Chapter 48 "You are my savior, good day..."
Another year has passed, and on Qingming Festival, Yu'an, as usual, took Baozhu outside the city.
It was springtime when Baozhu lifted the curtain and saw the flowers blooming beautifully along the way. She smiled and said, "I must come out for a stroll when I have time in the future."
Yu An looked out the window and saw a patch of pink flowers in the distance.
"Whenever Shu'er comes out to play, I'll ask her to take you with her."
Baozhu pouted, "I knew the girl wouldn't come out with me."
As the master and servant were laughing, Baozhu glanced to the side and saw a line of beggars kneeling outside the city gate. One of them, though with disheveled hair and a beard, looked very familiar.
Isn't this Uncle Zhuang?
Baozhu quickly called Yu'an to take a look, and Yu'an looked closely and it really was.
After the Chu family's misfortune, the servants in the mansion were dismissed by the government and sent to various places. Even Yu'an did not know where they went, but they should not have been reduced to begging everywhere.
He told the servant to quickly pull over and stop the carriage. Yu An hurriedly got out of the carriage to look for him.
"Uncle Zhuang?"
The person kneeling by the roadside looked in the direction of the sound, but after a brief eye contact, they looked away as if trying to stay far away and pretend to be strangers.
The closer she got, the more certain Yu'an became that it was him, but seeing how he avoided her, she felt strange.
"It's me. Don't you recognize me?"
Chu Yu'an squatted down in front of him, raised his head and laughed, "Ever since my father had his accident, you've all disappeared. What have the authorities done to you? Why are you being forced to beg?"
The filthy old man knelt on the ground, shifting his position again and again, mumbling something incoherently, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Baozhu pulled Yu'an away and had no choice but to step forward herself: "Uncle Zhuang, this is the eldest young lady. Don't you recognize her? The eldest young lady is still at the Ji family. Why don't we take you back? We can even teach you how to make a living, okay?"
The old man remained kneeling, his knees leaving two marks on the ground, his whole body trembling. Because his face was covered in soot, they couldn't recognize his expression.
The servants of disgraced officials would have their slaves confiscated by the government and reassigned to other places. He was in this state either because he had escaped from his family without the master's knowledge or because he had been driven out by his family.
After looking at him for a while, Yu'an realized that his legs were broken and he probably couldn't speak.
Yu An stepped forward and stood in front of him, asking again, "Uncle Zhuang, you really don't recognize me?"
The person on the ground held the bowl, almost burying their head in their arms, not even glancing at her.
Baozhu wanted to go up and persuade her again, but Yu'an stopped her by holding her hand.
"Let's go back."
"Ah... I'm just going to ignore it?"
Yu'an turned and got into the carriage. Seeing this, Baozhu took out four or five copper coins from her sleeve, put them in his bowl, and then quickly ran into the carriage.
"Uncle Zhuang is acting strangely; he can't even recognize people anymore." Baozhu even lifted the curtain to look.
Ji Jinghe had told her that time, and with Shen Qiulan's words added to it, Yu'an believed it.
Her servant, whom she considered loyal, had betrayed her father.
Just like what Shen Qiulan and Ji's mother said, Ji Jinghe tried to help, but he couldn't really help.
"I should have given him a few copper coins before I left. I should have known better than to give them to him. He deserves to go hungry." Baozhu said through gritted teeth after realizing what had happened.
Yu An leaned back on the couch, recalling what had happened, and roughly understood what had occurred.
Whether she was coerced or acted for personal gain, she has received the "retribution" she deserved, so what else can she be upset about?
Besides, that's simply a fact.
Baozhu sighed, "If Uncle Zhuang hadn't brought this up back then, things might have turned out differently for Master."
At least they won't be dealt with so quickly, leaving no chance to breathe or struggle.
Yu An picked up her book again and whispered, "My father was confused too..."
I made a mistake because of her.
The book is filled with dense text, and people who used to be able to read a page in no time can now take a long time to finish reading a single sentence.
Fate, it's all fate.
That was the only sentence left in her mind.
When Yu An gets busy, the days fly by. She's already wearing summer clothes, and the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner.
After the birthday banquet, she had completely caught the eye of the noble ladies in the palace. No matter what the palace held, she would usually receive an invitation. This year, on the Dragon Boat Festival, the Empress Dowager led the noblewomen to the royal temple to pray for blessings. After the prayers, they rode in a sedan chair to the nearby imperial garden to enjoy the entertainment.
Among the group of noble ladies, Yu An was dressed the most simply. At first glance, she was like a white jasmine in a sea of flowers, ordinary yet eye-catching, impossible to ignore.
As she served by the Empress Dowager's side, she naturally attracted more attention.
"The lotus flowers in this imperial garden are in full bloom. You can't see such beautiful lotus flowers anywhere else."
"That's right. I heard that His Majesty specially ordered people to transplant it from Jiangnan to please the Empress Dowager."
Yu An listened to the words in her ear and carefully examined the surroundings as well.
After everyone was seated, the conversation returned to her.
"I've heard that Madam Ji's tea ceremony is also excellent. I wonder if I could have the pleasure of tasting her tea today?" the Empress said.
Yu An: "How could such clumsy craftsmanship possibly meet Your Majesty's approval?"
