Children of Loulan

She had just walked out of Kunning Palace and saw Dalan standing next to her after walking a few steps. Hanguli knew very well that Dalan must be waiting for her here, so she walked up quickly and asked:

"Sister, are you waiting for me here on purpose?"

Dalan sneered, and said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone: "What, you have won the favor of the queen, and now you look down on me, right?"

Hanguli smiled softly and responded, "Sister, do you think this counts as winning the Queen's favor?"

Dalan glanced at the ginseng following behind Hanguli, raised the corner of his mouth, and said with a smile: "The queen has rewarded you with such a good ginseng, isn't this considered an honor?"

After hearing this, Hanguli just smiled and nodded, indicating her agreement, and then replied softly: "Since my sister said yes, then so be it!"

Seeing this, Dalan couldn't help but sigh, shook his head and said, "You are really taking advantage of me! But it's good this way, it can be considered a blessing in disguise!"

Hanguli smiled and said nothing more. Then, she looked up at Dalan and suggested, "Sister, let's go back first!"

Afterwards, the two returned to the palace together. When they passed by the Imperial Garden, Dalan stopped, turned his head and looked at the Imperial Garden, and suggested: "It's still quite early now, why don't we go for a walk in the Imperial Garden!"

Hanguli: "But... the queen has already invited the imperial physician for me, and she said he will be here soon. This is the first time that the Imperial Hospital has treated newcomers like us. I can't... let people think that I am relying on the queen's power and not taking the imperial physician seriously. Let him keep waiting!"

Daran: "I don't really insist that you come with me. You look so nervous. Never mind. I'll just go for a stroll by myself!"

Hanguli smiled slightly: "Then I will go ahead. I will have the chance to go shopping with you next time!"

Dalan: "Yeah, okay, you should have a good rest when you go back!"

After Hanguli left, Dalan took her maid and walked into the imperial garden. Winter was approaching, and most of the flowers in the imperial garden had withered and fallen.

Dalan walked a little further and suddenly saw a man-made lake in front of her with a small pavilion beside the lake. She thought that she was tired after walking for so long and might as well go in and sit for a while to rest her feet. This imperial garden without flowers looked a little deserted and desolate.

Just as Dalan was about to step into the pavilion, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind her:

"Oh, so you are from Lancai!"

When Dalan heard the voice, her body turned involuntarily and her eyes fell on Concubine Ru and the king not far away. She was so terrified that her knees went weak and she immediately knelt down to salute.

"I pay my respects to the king and to the Empress Ru!"

At this moment, Dalan's heart was beating like thunder. She just wanted to go for a stroll, and she never expected to meet the king and Concubine Lu here. What's worse, she had the audacity to interrupt the date between the king and Concubine Lu. She couldn't help but worry about what kind of punishment she would suffer. Just imagining it made her chest tighten.

As if she understood what Dalan was thinking, Concubine Ru smiled softly and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you let Sister Lan get up quickly? Look how scared she is!"

The king responded: "Get up!"

After Dalan thanked him and stood up, she still kept her head down respectfully, fearing that if she looked up, she would see the king's angry face, or the angry look of Concubine Ru. However, to her surprise, this was not the case.

Concubine Ru teased, "Sister Lan, please raise your head and let the king take a good look at you. It's a rare opportunity to meet the king. Are you going to waste this precious opportunity?"

Dalan was stunned when she heard this, and her face instantly turned red, like a ripe apple. She had no idea how to respond, and could only stammer, "Ah... Concubine... Concubine..."

Seeing Dalan like this, Concubine Ru couldn't help but burst into laughter. Her voice was clear and pleasant, echoing in the palace.

"Hahaha, your Majesty, look, this Lan Cai person is really interesting!" Concubine Ru said to the king with a smile.

The king looked at Concubine Ru with a doting look on his face, and gently rebuked her: "You just like to play tricks on people. She is still young, how can she stand your teasing!"

Concubine Ru responded coquettishly: "Oh, my king, I was just teasing your little concubine, and you are so distressed!"

The king raised his lips slightly and said teasingly: "Why, are you jealous?"

Concubine Ru sighed softly and said helplessly: "Ah, even if I am jealous, what can I do? The king will not abandon these new sisters just because I am jealous!"

Hearing the intimate conversation between the king and Concubine Ru, Dalan felt extremely embarrassed. She never dreamed that Concubine Ru would openly flirt with the king in the imperial garden. At this moment, she felt that her face was burning as if it was on fire, so hot that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into immediately so that she could escape from this extremely embarrassing situation. After all, she was a little girl who had not experienced sex, how could she withstand such a scene! While lowering her head, she secretly thought in her heart how to get out of here.

At this moment, she suddenly heard the king's voice: "Are you from Lancai?"

Dalan quickly responded: "Yes, my king!"

The king then said, "Lift your head and let me see it!"

