Children of Loulan

After coming out of the Queen's Palace, Madam Zhao and Lady Xi walked towards the Summer Palace together.

Along the way, the two of them didn't talk much, because they didn't trust each other at this time, and soon they arrived in front of the Summer Palace. At this time, the sun was shining in the courtyard in front of the palace, making it warm.

Entering the hall, I saw Concubine Xian lazily leaning on a bench, leisurely enjoying the warm winter sun. Beside her stood a palace maid, who fed peeled grapes into Concubine Xian's mouth from time to time.

Seeing this, Madam Zhao hurried forward, poured a cup of steaming hot tea, carefully handed it to Concubine Xian, and said softly:

"My lady, although winter is coming, the afternoon sun is still a bit hot and unbearable. You must not stay in the sun for too long! Otherwise, you will hurt your body."

Xian Fei slowly opened her eyes, glanced at Madam Zhao leisurely, raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealed a faint smile, and responded earnestly:

"This warm winter sun is the most comfortable and pleasant. Madam Zhao, if you have time, you should go out to bask in the sun more often and take good care of yourself. Only in this way can you keep a man's heart!"

After saying this, she gently waved her hand, motioning for Madam Zhao to sit down and chat with her in the sun.

Madam Zhao naturally understood the deep meaning of Concubine Xian's words, but she did not dare to easily understand the true meaning, let alone respond, so she pretended to be confused and said:

"Please forgive my ignorance."

The virtuous concubine laughed once again: "Hahaha...you still need time to slowly comprehend!"

Seeing the seemingly close sisters in front of her, the beautiful lady sneered in her heart, full of contempt and disdain. However, in a flash, she couldn't help but think of the various human relationships in the harem, thinking, isn't this a true portrayal of palace life?

Although she was full of disdain in her heart, the Western beauty did not show any strange expression on her face. She still bowed respectfully to the virtuous concubine and whispered:

"cousin!"

At this moment, Concubine Xian seemed to have just noticed the presence of the Western beauty, and greeted her enthusiastically:

"Oh, my cousin is here too! Come on, come over here and sit down. Let's enjoy the warm sunshine together."

After saying this, he signaled the palace maid to bring out a chair and asked the Western beauty to sit closer.

After the three of them were seated, Madam Zhao took a deep breath and slowly began to tell Concubine Xian everything that had happened in the Queen's Palace that morning. Her tone was steady and delicate, as if she wanted to show every detail to Concubine Xian.

However, Concubine Xian's reaction after hearing this was unexpectedly indifferent. She just shook her head slightly, raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and said with a smile:

"The queen is a little impatient. She can come up with such an easy-to-understand method. It's really ugly to see how she eats!"

Madam Zhao frowned slightly. There were some things that Concubine Xian dared to say, but she didn't dare to say them. After all, Concubine Xian had the King to protect her, but she had no one to protect her, so she could only lower her voice and say:

"Anyone with a little bit of common sense can see through the Queen's mind. I just wonder if Lan Caicai is..."

Concubine Xian snorted coldly and interrupted Madam Zhao: "She is someone in your palace. Can't you see her every move?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao stood up immediately and replied respectfully:

"I understand, thank you for your teachings!"

She thought to herself that this virtuous concubine really liked to take advantage of every opportunity. She wanted to get involved in anything that the queen took a fancy to.

The virtuous concubine nodded slightly to show her satisfaction and said softly:

"Well, if that's the case, then sit down and talk. Aren't you tired of being so reserved all the time?"

Madam Zhao sat down slowly as she was told, but as soon as her butt touched the chair, she heard Concubine Xian continue speaking.

"Xilin, you have been in the palace for quite some time now. Look at that Lan Cairen, she is so pretty that she can be favored by the emperor. If you don't hurry up, you may miss this good opportunity!"

Concubine Xian spoke to Xilin earnestly.

Because she was infertile and the second prince was not her biological son, she turned to her father for help and asked a woman from the family to come into the palace so that she could have a child through surrogacy. This way, even if the child grew up and knew the truth, they would not make things difficult for her because of their blood relationship.

Xilin stared at the virtuous concubine in front of her whose heart and eyes were full of calculations. She knew in her heart that this so-called cousin must have some plans for her, but she didn't know it yet!

So, she quickly suppressed her inner thoughts, deliberately revealed a trace of panic and responded:

"Yes, cousin! I will do my best!"

Seeing her being so tactful, Concubine Xian was very satisfied. She slowly picked up the teacup, blew away the hot air on the surface, and then took a sip of the tea gracefully. After the tea fragrance in her mouth dissipated slightly, she slowly opened her mouth and said:

"I have been under house arrest for a few days now."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao hurriedly replied respectfully:

"To answer your Majesty, it has been ten days!" She said this while secretly observing Concubine Xian's expression.

After hearing this, Concubine Xian raised her eyebrows slightly and sighed twice:

"Really? Has it been so long? Time flies so fast..."

Madam Zhao's heart tightened. She knew that the virtuous concubine was using this excuse to criticize her. She did not ask the king to lift her house arrest on her behalf, but she still managed a smile on her face and consoled her:

"Don't be anxious, madam. The king is very busy, and perhaps he has forgotten about you because he is busy with state affairs. In my opinion, after some time, the king will definitely remember you and come to visit you."

She secretly complained in her heart, and she actually didn't want to comfort Concubine Xian at all. However, in this deep palace, how can you not bow your head? Especially facing such a ruthless and not kind Concubine Xian, you need to be vigilant at all times. Sometimes, pretending to be stupid can actually protect yourself. So at this moment, she can only pretend to be stupid and try to make herself look stupid, so as not to arouse Concubine Xian's suspicion and disgust.

The virtuous concubine did not seem angry, nor did she smile at Madam Zhao's false consolation. She just said calmly:

"Madam Zhao, you still lack some intelligence. Men have always been heartless and will forget their old love when they find a new one. Even among the common people, there are many people like this, not to mention that the man in front of you is the king of a country. These newly appointed concubines have only been in the palace for a few days, and the king has already visited three of them in succession. This shows that the king likes those new concubines very much. At this moment, it is reasonable for the king to forget me."

Madam Zhao was already accustomed to Concubine Xian's calm reaction, but she still had to pretend to be clueless and asked softly:

"Then, Madam, do you have any good ideas or strategies to deal with this situation?"

The virtuous concubine chuckled and said, "Haha, what good ideas can I have? I just want the king to feel sorry for me!"

Concubine Xian thought for a moment, then looked at Xilin seriously and said:

"Tomorrow, when you go to invite the king, tell him that I accidentally fell while praying for him today..."

Her meaning was obvious. If Xilin invited the king, she would benefit. If she failed, she would let Xilin show her face in front of the king, because she believed that Xilin's appearance would definitely attract the king's attention!