Chapter 261 The Queen Looks Familiar
After leaving Xi'an, head west to Jiayuguan, and then out of Yangguan... the Yangguan where you will never meet any friends again. Then head west for about 300 kilometers and you will reach the Kingdom of Loulan.
The Kingdom of Loulan...actually it would be more appropriate to call it the City of Loulan.
The original Loulan Kingdom was not very big, about the same size as the entire city of Hangzhou. Now that the Peacock River has changed its course and it has been forced to move its capital, its "territorial scale" has become even smaller, about the same size as the urban area of Hangzhou.
But even so, it is still considered a country. After all, the total population is around 50,000. But if we take into account the comings and goings, the resident caravans, etc., the population here is about 70,000.
Loulan built its city walls with sand and soil, which looked very unreliable.
Lu Sen stood at the foot of the city wall and looked up at the plaque on the wall, which read "Loulan".
That’s right, it’s the Chinese characters for Loulan.
In fact, the main language used in Loulan was Chinese characters, although there were also other languages mixed in.
At the city gate, dozens of guards with dusty faces were collecting poll taxes. The tax for merchants entering the city was higher, while for ordinary people it was just one or two copper coins.
Most of the merchants here are Semites, but occasionally you can hear people from the Song Dynasty.
You can tell them apart mainly by looking at their clothes and temperament.
When those Seljuq merchants entered the city, they would move more slowly, as the guards would carefully check the type of goods, their approximate value, and so on.
As for the Han merchants, they would be allowed to pass as long as they gave some copper coins.
When Lu Sen entered the city, the guards did not collect his head tax at all. They even respectfully stepped aside, as if they were afraid that their dirty clothes and hands would touch Lu Sen's clean and luxurious clothes.
The Semites nearby were quite envious of Lu Sen for being able to enter the city so easily.
Just as Lu Sen entered the city gate, he suddenly heard a voice in unauthentic Song dialect from behind: "Young man in front, please wait a moment."
Lu Sen looked back and saw a soldier in armor holding a spear chasing him from behind.
He trotted over to Lu Sen, glanced at Alijie next to him, and then smiled at Lu Sen: "Young man, did you just come from Central Plains ?"
No wonder the other party is so sure.
Loulan is located in the Gobi Desert. Although there is a Peacock River next to it, the water flow is not large. It can barely provide living water for tens of thousands of people, and there is enough water to irrigate sandy fields and grow some food.
As for other large oases, forget it.
In a place like the desert, it is normal for people to be as black as oil. Moreover, people here generally don't like to take a bath, so the people here are black and dirty, and their hair is often matted together.
Unlike Lu Sen, his skin is whiter than a woman's flesh, his whole body is clean and refreshed, and even under the scorching sun, not a drop of sweat falls. It is obvious at first glance that he is not an ordinary person, let alone a barbarian.
How could a barbarian "imitate" this look of black hair and black eyes, this elegant temperament that only a scholar from the south of the Yangtze River can possess?
Lu Sen clasped his fists and said with a smile: "I am honored to be here. May I ask what can I do for you, old man?"
The soldier looked around and found that except for Alice, no one seemed to be Lu Sen's follower, so he said, "Young man, you went out with only the maid? How can your elders be so careless?"
The old man has already felt that many people's eyes are cast here, especially on Lu Sen.
As for Alice... although some people glanced at her for a few times, they quickly shifted their gaze back to Lu Sen.
Beautiful women are indeed a scarce resource, but so are handsome men.
Besides, Lu Sen was wearing silk...Alice was wearing a white cloth gown with a hood.
What did the Seljuq merchants most want to buy when they came to the Song Dynasty?
Silk, of course!
It can be said that, not to mention Lu Sen’s personal value, the silk shirt he was wearing alone was enough to buy ten Western beauties of the same quality as Alice in Loulan.
Lu Sen smiled and said to the soldier: "Don't worry, old man, I know how to protect myself."
The soldier still looked at Lu Sen with some concern, and finally said helplessly: "You can walk here from the Central Plains with such neat manners, so I think you must be capable. But the Western Regions are not like the Central Plains, it is very chaotic, please be careful."
"Thank you for the reminder, old man." Lu Sen clasped his fists and said with a smile in gratitude.
The old man immediately returned the greeting, and then said, "I think I am being nosy. I took the liberty of calling you to stop me this time because I want to tell you that any of our Central Plains disciples who come to Loulan can stay at the Fengliu Street next to the palace. That place is a den of brothels. If a Semu person wants to stay there, he has to pay a lot of money, but our Central Plains friends can stay for free, especially a young man like you, who will be even more welcome."
