Chapter 98, Chapter 98, Empress

Smoke rose again from the kitchen stove, and Cui Shenxiu sat by the small fire, wolfing down several flatbreads. Qingqing, unable to bear watching, put down her noodles and said:

"Shall I make some more soup?"

Xiao Yuanshu glared at her irritably, her words muffled:

"Even now that you're on the throne, you still fawn over people. You're truly born a servant!"

Qingqing was scolded, but she wasn't angry.

They took out all the cooked pancakes, added firewood to the fire, and lavishly cracked three eggs into them.

The aroma filled the air. Xiao Yuanshu, who hadn't eaten in a long time, swallowed the food in his mouth with difficulty, and couldn't wait to grab the earthenware pot and gulp down a bellyful of egg drop soup.

Finally full, Xiao Yuanshu wiped his mouth haphazardly. He then glared fiercely at Qingqing, whose face was full of sorrow.

"What, you're happy to see me like this, aren't you!"

Qingqing instinctively opened her mouth, but seeing Xiao Yuanshu's raised eyebrows and cold smile, she knew he was all bark and no bite. So she said softly, "I have some new clothes I haven't worn yet. Sit here for a while, I'll go get them?"

Xiao Yuanshu's expression changed, and he smashed the earthenware pot with a wave of his hand.

"Do you think I'm here to beg for food from you!"

"……I did not mean that."

Qingqing closed the door tightly and took a broom and dustpan to sweep up the broken pieces. Xiao Yuanshu, seeing her like that, grew angrier and angrier. "Enough!"

Qingqing paused, cleaned up the things, and then sat down again.

Xiao Yuanshu suddenly lost her temper.

"I used to beat and bully you, and you still served me like a coward. Yang Liuqing, tell me, how can you be so annoying?"

Xiao Yuanshu leaned against the wall, brushing aside her disheveled hair. The fierceness she had shown when they first met was gone.

She glanced at Qingqing from head to toe. "Are you going to ask why I don't come to your morgue to seek refuge with you?"

The purpose of establishing the hospital was not only to provide a place for the vulnerable and to supply military equipment, but also to lure Xiao Yuanshu out.

Qingqing understood her pride and knew she would never stoop to begging. This compassionate hospital, dedicated to saving lives, was a suitable platform for her.

She had originally planned that it would be fine even if Xiao Yuanshu did not acknowledge her identity.

Unexpectedly, after Xiao Yuanshu saw through her intentions, he would rather sneak in at night to eat some dry, raw flour than let her find out.

Qingqing lowered her head. "Yes."

She answered crisply and decisively. Xiao Yuanshu's forced composure vanished in an instant.

“How could I, Xiao Yuanshu, accept charity? If my brother finds out, he will surely think I have disgraced the family.”

Qingqing hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Xiao Yuanshu sneered, "In reality, it's not even as good as being given food out of contempt. If this is theft, people will laugh at me even more."

She stared at the flickering fire in the stove, her face suddenly filled with exhaustion.

“I poisoned Zhu Rong. I planned to kill him and then issue a false order to find my brother and make him the ruler of Liangzhou. Who would have thought that before I could finish drinking the poisoned wine, the Wang family beat me to it. I took advantage of the chaos to escape from prison. Fearing retribution, I disfigured my face.”

"I thought I could endure it, but Liangzhou is too cold." Xiao Yuanshu had had enough of fleeing around the city for days.

Her gaze was sharp:

"Your establishment of the Mourning Hospital and the large-scale acceptance of refugees is an attempt to win people's hearts. Yan Dibai's frequent military campaigns after taking command are a way of establishing his authority,"

"Outside your soup kitchen, I overheard those wounded soldiers rambling drunkenly, saying that Yan Dibai is searching for a lone army. Who else could he be looking for but my brother's ten thousand elite troops?"

Without waiting for Qingqing's reply, she continued speaking to herself, her tone resolute:

“My brother is a talented general and commands a large army. If Yan Dibai cannot recruit him, he will never leave him to become a future threat. If my brother does not surrender on this trip, he will probably become a victim of Yan Dibai’s sword.”

Xiao Yuanshu's eyes were clear: "Take me to bathe and change. I can't lose face for the Xiao family of Longnan... Brother, I will persuade him."

-

The air was thick with moisture, and even through the screen, Xiao Yuanshu's extremely thin silhouette could be seen, like a plum blossom broken by wind and snow.

Qingqing placed a set of her softest clothes on the screen: "I've prepared the guest room, it's right next door."

Xiao Yuanshu paused in drying herself, then stepped out of the bathtub, leaving a long trail of water, and cried out shrilly, "No, I want to sleep with you!"

Qingqing thought she had misheard: "Me?"

"What, you despise me? You won't even let me near your love bed with Yan Dibai?"

"Of course not..."

"Then take me there!"

Qingqing was pulled and dragged back to her room with the others.

Xiao Yuanshu didn't make any further fuss; she simply got onto the bed and pulled the covers up.

