When Yan Liqiang returned to the cabin, it was already evening and the sun was about to set.
Walking to the door of the cabin, Yan Liqiang took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then pushed open the door.
The fire in the wooden house was still burning brightly. There was an iron pot on the fire. The water in the pot was boiling. The unique smell of ginger soup filled the cabin.
Concubine Rui was stirring the soup in the pot with a spoon, while Concubine Duan was fanning the fire with a fan made of leaves. Concubine Yi was sitting on the side, with her hands on her knees, staring at the ginger soup in a daze...
"Ah, Master Yan is back..." Concubine Duan looked up and saw Yan Liqiang coming back, then she dropped the leaves in her hand and ran over, "Let me see what delicious food Master Yan found..."
Yan Liqiang tried his best to hide his expression. He placed the pile of things wrapped in his clothes on the table made of thick wooden stakes in the hut with a smile. "There aren't many wild fruits in the woods now, but there are still several kinds. It should be enough for us to eat!"
"Wow, there are so many, dates, strawberries, loquats. I didn't expect there would be so many things in the woods..." Concubine Duan was very excited. She picked up a small blue berry and said, "Ah, what is this? I have never seen it before. Can I eat it?"
"These are berries from the forest, they're edible!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
Concubine Duan tasted a berry. It tasted sour and sweet, and had a unique flavor. Her eyes lit up, "Sister Rui, Sister Yi, come and try it. This fruit is really delicious..."
"Eat less now, and take a rest after drinking the ginger soup. Otherwise, the cold in your body won't be eliminated and you'll get sick!" Concubine Rui smiled, "This ginger soup is almost ready, come and drink it first!"
"Okay, let's drink the ginger soup first, and then eat these wild fruits later. I'm really a little hungry!" Concubine Duan also laughed, then glanced at Concubine Rui and then at Yan Liqiang, her eyes moving, and she said meaningfully, "Sister Ruifei is really particular about the time she took to cook this ginger soup. It's as if she was waiting for Lord Yan to come back before cooking it. After rubbing her belt once, Concubine Rui and Lord Yan really have a tacit understanding!"
Hearing this, Yan Liqiang coughed twice, and Concubine Rui's face showed a blush, and she glared at Concubine Duan shyly.
"Okay, okay, sister and Lord Yan, come over and drink the ginger soup first. Otherwise, if they get sick in the wild, it will be troublesome!" Concubine Yi spoke at the right time and changed the atmosphere.
There were a few wooden bowls, wooden spoons and other things in the room, which had also been washed by Concubine Rui and Concubine Duan and were ready to use. Concubine Rui scooped the cooked ginger soup into bowls, one bowl for each person, including Yan Liqiang. The four of them sat by the fire and slowly drank the ginger soup.
While drinking ginger soup, Yan Liqiang was wondering whether he should tell the three women about the emperor's death. After all, no matter what, the current identities of these three people were related to His Majesty the Emperor, and they had the right to know news about His Majesty the Emperor. Although they had not seen His Majesty the Emperor many times in the palace over the years, from today on, they were truly widows.
After the death of His Majesty the Emperor, the cruelty of this world was bloody and cold to those women who were unable to give birth to princes and princesses for His Majesty the Emperor. There was no warmth or luck at all.
But how should I tell them? If I tell them the news of the Emperor's death, it would be hard for me to explain. Moreover, if they knew I was at the scene, some secrets might not be kept, which would not be good for them or for me.
After thinking for a while, Yan Liqiang suddenly came up with a compromise!
"I have been with the ladies these past few days, and I have always had a question I want to ask the three ladies. I wonder how the three ladies entered the palace back then?" Yan Liqiang tried to speak in a relaxed tone.
Hearing Yan Liqiang's question, the three women looked at each other and put down the bowls and chopsticks in their hands at the same time.
"Why did Lord Yan suddenly think of asking this question?" Concubine Duan gave Yan Liqiang a wink.
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just spent a lot of time with the three ladies these days and felt that they were very approachable, so I couldn't help but ask. If the three ladies are not comfortable to talk about it, then forget it. I don't have any other intentions!"
All three ladies laughed.
Concubine Rui smiled and said, "Actually, there is nothing that cannot be said. When I was in the palace..."
"Sister, stop it!" Concubine Duan covered Concubine Rui's mouth with her hand, glanced at Yan Liqiang, and interrupted, "I find that Master Yan, you are not saying what you mean. I'm afraid you are lying to us sisters with what you just said!"
Yan Liqiang's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, could it be that Concubine Duan also has a mind bug? He looked at Concubine Duan with a calm gaze, still a little stunned, "I don't know why the queen said that!"
"You say we are approachable, but you have known us all the way from the Imperial Capital, and you call us sisters "Empress". It would be fine if you called us that in the team, but there is no one else here, and you still call us that. It is clearly being distant. You don't treat us three sisters as people you can talk to. How can you think we are approachable? Isn't that saying one thing and thinking another? Besides, the three of us are not that old, much younger than Imperial Concubine Rong. You call us "Empress" all day long, and you make us all look old!" Concubine Duan was very unforgiving. As she spoke, she even brought Concubine Rui and Concubine Yi to her camp, "Sister Rui, Sister Yi, tell me if this is the truth!"
Concubine Rui glanced at Yan Liqiang, feeling a little embarrassed, and didn't say anything. Concubine Yi nodded, looking at Yan Liqiang with a smile, "Sister Duan, what you said makes sense to me. Sister Rui didn't say anything, so it seems she agrees!"
