Children of Loulan

Hearing her request again, the king couldn't help but feel helpless and sighed secretly. He didn't expect her to be so kind-hearted, but in this deep palace, kindness is often not a blessing.

At this moment, the virtuous concubine beside him keenly noticed the king's mood swings and the changing expressions on his face. After thinking for a moment, she decided to add fuel to the fire, so she pretended to be hypocritical and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Oh my, I never thought that our Lan Cairen and Li Liangren had such a deep sisterly love! Your Majesty, please be magnanimous and forgive these two ignorant servants. After all, Lan Cairen's courage to stand up is worthy of your forgiveness!"

When the king heard this, he turned his head and looked at Concubine Xian with love and affection. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a smile, and he said softly: "Since even my beloved concubine is willing to plead for them, I will temporarily forgive you two this time today!"

Upon hearing this, Dal and Baier kowtowed and thanked the king as if they had been pardoned, and said hurriedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your mercy..."

However, just as they were about to finish their words of thanks, they were interrupted by Concubine Xian. Concubine Xian waved her hand and said coquettishly, "Hey, you two should not just thank the king and me, the people of Lancai should be thanked the most!"

After hearing this, Dal and Baier were at a loss. At this moment, the king asked again: "Where is the maid of Lancai? Why is she the only one kneeling here?"

His deep and serious voice seemed to carry a questioning tone, filling the entire room with a tense atmosphere. Aishan did not dare to neglect it, and quickly glanced at everyone in the room, then quickly turned around and shouted to the outside of the door: "Lady of Lancai, please come forward and see me immediately!"

Hearing the shouts from inside the house, Mi Feiti's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and her originally tense heartstrings were even more tense. Just now, she wanted to follow the young lady into the house, but the young lady held her back, saying that the space inside the house was limited and it was not suitable for too many people to enter, and asked her to wait outside. However, at this moment, the eunuch chief steward beside the king shouted like this, could something have happened?

Thinking this in her heart, Mi Feiti's steps did not stop at all, but instead quickened her pace and walked into the room. As soon as she entered the door, she saw her young lady kneeling on the ground, so she quickly knelt down and saluted, saying: "This servant greets the king and the virtuous concubine!"

The king's face was as gloomy as water, and he asked in a serious tone: "Are you the personal maid of Lan Cairen? Were you brought by her family, or assigned by the palace?"

Although Mifeiti was somewhat puzzled as to why the king asked such a question, she still answered respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have grown up with the Lancai people since I was young."

The king glanced at Lan Cairen, then moved his gaze to Aishan, and solemnly issued an order: "Convey my order. Lan Cairen's maid failed to do her duty to persuade her master, and she will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane. In addition, you will personally select a palace maid who knows etiquette to serve Lan Cairen!"

Hearing this, Mifiti felt like she was falling into an ice cellar, and her mood suddenly fell into an abyss. She was at a loss, and had no idea why she was about to be caned. Lan Cairen, who was standing by, was also terrified. She never expected that Mifiti would have to endure such a punishment just for begging the king to spare the Dal sisters. However, when she recalled what the king had just said to her, and there was no warmth between the lines, she no longer had the courage to come forward and plead for her slaves.

Instead, Dar crawled forward two steps without hesitation, his body trembling, and begged in a trembling voice: "I beg you to have mercy, my king. I am willing to take the ten-stroke punishment on behalf of my sister Mifiti!"

After hearing what his sister said, Bayer crawled forward two steps without hesitation and said in a trembling voice: "Please have mercy, my king! My sister's wounds have not healed yet. If I am punished again, my injuries will probably get worse. I beg you to be merciful and allow me to take the ten strokes of the cane instead of my sister Mifiti!"

Originally, Bayer really wanted to step forward and take the last ten strokes of the cane for Mifeti. However, he changed his mind and thought that since his sister had left these ten strokes on purpose, there must be a deep meaning behind it. Although he did not understand the reason, as long as he followed his sister's footsteps closely, he might not make mistakes.

At this moment, Concubine Xian's face became extremely ugly. She widened her eyes and scolded angrily: "What an ignorant dog slave! How dare you, lowly servants, be so bold as to contradict the king? It's simply lawless! I don't know how the nanny who was responsible for teaching you taught you to do things! Are you acting like a sister here?" Her tone was full of majesty and anger, which made people feel afraid.

Hearing her anger, the king immediately turned around and looked at her, his eyes full of concern, and said softly: "My dear concubine, don't be angry. It's not good for your health to get angry. They are just a few servants. Why are you so angry?" After that, he gently patted the concubine's hand, signaling her to calm down.

The king and his concubine were acting out a scene of deep affection between husband and wife, which frightened the people kneeling on the ground. They were terrified, trembling all over, and immediately kowtowed and said, "Please forgive me, king, please forgive me, my concubine!"

After comforting the virtuous concubine, the king slowly turned his head and his eyes fell on the people on the ground and Hanguli who was still lying there motionless. He was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"I think that you two are grateful and loyal, and that you take the trouble to take care of Li Liangren day and night. It's really not easy. So, the palace maid will be punished with ten strokes of the cane. I hope this punishment will make you remember the lesson, and you won't be so reckless and impulsive in the future." After saying this, the king waved his hand, signaling the guards to take the palace maid away to be punished.

After doing all this, the king turned his gaze back to the imperial physician and asked anxiously, "Is Li Liang's illness really so serious that it is incurable?"

When the imperial physician heard the king's question, a layer of fine beads of sweat instantly oozed out of his forehead. He wiped it with his sleeve in panic, and then replied tremblingly: "Your Majesty, I have really tried my best. Li Liangren's external injuries are indeed almost healed. Although her condition has relapsed, she has been in a coma because she has been overly frightened several times. Now, she has been in a coma for several days. During this period, although she can barely drink some water, she cannot eat anything. If she doesn't wake up, even if her condition improves, I'm afraid... I'm afraid she will die of hunger!"

The imperial physician's meaning was self-evident. Hanguli's condition was not so serious that it was incurable, but she had been in a coma. If this continued, even if she was not sick, she would starve to death.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian said in a coquettish voice, "Is there no way to wake her up? If a concubine starved to death appeared in the palace, wouldn't we become a laughing stock for the whole world!"

As she spoke, she winked at Madam Zhao. After all, Madam Zhao of Yunhe Palace was the mistress of the palace, and everything had to be decided by her personally!