Chapter 175 Whip

Meng Yan thought about her worries all night long, and only closed her eyes reluctantly when it was dawn.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already bright outside.

She sat up. Yunxiang heard the noise and asked, "Madam, are you getting up now?"

Meng Yan nodded, rubbed her temples, and said softly, "What time is it? You've already changed shifts."

As Yunxiang rolled up the curtains, she said, "It's not too late. It's only a quarter after noon. Your Majesty has only woken up half an hour later than usual. When I came in, Ruizhu whispered to me that Your Majesty went to bed too late last night, so we shouldn't wake her up at the appointed time this morning."

Meng Yan paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "It's a critical time now, so it's better not to sleep in."

As she said this, she put on her shoes and went downstairs.

Yunxiang called out, and a group of palace maids came in one after another holding wash basins, hot water, soap and other things, and helped the imperial concubine to wash and dress according to the usual rules.

After getting dressed and washing, Meng Yan smoothed her face in the mirror and asked, "Did the princess sleep well at Shou'an Academy last night? Did you disturb the Empress Dowager?"

Yunxiang combed her hair and replied, "Your Majesty, early this morning, the Empress Dowager sent Aunt Cangxiu to tell me that the princess is living peacefully in Shou'an Academy, is well-behaved and obedient, and has won the Empress Dowager's favor. The Empress Dowager also instructed you to focus on your own work these days and not worry about the princess."

Meng Yan knew that Empress Dowager Jiang was telling her not to have any worries, so she nodded and smiled.

Looking in the mirror, she saw that the pretty face of Furong, which she had seen so many times, had a look of weariness on it, and there was some gloom under her eyes, so she took some more makeup and pressed it on heavily.

After a simple makeup, Meng Yan urged the meal to be served, "No need for seven or eight dishes, just a bowl of porridge and a few snacks. After eating, I will go to Liluoyuan."

When Yunxiang heard this, she immediately panicked, "My Lady, the people living in Liluo Courtyard are all sick with the plague. You can't go there! If anything happens, we can't bear the consequences!"

Meng Yan inserted a golden filigree butterfly hairpin inlaid with oriental pearls into her bun and said calmly, "Without examining the patients' symptoms and relying solely on messages from people, how can I know where the disease is? And how can I devise a prescription? Preventing the epidemic is one thing, but the most important thing is to prescribe the right medicine. Otherwise, if this continues, people everywhere will continue to panic." Then she smiled at Yunxiang and said, "Don't worry. It seems the epidemic is only spread through food. I went to Liluoyuan and didn't eat or drink, so how could I have contracted it?"

After saying this, she added sternly, "This is a critical moment. The Emperor needs to deal with state affairs. The Empress Dowager is already old. I am the highest-ranking concubine in the palace. If I don't step forward at this moment, how can the people below do their work with peace of mind? Instead of asking others to rush forward, I am shrinking back."

Yunxiang knew that her master was a man of her word and would never change her mind. With her limited eloquence, she would never be able to convince the queen.

At that moment, she had no choice but to go out and order breakfast.

Soon, breakfast was served. Meng Yan casually ate two mouthfuls of milk and rice porridge and two pieces of shrimp steamed buns, then rinsed her mouth and set off for Li Luoyuan.

Outside Chunzezhai, the ceremonial guards were already waiting. After the imperial concubine got on the sedan chair, they set off.

They were silent along the way. When they reached the outside of Li Luo Courtyard, Meng Yan heard a lot of noise in the courtyard. The cries, shouts and curses mixed together, almost resounding through the sky.

She frowned slightly and got off the sedan chair.

There were two eunuchs guarding the gate of the courtyard. When they saw her coming, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.

Meng Yan stood there, her face stern, and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on? Liluoyuan is a place for recuperation. How can patients rest when it's so noisy?"

The two eunuchs looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.

Yunxiang looked at them and scolded, "The Queen is asking you questions, are you all speechless?!"

As he was speaking, a palace maid suddenly rushed out from the courtyard, shouting, "I'm not here anymore, I'm not here anymore!"

A burly eunuch followed closely behind, strode forward, kicked the palace maid to the ground, and then raised his hand and whipped her twice, leaving her skin and flesh exposed on her back.

But the eunuch cursed, "You ungrateful, lowly creatures! The Imperial Concubine was so kind as to send you consumptives here to recuperate! And yet you're so picky about food and drink, and you even want to run away! If it were the rules of the previous dynasty, you would have been thrown into the transformation field! It's only because the Imperial Concubine is so kind that she asked the imperial physician to treat you! If you run again, I'll break your legs!"

The eunuch was only staring at the palace maid running away in front of him, and was completely unaware of the situation around him. The whip in his hand fell on the palace maid like raindrops.

The palace maid curled up on the ground, rolling around and crying for mercy.

"I think you are a coward, so today I will kill you as a warning to others..."

"stop!"

When the eunuch raised the whip in his hand again, a clear and beautiful female voice broke through the air, forcing him to stop.

"Who dares to stop our Chief Steward Wu from dealing with the palace maids?"

The eunuch who called himself Chief Steward Wu shouted in a rough voice, and when he looked back, he suddenly saw a beautiful woman in gorgeous clothes standing in front of the courtyard gate with a cold expression.

The whip in his hand suddenly slipped to the ground. He was so frightened that his soul was shattered. His knees went weak and he knelt on the ground.

"This servant has met the Imperial Concubine. I kowtow to her..."

Meng Yan looked at him and said calmly after a moment, "Very good. I just learned today that there is such a powerful eunuch in Shanghe Garden."

Chief Steward Wu raised his head and furtively glanced at the Imperial Concubine. Her gaze was icy, like two steel knives piercing him. His face paled to the ground, and he trembled as he tried to defend himself. "Your Majesty, this servant, this servant, is disciplining the palace servants... Ever since the epidemic broke out in Shanghe Garden, Your Majesty, in her mercy, ordered the sick palace servants to be moved to Liluo Courtyard to recuperate. But these people are truly ungrateful. They're so picky, secretly throwing away most of the daily meals. I've caught them several times during my patrols and scolded them, but it was no use. And today, they caught this little maid pouring porridge under a tree. I'm so angry, and I hate them for wasting Your Majesty's kindness, so I'm going to teach them a lesson..."

Meng Yan sneered, "So, you're doing this just to protect me?"

Chief Steward Wu nodded vigorously, "Exactly, exactly. Your Majesty, I am truly loyal and devoted to you, and this is known to all the world!"

The maid who had just been beaten had been cowering on the ground, but now, somehow finding the strength, she crawled to Meng Yan's feet and cried bitterly, "Your Highness, it's not like that. Your Highness has been kind enough to let us wait here to recuperate, and we are deeply grateful. But... the three meals delivered to the courtyard every day are either leftovers from the kitchen or moldy and rotten... We can't eat them and have to throw them away... Your Highness, this maid didn't mean to ruin your kindness..."