Yan Liqiang was speechless for a moment. He could only rub his face and smile bitterly. "If your Majesty wants to say that, it's hard for me to explain. I call you three Majesties out of respect, not out of politeness!"
"What's so hard to explain? If you really think that the three of us sisters are approachable and there are no outsiders here, why don't you call us sisters first!" Concubine Duan pointed at Concubine Rui and Concubine Yi, "This is Sister Rui, this is Sister Yi, and I am Sister Duan. If you call us that, it will prove that you are not lying and that you don't treat the three of us as outsiders. We are naturally willing to answer your questions, right, Sister Rui, Sister Yi..."
Concubine Yi nodded. Concubine Rui was a little embarrassed at first, but she was afraid that if she didn't nod, Concubine Duan would say something embarrassing, so she nodded as well.
Concubine Duan originally meant to joke, but after she finished speaking, the six eyes of the three women were fixed on Yan Liqiang's face. Yan Liqiang looked at the expressions of the three women and actually had a little expectation. Looking at the expressions of the three women, for some reason, Yan Liqiang's heart suddenly softened, and he stood up and bowed solemnly to each of them, "Yan Liqiang greets Sister Rui, Sister Yi, and Sister Duan. If the three sisters don't mind, I will call you like this in the future when there is no one around..."
Seeing Yan Liqiang saluted the three people so solemnly, Concubine Rui, Concubine Duan, and Concubine Yi all stood up quickly and returned the salute to Yan Liqiang.
"Brother, please sit down! Please sit down!" For some reason, seeing Yan Liqiang being so serious, Concubine Duan's eyes suddenly turned red. As soon as she finished her greeting, she quickly took Yan Liqiang's hand and pulled him to sit down. As soon as Yan Liqiang sat down, Concubine Duan let go of his hand. Her eyes and expression were no longer as teasing as before. She became much more dignified. "Sister was just joking with you. Why do you take it so seriously?"
Yan Liqiang said sternly, "Sister, you are joking, but I am serious. From now on, I will have three more sisters, and they will also have a younger brother like me. From now on, you three sisters should stop calling me Master Yan, just call me Liqiang. From now on, your business is my business. If anyone dares to bully you three sisters, I will never agree!"
"Okay, then we three sisters will have an extra brother from now on!" Concubine Duan laughed and took a deep breath. She glanced at Concubine Rui and Concubine Yi, and sighed, "I didn't expect that after we three sisters left the Imperial Capital and came here, we survived a disaster and even had an extra brother. It seems that this is all arranged by God. Today is really a good day for us sisters, Sister Rui, Sister Yi, don't you agree!"
Concubine Rui and Concubine Yi both smiled and nodded. Like Concubine Duan, their eyes suddenly turned red for some reason after hearing what Yan Liqiang said.
"I'll answer the question that brother Li Qiang asked just now on behalf of Sister Rui!" Concubine Duan looked at Concubine Rui and began to speak, "Sister Rui's father was originally an imperial physician. Sister Rui has inherited the family's true teachings since she was a child. She is better than her father and her medical skills are not inferior to those of the imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital. The palace originally had a position of female physician. After the previous female physician left because of her old age, Sister Rui passed the assessment of the Imperial Hospital because of her outstanding talent and entered the palace to become a female physician in the palace!"
"Ah, I see!" Yan Liqiang nodded, "Sister Rui is extremely talented and beautiful. She will naturally be favored by His Majesty in the harem!"
"Brother, you guessed wrong. There is a story behind why Sister Rui was chosen by His Majesty. At that time, Sister Rui accidentally met a strange man in the palace with His Majesty. His Majesty saw Sister Rui and asked the strange man to guess Sister Rui's identity. The strange man saw Sister Rui and told His Majesty that Sister Rui's face was called Jade Phoenix Facing Dragon, which was a rare face for a husband in a hundred years. In the future, she would definitely give birth to two princes and be ranked as a noble concubine. His Majesty was very happy to hear this, so he took Sister Rui as a concubine. But until now, Sister Rui, like the rest of us, has not served His Majesty. Even though my sister gave birth to a boy or girl, His Majesty did not promote her to a noble concubine. She has spent the past ten years of her life alone in the palace!" At this point, Concubine Duan sighed, "Everyone thinks that we live a life of luxury in the palace, but how can others know our suffering? To be honest, my sister was really harmed by the fortune teller that day. If it weren't for the fortune teller's nonsense, my sister would have a happy family with two sons and two daughters over the years. Why would she have to suffer so much with us in the palace!"
"Sister, stop talking. Maybe this is my fate!" Concubine Rui lowered her eyes and sighed softly.
"Who is that bastard who talked nonsense and harmed Sister Rui? How could someone be so deceiving?" Yan Liqiang cursed indignantly.
"You must have heard of that man, brother. He is the number one sorcerer in the Han Empire and the owner of the Imperial Observatory, Su Baiya..."
“Ah…” Yan Liqiang was shocked. Isn’t this person Fang Beidou’s master? This Su Baiya is a real master who can even calculate the calamity. It stands to reason that he couldn’t have made a mistake in judging Concubine Rui. Now that the Emperor is dead, Concubine Rui is still Concubine Rui, and there is no prince. Isn’t this a joke? And what about bringing good luck to her husband? It’s nonsense… Wait… Concubine Rui brings good luck to her husband…
For some reason, Yan Liqiang suddenly remembered the Nine Dragon Seal he had obtained today, and his expression suddenly became strange...
(End of this chapter)