Self-help
Does Yuan Zi agree that hatred lasts longer than love? She undoubtedly agrees, but there are always things in this world that are more important than hatred.
Yuan Zi leaned against the desk, her right hand resting on her forehead, eyes closed. At this moment, the palace maid Song Xi came lightly, holding the medicine bowl in both hands, lowering her head and handing it to Yuan Zi.
Yuan Zi caught a glimpse of a servile face out of the corner of her eye, thought for a moment, and finally found the memory of her in a small and unimportant corner.
Yuan Zi said lazily: "Song Lan, that's her name, right?"
Songxi knelt down and saluted, then replied softly, "My name is Songxi, but the name Songlan that Your Highness mentioned sounds very nice. I would like to ask Your Highness to give me a name."
"She's a smart girl, so let's call her Songlan from now on." Yuan Zi picked up the medicine bowl and drank the extremely bitter medicine in one gulp without frowning.
Songlan kowtowed to express her gratitude, took the empty bowl, and prepared to leave.
"Stop." Yuan Zi said softly.
Song Lan, startled, hurried back to her knees, her fingers trembling slightly as she held the tray. Yuan Zi, who had seen everything, spoke a death warrant.
"I've seen you in Ayuan's palace. You betrayed her, right?" Yuan Zi's expression was solemn, as if she was carefully examining the "traitor" in front of her.
Songlan dropped the tray in her hand to the ground in shock because of Yuanzi's words. The crisp sound of the porcelain bowl breaking was very pleasant to the ear.
Yuan Zi tapped the table calmly, with a faint smile on her lips, admiring the ants' struggle for survival.
Song Lan raised her head fearfully. As a slave, she didn't dare look directly at her master, lest she anger the noble who was so high above her. But this time, her eyes opened wide, and though they were filled with fear, there was a moment of longing in them.
Yuan Zi didn't notice because she was rubbing her eyebrows and closing her eyes. Perhaps the headache she had after falling into the water came back again.
When Yuan Zi opened her eyes again, Song Lan had suppressed her emotions and defended herself with lowered brows, "Your Highness, I was indeed the former princess's maid, but I rarely saw her. Because of this, I was able to escape the purge of the old subordinates."
Yuan Zi was a little depressed, and her tone was a little slow. But after hearing Song Lan's explanation, she was obviously dissatisfied: "A Ming's subordinates are all very loyal, but when she was deposed, I heard this incident."
"The guards massacred the Eastern Palace. Some, still wanting to follow Ah Ming, prepared to flee, but a maid stepped forward and reported the matter to the ministers who arrived. This maid was quite capable. She usually only washed and delivered clothes, but she had learned all about the Eastern Palace and had almost wiped out Ah Ming's subordinates in the palace. Afterwards, she burst into tears and berated Ah Ming for not respecting the Empress. This maid's words and actions made it difficult to spare her life."
Song Lan was sweating profusely as she finished her words, her mind frantically speculating about Yuan Zi's attitude towards Yuan Ming. Was it regret? Never before had anyone heard of these two royal sisters quarreling, and Yuan Zi still addressed her as "A Ming," seeming to share a deep sisterly bond. But who wouldn't know that Yuan Zi would be the biggest beneficiary of Yuan Ming's resignation? Could friendship truly exist in the maelstrom of power?
What should Songlan choose? Should she speak ill of the old princess or say something good about her?
Her cold sweat dripped onto the tray, making a soft dripping sound. Yuan Zi glanced at it with disdain and said impatiently, "Speak up! If you don't speak well, I'll kill you."
The tone was light, yet deadly.
Song Lan's heart hardened, she slammed her forehead against the ground and said, "I was able to leave the Eastern Palace because I had rarely seen the old princess. The old princess was surrounded by many loyal servants, and they would never let a small maid like me get close to their master. But if I do this, I will never get ahead. My life is worthless. I have no one to rely on in the deep palace. Living is too difficult, and dying is too easy. I just want to survive in the palace."
Sobs echoed around Yuan Zi. Yuan Ming calculated the time and realized it was almost time for the court meeting. She slowly stood up and said, "Get up."
Song Lan quickly looked up, meeting Yuan Zi's expressionless gaze as she looked down at her. Yuan Ming extended his hand and suddenly said, "I sometimes miss Ah Ming quite a bit. Now that she's gone, life has become so boring."
Songlan didn't know why Yuanzi suddenly said this, she only saw Yuanzi's eyes signaling her hanging hand. Songlan reacted and held Yuanzi's right hand with both hands, her heart filled with joy of surviving the disaster.
Yuan Zi: "Come with me to the court meeting."
"Yes." Songlan's eyes were bright, and anyone with a discerning eye could tell how she felt at the moment - this was like climbing another big tree and finally getting out.
At court, the ministers were discussing a common issue: a letter from the Northern Frontier military camp, detailing recent unusual incidents there, which had been traced back to merchants from Liang State. General Zhong, concerned about the enemy's continued devotion, urged the court to send more troops.
"Our country and Liang have always been at peace. General Zhong is probably worrying too much."
"Yes, besides, sending troops and fighting a war will cost a lot of money. Can the national treasury afford it? Furthermore, the letter says that this was done by a mere businessman. What if it wasn't Liang's intention? If we rashly send troops, wouldn't we disturb Liang and provoke a fight?"
"General Zhong is too young, so it's normal for him to get startled when encountering things."
Grand Secretary Zhong listened from the side, puffing his beard and glaring, with an expression of unwillingness to be involved in this filthy situation. He thought to himself, "It's just that we don't have the money. After all this tangle, it ends up involving my nephew. What bad luck!"
