It was a light summer day. In the afternoon, the Loulan Palace was peaceful and quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds, as if all the worldly troubles had been precipitated. The light sunlight fell, and the breeze shuttled through the branches and leaves. The tree color turned into several layers of thick green waves, exuding a hint of coolness.
At this time, in the palace of the eldest prince, a girl in a green Luo shirt was tilting her head and supporting her chin, half-squinting her eyes and lazily looking at a parchment book spread out in front of her. Her eyes swept out of the window from time to time, and she seemed very absent-minded. The girl looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, and her clothes were also very simple. In addition to the malachite hanging around her neck, she only wore a string of ordinary walnut bracelets on her wrists. But this simple dress did not damage the girl's beautiful face at all. Her skin was as white as porcelain, and her cheeks were rosy, like a precious and clear spring at the end of the desert, and like a breeze blowing in the face in the hot summer. Her long light brown hair was braided into dozens of braids, swaying and hanging down to her waist. Her glassy eyes were like the rippling water of the Peacock River under the sun, shining with shimmering light, and her smile was as charming as a delicate flower bud... It was hard to look away.
Ishtar gently stroked his brow with his fingertips, looking at her with gentle and tolerant eyes. Five years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the little girl had grown up. He knew that she was a beautiful girl since she was a child, but he still didn't expect that she could transform into such a beautiful girl.
In the past five years, Loulan was relatively peaceful. However, since the year before last, the relationship between the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty has gradually deteriorated. Loulan sometimes obeyed the Xiongnu and sometimes submitted to the Han Dynasty, trying its best not to offend both sides, between the two major forces of the Han and the Xiongnu, and cleverly maintained its own peace. Since Loulan was located at the crossroads between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions, it was difficult for the Han Dynasty to cross Loulan to attack the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu could not threaten the Han Dynasty without the help of Loulan, so the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu tried their best to implement a conciliatory policy towards Loulan. In this delicate situation, Loulan was cautiously living in the cracks between the two powerful countries.
For such a long time, the King of Loulan has not decided on the candidate for the crown prince. Although the ministers were anxious, they saw that the king was in good health and had no intention of establishing a crown prince, so they put it aside for the time being. But at the end of last year, the king fell seriously ill and his physical condition was not as good as before, so the ministers brought up the issue of establishing a crown prince again. What is puzzling is that the King of Loulan still hesitated to make a decision, as if he wanted to see how his sons performed.
Ishtar was not keen on the throne before, but now it is different. Without power, he cannot protect the people he wants to protect. So he will no longer sit idly by on the throne of the King of Loulan. In the past few years, Princess Dana did not make things difficult for Na Luo, and every time Manya reported, there was nothing unusual. And every time he asked Na Luo, she said that she was living a good life and no one dared to bully her. Seeing that she was in a very good spirit and mood every time, and had never been injured, he no longer had any doubts. But Princess Dana was moody, and only by keeping Na Luo by his side could he really put his mind at ease.
"Master, I have finished reading this story. Can I drink yogurt?" Na Luo's slightly coquettish voice pulled him back from his meditation.
"Have you finished reading this "Legend of the Lion"? Then tell me, what does this story say?" Since a few years ago, he also taught her to read books and learn to read, but this seemed to give her more headaches than playing the flute. If it weren't for the yogurt as bait, I'm afraid she would have thrown down the book and ran away long ago.
"Ah? This story is about a lion in the mountains of Sinhalese. The lion took away... took away..." She hesitated and kept looking at the parchment scroll.
"What did it take away?" He turned the parchment scroll over and put it on the ground.
Master, guess what the lion took away? If you guess right, I will be convinced by you. "She winked mischievously and handed the task to him.
As if she had expected her move, Ishtar smiled helplessly, "The lion took away the princess of a king in South India who had married off, and gave birth to children with her. When the son grew up, he took his mother and sister and left the lion. After losing his wife and children, the lion became crazy and killed people everywhere. So the king offered a reward for killing the lion. The son was tempted by the reward and went to kill the lion alone. The lion father saw him and did not resist. When he died under his knife, he was still kind and had no anger. Although the son made a contribution, he was still driven away because he was born as an animal. In the end, he drifted to a place and established the Lion Country. "
"Master, you are right. Master, you guessed right! It sounds much better than what you see yourself." Naro took the opportunity to flatter, and then changed the subject, "But I don't like this story. I hate that son. "
"Oh? Why? "He had a smile on his lips.
