Children of Loulan

Keremu followed Hanguli's back as she walked away, until she got on the carriage and left. Then he turned to Ziya and said, "It's a long journey. If you encounter any problems along the way, please help if you can."

Ziya responded respectfully, "Yes, sir!" When all the beauties boarded the carriages and the whole team was ready and started to move forward, Keremu rode his horse to the front of the team. This talent show and the short stay in Mocheng became a hot topic among the people of the city. Now, these beauties set out on the road to the capital, and the team was huge and spectacular, with a mighty momentum and attracted attention.

That afternoon, storytellers in the city quickly came up with thrilling stories and began to tell them in teahouses.

There was a burst of intense drum beats and gong sounds - "Dong Dong Dong... Clang Clang" followed by another loud "Dong". Suddenly, the originally noisy teahouse became silent, and everyone turned their eyes to the gentleman sitting at the desk, listening attentively to the story he was about to tell.

The gentleman cleared his throat and said loudly: "The drums are beating, the gongs are ringing, today, my guests, please listen to me. What should I talk about? Of course, I have to talk about the most popular thing at the moment, which is the grand talent show!"

"Huh"

"It is said that a few days ago, many young women with veils on their faces appeared in the streets and alleys. They were graceful and walked lightly, as mysterious as the morning mist. These women are the concubines to be selected by the current king. The story of these concubines has to start from ten years ago."

"Bang bang", two more clear gong sounds rang out, and people's thoughts were pulled back to the distant past. Ten years ago, the king held a grand talent show, but soon after, a series of serious natural disasters hit the country one after another. Floods, droughts, locusts... These natural disasters severely damaged the country's vitality and the treasury became increasingly empty. Not only that, in the next two or three years, the harvest was poor and the people lived in poverty.

Faced with such a predicament, the king felt compassion. He knew the suffering of the people, so he decisively ordered to reduce taxes to ease the pressure on the people. At the same time, considering the country's financial situation and people's livelihood issues, he resolutely decided to cancel the draft plan originally scheduled for three years. However, time flies, and five years have passed in the blink of an eye. At this time, the ministers in the court have made remonstrations and urged the king to hold a draft again. They believed that the royal family needed successors to ensure the stability of the country. After careful consideration, the king finally nodded and agreed.

Unexpectedly, there were more than 200 girls participating in the selection! Among them were not only daughters of officials, but also daughters of many common people. They were looking forward to the future and were eager to become a member of the palace. Perhaps it was because the king was kind and loved the people, and was deeply loved by the people; or perhaps it was because the people were grateful and hoped to repay the king's kindness in this way. In short, the scale of this selection was unprecedented. It caused a heated discussion in the whole Loulan Kingdom.

"But there are so many people participating in the selection, but there are only a few vacancies in the harem. How should the extra people be placed?" Only a "bang" sound was heard.

"Of course it's based on real ability!" Then there was another burst of close "thump thump thump...clang clang" sounds.

The sound of "bang" sounded again: "Although our Loulan Kingdom is not a big country, and its population is less than one-fifth of that of the Tang Dynasty. But in this talent show, more than 200 beauties have emerged from all over the country! This situation is extremely rare. In each previous talent show, the number of beauties was about 80 to 100. But this time, there are suddenly so many more, a total of 220 to 230 people. It's not just the number of people that is surprising..."

After another crisp sound of "bang", he continued: "Do you know how many concubines left the city this morning? A total of 110 people! In other words, in just half a year in Mo City, half of the concubines have been eliminated. So, are you curious about why they were eliminated?"

Before he finished speaking, the guests shouted loudly: "Yes!"

"Thump, thump, thump...clang, clang"

"Huh"

"Then listen to me continue. There are many concubines, but there are only a few positions. What should we do? It depends on who has better means. The backyard of the City Lord's Mansion in Mo City is quite lively and exciting..."

The storyteller in the teahouse was telling a gripping story in an eloquent and vivid manner. His ups and downs of voice and the perfect rhythm of the drummer complemented each other, attracting the full attention of the audience, who sometimes held their breath, sometimes burst into laughter, and from time to time burst into warm applause.

However, at this moment, the team entering the palace had already gone far away. No one would have thought that after these women left, there would be such a fascinating plot going on in Mo City.

All the girls who participated in the selection sat in a simple carriage with gauze curtains hung on all sides to block the wind and sand. As the journey was long, the personal maids were also allowed to ride in the carriage.

Perhaps because she got up too early this morning, Hanguli, who was exhausted, gradually felt sleepy as the carriage shook and swayed, and her head nodded. Seeing this, Dar quickly moved closer and gently supported Hanguli, allowing her to rest on his shoulder with peace of mind.

