She wasn't feeling well a few days ago, so Ah An went to collect it for her.
Along the way, Qingyin saw all her neighbors. Most of them were disheveled and their faces were obscured. They spoke in inaudible words, laughing and playing around, but they all had the same destination: the place where eunuchs were serving food.
Qingyin noticed that although one of the women was moving in the same way as the others, her eyes did have a moment of clarity, showing no sign of confusion or foolishness. Qingyin understood and stopped looking at the women.
A'an stood in front of Qingyin, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, carefully looking around, her eyes occasionally darting around to see if there were any madmen who might harm the Empress.
The eunuchs serving the food had arrived. One was relatively young and short, while the other was older. Their eyes darted around in the crowd. On a simple bench were two large basins. One basin contained some coarse grain cornbread, and the other contained what looked like stir-fried white radishes, but the color was very pale and there was no oil in them.
The two of them quickly and casually served the food.
When it was Qingyin's turn, their eyes lit up.
Feeling the sticky gaze from the older eunuch, Qingyin suppressed the urge to beat him to death, took her food, and stepped aside to wait for the maid, A'an.
The eunuch Jia Yuan before them was the culprit who killed the original owner and A'an in their past life. A discarded concubine, banished to the cold palace, was beautiful and frail, making her an easy target for these perverts. In their previous life, after the original owner recovered from a serious illness, this eunuch saw her appearance and harbored evil intentions. One day, when A'an was out, he tried to rape her, but A'an, who returned early, witnessed and stopped him. However, how could a poor girl like A'an, barely fed in the cold palace, possibly fight off a man? In the chaos, Jia Yuan stabbed her, but she also smashed a vase over his head, knocking him unconscious. A'an was dying, and the original owner frantically stabbed the eunuch, but A'an couldn't be saved.
In the end, the girl, who had just turned seventeen, died alongside Ah An in the cold palace, in that desolate place.
Seeing Jia Yuan still staring at her even while getting his food, Qingyin sneered. Disgusting insects should become fertilizer in spring, not stay in the air to disgust people. So she had to deal with this person as soon as possible.
Qingyin didn't have to wait long before A'an returned. She was quick and efficient, and soon got her food and ran over to Qingyin.
She quickly took the food from Qingyin's hands and led Qingyin to a corner, saying, "Your Highness, you are of noble status, let me carry these things."
Seeing the little girl's expression, as if even a little food could overwhelm her, Qingyin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and patted the little girl's head.
"I can carry this little bit myself."
"That won't do, Your Highness, you are the mistress. Besides, you've only just recovered from your illness." The little girl looked at Qingyin stubbornly, but her face was flushed slightly because of Qingyin's actions, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips. However, she still held the two portions of food tightly in her hands, as if afraid that Qingyin would take them away.
Qingyin had no choice but to let the little girl carry it herself.
When they reached a corner, A'an stopped, placed the food on a clean stone, and said to Qingyin, "Your Highness, please wait here for me for a while. I'll be right back. If anything happens, just shout. I'm not far away, I'm sure I can hear you."
Qingyin nodded obediently, somewhat curious about why the little girl had left, but she couldn't help herself. Anyway, the little girl would come back, and she would know then.
A moment later, Qingyin looked at the bowl of steamed egg custard that Ah An had put in his hand, a dish that clearly shouldn't be in the Cold Palace, and was speechless.
But the little girl was clearly very happy, carrying her things the whole way with a smile on her face.
When they saw the familiar courtyard, the little girl first forced Qingyin to sit down and rest. She then busily brought out the only table with badly chipped paint from the inner room. Although it was called a table, it was actually just a rather large stool. The little girl placed all the food, including the only steamed egg custard, in front of Qingyin, while she herself happily ate two cornbread buns and a small dish of pickled white radish.
"Your Highness, please eat quickly. You've just recovered from your illness, this steamed egg custard will help you recover," the little girl said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Qingyin.
Qingyin now knew what the little girl had been doing; she guessed she had traded something for a bowl of steamed egg custard.
Qingyin looked at the expectant little girl and asked, "What did you use to exchange it?"
Ah An observed the Empress's expression, and as she spoke, she involuntarily lowered her head, revealing a hint of unease: "Your Majesty bestowed upon me a hairpin... Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I didn't take good care of the hairpin you gave me..."
"It's okay, you did a great job."
"Your Majesty!" A'an thought the Empress would scold her, but when she looked down and heard the Empress's gentle and encouraging words, she suddenly looked up.
"What's wrong?"
The little girl said timidly, "I thought you were going to scold me."
Qingyin understood the little girl's introverted and timid nature. She gently patted the little girl's head and said, "A'an, I've been banished to the Cold Palace and am no longer an empress. You are no longer my maid, so you don't need to call me empress."
As she spoke, the little girl's desperate voice interrupted her, her voice choked with sobs: "Your Majesty, please don't abandon me! I'm very diligent, I can do anything!"
Qingyin was confused; from the little girl's flustered words, she realized that she had misunderstood.
She gently cupped her face in her hands and wiped away her tears. "An, what I mean is, would you like to be my sister?"
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