The Empress and Her Servants (3)
Xu Yunhong still had a bruise on her face, from when she was hit by the inkstone earlier.
Jian Tanxi felt that as a servant, she could not sit idly by and ignore her master's wounds.
So she quickly looked around and found a box of ointment, which she applied to Xu Yunhong's face.
After applying the ointment, Jian Tanxi asked, "Your Majesty, are you still in pain?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, you can go back to your work."
Jian Tanxi quickly put down the ointment.
Xu Yunhong wanted to apply medicine to Jian Tanxi, but suddenly remembered that she was an empress and could not take care of servants, so she forcibly refrained from doing so.
It's incredibly difficult for a modern person to adapt to an ancient hierarchical system. Xu Yunhong felt that every step was fraught with pitfalls, and these ten days were unlikely to be easy.
Jian Tanxi continued cleaning, while Xu Yunhong could only watch.
She can't even help with chores.
This is much more difficult than making her work overtime.
Therefore, Xu Yunhong had no choice but to avoid visiting Jian Tanxi.
There were some books on the bookshelf, so she picked one up and looked at it casually. They were all written in classical Chinese, which she couldn't understand, but she had nothing else to do, so she could only look at them.
After a while, Xu Yunhong felt hungry.
But she didn't want to say anything for the time being, fearing that if she interrupted Jian Tanxi's cleaning, Jian Tanxi would be punished.
Unexpectedly, a small knife suddenly flew over and pierced Jian Tanxi's shoulder, disappearing into the hilt.
Jian Tanxi gasped loudly in pain, clenching her teeth tightly, afraid to cry. She was afraid that crying would only make the pain worse.
With only a rag for wiping tables at hand, she stuffed the rag into her mouth, gritted her teeth, pulled out the knife, and then used her healing powers to heal herself.
Although the pain had subsided, she was still shaken and remained stunned for a full minute. She had been cleaning diligently the whole time and had no idea where she had broken the rules.
Xu Yunhong asked first, "I said, what exactly happened? My servant and I didn't do anything wrong just now."
A mechanical voice announced: "Your Majesty is hungry, but the servants did not notice and did not prepare food in time. Therefore, the servant Jian Tanxi is to be punished."
Jian Tanxi felt like she was about to die of speechlessness. How did she know Xu Yunhong was hungry? Did she have to read Xu Yunhong's mind every single moment?
But I can only use my mind-reading ability a few times.
Xu Yunhong said to Jian Tanxi with some guilt, "Jian Tanxi, I didn't know that the system would punish you for starving, otherwise I would have said so just now... I was afraid that I would interrupt your work and you would be punished again. I didn't expect that I would be punished no matter what. I'm really speechless."
Jian Tanxi knew she couldn't blame Xu Yunhong for this; it was simply that the surveillance system was too abnormal.
Jian Tanxi said to Xu Yunhong, "Your Highness, if you have any needs, please tell me immediately. I will go and prepare food for you now."
Xu Yunhong instinctively wanted to say "okay," but she forcibly held back. If she actually said it, it would be like the Empress obeying a servant, and she would be punished.
Therefore, she recalled all the palace dramas she had watched since childhood and managed to say, "I know what I should say and do, and I don't need you to remind me."
Jian Tanxi lowered her head and replied, "Yes."
Seeing that the room was almost cleaned, Jian Tanxi hurriedly ran to the imperial kitchen.
However, she didn't know where the imperial kitchen was.
The palace is too big; if she goes in the wrong direction, it will waste a lot of time.
She wanted to ask an animal, but couldn't find one in the rush.
At that moment, she thought of Professor Pan's "talker" ability. Professor Pan could talk to any object, so asking him for help was the perfect solution.
Professor Pan is now Ouyang Ling's servant. The two of them live in Songyue Palace, which is where the players are initially teleported.
Jian Tanxi ran quickly to Songyue Palace and saw Professor Pan lying on the ground, his legs covered in blood, almost broken. Ouyang Ling watched him anxiously from the side, but dared not touch him.
Jian Tanxi ran up to him and asked, "Professor Pan, what's wrong?"
Professor Pan said weakly, "It's nothing, I just accidentally violated the rules and got punished... I'll be fine after taking a healing pill."
Professor Pan took the healing pill and recovered his health. However, Jian Tanxi was suddenly hit on the back of the head by a small stone.
Jian Tanxi winced in pain and whispered, "What happened..."
Since no one has taken any action, this pebble should be considered a punishment from the surveillance system.
A mechanical voice announced: "Servant Jian Tanxi's address is inappropriate. This is the palace; there are no professors here. This is a minor punishment to serve as a warning."
Jian Tanxi said helplessly to Professor Pan, "Uncle Pan... I'll call you that for now."
Professor Pan nodded: "Yes."
Just then, another small pebble flew over and hit Jian Tanxi right in the eye.
Jian Tanxi felt a sharp pain and realized she was seriously injured, fearing she might have lost sight in her right eye. Left with no other option, she could only continue using her healing abilities to heal herself.
The mechanical voice reminded: "Servant Jian Tanxi's behavior is against the rules. Upon seeing Ouyang Ling and her servant Pan Xian, he did not bow to Ouyang Ling first, but instead ignored the Empress and spoke to the servant Pan Xian first. This is a great act of disrespect."
Jian Tanxi really wanted to curse, but she didn't know who was making that mechanical voice. Perhaps, behind the mechanical voice was just a program, and cursing wouldn't make a difference.
She had no choice but to suppress her anger and bow to Ouyang Ling: "This servant greets Your Highness Ouyang."
