Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 126 Gaze from the Shadows (2)

The lantern in Li Qingyue's hand seemed to be affected by the night wind, swaying gently, and the flickering light added a touch of eeriness.

Passing through the flowerbeds and a few ornamental trees, two figures came into view in the hazy distance. Amidst the rustling sounds, there were also some strange noises. Then…

"Who's there?"

A sharp shout rang out in the silent night.

Both figures trembled with fright.

When Li Qingyue walked over with the lantern in her hand, she found that one of the figures had disappeared, leaving only a woman standing under the tree trunk, frantically trying to button up her ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). However, in her panic, she couldn't button it up no matter what she did.

Her once neatly combed hair was now a mess, and there were traces of drool on her face.

Looking down, she could even see a man's pants. Li Qingyue's forehead immediately creased with annoyance. Even though she was a bit dim-witted, she now understood what those two were doing.

But the man was quick; he ran away naked.

Upon discovering the pair of lovers, the somewhat dim-witted Li Qingyue was not embarrassed at all. Instead, she took two more steps forward with her lantern and finally managed to make out the woman's appearance through the blurry light.

"Zhang Yan..." Then she exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be you?"

Indeed, the woman hurriedly tidying herself up under the tree was none other than Zhang Yan, one of Luo Yuheng's four personal maids. She was slightly younger than Li Qingyue, and usually appeared gentle and docile, speaking softly and appearing timid and honest. Li Qingyue never imagined that Zhang Yan would be having an affair with a man here.

Sure enough, the more honest a woman is, the more frightening things she does.

She could only think about such things occasionally, but she would never dare to actually do them.

Zhang Yan was also embarrassed: "Sister Qingyue...you, what are you doing here?"

“My master asked me to do something…” Li Qingyue shook her head vigorously: “No, this is not the time to talk about this. Zhang Yan, are you confused? If you really want to get married, just tell my master. You know what kind of person my master is. Why would he disagree? Why do you have to do this in secret?”

Li Qingyue's tone became increasingly serious, and eventually she even seemed quite angry: "In any other family, you would be beaten to death."

This is true.

Just like the imperial palace, although the number of the emperor's empress and concubines may not be too exaggerated, in name all the palace maids in the entire palace are also the emperor's women.

It's perfectly normal for someone to have sex with a few palace maids whenever the mood strikes.

Anyone who dares to seduce a palace maid is considered to be causing chaos in the palace and will have their entire family executed.

In most noble families, the maids within the family were essentially considered the master's women. The master could bestow them upon whomever he wished. If the master did not bestow them upon you and you tried to seduce someone on your own, you would be beaten to death.

Luo Yuheng was the eldest princess, and also a widow.

As the saying goes, a widow's door is always a source of gossip.

Even if a widowed woman is well-behaved and obedient, she may still be the target of gossips who fabricate all sorts of rumors about her.

If word got out that Zhang Yan was having a secret rendezvous with a man late at night, no one would target a maid. All the gossip would fall on Luo Yuheng. People would just say that if maids are like this, then their mistresses are no better, they're all shameless.

That's why Li Qingyue was so angry.

Zhang Yan's face turned pale and then red. In the heat of the moment, she couldn't remember anything, and now she was filled with fear.

It's only because Her Highness the Eldest Princess is kind-hearted that such a thing would happen to any other princess or county princess's maid, who would truly be drowned in a pig cage.

Fortunately, Zhang Yan had a good relationship with Li Qingyue. After much pleading and promising that she would never do such a foolish thing again, the anger on Li Qingyue's face gradually subsided. Slightly relieved, Zhang Yan was finally able to button up her clothes, comb her hair neatly, and her expression returned to normal: "By the way, Sister Qingyue, did the son-in-law go to see the master again today?"

"What did they talk about today that took so long?"

"We just discussed how to distribute porridge tomorrow. The son-in-law suggested that the master should make an appearance at both porridge stalls tomorrow so that these disaster victims would understand that they are able to survive entirely because of the master's kindness." Li Qingyue smiled and said, "That would be best. It would be great if we could personally serve some porridge and distribute steamed buns to some of the disaster victims."

"Or, select a few elderly people or children and offer them some warm greetings."

"The son-in-law said that this is called an image or a persona. I don't quite understand, but as long as we do this, our master will be seen as the best person in the hearts of these disaster victims."

