Children of Loulan

Sitting in the carriage, Hanguli clenched her teeth and clenched her fists, trying desperately to control the surging emotions in her heart and not let the tears fall down her eyes. She stared into the distance with wide eyes, as if she wanted to deeply imprint the familiar yet strange village in her mind.

When the carriage slowly drove out of the village, away from the crowd and the noise, Dar gently reached out his hand, held Hanguli's thin shoulders and comforted her:

"Miss, there is no one around now. If you feel sad, just cry if you want to."

Hearing this, Hanguli trembled slightly, and her originally tense body gradually relaxed. She turned her head and looked at Dal with confused and sad eyes, her lips slightly parted but she was speechless. Finally, after confirming that there was no one behind her, Hanguli leaned softly on Dal's broad chest as if the last bit of strength had been taken away, and tears flowed out of her eyes like a flood that broke through the dam, and quietly slid down her cheeks.

She didn't make any sound, but just cried silently, letting the endless sorrow and pain flow out with her tears. Dar hugged her quietly, patting Hanguli's back with his warm palms, giving her silent comfort and support. At this moment, it seemed that there were only the two of them in the world, and the heartbreaking silence.

She cried silently, but dared not make a sound. Tears slid down her cheeks like beads that had broken off the string, soaking her clothes. She told herself that she couldn't cry, because the future had not yet begun, and the future was full of unknowns and variables. If she shed tears at this moment, then the rest of her life would probably be extremely difficult.

Perhaps because she didn't sleep well last night, she was exhausted physically and mentally, leaning against Dahl, closing her eyes tightly, letting the tears flow freely. Unconsciously, fatigue came over her and she fell into a deep sleep.

However, she did not realize that from the moment she stepped out of the house and boarded the carriage until the carriage gradually drove out of the village, there was always a pair of eyes following her. Those eyes silently watched her leaving back, with endless attachment and reluctance.

It was Ainur. She had been following behind Hanguli without saying goodbye. She watched Hanguli get on the carriage, and then watched the carriage go away until she could no longer see the shadow of the carriage.

Seeing that the carriage had completely disappeared, the maid beside reminded:

"Miss, the carriage is out of sight, let's go back!"

But Ainuer seemed not to hear and just stood there without moving.

The maid stepped forward and called out softly.

"Miss!"

"what?"

Ainuer seemed to have just come to her senses. She asked:

"what happened?"

Maid: "The carriage has gone far away, let's go back!"

"Well, okay, let's go!"

After answering, she slowly turned around and staggered back in the direction she came from. Suddenly, a chill came over her. She couldn't help but touch her cheek with her hand, and her fingertips felt something cold. Upon closer inspection, she realized that tears had quietly fallen.

With trembling fingers, she gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, trying to calm herself down. However, the sadness in her heart surged up like a tide, and she couldn't suppress it. With tears in her eyes, she silently followed the maid on the way home.

Time flies. After a long journey of half a month, the carriage finally arrived at the foot of Mo City. Hanguli sat quietly on the shaft of the carriage, staring at the tall city wall in front of her. When she saw the words "Mo City" hanging high above the city gate, she was filled with endless emotion.

The ornately decorated carriage drove slowly towards the city gate, the wheels making slight creaking sounds as they rolled. A corner of the carriage curtain was gently lifted, revealing a beautiful face.

Sitting in the car was Hanguli, who was wearing a light blue gown, with a graceful figure and elegant temperament. At this moment, she was curiously observing the scene outside through the car window.

When the carriage arrived at the city gate, Hanguli got off gracefully. She took out an exquisite pass token from her bosom and handed it to the guard at the gate. After carefully checking it, the guard nodded, and then a guard came forward and said that he would lead them to where the concubines lived.

Hanguli and her group returned to the carriage and followed the guards into the city to the residence of the concubines. Along the way, Hanguli thought about the future. Mammy Ba had told her that all the concubines had to study in Mocheng for half a year. During this period, they not only had to receive various etiquette, talent and other training, but also had to keep in mind the palace rules and regulations at all times.

Moreover, if someone made a mistake within the six months, the teaching nanny had the right to directly disqualify them from the selection. This meant that even if they came to Mo City, not every concubine would be able to successfully enter the palace to participate in the selection after six months.

The carriage followed the tall and serious guard in front of it, moving forward at a leisurely pace. Hanguli, sitting in the carriage, looked out the window curiously at the world outside the car.

It was afternoon, the sun was bright and warm, shining on the bustling streets. The streets were full of busy vendors, carrying loads or pushing carts, shouting out their wares; groups of naughty and cute children were chasing and playing with each other in the streets, with laughter and joy; there were all kinds of shops, dazzling; and there were also some leisurely pedestrians walking among them, either stopping to watch or bargaining with the shopkeepers.

Hanguli was filled with amazement at the bustling and noisy Mo City in front of her, but at the same time she knew clearly the purpose and identity of her trip, so although she was eager to get off the bus and experience the local customs and culture for herself, she was eventually overcome by reason?

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the magnificent city lord's mansion, the door was gently pushed open, and several people got out of the car one by one. The guards at the door greeted them respectfully and led them through the spacious courtyard and into the city lord's mansion.

After entering the gate, the group walked along the winding path through a beautiful garden. The flowers in the garden were in full bloom and the fragrance was refreshing. Walking through it, it felt like being in a fairyland. Finally, they came to an elegant flower hall.

The flower hall was decorated very delicately, with several exquisite tables and chairs placed in the center, and several elderly maids and some nimble maids and servants standing around. As soon as they stepped into the flower hall, they immediately recognized that they were the maids in the palace, so they hurriedly stepped forward and said in unison:

"Hello, ladies!"