Ouyang Ling looked at Jian Tanxi with a mixture of confusion and sympathy.
She wasn't used to being an empress yet, and when she tried to say "No need for formalities," she felt like her tongue and teeth were fighting.
After hesitating for a while, she finally said "No need for formalities," and Jian Tanxi stood up.
Ouyang Ling breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart felt even heavier. She was never used to treating others like servants, and she didn't want to play this game anymore, but she had no choice.
Just now, because of her improper behavior, which was not like that of an empress, she had been punished by the system several times. Fortunately, she had a healing pill on her and was able to recover her health.
At this moment, she was extremely cautious and dared not make any move, for fear of breaking the rules again.
After thinking for a moment, she said to Jian Tanxi, "Jian Tanxi, if you need to see Pan Xian, just say so."
Jian Tanxi told Pan Xian about going to the Imperial Kitchen. Pan Xian used his Storyteller ability to ask a floor tile for directions to the Imperial Kitchen.
Pan Xian felt that it was time for Ouyang Ling to eat, so he said to her, "Your Majesty, please allow this old servant to go with Jian Tanxi to the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a meal for you."
Ouyang Ling said, "Go."
Professor Pan was preparing to leave when Jian Tanxi remembered that she had the ability to fold three dimensions, so she used it to fold the space of the Imperial Kitchen next to Songyue Palace.
In this way, they only needed to walk a few steps to enter the imperial kitchen.
Once inside, they didn't dare delay and quickly started a fire to cook.
There are no modern gas stoves or anything like that here, so cooking is already very slow. The two of them could only keep chopping and preparing vegetables non-stop, without even having time to exchange ideas.
Fortunately, they both know how to cook, and with each other's help, everything proceeded smoothly.
Jian Tanxi has been under immense psychological pressure after experiencing so many punishments, and she really wants to confide in Professor Pan.
However, fearing she would miss the opportunity to cook for the Empress, she could only suppress all her emotions.
She suddenly understood what it was like to be a servant in an ancient palace—constantly at fault, subject to beatings and punishments, with no one to confide in. They suffered injustice while still having to work, afraid of being even a little slow.
This is simply not a life fit for a human being.
After a while, fitness instructor Zhong Xiaoying also ran over.
She had several wounds on her body, but they were all superficial. The blood had mostly dried up, but the wounds were still gaping open, making them look rather frightening.
Jian Tanxi asked, "Sister Zhong, are you also here to prepare food for your mistress?"
Zhong Xiaoying nodded: "Yes, but I can't cook... I'll have to trouble you guys."
"It's alright, we've prepared enough food for eight people. Anyway, the pots here are big, so it doesn't matter whether we cook a little or a lot. Just wait here, the food will be ready soon."
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Why don't you take a break? You've never done this kind of work before. If you suddenly join in, it will only slow down the progress."
"Alright, then I won't trouble you any further."
"By the way, Sister Zhong, don't you have any healing pills? Why aren't you treating these wounds?"
"I have a few healing pills, but I don't want to use them now. Given how treacherous this game is, there will be plenty of opportunities to get injured in the future. Healing pills and items are precious and shouldn't be used lightly. My body is already stronger than most people's, so minor injuries won't bother me."
"If you're in too much pain, don't bear it; I also have healing abilities."
"Your healing ability also has a limit on the number of uses, right?"
"Um."
"Since each use is one less time available, don't waste it on me."
After a while, the food was ready. Jian Tanxi and Professor Pan packed four food boxes and distributed them to the four concubines and servants in the palace.
Zhong Xiaoying said, "I'm strong, so why don't I deliver two meals, one to my own mistress and one to Consort Qin Man?"
Jian Tanxi was a little worried about Qu Chen's situation. Even normal people like them kept breaking the rules, so wouldn't Qu Chen, an autistic child, be constantly in trouble?
I wonder how Qu Chen is doing now.
So Jian Tanxi said, "I will deliver the meals to Consort Qin Man's place. You all just need to deliver the meals to your respective consorts."
Professor Pan and Zhong Xiaoying knew that Jian Tanxi had the most supernatural abilities and props, so they weren't worried and did as Jian Tanxi said.
Jian Tanxi's spatial ability only lasts for ten minutes, and by now the space in the Imperial Kitchen has long since returned to its original position.
Professor Pan and Zhong Xiaoying were about to run back when Jian Tanxi suddenly remembered that she had a magic carpet that could fly, so she tried to take it out and use it.
Surprisingly, the magic carpet can fly here.
So Jian Tanxi simply let everyone sit down.
She first sent Pan Xian and Zhong Xiaoying back to their respective palaces, then flew back to Hanzhang Palace and gave the food to Xu Yunhong.
Then, she said to Xu Yunhong, "Your Highness, please allow me to deliver food to Consort Qin."
Xu Yunhong nodded: "Go ahead."
Jian Tanxi rode the magic carpet and soon arrived at Qin Man Palace.
She first bowed to Qin Man from outside, and then heard Qin Man say anxiously, "Is this Jian Tanxi? Please come in quickly."
As soon as Jian Tanxi stepped inside, she heard the system punishing Qu Chen: "Your Majesty is hungry, and servant Qu Chen has not prepared food in time. He will be given an electric shock as punishment."
Qu Chen collapsed to the ground, covered in blood and looking filthy, with a piece of flesh missing from his face.
Suddenly, lightning appeared out of nowhere above him, about to strike Qu Chen.
Qin Man rushed over, crying, and said, "No... Qu Chen can't get hurt anymore, please..."
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