Chapter 258: Mysterious Freak (3)

Yiyue lowered her head slightly, carefully squinting at Shui Xin's reaction, not daring to even breathe loudly. Sister Shui Xin was a favorite by the Empress's side. If she felt that she hadn't handled the matter well, her days in Yilan Palace would be difficult in the future.

Shui Xin raised her hand lightly and replied indifferently, "You may withdraw first."

"Yes." Yiyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, put down the flower basket, bowed respectfully, and hurried away.

The purple figure was still cutting flowers in a leisurely manner, the smile on her face unchanged, but she was clearly absent-minded. This Qingfeng was not simple. She hadn't been in the palace for long, and now she had been thrown into the Heavenly Prison, yet she could still invite Huang Jiao to treat her. Who was helping her in secret, and what illness did she have?

So cold?

So cold, so cold?

Her body felt as if it were soaked in cold seawater, a bone-chilling cold. Qingfeng curled her body tightly, but she still couldn't bring herself any warmth. The coldness permeated from the bottom of her heart and poured into her limbs. Her consciousness gradually blurred. If she just fell asleep, all the cold, hunger, and pain would leave her.

"Second Sister?"

Was this Mo'er's voice? Qingfeng's heart tightened fiercely. Mo'er was most afraid of the dark. It was so dark and cold here, how could she bear it? Mo'er? Where are you?

"Second Sister?" The flickering voice seemed to come from the distant four directions, and it also seemed to be calling right in her ear. Qingfeng wanted to get up and find her, but her body couldn't move. No matter how she struggled or tried, her limbs wouldn't listen to her.

"Feng'er! Feng'er? Save me quickly?"

"Second Sister, it hurts, my face hurts so much? Save me!"

The cries for help from her eldest sister and Mo'er kept ringing in her ears. Qingfeng was anxious and burned with impatience. She struggled and used all her strength to shout loudly, "Mo'er!" Qingfeng opened her eyes abruptly, and it was still pitch black in front of her. Qingfeng crawled up in a panic and listened carefully. Apart from the footsteps of the jailer outside the cell door, she didn't hear anything. This was still that gloomy prison. There was no Mo'er, and no eldest sister.

Was she dreaming just now?

Fortunately, it was a dream. Her strength was instantly drained, and Qingfeng fell to the ground, tears already soaking her face unknowingly.

Mo'er? How are you doing now?

She had always thought that she would never be afraid of anything. When her parents died tragically and left her, she wasn't afraid; her heart was filled only with hatred. Picking up the scissors to cut her cheeks, the pain was heart-wrenching, and she didn't have a trace of hesitation or softness; she had long been determined to die. But at this moment, she was afraid, trembling all over, crying uncontrollably. Her eldest sister's fate was uncertain, and her younger sister's life or death was unknown. She was afraid that she would die like this; what would they do? It was she who ruined their faces, and it was she who caused her eldest sister to lose her memory. If she died now, what face would she have to see her parents?

She couldn't die; she had to live. For her eldest sister and Mo'er, for her parents who died tragically, she had to live. Tears slid down her cheeks and dripped silently. Qingfeng raised her hand to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. In this prison, the thing least lacking was tears.

"Bang!" Pushing the bowl into the small iron door at the bottom, the jailer carried the food bucket and walked out.

"I want to eat!" Suddenly, a long, thin arm stretched out from under the cell door, and a slightly hoarse voice shouted loudly, "Give me something to eat!"

The jailer squatted down, squinting at Qingfeng, who was half-lying on the ground to stretch her arm out of the small iron door, and sneered, "Didn't you say you wouldn't eat? Now you want to eat? It's gone!" She had been very arrogant at first; people in this prison had no qualifications to be arrogant. The jailer raised his foot impatiently to leave. Qingfeng grabbed his ankle and refused to let go: "Give—me—something—to—eat!" She hadn't found her younger sister, so she couldn't die now. She hadn't eaten for almost three days. She had to eat something, even if it was rancid or smelly, she had to eat it!

Grabbing the ankle with too much force, her fingertips sank deep into the flesh. The jailer was already impatient, and feeling pain in his foot, he immediately became irritable. He raised his other foot and was about to step on the hand that was grabbing his foot and not letting go. At this moment, another jailer happened to walk over, patted his shoulder, lifted the almost empty food bucket by his feet, and smiled, "If she wants to eat, give it to her."

The two looked at each other. The jailer withdrew his raised foot, smiled knowingly, picked up an empty bowl, scraped half a bowl of porridge from the bottom of the bucket, squatted down again, and in front of Qingfeng, grabbed a handful of fine dust and gravel from the stone floor, sprinkled it into the bowl, threw it to Qingfeng's hand, and sneered, "Eat it. I'll give you something to eat, but? If you leave a single drop, you won't get anything to eat in the future."

If it weren't for the rancid smell that still made people want to retch, she would have thought it was a bowl of sand and dirt. Slowly loosening her hand that was grabbing the jailer's ankle, Qingfeng picked up the bowl without saying a word, and just swallowed the rancid porridge mixed with sand and dirt.

The woman on the other side of the prison watched the woman opposite her silently. The fine "clucking" sound in her mouth, whether it was because of the sand in her mouth or her clenched teeth, made her shiver involuntarily because of the cold, chilling light in her indifferent eyes.