Not far from them, a soldier in charge of escorting noticed this scene, and then galloped forward on his horse, as if to convey some information to the front.

It takes about 20 days to travel from Mocheng to the capital. Along the way, they passed through several large and small cities. Every time they passed a city, the local generals and officials who guarded the city would come out to entertain them. With these supports, the journey was relatively smooth and safe.

At this time, Ziya came to Keremu, looked out, and then turned to his master and asked, "Master, there is an endless Gobi Desert ahead. Do you think we should rest here for a night or continue on our way?"

Keremu looked up at the sky. It was already past 3 p.m.

"It's getting dark, and it will be completely dark in a few hours. Let's take a rest for the night and gather our strength before continuing our journey tomorrow."

This is the Gobi Desert in the west of Loulan. As the only way to the capital, you could have chosen to take a detour. However, to get there, you have to pass through a city, and that city had a serious plague outbreak last year. Although the epidemic was quickly brought under control, the possibility of residual viruses cannot be completely ruled out. In addition, the King of Loulan issued an order that the city gates would not be opened unless all patients in the city were cured and no new cases appeared. Therefore, the only way to reach the capital is to cross this Gobi Desert.

Although this vast Gobi Desert belonged to Loulan, it was difficult to deploy a large number of troops to garrison there because there was no city there. Therefore, the imperial court had to set up garrison tents at regular intervals, with only about two to three hundred soldiers in each garrison tent. As a result, this place was often invaded by small tribes that were eyeing Loulan's territory.

Although these troubles seemed insignificant, they were enough to make people irritated. Especially this time, leading so many concubines through this place actually had certain risks. Therefore, Keremu let all the concubines and soldiers have a full rest in advance in case of emergency.

The next morning, everyone was ready to go. Not only did they replace all the carriages with camels, but the generals guarding the nearby city also led a team of soldiers to escort them. At the same time, the capital would also send someone to meet them. After everything was ready,

"Set off!"

As Keremu's command sounded, all the camels and horses moved in unison, heading straight for the Gobi Desert in the desert. The bells hanging around the camels' necks made a clear and pleasant "clang clang clang" sound.

Keremu looked back and said to Ziya who was riding beside him:

"Once you enter the Gobi Desert, you need to be extra careful. If anything goes wrong, you must do your best to ensure that she is safe."

Upon hearing this, Ziya immediately responded: "Master, don't worry. I have specially assigned people to protect her."

Keremu nodded slightly to show his approval, and then emphasized: "No matter what, we must ensure that she arrives in the capital safely."

Ziya asked curiously, "What happens after we enter the capital?" Keremu rolled his eyes at him and replied, "After entering the capital, whether she can enter the palace depends on her ability. This is not my business. I just need to make sure she can enter the capital smoothly and not implicate her."

Ziya looked at the satisfied smile on his master's face and couldn't help wondering in his heart: "Why didn't you send someone to help her when we were in the capital? Aren't you afraid that she might get into an accident..."

Keremu seemed to see through Ziya's thoughts. He waved his hand and said, "The situation in Mo City is complicated. Not only are there people from the Queen Mother, but there are also the other two concubines and the Queen Mother. If she is not careful, once they find a handle on her, the consequences will be disastrous! Moreover, if she can't even get through Mo City, then entering the palace is simply courting death. Not only will she be unable to help, but it is very likely to implicate her."

At this point, Keremu couldn't help but take out the exquisite pendant from his bosom again. He carefully examined it and gently stroked the lines on it, and the blue figure involuntarily emerged in his mind. In an instant, he felt his cheeks slightly hot, as if a warm current surged into his heart. In order to avoid being discovered by his men, he quickly put the pendant away and continued to talk with Ziya as if nothing had happened.

However, all of this was seen by Ziya. He was very pleased to see his master looking like a young man in love. When his master didn't have a lover before, the queen was always worried about him and even introduced him to many daughters of famous families, but his master didn't like any of them...

Wait! ... Thinking of this, Ziya's expression suddenly became serious. He suddenly thought of the queen. Yes, will the queen agree? Obviously not. The queen wanted to find a good wife for her master, so how could she agree to let her master marry someone from such a small family?

I'm afraid that the queen will only let Ainuer be a concubine at that time, but now looking at her master's intention, I'm afraid he wants to marry her as his wife.

Oh, what should I do? Ziya, who was originally happy for his master, was suddenly scratching his head because of his own thoughts. He kept wondering what to do.