After being caught in a heavy rain, Na Luo slept on the bed for two days before she recovered. Fortunately, she did not catch a cold this time, so her body was not seriously injured. I heard from Usma that Princess Dana not only invited the best witch doctor in the palace to see her, but also severely punished the female official Chu Yue. Now, Chu Yue was beaten with a stick and couldn't get up. It was the first time in the palace that a female official Chu Yue was beaten with a stick.
Usma was very excited, but Na Luo was worried.
Although Princess Dana did this to relieve her, it also intensified the hostility of the other party. If this goes on, the relationship between the two sides will only become worse and worse. I don't know how Chu Yue will retaliate after her injury recovers.
"By the way, Na Luo, eat something first. You have slept for so long, you must be hungry now, right?" Usma said, bringing a brown ceramic bowl to her.
Na Luo looked over and saw that the bowl was filled with her favorite yogurt. She was very surprised and asked, "Sister, how do you know I like to eat this?"
"Man Ya came here just now, and she brought this. She said it was your favorite food before." Usma smiled and said, "I didn't know you liked to eat this. If you go to our Xiongnu, you will definitely think that the yogurt there is the best!"
"Man Ya cooks very well. If you don't believe me, try it?" Na Luo scooped a spoonful and sent it to her mouth. Usma was not polite and swallowed it in one gulp, shaking her head repeatedly, "It's too light, too light, it has to be sweet enough to be delicious."
Na Luo smiled slightly, "But I like this taste. It's a bit greasy if it's too sweet."
The snow-white yogurt tasted moderately sweet in the mouth, and it slid into the heart with a slightly sweet and mellow aftertaste. It was light, cool, and indescribably refreshing. After eating a bowl of yogurt, it seemed that my heart became soft.
The eldest prince must have heard the news of her illness, so he specially asked Manya to visit her. In this world, the person who cares about her the most is always... him. Clutching the malachite hanging on her chest, Na Luo told herself again-with Xiaoqing and him by her side, she is not afraid of anything.
After a few days of rest, Na Luo completely recovered. But what happened next developed in the direction she was most worried about. Those palace people were obviously getting colder and colder towards her, and they would make things difficult for her from time to time. There is no doubt that this was mostly instigated by Chu Yue.
Fortunately, there was Usma around to speak for her, otherwise she would be really isolated and helpless here.
At noon that day, An Gui came alone to pay his respects to Princess Dana. It happened that the kitchen presented tea from the Han Dynasty, and the princess asked him to stay and taste tea together. For the people in the Western Regions who are used to drinking milk beverages, tea is not a common beverage. Even in the Han Dynasty, tea drinking was mostly done by the upper class. Moreover, it was a long way from the Han Dynasty to Loulan, and the price of tea was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Therefore, in the Western Regions at that time, even the princes and nobles could only drink tea occasionally.
The room was filled with the faint fragrance of osmanthus. A green glass vase was placed on the poplar wood table. The quilt and pillow of the couch were wrapped with a layer of finely crafted high-quality silk, shining with a noble and restrained luster. Outside the window, a green treetop swayed gently under the blue sky, casting deep and shallow shadows of the sun.
Princess Dana's long hair was spread out, and the black, almost blue hair was more radiant than brocade. It was laid on the couch in layers, making her look more charming. An Gui, who was sitting next to her, was holding a sheepskin map and whispering something to her. There seemed to be a magic in the depths of his ice-green eyes, and he was as charming as a fluttering butterfly lightly crossing the water, creating ripples that were beautiful.
When Na Luo brought the tea in, he saw such a pleasing scene, and the little maid who went in with her even secretly glanced at An Gui several times.
"I don't understand, this tea tastes bitter, how can it be as delicious as our cheese? Why do those Han people still regard it as a treasure?" Princess Dana looked at An Gui with a smile on her lips.
An Gui raised his eyebrows with disdain, "Only the people of the Han Dynasty would treasure this kind of thing."