Watching Qingfeng swallow the rancid porridge mixed with sand and dirt obediently, the two jailers outside the door laughed loudly. No matter how noble your original status was, or how stubborn your temper was, once you got here, weren't you still just begging for pity like a dog?

The two walked away laughing all the way. Qingfeng gripped the bowl in her hand tightly. The gravel rattled in her mouth. The rancid porridge she once said she wouldn't eat even if she died was being swallowed bit by bit.

Going around the front courtyard gate was the path to the Heavenly Prison. Apart from the guards patrolling the palace, few people would go that way. The master said that the medicine's efficacy would be poor if it got cold. The medicine boy lowered his head, gripped the tray in his hand, and walked faster toward the front. Just as he was about to cross the courtyard gate, a light blue figure suddenly appeared in front of him. The medicine boy was startled, his hand shook violently, and the medicinal juice in the bowl almost spilled. Fortunately, the person who came reacted quickly, and just as the two were about to collide, they dodged in time. However, in order not to collide with him, the woman twisted her foot and fell to the ground.

"Ah!" The woman covered her foot with both hands and rubbed it, shouting in pain, "Why don't you look where you're going when you walk?"

Wenyu looked closely at the woman sitting on the ground. She was wearing a palace maid's hair bun, she wasn't old, and the light blue palace dress she was wearing was quite exquisite in embroidery and style, so she must be a favored little palace maid by some mistress. He couldn't afford to offend such a person. She spoke very impolitely, but Wenyu didn't dare to talk back and asked carefully, "Sister, are you okay?"

The woman moved her ankle and immediately grimaced in pain, "I twisted my foot!"

Wenyu said repeatedly in a panic, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The woman raised her head, glared at him with her bright eyes, and shouted in a low voice, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and help me up!"

"Oh, okay." Wenyu finally came back to his senses, looked around, and there happened to be a stone table behind him. Wenyu hurriedly put down the tray, ran to the woman's side, helped her up carefully, and asked timidly, "Is your... foot okay?"

Supporting his arm to stand up, the woman looked at the medicine bowl on the stone table not far away without leaving a trace, and replied relentlessly, "Who said it's okay? It hurts to death."

The woman's hand gripped his sleeve tightly and wouldn't let go, as if she were afraid he would run away. Wenyu had bitterness he couldn't speak of. She didn't need to hold onto him; he wouldn't dare to run away! Pulling and dragging wasn't a solution, so Wenyu apologized with a smile, "Sister, why don't I take a look at your foot injury? If it's really badly injured, I'll go and invite an imperial physician for you, is that okay?"

The woman rolled her eyes at him and replied, "Men and women should not touch each other! Who wants you to look at my foot injury? You help me walk two steps first to see if I can still move."

"Oh, okay." Wenyu foolishly helped the woman walk forward, completely unaware that another light figure was quietly approaching the stone table?

Limping and moving forward slowly for a few steps, Wenyu wanted to tell her not to walk too much if she twisted her foot, but the woman insisted on walking forward for a while longer before stopping. Changing from her previous arrogant attitude, she said, "It's good that I can still walk! Forget it, I'll rub some medicinal wine when I go back, and it should be fine."

Wenyu stared at her ankle and asked suspiciously, "Is it really okay?" Just now she was in extreme pain, how could she be fine after walking two steps?

Letting go of his sleeve, the little palace maid snorted and scolded, "Be careful when you walk in the future. This is the palace, not any other place. If you are so reckless, if you bump into a master today, watch out for your skin."

"Sister's lesson is right." Wenyu didn't dare to say more and nodded repeatedly.

Sweeping her eyes over the stone table, which was already empty, without leaving a trace, the woman waved her hand impatiently, "Alright, go do your work."

"Yes, yes." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wenyu secretly rejoiced. This woman looked like someone who was not to be trifled with. Fortunately, she wasn't too badly injured, otherwise, if this matter blew up, his master would definitely scold him.

Running back to the stone table, picking up the tray, Wenyu lowered his head and hurried past the woman's side, not daring to look at her, for fear that she would suddenly change her mind and not let him go.

Watching Wenyu walk out of the courtyard gate, the little palace maid walked quickly toward the stone table. The foot that was limping just now showed no signs of injury at all. Standing by the stone table and confirming that there was no one around after looking left and right, she whispered, "Sister Shui Xin."

From behind the ancient tree by the stone table, a slender figure walked out. Yiyue greeted her and just wanted to say something when a crisp sound of "clatter" came from not far away.

"My medicine! Oh no, oh no?" An anxious and flustered low cry also followed. This voice was clearly the little medicine boy from just now.

The medicine spilled? Yiyue said anxiously, "Sister Shui Xin, what should we do?" She had finally found a place with few people and lush vegetation to take action, and now that the medicine was spilled, hadn't they been busy for nothing?

Yiyue's face was full of unwillingness. Shui Xin's face was calm, her brows furrowed slightly, and suddenly a flash of light flashed in her eyes. Shui Xin took Yiyue's hand and said urgently, "Let's go." The medicine bowl couldn't have broken for no reason, and it happened when they had tampered with it and were about to reach the Heavenly Prison. Who was it? Who exactly was helping her in secret?

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 259 =====