The mountain has trees, and the trees have branches. The great family of Dai has one hundred and four clans.

  Under Mount Xianyun, the court of the Xiongnu king

  Shulan led a Xiongnu female slave into the tent, "Princess, this female slave under Yitai's tent says she wants to see you?"

  The little slave girl walked into the tent, and after making another bow, said, "Zhu Zhu has seen the Princess of Chu State." She then rested her forehead on her hands and wept, refusing to get up.

  Liu was taken aback, putting down the bamboo slips in his hand, with a hundred emotions swirling together.

  But in just a month or so, it seemed like an eternity. For how long had no one performed the ritual bow before her and called out to her as "Her Highness, the Princess of Chu?"

  "Are you Zhuzhu?" she asked warmly, "Have your injuries healed?"

  Zhu Zhu looked surprised and delighted, lifted her head and replied, "I'm fine now, thank you for your concern, Ning Yansi."

  A cold and arrogant remark from Hu suddenly made Liu sober up, with a silent regret in his heart. He looked at the girl in front of him, who was about twenty years old, with a face that was far inferior to Luo Luo's, her complexion was pale yellow, her body was thin and dry, it was obvious that she had not been treated well, but she had a pair of warm and bright eyes.

  "It's good that Ning Ya knows, she is pregnant."

  "Hmm," Liu thought to herself, she was no longer young, a woman needed children to secure her fate, whether in the Han Dynasty or among the Xiongnu, it was all the same. In the days that followed, she feared that her heart would be filled with worries and concerns for her unborn child, leaving no time to attend to other matters.

  Liu picked an eyebrow, "What does this have to do with me? Why did you rush over here and tell me?"

  Zhu Zhu knocked her head again and said, "The maid asks Ning Yansi to take this opportunity to move the secondary residence to the account below."

  When she is pregnant, she will no longer have the energy to take care of Leilei. At this time, take little Leilei away from her side. With a good excuse, it won't hurt her face.

  Liu Xuan had just arrived and didn't know the reason, but Motun didn't seem to favor this beautiful Han woman. Moreover, next month he would be marrying Princess Timala of the Left Wuhuan tribe. The two marriages were so close together that it couldn't be said there wasn't an intention to suppress Liu Xuan. Shulan took up for her master and blurted out, "It's easy to talk about, but who can the princess go ask? If the empress dowager is unwilling to release him, what method does the princess have?"

  "Ah-Ti Khan is a great Khan. In theory, she can control the single account within." Zhu said, "She is also a descendant of the three major nobles of Xiongnu, with the support of the Left Gu Le King, and the various Khans should not dare to offend her face. Ah-Ti Khan will be married into the royal court in another half month, although Ning Khan's face cannot pass, but on balance, her entry into the royal court is beneficial to Ning Khan."

  For the various khatuns of Modu, Timurana posed a much greater threat than any Han woman. They concentrated their efforts on dealing with A-ti. The hostility directed at Liu Xuan would be greatly reduced. As for A-ti, although she was of noble birth and had a high status, she was after all too young, and if she wanted to establish her own authority in the royal tent, she would have to start by opening up a gap with the weakest of the khatuns, Ning Khatun.

  It's not that she doesn't understand this principle, it's just that Liu Xuan is too proud and arrogant, and willingly bowing her head is too difficult for her.

  Zhu Zhu lowered her head awkwardly under Liu's slightly cold and discerning gaze, saying reluctantly, "As long as Ning Yan speaks up, A'Ti Yan will agree."

  "Oh?" Liu Xuan's curiosity was piqued. "Why?"

  "Because," Zhu Zhu's gaze passed through the rolled-up tent windscreen, looking at Li Li running and playing outside, she smiled exceptionally brightly, as if it was the sun in the sky.

  "At first, Ati treated Jing very kindly, and..." Zhu hesitated for a moment. "Jing probably didn't know that it was Ati who had delivered her when she was born."

  "Does Mrs. Yan believe in maternal love? ---- People say that every mother will love the child who was born from her own body after ten months of pregnancy. But I think, if you have ever held a child in your arms and brought them into this world, you would also love them. This child is different to you. Ati Yan has a different feeling towards Lili, that feeling may not be intense, but she will hope that the child lives a better life."

  "Got it." Liu Xuan was silent for a long time before saying softly.

  "Princess." Shu Lan helped Liu Xuan sit down, and poured another cup of milk tea into her hands. "Are you really going to move out of the Liuli residence?"

  "This timing is just right." Liu nodded and said, "If I don't speak up, if that girl named A'Ti is really as kind to Lili as ZhuZhu said, and Lili is in her care, then I will never have the chance to speak again."

  "And besides," she said with a sip of the cheese, the smell of which was overpowering in the cup and which she swallowed hard, "even if it's just for Zhuzhu, I'm worth trying."

