Caiyu clenched her fists all the way, her chest filled with smoldering anger as she searched everywhere for Song Yinghuai.
Song Yinghuai, wearing a face towel, was inspecting the patients in the critical - care area of the front temple.
Watching the common people and soldiers fall one after another, he felt extremely heavy - hearted.
Just then, an asymptomatic civilian, unable to bear the hunger and thirst because the water hadn't been transported up the mountain yet, secretly drank from the mountain spring. Immediately, the person was transferred to the quarantine area and was making a big fuss, which was sternly stopped by Song Yinghuai.
That's when Caiyu showed up.
"Your Highness, Concubine Lü wants to eat pumpkin and yellow rice porridge and fresh water bamboo and tofu. Please give your instructions, Your Highness." Caiyu was burning with anger and didn't even notice where she was.
Song Yinghuai gasped in shock when he saw her.
How dare this girl rush into the critical - care quarantine area without covering her nose and mouth?
"Who let you in?!" Song Yinghuai suddenly barked, his voice laced with anger. Without a second thought, he immediately rushed to drive her out. "Get out!"
Caiyu was startled by his suddenly raised voice. Then the pent - up grievance burst out like a flood, and tears welled up in her eyes, almost spilling over.
He was so impatient with her now!
She choked back a sob, forcing the tears back, and said again through gritted teeth:
"Concubine Lü sent me! She wants Your Highness to allocate some ingredients!"
Song Yinghuai grabbed her hand and pulled her out. He was so fast and forceful that Caiyu staggered and almost fell to the ground.
It was not until they were out of the critical - care area that Song Yinghuai stopped.
He let go of Caiyu's hand and scolded her unhappily: "Don't you know you should take protective measures when entering the critical - care area? I remember emphasizing these rules on the very first day the army came up the mountain. Not to mention the critical - care area, from today on, everyone who moves around on Qixia Mountain must wear a face towel and cover their nose and mouth!"
Looking at Caiyu's red face, flushed from running in a hurry, a sense of helplessness welled up in him. "Where's your face towel? Put it on quickly!"
Caiyu had stumbled several times on the way out and sprained her ankle. Now her ankle ached faintly, and the buzzing scolding from Song Yinghuai in her ear made the tears almost well up again.
She quickly lowered her head, took out the face towel from the hidden pocket in her sleeve, put it on, and sniffed hard, forcing the tears back again. She just kept her head down and said nothing.
The wind blew, and Song Yinghuai's earlier anxiety and anger subsided a little. He then realized that he might have been a bit too hasty and impatient.
His Adam's apple rolled a few times. Looking at the little girl with her head bowed deeply, only showing the top of her head, he couldn't help but feel remorseful.
Maybe it was because he had been too busy these days, or maybe it was because the jealousy in his heart had been too strong as he secretly watched Sheng Jiangli take care of Caiyu every night.
Anyway, he couldn't control his temper well.
Song Yinghuai took a deep breath and tried to lower his voice. "You... I just wanted to say that the air on the mountain is not good now..."
"Your subordinate knows. It was my oversight." Caiyu interrupted him. She kept her head down and didn't want to hear his redundant explanations. "What about Concubine Lü's ingredients?"
She asked in a low voice, secretly hoping that Song Yinghuai would refuse.
However, Lü Baiwei now had a cooperative relationship with Song Yinghuai. Moreover, Song Yinghuai wished Caiyu could leave this polluted area quickly, so he naturally agreed without hesitation.
He took out a token from his bosom and handed it to Caiyu. "Take my token and go to the ingredient storage to get them. Also, you don't need to return the token for now. If Concubine Lü wants to eat something else later, you can decide on your own and get it!"
If she got more ingredients, the little girl could eat a bit too.
That's what Song Yinghuai secretly hoped.
She had lost so much weight in just a few days. He actually felt heart - broken. So even though he knew that Sheng Jiangli took the opportunity to give her some good food every night and felt extremely jealous, he still resisted the urge to show up.
But Caiyu just stared blankly at the token in her hand.
The token still carried Song Yinghuai's body heat and was burning in her hand.
