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Chapter 221
Chapter 221
Chapter 221
[World 3] The Imperial Concubine Cast Aside to the Doghouse (1.3)
Although the courtyard was certainly large, it nevertheless seemed completely desolate, only filled with sporadically grown trees and countless weeds. While the door to the courtyard was locked from the outside with chains, there appeared to be a smaller opening purposely built for people to send in food and other daily necessities. However, since even those bastards wouldn’t even send them such basic needs, it was also locked from the outside.
Walking an entire lap around the courtyard, Chu Xiang looked around meticulously and finally discovered a small field growing with thicket fruits.
Zi Yu was pleasantly surprised. “Master, there are fruits growing here! Since the weeds had been blocking them from my line of sight, I had never once noticed them.” She crouched down, plucked out one of the fruits, and placed it into her mouth. “Let me try the fruit first. If it’s edible, Master won’t have to starve anymore.”
Meanwhile, Chu Xiang retracted the spiritual energy she used to probe out the fruit. In fact, the spiritual energy had another use in this world; she could use it to see whether or not there are any harmful substances within her food. If the spiritual energy didn’t react negatively, that would mean that the food is safe to consume. If it got repelled by the object, it would mean that it possessed some sort of harmful substance within. With that, she could now safely say that the fruit was safe to eat.
“Next time, don’t act so rashly. If something happens to you, wouldn’t I be left alone here?”
Zi Yu laughed. “I was simply concerned about your well-being. Since Master hasn’t eaten for the past two days, you must be starving.”
Rubbing on her own stomach, she continued, “Master, this fruit seems to be safe for consumption. I don’t feel any sort of discomfort. It’s just that the fruit is somewhat astringent.”
Chu Xiang nodded her head. “Let’s pick out all the fruits and bring them back inside to eat.”
“Yes.”
The maid folded part of her dress into a small pocket and carefully picked out the fruits.
Meanwhile, Chu Xiang explored elsewhere within the courtyard and discovered that a part of the wall was damaged behind a pile of weeds. Since the stones had become quite loose, the pieces of rocks that made up the wall fell down with a light push from Chu Xiang, creating a small opening where one could easily crawl through.
Squatting down next to the opening in the wall, Chu Xiang tidied up the pieces of rocks around and looked outside. On the other side of the wall seemed to be a remote road rarely taken by anyone. As dusk was already drawing near, she could not quite see too far out without enough light.
Pondering for a moment, she stood back up and went back to help Zi Yu carry the fruits inside. “Let’s go outside to have a look around late at night.”
Slightly startled by her remarks, Zi Yu said, “How could we do that? If we were to be discovered by the guards, Concubine Hui would definitely take advantage of the opportunity to sentence you to death! Master, what do you intend to do by sneaking out? You should just have me go out instead as you must not put yourself in danger.”
Taking a bite of the fruit, Chu Xiang gazed out the window. “I can’t just stay here like a sitting duck while my parents are still out there waiting for me to rescue them. I’m going out to see whether or not I can come up with a plan. It would be pointless to have you go out in my stead.”
Seeing how Zi Yu wanted to convince her otherwise, Chu Xiang lifted her hand to stop her from doing so. She looked her in the eyes. “As matters stand, we can’t afford to make even a single misstep. What I need right now is not a loyal and devoted person who is willing to sacrifice themselves for me. I can’t simply sit and wait here for the heavens to show concern for me either. I need to go out on my own to look for a way, do you understand?”
To be honest, Zi Yu had already lost all hope in their current circumstances. At this moment, she could only hope that her master’s celestial appearance could perhaps cause the emperor to have a change of mind.
Although she had no idea what her master was planning, she didn’t want to cause any sort of trouble for her either. Thus, she quickly nodded her head and pledged to let her master do what she wanted.
“Stay here for tonight. If anyone happens to come over, make sure to think of a way to cover me up. I will try to return as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Master.”
After eating some of the fruits and taking a drink of the rainwater, Chu Xiang could at long last feel that her hunger was satisfied. Ordering Zi Yu to rest inside the house, she alone crawled out through the small opening in the wall, distinguished the directions from the starry sky, and headed north in the midst of the night.
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