The Little Consort's
Eps. 2: The identity of the concubine

“So, I am a concubine?”

The female servant named Xie Roulan nodded her head. Li Anlan looked at Xie Roulan sharply. That woman still can't trust anyone here. There was not a single person he knew. Although Li Anlan was not a psychologist, she knew that Xie Roulan did not lie. The servant girl was telling the truth.

Li Anlan entertained himself with the idea that he was time-traveling and was reborn. But, why should she be born a concubine? Moreover, she was a concubine who was never looked upon. In fact, according to the story of Xie Roulan, he had not met the king since his arrival to this palace two years ago. He really is in a situation of abandonment!

The woman always thinks if she is reborn, she will become a president director of a company or a favorite child of the conglomerate so she does not have to bother working and can laze around all the time. Apparently, that hope is gone.

“Ckck... This concubine really lives lonely.”

“Mistress, did Madam self-activate?”

This servant talks too much. Li Anlan could not yet accept the fact that he was stranded in a land in the middle of nowhere in ancient times. Li Anlan could not imagine how difficult it would be to live in an age like this. Moreover, his status was a low-level concubine who was never looked upon. Perhaps its existence is not even known.

Li Anlan often read historical fiction novels and royal period dramas. Almost the same groove with different settings had already memorized Li Anlan out of his head. If a concubine does not die at the hands of another concubine, then she dies at the hands of her own king. All his actions are always under the eye of others. Li Anlan was worried that the bad luck of the concubines in the novel and drama befell her. Li Anlan did not want to die again

“Tell me, why am I dead?”

“Mrs drowned in Lake Houchi while picking lotus flowers.”

Falling drowned in one's own fault is the most ridiculous way of death in the world. Li Anlan in the past was really stupid! How can a brave modern girl who has conquered dozens of mountains and hills become a concubine who cannot even be careful of her own safety.

“Who found me?”

“The palace guards who happened to be passing by, Madam. They lifted you right out of that lake.”

“Did I bring something?”

Xie Roulan shook his head.

“Tabib Tao said that your pulse was gone and you were pronounced dead. But you miraculously woke up. I'm really happy!”

Li Anlan held back Xie Roulan's body that was about to hug her. Li Anlan then told him to come out of his room. The servant complied without saying anything more. After Xie Roulan was gone, Li Anlan laid her body on a bed covered in light blue mosquito nets.

His brain is spinning hard. If he came from the lake, then his mountain backpack should still be there as well. Xie Roulan said that he was found floating on the surface of the water with blue lips and pias face. Li Anlan was convinced that his soul did not possess or exchange bodies with Li Anlan in this world. He was sure he came with a whole body with his luggage.

Li Anlan slipped out of Xingyue Palace. The courtyard of this palace that was not spacious enough became deserted at night. Li Anlan sneaked towards the gate. There, he saw two soldiers standing guard. His head shrieked looking at the spear the two guards were holding.

Li Anlan shouted in shock as someone patted her shoulder. As he turned his head, Xie Roulan stood up while rubbing his eyes with a finger.

“Where are you going?”

“I... I want to take a walk to the palace lake.”

“Oh. Let me take.”

Without being ordered or waiting for approval, Xie Roulan walked ahead of Li Anlan. When the two gatekeepers asked, Xie Roulan said that her mistress wanted to take a walk. The two guards then let Li Anlan and Xie Roulan go.

Li Anlan walked through the palace courtyard decorated with flowers and small stones. Li Anlan had no idea which way he was walking in now. Li Anlan only had to follow Xie Roulan if he did not want to get lost. Li Anlan was fleeting like a slave following his master. If anyone else had seen it, Li Anlan might have already become a laughingstock.

A beautiful lake overgrown with lotuses swept Li Anlan's eyes. Across this lake, a building more magnificent than his palace stood with cocoa under the moonlight. The building was so shining with a golden sparkle reflected from above the surface of the water.

“That's what?” he asked while pointing at the magnificent building.

“Mistress, you forgot? It was Hongwu Palace, the private residence of His Majesty the King.”

Li Anlan was about to ask what was the name of the king. But, the question was not he threw because he knew in the era of the kingdom like this, mentioning the name of the king is forbidden and anyone who dared to violate will be punished. The ban applies to everyone, not least the royal family itself, including the king's own mother and father.