"Since it's here, just drink some. But these milk cakes were sent from the Xiongnu at full speed, An Gui, you can try them." The princess signaled the servants to bring the tea and milk cakes.
Na Luo hurriedly walked forward with the little palace maid. At this moment, she just wanted to put down the tea bowl and leave the room quickly. Where the second prince is, there are always dangers that are hard to guard against. But just at the moment she took a step, an accident happened! Her heel seemed to be tripped by something, and her whole body suddenly lost balance and fell straight forward... It seemed that she and the tea were about to fall on the second prince!
Na Luo was terrified. She knew too well what the serious consequences would be if she fell, but she couldn't stop herself. She had to try her best to move the tea bowl towards herself before she fell... With a bang, the tea bowl rolled down An Gui's sleeve and fell to the ground. Most of the hot tea fell on Na Luo's wrist, but some still splashed on the back of An Gui's hand...
Na Luo was so scared that her face turned pale. She didn't care about the burned part at all and knelt down with a plop. She wanted to say something to plead for herself, but because she was too frightened, her lips trembled and she couldn't make any sound. There was only one voice in her heart that kept repeating, it's over, it's over this time. If you offend him, you will definitely be worse than death, right?
"Na Luo, you are too careless." Princess Dana frowned and said with a slightly angry tone, "Why did you fall down for no reason?"
Na Luo bit her lip and said nothing. She quickly glanced at the little palace maid with her peripheral vision. The other party's expression was a little strange and a little scared, and he couldn't help but take a step back. Na Luo saw this and was more certain of his guess. The person who tripped him just now was the little palace maid! Despite this, Na Luo still held back from telling the truth. Regardless of how this little palace maid was, if she told the truth, the little palace maid would definitely be in danger.
"An Gui, are you okay? Are you burned?" The princess asked the second prince about his condition with concern. There were several red spots on the back of his hand, but it didn't look like a big deal.
"Mother, if I have something wrong, should this girl be dragged out and beaten to death?" His eyebrows were raised diagonally, which seemed to have a bit of mischief, but there was a hint of frightening viciousness in his tone.
Na Luo shuddered and his face became paler. The little palace maid's face also changed slightly, and her right hand tightly pinched the corner of her clothes, as if she had never expected such serious consequences.
An Gui's eyes darkened, and he suddenly stretched out his hand to pull Na Luo's wrist towards him. Her forearm was swollen and red, and there were several small blisters near her wrist, which was even more shocking against her white skin. Na Luo couldn't help but frowned in pain when he grabbed her so hard.
"I think it should be this girl who is in trouble." He smiled and put down her hand again.
"In this case, don't scare this girl anymore." Princess Dana turned her head and said to Na Luo with a pleasant face, "Okay, there is nothing for you here, you can go back and rest first. Guli, go to the witch doctor to get some ointment. This poor child, it will be ugly if she is left with any scars."
To Na Luo's surprise, An Gui didn't make things difficult for her. Until she walked out of the room, she couldn't believe that she had escaped so easily. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, her legs were so weak that she almost stumbled. When An Gui said he was going to beat her to death, she really thought she would be skinned alive this time.
The little palace maid named Guli looked at her with a complicated expression, and suddenly said inexplicably, "Do you think you are lucky that the princess didn't punish you? If she punishes you today, it will be lucky for you."
After saying this, she turned around and left quickly.
Na Luo was stunned there, and he didn't react for a while.
At this time in the room, An Gui flicked a few pieces of tea leaves on his body, and suddenly laughed softly.
"What's so funny?" The princess glanced at him. She had to admit that when this stepson laughed, he was like the incarnation of the extraordinary Udumbara in front of the Buddha. The extreme beauty almost made the mortals in the world intoxicated. But... all that was actually just the illusion of the hell Shura.
An Gui smiled and said, "I am laughing at your mother's clever move. The more you pamper that girl, the more the other palace people will hate her. In this way, you don't have to do anything yourself to make her suffer."
