Children of Loulan

The virtuous concubine was "invited" back like this. In order not to embarrass her in front of so many newlyweds, the king calmly gave a look to his personal eunuch. The eunuch was so smart that he immediately understood what he meant and signaled them to leave quickly through the back door.

After the group left the palace, Concubine Xian stopped pretending and instantly put away her pitiful appearance, returning to her usual arrogant and conceited attitude. Seeing this, Lian Zhi, the maid beside her, was very confused.

"Your Majesty, why did you anger the Queen Mother so much? Now we can't even watch the talent show!"

The virtuous concubine snorted and said with disdain, "It's just a beauty pageant, what's so interesting about it? I had no intention of joining in the fun, but the queen insisted on dragging me along, saying that she wanted to help with the selection. If the king had not nodded in agreement, I would not have bothered to care about such trivial matters."

Lian Zhi asked worriedly, "But Your Majesty, if you don't go to watch the talent show, how will you know whether my cousin will be elected? Besides, my cousin has come to participate in the talent show this time, I don't know if she can help Your Majesty select someone useful..."

The virtuous concubine said calmly, "What is there to see? If the person I choose doesn't even have this ability, then I have made a mistake. As for the person she chooses, I will naturally examine him carefully. After all, I will not leave anyone behind casually."

Lian Zhi agreed, "Speaking of which, my cousin mentioned in her last letter that there is a woman named Hanguli who seems to be quite intelligent, but unfortunately, she also attracted the attention of the queen."

The virtuous concubine snorted: "If she is really as smart as the rumors say, she should know that I am the one... If she is hesitant and indecisive about this matter, she is obviously not a truly smart person."

She stopped talking before she finished, because she knew very well that she was the only one who deserved to be the most favored concubine in the palace. With the king's love for her, the supreme position would eventually belong to her, and even if the king could not give it to her, she would definitely take it with her own hands.

Lian Zhi quickly comforted her, "Maybe Miss Cousin made a mistake this time! But she is just a concubine, it's not a big deal."

The virtuous concubine raised her eyebrows and snorted coldly: "Humph! So what if it's waste? I will never give anything I don't want to that woman, even if I have to throw it away!"

The maid Lian Zhi beside him quickly agreed, "Yes, madam, how can you let the queen get something you don't want?"

The corners of Concubine Xian's mouth slightly raised, and she nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "Forget it, let's go back to the palace as soon as possible. Remember to prepare more things that the king likes, he will definitely come tonight."

After Consort Xian left, the selection ceremony continued. Without Consort Xian's sarcasm, the Queen Mother was in a much better mood and began to carefully select a suitable concubine for the King.

At this time, only the eunuchs' sharp and piercing shouts could be heard, reading out the names of the concubines one by one and deciding whether they would stay or go. Hanguli stood quietly at the end of the line, feeling anxious and uneasy. On the one hand, she longed to be chosen as a princess, but on the other hand, she was afraid that if she was really chosen, she would not be able to accompany her parents.

If she fails in the election, she will be able to return to her hometown and reunite with her parents; however, if she fails, the Kuturuk family may no longer provide the medical expenses her mother needs, her father will have to continue to work outside to earn money to support the family, and her younger brother may lose the opportunity to go to school... All kinds of thoughts came to Hanguli's mind, putting her in a dilemma.

Only by being selected can my parents enjoy their old age without suffering, and my younger brother will have the opportunity to study and go to school.

However...if I was really chosen, I would never have peace in the future. Recalling my experience in Mo City, I clearly did not provoke anyone, but for no reason I was regarded as a thorn in the eyes and a thorn in the flesh, and was cruelly calculated.

Moreover, she knew very well that the two dangerous situations she encountered while crossing the Gobi Desert on the way to the palace were clearly intentional attempts to murder her! And this was only on the way to the palace, she had already suffered three insidious and cunning assassinations.

When she thought about how long she could survive after entering the palace, she couldn't help but close her eyes and thought to herself: Forget it, I'll just leave everything to fate!

If God intended her to die young, then even if she failed this time, she would not be able to escape her predetermined fate. Just as she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a sharp and piercing shout from beside her:

"Audience——"

It was only at this moment that she came to her senses as if she had just woken up from a dream, and realized that the concubines in front of her had already left, and now only the last ten of them were still standing there. At the same time, the eunuch's shout just now...

She was also calling them, and at this time, everyone else had already turned around and was about to walk into the inner hall, so she quickly turned around and followed them, but her steps were a little flustered. When she turned around, she did not forget to secretly take a look, and the one who stabbed her just now was the daughter of Liaocheng County who had once stood up for her.

