Chapter 244

After setting up the bowls and chopsticks, Fuling replied faintly, "This servant does not know."

Qingfeng slowly turned around, looked at the woman quietly working at the table, and asked in a low voice, "Besides saying you don't know, what else can you say?"

Fuling's hands, which were tidying the food basket, paused slightly, but she soon focused on the work in her hands, remaining silent to Qingfeng's question.

Sitting down at the round table, Qingfeng glanced at the two dishes of light vegetarian food on the table, and a mocking smile rose on her face. Picking up the bowl and chopsticks, she ate the cold rice mouthful by mouthful with the tasteless vegetarian dishes. After finishing the half bowl of rice, Qingfeng put down the chopsticks and said coldly, "You go."

"The Imperial Household Department arranged for this servant to take care of you..." Fuling said perfunctorily in a flat voice; in fact, she just liked the quietness here.

Unfortunately, before she could finish speaking, Qingfeng's slightly deep voice interrupted her, "If you don't go, you will regret it."

What did she mean by that? Fuling had a bad premonition in her heart. Looking at Qingfeng's cold and stubborn eyes, Fuling pondered for a long time before sighing in a low voice, "Lady, it's better not to do anything foolish; nothing is more important than... living." Although she was disfigured and far from home, she was indeed very pitiful, but who in this world was the only pitiful one?

Qingfeng raised her head slightly, meeting those eyes that always deliberately avoided and lowered themselves, and said, "A person can live by compromising, enduring humiliation, suffering hardships, and living a difficult life. Living is only precious to those who have hope, and my hope has long been torn and ground to pieces!"

The originally cold, bright eyes were stained with scorching anger, and even her clear voice trembled slightly. Fuling could almost hear the sound of her grinding her teeth. She only knew that the Qing sisters were sent as gifts, but as for how her face was disfigured and what made her hate so much, she didn't know.

Fuling opened her mouth to say something, but finally closed it tightly.

"Sister Fuling." A little girl, also dressed as a palace maid, poked her head outside the courtyard but didn't dare to come in.

A flash of gloom crossed Qingfeng's face. Fuling retreated out of the room, closed the door, and trotted out of the small courtyard.

Seeing Fuling come out, the little girl hurriedly greeted her and smiled, "Sister Fuling. The medicine you prescribed for me last time, I only took three doses, and my cold is more than half better. These are small crispy cakes from my hometown; Sister, please don't mind." She was just a low-level palace maid, and the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital wouldn't pay attention to her at all. To have the small medical officers see a doctor, she still had to show respect. She didn't get much salary a month, and she had to save it for her parents, younger brothers, and sisters at home to live on. Fortunately, Sister Fuling was kind and gave her a few doses of medicine, otherwise, she didn't know how long her cold would have dragged on.

The little girl stuffed a package of things into Fuling's arms. Fuling thought for a long time before remembering that she was Xiaoyou, a palace maid of the Liuyun Palace, and smiled in reply, "You are too polite; it was just a small effort."

Xiaoyou smiled sweetly, "Only a good person like Sister is willing to make that effort."

Fuling smiled and didn't answer.

Xiaoyou tilted her head and looked into the courtyard. Through the half-open window, she could vaguely see a woman in plain clothes sitting at the round table, her long hair unbound, sitting silently.

Gently pulling Fuling's sleeve, Xiaoyou whispered, "Is that the Haoyue beauty inside? Her face?"

Fuling's brows furrowed slightly. Was she also here to inquire about news? She had been in the palace for ten years, and more people had come to find her in the past few days than in the total of ten years. A faint impatience appeared on Fuling's face. Xiaoyou immediately said urgently, "Sister Fuling, I really came to thank you today. But when I came out, my master saw me. Knowing that I was coming to find Sister, she asked me to inquire about news, I..."

"Alright, you've seen it yourself; you can go back and report. Go back." Tired of listening to her explanation, Fuling slowly closed the gate of the courtyard.

"Fuling." A cold voice sounded.

Fuling entered the room, thinking she would lose her temper because of those who came to inquire. Who knew, Qingfeng suddenly asked, "Did that Eunuch Wang say that I cannot leave this room?"

After thinking about it, Fuling replied, "No."

A flash of strange color crossed Qingfeng's eyes, and she continued to ask, "Then can I go for a walk in your Imperial Garden?"

She? She wouldn't want to wait for the Emperor in the Imperial Garden, would she? Sometimes the Emperor might not even go to the Imperial Garden once a month. Fuling shook her head and replied, "Only the Empress Dowager, consorts, princesses, and princes can play in the Imperial Garden."

Her brows furrowed slightly, and Qingfeng snorted, "Then I can just walk around nearby, right."

This was the middle courtyard, far from the palaces where the harem consorts lived. If she just wanted to walk around nearby, it was fine, and even if she said no, this Lady Qing might not necessarily pay attention.

After pondering for a while, Fuling nodded.

"Please help me comb my hair." Having finally received a satisfactory answer, Qingfeng sat down at the dressing table. Her face looked very calm, but Fuling's heart felt inexplicably uneasy.

Did she really just want to walk around?

The Ceminggong was located in the middle of the entire Imperial Palace and could be considered a place connecting the harem and the front hall. It was also a place where most low-ranking eunuchs and palace maids gathered. There were many people coming and going here, but it was unusually quiet. Everyone was used to walking with their heads down, their steps hurried.

Fuling had walked this long palace alley countless times, but this time she felt a bit uneasy. For no other reason than the plain white figure walking in front of her.

