Song Yinghuai's gaze fell upon Caiyu, his eyes as dark as ink, as if weighing his options.
If he didn't let Caiyu go up the mountain to look for water, he'd have to find something else for her to do.
Otherwise, given this girl's nature, she'd probably find ways to achieve her own goals, just like when she was confined for self - reflection a few days ago.
Moreover, he was now cooperating with Lü Baiwei. During this period, Lü Baiwei had been behaving herself. Presumably, she was solely focused on Zhuer and wouldn't spare any thought for Caiyu.
This was much less dangerous than going up the mountain.
With this in mind, Song Yinghuai said expressionlessly, "There are no little maids on the mountain, but there are two nimble soldiers. Aunt Mei can take them to help you with some odd jobs."
As soon as he finished speaking, Caiyu suddenly stared at him in shock.
What was Song Yinghuai talking about?
He actually wanted her to take care of Lü Baiwei and be her servant?
He clearly knew that she disliked Lü Baiwei and minded their past and relationship!
How could he arrange things like this?
Was it because she had embarrassed him just now that he was treating her like this?
How could he treat her like this?
Aunt Mei's eyes sparkled with a confident smile as she chimed in, "It's good to have someone to do some odd jobs. Your Ladyship has this old servant to attend to her personally. As long as there are two helpers for other tasks, this old servant can manage."
"Your Highness doesn't have to worry about Your Ladyship's illness either."
Her Ladyship had calculated it accurately.
The illness on the mountain was getting worse, and the manpower was getting tighter. Especially among the "women" who had done servant work and hadn't been infected, there were only Caiyu and Qingqing.
By asking for help at this moment, Song Yinghuai would surely think of Caiyu and Qingqing for this task. There was no one else to consider.
Once the girls were in the east wing, they'd be at her Ladyship's mercy.
"I won't go!" Caiyu refused angrily.
Do some odd jobs?
She'd rather carry stones on the mountain than serve tea and water for Lü Baiwei!
That old servant was being sarcastic, deliberately revealing in front of her that Song Yinghuai was worried about Lü Baiwei's illness to hit her.
Song Yinghuai was so busy on Qixia Mountain that he barely had time to breathe. To control the epidemic and prevent the Crown Prince from coming, he didn't have the time to patiently reason with Caiyu like he did in the mansion.
Hearing that she refused this and that, and was just set on defying him, he immediately sank his face, his voice full of anger as he said,
"You have no right to pick and choose! I've said before, military orders are as strict as a mountain!"
"If you're so headstrong and refuse to follow orders, then you'll be sent down the mountain right away. You don't need to stay in the army either. No matter how talented you are, the army of our Great Ye won't allow a soldier who disobeys orders like you to exist!"
Although Song Yinghuai's words were aimed at Caiyu, they were actually for all the new recruits with a strong personality.
He said these words to almost every new recruit who hadn't been disciplined by the rules.
But in the eyes of those who had never been in the army, these words sounded very serious.
It was the same for Caiyu. They were extremely serious.
She stared blankly at Song Yinghuai's cold and handsome face, feeling extremely aggrieved.
For Lü Baiwei, he had gotten angry at her.
He had changed. She just hadn't wanted to face it.
He was getting angry just as an excuse to send her down the mountain so he could be with Lü Baiwei!
However, she couldn't go down the mountain.
She had to strive for an opportunity for the Lan family to make meritorious deeds!
No matter how much grievance she had, she had to swallow it.
Caiyu sniffled, her eyes red. She gritted her teeth tightly and finally lowered her head in compromise,
"I'll follow the order!"
This matter had taken too much time. Seeing her compromise, Song Yinghuai secretly let out a sigh of relief and immediately strode away.
As the man passed by Caiyu, he seemed so unhesitating and heartless.
The cold air he brought lingered in the Daxiong Baodian, making Caiyu feel a chill in her heart.
Everyone was eager to get back to the epidemic control and left one after another.
Only Aunt Mei stayed behind, smugly urging Caiyu,
"What's your name, young man?"
Caiyu bit her lip. Facing Aunt Mei's provocative gaze, she was sure that this old witch already knew who she was but was pretending not to.
Caiyu sneered.
Who had told Lü Baiwei that she had come up the mountain?
Who else could it be but Song Yinghuai?
Caiyu said woodenly, "I'm Xiaosi."
