eurekapd Chapter 123 Asking for help
Chapter 123 Asking for help
At the beginning, it was still okay, as they could still exchange it with silver. But as winter went on, the weather got colder, and the Forbidden City was covered with snow, it became increasingly difficult to get people to do things.
The amount of silver they asked for was increasing, and even if they spent three times as much, they still couldn't get anything as good as what they had gotten with the normal amount of silver.
After winter, supplies were scarce and there was a fixed number of things. When some things were deducted, they naturally had to be replaced with other things. For example, charcoal was in short supply and could not be obtained even if you spent money.
Although they were of noble birth and had the support of their mother's family, the private treasuries they brought with them mostly consisted of valuable ornaments and jewelry that could not be sold at will.
The silver they brought with them was not much, and the palace only had real gold and silver. If they were caught taking out the concubines' jewelry, it would be a serious crime. Even if someone wanted to make money, they would not dare to gamble with their lives.
The salary in the palace is not enough to support the servants. Usually, they have to live from their family savings. But if they have almost spent all their savings just after entering the palace, how will they live in the future?
Concubine Ying was not so bad. She was the only daughter of King Bahrain. When she entered the palace, she was given a lot of rare treasures to bring into the palace.
But it was difficult for Ke to agree to this. Since Concubine Ying had provided the stone for the pomegranate ornament that day, she naturally took the initiative to ask the servants to provide the silver and gold for the inlay on it.
The more skilled the craftsman, the more expensive the silver would be. Furthermore, she was out of favor, and after being demoted to a concubine, her servants were difficult to command, and the silver she spent was twice that of Concubine Ying. In order to properly settle this favor with Concubine Ling, she almost emptied out nearly half of her family's wealth.
Life was tough for the two of them, and the Empress was staying at home. If they were to expose this matter, the servants would bear a grudge against them, and their already poor reputation in the palace would plummet, and they would undoubtedly face more difficulties.
It's fine to be favored for a while, but if one day you become as destitute as you are now, then doing this would be courting death.
Yanwan had just gotten up, and Chunchan was helping her tie her hair up when Lancui came rushing in to report, "Master, Ying'er from Chuxiu Palace has come to the door and wants your help."
Yan Wan frowned, feeling puzzled. "Why is she here? Could it be that something happened to the person in Chuxiu Palace?"
Chunchan shook her head and quickened her hair-tying movements. "I heard that the allowances for Chuxiu Palace were greatly reduced. I'm afraid she's gotten sick in the middle of winter."
Seeing this, Yan Wan said calmly, "Human life is at stake. Let her in to talk."
When the others came in, Yan Wan was still shocked. She saw Ying'er in front of her with chilblains on all ten fingers and her face was red from the cold. She was wearing much thinner clothes than ordinary palace maids, and she looked even more disheveled than when she met her in front of Yongshou Palace that day.
As soon as she entered the room, she began to kneel and kowtow: "Please, Empress Ling Fei, save my life. My master has caught a cold these days and now has a high fever. I went to ask the imperial physician early this morning, but the imperial physician on duty last night went back early in the morning, and the imperial physician on duty today has not yet entered the palace... I am really at my wit's end. Please, Empress Ling Fei, have mercy on me and save my master..."
Ying'er's body was covered in snowflakes, her hair was covered in white, and even her eyelashes were covered in snow. It looked like she had been walking around for a long time and finally came to Yongshou Palace because she had no other choice.
Yan Wan sighed deeply and let Lan Cui help her up before speaking. "You are truly loyal, little girl. Don't worry, wait until I've finished dressing before you go over. How could you catch a cold?"
"The master is not favored, and the people in the palace are always looking down on the weak and praising the strong, so naturally they withhold things from her. This is the first year the master has entered the palace, and she is not used to the winter weather here. She is reluctant to light a charcoal fire during the day, so she caught a cold as soon as she saw the wind. It has only been a few days, and it seems to be getting worse..." Ying'er couldn't help but shed tears as she talked about her master's experience.
Yan Wan shook her head and sighed. This is how it is in the palace, where people put the weak down and flatter the strong. If she had reported it earlier, she wouldn't have suffered so much.
She first instructed Lan Cui, and then asked Chun Chan to speed up: "Lan Cui, ask Wang Chan to take some of the extra charcoal and some emergency supplies from Yongshou Palace and send them over. Take my badge and go to the Imperial Hospital to ask the imperial physician to go to Chuxiu Palace to see Concubine Ying. Your name is Ying'er, right? Take Wang Chan from this palace to Chuxiu Palace first. You take good care of your master. I'll go over there after I'm done packing..."
Although there was plenty of charcoal fire burning in the hall, Ying'er's clothes were soaked by the melted snow, and she was still shivering from the cold even in the warm spring hall.
She looked at Ying'er, who was almost soaked, and her heart softened. Finally, she said to her softly, "Poor girl, Wang Chan will need a while to prepare things. Chunchan, have someone take her downstairs to change clothes, eat something to warm her up, and then let her go back..."
"Thank you, Empress Lingfei. My master will definitely thank you for your great kindness..."
Ying'er wiped her tears as she was taken away by the people from Yongshou Palace.
Yanwan shook her head slightly and her gaze returned to her cheek reflected in the bronze mirror.
How could there be no imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital? Most likely, seeing that the Empress Dowager Chuxiu was out of favor and had offended the Emperor, they figured it was better to avoid getting involved in this mess. Outside, heavy snow fell, and the wind was biting, the cold penetrating people's clothes.
At a time like this, let alone the imperial physician, even the servants in her palace would stay at home if possible, as they were too lazy to stay outside for any longer.
Chunchan moved quickly and had her hair tied up in less than a quarter of an hour.
Yan Wan changed into thick winter clothes and put on a plain white fox fur cloak. Without even having time to have breakfast, she braved the wind and snow and rushed to Chuxiu Palace.
When Yan Wan arrived, the imperial physician was already taking her pulse. Fortunately, it was just a common high fever. A few injections and a bowl of medicine would reduce the fever and there would be no fatality.
Seeing this, Yan Wan felt relieved and walked into the inner hall with Chunchan's support to see how the person was doing.
The charcoal fire had been lit in the hall, but it had only been lit for a short time and the air was still bitingly cold.
At this time, Concubine Ying woke up. Her whole face was flushed red. In a daze, she saw Yan Wan coming over and struggled to sit up and salute.
As she moved, she murmured, "Greetings to Empress Lingfei..."
In the few months since she entered the palace, she had copied the palace rules hundreds of times, almost engraving them into her bones. Her first reaction when she saw Yan Wan was to stand up and salute.
"Hey! You are still sick. Don't be so polite. Just lie down." Yan Wan was amused by her actions. She quickly stopped her and pushed her back onto the bed.