Chapter 189 How was my performance? I beg Your Majesty for a reward.

This was their first real meeting.

It was in Ninghe Town, more than ten miles away from the military camp.

What was once a prosperous place is now a scene of devastation.

The town was first struck by a devastating flood, and the following year it suffered a severe drought and locust plague. The people were starving and in dire straits, and it was not uncommon for them to eat infants.

The ruler of the Great Liang Dynasty was licentious and tyrannical; for two years, he had not sent a single soldier to provide disaster relief.

As night fell, he set off from the northern military camp, covering his face with a mask to avoid being recognized by the disaster victims, and arrived in Ninghe Town with a few of his men.

The streets were deserted and eerily quiet as they walked into the alley.

They discovered several corpses simply wrapped in white cloth in a dilapidated teahouse not far away.

There were faint groans of pain coming from inside, along with the sounds of bottles and jars being knocked over.

They stopped at the corner opposite the tea stall.

The moonlight, like water, spilled onto the ground.

A woman dressed in a light gray dress was kneeling down and giving acupuncture to an old man in front of her.

Scattered on the ground were all sorts of small items, including strips of cloth, silver needles, moxibustion sticks, and small medicine bottles of various bright colors.

Her forehead was soaked with sweat, and fine beads of sweat formed on the tip of her nose, indicating that she had been busy for a long time.

But she had no time to care, kneeling on the cold ground.

Despite her efforts, the old man's condition worsened, and eventually, his faint breathing ceased.

The woman's tears fell like pearls from a broken string, landing on the deceased's soiled clothes.

Perhaps because she had cried too many times, her nose and eye sockets were red, and her face was swollen, which looked like a sign that she was about to get frostbite.

But she only felt down for a moment, as if the weakness she had just shown was an illusion, and then she moved her body to the side.

Her face was still wet with tears, but her hands continued to treat the wounded.

He stood in the shadows where she could not see him.

He saw dead people every day, on the battlefield and in the military camp. Sometimes, when the march was simple, his former subordinates could only be wrapped in straw mats and buried hastily.

He also caused countless deaths among his men; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was a ruthless killer.

But if the dead are not enemy soldiers, but those who die tragically, they are the people of the land he was protecting.

He thought he had long since become numb to this scene and would no longer feel upset about the loss of life.

But watching her tears fall one after another, it was as if the most flawless crystal in the world had fallen into the dust.

Suddenly, he realized what he truly wanted most.

The King of Liang was incompetent, and hundreds of thousands of people of the dynasty died directly or indirectly at his hands.

The female doctor before me is doing everything she can to treat and save lives.

The reason why so many people died or were injured in Ninghe Town is ultimately because King Liang was the rotten, stinking flesh. The Great Liang Dynasty was already terminally ill.

King Liang was no longer fit to be a ruler like that.

Under the moonlight, he watched her for as long as she was saving him...

The next day, he secretly ordered someone to send him winter clothes, quilts, food, and medicine.

At the same time, they began to plot to "save the country".

Whether you are a general or an emperor, you have one thing in common: you must protect your country and its people from the suffering of war.

He never wanted to see her sorrowful face when she knelt down to save people again. He had never seen her smile and didn't know what it looked like.

However, seeing her again disappointed him...

Ji Qingwu noticed the emperor's deep gaze and remained silent as he looked at her.

She felt she had performed well, and Emperor Wusu's expression at this moment seemed to indicate that he was lost in some kind of memory.

She guessed that the memory was mostly related to her.

Did her mentioning Wei Ting remind him of those old, trivial matters? Ji Qingwu herself could barely remember them, so why did he remember them so clearly?

She interrupted his reminiscence and took the initiative to speak: "Your Majesty, did I perform well today?"

As she spoke, her bright eyes blinked at him, full of expectation.

Emperor Wusu pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked intently at the person before him, nodding and saying, "Very good."

It's just two words: "very good" and that's it?

Ji Qingwu was dissatisfied, but his smile became even brighter as he asked, "Your Majesty, would you consider giving me some kind of reward?"

She has really improved a lot; she even dares to ask him for a reward.

Emperor Wusu's heart lit up when he saw her smiling lips and bright eyes.

Thankfully, I'm smiling at him now.

His voice was clear and crisp, and he asked in a good mood, "Awu, what do you want?"

It felt as if they would pluck the stars from the sky for her.

Upon hearing him speak, Ji Qingwu's eyes darted around, and she immediately pointed to the withered flowers and plants on the ground, as well as the sycamore tree at the other end that had lost many branches and leaves.

"Your Majesty is all-powerful and can surely accomplish this. I wish to restore this courtyard to its original state."

Her little courtyard suffered an undeserved disaster because of these people; she was utterly innocent.

Emperor Wusu's expression tightened, and he said, "You two, come in."

Sanchuan and Sihai did not rush in as quickly as usual.

Emperor Wusu frowned, wondering what had happened to them.

Ji Qingwu took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve and reminded him, "Your Majesty, they cannot use light-body techniques."

Emperor Wusu stared at the bottle in her hand, his gaze pausing for a moment.

Ji Qingwu spread his palms out, looking slightly smug, and said, "Your Majesty, do you also like this little revolving vase? I had someone specially make a set of molds for it, and there are twelve colors in total."

This is similar to the brightly colored small bottles scattered on the ground in the tea stalls of Ninghe Town.

Ji Qingwu seemed to remember something and sighed, "What a pity, this set of small bottles originally had twelve, and there was one sky blue one, but I forgot where I put it."

Upon hearing this, a hint of unease flashed in Emperor Wusu's eyes. He coughed lightly and asked, "Why can't Sanchuan and the others use their lightness skills? What did you do?"

Ji Qingwu shook the small bottle in his hand and said, "They actually fought in my yard and damaged my precious herbs, so I just sprinkled some medicinal powder on them."

To describe administering drugs is as simple as adding seasonings when cooking.

Emperor Wusu shook his head with a helpless smile.

Ji Qingwu explained, "This powder doesn't harm the body. It only temporarily dissipates the body's internal energy as heat. It will be fine after two hours."

Strangely enough, Emperor Wusu sometimes really wanted to pry open that little head to see what was inside.

He asked, "Where did you find all these strange medicines?"

When asked about this, Ji Qingwu covered it up by saying, "Your Majesty, don't worry about it. If we wait any longer, all my herbs will die."

After all, Ji Qingwu had just personally asked for a reward.

Emperor Wusu glanced at the withered herbs beside him and said, "I see that some of them look like they come from the Southern Chu region. I will find some more for you and plant them in your Wutong Garden in a few days."

Ji Qingwu had already jogged off to fetch the shovel, rake, and scissors.

She shoved the watering can into his hands.

“Since Sanchuan and Sihai are His Majesty’s people, His Majesty also bears responsibility for failing to supervise them properly.”

Emperor Wusu: ......