The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

The eunuch guarding the cold palace was young and lazy. He was eating fried beans that he didn't know where he got from and squinting his eyes drowsily in the sun. When he saw Lu Baohui, who was dressed in a palace maid's uniform, he didn't say much. He just thought she was here to deliver something to the two little palace maids inside. He asked for a few copper coins, inquired her name and background, and then let her in.

The first thing Lu Baohui saw was a green vegetable field and a woman in cloth clothes, standing blankly beside the field with a hoe, not knowing what she was thinking.

The woman's face was very weathered, but one could still see her natural beauty. When she saw a stranger, she just glanced at him and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Lu Baohui was stunned for a moment, and did not answer, but asked: "Does anyone often come here to look for someone?"

The woman narrowed her eyes and looked at her carefully. After a long time, she spoke: "It's not often. The Queen is kind-hearted. She allows people outside... to send some gifts in during the New Year and festivals."

After she finished speaking, she skillfully picked up the heavy-looking hoe and said, "You don't look like you're here to see me. The other person is in the second room to the south."

Having said that, he left with big strides.

Lu Baohui covered her pounding heart, thanked the woman softly from behind, and then headed in the direction she pointed.

...................................................... ...................................................... ......................................................

In the extremely plain room, a woman in plain clothes and linen was kneeling on a futon. Her face was no longer as beautiful and lively as when she first entered the palace. The deep sorrow accumulated over time accumulated in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows. Her sighs were filled with mixed feelings, making her taste this broken and chaotic sorrow countless times over the past ten years.

Shen Huiwan looked at the tablet without a name engraved on it on the small altar in front of her - all her relatives died for the crime of treason and could not be worshipped by the living after their death; and the little sister she once thought she had brought her endless regret and shame for more than a decade. Shen Nanliu's story had been engraved into an inscription and erected in front of the ruins of the Yuyang Marquis Mansion that had harmed her all her life. She did not need offerings from this last bloodline that was filled with sin.

"I know I shouldn't bother you. I know you really hate me. I've already...tried to understand you, but why do I still have a strange hatred in my heart?" Shen Huiwan muttered to herself as she looked at the tablet without words. "It keeps flying around in my heart, flying, hovering, circling, and I don't know where to go."

"Is this your ghost?"

"The one I have no right to hate is you, but you are still unwilling to give up, right?"

"I really don't know what to do, but..."

Shen Huiwan shifted her gaze and looked towards the open window. Outside the window was a high wall and a glimpse of the blue sky. "I decided to do something."

"Without any intention, just follow nature...to do something."

She raised her hand and gently pressed it on her heart: "You said that your hometown is a small boat, a not very wide river...swaying gently in your mother's singing..."

Shen Huiwan's eyes were blurred, as if she was crazy or insane.

"If I can... also break free from this chain and learn to be a wild dog, will you stop hating me?"

She looked forward and saw the woman covered in blood, still with the phantom of madness and mockery; looking back, she saw her parents and brother who were separated from their heads and bodies, with pairs of resentful eyes.

"Jixiang'er, my Jixiang'er." Shen Huiwan's face showed a kind expression that was inconsistent with her age. "Don't be afraid, don't be lonely. Mother likes father, father likes brothers, but grandmother likes Jixiang'er the most."

The cold wind blew through the window sill and blew out the only oil lamp in front of the tablet.

The light blue sky outside the window suddenly darkened. In her illusion, Shen Huiwan, who was nestling in her grandmother's arms, heard heavy footsteps coming from outside the house.

Qian Xianhui, her only cohabitant here, no longer had the good manners of a girl from an aristocratic family, and she shouted, "It's raining! Come out and collect the clothes!!!"

Before the heavy rain fell.

Somewhere not far from the Shanggong Bureau.

"Why is it raining so soon?" Concubine Xu glanced at the female officials holding thick files on both sides, "Hurry up and find a place to take shelter before the rain starts."

After she finished speaking, she took the lead and started jogging, holding the account book in her arms.

Shuang Yi, who was still her personal maid, also ran after her with the files in her arms: "Your Majesty, watch your step!"

The group moved quickly and soon found a sufficiently open corridor. They all crawled under the eaves and as soon as they stood still, they heard two thunders in the sky and raindrops as big as beans poured down. The low flowers and trees planted on one side of the corridor were knocked over by the heavy raindrops.

Concubine Xu frowned upon seeing this: "The Imperial Observatory didn't say it would suddenly rain. Yuanjun left early, and before she left, she played a trick on the palace maid who prepared gifts for her. She just took some silver and disappeared. Sigh..."

"I was just worried about my daughter, but my sister laughed at me for being her housekeeper." Although Xu Yueyuan was a concubine in charge of all matters in the inner court, she still complained like a spoiled girl. "Laugh, laugh, some little ones might get soaked... Oh, what if they get sick?"

"Pfft." Shuang Yi couldn't help laughing, "Your Majesty, His Highness runs much faster than us. I'm sure he can find a place to hide before the rain starts."

Seeing that although Concubine Xu was full of resentment, the atmosphere was not serious, the female officials began to talk at once, their voices were clear and cheerful, and their words were playful and humorous.

"She has good martial arts skills and is fast on her feet. I'm afraid that this is her first time going out and she has no experience. She may be in a hurry to get going and miss a place to stay. If she just entered some forest or wilderness, or encountered some bandit camp or black shop, I wouldn't be too worried. On the contrary, the rain and wind..." Concubine Xu sighed and poked Shuangyi's forehead, "Forget it, there's no point worrying here. It's better to check the travel of His Majesty and Sister as soon as possible."

She was going to stay in the capital, and although she felt a little regretful that she could not travel far away with Xie Yuzhen, Xu Yueyuan thought it would be more reliable for her to stay in the inner palace. As for the opportunity to travel... just look at the example of Empress Dowager Hu.

She is still very young and is not afraid of waiting.