Chapter 6: Mei Xi (VI) Cleaning [Edit]
Zhao's cold footsteps disappeared completely at the end of the corridor outside the hall.
Chun carefully closed the palace door, blocking out the chilly morning breeze outside. The cool herbal scent and oppressive feeling of interrogation belonging to Zhao were also dispelled by the warm aroma of food.
Lin Jiaojiao held the bowl of reheated, golden and tempting millet porridge. This time, she ate it with extreme concentration and cherished it very much.
Every time she swallowed, the warm current with the original sweetness of the grains slid into her stomach, as if injecting a trace of resuscitating vitality into her frozen body. She no longer gobbled it down, but blew on it carefully and sipped it in small sips.
Chun stood by, watching his concubine's cheeks, which were originally pale and almost transparent. Under the fumigation of the warm aroma of the food, a very light pink blush, like the first blooming peach blossoms, slowly appeared.
The eyes that had been clouded by injury and shock now reflected the golden light from the bowl and became bright and attractive again. As he stared intently at the food, his long eyelashes drooped, casting fan-shaped shadows under his eyes, revealing a kind of tranquility and beauty that belonged only to the moment after surviving a disaster.
[Core Energy: 85%. Host Body Function: Stable Recovery. Repair Rate: Good.]
The system's prompt tone also carried a sense of post-event calmness. The chaos just now seemed to have exhausted its excess computing power.
The bowl of porridge was soon finished. Lin Jiaojiao exhaled a breath of hot air with the aroma of rice with satisfaction. She felt that her limbs were finally warm. It was no longer like before, when she felt cold even in the cracks between her bones. Even the constant dull pain in her right shoulder seemed to be suppressed by this warmth. It was more like a reminder of her existence rather than a torture that dominated everything.
"...I feel much more comfortable." Lin Jiaojiao put down the empty bowl, her voice still hoarse, but less breathless and with more strength. She looked at Chun, her beautiful eyes curved, "Chun, thank you for your hard work." A sincere thank you.
Chun waved her hands quickly, her little face flushed with excitement: "It's not hard! I am happier than anything else that you, my concubine, can eat well!" She cleaned up the bowls and spoons deftly, and her movements became much lighter.
With the threat of life and death no longer looming, Lin Jiaojiao's mind finally had time to think about other things, some more "mundane" thoughts that concerned the quality of life.
She looked around the small side hall. The furnishings were pitifully simple. Apart from the hard low couch covered with rough animal skins, an old fire pit in a corner, a few coarse pottery vessels, and a small amount of firewood piled in the corner, there was almost nothing else. The air still lingered with the smell of medicine from last night's wound cleaning and a faint hint of blood.
"The environment is too bad..." Lin Jiaojiao complained secretly in her heart.
Looking at himself again, the moon-white coarse linen robe was stained with blood and the porridge that had just been spilled. It stuck to his body, dirty and wrinkled. Although the wound on his right shoulder had been treated, the friction of the fabric must have been uncomfortable.
"Chun," Lin Jiaojiao tried to speak, her voice slower and more negotiating, "My wound... is well bandaged, but this dress... is uncomfortable to wear, and... I want to wash myself."
What she didn't say was that in addition to comfort, she wanted to wash off the blood, the smell of medicine and the sense of embarrassment on her body. This body was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was always covered in all kinds of filth and cold sweat, which felt terrible.
Chun nodded immediately: "Yes! It's time to change clothes! My concubine, please wait, I will go get hot water and clean clothes!" She thought for a while and whispered, "The housekeeper in the palace ladies' room is usually easy to talk to. I will go and ask her, and I should be able to get something for her." After that, she ran out quickly like a light deer.
This time, Chun did not let Lin Jiaojiao wait too long. About half an hour later, she came back, followed by two maids who were also wearing coarse linen clothes but were slightly older.
As the two maids entered the room, their eyes subconsciously fell on Lin Jiaojiao who was leaning on the couch, and they both gasped slightly at the same time.
Even though her face was pale, her hair was a little messy, and her clothes were simple and dirty, it was difficult to conceal the shocking impact brought by that face. The eyes that looked over were clear and sparkling, but with a bit of weakness after being sick, like precious camellia hit by rain, breathtakingly beautiful and making people feel pity.
The businesslike expressions on the two maids' faces instantly melted away, becoming indescribably gentle and cautious, and their hands and feet became nimbler.
