Children of Loulan

Dahl chuckled and said, "Okay, I believe you can do it, young lady!"

Hanguli reached out and gently pulled Dar's hand, suggesting that she sit down first, and then continued: "That Darlan actually wants to form an alliance with me."

After thinking for a while, Dar responded, "Indeed, we also need the support of our allies, but I'm not sure if this Darlan is really reliable."

Hanguli explained: "The reason why she took the initiative to come to me was mainly because she had heard some things about me when she was in Mo City before. In addition, Gu Lixian tried to attack me twice during this journey, and she happened to see it. Therefore, she thought that I must have certain abilities and means to successfully avoid those conspiracies and calculations time and time again."

Dahl was not particularly surprised that the person who took action on the road was Gu Lixian. During this period of time, she herself had repeatedly thought about this issue. Even if the mastermind behind the scenes was not Gu Lixian herself, she must have been the one who really took action.

Dal asked in confusion: "Why did she wait until now to find us? Logically, shouldn't she come to us as soon as she entered the palace?"

Hanguli: "Because I have been troubled by nightmares for a long time and have no time to pay attention to what is happening around me, she has been secretly observing me for a long time for safety reasons, so she has waited until now!"

Dahl: "Speaking of which, she is a smart person, but I don't know who is behind her?"

Hanguli: “What?”

Dahl: "Oh, that's right, young lady. On the day of the enthronement ceremony, I saw her secretly slip a purse into the hands of the eunuch who announced the decree. And in the end, she waited until everyone had left before she left."

Hanguli: "How did you know?"

Dar: "I also saw it accidentally. The young lady was not feeling well at the time, so I was holding you up. When I looked up, I saw her stuffing the purse into the eunuch's sleeve. Because of the angle, I was the only one who saw it. Later, I became careful and observed her carefully. It turned out that she was closest to the door, but she kept retreating to the side and waited until everyone else had left before taking action. So I guessed that she wanted to talk to the eunuch alone."

Hanguli: "So this woman is indeed not simple. Not only does she know how to read people's expressions, she also knows how to win over the powerful. As for who is her backer? That depends on who the eunuch who announces the imperial decree recommends her to."

Dahl: "I have also heard some news these days. I heard that the queen has a gentle and kind personality, but you can't judge a person by his appearance, and you can't judge a person by his appearance. Everyone knows what Concubine Xian is thinking, and Concubine Zhu just wants to live a stable life."

Hanguli smiled bitterly: "People who appear to be honest on the surface may not be so in their hearts; those who seem to have no desires may just be hiding their true abilities!"

Dahl: "So what do you mean, miss?"

Hanguli sighed and said, "Since we can't marry the queen, why not find an ally first? I'm not even fifteen years old, so I don't have to worry about sleeping with her for now."

Dahl: "But sometimes, having a powerful backer can be more useful than an ally."

Hanguli sighed and said, "Although backers are useful, we are just pawns that backers can discard at will."

Dar echoed, "Yes, but who in this harem is not someone else's pawn? And who can really climb to a high position cleanly!"

Dar said these words not to attack Hanguli, but to tell her that if she wanted to survive in the harem, she had to be as cruel and ruthless as eating human flesh and drinking human blood, otherwise she would only become food and blood in the mouths of others. In fact, she had wanted to say these words a long time ago, but seeing that her master was getting thinner and thinner because of nightmares, she had been holding back and didn't say it out loud. However, since Lan Cairen had already mentioned this topic today, she might as well say it out loud so that the lady could accept it at once.

Hanguli sighed helplessly: "Hey! Let's take a rest first. We still have to thank the queen tomorrow."

Dahl nodded respectfully and said, "Yes, but you have been troubled by nightmares recently, so why not find a doctor to take a look?"

Hanguli shook her head and said, "No, I just need to rest for a while. Maybe I'll be fine in a few days!"

Dar nodded, and then asked, "Miss, what dress are you going to wear to see the queen tomorrow?"

Hanguli waved her hand casually and replied, "Whatever. The clothes prepared by the Ku family are all similar. Any one will do."

After that, Hanguli went to the couch to take a nap, while Dar walked to the wardrobe and carefully selected the clothes she needed for tomorrow. Bayer came in from outside with a bowl of steaming white fungus soup in his hand. When she saw that Hanguli had fallen asleep peacefully, she carefully placed the white fungus soup on the table and whispered to her sister that if the young lady woke up, she should remember to let her drink the bowl of white fungus soup to nourish her body. Then, Bayer turned around and walked out of the room quietly.

