldn't pretend anymore and his walking speed naturally slowed down.

So he didn't say anything and didn't pay any attention to him, just walked slowly and silently. When Hui Lin wanted to talk to him, he turned his head away and didn't respond. Hui Lin saw that he was really annoyed, so he got a little panicked.

"Are you angry, Lan'er? I was just joking and I didn't mean to make fun of you!"

Seeing that Qi Xinglan still ignored her, Hui Lin came up with an idea and stepped forward to pick him up.

The palace people around were very tactful and lowered their heads to do their own things.

"What are you doing! Huilin, put me down quickly!" When the palace servants heard the queen calling the king by his name, they felt that this was not something they should hear and wished they could plug their ears.

Qi Xinglan shouted for a long time until her throat was sore, but Lin still had no intention of giving up on her, so she stopped shouting and obediently let him carry her to Lanquan Hall.

"Hey, why hasn't Ting'er arrived at the royal court yet? Have you received the news?"

Qi Chaoting had promised that he would be able to catch up with his wedding if he could catch up with him, but he had to delay his trip because of heavy snow that blocked the mountain on the way.

Until today, there has been no definite news on when they will be able to arrive at the royal court.

"Got it," Hui Lin put him down and sat on the bed himself, sighing again, "But there are other people traveling with us."

"Who?" Apart from the team of soldiers escorting Qi Chaoting, there could be other people.

"Because of the heavy snow, they had to stay in an inn temporarily. In this situation, there are very few hotels to stay in. Unfortunately, they ran into people who came to Xidu to give New Year gifts--"

Hui Lin looked at Qi Xinglan, "The Great Zhou delegation."

Hui Lin's expression suddenly became unnatural, "Why did Da Zhou suddenly think of coming to Xiyuan?"

Haven't we always had a non-interfering relationship? Why did they suddenly want to become friends?

"Perhaps because the Tayyon defeated the Xiongnu, they suddenly realized that the Tayyon was a powerful enemy that could not be ignored, so they came to make friends with them."

Qi Xinglan stood up again and said angrily: "How is it possible! The old emperor wants to dominate the country, how can he be willing to live in peace with Xiyuan?"

"But their delaying tactic has failed!"

Seeing that he was angry, Hui Lin pulled him down and sat him back on the bed, patiently explaining: "Of course I know, so we don't have to take their words of friendship seriously, just listen to them for fun."

Qi Xinglan calmed down and then she remembered to ask, "Who is that person?"

"It is said that he is the son of the Great Zhou's Prime Minister, Shen Tinghan."

"He wrote the letter. I think his handwriting is pretty good and has a lot of style."

Qi Xinglan couldn't laugh when he heard the name. He was so familiar with the name. Since they had parted ways in the past, there was nothing to be embarrassed about now.

"It's him. His handwriting is indeed good." Not only is his handwriting good, but he had also taught Qi Xinglan his handwriting.

Hui Lin and Qi Xinglan have known each other for a long time, so he should have some understanding of him. "Lan'er, are you an old acquaintance of him?"

Qi Xinglan said "hmm", secretly glanced back at Lin but didn't dare to say anything. We are more than just old acquaintances, he also likes me.

"He's a good guy, and he can indeed be considered a gentleman... Hmm!"

Hui Lin kissed him again, and Qi Xinglan looked at him in confusion, "Why did you kiss me for no reason?"

"Lan'er, don't praise other men from now on."

"Okay, okay!" Qi Xinglan didn't want to argue about these trivial matters with this stingy man, so she just went along with him.

Hui Lin was happy. She hugged him and kissed and nibbled him. Finally, Qi Xinglan drove her back to Hengyi Palace.

—

News came from the convoy that they would reach the royal court in less than a day.

The Great Zhou delegation arrived at the royal court along with the convoy that picked up Qi Chaoting. It was snowing lightly in the Western Capital that day, and Qi Xinglan was waiting for Qi Chaoting in the Lanquan Palace.

Qi Chaoting hadn't figured out how to explain to his brother about meeting Shen Tinghan on the road, but he ran into Qi Xinglan as soon as he arrived at the royal court.

Qi Xinglan stood in the hall with her arms folded, looking at him with a half-smile. Qi Chaoting was frightened and quickly distanced himself from Shen Tinghan.

"Brother! I ignored him, he was the one who came close to me!"

"He knew I was coming here but he insisted on coming with me. It's really annoying! I can't get rid of him."

Qi Xinglan nodded thoughtfully and said, "Qi Chaoting, tell me every meeting you had in the past few days word for word!"

Qi Chaoting sat on the stool like a quail with his neck shrunk, "It's like this..."

The cities that the convoy passed through were very difficult to travel through due to the terrain, and it snowed heavily, so their journey was delayed and they had no choice but to stay in an inn temporarily.

Shen Tinghan and his team had already booked the land at a high price, so they should have no place.

Qi Chaoting was standing nearby at the time. After hearing the news, he turned around and left helplessly, only to meet Shen Tinghan who had just returned from outside.

When Shen Tinghan saw her, he was surprised at first and then happy, and strongly asked her to live here.

Qi Chaoting hated him so much that when he saw it was him, he wanted to scold him.

