The Pharaoh’s Concubine

Chapter 1: First time in Memphis

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As the sun rises above the horizon, the sleepy city of Memphis ushers in a brand new day. The land is far and wide in the morning mist. The Nile River, which brought eternal life to Egypt, shone brightly under the golden sun, with dark green water rippling, and triangular green papyrus growing on both sides of the river bank.

Memphis, the largest city in Egypt and the administrative capital, was founded by King Menes, who unified Egypt. Thebes in the south followed the tradition of worshiping the god Amun, while Memphis in the north, at the junction of Upper and Lower Egypt, accepted the baptism of Asian and Mediterranean civilizations.

The tough wind of the Giza Plateau blows past the pyramids guarding the place, the endless desert, and Memphis, which is gradually becoming lively. Tall date palms and palm trees are planted along the streets of the capital city. People of different skin colors and different clothes walk on the streets. Libyans, Nubians, Canaanites, Amuru, Cretans , Cypriots... Different voices, different words, with different styles. Merchants peddled their wares with smiles on their faces, including oriental fabrics, Hittite honey, Cretan pottery, and Lebanese glass bottles.

Among these various strangers, there is a young girl who is busy in the world and is asking the local residents for the direction of the temple. The girl looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, and she was petite. Perhaps because of her rush, her originally clean face was covered with a layer of yellow-brown dust, which made it difficult to see her real appearance. There was only a pair of amber The big eyes look very lively and energetic.

After getting the exact answer from the residents, the girl immediately walked towards the direction they were pointing excitedly.

In Memphis, there is no distinction between the rich and the poor. Under the tall buildings are small houses built of dry bricks, and in the alleys next to the spacious and beautiful garden villas, people and animals can also be seen coming and going. Camels and donkeys carrying heavy loads are the most common livestock here, and the city is full of cursing, bargaining and laughter.

Just when the girl passed by a resident, a young man suddenly rushed out of the house, covered his face in pain, and fell right in front of her impartially. Immediately afterwards, another woman rushed out, helped the man up in a hurry, and apologized to the girl repeatedly.

The girl glanced at the man with a dark complexion, her face changed slightly, she stretched out her hand to hold the man's face, and asked the woman in a low voice, "Does his face hurt like a fire every day?"

The woman was taken aback, and blurted out, "How do you know?"

"That's right... It looks like he was stung by the shadow of the desert." The girl frowned.

The woman grabbed her sleeves and begged eagerly as if seeing a savior: "Since you know my husband's symptoms, you must have a way to save him, right? Please save him! Please! !"

The girl thought for a while, and then ordered: "Go and bring a basin of cold water, yes, and a clean cloth and earthen jar."

The woman stumbled into the room, and hastily prepared the necessary things according to the girl's instructions. The girl took out some medicinal herbs from her small box, put them in the crock and stirred them with water. Until the originally clear water gradually turned green, the girl picked up the crock and signaled the man to drink it.

The man took the crock with suspicion, hesitated for a while and drank it in one gulp.

Not long after, something unbelievable happened... The man raised his head with a surprised and happy expression, and repeated over and over again: "It's amazing, my face doesn't hurt anymore, my My face doesn't hurt anymore..."

The woman also embraced him excitedly, saying the same words over and over again, and the two were immersed in great joy. The girl couldn't help pursing her lips, and left quietly while they were not paying attention.

Just when she was about to continue walking, she suddenly heard a low voice behind her.

"Wait a minute, alien girl over there."

She searched for fame, and saw a rectangular soft sedan chair parked under a tall palm tree not far away. Two strong Nubian slaves were standing on both sides, and a A person dressed as a valet. Under the rolled up white curtain in the sedan chair, sat a man dressed as an Egyptian aristocrat. He was wearing a starched and straight white linen official uniform, and a small statue of Maat was hung around his neck. Judging from his age, he was about twenty-seven or eighty-eight, but his complexion was rarely fair among Egyptians. He had a handsome face with soft and heroic lines, and a pair of brown eyes were looking at her gently.

"Are you calling me?" The girl nodded herself.

There was a faint smile on the corner of his lips: "It's you."

"What's the matter?" The girl stopped in her tracks.

"Your medical skills are very special. I would like to ask you to do me a favor." He said bluntly, "Help me save a person."

The girl seemed a little surprised, and raised her chin slightly noncommittally: "Save someone? Who?"

"You don't need to know who it is, but I think your medical skills may be able to save him." There seemed to be something hidden behind the smile on his face.

The girl shook her head indifferently: "I don't even know who you are, why should I promise you?"

The man smiled again: "Then, let me introduce myself. My name is Asher, and I am the current prime minister of Egypt."

Prime Minister? The girl's eyes widened in shock, no way, the young man in front of her is actually the prime minister! In her impression, the prime minister should have gray hair and a goatee, just like the prime minister in Babylon, how could there be such a young prime minister!

"Then what about you, girl from Babylon, what's your name?" Asher smiled, taking in all of her unbelieving expressions.

She still looked at him suspiciously: "Are you... really the prime minister?"

At this time, the attendant beside Asher whispered: "My lord, can this be done? If the priest Fekti finds out, he will be very angry. You obviously don't believe him... and this girl is still a Babylonian..."

"These are not important, the important thing is to cure his illness." Asher interrupted him.

"I don't care who you are, I still have important things to do." The girl quickly regained her composure after reacting, not giving the so-called prime minister any face.

