Chapter 1502 - 1500: Empty Inside
Chapter 1502: Chapter 1500: Empty Inside
Chapter 1500
"Is that really all there is to it?"
Xia Ruqing seemed unconvinced.
If it were really just that the number of disaster victims was increasing, just a shortage of food, and they could soon receive supplies from Jiangnan.
Then why did Chenchen urgently summon Zhao Junyao over?
If there weren’t any other difficulties, it would just be that.
Chenchen has been steady and skilled since childhood; he couldn’t possibly be unable to handle such a minor problem.
So... they must be hiding something from me.
Maybe even Zi Yue knows something.
Perhaps they’re all in cahoots, hiding it all from me.
To this, Zi Yue exclaimed: "I’m innocent!"
Seeing her mistress didn’t believe her, she hurried to explain.
"I’m just a servant; matters of national importance are beyond me! The Emperor and the Taishang Huang wouldn’t let me know!"
"Besides, if the Emperor and the Taishang Huang intended to keep it from you, they certainly wouldn’t tell me!"
"Think about it, doesn’t that make sense?"
Xia Ruqing pondered and agreed, immediately feeling relieved and smiling.
"Sorry, I was too nervous!"
When people get anxious, they tend to become paranoid, easily suspecting everything.
Zi Yue quickly knelt down.
"I wouldn’t dare!"
"Don’t worry, madam; it’s just that there are too many victims in the city, and there have been a few fights, but that’s genuinely all I’ve heard!"
Seeing her sincerity, Xia Ruqing finally relaxed.
"I suppose that must be it!"
After all, Guangnan is so vast, with so many people affected by disaster.
Having suffered the devastation of storms and landslides, their homes may have long been in tatters.
Anyone who survived would surely want to come to the city to find some food, to grab a chance to survive?
Zi Yue was also secretly relieved and stepped forward to support her.
"How long have you been out, madam? You must be tired!"
"Let me help you back to rest!"
Xia Ruqing nodded and let Zi Yue help her back to the room.
...
In the blink of an eye, the morning passed.
At lunchtime, Zi Yue, as usual, brought various dishes from the small kitchen.
Almost the same as when Zhao Junyao was present.
The ingredients were fresh, with both meat and vegetables, light in flavor, beautifully presented and aromatic, making them very appetizing at first glance.
However, Xia Ruqing looked around but felt no appetite at all.
Normally a person who loved gourmet food, someone for whom one bowl of rice was never enough, now had no appetite whatsoever.
Zi Yue was a bit anxious.
"Madam, tell me what you’d like to eat, and I’ll have them make it again!"
Xia Ruqing shook her head, a dim expression on her face.
"Forget it, I really can’t eat!"
"Take it away!"
Zi Yue frowned with worry.
"How can this be?"
"You didn’t eat this morning either; what will happen if you don’t eat at noon? What if you starve?"
"If the Taishang Huang later blames us, we couldn’t bear it!"
At the mention of ’Taishang Huang,’ Xia Ruqing’s eyes lit up suddenly but then dimmed again right away.
"Ha..." she let out a bitter smile.
"Who knows when he’ll be back!"
Zi Yue fell silent.
"Indeed, she didn’t know when the Taishang Huang would return either, so she could only offer some comfort."
"Once the people in the city are settled and everything’s in order, maybe the Taishang Huang will return!"
"Madam, don’t worry too much!"
Xia Ruqing stared blankly at Zi Yue, feeling bitter inside.
"Silly girl..."
"If things were truly that simple..."
If it were really as Zi Yue said, then why would Zhao Junyao leave her alone here?
No matter how dangerous the city might be, it wouldn’t be too much for a woman like her.
They must be hiding something from her.
Zhao Junyao, once again you’ve deceived me!
She didn’t eat a bite before rising from the table.
She returned to the inner chamber, lay down facing inward, and the pent-up emotions, finding a breakthrough, rushed out.
Tears flowed uncontrollably.
Zi Yue was anxious, wanting to step forward to comfort, but was stopped by Zi Ning.
"Sister, let madam be alone for a while!"
Zi Yue worriedly hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not go in to disturb.
She closed the door to the inner room and instructed the servants to clear away the untouched dishes.
Then the two of them left together.
...
They didn’t go far, sitting on the stone steps of the veranda outside the room.
The two sat shoulder to shoulder, resting their cheeks on their hands, each more troubled than the other.
"Sister Zi Yue, what exactly is happening in the city?" Zi Ning couldn’t help but ask.
Zi Yue shook her head.
"I really don’t know!"
"As servants, if the masters don’t instruct us, we have no place to speak!"
"Moreover, this is a matter of national affairs, the kind of thing most strictly forbidden!"
Zi Ning nodded at her words, then asked again.
"Do you think something has happened in the city?"
Zi Yue shook her head firmly once more.
"Something must be wrong, they say this disaster is unprecedented in a hundred years!"
"What about the Emperor and the Taishang Huang?" Zi Ning pursued further.
Her intuition told her Zi Yue knew something.
Unexpectedly, Zi Yue used the same explanation as before.
"I merely went to deliver medicine!"
"The masters are so busy; how would I get a chance to see them!"
"I only saw Eunuch Li Deming! He’s busy too!"
"Looking at those dark circles under his eyes, it seems he hasn’t been sleeping either!"
She spoke vividly, as if it were true.
This time, not only Zi Ning believed it.
Even Xia Ruqing, who was listening with ears perked up from behind the wall, began to doubt herself.
’Could I have really misunderstood Zhao Junyao? Was it really just my imagination running wild?’
But why does her heart hurt so much?
Hurts like something has been gouged out.
She rubbed her chest, wiped away her tears, and calmed her emotions a bit.
She began to ponder the origins of the matter and Zhao Junyao’s reactions in the past few days.
Looking at him, it seemed like he really didn’t know, like he was called over last minute.
Maybe...
Perhaps it really was just some unexpected situation in the city?
Maybe... she had just overreacted and misunderstood him?
She shook her head and took a long, deep breath, her mood gradually returning to calmness.
Once relaxed, she fell asleep with her eyes closed.
When she awoke, it was already the middle of the afternoon.
Having eaten little all day, she was, in fact, awakened by hunger.
Fortunately, Zi Yue had already prepared all the dishes and kept them warm in the pot, ready to be served up as soon as she woke up.
So she didn’t really suffer much from hunger.
After getting up, washing up, she started eating the hot meal.
With stomach filled and thirst quenched, she felt much more at ease.
She took a walk around the yard with Zi Yue and Zi Ning to digest the food.
Only then did she finally recover.
Zi Yue was completely relieved, and Zi Ning finally smiled.
"The moon is lovely tonight, madam; why not watch it for a while if you feel up to it!"
Xia Ruqing forced a smile, nodding, sitting under the veranda staring at the bright moon.
She couldn’t help but sigh inside.
Alas! No matter what they say or what Zhao Junyao does, she just couldn’t completely believe it.
Her heart still felt hollow.
Maybe with age, the fear of loss only grows.