On this day, Hai Lan was relaxing in the imperial garden as usual. Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her and a sweet, timid voice called out to her.
"Hai Lan, can you please stay?”She quickly turned around and saw a delicate and beautiful young girl dressed like Ge Ge.
"And you are?"
"I'm Yun Rou Ge Ge, the emperor's sister.”
"Yun Rou Ge Ge." Hai Lan nodded politely.
"May I help you?"
"I have something to do. No, actually, I want to get to know you.”Yun Rou blushed.
"I've been paying attention to you for a long time. You're always alone and seem very lonely, so I wanted to talk to you.”Strangely, the timid Yun Rou had never taken the initiative to talk to strangers. This was the first time. Perhaps it was because she was too curious about Ocean Blue, but her curiosity far surpassed her cowardice, giving her the courage to speak to Ocean Blue. Hai Lan took a deep look at Yun Rou. She looked so cute when she was shy. She didn't look like she had any unfriendly thoughts. Hai Lan couldn't reject her.
"It's my honor that you're willing to talk to me.”Hai Lan said.
"Hai Lan, you're so polite!" Yun Rou blurted out. "I thought you were…" Yun Rou shut her mouth in embarrassment.
"Do you think we are unreasonable barbarians?”Hai Lan smiled.
"Indeed, some of our clansmen are unreasonable, but most of them are still kind. If you have the chance to visit my hometown in the future, I think you will agree with what I said.”
"Yes, yes." Yun Rou looked at Hai Lan in admiration.
"Why do you speak Chinese so well? Did you go to school just to come here?”
"No, my father is Han Chinese, so I can speak Chinese since I was young.”
"Then is your mother an alien? Otherwise, why is your skin so fair and your eyes blue?”Hai Lan smiled and shook her head.
"My mother is from the Hui clan. Her skin is as white as mine, but her eyes are black. I think my mother's ancestors had blue eyes, so I have blue eyes.”
"Your eyes are so beautiful!" Yun Rou looked into Hai Lan's eyes and couldn't help but exclaim.
"Your eyes are also very beautiful. They are black and bright. If you look closely, it seems that you can suck people in.”Hai Lan complimented Yun Rou's eyes. Yun Rou blushed.
"Right, I heard that Tibetans call you 'Daughter of the Sea God'…Can you tell me why?”
"Because of my blue eyes." Ocean Blue didn't hide anything,"My people said that my eyes are as blue as the sea, so they gave me this name." Actually, I've never seen the sea, so I don't know if what they said is true.”
"I've seen the sea!" Yun Rou shouted excitedly. That's right, your eyes are like the color of the sea, very blue and very dazzling. I think this title is very good and suits you very well.”But Hai Lan couldn't affect Yun Rou's excitement. Yun Rou kept mentioning her clansmen, which made her homesick and her mood heavy.
"By the way, your parents must be very reluctant to part with you after you left your hometown, right?”Yun Rou, who didn't notice Hai Lan's expression, asked again. Ocean Blue shook her head slowly.
"No, my parents are already gone.”She looked up at the blue sky and said faintly,""They all went to the sky."
"I see." Yun Rou said with sympathy.
"So you don't have any relatives. Is that why the Tibetan chieftain chose you to enter the palace?”Hai Lan remained silent. She didn't want anyone else to know the reason why she entered the palace. She knew that Yun Rou didn't have any ill intentions towards her, but she knew that even if she told Yun Rou everything, it would be useless. She was Qianlong's sister, and she wouldn't help her. Yun Rou saw that Hai Lan didn't say anything and thought that she was right. She couldn't help but reach out to hold Hai Lan's hand. Hai Lan was shocked by her sudden action.
"Yun Rou Ge Ge?"
"Hai Lan, call me by my name!”Yun Rou really sympathized with Hai Lan and said sincerely,""You can rest assured and stay here. Imperial brother is a very good person. You are so beautiful, he will definitely like you very much. As long as you can let Imperial brother dote on you, you will live a very happy life.”
