Chapter 339

"Here, drink some water," Mu Heng said to the young court lady after bringing her back to his manor.

Next to him, Yueqian was examining the girl’s injuries. It seemed that her body was covered in bruises. Even though she had only been beaten slightly today, her body was already full of wounds, which made the new injuries more severe.

"Do you get beaten like this every time?" Yueqian asked. She couldn’t understand why this child always allowed herself to be treated so harshly. Even if it was for delicious food, was it really worth more than her life?

The young court lady didn’t respond. She just clutched the blanket Yueqian had given her and cried silently. Today, she felt like she had done something monumental. For the first time, she had refused someone, even if it meant risking her life. It felt like a significant change, even if no one else knew it, she was well aware of it.

"Alright, if you don’t want to answer, just rest. I’ve disinfected and applied medicine to your wounds. There’s no need to worry about them now. Rest and regain your strength," Yueqian, seeing the girl buried in the soft blankets, didn’t press further and let the wounded girl rest in her own way.

However, just as Yueqian was about to leave, the young court lady grabbed her sleeve tightly, preventing her from going. Though the girl didn’t say anything, it seemed she wanted Yueqian to stay quietly by her side to feel at ease.

Time passed, and after the young girl finally fell asleep, Yueqian returned to her room to rest. But she didn’t have much time for herself. It took a long time for the exhausted girl to fall asleep, so Yueqian missed the chance to give the breakfast menu. The chef like Yang Ji sensed something was off and prepared hot rice porridge for breakfast instead.

When Yueqian woke up, breakfast was brought to her. It was a fragrant and appetizing fish porridge. Yang Ji delivered it herself and mentioned that the young court lady had suddenly barged into the kitchen to ask for food. At first, Yang Ji didn’t recognize who she was and almost drove her away, but then remembered that outsiders wouldn’t be able to enter the residence easily, so she let the girl have the porridge first.

When they heard that the young court lady, despite her severe injuries, had regained consciousness as soon as she smelled food, Yueqian and Mu Heng exchanged amused glances.

Soon after, the young court lady, with a full belly, approached Yueqian and Mu Heng. She said that she liked this manor even more than the capital, which made Yueqian want to laugh.

"So, you want to follow us?"

"Yes," the young court lady, despite her awkwardness, had once worked in the palace. When it came to manners, aside from her eating habits, she was quite well-behaved.

"Umm, that’s good. But the enemies who want your life won’t give up easily. For now, stay hidden in the manor. Don’t go out wandering around."

"Understood. With all the food here, I can definitely stay," the young court lady laughed.

This place was much better than the palace, where she would only get a piece or two of food. The rice there wasn’t as tasty either, because she had to wait until the higher-ups finished eating first. Next came the head court ladies, followed by the senior court ladies. By the time the food reached her, only plain rice was left—sometimes just broth.

But in this manor, things were peculiar. When she went to ask for food, she saw that many workers and soldiers lined up early in the morning for their meals. It seemed to be a daily routine. The food of the manor’s master was set aside, and the rest was for the rest of the workers.

Moreover, the food that the master and the workers ate was the same. When the master ate well, so did everyone else.

Above all, if someone wasn’t full, they could go back for more. She had never seen anything like this before. She even checked if any workers were as thin as her, but found none!

Even the laundry workers were well-fed and had no marks from water damage on their hands. This showed the master’s true care for everyone!

No wonder the young court lady preferred to stay here.

"That’s good, then. Well, you don’t have any duties right now, but to keep you from wandering around, I’ll ask you to help make some simple medicines, like those for treating wounds. Not poisons, but healing medicines. Can you do that?"

Yueqian handed a small jar of medicine to the other party. The young court lady sniffed it with her nose and then nodded. She understood the process easily from the scent, so Yueqian asked her to demonstrate by making a pot. The young court lady completed it in just 20 minutes, exactly as Yueqian would have done. So, the young woman was quite pleased with her.

"Very good. By the way, what’s your name?"

"I don’t have one," the young girl shook her head. She couldn’t remember her name. She only ever heard herself called "court lady" or "glutton." Sometimes, it was harsher, like "greedy pig" or "fool girl." In the end, all the bad names fell upon her!

"Hmm? Is that so? Then what should I call you?"

"You can call me glutton or fool. Everyone else does," the young court lady laughed bitterly. Despite this, she had grown accustomed to it.

"Don’t speak so harshly. In this manor, we don’t use bad language. You need to be careful in case my Xihao hears you. He’s still young and in the learning phase, so coarse language should not be used."

"B-But..."

