Like the well - bred young ladies in the capital, Concubine Shu's original name was Liu Wanyan. She was the beloved daughter of Liu Cheng, who doted on her since childhood and always provided her with the best. Liu Wanyan was also very promising. She could recite ancient poems at the age of three, was well - versed in music at five, and could do delicate embroidery at ten. Liu Cheng's cultivation of her was extremely strict - he trained her to be a queen.
Liu Cheng hoped that she would possess the qualities of a mother to the nation. However, since Liu Wanyan married Sikong Ting five years ago, during these five years, she had worked her way up from the secondary concubine of the crown prince to the first among the four concubines. But Sikong Ting not only left her without a single child but also never even touched her.
She originally thought that Sikong Ting's polite and distant attitude was common to all his concubines. After all, neither the Virtuous Concubine nor Noble Lady Zhang, who were forced upon him, had given birth to a child. Moreover, compared with them, Sikong Ting seemed to care more about her, his first concubine.
She had waited behind him for five years, thinking she would live like this for the rest of her life. But who would have known that Qin Huailian came along.
Sikong Ting not only married her into the palace with the ceremony of a queen. After that, Sikong Ting, who never used to stay overnight in the concubines' chambers, actually stayed in the Kunning Palace. Then, he took her on a spring hunt while leaving the other concubines alone in the Yushan Palace.
Years of forbearance had made her inner resentment grow stronger and stronger. As a perfect "queen" presented to Sikong Ting by Liu Cheng, she could not allow anyone to take the position that she had already regarded as her own deep in her heart.
So, she took action. She wanted to kill Qin Lan and teach Qin Huaiqiu a lesson... She thought that with the help of the Loulan people, this matter could be carried out flawlessly. But unexpectedly, those Loulan people died! The Great Sheng and Loulan were already sworn enemies. If she was associated with them, she would never be able to clear her name!
Concubine Shu felt a sudden dizziness, her whole body went limp, and she was about to collapse. Ying'er was quick - witted and caught her in time. She panicked and said, "Your Ladyship? Your Ladyship!"
Concubine Shu's head was in a daze. She grabbed Ying'er's arm tightly, so hard that the veins on her hand bulged.
"Ying'er... Go... Go and find him to come and see me." Concubine Shu's eyes were fierce, with a sharp look.
Ying'er was startled and stammered, ".... Your Ladyship?"
"Go! Go and bring Chang Lin to see me!" Concubine Shu pushed her away. Ying'er lost her balance and fell to the ground. The head ornaments she had carefully arranged scattered all over the place, and her hair bun came loose due to the violent movement. Ying'er looked at the crazy - looking Concubine Shu in front of her, both shocked and scared. She scrambled to her feet in a hurry and rushed out of the Ningfu Palace.
Qin Lan was yawning in a tree. She had left in a hurry today and forgot to bring the insect - repellent powder. By now, she had already swatted countless mosquitoes.
The buzzing sound came to her ears again. She was quick - eyed and quick - handed. With a "pop", she killed another mosquito and couldn't help cursing, "Damn it! How dare you bite your grandma?"
Just then, the gate of the Ningfu Palace was suddenly pushed open, and a figure rushed out.
Qin Lan was startled and quickly looked carefully. She saw Ying'er running away in a panic, covering her mouth.
Qin Lan frowned. Without thinking, she jumped down from the tree like a tiger and followed Ying'er like a ghost.
Qin Lan was already very familiar with the patrolling schedule of the guards in the palace. While avoiding the guards, she watched Ying'er's back from a distance and followed her steps.
The surrounding scenery became more and more familiar. Qin Lan subconsciously paid attention. The path Ying'er was taking was the one she had explored before, the path leading to Jingshan.
Jingshan was usually the place where low - ranking eunuchs and maids in the palace lived.
Qin Lan gritted her teeth secretly when she thought of the unknown eunuch who had deceived her before.
She saw Ying'er go straight to a small gate in a corner of the palace and slip out. Then she ran to the outside of a small courtyard in Jingshan. She took out a metal sheet from her bosom and knocked on the door three times with a "ding - ding - ding" sound.
Not long after, a figure flashed out from the small courtyard, walked out of the courtyard gate, and stood beside Ying'er.
It was an eunuch.
Qin Lan hid in the shadow behind a tree. Because of the long distance, she couldn't hear their conversation clearly. She slowly poked out half of her head. With the faint moonlight, she saw the eunuch's face clearly.
The next second, her eyes widened.
Was it Chang Lin?!
——————————————
"We're going to enter the palace tomorrow, Captain. It's already the second watch," Kurore yawned and advised. "The Han emperor always holds court at the fifth watch. We don't have much time to sleep."
Yazeb snorted and didn't stop walking. "The king has sent an order. Do you dare not to receive it?"
Kurore was stunned for a moment and then came to his senses. "Isn't the king's order just for us to persuade the Han army to withdraw?"
Yazeb said angrily, "Who else could make the king send another order at this time if not her?"
"The Saintess?" Kurore showed his excitement on his face. "What instructions does the Saintess have?"
Hearing this, Yazeb turned around and slapped him. Kurore was knocked to the ground. Yazeb looked down at him condescendingly and said coldly, "From now on, never call her the Saintess in front of me. Do you understand?"
Kurore was stunned by the slap. His face was burning with pain. He was so frightened by Yazeb's look that he couldn't stop nodding.
"A child of the Han people, but the king still treasures her!" Yazeb cursed. "When we break through the Protectorate General's Mansion this time, I'll kill her first!"
"Yes, yes..." Kurore lay on the ground and didn't dare to say anything more.
They were in the woods on the outskirts of the capital at this moment. Soon, a clear cry came from a distance. A black eagle suddenly flew over, circled above Yazeb's head twice, and then slowly landed on his shoulder.
Yazeb took out a roll of grass paper from the bamboo tube on the eagle's leg and read it by the moonlight.
Kurore only felt that Yazeb trembled all over after seeing the words on the note, and then burst into wild laughter.
"What a good plan to kill two birds with one stone! That damned woman is really despicable!" Yazeb took out a fire starter from his bosom, burned the note, and then stroked the eagle's body. The eagle seemed to understand human nature. It let out a cry and flapped its wings away.
"Let's go back," Yazeb turned around.
Kurore quickly stood up and followed him. He asked, "Captain, does the... that woman have any plans?"
"Plan? Humph," Yazeb said coldly. "Her plan is to make the Great Sheng and Loulan go to war."
"What?" Kurore was shocked. "The Xiongnu king is still watching. With just our army, we can't fight against the Great Sheng, can we?"
"The Xiongnu will send troops," Yazeb said. "Chanyu Huye has been waiting for ten years. He's already fifty - six this year. He can't wait any longer. Not to mention his second son, Huyelu, who is known as the 'Little Golden King'. They want to flatten the Great Sheng more than we do."
Kurore said anxiously, "But it's our army that will face Qin Feng directly."
Yazeb gave a sinister smile and said meaningfully, "When the real fight breaks out, it's not certain whether we'll face him or not."
Kurore wanted to ask more, but Yazeb waved his hand to refuse. "Hurry back and get some sleep. Get up at the fourth watch and go to the palace with me."