Hai Lan didn't know what to say. Yun Rou's enthusiasm touched her, but she didn't want to stay here. She wanted to go back to Tibet. That was where she grew up, her hometown. She belonged there. She really wanted to tell Yun Rou that. But she couldn't say anything. In order to repay Yun Rou's enthusiasm and concern, she could only hold Yun Rou's hand and force a smile. From that day on, Hai Lan and Yun Rou became friends. Because of Hai Lan's extraordinary beauty, no one in the palace dared to disrespect her, but no one was willing to get close to her either. The other concubines all thought of her as a powerful love rival. Since she was a love rival, how could they get close to her?
Only Yun Rou was willing to be with her. Not only did Yun Rou often come to her bedroom to chat, but she also brought her good friend Xue Ruge with her. The two girls were kind and cute, adding a lot of joy to her lonely days. Soon, she had been in the palace for a month. On this day, Yun Rou didn't come to chat with her. She felt bored, so she came to the imperial garden alone. After entering the palace for so long, she had yet to walk through the entire imperial garden. This time, she specially took a route that she had never taken before. The further they went in, the fewer eunuchs and palace maids passing by. Finally, she walked to the deepest part and found that she was the only one left.
"No." Suddenly, she heard voices coming from the front. She wasn't the only one here. There were others. The voice came from the rockery in front of her. Driven by curiosity, she gently moved her feet to the back of the rockery and slowly poked her head out. She almost cried out when she saw it. It was him, the one who had stopped Kerdan from raping her in the woods. Besides him, there was another woman dressed like Yun Rou. The woman had delicate features that were not inferior to Yun Rou. She was more mature than Yun Rou and was a very attractive woman.
"Hongzhou, don't be like this. It'll be bad if someone sees you.”The woman begged. So his name was Hong Zhou. Yun Rou saw Hong Zhou holding the woman's hand tightly and the woman's painful expression. That pain made her, who had nothing to do with it, feel the same.
"No one will come here." Hong Zhou grabbed Ruiyu and refused to let go. He would not let her go. He heard that Qianlong was coming back and he did not have much time left.
"Rui Yu, don't run away from me." He stared at her in pain.
"Listen to me. Before he comes back, let's go far away.”
"Are you crazy?" she cried out involuntarily. You don't want your mother, your title, your future…"
"I don't want anything!" Hong Zhou said firmly. "I only want you. As long as you are by my side, I can give up everything.”
Hai Lan was stunned by what she heard from behind the fake mountain.
Who was that 'him'? Also,'Royal Mother' and 'Noble Lord'…Who were these two people?
"You can't." Rui Yu shook his head desperately, his voice choking. "This won't work. You can abandon your family, but I can't abandon my family. I can't let them be in danger because of me.”
"You can do it. If you love me, you will do it.”Hong Zhou shook Rui Yu's shoulder hard.
" Let go of me." Rui Yu's face was filled with pain."Don't force me, I beg you."
Hong Zhou shook his head heavily. "Alright, when he comes back, I'll go and kill him.”His tone was firm.
" You..." Rui Yu's red lips trembled, and her body swayed.
"Why?" She said in a trembling voice,"Why do you keep saying that? How could you kill him? He's your brother!”
"Brother?" Hong Zhou sneered,"If he still recognizes me as his younger brother, he shouldn't have snatched you away." He was the one who disregarded our brotherhood first. How can you blame me for not thinking about our brotherhood?”
"No, you can't do that."
Seeing Hong Zhou's determination, Rui Yu, who was already filled with fear, collapsed. She could not help but say,"I don't love you. I don't love you anymore.”She held her head in pain and muttered to herself,""God, why do you have to force me to say this? Why must I hurt you?”
Hong Zhou staggered back a few steps, his face turning pale.
" You said you don't love me?" Hong Zhou looked at Rui Yu as if he had lost his soul, as if his world had been completely shattered by Rui Yu's words.
Rui Yu could not bear to see Hong Zhou like this. She did not want to hurt him at all, but she had to do it for herself and for Hong Zhou.
"I love you. Ever since I was twelve, you were the only one in my world.”Rui Yu sniffled and said hoarsely,""But that was in the past. I will never forget the feelings we had in the past. Now, I am the emperor's woman, and I have fallen in love with him…"
"Impossible!" Hong Zhou roared and shook Rui Yu's shoulders crazily. "You can't fall in love with him. How can you fall in love with someone who steals your love? Don't you know what kind of person he is? If it weren't for him, we would have been husband and wife a long time ago. He was the one who broke us up, wasn't he?”
