Chapter 260 Queen of Loulan
Khitan Zhongjing Linhuang.
Spring has arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, but Linhuang in the north is still covered with heavy snow.
However, inside the Xiao Mansion, the sounds of young girls playing and laughing could be heard constantly.
A dozen or so noble ladies, wearing summer silk clothes or thin shirts, gathered in groups of three or four to play around, some even catching butterflies like the ladies of the Song Dynasty.
It is as warm as spring here, the air is pleasant and soothing, but beyond the fence, the snow has piled up to the depth of the knees.
Several fathers-in-law were waiting outside the fence wearing thick coats. The heavy snow fell on their heads and clothes, piling up a thick layer.
Fortunately, they were dressed warmly enough, so although they felt cold, they did not suffer from frostbite.
Empress Xiao was sitting at the table. There was a fence on her left. She could catch some snowflakes by just reaching out her hand.
Watching the snowflakes gradually melting into water droplets in her palms, she smiled softly.
It was a reassuring smile.
Opposite her was her nominal 'aunt', also the current empress dowager, another woman from the Xiao family.
Empress Dowager Xiao withdrew her gaze from the princesses beside her, then she looked at her 'niece' opposite her and said with a smile: "Rongrong, you have been given a great opportunity."
There was some envy in his words.
Xiao Rongrong smiled and replied, "It is also because of the mercy of our ancestors that Rongrong has a place to stay."
Women in the Northern Song Dynasty had a high status, but Khitan women were not as lucky as those in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Although the Khitans tried hard to learn the culture and system of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was unlikely for them to completely transform from a nomadic tribe into a Confucian feudal dynasty within a few decades.
The present Khitan still retains many customs and habits of nomadic tribes.
For example, treating women as property.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, there were laws that explicitly protected women's personal safety and property rights, but in Khitan, there was no such content.
Whether a Khitan woman can be happy and have a safe place to live depends entirely on whether her man has sufficient "morality".
If the "quality" of morality is not constrained by strong laws, then overall, it will be difficult for the entire society to be a moral society.
Because there is a famous saying in later generations: The law is the lower limit of morality!
The simpler and more ambiguous the law is, the simpler or lower the lower the moral standards of that society are.
In a society that doesn't even have laws to protect women's personal safety, it's hard to say how happy and safe women are in this society.
Yelu Hongji said, "I wish to be born in the Song Dynasty in the next life." Even the ruler of a country has such an idea, so what about the women of this country?
"Rongrong, tell me the truth, why is Master Lu willing to hand over such an important immortal land to you?"
Xiao Rongrong bit her lower lip lightly. Many people have asked this question recently.
For ordinary ladies from noble families, Xiao Rongrong could just smile and keep silent, letting them change the subject themselves without asking any more questions.
But facing Empress Dowager Xiao, her aunt in name but mother-in-law in reality, she could only tell the truth.
"Aunt, do you remember that before you entered the palace, you went to see a fairy fox?"
Empress Dowager Xiao was stunned for a moment, and she looked as if she was lost in reminiscence. After a long while, she said hesitantly, "I seem to remember something like this. There was a big, fat white fox, and there was a high blue wall. Then it seemed that something happened, but I can't remember it at all."
Xiao Rongrong looked at her in surprise: "Aunt, you can't remember such an important thing?"
Empress Dowager Xiao and Xiao Rongrong look very similar. Moreover, every girl from the Xiao family who enters the palace to become a queen will visit the secret place in her home.
"It seems like a dream." Empress Dowager Xiao thought for a while and said, "I really can't remember it clearly."
Xiao Rongrong looked at Empress Dowager Xiao with a strange look, and finally said: "This may be what the ancestor did on purpose. Let's not talk about this. Aunt, you left the palace this time and came to me specially. Is there anything you need your niece to do for you?"
"Yes, there is something." Empress Dowager Xiao said with a smile, "I heard that the spiritual energy in the immortal land is quite abundant. There are many benefits to living there. The children of our Yelu family are all very good. If they can stay in a spiritual place while learning martial arts, I think they will be able to produce many talents."
Looking at Empress Dowager Xiao's smiling face, Xiao Rongrong fell silent.
She understood what the other party meant, which was to give up the place and make room for the Yelu family to live here.
If it was the old Xiao Rongrong, she might have listened. As the queen, she had to put the most important things first.
But now the entire Xiao family has fled to the country of "Xiao" in the west.
At this time, she and Empress Dowager Xiao were the only two members of the Xiao family left in the Khitan. The Yelu family was full of malice towards the Xiao family.
Only this place can give her enough sense of security.