Dalan slowly raised her head, but she never dared to look directly at the king, but kept staring at the ground. However, Concubine Ru suddenly interrupted and said, "Oh, what a beautiful and charming lady!"

This sentence was like a fire, instantly igniting Dalan's already blushing cheeks, making her face even redder. At this moment, Dalan wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

The king did not seem to notice Dalan's shyness and continued to order: "Look up at me!"

Dalan had no choice but to slowly turn her eyes to the king's face. Only then did she really see the king's appearance. It turned out that the king was so handsome and elegant, and his eyebrows revealed a kind of majesty and confidence, which was completely different from what she had imagined before. Although she had heard that the king was already in his thirties, she had always thought that the king in his thirties would be like her father, a middle-aged man with a face full of vicissitudes of life tortured by time!

So during the selection, even though she was very close to the king, she never raised her head. The reason was that she was afraid that she would see a middle-aged man with a bloated body, or a slightly old and thin man. Because of this, after entering the palace, she never thought about fighting for power, but just wanted to live a good life like Hanguli. This is why she took the initiative to find Hanguli and hoped to form an alliance with her.

After all, in her opinion at that time, rather than competing with many other women for the favor of a man she did not like, it would be more practical to find an ally in this huge harem, and to rely on and support each other.

However, what she didn't expect was that the king who appeared before her was not only handsome, but also in his prime, and looked much younger than her father. Just as she was fascinated by him, she heard Concubine Ru's sweet laughter like a silver bell:

"Haha, my king, look, Sister Lan is fascinated by your handsome appearance!"

After hearing what Concubine Ru said, Dalan's cheeks instantly turned red again, and she quickly lowered her head shyly. At this moment, her heart was full of shyness and extreme tension, and she didn't even understand why she was staring so intently.

“Please…please forgive me, Your Majesty. I…I…” Dalan was so nervous that she couldn’t even utter a complete sentence.

Concubine Ru smiled softly and consoled her: "Sister Lan, what crime do you want to forgive? The king is our husband. What crime is there in looking at your husband? Don't you think so, my king?"

The king nodded, a smile on his face: "Indeed, I am your husband, it is only natural that you look at me!"

When she heard the word "husband", Darlan's heart beat faster and faster, as if it was about to jump out of her throat.

Concubine Ru then asked, "I wonder how old Sister Lan is this year?"

Dalan took a deep breath, tried to calm herself down, and replied: "Your Majesty, I am sixteen years old this year!"

Concubine Zhu exclaimed: "Oh, she is 28 years old, this is the best time of life, will the king take care of this 28-year-old sister Lan today?"

The king couldn't help but tease: "Why are you so generous today and push me out?"

Concubine Ru sighed with a face full of resentment, "Alas, there is nothing I can do. I am a concubine. As a concubine, I should always consider the king. Moreover, I have also seen that there are indeed few capable people serving the king. It just so happens that so many new people have come this time, so naturally I should give them more opportunities. Besides, look at this sister Lan, she is so beautiful and charming, I think the king will definitely like her. As long as the king likes her, then I will be happy!"

The king looked at Dalan again, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Well, Lan Cairen has a pair of beautiful eyes, which are really charming!"

Concubine Ru smiled knowingly, turned around and shouted behind her:

"Eunuch Aishan, why don't you send someone to escort Lan Cairen back quickly and prepare for tonight's sleeping arrangements!"

Aishan quickly responded, "Hey, I'll arrange for someone to send Lan Cai back right away!"

Then, Aisan instructed a young eunuch who came with him:

"What are you still standing there for? Go! What do you need to do? Do you want me to teach you again?"

The young eunuch came to his senses and quickly replied, "Yes, I understand!"

The young eunuch then walked quickly to Dalan, bowed and said:

"Mr. Lan Cai, please follow me." The young eunuch bowed and said respectfully.

Lan Cairen bowed slightly and saluted: "I'll take my leave!"

Led by the eunuch, Dalan walked briskly and soon returned to Yunhe Hall. When he reached the entrance of Yunhe Hall, the eunuch stopped, turned around, and said to Dalan with a smile on his face: "Congratulations to Lan Cairen!"

Upon hearing this, Dalan raised her beautiful eyes and glanced at Mi Feiti. Mi Feiti understood what he meant and quickly took out two taels of silver from his arms and gently placed it in the little eunuch's hand.

Dalan smiled softly and said, "Thank you, eunuch. It's just that I just entered the palace and I don't have much private money. I hope you won't despise this small gift!"

The young eunuch took the silver, and his smile became brighter. He said flatteringly: "Lan Cairen is so polite! Don't worry, Lan Cairen just needs to wait patiently in the palace. After dinner, a special maid will come and lead Cairen to the place where she should go. At that time, Cairen only needs to follow the maid's instructions and she will not make any mistakes!"