Ruiyu shed tears. "Yes, just as you said, he broke us up. He stole our love. I hated him. I hated him at first. However, he doted on me so gently and loved me. My hatred for him gradually softened. Unknowingly, I was conquered by him. When I realized that I had fallen in love with him, my feelings for you…"
"Shut up, shut up!" Hong Zhou shouted and interrupted Rui Yu's words. He couldn't stand this blow. He couldn't stand that Rui Yu no longer loved him. He couldn't stand that she fell in love with Qianlong.
"How could you?" His eyes were red, and his tone was extremely painful. "You actually fell in love with him? No, I don't believe it. It's not true.”
He grabbed her shoulder again and said in a hurried tone,"You're lying to me, right? Did he ask you to say that? Or did you make up a stack of lies to make me give up?”
"No, no, I'm telling the truth. It's all true.”Rui Yu cried and shouted," I'm sorry. I betrayed our love. Forget about me. There are many women better than me in this world. You…"
"No, I don't want to forget, I don't want to forget.”Hong Zhou hugged Rui Yu and pressed her head against his chest. "Don't lie to me anymore. You love me. You love me, right?”
After saying that, he kissed her hard.
Rui Yu let out a sorrowful cry and struggled in his arms.
This soul-stirring scene was presented before Hai Lan's eyes.
Perhaps because she was too shocked, Ocean Blue accidentally bumped into the fake mountain and made a sound that wasn't too loud, but it wasn't so loud that it could be ignored.
This sound shocked Hong Zhou and Rui Yu. Rui Yu took advantage of the moment when Hong Zhou let go and hurriedly left this place.
Hong Zhou didn't chase after Rui Yu. His attention was on Hai Lan, who was in a daze.
"It's you?" Hong Zhou looked at Ocean Blue with a scrutinizing gaze.
He actually saw her again. If it wasn't for the feeling of being " caught in bed ", he would be very happy to meet this little beauty again.
"I should have guessed that it was you." "The daughter of the Sea God, you're the beauty that I'm offering to my fourth brother, aren't you?"”
Hai Lan's beautiful blue eyes were filled with confusion as she looked at him blankly. "Who are you calling fourth brother? Was it the emperor? Are you the emperor's younger brother?"
Hong Zhou snorted coldly."So what if I am? So what if he wasn't? What does this have to do with you? Sister-in-law."
Hai Lan knew Chinese, so she understood the meaning of the word "sister-in-law". So, Hong Zhou was really the emperor's younger brother.
If Hong Zhou was the Emperor's younger brother, then wasn't that woman called Rui Yu the Emperor's concubine?
Hai Lan looked at Hong Zhou in surprise, and Hong Zhou's sharp gaze landed on her face. "Looks like you already know."
Hong Zhou walked in front of her and his big hand suddenly hit her fair neck.
He exerted a little force and her breathing became difficult. She widened her blue eyes and looked at him in confusion and fear.
"If you dare to tell a second person what you saw just now, I'll break your beautiful neck, do you hear me?”
Hai Lan glared at him and struggled to say,"Do you want to kill me because of the feelings you shouldn't have?"”
Killing intent appeared in Hong Zhou's eyes. He gritted his teeth and said,""Feelings that shouldn't be there? Well said, well said."
Hong Zhou let go of his hand after he finished speaking. Hai Lan touched her neck and took a few steps back in fear.
Hong Zhou stared at her. "What, do you really think I won't dare to kill you? Or are you threatening me with this, daughter of the Sea God?”
"Don't call me that." These five words represented the highest respect for Tibetans, but in Hong Zhou's mouth, it became full of mockery, which made Ocean Blue feel very harsh.
She said,"In the eyes of you Manchurians, I am nothing. If you are worried that I will tell others about what happened today, then you are worrying too much." I don't care what happened between you and any of your concubines. I just don't want you to be punished or hurt because you saved my life.”
Although she was not a Manchu and did not understand the rules of the palace, she still knew what she should know.
The Emperor was so noble and supreme. Even if Hong Zhou was the Emperor's younger brother, if the Emperor knew that he was pestering his concubine, Hong Zhou would definitely not have a good ending.
"Yo, looks like I misunderstood you. You were thinking for me, but I actually bit Lu Dongbin. I don't know how to be kind.”Hong Zhou's face was filled with a mocking smile.