"Xiaosi, Your Ladyship is counting on you all." Aunt Mei said happily.
Later, Qingqing was also ordered to come to the meditation room in the east wing.
Aunt Mei led them along the way, showing off, "His Highness pities Your Ladyship and takes special care of her. So he specially ordered the temple to vacate this meditation room for Your Ladyship to recuperate alone. She doesn't have to squeeze in with those commoners... It's a blessing for you two to come and serve Your Ladyship. In the front temple, there are too many people and too much gossip, and there are patients everywhere. Not to mention the hard work, the chance of infection is also very high."
Qingqing muttered, "I think there's a venomous queen living here. The chance of infection is the highest!"
"What did you say?" Aunt Mei stopped in her tracks and turned around, glaring with wide - open eyes.
Caiyu said coldly, "Xiaqing said you're right, Auntie. Please lead the way."
Aunt Mei's shrewd eyes scanned them back and forth. After a while, she snorted and pushed open the door of the meditation room.
Lü Baiwei was lying on the bed, eyes closed, resting.
Caiyu saw that she wasn't wearing any makeup, and her face and lips were pale, looking like a sick person. For a moment, she couldn't find any flaws to "tattle" to Song Yinghuai.
When Lü Baiwei saw them, her eyes flickered slightly. She said languidly, "Aunt Mei, I'm hungry. I'd like something to eat."
Qingqing said, "There's white porridge in the kitchen. I'll go and get a bowl."
"Stop." Aunt Mei stopped Qingqing and said unhappily, "My Lady is the Crown Prince's concubine and is specially taken care of by His Highness the Prince of Yan. How can she eat the same white porridge as those commoners in the front temple? How can she recuperate by eating that?"
Qingqing stopped and turned around, looking impatiently at Aunt Mei. "Then what does she want to eat?"
Aunt Mei rolled her eyes and said, "There's also a kitchen in the back temple. Go and make some special vegetarian dishes for Your Ladyship. Also, cook the porridge separately and add some vegetables like pumpkins and yellow rice that aid digestion. Only then can Your Ladyship eat it!"
Caiyu looked at the master - servant pair, furious. "Special vegetarian dishes, pumpkins, and yellow rice? Food is in short supply on this mountain. His Highness and General Sheng have their daily rations allocated... There aren't the ingredients you mentioned!"
"Why aren't there?" Aunt Mei raised her voice angrily. "I asked His Highness for two loofahs and a few eggs the other day! You just go and ask His Highness. When he hears it's for Your Ladyship, he'll surely give them to you!"
Fine!
Caiyu was even more enraged. Her eyes were red with anger.
This was just great.
Song Yinghuai made her do hard labor, like building walls, moving bricks, and carrying stones. She was often so hungry that her stomach was flat against her back. If it weren't for General Sheng secretly giving her extra food at night, she wouldn't have been able to hold on.
And yet, he took good care of Lü Baiwei every day.
He said there would be no special treatment, but he secretly took special care of Lü Baiwei!
This man was really disgusting when his heart changed!
Seeing Caiyu standing there motionless, Aunt Mei exchanged a secretive look with Lü Baiwei. A smug smile flashed across both their faces.
Aunt Mei frowned and urged, "Go! What are you standing there for? If you dare to neglect Your Ladyship, I'll tell His Highness!"
"His Highness just warned you. Military orders are as strict as a mountain. If you act like this again, I'll ask His Highness to send you down the mountain!"
Seeing Caiyu's face turning red with anger, Qingqing couldn't help but say, "I'll go!"
Unexpectedly, Aunt Mei called out again, "Wait. You have something else to do!"
She threw over the clothes they had changed in the past few days. "Wash these clothes. After washing, remember to soak them in the anti - epidemic medicine for enough time. Dry them and then incense them. Go!"
Qingqing took a deep breath, glared at Aunt Mei, and secretly cursed this old and tricky servant for taking revenge on her.
Helplessly, since they were under someone else's roof, they had to bow their heads. Moreover, they had to cooperate with Lü Baiwei's act. Qingqing had no choice but to leave with a pile of clothes in her arms.
Aunt Mei and Lü Baiwei were overjoyed.
They urged Caiyu to go and ask Song Yinghuai for the ingredients.
Lü Baiwei secretly laughed to herself.
Given Caiyu's nature and her current state of anger, their relationship was surely going to worsen!