Chapter 567: Go And Look For The Empress
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
While Si Chen’s mind drifted away, the medicine boy returned with the hot
water.
“Young Master, have some hot water.”
The medicine boy looked to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. He spoke with an accent reminiscent of the old capital city dweller. It was obvious that he had lived here for a long time.
“Young Brother, if you have nothing else to do, sit down for a while. You didn’t eat at night, right? Come, have a pancake.”
Many of these medicine boys were apprentices, and they only received a few dozen copper coins as a living allowance every month. Looking at the fragrant pancake in front of him, the medicine boy couldn’t resist taking one. “Thank you, Young Master. I can tell this pancake is delicious.” “Young Brother, are you from the capital city?” Si Chen took the opportunity to ask.
“Yes, I grew up in the capital.”
“Oh, that’s good. The capital city is big, so there are more opportunities to look for work By the way, Young Brother, I once heard a storyteller in a teahouse say that there’s a Drum of Appeal outside the palace for people who wish to seek redress for an injustice. As long as he beat on the Drum of Appeal, he would be able to meet the Emperor?”
The medicine boy was very baffled when he heard that. “Drum of Appeal? I have never heard of this before. Those storytellers must have made it up. Where did the Drum of Appeal come from?”
When Si Chen heard that, a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes. “So it’s a story made up randomly by a storyteller…
“That’s right, Young Master. I’ve been in the capital city for so many years, but
I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Then, if there are commoners in the capital city who want to seek redress for an injustice, what do they have to do?
The medicine boy said, “Go and look for the Capital Governor. Isn’t the Capital Governor here to help the people redress injustice?
Si Chen frowned slightly and said in a low voice, “I’m afraid the Capital
Governor can’t do anything about this…”
“What are you saying, Young Master? Did Young Master suffer any injustice?
Gosh! If only you had come earlier.”
Si Chen raised his head in surprise. “What’s wrong?”
“Young Master, you may not know, but a while ago the Empress personally brought the poor people to the hill slopes on the outskirts of the city to make charcoal. If you had come earlier, wouldn’t you have been able to seek help from the Empress to redress your injustice?” The medicine boy was munching on the pancake, and his voice was a little muffled.
Si Chen’s delicate eyebrows furrowed. “The Empress is the master of the Imperial harem’s palace complex. How can she get involved in the affairs of the Imperial Court?”
The medicine boy had a puzzled look on his face. “You probably don’t know about this, do you? Perhaps other Empresses can’t get involved, but our current Empress is different. This Empress is very powerful and has done many things for us poor people.”
The medicine boy excitedly told Si Chen about Su Ying’s glorious deeds, leaving
Si Chen dumbfounded.
He thought to himself that it was rare to come across such a woman in this world.
“That’S why I said that you missed the chance. If you have grievances and have no way to complain, just go to the Empress. You won’t go wrong.” Si Chen was stumped. Now that the Empress had returned to the palace, how was he going to see the Empress? He could wait, but the people waiting for him could not.
The medicine boy yawned after eating his fill. He looked at Si Chen’s thoughtful expression and assumed that Si Chen was probably taking his words seriously. “Oh, yes. I heard that the Empress would go to the women’s academy from time to time. If Young Master wants to see the Empress, you can wait outside the women’s academy.”
“The women’s academy?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s right. It’s the women’s academy that I mentioned to you just now. It was established by the Empress. The Empress will go to the women’s academy at least twice a month to check on the situation. I don’t know the exact time, but if you go there and keep watch, you will definitely be able to catch sight of her.”
Si Chen was very grateful and asked for the location of the women’s academy. If it wasn’t already dark, he would have gone there right away.
“Young Master, don’t be anxious. The Empress can’t possibly go there at night. It’s getting late and you are still injured. Better rest early.”
“Thank you, thank you so much.”
The medicine boy waved his hand nonchalantly and yawned as he left the
room.
It was a night without dreams.
When she woke up and pushed open the window, everywhere her eyes landed was a swathe of white snow.
Bai Shuang exhaled a mouthful of white vapor and got up. After washing up, she waited outside the inner hall.
As soon as Bai Shuang got into her position, Zhang Shuming opened the door to the inner hall. Xiao Jin, who was dressed in a dragon robe, walked out and got ready to attend the morning court session.
“Farewell, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Jin’s footsteps paused slightly. “The Empress said she wanted to eat noodle soup last night. Go to the Imperial kitchen and tell the Imperial chef to add a bowl of soup noodles.”
“Yes, your servant will go now.”
Xiao Jin nodded slightly and disappeared into the landscape of drifting snow in the blink of an eye.
The weather was cold, and the Conjugal Phoenix Palace was quite a distance away from the Imperial kitchen. The food was almost cold by the time they brought it over, so at this time of the year, they would first bring the food back to the small kitchen in the hall to warm it up. When Su Ying woke up, she would be able to eat something warm.
When Bai Shuang arrived at the Imperial kitchen, Hea Shouyi was busy preparing breakfast.
“Uncle Hea, you are still busy.”
Hea Shouyi turned around when he heard the noise. When he saw Bai Shuang, he smiled. “You little lass, when did you come back? I haven’t seen you for a long time.”
Bai Shuang walked into the kitchen and took a hot bun to eat. These were all breakfast items prepared for the servants in the palace. She became hungry after rushing all the way here.
“Uncle Hea’s cooking is still the best. Any dish you cooked is delicious.” For a chef, what he liked to hear the most was other people’s approval of his cooking skills. Upon hearing her say this, Hea Shouyi beamed so happily that the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened.
“What’s wrong? Did the Emperor have any instructions?” “Uncle Hea, how did you know that it was the Emperor’s instruction?” Bai Shuang asked in wide-eyed surprise. She was the Empress’s servant, so if she came, shouldn’t he say that it was the Empress’s instruction?
Hea Shouyi’s smile deepened. “Usually, the Empress isn’t awake at this hour. Also I’ve been cooking for the Empress for so long, but she has never sent anyone to add anything in the morning. Except for the Emperor.” It was always Xiao Jin who added something for Su Ying every time, so he was already used to it.
Bai Shuang gave Hea Shouyi a thumbs up in admiration.
“The Emperor told me to tell you to prepare a bowl of noodle soup for Her imperial Highness. It is red dates and wolfberries chicken noodle soup. He said that she would definitely feel warm and comfortable after eating this early in the morning.”
“Is the Empress awake now?”
“She wasn’t when I came.”
Hea Shouyi nodded and said, “Alright, I got it. I’ll make the noodles in a while. You can take the food that has been prepared back first. The noodles will be done when you come back again.”
“Okay.”
When Bai Shuang returned to the Conjugal Phoenix Palace with the food container, Su Ying had already woken up.
Even in the middle of winter, she didn’t have the habit of lazing in bed. She would only sleep in if Xiao Jin made her really tired from the previous night. “Your Imperial Highness, you are awake. The food is still warm, so Your Imperial Highness should eat it while it’s still hot.
“Where’s the First Prince and the Young Princess?”
Zhou Qing laughed softly. “The First Prince and the Young Princess haven’t woken up at this hour. They said that class is now an hour later than before, so they can sleep a little longer.”
Su Ying nodded. That was human nature after all.
“Before His Majesty went to attend the morning court session, he specially instructed me to tell Uncle Hea to make a bowl of hot noodle soup for Your Imperial Highness.”
Su Ying was slightly astonished. She seemed to have casually mentioned that she wanted to eat hot noodle soup last night. She didn’t expect Xiao Jin to remember it..