He didn't believe that a person he had only met twice would have such a kind heart. The words of a woman couldn't be trusted, especially a beautiful woman. He had already confirmed it with Rui Yu, hadn't he?
He looked at Hai Lan and chuckled,""In short, remember my words. If the matter is exposed, I'll be the first to settle the score with you.”With that, he left quickly.
Hai Lan looked at his back and sighed,""I didn't expect there to be such an unreasonable person here.”
Walking out of the imperial garden, Ocean Blue, who had been dragged into someone else's love affair, went to Yun Rou's bedroom with a depressed mood.
After Yun Rou received the report, she quickly rushed to the front hall to welcome Hai Lan.
"Hai Lan, I was just about to look for you, and you came.”
Seeing the gentle Yun Rou, Hai Lan found it hard to associate Hong Zhou with her. She couldn't help but ask Yun Rou,""Yun Rou, your brother Hongzhou didn't have the same mother as you, did he?”
"That's right! We are half-siblings." Yun Rou looked at Hai Lan strangely. "Hai Lan, did you meet Hong Zhou?”
"I met him in the imperial garden just now, and…I spoke to him.”Hai Lan said.
"Is that so? This is strange." Yun Rou was surprised.
Hai Lan thought that Yun Rou had noticed that something was wrong with her, so she said guiltily,""Strange? No, I don't think so."
" But…" Yun Rou shook her head as she thought. "My Brother Hongzhou has never liked to talk to people. Every time he comes to the palace, almost all the eunuchs and palace maids will avoid him because he will lose his temper for no reason. When he is fierce, he will make you feel like you are going to be killed by him. Even I, as his sister, don't dare to get close to him, so I find it hard to imagine that he will talk to you.”
Yun Rou grabbed Hai Lan's hand nervously and asked,""He didn't lose his temper at you, did he? Did I make you angry?"
"No, I haven't." Hai Lan shook her head in denial.
"Then I can rest assured." Yun Rou took a deep breath and said," Actually, I feel that Hong Zhou is really pitiful. He used to have a good temper. I still remember that when I was young, he often took me out to play. However, ever since Consort Yu entered the palace three years ago, he seemed to have changed into a different person." Although he was no longer the good brother who loved me and played with me, I could understand his change. If I had his experience, I would become like him.”
Consort Yu, could it be that woman from earlier? Hai Lan listened attentively. She didn't know why, but she was very interested in Hong Zhou. She wanted to hear more about him from Yun Rou.
"Yun Rou, if it's possible, can you let me know what happened to Hong Zhou?”she begged.
" This…" Yun Rou thought for a while.
Because this matter involved his royal brother, and it could be said to be a family scandal. As the saying went, one should not wash one's dirty linen in public. The less people knew about it, the better. Even if Hai Lan knew, it would not do her any good.
However, Yun Rou remembered that Hai Lan was going to be one of them soon. If she wanted to know about this, she would know sooner or later. Since she couldn't hide it from her, she might as well tell her.
"Alright, then I'll make it short.”Yun Rou said," Consort Yu is also called Rui Yu. She is the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She and Hong Zhou met eight years ago. At that time, Hong Zhou was twenty years old and she was only twelve. As far as I know, Hongzhou has always been in close contact with her. When I was young, I knew that Hongzhou liked Ruiyu. This is something that all of us brothers and sisters know. It's equivalent to an open secret.”
"Hongzhou had been waiting for Ruiyu to grow up. When Ruiyu was seventeen years old, which was three years ago, Brother Hongli, the current emperor, suddenly called Ruiyu to be his concubine after he ascended the throne. Because it was the Imperial Brother's decree, no one dared to disobey, including Hong Zhou. Just like that, Hong Zhou lost Rui Yu. We all know that he was in pain, but there was nothing we could do.”
Hai Lan quietly listened to Yun Rou. At the same time, the image of Hong Zhou and Consort Yu embracing each other in the imperial garden appeared in her mind.
After hearing Yun Rou's words, she forgave Hong Zhou for being unreasonable to her, and her dissatisfaction towards him turned into sympathy at this moment.
Because Hong Zhou reminded her of Kuer in Mongolia. She, Kuer, and Ke Er Dan, weren't their situations similar to the relationship between Hong Zhou, Consort Yu, and the Emperor?