“After Yan Dibai came back, I slept by myself.” She turned over, her voice gradually blending into the night. “That Zhu Rong is fat and strong, and he drooled over me the first time he saw me.”

“My brother was betrayed by Feng An and forced to submit to others. Although I was furious, I suddenly realized that this was neither Longnan nor Shangjing.” No one would tolerate her.

“My brother was angry, but even more so, he felt guilty. He said he would take back Longnan, chop up Zhu Rong, and kill Feng An… I have the best brother in the world.”

She rambled on, finally unable to hold back, revealing her vulnerability. "Yang Liuqing, I don't like Yan Dibai. I was only captivated by his looks back then, I—"

A hand gently patted her thin back.

"It's all in the past."

Xiao Yuanshu was stunned.

Warm arms embraced her from behind, and Qingqing, imitating Yan Dibai, applied a little more force.

"Go to sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will be alright."

The back trembled slightly, then slowly returned to calm.

The summer heat in Liangzhou finally dispelled some of the chill, and Xiao Yuanshu settled into the Beibing Hospital. The two quickly became close friends, sharing everything. Together, they awaited Yan Dibai's battle report.

However, a silent plague struck first.

At first, there were only sporadic vomiting and fever, but within three to five days, it developed into large-scale convulsions and seizures, and some people even died. The city's medical officers were helpless and could not even find the cause of the disease.

At the same time, Zhao Xu sent someone to report that even Wang Shu, who was imprisoned in a separate courtyard, had collapsed, and an ominous silence enveloped Liangzhou.

After much hesitation, Qingqing refused the guards' suggestion to send a messenger on horseback to report to Yan Dibai.

He hasn't written back yet, so the fighting must be tough. Sending a message now would only make things worse.

Qingqing and Xiao Yuanshu personally visited several patients. When they returned to the hospital, they looked at each other and saw the same surprise in each other's eyes.

"Something's not right." Xiao Yuanshu lifted her veil and gazed at the chaos below the city. "The diseases broke out in the city at almost the same time, so why are you, me, and everyone in the Grief Hospital all unharmed?"

This is exactly what Qingqing has been struggling to understand.

Wang Shu, Zhao Xu, and Wang Fei were all under separate surveillance, and their diet was kept extremely cautious. There was no reason why something would happen to them while she and the women and children were unharmed.

Qingqing couldn't sleep at night, repeatedly thinking about every detail: food, daily life, and the people she came into contact with.

Everything is normal...

That morning, as usual, Qingqing checked on the patients. A boy, barely a teenager, ran around a few laps, then stuck his bottom out and buried his head in the water vat, drinking it all.

Qingqing stopped inexplicably. The child, having finished drinking, smacked his lips and had just sat down to eat half a pancake when suddenly his eyes widened and he vomited all over the ground.

...It's water!

"Yuan Shu, Sister You, it's water!"

Qingqing ran back and immediately summoned the few surviving guards:

"Issue the order! From this moment forward, all drinking water in the entire city must be boiled! Post notices, send soldiers to patrol the streets, and go door-to-door to explain!"

Modern habits made it impossible for Qingqing to drink raw water directly. She always boiled it before using it. The people in the hospital followed her example, and besides, the weather was cold recently, so everyone tried to drink hot water to warm themselves up.

Recently, people have been seeking coolness, and the soldiers and civilians in the city, as well as Wang Shu's villa, are using raw water drawn directly from wells and rivers!

Sure enough, after the order was given, many patients with mild symptoms began to improve.

Qingqing's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, had just begun to ease when Sister You quickly brought even worse news: "Your Majesty, those who are seriously ill, and those who are weak like Lady Wang, are no longer able to drink boiled water... This morning, two more have passed away."

Not only that, but even worse news also arrived – Li Si and his fleet of ships transporting medicinal herbs northward were robbed by "water bandits" of unknown origin at the mouth of the Yellow River.

The warehouse's medicinal herbs were almost gone.

The lives of all the soldiers and civilians in Liangzhou rested on her shoulders; Qingqing was isolated and helpless.

"Post a notice," she forced herself to remain calm. She issued another order: "Offer a hefty reward to bring in renowned doctors!"

The guard hesitated: "His Majesty has ordered that no outsiders are allowed to enter the city. Your Highness, please reconsider!"

Yan Dibai's plan to encircle Liangzhou City like a subway system was intended to prevent collusion between internal and external forces. With such chaos at this time, some people are bound to take advantage of the situation to infiltrate.

But... Qingqing gritted her teeth, "Xiao Liu, there's no other way." We can't just let people die.

The guard remained silent: "Your Majesty has mercy."

As soon as the notice was posted, doctors flocked to the scene. However, they either prescribed the wrong medicine or could not explain the cause of the illness.

As everyone's mood grew increasingly heavy, a familiar name suddenly cheered Qingqing up.

"Is it really Choi Sin-soo?"

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Author's Note: The Mystery is Here!