"Wait!" There was an inscrutable smile on Asher's lips, "I now suspect that you are a spy from Babylon, so I need to arrest you and ask you clearly."

"Hey, you saw it just now. I was saving people, so would I be arrested too? Which of your eyes saw that I was a spy?" The girl glared at him dissatisfied.

"Then I don't care, maybe you deliberately want to gain the goodwill of my Egyptians to find out the news. Come..."

"Hey, hey...you're confusing right and wrong!" The girl interrupted him anxiously, and said with annoyed expression, "You're also the prime minister after all, how dare you threaten me in such a vile way?"

"Then do you agree or not?" He smiled confidently.

The girl thought for a while, then revealed an expression of being defeated by you, and sighed helplessly: "Okay, you can take me there, but I can't guarantee whether I can save people, so don't blame me when the time comes .”

"Of course." Asher smiled like a fox, "Then tell me your name now."

"Margo!" The girl replied angrily, she must have been too unlucky to have such a thing happen to her when she was kind enough to save others. You must know that you should really listen to what your father has repeatedly told you - don't meddle in your own business.

"Okay, Margot." Asher showed a relieved smile: "Then, come back with me first."

The prime minister's residence is really not ordinary beautiful, with white walls, red poppy garlands adorning the door lintel, and green cornflowers and yellow flowers of the avocado tree by the window, all of which are very elegantly arranged. There were two palm trees on the path by the door, and the shade just fell over the balcony of the cottage. The door of the house is full of marigolds, and the golden petals fall on the ground, as if they have been laid into a gorgeous carpet. The maids holding lotus flowers came slowly, and their curvaceous figures were set off more gracefully by the traditional Egyptian corset dress called Calathes.

Asher pointed to a maid beside her and said, "Margo, this is Nelly, she will take you to your room, you should take a rest first."

Margo glanced at the maid named Nelly. She has brown skin, black eyes, youthful and fit, and is very attractive. Nelly smiled shyly, and pointed forward, "Miss Margot, please let me take you to take a bath first."

Margo looked at herself covered in dust, and immediately followed without hesitation.

In the courtyard where the evening breeze was blowing, Asher was enjoying a sumptuous meal, waiting for Marge's arrival, while the beautiful maids around him looked at their handsome master affectionately, and poured him the new wine graciously. wine.

"Master Prime Minister, Miss Maggot is here." Nelly's voice sounded softly not far away.

Asher raised his head and looked in that direction—behind Nelly, half of the girl of the foreign race was exposed.

The sand and dust smeared on her face have been washed away, revealing a fair and delicate complexion like ivory porcelain, with a faint rosy luster. The whole head of black hair was disheveled, and a few strands were wetly pasted on the forehead, making it even more agile. Under the setting sun in Memphis, soft lines outline her pure face, eyes like transparent amber reveal frankness, and a lapis lazuli necklace is worn on her slender neck, as beautiful as the morning light of spring, The blooming lotus, the sparkling light on the Nile.

There was a faint gleam in his eyes, and he smiled and said, "Calathis of Egypt is very suitable for you."

Margot had already greatly discounted his impression, so she just sat in the seat farthest from him. Seeing the dishes in front of her, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion. There were all kinds of bread and vegetables, fish, beef, goose, cucumbers, everything, and a strong smell of spices hit her face, making people salivate.

"By the way, what medicine did you give that man before? People who are stung by that kind of desert shadow usually die within fifteen days. There is no cure. I didn't expect you to revive him." He looked asked casually.

Marge picked up a piece of bread and took a bite: "Desert Shadow likes to appear near sage and withered grass. Many people don't know that these two kinds of grass can also detoxify. I happen to have one of them on me." .”

"Then your ability is not small." He showed a faint smile.

She swallowed the last bite of bread, and quickly countered: "Otherwise, why would you threaten me to do things for you with such abominable means."

He chuckled, but he didn't deny it: "It seems that I still have a good eye."

Marge angrily grabbed another piece of bread: "I can only do my best, I can't guarantee whether it will be effective or not." If she hadn't got a task in her hand, or if she wasn't afraid of causing unnecessary trouble, how could she accept him obediently? threat.

He bent his lips: "Do you know who you are trying to save?"

Margot raised her eyes to stare at him, only to see that his brown eyes were bottomless, without a hint of emotion, and the faint smile was only on the surface. Just now she didn't think much because she was holding her breath, but now that she thinks about it, This man who took the position of Prime Minister of Egypt at such a young age must not be a simple person. The person he wants to save must not be an ordinary person. Just like her country, black witchcraft is often used to curse and deal with members of the royal family. Could it be... Her heart skipped a beat, could it be... "People from the palace ?” she whispered.

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, and he regained his composure and said, "That's right, it's indeed someone from the palace."

"Since they are from the palace, the priests in the temple should have the ability to cure it." She said puzzled.

"Priest..." His eyes became complicated, "It's because priests can't heal."

"How could it be? The Egyptian priests are the same as our Babylonian priests. From the moment they were chosen as priests, they were also endowed with the power given by God. Not only that, they also..." She seemed to realize something, no Go on.

"You are very familiar with priests." He smiled, his expression suddenly became a little strange, "However, his illness is quite special, and there has been no cure for him."

Margot was stunned for a moment, although she still didn't quite understand what he said, but she seemed to sense a hint of conspiracy.

However, since the person waiting for her to save is a person in the palace, if she can really save that person, maybe it can help her complete the task assigned by her father earlier.

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