But her heart felt cold.
Humph!
He was really nice to Lü Baiwei, his first - love junior sister!
He used to say that he only took care of the Lü family for the sake of his master's face.
This kind of indulgent kindness, she, Lan Caiyu, had never experienced.
Sure enough, there was a difference between love and non - love.
He used to keep a distance from Lü Baiwei because she was married.
Now that he was fearless towards the crown prince, he naturally didn't need to keep a distance from the crown prince's woman anymore.
Caiyu tightened her grip on the token and finally summoned the courage to look up at Song Yinghuai.
Her eyes were dead, like a walking corpse. She mechanically responded and then turned around and left.
When Song Yinghuai met her gaze, he was almost swallowed by the sorrow in her eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he almost felt a real stabbing pain.
What was wrong with her?
Song Yinghuai opened his mouth, about to call her back, but was then pulled by Doctor Liu. "Your Highness, a doctor has also been infected. Please go and have a look, Your Highness!"
Song Yinghuai hesitated for a moment. Looking at Caiyu's slowly retreating back, he sank his eyes and finally followed Doctor Liu.
They could sort out any matters and misunderstandings after the epidemic was over.
After getting the ingredients from the storage, Caiyu went to the kitchen in the back temple to cook.
The monks in Qixia Temple had either caught the plague or were transferred to the front temple to help treat the patients. The back kitchen hadn't seen a fire for a long time.
Caiyu glanced at the cold stove and couldn't help but sneer.
Nanny Mei said that she had asked Song Yinghuai for loofah and eggs to add to Lü Baiwei's meal yesterday. It was clearly a lie!
The stove clearly hadn't been used for many days. With the shortage of manpower in the front - temple kitchen, who would have the time to cook something special for Lü Baiwei?
But so what?
Although Nanny Mei had lied, Song Yinghuai had really, as they wished, opened the door wide with just one request.
Caiyu's heart ached. She squatted on the ground looking for firewood to start a fire.
What she didn't expect was that Nanny Mei had secretly hidden the chopped firewood. There was only a pile of unchopped firewood at the kitchen door.
Caiyu walked around and helplessly looked at the log as thick as a person's waist. She had no choice but to roll up her sleeves and pick up an axe to chop the firewood.
At the same time, in the meditation room, Nanny Mei and Lü Baiwei were secretly gloating.
"Your Ladyship, this old servant secretly went to the back kitchen just now. That slut is chopping firewood! She's all wet." Nanny Mei reported in a low voice, smiling from ear to ear. "Your Ladyship calculated correctly. That slut is going to suffer this time."
Lü Baiwei leaned against the headboard of the bed, closing her eyes and lazily responding: "Naturally... I knew that if I sent her to Xuan Yao to get the ingredients, Xuan Yao would definitely agree."
Nanny Mei snickered. "But Your Ladyship misled her into thinking that the prince agreed because of Your Ladyship. That slut's eyes were all red. She must have just cried!"
"Hehe! She can't even bear this." Lü Baiwei opened her eyes and sneered, looking at the beam on the ceiling of the meditation room. "Does she know what kind of life I've been living all these years? What she's suffered is not even one - ten - thousandth of my pain, and she can't bear it."
"Xuan Yao was supposed to be mine. Back in Shangjing, he and I were the well - known golden boy and jade girl. It was her who stole my place. I've let her enjoy this for so long. It's time for her to return Xuan Yao to me..."
Lü Baiwei didn't even realize that the rumors in Shangjing back then were deliberately spread by her, not the truth.
After being tortured by Song Chengyuan all these years, she had fallen into a self - delusional fantasy.
Since her life was miserable, she couldn't stand to see others happy.
Nanny Mei watched her fall into madness again, feeling heart - broken but helpless.
Lü Baiwei was the child she had nursed. She regarded her as the apple of her eye.
Whatever Lü Baiwei wanted to do, she would support unconditionally.
Nanny Mei steadied herself and asked, "Your Ladyship, what are you going to do next? You're not really going to test the poison on yourself and frame Caiyu with your own life, are you?"