"If you don’t have a name, how about I call you “Zhi Zhen”? Does that sound good?" Yueqian suggested. In truth, she wasn’t worried about Xihao hearing bad words. He came from another world and was mature enough to understand more than the young girl. However, Yueqian said this to help the girl stop thinking negatively about herself.

"Zhi Zhen...?" The young court lady was a bit surprised to suddenly have a new name.

Although she wasn’t well-educated, she knew that "Zhi Zhen" sounded like the name of a princess. She had heard the other person said that "Zhi meant wisdom’ and "Zhen meant truth.’ So, if she were called Zhi Zhen, it would mean truly wise, right? How could a valuable name like that be fitting for a fool like her?

"Don’t you like it?" Yueqian raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing the court lady’s reaction.

"I-it’s not that I don’t like it, but... can I really use that name? I mean, I’m..." The young court lady wanted to say that she was foolish, but she couldn’t speak it out loud. The mistress had ordered no foul language in the manor, so she couldn’t call herself foolish.

"I think it suits you. You can understand the methods of concocting medicine just by smelling it. That’s why I want to give you the name Zhi Zhen. Use your intelligence for good. For starters, the healing medicine I asked you to make will be distributed to everyone in Mu Manor, including the soldiers. As long as they have your medicine, they can train with peace of mind. This will be your responsibility until Huan’er is old enough to open her own hospital. Until then, I ask you to take care of the Mu family."

"I-I will take care of the Mu family!" Zhi Zhen was stunned. She had never imagined she would be entrusted with such an important duty.

"Why? You think you can’t do it?" Yueqian asked.

"Furen trusts you this much. Don’t disappoint her," Fan Yu said calmly from beside her.

Zhi Zhen sat there quietly, not responding, but her eyes had turned red.

"Show your respect to the mistress," Yang Ji, who had just entered, said. She handed a bowl of sweet ginger soup with glutinous rice balls to the mistress. The young girl’s eyes followed the fragrant aroma with excitement before looking at Furen Mu Yueqian.

"Y-Yes!"

"Good. Now go have some dessert to cleanse your palate. Most men don’t like sweets, so it’s usually just us women who enjoy them. It would be a shame to let Yang Ji’s desserts go to waste," Yueqian waved off the former young court lady who had now become her Zhi Zhen.

"I... I..." Zhi Zhen wanted to ask if she could really have the dessert, but seeing that no one else seemed to mind, she followed Yang Ji quietly with excitement.

After the small figure left, Fan Yu spoke up.

"This child has great talent. It’s surprising that the people of the Hu Region didn’t know how to use her."

"It’s not that they didn’t know how to use her, but rather they never discovered her potential. The person who took her was a scoundrel, taking advantage of her and harming her spirit to this extent!" Yueqian felt furious when she spoke of it. If it hadn’t been for her husband accidentally noticing someone spying yesterday, Zhi Zhen might have been dead today.

It’s a significant loss to the medical field. Someone with this much talent, if used for the benefit of the region... is far more valuable than those useless individuals!

"What will you do about those people, Miss?" Fan Yu asked.

Yueqian shook her head in response. No matter how much she despised those vile people, it wasn’t the right time to deal with them. It was crucial to first restore the trust of the Wang Region princess and expose the treacherous plans of the Wu Region, which was colluding with other Regions to destroy their relationships.

This required careful and gradual planning. Acting rashly would only hasten the onset of war!

"That matter can only be dealt with after the princess of the Wang Region is being treated," Yueqian relaxed her mood. Even though she wished to prevent the war, if it had to happen, she just hoped for the safety of her family.

She didn’t care about what happened to others. If the situation became unmanageable, she would have to rely on her master.

Mu Heng stood beside her, unaware of his wife’s thoughts. But his mind right now was filled with disdain for the hostage prince of the Wu Region, who pretended to be weak but schemed behind their backs. Such a shameless man. If the man he disliked the most was the Young General surnamed Deng, then this hostage prince was a close second! Both were utterly shameless!

However, the warmth and comfort in the reception hall couldn’t last long. After they finished breakfast, soldiers from the Hu Region palace arrived, summoning Royal Physician Mu to the palace immediately. They had heard that the condition of the princess from the Wang Region had suddenly worsened, and she seemed to be on the brink of death!

Yueqian and Mu Heng had the same thought. It appeared that the vile man feared his plan would fail after letting the young court lady escape, so he was speeding up the process.

After all, his objective was nearly achieved!

The Wang Region had learned how their princess suffered before her death. They certainly wouldn’t let this matter end easily. Although killing the princess so quickly might have been too sudden and unsatisfying for someone as sadistic as him, in order to achieve a greater goal, he had to continue with his plan.Accelerate the onset of war between the allied regions!