"You know the situation you're in right now, Master. If we can win over the hearts of the people in Songzhou Prefecture, many things will become much easier."

“The son-in-law always comes up with some strange and wonderful ideas.” Zhang Yan nodded, admiring Song Yan, the son-in-law, in this respect. “But, won’t there be any danger? After all, those are disaster victims. What if they have any illnesses on them, and then they pass them on to the master…”

"It's alright. You know the young master is a miracle doctor. Even if there's some kind of illness, he can cure it." "That's true. But I think it's not good for the young master to come to see the master in the middle of the night all the time. If those noble ladies find out, they'll probably gossip about it to death."

Li Qingyue flicked Zhang Yan's forehead hard, annoyed: "You have the nerve to say that? Mind your own business first."

With a cry of pain, the two figures gradually disappeared into the night, and the sky returned to tranquility once more.

Song Yan had already returned to her bedroom.

Gu Banxia had already prepared the bed and other bedding.

Song Yan slept very soundly that night.

The next day.

The sky cleared up completely.

Just as Song Yan opened her eyes in bed, there was a series of knocks on the door. It was Yang Siyao standing outside.

Yang Siyao's brows were tightly furrowed. She seemed to have completely recovered from the news of her sister's death, or perhaps she had completely transformed her sister's death into hatred for the Yang family. Her mind seemed to be constantly thinking, and her eyes seemed to be filled with countless thoughts.

Yang Siyao didn't say much, just nodded slightly, and the two left the Luo residence together.

The situation inside the city has become rather bad.

Last night, Luo Yuheng estimated that the number of disaster victims in Ningping County today might exceed one thousand, but in reality, it seems that there are at least three thousand, let alone one thousand.

The large number of disaster victims inevitably made the atmosphere in the city tense.

Especially after hearing that the Luo family was going to distribute porridge today, many disaster victims and beggars gathered around the Luo family's house, constantly pleading that Her Highness the Princess would have mercy and give them something to eat. The disaster victims in Songzhou Prefecture were in a better situation; they had only been hungry and cold for a couple of days. But the refugees who had come from the north because of the war, and the disaster victims who had come from the south because of the floods, were in a worse situation. They all looked pale, sad, and anxious.

There were footsteps behind me.

It was Luo Yuheng.

She was accompanied by three maids. Apart from Lu Wan, who was too old, Tao Yun, Li Qingyue, and Zhang Yan were all with her. There was even a maid who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old timidly following behind.

This maid seems to have been recruited recently; even Song Yan has only seen her a few times.

Her face looked ordinary, but her figure was petite yet voluptuous. Perhaps because it was her first time going out on business with her master, she looked trembling with fear, especially when she saw the dense crowd of disaster victims outside the Luo family's gate. The fear in her eyes intensified.

When they saw Luo Yuheng appear, although these disaster victims probably had never seen the princess before, they could tell from Luo Yuheng's attire that she was the owner of the house, and various pleas immediately arose.

Looking at the large group of ragged disaster victims in front of him, Luo Yuheng's eyes flashed with some pity.

These are all citizens of Ningguo.

The fact that the royal family has fallen to this state is a dereliction of duty.

"Let's set up another soup kitchen at the Luo family's place," Luo Yuheng said, taking a deep breath.

"Tianquan, take a few dozen guards and take charge of the soup kitchen near the East Gate."

"Yan'er, you also take a few dozen guards with you. The soup kitchen near the West Gate will be your responsibility."

"Tian Shu, you are now the magistrate of Ningping County. You will lead the county's constables and be responsible for maintaining public order."

"Tianyang, take some guards and go into the city to find those refugees. Tell them that there is porridge and steamed buns at both city gates and in front of the Luo family's house."

In one breath, Luo Yuheng issued a series of orders.

Her refined and capable nature as the eldest princess gradually became apparent at this time.

However, with such a large-scale mobilization of personnel, more than half of the hundred-plus guards in the Luo family mansion were instantly lost, leaving only a small number. They quickly set up sheds and pot racks in front of the Luo family mansion.

As the bright white millet was thrown into cold water, and flames danced around it, many disaster victims' eyes filled with anticipation.

However, no one noticed that a disaster victim in the crowd had a strange smile on his lips, and his eyes were filled with excitement.

(End of this chapter)