Together they carried a large, steaming ceramic basin, and several neatly folded inner and outer garments, also made of linen but in a softer color, which seemed to have been washed many times but still looked clean. There was even a small jar of precious bath bean powder that exuded an elegant herbal scent, and a relatively soft-looking linen cloth for wiping.
"Thank you for your help." Chun thanked them quickly and took out a small round bone token that she had found from somewhere and handed it to one of them.
The older maidservant waved her hands repeatedly, and her voice unconsciously lowered and softened a lot: "I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it. It is my duty to serve the Princess. The water is still hot. Princess, please move faster, or you will catch a cold." She didn't dare to linger her eyes on Lin Jiaojiao's face for too long, as if it was a kind of blasphemy. The other maidservant also responded with a lowered head.
The two men put down their things and retreated swiftly, closing the door behind them gently. Their attitude was much more respectful and submissive than when they came.
Chun got something and also got help. Her face was shining with excitement. She quickly added warm water and said, "My Lady, I will serve you."
The scrubbing process was done with some caution due to concern for the wound, but for Lin Jiaojiao, it was like a rebirth ritual. The warm water washed away the stickiness and dirt, and she changed into clothes that were still rough but clean and fresh. Then she smelled the light, soothing fresh scent left by the herbal bath beans...
Lin Jiaojiao felt like she was alive again. The comfort and excitement from the inside out were far greater than the warmth brought by the bowl of porridge just now. Ah, the feeling of being alive was back. It felt so good to be clean. She even felt that the pain in her wounds was relieved a lot, and her mood became a little more cheerful.
Host's comfort level increased! Physiological stress level: Extremely low. Endocrine system: Positively regulating. Overall recovery rate increased by 8.4%. The system also joined in the fun.
"Chun, please help me comb my hair." Lin Jiaojiao felt better and began to care about her image. Her long black hair was stuck into clumps due to illness and cold sweat, and it looked really terrible.
"Here!" Chun quickly found a wooden comb that was polished smoothly and had not too dense teeth, and carefully began to comb Lin Jiaojiao's long hair.
His movements were extremely gentle, for fear of hurting her.
Lin Jiaojiao sat quietly while Ren Chun slowly combed out her jet-black hair that stretched like a waterfall. The wooden teeth, stained with a little precious oil, scratched through the tangled hair, slowly making it smooth. Finally, Chun used an equally simple wooden hairpin to loosely tie her long hair into a simple bun at the back of her head, revealing her smooth and full forehead and slender and graceful neck.
Although still bare-faced and plainly dressed, Lin Jiaojiao's complexion now shone with the translucent whiteness of blood loss, her brows and eyes like distant mountains shrouded in mist, her lips as pale pink as newly-opened cherry blossoms. Her pure, unadorned beauty, like a pearl washed by rain, shone with a startling brilliance.
Chun Kan was stunned for a moment, then whispered, "My Lady Concubine...you are so beautiful."
Lin Jiaojiao looked at her blurry self reflected in the rough ceramic bowl and pursed her lips. She was beautiful, but in this perilous Summer Palace, such breathtaking beauty was a blessing or a curse. But… having a pretty face was better than being ugly! At least… now she could get a hot shower?
After a full meal and a refreshing feeling, a familiar feeling of fatigue gently settled over me again. This time, it was accompanied by a warm and reassuring feeling, rather than the sinking and fear I had felt before.
She lay back down on the clean animal hide, feeling the warmth coming from deep within her body and the dull sensation of her wounds, her eyelids growing heavier.
"Chun...you should take a rest too...I'm going to take a nap..." Her voice was filled with deep fatigue.
"Okay, I'll stay with you." Chun responded softly, sitting on the ground beside the couch, her back against the cold stone wall, the firelight dancing on her satisfied and calm little face.
Lin Jiaojiao closed her eyes, and her consciousness slowly sank into the gentle darkness.
The side hall was completely silent. Sunlight filtered through the cracks in the high windows, casting warm patches of light on the ground. The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees and the smoke from the small burning fire pit.
Temporarily escaping from the shadow of death and cleansing the filth from her body, this short rest was extremely precious to Lin Jiaojiao, who was exhausted both physically and mentally.
[Core Energy: 90%. Vital signs stable. System modules enter dormant maintenance...]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
