Li Dequan didn't mince words and immediately recounted in detail what he had encountered that evening.
It turned out that Li Dequan had only been in the palace for three days and was mostly unaware of what was happening in the palace. Originally, it was a good thing that the news of Consort Tong giving birth was announced, but when the people in Jingren Palace heard that Fulin was with Wan'er, none of them dared to go. In order to protect themselves, they tricked Li Dequan into going.
Li Dequan had no idea how to get there, and having already accepted the order, he couldn't refuse. After spending a tael of silver, a eunuch agreed to take him there, but to his utter surprise, the eunuch was so wicked that upon arriving at Wan'er's palace, he pushed him inside and then ran away.
Li Dequan was left alone to face Fu Lin's terrible punishment.
After hearing the whole story, Wan'er couldn't help but frown. She hadn't expected that even eunuchs in this deep palace could be so vicious. They were all just serving others for a living, so why did they always have to make things difficult for each other?
She sighed deeply, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn't disrupt the peace of the harem for the sake of a little eunuch she had never met. Besides, although she was now favored by Emperor Fulin, she was still alone and had to walk on thin ice. She could only say, "This can be considered a learning experience for you. Next time, you must be observant and attentive before taking orders. Don't rashly accept orders, or you will only bring trouble upon yourself."
Upon hearing her words, Li Dequan immediately nodded respectfully and replied, "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant understands."
Looking at his obedient appearance, she couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. If he had lived in modern times, he wouldn't have had to suffer the pain of castration and the wickedness of people's hearts.
"Alright." Wan'er slowly lay down. "You may leave now. I am tired."
Upon hearing this, Li Dequan immediately knelt down to pay his respects, closed the door, and left the room.
After he left, Wan'er slowly fell asleep again. Her body was too weak, and she was exhausted again soon after waking up.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already midnight. Xiao Kangzi had already prepared a decoction of thousand-year-old ginseng and was waiting at the door.
"Your Majesty, you're awake! Drink the medicine while it's still warm!" Xiao Kangzi immediately flattered as soon as he heard movement inside.
"Bring it in," Wan'er said weakly.
Xiao Kangzi brought in the medicine, placed it on the table beside the bed, and then bowed and withdrew.
After drinking the herbal medicine, before an incense stick's time had passed, Wan'er felt her strength return. She tried walking and found that she could get out of bed.
"The thousand-year-old ginseng fruit is truly a wonderful thing," Wan'er couldn't help but exclaim.
She got up, put on her shoes and socks, and then slowly moved to the dressing table. She had never seen the original owner's true appearance before accepting this task.
The woman in the mirror was about eighteen years old. Her eyebrows revealed the gentleness of a woman from Jiangnan. Her face was round, her skin was smooth and delicate, and her lips were not thick, but full and red. Her whole face seemed to have been sculpted by God, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.
Looking at such a stunningly beautiful woman, Wan'er couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions: No wonder Fulin doted on her so much; even she herself would have taken a second look at her.
After her initial surprise, she surveyed every corner of the palace but found nothing suspicious. Although she found nothing, she remained vigilant.
Perhaps because she had been lying down all day, her body ached a little, and despite feeling tired, she didn't want to lie back down.
Extremely bored, I decided to go out for a walk. I thought I would be stopped by the palace maids, but to my surprise, there was no one at the door.
Wan'er chuckled to herself: After all, he was frail and sickly. The palace maids knew they couldn't go out, so they all slacked off and went to lie around like corpses.
However, this suited her better. What she hated most was having someone follow her every step she took. Just like when she was Hailanzhu, she had to sneak out in the middle of the night.
After walking a few steps, Wan'er heard a woman groaning, seemingly in great pain. Curious, she followed the sound and finally stopped when she confirmed it was coming from a low-lying house.
Through the crack, in the dim light of the fire, she was able to make out the woman's face inside the room.
It turned out to be Qi Lan. At this moment, she was tearing open her clothes to apply medicine to the wound on her back, but no matter how she applied it, she couldn't get it to the wound, and she couldn't help but sweat.
When Wan'er saw this, her heart ached. She knew that Qi Lan's injury was caused by her, so how could she stand idly by?
"Let me help you!" Wan'er said as she walked into the house.
Qi Lan looked up and was shocked to see that the newcomer was Wan'er.
"Your Majesty, this place is damp and unbearable. Why did you come here? Besides, this place is so simple and would only defile your noble body..."
"I'm not afraid!" Wan'er snatched the medicine from Qi Lan's hand and carefully applied it to his wound.
Despite Qi Lan's repeated refusals, Wan'er remained determined to go her own way.
Qi Lan was instantly moved, her eyes welling up with tears. She had so many words of gratitude in her heart, but she couldn't utter a single one.
"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" Seeing her sobbing, Wan'er thought she had hurt her and quickly asked.
"No...it's alright, I'm fine..." Qi Lan wiped away the tears that had welled up in the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand and answered, her voice choked with emotion.
"You really are something. Yu Yan hit you, and you didn't even fight back? You just stupidly let her hit you." Wan'er gently patted Qi Lan, her heart filled with heartache and reproach.
"This servant dares not," Qi Lan said weakly.
“What’s there to be afraid of? You are all first-class palace maids. Does she think she’s any better than you?” Wan’er said indignantly.
Qi Lan lowered her head, bit her lip, and said softly, "Your Majesty, don't you remember?"
"Remember what?" Wan'er asked, puzzled. Then, remembering the reason why the original owner trusted Yu Yan so much, she explained, "I've been feeling drowsy these past few days, and I can't remember some things from the past."
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