"Shen Tinghan, what are you doing? You don't think what you do is touching."

"When something happened in my family, you, the Shen family, said nothing, but now you are here to get involved! Who do you think our Qi family is, and who do you think my brother is!"

"Lan'er? Is he still alive?"

"Ting'er, can you tell me where your brother is? I really want to see him. I'm really sorry about Uncle Qi. I should apologize to him in person."

Qi Chaoting did not tell Qi Xinglan that he was going to marry Hui Lin, but only vaguely said that both brothers and sisters were going to Xiyuan.

Later, Shen Tinghan asked to go back to the royal court with Qi Chaoting on the grounds of protecting her.

Qi Chaoting thought that free labor was worth a lot, so he ignored him.

"That's all. I have absolutely no secrets."

Seeing that his brother showed no signs of being angry, Qi Chaoting said in a coquettish tone, "Brother, I was unlucky enough not to see your wedding, and I even ran into that bad guy Shen Tinghan. I'm so sad and you don't even comfort me!"

Qi Xinglan understood the whole story, looked at the coquettish little girl, and hugged her, "Okay, go and have a rest, you can stay in the side hall for the time being, you can't stay in such a big palace by yourself."

"Okay!" Qi Chaoting didn't look exhausted at all. He jumped up and walked out of the hall.

"Brother, I'm leaving. Goodbye!"

"Um."

——

That day, Hui Lin stayed at Qi Xinglan's place again. Qi Xinglan knew that he would not let her go if he came.

But then I thought, he seems to be a little busy lately, so I might as well give him one more chance tonight.

When Hui Lin came back at night and heard Qi Xinglan let go, he really did not let him go that night.

Hui Lin didn't let him go until Qi Xinglan's fingers were too weak to use. This was the limit of Qi Xinglan's physical strength, not Hui Lin's.

Qi Xinglan felt that she was sick for being so soft-hearted. She simply couldn't be soft-hearted towards a man who was so easily taken advantage of.

Qi Xinglan only understood this truth after she was exhausted.

Hui Lin gently hugged Qi Xinglan from behind, buried his head in his neck, and said in a hoarse voice: "I really like Lan'er."

Qi Xinglan didn't have the strength to push him away and let him hold her.

"There will be a banquet tomorrow night to entertain the Great Zhou delegation that has come from afar."

"Lan'er, come with me. Don't be afraid. You don't have to be afraid of them as long as I'm here."

Qi Xinglan turned around and met his affectionate eyes. He looked away with difficulty and replied softly, "Yeah."

—

The next day, the snow fell even harder, but fortunately Qi Xinglan did not go out much. She just sat in the hall and watched the snow, feeling very comfortable.

The dinner was attended not only by the envoys from the Great Zhou Dynasty, but also by several senior officials from the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Shen Tinghan had not arrived yet, and Hui Lin saw that the seat prepared for him was empty, so he delayed the start of the banquet.

"The weather is bad, so I am late. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."

The visitor's voice was clear and gentle, like warm jade and gentle breeze.

Everyone in Xiyuan looked towards the palace gate, and the ministers' breathing stagnated.

The man was wearing a plain robe and a silver fox cloak. As he walked inside, he raised his hand to brush away the snow that had fallen on his shoulders when he was outside the hall.

As soon as Shen Tinghan finished speaking, he bent his knees and knelt on the stage to perform the great ceremony between the monarch and his subjects according to the Zhou rituals.

"Fu Xuan got up and came all the way here. It must have been hard work."

"Today we are only here to welcome the ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No need to be polite."

"I obey your command." Shen Tinghan stood up and then looked back at Lin.

When they met for the first time, they actually addressed each other by their courtesy names. This King Xiyuan must have inquired about the etiquette of the Great Zhou.

When Shen Tinghan walked to the right, he saw out of the corner of his eye that there was also a young man sitting on the chair next to Hui Lin.

He had heard that the King of Xiyuan had married a young man from the Central Plains, and thinking of going to the same country, Shen Tinghan also looked at the young man's face.

Shen Tinghan's heartbeat was extremely violent.

Shen Tinghan didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. He was still alive, and even living a good life.

It's just...he's already married to someone else.

Qi Xinglan looked at this side coldly. Shen Tinghan knew that he was being rude, so he lowered his head with a dim look and sat in his seat without saying a word.

Hui Lin had seen clearly the exchange and changes in the eyes between Shen Tinghan and Qi Xinglan just now, and his intuition told him that there was something complicated between them.

"Why didn't Fuxuan say anything for a long time?"

"I never expected that the King would address me by my courtesy name. I feel a little surprised and flattered."

"I guess Your Majesty also knows something about the etiquette of the Great Zhou?"

Hui Lin smiled after hearing this. Facing Shen Tinghan's gaze, he shook Qi Xinglan's hand and said, "How could I know that? My queen was born in the Great Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains."

Shen Tinghan's expression was unnatural, and his tone was a little stiff, "I haven't congratulated the king and the queen on their wedding yet."

"Thank you, sir." Without waiting for Hui Lin to speak, Qi Xinglan spoke first, with a cold tone and took her hand away from Hui Lin's.