Chapter 3 Rest? Come to our study tonight.
At this moment, Zhao Liangxu was furious. She had just been treated like an object and manipulated, so she still had some sense of shame.
She stared at Anhe and said coldly:
“Eunuch An, I am not a spy sent by Zhou Feng. I don’t have that ability. I was just on my way when I was targeted by three disgusting people and happened to run into Zhou Feng. He rescued me only to humiliate you. He had no other intentions.”
Seeing Zhao Liangxu speak of those unspeakable things so calmly, An He began to believe her. He had never met a woman who didn't care about her reputation like this before; she seemed rather interesting.
An He thought of Zhao Liangxu's identity and had some other plans in mind. He laughed in a hoarse voice, "Since it is indeed the truth, and our family is not a family that breaks its promises, you can live, and our family will naturally find someone to treat you."
"Men, make sure Princess Zhao is settled in properly. Have the physicians in the manor treat her immediately. Don't delay and worsen her injuries. If you can't heal Princess Zhao, none of you will have your heads."
An He put on a fake smile again, as if he genuinely cared about Zhao Liangxu's injuries.
Looking at An He's handsome face and the expression on his face, Zhao Liangxu could clearly feel the coldness beneath the friendly smile. As expected of a eunuch who could climb to this position, no matter how approachable his smile was, there must have been a lot of blood on his hands, and the murderous aura around him could not be completely concealed.
In just a short while, Zhao Liangxu had come to a deep understanding of where An He's infamy came from; he was indeed a genuine treacherous eunuch.
It has been ten days since she was sent to the An family for treatment. Zhao Liangxu feels that her body is really strong. In just ten days, the pain and marks have already decreased a lot.
However, recalling that Anhe had said he would treat her immediately, and sure enough, a doctor who had just woken up was brought over to examine her and prescribe medicine, this eunuch really does things on a whim.
Now she is settled in a secluded courtyard, fully equipped with all her necessities, and rarely visited, so it is quite peaceful.
"Zhumu, you've swept this yard clean enough. Why don't you sit down, rest for a bit, and chat with me?"
Zhao Liangxu called out to Zhu Mu, who was sweeping the courtyard in the distance. Zhu Mu was one of the original owner's maids. When the original owner returned to Northern Zhou, she did not take her back with her. At that time, she had someone closer to her, but those close maids had long since lost their lives in the war. Fortunately, Zhu Mu was not taken back, which is why she is still alive today.
Luo Fan found the bamboo and wood. He discovered that Zhao Liangxu had survived An He's fury, and An He even ordered a doctor to treat her immediately. However, Luo Fan felt that Princess Zhao was capable, so he specially brought back bamboo and wood from outside to curry favor with her.
"Princess, this servant dares not."
The bamboo and wood, who were sweeping the yard with a broom, replied awkwardly.
Zhu Mu stood far away, refusing to get any closer to Zhao Liangxu.
She could tell that the maid's mind wasn't on sweeping, but she didn't know why she was so timid. Even though she had glanced at her several times out of the corner of her eye, she didn't say a word.
"Fine, go ahead and sweep."
Zhao Liangxu looked at the sky with boredom. This place was obviously an extremely remote corner of the An family mansion. Almost no one passed by the courtyard gate. She had been recuperating peacefully for the past few days. Although the meals were simple, they were not bad.
She still feels a sense of unreality these past few days.
She had actually time-traveled. Just a second ago, she was lying in a hospital, her body covered in tubes to keep her alive, staring at the pale ceiling, waiting for death to come.
The next second, she was already running and jumping, starting her life anew.
Although her health is not very good now, the minor pains are far less painful than the treatment process she went through.
She also quite enjoyed the leisurely life of basking in the sun these past few days.
Zhao Liangxu felt that people are truly creatures who take an inch and then a mile, and she herself was a typical example.
Thankfully, Anhe didn't make things difficult for her these past few days, or rather, she simply ignored him. The other people in the An family also treated her with courtesy, making her feel that this place wasn't so scary after all.
She even wants to go out for a walk in the yard now, and maybe find some books to read.
"Zhumu, when you go out to get the food later, please find out for me when Eunuch An will be away from the mansion for the next few days."
Then, taking advantage of Anhe's absence, she went to find some easy-going people to borrow some books to read, so as to avoid running into that unpredictable eunuch again when borrowing books.
Just as Zhu Mu was about to respond, another mocking voice spoke first.
"Princess Zhao, why do you ask about the time when I was away? Do you have some ulterior motive?"
Upon hearing this question uttered in a sarcastic tone, Zhao Liangxu felt her vision go black.
Why did he have to come at this particular time of day? And then he heard my ambiguous statement again. Who knows what he might have figured out from that statement.
But in order to prevent the misunderstanding from getting worse, Zhao Liangxu decided to try to salvage the situation.
“Eunuch An, I just wanted to borrow some books to read. I asked Zhu Mu to inquire about this matter only because I was afraid of offending you. During my recovery, I will drink medicine and read some stories to relax my mind and body, which will make my recovery easier.”
"Am I that scary?" An asked knowingly.
Zhao Liangxu wrinkled her nose and replied, "Eunuch An is a nobleman in the palace, so naturally I have great respect for you."
She lowered her head, pretending not to dare look at An He, but in that instant she secretly rolled her eyes.
Anhe truly lived up to her image of eunuchs.
Sharp-tongued and sarcastic, extremely difficult to deal with.
An He squinted. Although he didn't see Zhao Liangxu roll her eyes, he could sense that something was wrong. Most people would be extremely cautious in his presence, but Zhao Liangxu's words showed no fear whatsoever, which was very unusual.
Unruly elements must be kept under close watch.
Let's see what kind of monster she really is.