Forget who the king is. Li Anlan needed to dive into the water to find her lost belongings. Seeing this vast lake, Li Anlan's guts shrunk slightly. With the clothes he was wearing now, he would have a hard time moving around in the water. Moreover, Xie Roulan was continuously watching him from the side. The waiter would definitely not let it fall into the water.

Li Anlan looked around to make sure no one was passing by or watching him. He took off his clothes until the remaining clothes wrapped in a thin white body. Li Anlan could feel the cold piercing through his skin. But, it's not important. As a climber, he did not have to worry about getting sick just because of such thin clothes.

Byurrs….

Inside the lake, Li Anlan dived deeper and deeper. He could not clearly see all the objects around him because it was so dark. Accidentally, his head was stumbled on a rock at the bottom of the lake and bled. The fresh blood mingled with the water until Li Anlan did not realize he was injured.

Li Anlan's eyes blinked when he saw a small blink of light in a corner of the stones. Li Anlan immediately approached the tiny flickering light as he was sure his mountain backpack was there. Sure enough! His backpack was tucked between the rocks. Li Anlan worked hard pulling her backpack with all her might. After struggling for quite a while, the backpack he finally managed to pull. Li Anlan then carried the backpack and immediately swam up as he began to run out of breath.

How surprised he was when he saw someone standing staring at him from above the bridge when his head was poking out onto the surface of the water. Seeing that the clothes that person was wearing was exactly the same as the one who chased him this afternoon, Li Anlan guessed that person was a eunuch.

A handsome eunuch, he whispered inwardly.

Li Anlan forgot that she was only wearing underwear. His entire body was imprinted because it was wet. The man's eyes grew sharper as if he was about to kill. The man frowned his eyebrows when he saw the blood pouring from Li Anlan's forehead.

“You... injured?” ask the guy. The man then pointed at his forehead with his finger. Li Anlan touched his forehead and found that the red liquid was flowing profusely.

“Pretty brother, can you throw that shirt?”

The person glanced at the pink cloth that was poked on the footing stone of the bridge. When the clothes were about to throw into the lake, Li Anlan shouted to prevent it.

“Let on the edge of the lake only.”

Li Anlan cursed the person. Is he really stupid? If his clothes were thrown into the lake, wouldn't it be the same as being naked? There is no point in wearing wet clothes because the entire curves of his body will still be visible.

“You?”

“I'm puya betadine. I'll treat myself.”

“Betadine?”

That guy frowned. This word was the first time he heard it.

“Ah, it's a kind of medicine for wounds.”

The woman draped her outer clothes to cover her wet body. The night seems to be getting late. He can't linger here anymore. He had to leave immediately before the guards looked for him.

Li Anlan cursed himself when he forgot which path he had gone through earlier. This courtyard was too vast that Li Anlan did not know which path could bring him back to Xingyue Palace. The woman glanced at someone opposite her. A brilliant idea popped into his head.

“Handsome brother, can you help me show me the way to Xingyue Palace? My head is injured, my memory is partially lost.”

Li Anlan let that person lead the way in front of him. Both of them stepped without a sound. The wind blows back. Li Anlan hugged her wet body. The woman has not been able to adapt to the air here. The alienation in this country is too big to make it difficult to adjust.

When it came to the front of Xingyue Palace, two guards lowered their heads in salute. Li Anlan ran inside Xingyue Palace without saying thank you to that person. He doesn't care where the eunuch ‘ helped him’ went. The woman disappeared behind the palace door.

The man frowned. On this very late night, why would a palace lady be outside? The rules here say that the woman should not leave the palace of her residence after the curfew passes, unless the woman is called out by the king or the king's mother. The woman, unattended and unaccompanied by the waiter wandered alone in the lake, even emerging from the water with her head wounded.

“Tighten your guard. If until His Majesty finds out his woman came out alone like that again, he won't spare you!”

The two guards who sensed the aura of anger from a eunuch in front of him only nodded. Indeed, the two guards did not know that the king's concubine they were guarding would return alone in a state of chaos and injury. If the king knew one of his concubines was in danger, their heads would indeed be completely insecure.

That person walked away leaving Xingyue Palace with an annoyed face.

...***...

Abandonment: the situation is left behind.

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