  "'Her?' Shulanji said. 'She's just a lowly maid who has been in Xiongnu for six years and lost her master's protection.'"

  "The lower she is, the clearer she is about the various interpersonal details in the king's account. She is not as stupid as her companion, but rather has a good mind, and it is rare for a Han person to be in the king's account, except for relying on me, she has no better way to go. In these years, she has been loyal and devoted, and is also a loyal person. Shulan," Liu said with a smile, "you see, for us Xiongnu who are ignorant of the Han people, she is not a pie that falls from the sky."

  In late August, Modu Chanyu welcomed the marriage of Tigrana, a princess from the left Wusun tribe, with a grand ceremony that far exceeded everyone's imagination.

  On the second day, everyone went to the king's tent to ask for an audience with the new queen.

  This was Liu Xuan's first meeting with this famous Atai Shanyu of the Xiongnu.

  She was cutting a small piece of roasted venison with a small knife and handed it to Lili, who was sitting beside her, reminding her, "Eat slowly, no one is competing with you, is it delicious?" Her voice was gentle.

  "It's delicious." She replied softly.

  Then Tiamat smiled and turned around.

  In an instant, Liu Xuan almost fell into despair. She was proud of her beauty, but under the intense youthfulness of this girl named Aidi, she suddenly felt that her heart had already become old and withered.

  "Is it Lady Ning?" Timorona asked with a smile, "Are you the daughter of King Liu Jiao of Han and Chu?"

  "Yes." She replied calmly, neither servile nor overbearing. "The King of Chu is my uncle.

  "Ah, so the Empress Zhang Yan that the Great Han Emperor is about to marry is your niece from a maternal cousin?"

  Liu Jue was shocked and exclaimed, "A Yan is going to be the empress?"

  "Yes." Adi lowered her eyes, covering up a thread of excitement. "The Han Dynasty's state letter said so, and now the six rites have roughly finished three rites. By next winter in the tenth month, the Emperor will personally welcome him."

  Liu's face suddenly stiffened for a moment.

  How can Ah Yan become the empress of the Great Han Empire?

  She and Your Majesty are close relatives after all.

  Although it is not prohibited by the clan law to marry a niece, there was such a case in the Han Dynasty. The aristocratic families intermarried for generations, and the confusion of ranks could not be avoided, but the emperor marrying his cousin's daughter was still too shocking.

  Zhang Yan

  In an instant, Liu's heart was filled with bitter regret. Letting me take her place to marry the Xiongnu king wasn't enough; even the most revered and envied position of Empress in all the land had been handed over to her. The more you try to protect this child, the more I hate her. But then I thought about it some more. Even if being an Empress is a position that all women envy, as a niece marrying her uncle at such a young age, how can that be considered happiness? "What kind of person will this future Empress of the Great Han be?" Timirat asked calmly.

  Liu Xuan thought for a moment and smiled. "When I left Chang'an, she was still too young and couldn't compare to Yan Shi's beauty."

  Everyone in the account just thought that Ati was still young, and had a mind to compare with the girl who was about to take the same position as herself in the distant Great Han, each with a smile of relief.

  Tiemiruona smiled and said, "I discussed with the Khan, since Moxi Luo's sister is pregnant now. Let's entrust Lilouju to Ningyanshi instead. Jingyanshi and Ningyanshi both came from the Han Dynasty, Lilouju was originally Jingyanshi's daughter, she must be able to take good care of her."

  Liu was taken aback, she had been thinking about how to approach Timirora, but she didn't expect Artie to directly send Lilith to her tent. Timirora was too generous, such a person wasn't stupid, just too reliant on their status.

  All the Xiongnu ladies also changed color slightly. Modu has always been uninterested in trivial matters within the harem. But listening to A-Ti's words, it seems that she has the support of the Khan. Under the Khan's tacit consent, they can vie for favor and fight each other in the royal tent, but if the Khan does not need to use any means to subdue the ladies in the royal tent, relying on the Khan's authority, she can easily monopolize the royal tent.

  The sheepskin bed was thick and warm, the girl sang a gentle lullaby beside it, after a while she went forward to take a look at the girl sleeping on the bed, smiled with joy and said "Li Li has fallen asleep."

  It's great to be able to return to the protection of the Han people again.

  She turned around and saw Liu's silhouette outside the curtain.

  "Miss Ati," Liu Xian asked softly, "she's quite familiar with the affairs of the Great Han."

  "Yes." Zhubo replied, "Because of her expertise in making chariots and forging swords, she has a high reputation among the various tribes on the grasslands. In recent years, when the Xiongnu invaded Han territory, she would often ask me to find her all sorts of Han dynasty books, she even read 'Zuo Zhuan' fluently and could write elegant small seal script."

  Liu hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered the young Xiongnu man who had accompanied him to drink and watch the stars by the campfire on their journey. "What kind of person is that Qu, the Left Grand General?"

