Children of Loulan

The queen sat on the phoenix chair, looking down at the people kneeling below, with a barely perceptible smug look in her eyes. The corners of her mouth slightly raised, revealing a light and gentle smile, and she said softly:

"Everyone get up!"

All the concubines expressed their gratitude in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Then they stood up and returned to their seats.

After everyone was seated, the queen turned her gaze to Consort Xian beside her and asked with a smile:

"Sister Xianfei, I wonder if this bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup that I had someone prepare is to your taste? Seeing that you came so early today, I guessed that you haven't had breakfast yet. So I specially ordered the kitchen to make this dessert. I think it shouldn't be as good as the one in the palace, right?"

After saying that, she smiled gently, with a look of intimacy and concern in her eyes.

Her question was like a stone that stirred up a thousand waves, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present, all of whom turned to Concubine Xian. Their eyes were full of curiosity and doubt. While looking at Concubine Xian, they also glanced at the Queen from time to time, secretly wondering: What happened today? When did the relationship between Concubine Xian and the Queen become so close? Would the Queen take the initiative to care about Concubine Xian? Could it be that Concubine Xian came early today for some special reason? Or had they reached some kind of tacit understanding or secret agreement that was unknown to others?

This sudden question was like a huge bomb that exploded in the hearts of the concubines. Although they were silent on the surface, their eyes revealed endless suspicion and confusion. Everyone tried to read some clues from the other's eyes, but in the end, they still got nothing, and no one could see the real reason.

Today, Madam Ji didn't dare to say anything more because of the ginseng and black chicken soup that Lan Cai had prepared that day.

When Concubine Xian heard the queen's question, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly, secretly wondering in her heart: "Did the queen take the wrong medicine? She has suffered losses repeatedly at my hands in the past, and now she dares to provoke me! Since she delivered the goods to my door, don't blame me for being ruthless."

The corners of her mouth slightly raised, revealing a charming smile, and she responded softly:

"This morning, when the king got up, I was already awake. I had originally thought that I would take a short nap after the king left for the court session. Unexpectedly, I could not sleep after tossing and turning. After thinking about it, I decided to come early to greet the queen.

"I just didn't expect that I was so careless that I forgot to have breakfast. Fortunately, the queen was very considerate. She thought that I came so early and must be busy helping the king change clothes and wash up, so I had no time to take care of breakfast. But... I don't know if I disturbed the queen's rest - I heard that... the king hasn't come to the queen's place for a long time, I wonder... how the queen is doing these days?"

Every word she said was full of endless provocation and irony, which shocked the concubines present. They thought to themselves that they seemed to have misunderstood something just now, and the relationship between this virtuous concubine and the queen was still as hostile as fire and water, and it had not changed at all. However, what they did not expect was that in the face of the queen's caring behavior, the virtuous concubine was so cruel and resolute, and mercilessly ridiculed the queen in public for not being favored by the king and not even as good as a little concubine like her.

When the virtuous concubine finished speaking, everyone wanted to take a peek at the queen's expression, but no one dared to raise their heads. The queen stared at the faces below, some flattering, some frightened, and some cunning. She smiled slightly, as if the virtuous concubine was not talking about her.

"Since I am the heir of a country, I naturally cannot devote all my attention to the king alone. As the queen, I have a more important mission - to carefully nurture the dragon descendants born to the king, me, and the concubines in the harem.

These children are the future hope of our Loulan royal family. They not only bear the heavy responsibility of Loulan's prosperity, but also are related to the stability and continuation of the country. Therefore, for each child, I will do my best to give them the best education.

Not only that, I have to take care of the huge harem affairs for the king, and I am busy all day long. I really don’t have the leisure time to be as leisurely as my sister, the virtuous concubine. Occasionally, I can play the interesting confinement game with the king.

How enviable! Alas! It’s just that I have a high status. As the queen of a country, I naturally cannot deliberately compete for favors and flatter like other concubines. All I can do is to teach you sisters wholeheartedly for the king. "

The queen's words were very skillful, and it could be said that she killed two birds with one stone and took a step back to advance. Every sentence seemed to be mocking herself for not being favored by the king, but in fact, they were all hinting to Concubine Xian:

I am the queen, the real master of the entire harem! Moreover, I have a biological son, while your son is not yours, so I don’t need to compete with you ignorant women for the limelight. Especially the word "game", which is full of irony, implying that the concubine likes to stir up trouble and is often punished by the king for inappropriate behavior - confinement.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Xian's face instantly turned extremely gloomy, and an uncontrollable anger surged in her heart. She widened her eyes, clenched her teeth tightly, and her body trembled slightly. Such humiliation was simply a great shame for her! However, it was only a moment of anger, and her reason returned immediately. She closed her eyes and suppressed the anger in her heart. She knew very well that on this occasion today, she absolutely could not confront the queen head-on.

It would be bad if the matter got out of hand and the king was alarmed. After all, I promised the king to come and apologize. If the king knew that I not only did not apologize but also mocked the queen, I am afraid the king would have a prejudice against me.

So she took a deep breath, tried to calm her inner turmoil, and forced herself to calm down. At the same time, she thought to herself, "When did the queen become so eloquent? In the past, I always refuted her and made her speechless, but now the queen seems to have changed into a different person, with quick thinking and sharp words."

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, but she couldn't lose her temper now. Just as she was about to say something in rebuttal, a palace maid came in and reported:

"Your Majesty, the King has sent me here to deliver a message!"

The queen was in a very good mood at the moment. She asked slowly:

"What?"

The palace maid said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the king has asked you to prepare lunch. We will come to eat after the king leaves the court."

"Yes, I understand." The queen raised her eyes slightly and responded calmly, but her seemingly casual glance was full of deep meaning and pride. Her eyes fell directly on Concubine Xian, as if conveying a message to her - "Did you see that? Just now you said that the king would not come to Kunning Palace, and now? You were slapped in the face so quickly, I guess you didn't expect it! Hahaha... How can a mere bitch be compared with me?"

Xianfei naturally felt the provocative look from the queen, and a trace of resentment and anger surged in her heart. However, on the surface, she still pretended to be calm.

After the palace servant carefully bowed his body and slowly left the palace, the queen withdrew her gaze from the door, then smiled and said to everyone present in a very gentle tone:

"In that case, then all the sisters should go back and rest early today! I have to go prepare a meal for the king!"

As soon as the voice fell, all the concubines present stood up quickly, saluted respectfully to the queen, and said in unison:

"Concubine, please retire!"

The sound was clear and pleasant, echoing throughout the palace.

Seeing this, the queen nodded with satisfaction and responded softly:

"Ok!"

Then all the concubines turned around and left one by one.