Children of Loulan

Chapter 148 No way to hide

In their respective palaces, the concubines waited anxiously for news. Some walked around anxiously, while others sat quietly in front of the window, staring at the scenery outside in a daze. They didn't know whether they would be chosen, and they didn't know how to face such a situation if they were chosen.

At the same time, the other maids and eunuchs in the palace were also busy. They carefully shuttled between the palaces, delivering the latest news and rumors. The whole court was filled with a depressing atmosphere, and everyone felt the coming storm.

The king and the queen mother had already made all the preparations in the palace, waiting for the imperial teacher to start selecting a concubine for the eldest prince. After a night of consideration, the queen finally decided to change the candidate to Hanguli. After all, she was the most suitable candidate in the entire palace. But when she made up her mind, Mulian brought her bad news.

"What? You said there is no movement in Jingsi Residence?" The queen looked at Mu Lian in surprise. Mu Lian also said anxiously: "Yes, Madam, I am worried that the Imperial Master will go directly to Jingsi Residence."

Hearing Mu Lian say this, the queen suddenly became nervous: "What should we do? If this is the case, then Mu Er will be in danger, right?"

As Mu Lian thought about it, she rubbed her palms nervously, and beads of sweat gradually seeped out of her forehead. At this moment, her eyes fell on a painting hanging on the wall of the queen's bedroom, and she suddenly had an idea in her mind: "My queen, I have an idea!"

When the queen heard this, she immediately turned around, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, and asked hurriedly, "What's the solution? Tell me now!"

Mu Lian took a deep breath, calmed himself, and then said softly: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Master said that the selection will start at midnight, and it will be dark at that time, and the light from the lanterns is limited, so it is difficult to illuminate the surroundings. We can take this opportunity to quietly swap the plaques of the two residences. As long as we quickly replace them after the selection is over, we can do it without anyone noticing."

The queen frowned slightly and asked in confusion, "But the plaque is so heavy, how can we replace it without being discovered?"

Mu Lian raised a smile and answered confidently: "Madam, we don't need to really replace the plaque. We just need to draw two scrolls of the same size as the plaque and gently stick them on. It's so dark at night and the light is not good. No one will notice anything unusual. And it's easy to deal with afterwards!"

After hearing this, the queen smiled delightedly and nodded repeatedly, praising him: "What a good idea! Go get some brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and I'll start drawing right away!"

Mu Lian immediately turned around and left, and soon brought the four treasures of the study. The queen took the paper and pen, and started painting without hesitation, as if she had already seen the moment when her plan would succeed.

After Mu Lian got the two plaques painted by the queen, he left in a hurry. Looking at his departing back, the queen's heart couldn't help but pounding. She had been hesitating whether to replace Hanguli, but when she learned that the national teacher might only approve Jingsiju, her heart was as flustered as if being bitten by millions of ants. Now, she was extremely nervous, wondering if Mu Lian's plan could be hidden from the national teacher.

At the same time, in the entire palace, everyone was on edge, struggling to get through this long day. Finally, the hour of midnight arrived! The Imperial Master first held a solemn ritual at the gate of the harem, and then slowly walked towards the gates of each palace.

The Imperial Master held a compass in his left hand, and a group of eunuchs and guards followed him. Every time he arrived at a palace gate, he would look at the compass and chant a few spells. Then he would turn to the next palace. In this way, the Imperial Master led a group of people and after touring most of the harem, they slowly came to the more remote Jingsi Residence.

At this time, in Jingsi Residence, Xilin was sitting on the bed, frowning and anxious. Next to her stood her personal maid Xianggui and her mother's former personal maid Kuigu, both of whom were also nervous and worried. The three of them were listening carefully to the noise outside. Just now, they clearly heard that the national teacher and his men had arrived outside their courtyard, which made them very nervous. Xilin kept rubbing her clenched hands, and they secretly prayed in their hearts that everything would go well.

At the same time, the Imperial Master and others came to the door of Jingsi Residence. They all looked serious, as if they were carrying out an important mission. The Imperial Master was muttering something while carefully circling the door of Jingsi Residence. While circling, he took the opportunity to secretly glance at the plaque on the door. Although the light was dim at the moment, the Imperial Master could still clearly see the first word on the plaque - "Moon". After confirming that this was not Jingsi Residence, he carefully circled twice and then waved his hand to signal everyone to leave.

However, the three people in the room didn't know what was going on. They were still anxiously waiting for the knock on the door, but it never came. Not long after, the noise outside gradually disappeared, and the whole yard became unusually quiet. Xilin's mood became heavier, her heartbeat began to speed up, and an ominous premonition came to her mind. She immediately told Xianggui to go out and quietly check the situation.

Xianggui took the order and left. The person hiding in the dark outside Jingsiju watched the Imperial Master and others leave. He was about to tear down the painting immediately when he suddenly heard the door creak open from the inside. The black shadow had to hide back again. After seeing a palace maid sneaking out, he followed the direction the Imperial Master left.

Seeing the palace maid leave, the black shadow stepped forward quickly without hesitation and pulled off the two strings on both sides of the door frame. The other ends of the two strings were connected to the paintings on the plaque. After pulling them off, he quickly folded the two paintings and put them in his arms, then chased in the direction of the palace maid!

After leaving Jingsi Residence, the Imperial Master came to the gate of Yuexi Residence. However, Hanguli and others in Yuexi Residence knew nothing about what was happening outside.

Inside Yuexi Residence, sisters Hanguli and Dalbaier were immersed in sweet dreams. But just when they were sleeping soundly, there was a sudden rapid knock on the door, "bang bang bang", the sound was extremely loud.

The sudden knock on the door woke the three people from their sweet dreams. They rubbed their eyes in confusion, wondering if they had heard it wrongly. After all, this door had not been knocked so solemnly for three years. At first, they thought it was just an illusion and were ready to go back to sleep. However, as the knock on the door became more urgent and heavy, they finally realized that it was not a dream.

Hanguli, Dalbaier and Baier looked at each other with puzzled expressions. Who would come to their house so late at night? They were full of doubts.

Bayer looked at Hanguli worriedly and said, "Miss, it's so late, I'm afraid the person who came here has bad intentions! Why don't you find a place to hide first? I'll go open the door and see what's going on!"

Hanguli shook her head firmly and replied in a firm tone: "Three years ago, I could still pretend to be unconscious, but now I have been in a coma for three years. If I don't wake up, it will seem too fake. Moreover, once someone finds out, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor. Now, whether it is a blessing or a disaster, we have nowhere to escape and can only face it bravely!" There was a hint of determination and courage in her eyes.