  Zhu Zhu's expression was calm and composed, and he said, "He is the full brother of Lady Yu, the most excellent son of King Junchen Chanyu, and the acknowledged heir. However, he stayed in the royal court for many years, relying on his own bravery to become one of the twenty-four high-ranking officials of the Xiongnu, the Left Da-Duwei. Before Lady Yu arrived at Longcheng, it was he who took the initiative to ask the Chanyu for permission to go and welcome her."

  "Are you asking for death?" Liu's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

  "Yes."

  Why, Liu Xiu pondered without a solution, she was certain that she had felt a kind intention and a slight infatuation from that young Xiongnu nobleman, but she had never met him before, where did this kindness come from?

  She recalled the dark skin under the moonlit night, and the eyes with a hint of nostalgia.

  He smiled and said, "The princess and she are nothing alike."

  "She?"

  "Hmm. It's Jingyuan. Oh, according to your Han people's way of speaking, it should be called Xuping Princess Chang."

  The moonlight flowed quietly in her memory like water, and she asked thoughtfully, "Qudouwei, was he good to Jingyansi?"

  "Yes." Zhu nodded, saying with a bitter tone, "When Qingyan passed away, he used all his strength. In these years, if not for him taking care of me and Luoluo, perhaps we would have become yellow earth long ago."

  Liu picked up a slight smile, bent down, and tucked in the quilt for Lidi who was sleeping soundly on the couch.

  Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City

  "Bring out the records of the daily life of the previous emperor nine years ago for me." Liu Ying ordered.

  "Yes." The minor official bowed and replied.

  The Tianlu Pavilion is quite deep, and it appears somewhat dark. The sunlight enters through the straight-latticed windows, and tiny dust particles dance happily in the beam of light. Liu Ying stands before the window, quietly waiting.

  The land and kinship between the Han and Xiongnu have finally settled. However, Liu Jing is still being held in the廷尉狱 (Imperial Prison) and cannot be released. The Empress Dowager believes that Liu Jing had privately made an agreement with Modu Chanyu in the past, forgetting the kindness of the Emperor and betraying his former country. Since the previous Emperor has passed away, there is no one who can verify whether Liu Jing had indeed reported this matter to the Emperor at the time.

  The record of daily life was placed on the top shelf, and the green-robed clerk climbed up the ladder to retrieve it. The Tianlu Pavilion was frequently swept and dusted, so there wasn't much dust on the books. He put the thick bamboo slips in his bosom, but accidentally knocked over several volumes of bamboo slips from the shelf, which fell to the ground with a crash.

  "What's wrong?" Liu Ying heard the sound.

  The clerk was shocked and hastily knelt down to kowtow, "I am guilty." His heart ached and he couldn't help but shed tears.

  Originally having a temper, seeing this, Liu Ying couldn't help but laugh, "Such a small matter, and you're crying too?"

  "Get it ready and bring out the imperial diary for Me."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  It's not true to say that I don't blame Liu Jing Sheng. But Liu Ying still didn't want to wrong his subject, and at the end of the ninth year, he found that record in the daily notes. He sighed, put the bamboo scroll into his sleeve, and couldn't help but glance at the crying clerk who had just been there. The young man was thin and pale, with a delicate face.

  "I should have seen you several times." Liu Ying said, "At..."

  "I once served as a usher in the Prime Minister's office. Your Majesty is diligent in handling state affairs, going back and forth between offices, I was fortunate enough to serve three times."

  "Oh. Then why did you come to Tianlu Pavilion?"

  "That's..." Xiong Yu was furious and wanted to speak out, her face flushed with anger, but she ultimately bit back the words.

  "What's wrong?" He took out several rare books from the Tianlu Pavilion, instructed his followers to bring them back to the Xuan Hall, and asked casually.

  Xuān Rú couldn't help but say, "I don't know what I did to offend Zhang Niángzǐ, and she had me demoted to this Tiān Lù Gé."

  Although both are palace officials, the simplicity of Tianlu Pavilion is really worlds apart from that of Xiangguo Temple.

  "Ah Yan?" This answer really surprised Liu Ying. He smiled and said, "No way? Ah Yan isn't the kind of person who would make a fuss over nothing."

  The young servant knelt down and kowtowed, "If I have done something wrong, I am willing to accept the punishment. It's just that I really don't know where I went wrong."

  "All right, all right." Liu Ying didn't have much patience for talking and waved her hand, sighing, "You come with me to the Xuan Shi Hall first."

  Tomorrow is the exam, and I'm rushing to update. As a result, the computer blacked out once in the middle, losing some words.

  So I had to retype it. So I was late today.

  Then because promised to return to Han Dynasty today, so added a section at the end.

  Considering someone's hard work, continue to ask for pink votes.

  Regarding Yu Rong, due to various reasons, it's unlikely that there will be any deep emotional development.