Since the queen specially sent two maids and a young eunuch to serve her when she entered the palace, Bayer would basically wait at the door during this period, personally directing the three of them to complete various rough chores, and never allowing them to get close to the young lady. After all, her sister once reminded her that although these three people were apparently assigned by the queen, they were actually just young maids who had just entered the palace and were inexperienced in the world, and were very easy to be bribed or instigated by others. Because of this, Bayer had to be vigilant at all times to prevent them from doing anything wrong.

The next morning, all the concubines in the palace got up early and began to dress up. However, Hanguli woke up in the middle of the night and sat there silently until dawn. When Dar took out the prepared dress for her, he was going to help her change into it.

Hanguli looked at the gorgeous dress in front of her and couldn't help feeling a little confused.

"This dress... seems a little strange..." She gently stroked the hem of the dress, curiosity revealed in her eyes.

Dar quickly explained, "This was delivered by the Etiquette Bureau yesterday afternoon. It is said that the dresses are specially tailored according to the status of each new master. When giving thanks today, everyone has to wear such clothes."

Hanguli took the dress from Dale's hand and examined it carefully. She was amazed by both the workmanship and the fabric. This level of refinement far exceeded any dress she had worn before. She originally thought that the dresses that Mrs. Luke prepared for her were already excellent, after all, they were made of the best fabrics in Baiya Village and the craftsmanship of the tailors. However, compared with this one in her hand, those were simply dwarfed by the others.

After putting on this gorgeous dress, Hanguli radiated a different kind of brilliance. She turned around in front of the mirror with satisfaction, and then walked towards the queen's palace with Dal.

But the moment she stepped out of the door, she saw a familiar figure - Lan Cairen.

Lan Cairen came up to him with a smile and said, "Good morning, Li Liangren! How about we go together?"

Hanguli also responded with a smile: "It's naturally great to have my sister accompany me!"

The two walked side by side, chatting and laughing along the way. The sunlight shone on them, reflecting beautiful light.

The two of them smiled knowingly, and when they walked to the gate of Yunhe Hall, they happened to meet two other people from the same palace as them, as well as Madam Zhao, who had been waiting at the gate and sitting in a sedan chair.

Madam Zhao glanced at them lazily and said impatiently, "Everyone is here, let's go! I will lead the way for you!"

After that, she yawned again, leaned back in her chair, propped up her head and closed her eyes and said, "Walk more steadily, I'll take a nap!"

Her personal maid looked at the bearers and said sternly, "Madam needs to rest. Carry the sedan chair carefully and don't disturb her!"

The bearers did not answer, but lowered their heads and carried the sedan quietly. Their eyes were fixed on the road beneath their feet, and they took every step carefully.

The four people following Madam Zhao saw this scene. Lan Cairen came quietly to Hanguli's side and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"See? If you want to ride in a sedan chair, you must learn to climb. If you are unwilling to climb, then you can only carry the sedan chair. If you don't fight for it, I'm afraid that in the end you will even be deprived of the qualification to carry the sedan chair."

Hanguli smiled knowingly, "Sister is right. In this harem full of intrigues and schemes, if you don't fight and compete, you probably won't even be qualified to be a stepping stone for others."

Lan Cairen raised the corner of her mouth slightly: "I'm glad that my sister can understand the truth. Then I will wait for you to work together with me!"

After a brief conversation, Lancai turned and left. She thought she had read Hanguli's mind and felt that the reason why Hanguli said that was that she had thought it through and expressed her willingness to form an alliance with her. After all, no matter who enters the palace, they cannot escape the arrangement of fate and must move forward along the established path. Lancai and Hanguli both know one thing very well - in this cruel and ruthless palace, being too kind will only lead to premature death. Therefore, Lancai firmly believes that Hanguli will not refuse the olive branch she has thrown.

However, only Dar knew that what Hanguli said was actually for herself. Because the lady once told her that if she could not fight or compete, she might be safe. But now it seems that this is not the case.

The struggle within the palace was far more complicated than they had imagined. From the attack on the way, to the residence carefully arranged by the queen in the palace, to the open and covert struggles between the queen and the virtuous concubine, all of them revealed a lot of conspiracy and calculation.

Therefore, the young lady's action was actually forcing herself. She forced herself to adapt to the intrigues in the palace, spurred herself to keep moving forward, and more firmly required herself to persist. This was not only for her parents and brother at home, but also for her own destiny.