At this time, Alice next to her suddenly said, "No need, besides Fengliu Street, our husband can live somewhere else."
The old soldier looked at Alice with some suspicion, and then suddenly realized: "So you are already a husband, so it is naturally not convenient for you to live in Fengliu Street."
Then the old soldier left with a laugh.
Lu Sen turned around and asked Alijie: "What's the story behind Fengliu Street?"
"It's actually a red-light district. The girls there are actually pretty average." Alice covered her mouth and laughed, "Before you came out, the mistress talked to me about it. She doesn't allow you to fool around outside. If you really can't stand it, I'll have to warm your bed for you."
The first time she came to the Song Dynasty, she took a camel from Jerusalem, passed through Loulan, then went to Xi'an and then to Kaifeng.
Have a certain understanding of Loulan.
Lu Sen looked at her smiling face and asked, "Golden Flower ordered you to do these things, aren't you angry?"
"Why are you angry?" Alice said openly, "How many men are there in the world like you? But there are countless women like me. Besides, if I can sleep with you, I will be truly integrated into the Lu family."
After all, she is a Semite, so Alijie is more open-minded about this aspect.
Not afraid to talk about this.
In this regard, Lu Sen felt that she was a bit like a woman from later generations.
Lu Sen smiled and stopped talking about these things. Instead, he started strolling around Loulan City.
In fact, there is nothing much to see in Loulan. There are square or crooked earthen houses everywhere.
Besides, the city appearance here is very problematic, with human urine and camel dung everywhere, and the smell is very strong.
Fortunately, Lu Sen's 'clothing transformation' system has its own air filtering capability, so he didn't feel anything.
But Alice couldn't stand it.
She was used to the cleanliness and tidiness of the cities in the Central Plains, and could no longer be the powerful Assassin who could lie motionless in horse urine for two or three days just for an assassination opportunity.
Alice pinched her nose all the way and took Lu Sen to walk in Loulan City. After turning around several times, they arrived at an inn.
This is a typical Han building. Although it is not a wooden structure, the mud tiles on the roof and the flying eaves prove the earthen ancestry of this building.
As soon as Lu Sen entered, the shop owner came to greet him.
"We have guests coming... Oh, distinguished guest, please come this way, please come this way."
There were many Semites sitting inside, looking at Lu Sen with different expressions.
However, this shop owner has one black and one green eye and black hair, but his face shape looks a bit like a Semu person, and he is obviously a mixed-race.
He hurriedly walked up to Lu Sen and said, "Are you from the Central Plains? Please go to the elegant seat upstairs."
The shopkeeper led the way and took Lu Sen to a room on the third floor. Here he sat by the window. By turning his head and looking out the window, he could see most of Loulan City.
Lu Sen suddenly found a green area in the center of the city, so he pointed there and asked the shopkeeper, "What's that in the center of the city?"
"Of course it's the Green Palace of our Loulan Queen!"
Green Palace... Lu Sen felt that the name had a sense of déjà vu.
Alice didn't say anything. She was not allowed to get close to the Green Palace... It was the forbidden area of the Queen of the Han Dynasty. The palace guards and maids said that all Semites who were not children of the Han Dynasty were not allowed to get close, so she didn't know the situation there.
The shopkeeper smiled and continued, "My dear gentleman, you have come at the perfect time. The Queen will be touring the Green Palace tonight, and any child of the Han family may approach her and have a chat with her."
"Are there few Han children here?"
"There should be no more than a thousand people." The mixed-blood man laughed, "So most of the Han people in Loulan City know each other, so we are not afraid of any villains or assassins. What's more, our queen is very powerful."
Speaking of the Queen, the hybrid became visibly excited.
"How powerful is it?" Lu Sen asked curiously.
"Years ago, a Semu man sneaked into the Royal Guards. When the queen was out of the palace for a walk, he suddenly attacked and killed people!" The mixed-race man's eyes were shining, and his face was full of admiration and respect. "At that time, the assassin flew in front of the queen, but the queen just waved her hand lightly , and the assassin flew back and crashed into a house on the side of the road. He was almost turned into meat paste."
Hearing this, Lu Sen and Alijie looked at each other!
They knew very well that if what the hybrid said was true, then the queen's power was indeed astonishing.
