Children of Loulan

Madam Zhao glanced elegantly at the palace maid kneeling on the ground and said softly:

"Forget it, stand up! I was just asking casually, you can take this money, you have done a good job."

The little maid kowtowed repeatedly as if she had been pardoned: "Thank you, Madam Zhao!"

Then she stood up slowly and tremblingly, but she couldn't help but feel an indescribable complex emotion in her heart. When she heard that Madam Zhao not only allowed her to keep the silver, but also seemed to have no intention of blaming her, a barely perceptible trance flashed across her face. However, before this sense of guilt could fully spread in her heart, she was interrupted by a sudden angry shout -

"What a daring slave! Do you admit your guilt?"

The young maid was so shocked that she trembled all over and quickly looked towards the source of the sound. It turned out that Madam Zhao's sharp rebuke was not directed at her, but at another maid standing beside her. The maid was the same as her, and had just entered the Yunhe Palace to serve half a year ago.

Seeing the maid immediately kneeling on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Please spare my life, Madam Zhao!" The little maid's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and her breathing became rapid. She stared at everything that happened in front of her with wide eyes, silently watching everything in front of her, her mind in chaos.

Although the maid had knelt on her knees, she did not show any fear on her face. After all, she really couldn't figure out what crime she had committed. Besides, the punishment that Madam Zhao usually imposed on servants was nothing more than kneeling.

Just as the maid was thinking that this time the consequences would not be too serious, she suddenly heard Madam Zhao giving an order: "Come here! This person dared to criticize me in private. Take her out and give her 20 lashes of the cane and send her to the prison for criminals!"

As soon as the words fell, everyone present was shocked. The maid was terrified and collapsed to the ground, even forgetting to beg for mercy. It was not until someone outside came to drag her away that she seemed to wake up from a dream and cried out at the top of her lungs:

"Madam, please have mercy! I know my crime, please forgive me..."

Witnessing this scene, the young palace maids beside them were trembling with fear. Madam Zhao glanced at them coldly and said sternly:

"Today, I severely punish this maid to let you know what to say and what not to say in the future. You must know the limits in your heart!"

Several palace maids bowed respectfully and said, "We will follow Madam's instructions and keep them in mind." Madam Zhao nodded slightly, expressing her satisfaction, "Well, everyone, go down!"

After several palace maids quietly left the room, the young palace maid still looked at her companion with lingering fear and asked in a trembling voice: "What happened just now? Why is the queen so angry?"

The maidservant beside him sighed helplessly: "Didn't you hear it?" The little maidservant shook her head gently, looking ashamed: "I... I was distracted just now and didn't hear it clearly."

Seeing this, the man next to her had to lower his voice and explain, "The reason is simple. It's because the groom she led asked her about the Madam. And she was totally defenseless and told him everything about the Madam's preferences and who she was close to. Not only that, the groom even paid her twenty taels of silver for it!"

Hearing this, the little maid nodded in sudden enlightenment: "So that's it." Although she seemed calm on the surface, her heart was actually already turbulent. She secretly rejoiced, silently telling herself that it was fortunate that she had listened to the maid's advice and kept everything a secret; she also felt very lucky, after all, the maid only gave her a few coins at that time. Otherwise, I'm afraid that she would be the one being punished and sent to the slave camp to suffer.

After arriving at the new residence, Hanguli did not stop. She followed Dar and Baier and started to pack the clothes and boxes together. Whenever she tried to do these things in the past, Dar and Baier would always fight to grab them and not allow her to do it herself.

However, since she suffered from insomnia due to the shock, Dahl and Baier no longer stopped her from doing things. They thought that as long as they kept their daughter busy, they could prevent her from thinking too much and thus have no extra energy to recall those unpleasant things.

As the night gradually fell, the sky became dark. Hanguli took a tranquilizer early, and then, accompanied by Dar, she slowly fell asleep.

Looking at the person sleeping soundly on the bed, Dahl gently tucked in the corners of the quilt for her, then sat quietly beside the bed, lying on the edge of the bed and gradually fell asleep.

At the same time, the lights in Kunning Hall were on. The queen was concentrating on writing something, while Madam Taji stood by her side, fanning her with a fan to cool her down. Suddenly, a maid hurried into the hall and reported to the queen: "My queen, the king has gone to the residence of the new beauty."

The queen nodded slightly to show her agreement: "Well, these days, all girls who are fifteen years old or above can be arranged to serve in the palace. If the king has not designated anyone specifically, they will take turns to serve. Those under the age of fifteen must also be registered and will be arranged after they reach the age of fifteen." After that, the queen gently put down the pen in her hand and turned around.

