Chapter 1394: Chapter 1372 Entering the Palace 1
Manbao maintained the speed of her horse while controlling the direction, and looked down to ask Eunuch Wu, "Does the Crown Prince know I am arriving in the capital today?"
Eunuch Wu smiled and said, "You mentioned you would take a month, so I calculated you would arrive in one or two days, and since yesterday, I’ve been waiting by the city gate. Oh, Doctor Zhou Junior, should we stop to have a chat? This cart needs to avoid people, and if we’re not careful, it might crash."
Manbao reined in her horse and looked around, Bai Shan used his horsewhip to point ahead, "Let’s go there and stop at the alley entrance."
There were few people there, and in Bai Shan’s memory, that alley seemed to be a dead-end, so there were hardly any people at the entrance.
The group moved forward, and Manbao along with three others jumped off their horses, grasping the hands of their escorts to descend, and curiously watched Eunuch Wu as he alighted from the carriage in front.
Eunuch Wu, upon getting out of the carriage, greeted all three of them and then said, "Doctor Zhou Junior, now that you’re in the capital, why not enter the palace to meet His Highness first?"
Manbao glanced at her clothes and said, "I am weary from travel, haven’t washed or changed clothes, it’s too discourteous."
She said, "Why don’t I change clothes at home first?"
Eunuch Wu’s face showed difficulty, "This..."
Bai Shan had already taken out his purse, and without looking at the money inside, he directly handed it to Eunuch Wu, asking, "Eunuch, has something happened to His Highness?"
"Oh, don’t say that," Eunuch Wu pushed the purse back, and whispered, "Doctor Zhou Junior has been kind to us, keep this to buy treats for yourself."
He hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice, "His Highness drank the wrong wine recently..."
Manbao looked puzzled, "What do you mean by drinking the wrong wine?"
Eunuch Wu responded vaguely, "You’ll understand when you enter the palace and see for yourself. Because of this, the Emperor executed several people during the New Year, and Prince Gong didn’t even spend the seventh day in the capital, instead, he was sent directly back to Luozhou."
Prince Gong is the Third Prince, after leaving the capital to rule, he is habitually called Prince Gong.
Manbao was confused but looked at her clothes and said, "I should clean up first; we’ve been on the road for nine days with little washing."
Eunuch Wu did not block her further, just cheerfully said, "Shall I accompany you home?"
"Alright."
Originally intending to stroll down the street and buy some food, the group instead obediently returned to Changqing Alley.
The gatekeeper at Changqing Alley opened the door and exclaimed happily upon seeing them, while removing the threshold to let them in, "I thought the young masters would arrive in a couple of days, and planned with the Zhou family’s young masters and miss to start waiting at the city gate tomorrow, did not expect them to arrive today."
Bai Shan handed his horse over to him and said, "Go and notify the house at Elms Alley, the elders are entering the city now, quickly tidy up the courtyard, make room for the carriage, and prepare warm water, also tidy up Old Madam’s and Madam’s rooms..."
Manbao was already leading the three inside and pointed to her room saying to Sanya, "This is my room, that’s Erya’s, choose one to stay in. The other two, rest in Fourth Brother’s room and decide where to stay later."
She ran to the kitchen and bumped into Aunt Rong coming out, hearing the commotion, Manbao held her and said, "Aunt Rong, I want to wash, is there hot water?"
"No," Aunt Rong replied, "I’ll go boil some now. Miss Man, why didn’t you send a message ahead if you were coming back? We could have gone to fetch you."
"Any messenger would surely be slower than us," Manbao shook Aunt Rong’s arm, "I need to enter the palace immediately to tend to the Crown Prince, I’ll give you a red envelope when I return."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Rong immediately said, "That’s urgent, find your clothes first. I was just about to prepare lunch, the stove is hot, pour water and you can boil it."
Manbao agreed happily and went back to find clothes.
Bai Shan arranged for someone to notify Elms Alley and the restaurant, and rolled up his sleeves to tidy up the courtyard for the carriage.
He checked the guest room, intending to ask Xiang Ming and his brother, but found no one at home to question.
Bai Erlang saw everyone busy and began showing Eunuch Wu to the hall, only to find the teacup empty, teapot clean and dry, not a drop of water inside.
Sanya walked in with a stern expression, took the teapot from him without looking sideways, turned to leave, and ran to the kitchen as soon as she stepped out.
The other two also rolled up their sleeves and started working, especially in the kitchen.
Due to New Year, there were few people in the house, Aunt Rong let two helpers go home for the festival, and shortly many would return requiring lunch, but there was rice and flour, yet little vegetable.
Thus the cook lit the fire and started organizing guards to buy meat and vegetables, while the others retrieved some cabbages from the cellar, preparing vegetables according to what’s available, also washing rice for cooking.
Eunuch Wu, without a sip of water, couldn’t sit still, so started walking around the lively courtyard, feeling somewhat dazed.
Seeing Bai Shan carrying flower pots to the garden, he turned to ask Bai Erlang, "Do the young masters still do their own chores?"
Bai Erlang logically said, "We’re just tidying up, otherwise it will be busy once the carriage returns."
Hot water was ready, and although Manbao wanted to wash her hair, it was clear the cold weather wouldn’t allow it to dry quickly. Not daring to risk exposing herself to the cold with wet hair, she only washed and changed clothing before stepping out.
She turned empty-handed to Eunuch Wu and said, "My medicine chest is still outside the city."
Eunuch Wu immediately asserted, "These things are all available in the palace, Doctor Zhou Junior, just come with us into the palace."
Once busy Bai Shan found himself beside Manbao, somewhat worried, "Shall I escort you?"
Manbao was accustomed to entering the palace, and having met the Crown Prince several times, felt he wasn’t unreasonable, shook her head, "No, you stay; the teacher and Grandma Liu will return soon."
Bai Shan could only see them off, watching as they boarded the carriage and left.
The other stood beside Bai Shan, waiting for the carriage to depart before asking, "Uncle, is entering the palace dangerous?"
Bai Shan was startled by being called "Uncle," his soul nearly flew out of his head, ears flushed red, swallowing dryly he said, "It’s... it’s okay, just worried about news from the palace."
Upon hearing this, he sighed with relief, and waved, "Don’t worry, if relying on luck, Aunt’s luck is usually very good."
Bai Shan nodded, was about to turn with the other to go back inside, then saw Xiang Ming leaning on a cane with Xiang Chao approaching slowly from the alley, seeing Bai Shan, surprised said, "You returned?"
Bai Shan immediately supported him from the other side along with Xiang Chao, helped him inside, then asked, "Do you know what happened to the Crown Prince during the New Year?"