Xiao Rongrong smiled and said, "Queen Mother, this is not convenient."
Empress Dowager Xiao's expression froze slightly.
The change of her title from "Aunt" to "Empress Dowager" was enough to prove Xiao Rongrong's attitude at that time.
Empress Dowager Xiao was quite anxious. Although she was not subjected to much "questioning", she was the mother of the current ruler after all, and no matter how much the Yelu family hated the Xiao family, they would not go to the Empress Dowager and argue with them.
But this did not prevent Empress Dowager Xiao from feeling uncomfortable. She felt that everyone in the Yelu family looked at her with ridicule and disdain.
So she planned to do something for the Yelu family so that others would no longer look at her so strangely.
If I could allow the people of the Yelu family to freely enter this fairyland... I think my situation would be much better.
Besides, since people from the Yelu family can come in here from now on, I think I can come in and sit here often as well.
She had a good plan and was full of expectations. She thought that if she spoke, her niece would definitely listen, after all, she was the "mother-in-law" and the aunt, with the dual identities of elders, Rongrong would definitely nod and agree.
But she had been in a high position for too long.
She forgot that she was only a queen dowager now, and Xiao Rongrong was still the queen in name only.
More importantly, Xiao Rongrong is not a fool.
She knew very well that the reason she could live such an easy life now, gathering some "girlfriends" to play together every day, was all due to the land given to her by Master Lu.
This is proof that she has the support of an "immortal" behind her, and this is the capital for her survival.
With this piece of land, she can continue to be a queen and live in Linhuang City as a normal person.
"Why is this inconvenient?" Empress Dowager Xiao still did not give up hope. She persuaded, "We are all family. Let them stay for a while. What's the problem?"
"This fairyland belongs to Master Lu. Rongrong is just helping him take care of it." Xiao Rongrong still had a gentle smile on her face, but the expression in her eyes became more and more indifferent: "If Master Lu comes back one day and sees that the fairyland he placed here is occupied by others, what will he think? Naturally, he will hate me, but what about the person who occupies his fairyland?"
Empress Dowager Xiao was suddenly speechless.
Seeing her like this, Xiao Rongrong smiled even more happily.
You can use social connections to pressure me, but why can't I use Master Lu to support myself?
The two chatted casually for a while, and then Empress Dowager Xiao said goodbye, her back looking a little embarrassed.
Not long after Empress Dowager Xiao left, another noblewoman bowed first, then sat opposite Xiao Rongrong and asked with a humble expression, "Empress, do you have any information about Master Lu, the legendary fairy fruit, and Jade Bee Nectar?"
Of course Xiao Rongrong had no connections, she shook her head.
But this person didn't believe it. She whispered, "If there is a way to do this, please tell me. After our Jiang family obtains the divine object, we will definitely reward you handsomely."
The Jiang (a Chinese-style surname) family was a prominent family in the Khitan army, similar to the generals of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Although not as big as the Xiao family before, it is also a family with real power.
After leaving these words, the lady walked aside and chatted with other people.
Then a few more women came over and said similar things.
After the evening, when everyone had finally left, Xiao Rongrong walked into a makeshift hut made of wood chips not far away.
It was very small inside, with room only for a bed, a small wardrobe, and a dressing table.
But even such a small space, which was completely incomparable to the imperial palace room where she lived before, made her feel truly at ease.
Now almost everyone in Linhuang City knows that Xiao Rongrong has received the "favor" of Master Lu, and more and more ladies from noble families come to visit her.
To gain experience, to test, to build relationships, etc.!
Even though the Xiao family had become 'rebellious', they were unable to stop these women from approaching Xiao Rongrong on the orders of the family.
They had heard rumors from the State of Song before, and were only half-believing and half-doubting about Master Lu. But now, after seeing it with their own eyes, they believed it completely.
Thinking of the immortal fruit and jade bee nectar that were said to be able to save lives, and the magical objects that were said to be able to increase one's lifespan, the hearts of these nobles were filled with excitement.
Originally, the culture of the Khitan Kingdom was "ruled" by the Northern Song Dynasty. Now that this happened again, they wanted to rebel against the Khitan immediately, kneel down under Master Lu, and serve as his running dogs.
And now in the Khitan Kingdom, the only person who can have a relationship with Master Lu is Xiao Rongrong.
If not her, who else should I look for?
Even...now even the Khitan leader Yelu Hongji is quite afraid of Xiao Rongrong.
After eating some hot bone porridge prepared by the maid, Xiao Rongrong felt her stomach was much warmer. Then she lay down on a small wooden bed, covered herself with a thin quilt, and fell asleep in a short while.