——His Highness has arrived.
Everyone stopped talking and knelt down to pay homage to Her Royal Highness the Princess.
Last month, the empress stopped attending court meetings, citing her advanced age and lack of energy, and asked the new princess to attend on her behalf.
Today's court meeting used what was said in Zhong Yingqi's letter as the point of contention, and a war of words broke out between the two sides.
Yuan Zi listened to the passionate debate as one side finished singing and the other took the stage, and sincerely envied the old ministers' energy. Their hair was obviously all white, but they could still argue with each other for half an hour.
"Master Zhong, please tell us." Yuan Zi said tiredly.
Grand Secretary Zhong bowed slightly and discussed the situation in Liang. "Your Highness, the newly enthroned ruler of Liang is the third son of the previous ruler. I have heard that when he was young, he single-handedly slew a fierce mountain tiger to save his father, earning him fame. After ascending the throne, the people bestowed upon him the title 'Tiger-Slaying Emperor.' The new ruler, overjoyed by this title, showered the high towers with gold, silver, and jewels, claiming it was a reward for the people. Do you truly believe that this young, impulsive, and arrogant new ruler of Liang has no intention of annexing Qi?"
Silence.
Bang!
Yuan Zi patted the armrest of her chair and spoke slowly, "Grand Secretary Zhong is right. We should send more troops to defend the border of Qi State. I will also go with you. Do you have any objections?"
Grand Secretary Zhong was the first to step forward and said, "A gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. Your Highness, please reconsider."
Yuan Zi leaned back slightly and murmured, "Qiguo has beautiful mountains and rivers. I should go and see them."
…
Ten miles away from the Northern Frontier Military Camp.
Yuan Ming raised her knife and slashed, instantly dispatching the four assassins. She touched the now jagged blade and thought to herself, "It's time to change my knife."
Rulan poked her head out from behind the tree trunk. Now she was no longer surprised to see the blood all over the ground. She tiptoed to Yuan Ming, took out a black pill from the small bag on her waist, and handed it to Yuan Ming.
Yuan Ming: "No, if you take too much, you'll develop drug resistance." She picked up the knife and walked forward. Rulan put away the pills and hurriedly followed.
"You really don't want to eat? We're far away from the Northern Frontier military camp. If anything happens to you, I don't have the skills of Doctor Jiang. Oh no!"
Yuan Ming suddenly stopped, causing Rulan's face to bump into her shoulder. Yuan Ming was tall, a head taller than the average girl, and due to her martial arts training, her body wasn't as flexible as an average girl's. Rulan bumped into her head, and blood oozed from her nose.
Rulan covered her nose and asked in a buzzing voice, "Why did you stop so suddenly?"
Yuan Ming was furious. "You're a doctor too, can't you learn from that old man? And why did you leave your medical book with him? Oh my God, you risked your life to get the medical book, and I almost lost half my life for it, and you gave it to that guy!"
Yuan Ming got angry when she thought of this. Jiang Kai took the medical book and smiled happily, but when she suggested that Rulan learn the Jiang family's medical skills, he quickly shook his head and said that the Jiang family's medical skills were not to be passed on to outsiders. He openly and secretly disparaged Rulan's medical skills, saying that she should not accept the medical book from his master!
Rulan felt wronged, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I'm worried about you leaving the barracks and not letting General Zhong send troops to protect you, but I don't have any special skills. If something unexpected happens, I can't let the medical books of our master be lost in my care. After much deliberation, I decided to give it to Doctor Jiang. I even asked him to copy a copy, but now I think it's too much trouble for him."
"You're still speaking for him, useless!"
After the nose stopped bleeding, Rulan put her hand down, took out a spotless handkerchief, and carefully wiped the blood from her fingertips, pretending not to hear Yuan Ming's criticism.
"Doctors are the ones who save the dying and heal the wounded. Doctor Jiang sees soldiers every day. If the medical books I left behind can help him a little, it won't be a disgrace to the hard work of my master."
These words made Yuan Ming pause, and his anger subsided in an instant. Rulan was just like that. How could she have forgotten?
Rulan didn't hear Yuan Ming's scolding anymore. She followed Yuan Ming closely and asked, "Where are we going?"
Yuan Ming pushed aside the branches that blocked his view, pointed at the long mountain range before him, and said, "Find someone who lives in seclusion in the mountains."
The mountains stretch out in a continuous line, with peaks upon peaks.
Rulan was puzzled: "Why not ask General Zhong for help? General Zhong has so many people under him, he will definitely find it faster than the two of us. And why do we have to find this person?"
Rulan's voice gradually became lower and lower, and the last sentence was almost mumbled in her throat: "Several groups of assassins came as soon as we left the military camp. Isn't it enough to have General Zhong's protection?"
Yuan Ming sighed softly, "Silly girl, remember how General Zhong captured a few Liang spies a few days ago and then led his troops out of the camp? He hasn't said anything, but it's obvious that we shouldn't bother him anymore now. Besides, General Zhong and I have only met a few times before, and he has done his utmost to provide us with shelter when we are isolated and helpless. Now there's news that Yuan Zi is coming to the Northern Frontier military camp. She is my mortal enemy, and we can't stay in the camp under any circumstances."
In Rulan's bewildered eyes, Yuan Ming, like an elder, plucked the broken leaves and dead branches from her hair and said solemnly, "The most important thing is that we can't completely give ourselves to others, especially when we are not in a desperate situation."
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