“Since you want to read, the other people in your household are either uneducated or just warriors, and they don’t have many books. The one you should ask is me.”
"That's right, that's right."
Zhao Liangxu continued to reply with her head down, her response somewhat perfunctory.
"In that case, come to our study tonight. We have so many books there, you can take your time to choose."
An He came and went in a hurry. Zhao Liangxu watched An He's departing figure and sighed helplessly.
What kind of mischief is this unpredictable eunuch up to?
She was just bored and wanted to read some books.
Zhu Mu looked at Zhao Liangxu with concern. She only caught the word "tonight," which made her worry about her princess. Everyone knew what eunuchs were like, and as a servant in the palace, she had heard many rumors about eunuchs.
Every single thing would send a chill down the spine of the bamboo and wood.
"Princess, you are not well yet. What if Eunuch An insists on doing something bad to you?"
As Zhu Mu spoke, she thought about the things others had described to her. In her anxiety, she stopped sweeping the yard, threw down the broom, and paced back and forth, twisting her clothes with her fingers.
Zhao Liangxu wasn't worried. After all, based on the fragmented information in her memory and Anhe's behavior ten days ago, it was more accurate to say that he was not interested in women and was even more perverted in other matters than that he was the kind of eunuch who would be perverted in terms of his physical defects.
Zhao Liangxu rested her arm on the wooden table beside her, searching through her jumbled memories, but her gaze fell on the bamboo and wood in the distance, who were worrying about her.
The original owner of this body had abandoned her in Nan Zhou and had just acted cowardly, but now Zhu Mu has taken a liking to Zhao Liangxu, the princess who abandoned her.
I don't understand.
I want to know why.
As she pondered this, Zhao Liangxu finally asked the question.
"Zhumu, I left you here in Nanzhou before, why are you still so concerned about me now?"
Don't you hate me?
Zhu Mu was pacing back and forth in the distance. Upon hearing this, he paused, a look of fear on his face. He then took a few steps toward Zhao Liangxu and knelt down without hesitation.
“Princess, I dare not. I know I am not as good at serving you as the other sisters, so I understand why you left me in Nan Zhou. It is also thanks to my not going back that I am safe, otherwise I would probably have died in the war.”
Zhu Mu lay prostrate on the ground with her head down. Zhao Liangxu couldn't see her expression, but she could tell from her tone that there was nothing wrong with her.
"oh."
Zhao Liangxu responded with a sound of agreement and then stopped asking questions.
Zhu Mu felt a little uneasy as he didn't hear Zhao Liangxu's question for a long time.
Just as I was struggling to decide what to say, I heard another question.
"But you couldn't go back to your hometown and see your family. Didn't you have any complaints at the time?"
“...I was indeed very sad at the time, but I know it wasn’t the princess’s fault.”
"Maybe it's my fault."
Seeing that Zhu Mu was still keeping his head down and hiding his expression, Zhao Liangxu became even more curious. She had a feeling that Zhu Mu's words were not from the heart, and she wanted to hear what Zhu Mu really thought. So she gradually brought things up to see how Zhu Mu would react.
Driven by this curiosity, Zhao Liangxu's usually indifferent face showed a hint of rosy vitality.
"..." Zhu Mu remained silent.
"And you're avoiding my questions. Don't you feel any resentment at all? Your family might be waiting for you, but you can't go back." However, she didn't know if Zhu Mu's family was still alive after the fall of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
"So, you have no complaints, and you don't hate?"
Zhao Liangxu didn't believe that Zhu Mu would treat her sincerely. After all, she was just a person from a fallen kingdom, with only the title of princess. She had to make sure that the people around her were genuinely kind to her, just to feel at ease.
Zhao Liangxu touched her chest, a strange emotion brewing within her, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
It seems to be the original owner's emotions.
Worry and fear.
Zhao Liangxu lowered her head and smiled, her eyes sparkling with emotion as she awaited Zhu Mu's reply. The original owner's only emotion was fear, but she wanted to extinguish that fear.
"..."
Zhu Mu bit her lower lip and remained silent for a moment.
Then she looked up, her eyes red-rimmed, and made up her mind to say something.
“I know my personality is not pleasing, and my masters do not like me. If the princess insists on knowing, then I will speak frankly.”
"This servant harbors resentment, resentment that the princess did not take me back to my homeland. For many years I have not seen my family and can only cautiously make a living in a foreign land. But..."
Zhao Liangxu saw desire in her eyes.
"But compared to my family whom I haven't seen since I was seven, I'm more grateful that the princess left me in Nan Zhou, giving me the opportunity to escape the war and survive. Sometimes I feel that I shouldn't think this way, but everyone wants to live."
After saying that, she glanced nervously at Zhao Liangxu's expression, then quickly lowered her head in regret.
Zhao Liangxu understood this desire; it was the purest human emotion.
The desire for self-interest is a different kind of survival strategy.
For some reason, it reminded Zhao Liangxu of herself again.
Zhu Mu suddenly straightened up and said, "I only hope that the princess will not think that I am disloyal and unfilial. The princess is my greatest support now, and I will serve the princess well."
This was something she had been hesitant to say. She noticed that Zhao Liangxu was somewhat different from before, which sparked her desire to speak out.
Bamboo and wood trembled, but their gaze remained firm.
Zhu Mu was not a particularly bold person; on the contrary, she always lived cautiously, but she also had her own thoughts. Such thoughts often lingered in her mind, but her life as a servant taught her to accept and follow humility.
She regretted her words as soon as they left her mouth. She worried that Zhao Liangxu would dislike her. She put survival above her family, and in other people's eyes, she was a rebellious servant.
Zhao Liangxu got the answer and gently shook her head.
Zhu Mu's face was a little pale.
She shouldn't have said those things.
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