The biggest difference was that Concubine Yu was already the Emperor's woman, and she was lucky enough to escape from Ke 'erdan's clutches, but she had fallen into another predicament.
"Hai Lan, what's wrong?" Seeing Hai Lan remain silent for a long time, Yun Rou asked with concern.
"It's nothing." Hai Lan shook her head, trying to hide her worries. "To be honest, I also sympathize with Hong Zhou. But what I don't understand is, why did the emperor snatch Consort Yu away? He should know that Hong Zhou and Consort Yu were in love, right?”
"Sigh, to be honest, I'm not sure either.”Yun Rou sighed,"But I've seen how well Imperial Brother has treated Consort Yu these past few years. Although my Emperor Older Brother has many wives and concubines, I can see that he values Consort Yu very much." I think he might have fallen in love with Concubine Yu long ago. Perhaps he really wanted to give Concubine Yu to Hong Zhou before, which was why he didn't express his feelings. Even after he ascended the throne, he was still reluctant to give up Consort Yu, so he used his power to take Consort Yu for himself.”
Hai Lan didn't say anything. She was thinking, what kind of love was this? The Emperor must have loved Consort Yu very deeply, so he abandoned his brotherhood and used underhanded methods to get Consort Yu, right?
He knew that this would make things worse and hurt his younger brother, but he still did it. Hai Lan didn't know if she should admire or despise the emperor.
Now that the Emperor had obtained Consort Yu's heart, they should be satisfied and happy. The other person could only hide in the dark and heal his wounds that he did not know when he would be able to heal.
"Don't you think Hong Zhou is very stupid?”Yun Rou continued,"I know that he took advantage of the time when Imperial Brother wasn't around to come to the palace every two or three days just to find Consort Yu." It had already been three years, but he still could not forget Consort Yu. If this continued, his happiness would be delayed.”
"Maybe that's right." Hai Lan said softly," But there's no other way. After all, she's someone you loved deeply. How can you forget her just like that?"”
Yun Rou stared at Hai Lan with her eyes wide open. Just as Hai Lan was feeling puzzled, Yun Rou smiled and said,"
"I guess you must have a lover in Tibet, right? You seem to understand Hong Zhou's feelings very well.”
Hai Lan blushed and shook her head in panic. "I don't…I don't have a lover!”
Hai Lan's appearance made Yun Rou even more suspicious. She elbowed Hai Lan and said with a smile,""Can you tell me? I promise I won't tell anyone. Please tell me.”She really wanted to know who the beautiful Ocean Blue fell in love with.
" This…" Yun Rou's cute face made Hai Lan feel like she was a sinner if she didn't say anything.
She surrendered. "Actually…actually, we're not lovers. " I grew up with him. He's my best friend. He protects me and takes care of me. He's a very good friend…" Hai Lan said awkwardly.
"Are you really just friends?" "Friends and lovers are different. Although I don't have this kind of experience, you should be able to tell, right?" Yun Rou asked mischievously.”
Hai Lan shook her head in confusion. How could he tell? She was certain that she liked Kuer. In her heart, Kuer was like a friend, like an elder brother, and like a family member. She didn't know if this was love or not. She only knew that when she was with Kuer, she felt at ease, at ease, and happy.
To be honest, she had never thought of marrying Kuer, and Kuer had never proposed to her. However, he always wanted her to be his bride. This sentence had been said since childhood, so she thought that Kuer should be serious. He and Kerdan both wanted her to be one of them.
Yun Rou's question reminded her that if she could see Ku Er again, if Ku Er really proposed to her, would she marry him?
She thought that the possibility was very high. After all, Kuer was the man she liked the most so far. Even if her feelings for him were not considered love, it should not be a big problem, right?
Seeing that Hai Lan didn't say anything, Yun Rou thought that maybe she was missing her lover? Hence, she comforted Hai Lan,"
"Hai Lan, don't be sad! Since that person is only your friend and you are already here, forget about him. Oh right, I forgot to tell you a piece of good news. In a few days, Imperial Brother will return to the capital! You will see him soon."
Hearing this, Hai Lan's body trembled and her heart sank.# Daguan Review Passed: Daguan Time:1024201810:31AM
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