"Bring two pounds of camel meat jerky and a pot of wine." After Alice ordered the meal, she said, "If you have nothing else to do, don't come over to disturb us."
The mixed-blood looked at Alice and gave her an ambiguous smile: "Please rest assured, my two nobles, we know how to handle things properly."
After the food and wine arrived, the two only drank some wine and did not touch the camel jerky... To be honest, it didn't taste very good.
Alice's face turned slightly red after drinking two glasses of wine. Generally speaking, Assassins cannot drink alcohol, because it will make them less vigilant and gradually destroy their "touch".
Especially for long-range assassinations, the feel of the hand is very important.
But now Alice no longer cares, because she is no longer an Assassin, but a Song person with a registered permanent residence.
Because she seldom drinks, after drinking two glasses of wine with low alcohol content, Alice's cheeks flushed. She looked at Lu Sen with charming eyes and asked, "Should we go see the queen tonight?"
"Of course I have to go. I'm quite interested in this person." Lu Sen said, "She was able to conquer such a large area outside the Western Regions... and conquer Loulan. She is also a heroine."
"It's still several hours before evening. My dear, do you plan to take a rest or rest?" She narrowed her eyes and asked with a smile.
Lu Sen said calmly: "Open a room for yourself to rest."
"My husband is such a bummer." Alice complained helplessly.
Lu Sen is not a sex-hungry ghost!
Besides, he had finally been freed from the terrible purgatory of three women. During this period of time, he really wanted to give himself a good vacation and didn't want to work so hard.
In the end, Alice did not go to rest. She and Lu Sen stayed in the room drinking, eating the fruits that Lu Sen brought out, and chatting.
By the evening, the two paid the bill and, led by the mixed-race shopkeeper, came to the center of Loulan City.
The desert is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night.
Although it was only evening, the temperature had begun to drop. People on the street were wearing thick clothes and rushing towards the city center.
When they got closer to the city center, Lu Sen discovered something different. The Semites consciously stayed in the outer circle, and only the Han people wearing Central Plains clothing dared to move forward.
Walking further, Lu Sen saw a large area of light.
There are so many dots, as if all the stars in the sky are twinkling here.
Lu Sen already knew that there was a small oasis in the center of Loulan City, but he did not expect that the oasis was surrounded by a crescent lake!
It is a large Crescent Lake, and the imperial palace is built on the lake.
Numerous oil lamps emit bright light, and those tiny dots are the beautiful scenery formed by the refraction of ripples on the lake surface.
Alice had already stopped outside the circle, while Lu Sen stopped and looked at the center of the lake.
At this time, the old soldier who I met during the day appeared again. He changed into a clean long gown and seemed to have taken a bath. He smiled and said, "Young man, why don't you move forward so that the queen can have a chance to see you? You are so handsome, and our queen is even more beautiful. If she can fall in love with you, you two will be a good match."
Lu Sen looked at the soldier in surprise: "How dare you help the queen catch a couple?"
Normally, ordinary people wouldn't dare to help a nobleman to find a match. Could it be that this old soldier has a prominent background?
"Alas, what's there to be afraid of?" The old man waved his hand and said, "Loulan is just the Han people like us. We are all so arrogant. How can we live among these Semites? Our queen is good in every way, but she has no offspring, which makes people feel guilty. And there is no young Han boy here who is worthy of her. If the Semites succeed, it will be a waste of our precious treasures. We Han people will be so heartbroken that we want to jump into the well. So I think you have a good chance, young man."
What the soldier said was not false; it was the real truth from his heart.
Lu Sen was the most outstanding young man in appearance and temperament that he had ever seen in his forty years of life .
And the queen was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
"I was just passing through Loulan." Lu Sen said with a smile, "Besides, I'm already married."
The old soldier knew during the day that Lu Sen was married. The noble families in the Central Plains would be foolish not to marry their daughters to such a handsome and dignified young man.
But now that we have come to Loulan, there is something to discuss, right?
People in the Western Regions have always had hot tempers and were unreasonable. It was understandable that the Han men became more irritable and arrogant when they came here.
The old soldier stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes slightly.
At this moment, the people in front suddenly shouted: "The queen is coming out, coming out."
Then there was a burst of cheers.
Lu Sen looked up and saw a woman in a Song Dynasty dress walking out from behind a gauze curtain.
She gently pushed aside the curtain with her right hand, revealing a perfect face, and then a smile, and flowers bloomed.
Lu Sen was stunned. This familiar face was Lu Xianxian... No, it was Jing Huan!
