After the two conversations with the Emperor and Empress Dowager in the palace, the rest of Bai Luochu"s morning pa.s.sed by before she knew it. The sun was suspended high up in the sky and it was clearly time for lunch.
Bai Luochu had spent an entire morning exhausting a great deal of stamina and energy. Her stomach expressed its anger with loud rumbling noises. As soon as she walked out of the palace gates, she saw the coachman waiting by the door.
Bai Luochu immediately boarded the carriage and spoke, "I have made this big brother wait for a long time. It is already noon and I am hungry. Can I trouble big brother to drive back to the residence quickly?"
The coachman didn"t say anything and simply nodded before swinging the horsewhip. As the carriage rushed off at a thunderous pace, the coachman steered it towards the First Prince"s residence.
That coachman steered the carriage traveling at a high speed, causing inevitable b.u.mps along the way. Bai Luochu was currently starved and when she alighted the carriage, she felt that her steps were lighter than before.
When Zi Su saw that Bai Luochu wasn"t back even after a long time, she stood at the entrance. Seeing how light-headed Bai Luochu was as she walked into the residence, Zi Su quickly asked,. "Young… Divine Physician Bai, what happened? Are you feeling unwell?"
Bai Luochu shook her head and raised her hand to point into the residence. Zi Su had been serving Bai Luochu for quite some time and naturally knew that Bai Luochu wanted to return to her room quickly. Zi Su immediately supported Bai Luochu into the First Prince"s residence.
After entering her chamber, Bai Luochu had already suppressed that uncomfortable feeling from the carriage ride.
There was an awful expression on Bai Luochu"s face and the moment she took off the mask, Zi Su reacted. She poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Bai Luochu. "Young Lady better drink a cup of tea to relieve yourself. This servant will serve your meal right now. Young Lady must be extremely hungry and became sick on the b.u.mpy ride back. This servant will open up the windows to ventilate the place. Young Lady, please close your eyes and rest for a moment. After this servant finishes setting up the meal, Young Lady should be feeling a little better."
Zi Su left after speaking and went to the kitchen to fetch Bai Luochu"s lunch. Thinking about how uncomfortable Bai Luochu was feeling, she picked up something light before returning.
This trip took her enough time for a stick of incense to burn. Bai Luochu had also gradually recovered and she felt that her stomach was about to cave in. When Zi Su placed out all the dishes, she immediately gorged herself.
"Young Lady, slow down a little. You are not feeling well and if you eat so quickly, you might hurt your stomach." When Zi Su saw how Bai Luochu was eating in a hurry, she spoke with concern.
When Bai Luochu saw that Zi Su was anxious, she replied, "Don"t worry, I am just famished. I didn"t manage to eat enough in the morning before entering the palace. When I was providing treatment to the Empress Dowager, I used up a lot of my strength. I was even summoned by the Emperor afterwards… Only after everything did I get the chance to return. How can I not be starving after all that?"
After Bai Luochu spoke, she stuffed a bunch of vegetables in her mouth.
When Zi Su heard it, she spoke out of turn, "Young Lady, is the Emperor suspicious about the matter? Do we need to report this matter to His Highness?"
"There is no need. His Highness will get to know of this matter soon enough. His Majesty simply looked for me and offered me a position in the Imperial Physician Court."
"Then did Young Lady agree? Actually, it might not be a bad thing!" When Zi Su heard it, she proposed in a soft voice.
"Sss, look at you. You were just worried about my ident.i.ty leaking a moment ago. Now, you"re in a hurry to put me right under the Emperor"s watchful eye. Are you afraid that my sin of deceiving the Emperor isn"t enough? Will you only be happy after I die?"
For a moment, Bai Luochu felt that Zi Su was rather inconsiderate and didn"t think through her words thoroughly
"Young Lady please forgive me. This servant didn"t consider it through and was only thinking of improving Young Lady"s reputation. I forgot about the problem with Young Lady"s ident.i.ty… This servant definitely doesn"t intend to bring harm to the Young Lady."
After hearing what Bai Luochu said, Zi Su understood that she truly didn"t consider this matter thoroughly. She hurriedly knelt down to ask for forgiveness.
Bai Luochu was simply thinking of mocking Zi Su a little but didn"t expect her to treat it so seriously. She was even on her knees, asking for forgiveness. Bai Luochu immediately went over to Zi Su to help her up.
"You are always thinking about all these trivial matters. Right now, I am residing in the First Prince"s residence and my movements aren"t restricted. This First Prince"s residence doesn"t only provide good meals and clothes, they even provide me with spirit medicine that I need for cultivation. I am not willing to part with such carefree days and of course I don"t want to become a servant in the Imperial Physician Court. There, I will have to work every single day.."
"Now that I do not have to worry about food or clothing, coupled with the respect I receive from the imperial clan and commoners alike… Let me ask you, since ancient times, has there been anyone with such achievements?"
Zi Su thought about it for a moment and when she was certain that no one had the same level of accomplishment as Bai Luochu, she shook her head prudently.
"Thus, with my current reputation, there is no need for me to obtain a "prestigious" position in the Imperial Physician Court. Furthermore, my medical skills might be real, but my ident.i.ty is fake. If I really enter the palace, there is no way for me to hide my ident.i.ty anymore. The moment I"m exposed, my achievements will never be able to compensate for my sins."
After all the chatting, all the food on the table was almost gone. Bai Luochu asked Zi Su to clean up all the leftovers before settling down in front of the table. She felt a little sleepy after ingesting so much food. Bai Luochu decided to take a nap before cultivating again.
"Did she really say that?" The First Prince was listening to the secret guard who repeated the words Bai Luochu said.
"Yes, Your Highness. It is absolutely true. They are Young Lady Luochu"s exact words. This subordinate doesn"t dare to lie."
"Alright, I understand. Go back and monitor her. If anything similar happens, report back to me." After the First Prince gave his instructions, he went back to practicing his calligraphy.
In response, the secret guard withdrew silently. In an instant, the First Prince"s study room regained its silence.
When Bai Luochu woke up, it was already late in the afternoon. Bai Luochu shook her head to clear her mind and she drank a cup of water before starting her cultivation.
This time, she cultivated using the medicinal ingredients provided by Pei Qingfeng. She purified the medicinal ingredients before consuming one of them. She used her spirit qi to envelop the medicinal effects as she circulated it through her meridians.
Before evening came, Bai Luochu ended her cultivation session.
She noticed that the speed of her cultivation had increased by a huge amount recently. Because of that, she was afraid she might go berserk if she continued down this path. Hence, she wasn"t in such a hurry anymore.
"It seems like the weight on my mind is much lesser compared to before. How else can I increase my cultivation so much in a single day?"
Bai Luochu muttered softly and hoped that she would still be able to improve at the same speed in the coming days. Soon, she would no longer be able to lead such a carefree life.