"He shouldn't have killed his father. You see, lions are 'loving and kind, without anger and malice', so isn't his son worse than an animal? Even if it's an animal, it's still his father after all." She said a lot of gratitude and smiled flatteringly, "Then, Master, can I drink yogurt?"
Ishtar held back his laughter and said calmly, "You haven't played the flute today, do you want to be lazy?"
Na Luo sighed, curled his lips reluctantly, and didn't even move his body.
He smiled slightly, "Or read another story..."
"Help, Master! I'll play, I'll play! "She interrupted him quickly, took out the flute, put it to her lips to test the sound, and then played it. After several years of training, Na Luo's skills have improved greatly. Although he has not yet reached the level of perfection, he has his own unique interpretation style. The sound of the flute is melodious and graceful, like a trickling stream when it is slow, and like a bright moon when it is quiet, with a little sadness and a little distance...
Ishtar closed his eyes and listened quietly, feeling unprecedented peace and tranquility. In addition to this long and long music, he seemed to hear the singing of birds among the branches and leaves, the rustling sound of the wind blowing over the water, and the sound of dewdrops sliding over the leaves, butterflies spreading their wings, and petals slowly blooming... full of the beauty of life.
Only Na Luo can interpret the sad and sorrowful flute with such vitality.
Unconsciously, his lips gradually curved upwards into a light smile.
The sun shines on the two of them, shining with a pearl-like halo, outlining the young and beautiful contours of the two, as if painted with a brush, and their eyebrows and eyes are also like paintings, a thousand kinds of beauty.
When Na Luo returned to the princess's palace, it was just time for dinner. When she smelled that her bowl of oatmeal soup had a distinct smell of sourness, she didn't seem surprised, put down the bowl and turned away. Usma, who was standing by, immediately chased out and tore half of the oatmeal cake in his hand and handed it to her.
"Na Luo, they bullied you again? You can eat mine."
Na Luo shook her head, "It's okay, I'm not hungry. You can keep it for yourself." Since Muta's tongue was cut five years ago, the maids have restrained themselves on the surface, but their actions have become more serious in secret. This rotten rice is just a small matter, and she has seen more tricks. In order not to worry the eldest prince, she would never tell him even if she suffered a lot of grievances. Every time she went to him, she just said that she was living a good life.
After entering her room, Na Luo skillfully pinched a corner of the blanket and pulled it up. With a "click!", a large red and black scorpion fell out, which looked really scary.
Usma, who followed in, gasped in fear and said angrily, "These people are getting more and more outrageous! This is a poisonous scorpion! What if something happens to it!"
"It doesn't matter. They just want to scare me. It's just a dead scorpion." Na Luo picked up the poisonous scorpion with a stick and threw it out of the window without changing her expression. I remember that once they released some kind of insect, she didn't notice it for a while, and her body was itchy for more than ten days.
"What are these people thinking! If it weren't for the princess protecting you, I think they would be even more presumptuous." Usma naturally didn't know the ins and outs of this.
Na Luo smiled and said nothing more. She was not blessed with the so-called protection of the princess.
At this moment, the female official Chu Yue pushed the door open and looked at the situation in the room expressionlessly. Her eyes fell on Na Luo and she said coldly, "Na Luo, the princess's new rabbit is missing. Go out and help find it."
"I'm free, I'll help find it too." Usma said quickly.
The female official Chu Yue rejected it outright, "No need. What if too many people scare the princess's rabbit? Can you bear the consequences?"
Na Luo put down the blanket and stood up, "I'll go now."
Chu Yue nodded, "Go quickly. You must find the rabbit tonight. The princess has been ill these days, and she may feel better if she finds the rabbit."
The night was as quiet as water. Everything around was shrouded in darkness, and the sparse stars emitted a lonely light in the sky. The night in the Western Regions always makes people feel particularly lonely.
Na Luo searched in the garden for a long time, but did not see any trace of the rabbit. She didn't find the rabbit, but she was bitten by poisonous mosquitoes more than a dozen times, which was painful and itchy. In addition, she was sleepy and tired, and she accidentally fell a few times. Fortunately, she ate some food at the eldest prince's place, otherwise she would have fainted from hunger before she found half of it. Just as she guessed, the so-called finding a rabbit was just an excuse, and the real purpose of Chu Yue and the others was to keep her awake all night.
This was not the first time.