The princess stared at him with an ambiguous look for a few seconds, and smiled lightly, "Sure enough, I can't hide it from you." She paused for a moment, and then said, "I asked for her from Istar, and Istar was already dissatisfied with me. If I make any more obvious moves, he will probably hate me. At present, our overall situation is still undecided, and I don't want other things to cause trouble."
An Gui's ice-green eyes turned slightly, "Mother, since you are still concerned about Istar, why don't you wait before asking for someone?"
Her expression suddenly became dim, as if she was trapped in some tangled and painful memories, and she murmured, "When you told me her life experience, I couldn't wait. Because, she is - the daughter of that person."
"So you took advantage of other people's jealousy and tortured that girl through other people's hands. You kept yourself out of it, and let everything go under your control." The corners of his lips curved into a beautiful arc, "Mother, I really admire you."
"Torture... maybe." Her voice seemed weak, "If you want to blame someone, you can only blame her for being that man's daughter. Every time I see those eyes that look like that man, I think of my child who died young... If it wasn't his fault, how could I lose my child. He is dead, but how can his sins be redeemed? I just want his daughter to slowly atone for his sins."
An Gui's expression changed slightly for a moment, but soon returned to normal.
"Mother, don't get angry. Am I not your son now? I will definitely honor you on behalf of my unborn brother. What's more, maybe you will have your own children soon."
The princess smiled bitterly, "Don't comfort me. I know my own situation best. An Gui, we are the same kind of people, I know what you want. Don't worry, I will help you get what you want most. This is not only for you, but also for myself."
An Gui was not polite, and said generously, "Then I'll trouble you, mother."
"It's a pity that His Majesty has no plan to establish an heir now, so we can only act according to circumstances." The princess reached out and picked up a piece of milk cake and handed it to An Gui, "Try this. It's hard for Hu Lugu to be so thoughtful that she sent someone to deliver it at full speed. Look, it's still very fresh."
An Gui took it and tasted it, and smiled, "It's still very fresh. Mother, you haven't seen Hu Lugu for a long time, right?"
"This kid is only a few years older than you. I remember when I just left the Xiongnu, he kept calling me aunt and refused to let me go." Her expression softened a bit, "Although he is not my biological nephew, I have watched him grow up, and he is almost like my biological nephew."
"Then mother, if nothing unexpected happens, the next Xiongnu Chanyu may be him?" An Gui was obviously more interested in this question.
The princess thought for a while and said, "Now there are only two heirs to the Qiedihou Chanyu who can take on the great cause. One is Hulugu, who is the Left Wise King, and the other is Wuliu, who is the Left General. They have their own strengths. Hulugu is talented and outstanding, but her popularity is not as good as his half-brother Wuliu."
"So looking at this situation, I don't know who will be the final winner?" He looked at her with a smile.
"Not necessarily." The princess picked up another piece of milk cake and put it in her mouth. "Hu Gu Lu is deeply loved by his mother, Mu Yanshi. Mu Yanshi is not an ordinary character, which increases his chances of winning. Moreover, the legendary story of Hu Lu Gu's courage to fight wolves at the age of six is widely circulated in the Xiongnu, so the Chanyu himself has always loved this son very much."
"Dare to fight wolves at the age of six? This is a legend." An Gui raised his eyebrows, as if he doubted the authenticity of this matter.
The princess stared at him, her expression became serious, "An Gui, if there is a man in the world whose appearance can compare with yours, it is only Hu Lu Gu. He is like the most ferocious gray wolf on the grassland. As long as he is stared at, he will never give up until he bites off the throat of his prey."
An Gui just smiled, and it seems that he did not take the Xiongnu prince seriously.
The wind outside the window blew past, and the slight warmth carried the fragrance of green leaves.
Inside the house, the subtle fragrance of osmanthus lingers in the air like silk threads, making people feel dazed for a moment and forget their past.