The maid came in and helped Xiao Rongrong put away the dishes. Then she got herself a thin blanket, spread it on the grass outside, lay down on it, closed her eyes and rested.
Although she had to sleep outdoors, due to the characteristics of the system home, she was not worried about the wind and snow outside coming in.
Xiao Rongrong actually provided her with a house and enough bedding.
But in the freezing northern region of Khitan, if you don't light a charcoal fire to warm the room at night, you will still feel cold even if you have the most bedding when you sleep.
It would be warmer and more comfortable to sleep on the floor in this fairyland.
The next day, the snow stopped and the clouds dispersed. Xiao Rongrong slept until almost noon before waking up. She washed her face and rinsed her teeth with the help of her maid.
The maidservant helped her with her hair while she said , "Just now, when the madam was still awake, the eldest lady of the Zhang family came to visit her. Seeing that the madam had not gotten up, she left again. She also said that she would come back to see her after noon."
Xiao Rongrong sighed: "They all came to ask me how to meet Master Lu. How could I know how to meet him? I guess Master Lu should be flying in the clouds, cultivating immortality and refining elixirs."
In fact, Xiao Rongrong's guess was half right, and Lu Sen's flying in the clouds could barely be counted as one of them.
Although the aircraft can only fly at a speed of 60 kilometers per hour, its advantage is that it is not hindered by the terrain and can go in a completely straight line. Therefore, there should be no problem for Lu Sen to travel west.
Lu Sen originally wanted to fly directly there, but he finally found that if he flew directly, he would easily get lost because the distance was too far.
Finally, I decided to take the 'Silk Road'.
Alice is quite familiar with this road.
If you want to take the Silk Road, you must pass through the city of Xi'an.
So after leaving Hangzhou, Lu Sen settled in Xi'an on the first day.
At the same time, he met his "distant relative", Zhe Jizu.
This is also the reason why Lu Sen deliberately stayed here for one night.
At this time, Zhe Jizu had retired from Xingqing Prefecture and handed over all internal affairs to Di Qing.
When Lu Sen came to his house, Zhe Jizu seemed quite excited and kept drinking with Lu Sen.
Halfway through drinking, he became drunk and kept crying.
He said that he felt sorry for his elder brother and his nephew, and that he had led troops but was unable to rescue his elder brother, and could only watch him die under the iron hoofs.
Even his cousin Yang Wenguang was implicated.
So he didn't dare to face the people from Tianbo Yang family.
Hearing this, Lu Sen sighed and said, "Wen Guang is still alive and has returned to the Yang family."
After hearing this, Zhe Jizu was overjoyed , but then he cried even more sadly.
Yang Wenguang survived, but many of his elder brother and uncles died in the disaster in Xingqing Prefecture.
He fell asleep while crying, and Lu Sen sat in the room, unable to sleep all night.
On the second day, Lu Sen did not wait for Zhe Jizu to wake up. He left some fruits and honey and took Alice on the road again.
Lu Sen spoke very little today. He was already very quiet, and this made him even more taciturn.
Alice asked cautiously, "Why is my dear unhappy?"
Lu Sen looked through the glass cover of the aircraft at the scenery slowly passing by on the earth, watching the green gradually fade away and the yellow sand in the distance slowly occupy his field of vision.
"Nothing, just lamenting the impermanence of the times. This person was chatting and laughing with you not long ago, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared, turned into a handful of yellow earth." Lu Sen sighed, shook his head slightly, and said, "Let's not talk about these depressing things. Where is the next stop?"
"According to our flying speed, we should camp in the wilderness at our next stop, since the Xixia people are nearby. But in two days, we should be able to reach Loulan, where we can rest for a day or two."
Loulan?
Lu Sen was quite familiar with this place name and was very interested in it.
After all, in the world he lived in, Loulan had disappeared.
However, according to historical records, Loulan in the Northern Song Dynasty seemed to have disappeared.
"Is Loulan still there?" Lu Sen couldn't help but ask, "We in the Song Dynasty haven't heard any news about this small country for a long time."
Alice nodded and said, "More than two hundred years ago, the Peacock River changed its course, and Loulan moved its capital to follow the water source. Now it is naturally not in the original place, but it is still an important transit station on the way to the west. Moreover, Loulan is now the queen's throne."
Lu Sen snorted: "Queen?"
"Yes, it seems that she was originally a Han woman. Because of her extremely beautiful appearance, she became the queen first. After the King of Loulan died suddenly, she quickly took the throne and governed Loulan very prosperously!"
