Reding arrives at the pantry.
Seeing that she was alone, Lan Cao knew that something had happened to Green Lawn and said to the other, “You go back first, I’ll cover for Green Lawn.”
Today the emperor was not in a good mood and they served carefully, so the other palace maid did not rush to stay and nodded her head.
When the people had gone, Hong Ying thanked them and went forward to bring up the tea from the steeping.
“You be careful.” Lan Cao instructed.
“Got it, you rest for a while too.”
The four of them were the only ones in charge of the tea, and although they worked in two shifts, they got along as close sisters on a regular basis.
Hong Ying went out of the pantry and placed the pills in the tea by the act of straightening the tray. The pills melted into the water and soon became one with the tea.
Hong Ying took a few deep breaths.
It was not that she was not afraid.
If something happened to the emperor, the first to suffer would be them. Her move would bring her other sisters down with her, but Her Lady Consort Xian had not only saved her back then, she had also been sending people to look after her family. Her father has recovered from his illness, her elder brother and second brother have gotten married, and her younger sister and brothers have no worries about food and clothing.
After taking a few more deep breaths, Hong Ying entered the imperial study through the side door, carrying the tea and placing it silently by the emperor’s hand as she always did, before standing to one side and collecting her breath, like an invisible person.
The atmosphere in the imperial study was so oppressive that even Eunuch Huang hid in a corner today, not daring to breathe.
The rest of them, not to mention the rest of the people, hated to shrink themselves into a ball.
The Emperor threw his pen away violently.
All the palace attendants in the imperial study fell to their knees in fear.
“Huang De, you go to ……”
Halfway through the words, seeing the shivering palace staff, the emperor became even angrier, “All of you get out of here!”
The palace people all exited the imperial study in a moment.
Only Eunuch Huang was left alone in there.
Red Ying stood at the side entrance, watching her eyes and nose, regretting in her heart that she was in too much of a hurry, she should have waited before putting the pills in.
“You will leave the palace at once ……”
The emperor’s words came out faintly, Hong Ying pricked up her ears, but the words that followed could not be heard.
A moment later, Eunuch Huang hurried out of the imperial study.
After another moment, the Emperor’s furious voice came out, “Are they all dead? Change the tea!”
Hong Ying’s heart skipped a beat and she went in quickly, seeing the half-empty teapot, her heart fell back.
……
The eunuch did not go through the palace gate, he went out through the corner gate. The carriage was shaking the reins and the carriage sped off towards the front.
All the way to the north city where it stopped at the side entrance of a mansion.
If Song Wan Yue or Song Yin were here, they would have recognised it as the Wu family’s mansion.
When Liu Ying had saved his sister and niece and taken them to his home, this mansion had been left empty.
Because of the death of a man, no one usually came near it. After Liu Ying was stripped of his official position, he took his family and moved elsewhere, arranging for the Third Prince’s entourage to live here.
Eunuch Huang got down from the carriage, looked around and quickly went up to knock on the door, which was quickly opened.
“Eunuch Huang.”
Liu Ying and the Third Prince’s attendant waited in the door.
After knowing that Song Wangyue had entered the palace, he had come over here every day to wait for news; if Eunuch Huang didn’t come, it was good news; if Eunuch Huang came, it meant that Song Wangyue wasn’t infected and they still needed to take the next step.
For Song Wan Yue, he did not have such a great hatred at first, but the Emperor told him that Song Yin was Chu Yun Xiao, the son of King Qin, and it was because the Third Prince was unsure of Chu Yun Xiao’s true identity that he had followed him to the border. It took three years to investigate clearly, and he originally wanted to return to the capital to report the case, but Song Yin and Song Wan Yue had defected to the Second Prince first, and used the Second Prince’s hand to kill the Third Prince.
The Third Prince’s attendant said the same thing, and Liu Ying believed it. Naturally, he hated the two men to the bone and obeyed the Emperor’s secret order to bring things used by people who had smallpox into the palace, so that the Fourth Prince would contract smallpox and use it to get Song Wan Yue into the palace, so that she would also contract it.
If Song Wan Yue died, Song Yin would be in disarray and reveal his footprints. The emperor wants him to take great credit and take down Chu Yunxiao!
Unfortunately, Song Wan Yue was lucky enough not to be infected.
“His Majesty has ordered that the next step of the plan be carried out immediately.”
Liu Ying bowed, “Yes.”
“Commander Liu, be careful, the emperor is still counting on you.”
“Your Excellency, don’t worry, I will not fail the holy orders.”
Eunuch Huang nodded, but the corners of his mouth showed a trace of ridicule. He didn’t know how he had gotten into the position of Commander of the Featherwood Army in the first place, he was so stupid, how would the Emperor keep him alive when this was over?
Eunuch Huang came out of the courtyard and quickly got into the carriage that was parked in a hidden place.
Liu Ying and his entourage watched him leave before closing the door and going to the side courtyard.
In the three rooms on the far side of the house, two people lived in each, six in total, all of whom had smallpox and had been sent here by Eunuch Huang a few days before.
They did not know where Eunuch Huang had gotten these people, just as he had brought into the palace the clothes worn by the smallpox patients.
Along with these people came several packets of medicine, which the attendants would boil and give them to drink every day.
Of course there was no direct contact, but the bowls of medicine were left at the door of the room for them to come out and serve themselves.
Knowing that smallpox was extremely contagious, the two men did not dare to come close and stood in the courtyard.
Liu Ying took out six silver tickets and six simple maps and six slips of paper on the ground, placed them on the ground and raised his voice, “You can go home now, here are six silver tickets, later you will come out, one of you will take one silver ticket and one map. Remember, each of you must follow the map you have been given, and do as the slips of paper say along the way, and you will get silver when you have done well.”
There was silence in the room.
Liu Ying and his attendants withdrew from the courtyard and hid themselves in a hidden place to watch the scene.
When the doors to the three rooms were opened, six men came out of them one after the other and saw that there were indeed silver tickets on the floor.
They didn’t know what they had gotten, they only knew that when they arrived over here and did what the people over here said, they would get 500 taels each.
Five hundred taels, the family could not earn that much in several lifetimes.
“The corner gate is over there.”
Liu Ying voiced out.
All six were startled and looked towards where the voice was spoken.
Liu Ying did not show himself, “You can go now.”
The six looked at each other and each grabbed a map and ran out.
When they ran out of the mansion, Liu Ying and his entourage came out of the shadows, and did not go over to close the door, not to mention leaving the corner door open, even if the door was open, no one would come in this mansion.
“Go!”
The two men exited the mansion from the other side.
……
After the six men ran out of the mansion, they each followed the direction on the map.
One of them was probably in his thirties, dressed in a blue cedar, looking svelte and clean, and he walked in the direction of the Xu family.