The Empress Dowager laughed and said, "We're all family here, what's there to be afraid of? You just do your cooking, and we'll just drink. The only thing we're worried about is that one person's cooking won't be enough for all of us to drink."
After hearing this, Yu'an no longer needed to refuse. If she had another skill that people could remember, it wouldn't be a bad thing.
The eunuchs and palace maids served her tea sets one by one, and Yu'an naturally displayed all her skills. A moment later, she presented the first cup she had made.
Those skilled in tea ceremony can tell that it is not inferior simply by looking at the foam and color of the tea.
One sip, and the taste is clear, sweet, and mellow.
The Empress Dowager nodded repeatedly, her gaze towards Yu'an filled with more appreciation. "Your mother taught you so much, it's a pity that others only find out today."
"Make more quickly, so that others can also have a taste."
Hearing the Empress Dowager's approval, Yu'an was overjoyed and replied "Good!" before continuing to prepare tea so that everyone present could have a cup.
Someone laughed and said, "Look at how busy Madam Ji is."
The Empress Dowager smiled at Yu'an for being too honest: "Do your best, but don't do it when you're tired. Just let each of them have a taste."
The Empress tasted it and thought it was very good. She couldn't help but chat with the Empress Dowager next to her, "Mingjia has always liked these things. It's a pity that there is no such teacher in the palace. Why don't we ask Madam Ji to give Mingjia some guidance in the future?"
Looking again at the people who were busy yet orderly, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but consider the matter. Just as she was about to speak, a sudden burst of chaotic fighting sounds came from afar.
A group of masked men in black, armed with machetes, burst through the door. Before anyone could react, the heads of the two men from the yellow door fell to the ground, dripping with blood.
The women, who had never seen such a bloody scene, screamed and scrambled to run away. Unfortunately, before they could even straighten up and take a step, they died.
"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"
Chaos erupted instantly, with everyone rushing around like headless flies. Palace guards and thieves clashed, and within moments, a pungent, fishy smell assaulted the senses.
The noblewomen kept rushing towards the Empress Dowager, and Yu'an was squeezed into the crowd.
Fortunately, the guards surrounded them, pulling back one or two of the thieves who rushed up. They fought each other with swords, and the swords almost fell on them several times.
Baozhu held onto Yu'an's hand tightly, trying to pull her closer to the crowd, but Yu'an refused to listen, broke free from her grasp, and immediately walked towards the Empress Dowager.
"Where is everyone? Come and protect us at once..."
Screams and screams mingled in the courtyard, at one point drowning out the cries for help from the palace maids and eunuchs. No matter how many times they shouted, it remained the same.
Most of the people in the courtyard died, and a large number of guards with spears rushed in from outside, leading to another chaotic battle.
Figures mingled, blood splattered, and all that remained was a scene of devastation; half of the blue-gray floor was stained red.
The most urgent task was to get someone to escort them out, rather than trapping them in this courtyard to wait for death. Just as Yu An was about to say this, the palace guards around her fell one after another, and the thieves were closing in.
In a flash, a cold light flew over.
"Empress Dowager!"
Without thinking it over, Yu An, filled with lingering fear, suddenly rushed forward, and the sharp blade mercilessly pierced her shoulder blade.
"Miss!" Baozhu cried out, pushing her way forward. She saw the eunuch beside the Empress Dowager pick up the knife left over from the fight and slash it fiercely at the thief's neck. Blood spurted out, and Yu'an fell to the ground as well.
Yu'an felt her legs go weak, and gradually, intense pain engulfed her. She could only hear the shouts of the Empress Dowager and the Empress echoing in her ears, calling for others and for her.
At first she could still hear, but later even her eyelids hurt so much she couldn't open them. She felt warm blood gushing from her wounds, soaking most of her clothes and sticking them stickily to her skin. Under the scorching sun, it made her feel even more uncomfortable.
Half-conscious, Yu'an faintly heard Baozhu's cries. When she opened her eyes again, she was already on a bumpy carriage.
"Hurry up and make the carriage go faster!"
The Empress Dowager urged her from the side, looking at the unconscious person lying in the carriage, and couldn't help but shout at her: "Chu Yu'an, hang in there, you are my savior, good days are ahead, as long as you pull through, I will agree to anything you want."
Yu'an took the words to heart and should have said something, but unfortunately she had no strength to speak. She let Baozhu shed tears in front of her and slowly closed her eyes.
The carriages and horses roamed the streets, and the people, seeing the Empress Dowager's carriage, quickly moved aside to make way for it. When they entered the palace gate, they encountered a group of court officials coming out to discuss matters.
"Why are you driving so fast? Has something happened?"
The courtiers looked around and began to speculate. They saw a eunuch beside the Empress Dowager jump off the carriage and shout the news of the Empress Dowager's assassination attempt to the guards and eunuchs standing nearby.
When Ji Jinghe realized that Yu An had also attended today's banquet, his heart skipped a beat.
When the Empress Dowager was assassinated in public, the court officials stopped and began to discuss the situation. They started talking all at once and decided to return to the Qianqing Palace.
Another carriage arrived, and the eunuch driving it called out, "Summon the imperial physician!"
"Madam Ji is seriously injured! Quickly summon the imperial physician!"
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