His tone was full of respect.

The old maids were obviously quite satisfied with such greetings, especially the leading maid, who smiled gently. She responded softly:

"No need to be polite, please take a seat."

Although the voice is not loud, it reveals an irresistible affinity.

"Where is your document?"

When Dahl heard what the maid said, he knew he couldn't be negligent, so he quickly stepped forward, carefully took out the precious document from his arms, and then handed it to the leading maid respectfully.

After the nanny took the document, she carefully examined it. Her eyes were sharp and focused, as if she could see through all the secrets on this thin piece of paper. After a moment, the nanny raised her head, looked directly into Hanguli's eyes, and asked softly:

"Your name is Hanguli?"

Hanguli nodded and answered clearly:

"Yes, Mammy."

“How old are you this year?”

The nanny continued to ask, her tone calm but with an irresistible majesty.

Hanguli took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and answered truthfully:

"Madam, I am fourteen years old."

Facing the nanny's question, Hanguli was unusually calm. Her answer was concise and clear, neither overly humble nor arrogant. This attitude made the nanny feel very relieved. She nodded slightly, expressing satisfaction, and said:

“Yeah, good.”

"Open your box and have a look!"

Following this command, Bayer walked forward carefully and gently opened the lid of the box. After completing this action, she quickly stepped back and stood aside.

Then, another nanny and a person holding a pen and paper stepped forward and began to carefully turn over the items in the box. Every time they picked up an item, they would carefully check it and then put it back. The whole process was orderly and there was no panic at all.

After all the items were turned over, the person holding the paper and pen nodded to the head nanny, indicating that everything was normal. After receiving a positive reply, the head nanny turned her eyes to a maid standing behind her and said to her:

"Take her to the incense garden."

The maid responded respectfully:

"Yes."

Then he turned around, faced the three people in front of him, and said with a smile:

"Please come with me."

After saying that, she took the lead and walked forward. The other three people followed her steps.

The three of them followed the maid and walked in, turning several corners and passing through several courtyards before arriving at the entrance of the Xiangyuan.

After entering the incense courtyard, there were neatly arranged rooms on both sides. The maid led them to the middle room on the left and opened the door.

"Come in, girl!"

The three of them entered the room and looked at everything in it. Although it was very simple, with only a square table, a wardrobe and a kang, these things were probably only affordable for the rich in their village.

The maid who led the way saw that several people had already entered the room and asked:

"Do you have any other instructions, young lady?"

Hanguli smiled and said:

"Please lead the way, sister!"

As he spoke, he glanced at Dar again. Dar understood what he meant and took out a few coins from his pocket. He pretended to shake the hand of the maid who led the way, and put the coins in her hand and said:

"We are new here and don't know a lot of things yet. I'd like to trouble you to give us some pointers!"

The maid leading the way was very happy when she felt the silver in her hand. She immediately smiled and asked:

"I don't know, what does the girl want to know?"

When Dar saw her asking this question, he understood and said immediately:

"Then please trouble sister to explain the rules of this courtyard to our girl!"

Hearing this, the maid leading the way said somewhat awkwardly:

"Mammy will explain the rules of this courtyard to you, but there are twenty rooms in each courtyard, and each room has a number plate. If you go out for a walk, don't go to the wrong room when you come back."

After hearing the maid's words and looking at her slightly embarrassed expression, Dar knew that she couldn't answer that question, so he continued to ask:

"Then I wonder if sister can tell me how many courtyards there are in total? Which places can be visited and which places cannot be visited?"

Maid: "There are fifteen courtyards in total. Although there are no rules about which places you can't go to, but since you've just arrived, you'd better not go too far, otherwise you won't be able to find your way back!"

Dahl: "So where can we find Mammy if we need help?"

Maid: "There will be a nanny and two maids living in each courtyard, and the nannies will live in the first wing on the right. When all the girls are here, the nannies will start teaching the rules!"

After listening to the maid's narration, Dar politely saluted: "Thank you for telling me, sister!"

Maid: "Miss, you are too polite. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave first!"

Dahl: "Sister, take care!"

After finding out the general situation, Dahl and Baier began to clean up the room. She opened the closet door and found several new quilts inside.

She brought out the bedding and began to make the bed, while Bayer opened the boxes they had brought and put the clothes neatly into the closet.

Hanguli followed Dal to make the bed

Dahl: "Miss, you are the master, how can you do this? Just sit down!"

Hanguli chuckled and said:

"There are no outsiders here, so how can we be master and servant? And look at this kang, it's so big, it's obviously for the three of us to sleep together. If we really want to be master and servant, you will have to sleep on the floor!"

Seeing Hanguli's sincere expression, Dar did not refuse. She said:

"Well then! I'll listen to you, miss. Do you want to go out for a walk and take a look?"

Hanguli thought about it and shook her head:

"No, I just got here and I'm not familiar with it at all. It's better not to wander around!"

In the ten days or so after they arrived here, more and more beauties arrived, and her courtyard was soon full of people!

In the past few days, she had also found out some information. There were a total of 220 girls who came to Mo City to participate in the selection. Half of them were from wealthy families like her, a small half were from ordinary people, and some were daughters of aristocratic families and officials.

Half a month after she arrived, all the concubines gathered. After all the concubines arrived, the nanny notified all of them to go to the yard and said that she would explain the rules to them.

"Girls, I am your nanny. From now on, you can just call me Nanny Taji."

Everyone:

"Meet Aunt Taji..."

"Well, today I will tell you about the rules here!"