Children of Loulan

Lian Zhi saw this and bowed quickly:

"It's all because of my stupidity. Please help me solve my confusion, Madam!"

The Concubine Xian smiled coldly, and said with a look of contempt: "Humph! Although I have promised the King that I will go and apologize to the Queen, it is up to me to decide whether to truly apologize. Besides, I have already arrived in advance, so my sincerity in apologizing is quite strong."

After hearing this, Lian Zhi suddenly realized what Concubine Xian meant. It turned out that the Queen did not sincerely go to apologize, but just pretended to do it for the King to see, so that the King would know that the Queen had set out to Kunning Palace in the morning to apologize to the Queen. As for what to say and do in the Queen's palace, it all depends on the Queen's personal wishes and words.

Moreover, only the Queen knows what she promised the King, and the other concubines are not aware of it. So even if the Queen does not plead guilty, there is no need to worry that the other concubines will complain.

After finishing her hair and washing, Concubine Xian walked gracefully to the closet and carefully examined each piece of exquisite clothing. After careful consideration, she finally chose a gorgeous dress with bright colors, embroidered with delicate patterns and sparkling gems, which seemed to illuminate the entire room.

Because she had been confined to the palace, Concubine Xian missed the days when the newlyweds came to thank the queen, which made the queen the center of attention. Now that she is finally free, she is determined to make trouble for the queen so that the ten days of confinement will not be wasted.

When everything was ready, Concubine Xian once again stared at herself in the mirror and was very satisfied with her appearance. In particular, she recalled the loving and longing look in the king's eyes when he looked at her last night, and she couldn't help but feel an indescribable joy and satisfaction in her heart.

This complacent mood made Concubine Xian feel a little elated, so she couldn't wait to call her personal maid Lian Zhi to come and help her go to Kunning Palace.

At this time, Kunning Palace was peaceful and quiet. The queen had just woken up from her sleep. She lay lazily on the bed, and before she got up, she heard the palace servants outside reporting softly:

"Your Majesty, the virtuous concubine is here to pay her respects."

Upon hearing this news, the queen was stunned and frowned slightly:

"Xianfei? Isn't she under house arrest? Why did she suddenly come to pay respects?"

Just as the queen was puzzled, Mu, who was serving beside her, hurried forward and bowed his head respectfully and said:

"In reply to the Queen, I heard that the King went to the Summer Palace last night."

After hearing what Mu Lian said, the queen felt relieved, but at the same time, she felt helpless and resentful.

"I see... Ten days have passed so quickly! That vixen is still haunting me, I almost forgot about her. Even though there are so many new beauties in the palace recently, they still can't keep the king's heart!"

The queen was indignant when she thought of the many things that this virtuous concubine had done to her, both openly and covertly. However, when she thought of the fact that she was infertile and that her only son was not her own, she felt a little relieved - after all, this was the only thing that could comfort her.

Seeing the queen's angry face, Mu Lian smiled and said:

"Your Majesty, you may not know that yesterday afternoon, Madam Zhao brought the cousin of Madam Xianfei, Lady Xi, to the Qinzheng Palace together!"

"Madam Zhao and Lady Xi?"

The queen looked at Mu Lian in disbelief, with some emotion in her heart.

Seeing the queen's face full of doubts and eagerness to know the truth, Mu Lian did not dare to hesitate for a moment. She immediately stepped forward to help the queen up and said:

"It's absolutely true. Madam Han was in the Qinzheng Palace at the time, and many palace maids and eunuchs saw it!"

After getting the definite answer, the queen took a deep breath as if relieved, and her originally dull eyes suddenly became bright, as if injected with new vitality. Her mood was like experiencing a polar counterattack, from the freezing cold winter to the warm and pleasant March.

The queen couldn't wait to get out of bed, held Mu Lian's hand tightly, and asked anxiously:

"So, this time the king didn't want to release her from the bottom of his heart, but because of that Western beauty?"

Here the queen's eyes still gleamed with hope.

Seeing the queen smiling, Mu Lian couldn't help but feel happy. She comforted him:

"Therefore, Queen, you just need to wait patiently. Recently, many beauties have been added to the palace. Let alone other things, the beauty of the Western beauty alone can be called a peerless beauty, which is rare in the world. Not to mention that there are many beauties in the harem. Even if the virtuous concubine has more means, I am afraid it will be difficult to eliminate all the beauties!"

Hearing this, the queen snorted coldly:

"Yes, if the king favors that Western beauty, I will have to see if Concubine Xian will compete with her sister for favor. Even if the two sisters will not turn against each other, Concubine Xian will not watch another newcomer gain favor. If she hurts someone because of this, then I will have the opportunity to catch her."

Mu Lian nodded in agreement and said, "That's right, Your Majesty. By then, Your Majesty will have solid evidence that Consort Xian murdered Consort Xiang. Even if the Prime Minister wants to favor her, it will be useless."

Hearing this, the queen was extremely happy. She looked at the slightly bright sky outside the window, a slight smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she slowly said:

"Well, today's weather is really pleasant. I guess Concubine Xian hasn't had breakfast yet? It's rare that she comes to pay respects to me so early today, so I'll order Shanfang to prepare a bowl of Tremella and Lotus Seed Soup for her. I can't let others talk about it and say that I treated her unfairly!"

Mu quickly bowed and responded respectfully, "Yes, sir!" Then he turned around and whispered to the palace maids behind him to go and prepare quickly.

At the beginning of the morning hour, when the sun had just risen, the concubines from various palaces in the palace came to the queen's bedroom. However, when they saw the virtuous concubine, they did not show much surprise! This was because everyone had long been accustomed to it - every time the virtuous concubine was under house arrest, she would be released by the king within ten days.

As expected, this time was no exception. As soon as the time came, the king lifted the confinement restrictions on Concubine Xian. This situation seemed to have become a routine, so the concubines were not surprised by Concubine Xian's appearance.

At this moment, a loud shout broke the silence:

"The Queen is here!"

With this announcement, everyone's eyes turned to the door, expecting the arrival of the queen. For a moment, the atmosphere became tense and solemn.

Accompanied by a sharp and high-pitched shout from a eunuch, everyone present cast aside all distracting thoughts as if awakened from a dream, stood up respectfully, and waited quietly for the queen to appear.

The queen was in an unusually happy mood today, and when she looked at Concubine Xian, she no longer felt the same disgust as before. After the queen slowly took her seat, all the concubines immediately knelt down and saluted:

"Your Highness, may you live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years!"

The loud shouts echoed throughout the palace, as if they were about to break through the roof, filled with awe and courtesy.