After entering the inner hall, they stood in line, lowered their heads, and dared not move, quietly waiting for the eunuch to call their names. However, at this moment, Hanguli had no intention of listening to who the eunuch called, who left or who was left behind. Her heart was filled with unprecedented tension.

"The Queen Mother and the King must have seen my distraction just now... What should I do?" She thought to herself. The more she thought about it, the faster her heartbeat became, and the more uneasy she felt. She knew that if she continued like this, she would probably make a big mistake and anger the Queen Mother and the King. So, she had to calm herself down! She had to calm down!

She kept repeating this sentence in her heart, and took a few deep breaths quietly, trying to adjust her state. When she felt her heartbeat gradually return to normal and no longer as rapid as before, she began to try to listen to the eunuch's voice calmly. At this moment, she heard the eunuch shouting loudly:

"Bai Ya Village, daughter of the wealthy Kuturuk, Hanguli Kuturuk, 14 years old"

She was surprised that it was herself. Fortunately, she managed to keep her composure, otherwise she would have made a real mistake. She forced herself to calm down, stepped forward and saluted:

"I, Hanguli, pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May she be blessed with great fortune and a long life. I pay my respects to the King. May he live a long life and his country be strong forever. I pay my respects to the Queen Mother. May she live a thousand years. I pay my respects to the Virtuous Consort and the Good Consort. I wish you both good luck, happiness, longevity and health."

The Queen Mother: "Well, raise your head."

Hanguli nodded slightly and slowly raised her head, but her eyes remained on the ground. Her appearance was not particularly outstanding, especially in this capital city, where there were so many beauties. However, it was worth mentioning that she had a very unique teardrop mole on her face, which was just right, making her look quite lovable.

The king had seen countless people in his life, and he had seen all kinds of beautiful people. However, he had never seen a woman as pitiful as Hanguli. Many concubines in the palace often pretended to be weak and pitiful in order to compete for favor. Although these false performances made the king feel quite awkward, he was not in a position to expose them in person. At this moment, when he saw this real, natural and unpretentious woman in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a strong desire to protect her.

Although Hanguli was not the type that the king liked, and he did not have any special feelings about her face, he thought that there was indeed no such unique woman in the harem. So the king thought that it would not make much difference to keep one more or one less person, so he thought of keeping her. Just as he was about to speak, the queen mother asked first:

"Why did you delay for a moment?"

Hanguli: "Your Highness, I was born in a remote village and never dreamed of entering the palace. Today, I am blessed to see the Emperor. I am truly lucky. I was thinking to myself that even if I am not selected this time, my experience today alone is enough to bring honor to the family and I will have no regrets in my life."

The Queen Mother smiled and asked, "Oh? Even though you were not selected, you still feel honored?"

Hanguli replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, my father is just a wealthy country gentry, far away from the capital. Now that I have the honor to see the emperor, my parents will be very honored."

The queen looked at Hanguli with a hint of admiration in her eyes, and said softly, "She is a well-behaved and sensible person." In fact, Aunt Taji had mentioned this girl Hanguli to her long before. When she saw her today, it turned out to be just as Aunt Taji said. She was indeed a good seedling worth cultivating. If she had more experience, she would become a great person in the future.

So the queen turned to the king and asked for his opinion: "So, what do you think about this?"

The king stared at Hanguli for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, since you are so sensible and smart, you should stay in the palace. The palace needs such a well-educated, well-behaved and lovely woman."

The tangle in Hanguli's heart finally dissipated slowly. She thought to herself: "Since I have been selected, I should just stay here. In the days to come, I must be extra cautious."

Then, she followed a palace maid out of the room. As she left, Hanguli tried to prick up her ears to hear if the daughter of Liaocheng County Government also stayed. However, since she had never paid attention to her before and didn't even know her name, she had no idea where to start.

After returning to her original residence, Hanguli walked into the room and wanted to lie down to rest for a while, but Dal and Bayer came together to pay their respects and congratulate her.

"Congratulations, Miss. Congratulations, Miss, on being selected to enter the palace!" the two said in unison.

Hanguli smiled and responded: "In the future, you will stay in this palace with me. Aren't you afraid?"

Bayer quickly replied: "Miss, what are you talking about? You are the master, and we are the servants. Wherever the master is, the servants will naturally follow. What's so scary about that?"

Dar said with some concern: "My lady, you need to be more careful in the future. I am really worried about what those people failed to accomplish on this trip..."

Hanguli nodded: "Yes, they might do it again."

The three of them fell silent instantly. There is no such thing as a thief who steals for a thousand days. If someone deliberately wanted to kill the young lady, it would be very difficult to prevent him.