Fuling had lived in the palace for ten years and had seen countless beauties. They were young and beautiful girls, and with gorgeous clothes, ornaments, and heavy makeup, naturally, each one was stunning. And she? She was completely different. The Imperial Household Department only sent two sets of plain clothes, no jewelry, no rouge, or powder. She just walked in the palace alley in a set of plain white clothes with no color, her black hair lightly tied, free and easy. Just from her back, that clear and peerless grace was enough to make people yearn for her.

Such a woman appearing in the Ceminggong would surely attract countless curious eyes, but no one dared to step forward, only watching from afar. The bright sun in the afternoon shone on her fair and flawless skin, making it even more moist, and also made the two deep knife scars on her face look hideous and terrifying. Yet she always held her head slightly high, with no intention of covering them. Those who saw her face clearly gasped in shock and hurried away.

After walking for a while, Qingfeng suddenly stopped and turned to ask, "Where is the place with the most eunuchs, palace maids, and nannies?"

Fuling looked up. From her calm and waveless eyes, she couldn't guess Qingfeng's thoughts. Fuling pondered whether she should answer her. Qingfeng's cold voice replied indifferently, "It doesn't matter if you don't tell me; someone will always be willing to tell me." After speaking, Qingfeng walked toward a young eunuch coming from the opposite side. Fuling's heart froze, and she hurriedly chased after her, whispering behind her, "The kitchen." At this time, the kitchen should have the most people. In the palace, only the managing eunuchs and ranked female officials could eat in their own rooms, and other small eunuchs and palace maids had to go to the kitchen to eat together.

Qingfeng finally stopped and said, "Take me there."

In Qingfeng's bright eyes, a firm light flashed. Fuling was helpless and could only lead her toward the kitchen. Fortunately, there were only low-level palace maids and eunuchs there, and she believed they wouldn't do anything to her. But what was the purpose of the lady's trip?

The kitchen was not far from the Ceminggong. Before they even walked in, they could hear messy laughter coming from the large house. Qingfeng quickened her pace and walked inside. Fuling still followed behind her, but her steps were obviously slowed down. She couldn't control what the lady wanted to do, as long as she didn't let herself get into this muddy water.

This was a kitchen that could accommodate hundreds of people to eat. It was already densely packed with people inside. Palace maids and eunuchs sat separately on the left and right. Looking at the clothes of those palace maids, they were all indigo palace uniforms like Fuling's, which showed that they were all small palace maids without rank. Qingfeng entered the room and asked loudly, "Who is your manager?"

The cold voice rang out in the large room. It wasn't loud, but from the moment Qingfeng entered the room, everyone stared at her blankly, and it became quiet instantly. This light shout sounded exceptionally clear.

After the silence, there was frequent whispering. The palace maids and eunuchs were discussing her identity, and no one answered her question.

A nanny who looked quite old and had a mean face stepped forward and asked, "Who are you?"

Glancing around, she didn't find anyone dressed as a manager. Qingfeng didn't talk much to the old nanny, turned around, and left, walking toward the large house on the other side of the kitchen.

The old nanny was stunned for a moment, and when she came to her senses, she hurriedly shouted, "You can't just barge in!"

Qingfeng strode into the large house. It was a cooking room, piled with all kinds of vegetables and meat, and knives, pots, and ladles were all available. It was lunch time, and there were only a dozen small eunuchs cleaning inside. A flash of strange color quickly flashed in Qingfeng's eyes. As soon as she went in, she shouted, "Who is your manager? Call him out."

Everyone looked up. Qingfeng had already walked to the cutting table. The small eunuch said urgently, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Find your managing eunuch and bring him out!" While Qingfeng was speaking, she was also arrogantly picking up the cut vegetables on the table and throwing them around.

The place that had just been cleaned was thrown into a mess by her, and it had to be swept again. The small eunuch's face was unkind, and he shouted, "Who on earth are you? How dare you come to the Imperial Kitchen to act wildly? Which palace are you from?" Looking at her attire, she didn't look like a master, and the small eunuch's voice grew louder and louder.

Fuling stood outside the cooking room, hesitating whether to go in. Just as she lifted her foot, an angry shout came from outside the door on the other side of the cooking room, "It's noon, what are you arguing about?"

A middle-aged man dressed in a dark red silk long gown with flowing water patterns walked over. The other small eunuchs immediately bowed and greeted, "Eunuch Xu."

Fuling also slowly withdrew her lifted foot, feeling worried for Qingfeng in her heart.

The person who came was Xu Ji, the deputy manager of the Imperial Kitchen. This person was cunning, bullied the weak, and was narrow-minded. His sister, Xu Shuping, was the most favored old nanny beside the Empress Dowager. Everyone in the palace knew his character and the backer behind him, so they generally didn't dare to offend him.

Qingfeng secretly sized up this person. His face was ruddy and his figure was fat; he must have eaten a lot of oil and water. Seeing his arrogant look, Qingfeng guessed, "Are you the manager of the Imperial Kitchen?"

The meals of the Emperor, the Empress, and the favored consorts naturally didn't need him to manage, but besides that, the meals of all palaces and halls had to follow his allocation. It was no exaggeration to say he was the manager of the Imperial Kitchen! Xu Ji glanced at Qingfeng. Those two eye-catching knife scars already showed her identity. Xu Ji snorted. She was just a disfigured gift. Squinting at Qingfeng, Xu Ji said in a quite arrogant tone, "The Imperial Kitchen is not a place where anyone can barge in. Being so unruly, this servant can immediately..."

(End of chapter)