Unexpectedly, she saw Mammy Taji standing beside her, holding a feather fan, gently blowing air to cool her down. Seeing this, the queen quickly reached out and took the fan from the mammy's hand, and asked with concern: "Mammy, why are you fanning here? Didn't I tell you to go back and rest?"

Madam Taji smiled and responded, "Don't blame me, Your Majesty. I've always been busy and it's hard for me to have some free time. You let me rest all day, but I feel uncomfortable. Besides, those heavy chores have been handed over to others to take care of. I hope I can do more of this job of serving Your Majesty!"

The queen was touched when she heard the nanny's words, but she couldn't force her to rest. She knew the nanny's thoughts very well. If she insisted on letting her rest at this time, she would probably think that she was useless and could only stay in bed and wait for death. So the queen smiled and nodded.

The Queen: "You have served me for decades, and I have long been accustomed to your presence. Peel an orange for me to taste."

After hearing this, Aunt Taji smiled and quickly responded, "Okay! It's my honor to serve the queen!"

When Aunt Taji peeled the orange and handed it to the queen, the queen gently picked up a slice and put it in her mouth, chewing it slowly, and said, "Aunt, I have something to tell you."

Aunt Taji quickly replied, "Queen, please give me your orders."

The queen continued, "I have already arranged for the girl named Hanguli to live in Madam Zhao's palace."

Aunt Taji was stunned when she heard this and asked, "Madam Zhao? Why was she arranged there?"

Madam Taji looked at the queen with suspicion, thinking to herself: Everyone in the palace knows that Madam Zhao is Concubine Xian's lackey, and the poison she was poisoned with is probably related to Concubine Xian. Now sending Hanguli to Madam Zhao is really puzzling.

Not only had he tried to win over Hanguli, he had even been saved twice by her! Although these things had never been made public, it did not mean that Concubine Xian was completely unaware of them. After all, with Concubine Xian's status and means, if she really wanted to track them down, it would be a piece of cake!

However, at this moment, Hanguli was to be placed in the palace where Madam Zhao lived. Wasn't this tantamount to handing Hanguli over to Concubine Xian? Thinking of this, she looked at the queen with doubts.

The queen said calmly, "Mammy, you tried to win over Hanguli before, but she didn't agree, which shows that she is suspicious of you and doesn't trust you. Besides, we have no way of knowing whether Concubine Xian or anyone else has colluded with her. This time, we will settle her in Yunhe Palace to observe how Concubine Xian will treat her. If Concubine Xian does not take any action, it means that Hanguli has already joined Concubine Xian. Secondly, if Concubine Xian deliberately makes things difficult for us, then we might as well watch and see who will come forward to rescue her. When we are sure that no one will lend a helping hand, it is time for me to rescue her. In this way, she will take the initiative to come closer to me, and we will not have to work hard to win her over again."

Listening to the queen's words, Mammy couldn't help but feel an indescribable sadness in her heart. She knew that from the queen's point of view, this was undoubtedly the wisest choice, and she had always given advice to the queen in the past.

However, whenever her thoughts touched Hanguli, an inexplicable annoyance would surge in her heart, making her feel stuffy in her chest. Although her heart was in turmoil, the nanny did not show it. She still had a gentle smile on her face and said softly: "Yes, it should be done this way. Alas, I am really old, and my brain is so dull that I even forgot such an important thing."

The queen held Aunt Taji's hand tightly and said earnestly, "Aunt, you are not old and senile, but you have been working hard for me all your life. Now... you are only concerned about me, so it is easy for you to ignore other things. It doesn't matter. The head of the hospital told me that he has found a new treatment that may restore your health."

Mammy's eyes were slightly red, tears welled up in her eyes: "My lady, please don't say that. I have served you for half my life, and everything I have done is from my heart, without complaint or regret. My only wish is to see you safe and sound, even if I close my eyes now, I can leave with peace of mind."

This was Aunt Taji's true words. She had followed the queen since she was a child and saw the queen more often than anyone else. Even in the most difficult times, they had endured it together, and now the queen was indeed doing well.

As long as the virtuous concubine can be completely defeated, the queen's future life will be worry-free. However, at this moment, she was full of worries about Hanguli. Although the time they spent together was not long, from their time together, Aunt Taji clearly realized that Hanguli was a person who had no desires and was not interested in fighting with the world.

It is conceivable that she may have been forced to enter the palace. Seeing that her life was about to come to an end, Nanny was extremely anxious: How could she repay Hanguli for saving her life? And how could she ensure that she could survive safely in this treacherous harem? These questions kept lingering in the queen's mind, making her unable to sleep all night.