Fifteen, Queen Lixuan's melancholy (Part 1)

The beautiful city of Lixuan, the most charming bride in the desert

Blue waves rippling in front of her, mountains surround her

How clear the river water flowing down from the snow-capped mountains is;

How fragrant are the flowers blooming in the forest

I praise her bright tulips;

I sing for her lush forest

In the early morning, her laughter was as cheerful as a flower;

At night, her darkness is as bright as her hair.

The moving nightingales sang beautiful tunes;

Like a spiraling tree.

The business travelers of the following countries wandered on her streets;

The treasures from all over the world are filled with her market.

Every luxurious palace is in abrupt manner;

The value of every brick is better than the treasure of a priceless city

People can't count how many bright moons there are on her roof;

I can't count the thousand brilliant suns behind her walls

...

The refreshing and pleasant morning breeze, with wonderful notes, slightly lifted the silk window curtain in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and gently blew into the exquisite bedroom.

The Lixuan Palace, located on a low hill somewhere in the suburbs of the city, gradually woke up from the sleep that last night.

Hearing the beautiful morning songs faintly coming from outside, Queen Clairebel yawned, opened her eyes lazily from the soft bed embroidered by brocade, staring at a brilliant red sun, rising among the mountains in the distance.

After taking a deep breath of the refreshing morning air, she habitually flicked her fingers and planned to call the maid with a "beeping technique", but she had no reaction to casting the spell successfully... Her Majesty the Queen was slightly stunned at first, then remembered something, and had to sigh helplessly, picked up a bell from the head of the bed, and shook it twice. Several maids who had been waiting outside the door immediately entered one after another and served her to get up and wash up in the morning.

A quaint cedar wood bathtub was carried by four maids into the floor-to-ceiling window of the bedroom. It was filled with steaming warm water, and smelling vanilla and rose petals. The young queen nodded with satisfaction, took off her white linen nightgown, raised her fair and slender jade feet, stepped into the bathtub, and then lay down her white and charming body as beautiful as jade, enjoying the essential petal bath every morning.

On the wall in front of her is a huge mosaic painting spliced ​​with colorful glazed glass, depicting the scenery of the "Desert Bride" Lixuan City.

This is a beautiful scenery like a paradise - at the top of the majestic mountain range in the distance, the snow reflects the golden sunlight; the clear and rushing Yulong River winds down from the steep foothills; various rare birds and beasts appear in the lush forests; countless fat cattle and sheep are everywhere in the lush grasslands; on the spacious post road, there are camels of merchants and camels from all over the country; among the fertile fields, golden wheat waves are swaying.

And in this wonderful pastoral scenery, the tall walls of Lixuan City, as well as the towers and temples in the city, together with the rippling water of Yulong Lake in front of them, and the hard-working fishermen in the boating lake, weave them into a colorful picture, which is almost dazzling.

This is the shining pearl on the Silk Road, the city of Lixuan, which was praised by the minstrel as the "Desert Bride" and is a gorgeous portrayal of her heyday.

——The rippling lakes and fertile fields provide the city with abundant agricultural products; and the camel caravan that travels through the sand brings it gold, silver, gems, spices, porcelain, tea and silk; the elite and powerful warriors and mages guard the safety of the city vigilantly.

The "Desert Bride" in its heyday is such a dream city that brings together business travel and wealth from the East and the West.

However, as the saying goes, the world is changing, and the world is indomitable. No matter how beautiful a beauty is, she will have a time of old age. Even if she is a prosperous country, she will eventually have an era of decline.

——The current Lixuan City has long been no longer as intoxicating as a "desert bride" inlaid on the Queen's bedroom.

Thinking of this, Queen Claire Belmont, who had just ascended the throne this year and had not even held the throne ceremony, couldn't help but sigh quietly, turned her head to look out the floor-to-ceiling window, the flat valley bathed in the morning light.

This is a colorful chessboard-like field, planted with drought-tolerant crops such as barley, corn, alfalfa, as well as fruits and vegetables such as grapes, watermelons, pomegranates, walnuts, radishes and other fruits and vegetables. Next to the neat ridges, the gurgling springs from the snow-capped mountains flow happily in countless tiny ditches, nourishing this dry land and allowing various crops here to harvest.

However, under the same bright sunshine, she could also see with worry that at the entrance of this seemingly vibrant valley, an ominous yellow-brown sand dunes had appeared, eating the last land of Lixuan City.

Outside the valley is a vast silver salt lake, reflecting dazzling light.

——As the climate changes, the melt water from the snow-capped mountains gradually decreased, the Yulong River was cut off, and the Yulong Lake dried up. The blue water surface turned into a silver-white and shining salt pond; and the lush forests, pastures and farmlands were also buried and swallowed by the long yellow sand.

The bustling street market with business and travelers was silent; the veiled desert beauty died of old age; the magnificent palace shining with golden light collapsed.

This once charming and dreamy city of wealth is now left with only broken ruins and arid fields.

The withering of the ancient Silk Road has made the camel bells coming and going in this city increasingly rare; the se-nailed remains living in Lixuan City can only retreat into the last valley and survive the invasion of the desert.

However, now, citizens have found that even such a bleak business life is becoming more difficult...

In response, Queen Claire Belmont couldn't help but sigh, then stood up from the slightly cool bathtub, dressed up in front of the mirror.

Since today is the Senate Day, with the help of the maid, Queen Belmont put on a luxurious purple robe that symbolizes authority, and the silk base is embroidered with gold threads on it; she wore a delicate and small gold crown, and crystals and gems were inlaid in the hollowed-woven gold wire, which reflects her fluffy blonde hair that looks like a wave, making her look even more gorgeous and brilliant.

Then, she grabbed the small esoteric silver scepter, stepped on the hollow sandals made of sandals, and stepped out of the bedroom with her head held high. Looking down the hill from outside the palace gate, the entire building and street of Lixuan City were all in sight for a while.

——No matter from any perspective, the ancient city of Lixuan has become "a bunch of great ruins"...
Chapter completed!