When they arrived at the temple, the local priest came out to greet them. The room has been prepared for them. Liling, Fang, and Bao went to talk to the priest, and Lan Huan rested in the room.
Lying on the bed, many thoughts flashed through Lan Huan's mind. The last time she showed her true strength was many years ago. She couldn't remember exactly when, but she could still smell and taste the blood around her. She knows that whenever she reveals her truth power, death will follow.
Lan Huan closed her eyes, afraid that what she did today would alienate Liling from her. In her life, she has changed bosses many times, but none of the bosses, in the past, has treated her better than Liling. She knew that she couldn't find a better boss than Liling. If Liling was willing, she would serve Liling as Liling's loyal slave without agreement.
Lan Huan fell asleep for some reason but was awakened by the knock on the door. She opened her eyes, got up slowly, and walked towards the door. She opened the door to find Bao standing in front of her.
Bao said, "Dinner is ready."
Lan Huan's vision began to become clear, and she realized that it was already dark. "It's already night?" Lan Huan asked.
Bao said, "Yes, and we have to eat in the main dining room, the kitchen closes in two hours, hurry up."
There are many people in the main hall of the temple, and most of them are women. A few men sat opposite.
Lan Huan sat beside Liling and Fang. The dishes offered are all vegetable dishes.
After dinner, the four women were walking back to their room when Liling suddenly stopped Lan Huan.
Liling said, "Bao and Fang, you two go to rest, I have something to talk to Huan."
After Bao and Fang left, Lan Huan didn't dare to look at Liling's face, lowered her head, stared at the dark floor, and asked, "After I send you back to the palace, I will leave voluntarily."
Liling reached out and took Lan Huan's left hand. "Aren't you willing to stay?"
Lan Huan raised her head and said, "Because of today's incident, Your Highness pulled me aside to ask me to leave, right?"
Liling smiled lightly and said, "Huan, I believe there is some misunderstanding between us. I never thought of asking you to leave. To be honest, I just thought that it would be great if I had you by my side. Do you know that I envy you a lot."
Lan Huan asked, "What do this slave have that will cause Her Highness to be envy of me?"
Liling said, " Because you can do things I dare not do."
Lan Huan looked at Liling and asked, "Would you like to be my master?"
Liling smiled and shook her head. "I don't want to be your master," she said. "But I want to be your friend."
Lan Huan said, "If you want me to stay by your side, the only way is to sign a blood contract with me and make me your servant."
Liling asked, "Is there any other way?"
Lan Huan shook her head and said, "This is the only way. If you refuse, I can only stay by your side until the next owner comes to claim me."
Liling asked, "How do I sign this blood contract?"
Lan Huan reached out and grabbed Liling's hairpin, and then grabbed Liling's right hand. She ran across Liling's right palm with the sharp point of the hairpin, and then across her left palm.
Lan Huan put Liling's palm on hers. She said, "Let Heaven testify, I use this blood contract to curse myself to become the master's loyal servant."
Liling suddenly felt her palm start to burn in pain. She wanted to pull her hand away, but Lan Huan held it tightly. The burning pain comes on quickly and goes away quickly.
Liling looked at her right wrist and found a red mark circled around her wrist. "What is this?" she asked.
Lan Huan said, "This means, from now on, you are my master." Lan Huan pulled back her collar, and a red mark appeared on Lan Huan's neck.
Liling pulled her hand away from Lan Huan's and found that the wound Lan Huan made had healed. She sighed and said, "Huan, do you think life is unfair?"
Lan Huan said, "Life is never fair, but everything happens for a reason, Master." She sighed. "Because ashes cannot return to beauty, therefore, we cannot choose who our parents were."
Liling smiled and said, " I agree with this too. Take me for example, I have everything, but I can't live long. I tried everything to get pregnant and prayed to Heaven every day, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't live long. Couldn't get pregnant. I begged and pleaded, but Heaven wouldn't give me what my heart longed for. I desperately want a child, but Heaven forbids. Others don't want children, but Heaven gave them children."
Lan Huan asked, "Do you want children that much?"
Liling glanced at the moon, then at Lan Huan, and said, "Huan, the day the prince and I decided to get married, it was predicted that when we were twenty-five years old, the god of death would separate us. His Highness has always been very kind to me, and it is for this reason. We made a pact with each other to live each day as if it were our last, to cherish every moment heaven gave us. She sighed, "But since I can't conceive, father emperor decided to give crown prince a concubine."
Lan Huan said, "Concubine Si?"
Liling said, "She is the daughter of Emperor father's favorite general, and also the niece of Empress mother."
Lan Huan asked, "What about you?"
Liling smiled and said, " My father is just a petty official bookkeeper in a small town."
Lan Huan asked, "How did you and the Crown Prince meet?"
Liling said, " We met on Emperor father's birthday. At that time, it was predicted that if Jianjun married me, we would die when we turned twenty-five, but this did not stop Jianjun, because he did not believe in superstition."
Lan Huan said, "That's why he is willing to pick me up on the street."
Liling said, "Jianjun only believes in what he sees with his own eyes."
Lan Huan asked, "But you didn't."
Liling said, "There are some things in the world that cannot be explained, such as yourself. People are afraid of you, but they don't know that you are an extraordinary existence. Shame on those who look down on you."
Lan Huan said, "If you really want a child, I can also pray for you."
Liling smiled and said, "Sure, if I can get pregnant, you will be my child's godmother."
The two women talked and shared their histories. The more Liling listened to Lan Huan's story, the sadder her feelings for Lan Huan became. The two women talked until morning before deciding to go to bed.
After staying in Nanmen Temple for seven days, Lan Huan returned to the palace with Liling and the others. Every day, she spends an hour praying for the spirits of the imperial deceased ancestors at the ancestral altar in the palace to help Liling conceive. After a month of praying, Liling still had no news of pregnancy, Lan Huan continued to pray and made this her daily routine.
The news that Lan Huan was praying in the imperial ancestral altar caught Ying's attention. Ying is walking towards the ancestral altar in the palace with four maidservants, wanting to confirm whether the rumor that Lan Huan prays every morning is true.
Standing in front of the altar of the palace, Ying found that Lan Huan was kneeling in front of the spiritual tablets of the deceased emperors and empresses, closing her eyes, and reciting some words in a foreign language.
Ying walked in frantically, and mocked, "What exactly are you reciting? You are a slave, you should not step into the ancestral altar, and you should not kneel and curse the emperors and empresses in your foreign language."
Lan Huan didn't look up, bowed three times, and stood up. She gave Ying a cold look, and said coldly, "You are blocking my way, so... get out of the way."
One of the maidservants stepped forward and said madly, "You peasant, how dare you speak to Concubine Ying in such a tone?" She pushed Lan Huan back with her left hand.
Ying smirked and said, "Help me teach her a lesson."
The maid stepped forward and raised her hand to slap Lan Huan, but Lan Huan grabbed her. Lan Huan's nails dug deep into the servant girl's flesh, slapped the servant girl on the face, and then pushed the servant girl back to Ying.
Lan Huan looked at Ying and the maid coldly, and said, "You are blocking my way, get out of the way."
Ying said angrily, "How dare you hurt my personal maid."
Lan Huan looked at Ying frantically, and said, "When someone wants to hurt me, I have hands to protect myself. You are not my master; therefore, you have no right to order me. Just because the emperor favors your father, and you are the empress's niece, it doesn't mean you are more special than others. To me, you are just a useless person, not even capable of doing anything for yourself. Your entitlement can only scare others but can't scare me." She walked past Ying; she curled her lips. "Don't provoke me, otherwise, you will end up like those men in the forest."