After an unknown amount of time, the sky gradually turned white. Na Luo, who had been tossing and turning all night, finally couldn't hold on anymore and fell asleep by the tree. Just when she was sleeping soundly, suddenly a basin of cold water fell from the sky, soaking her whole body, and she sneezed several times.
Na Luo opened her eyes and saw the maid in charge of taking care of the garden smiling at her maliciously, "Ah? Why is there another person here... I didn't see you here, Na Luo, I'm so sorry. By the way, why are you here? Is it a sleepwalking attack?"
Although it was early summer, it was still a bit chilly in the early morning. Na Luo was already sleep deprived, and with a basin of cold water on her head, she couldn't help but shiver. She didn't bother to pay attention to the maid, she stood up, wiped the water drops on her face and wanted to leave.
The maid was irritated by her disregard and kept chattering, "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because the princess is protecting you. No one here likes you. Hey? Why don't you speak? Is it a big deal to not speak? You have no family education, you are just a thing born by a mother but not taught by a father."
Na Luo's face changed slightly, and he looked at her coldly, "Say it again?"
The maid was stunned, still unconvinced and said stubbornly, "You can say it a few more times, you are a thing born by a mother but not taught by a father--"
Her voice stopped abruptly halfway, because Na Luo had quickly grabbed something from the ground and stuffed it into her mouth, and forced her to swallow it.
She covered her mouth in fear, her face changed drastically, "You, what did you put in my mouth?! If I die, you won't be much better off!"
Na Luo rolled her eyes, and a sneer appeared at the corner of her delicate mouth, "I saw that you were too tired, so I gave you some nutrition. It's just a common mole cricket in our Loulan. Not only will it not poison you, but it can also treat malignant sores, and it's very good."
When the palace maid heard it, she hurried to the corner and retched with her stomach in her hands.
This counterattack was effective. Na Luo forgot her own predicament for a while and smiled with her lips pursed.
"You dead girl, you are causing trouble again." A young man's voice suddenly came from behind Na Luo. The voice sounded between a girl and a boy, with a bit of sharpness in the clearness.
Na Luo's slightly relaxed nerves immediately tensed up again. When she turned around, her face had changed into a standard smile, and she whispered, "I meet the two princes."
The second prince An Gui was still as charming as ever, and the third prince had grown into a handsome young man, but his temperament was completely different from his brother. Just like two flowers blooming on the same branch, one is a bright and strong pomegranate flower, and the other is a gorgeous and charming mandala. The two princes standing there were like the embodiment of two completely different beautiful images in nature. Just like noon and night, clear sky and misty morning fog, hot sand in the desert, and wind blowing over the top of the mountain.
As she grew older, the third prince's name for her changed from dead child to dead girl. In the past few years, the third prince didn't bully her much, but his harshness was still increasing. As for An Gui, Na Luo would get nervous when she heard his voice, because she would always fall into his trap if she wasn't careful, and be teased and mocked for no reason, and suffer some physical pain when she was unlucky. Due to his status, she could only swallow the loss in silence every time.
The third prince looked at her who was soaked all over and said unhappily, "What an idiot, can't you hide when someone splashes you?"
Do you hide when you are asleep? You are an idiot for asking such a question! Na Luo secretly complained in her heart, but she still kept a humble smile on her face, "I will definitely hide next time."
You idiot, do you hide when you sleep? You must be cursing my third brother in your heart. "An Gui looked at her with a smile. He didn't say anything, but he always made her tremble with fear. What kind of person is this? He can know what she is thinking. It's so scary!
"The second prince is joking. How dare I." A trace of panic flashed across her face, "I still have to change my clothes, so I'll leave first."
Looking at her hurriedly leaving back, the third prince suddenly said inexplicably, "Second brother, this dead girl... has really grown up shamelessly."
An Gui reached out and patted his shoulder, smiling, "What's so strange, haven't you grown into a handsome young man?" He looked at his brother with a gentle look, "Look at your eyebrows and eyes, you look more and more like your mother."
"I see that the maids in the princess's palace are always bullying her. It's not easy to grow up like this. "The third prince seemed to be a little emotional. Usually, the two brothers often went to the princess, so they knew a little about Na Luo being bullied, and even ran into her many times, but he had never seen her cry once.
"What? Soft-hearted? This is not like my brother." An Gui smiled and raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not soft-hearted!" The third prince immediately denied it and shook the pottery jar in his hand, "Let's go see the princess, this thing will not taste good if it gets cold later. "