Chapter 112: Fiercely Protective

At Qiao Qingyun’s command, Zhong Shi flashed forward. It was not for any other reason than the fact that the head eunuch had been abusing his power far too egregiously. Since Yuanbao had already been taken under Qiao Qingyun’s wing, how could she allow him to suffer such grievances? They might have lacked in other areas, but they were fiercely protective of their own.

"Snap! Crack!"

Several lashes of the whip rang out in quick succession, causing the head eunuch to scramble for cover, rolling on the ground in agony. "Stop! Please, stop! Princess, Princess, I know I was wrong! Ah!"

Each scream was punctuated by another strike of the whip. Zhong Shi used his full strength, leaving the head eunuch covered in wounds, his clothes thoroughly soaked in blood. Only when the man no longer had the strength to struggle did Zhong Shi toss the whip aside in disgust. He walked over to Qiao Qingyun, cupped his hands, and bowed. "Princess."

"Mm."

The woman nodded, her eyes devoid of pity. She looked at the eunuch lying on the ground; no one dared to step forward to help him, as everyone knew exactly why he had been beaten. He had acted with such arrogance while she was present that, had he been beaten to death, it would have been considered a service to the public.

"Greetings, Princess."

Once the commotion settled, the others finally realized what was happening and knelt before Qiao Qingyun. The woman, however, did not even glance at them. She hurried to Yuanbao’s side, observing the eunuch lying on the ground. He was deathly pale and trembling. She reached out to check his breathing—fortunately, he was still alive.

Qiao Qingyun let out a long sigh of relief. "Good, it seems his wounds have become infected. Qingluo, go fetch the medicine."

"Yes."

Qingluo had never witnessed such a brutal scene. Although she had walked the halls of the Imperial Palace for a long time, she had always been clever enough to avoid such punishments. Here, human life was as cheap as grass, and she suspected no one would care.

When Qiao Qingyun stood up and looked around, she saw that everyone in the Laundry Bureau had tears in their eyes, and all bore some form of injury. It was truly a harrowing sight.

"Is this how you bully them?"

Qiao Qingyun’s gaze fell upon the head matron. Though she was not wearing her formal robes today, the lethal aura radiating from her could not be suppressed.

"I... Yes, Princess. It is because they were incompetent and did not work diligently. I... I was only following orders!" The matron knelt on the ground, shivering violently, her voice filled with desperate pleas and eyes brimming with terror.

In truth, they had not been assigned here originally, but perhaps due to displeasing their superiors, they had been sent to this place. Having finally clawed their way up to the position of head matron, she had treated those before her like fools to be toyed with. The maids and servants here dared not resist, lest they be denied food at night; many had already starved to death.

"Very well. Is that what you wish to say? Hongying, accompany me to see my uncle, the Emperor. I should like to ask him if there are any such high-and-mighty maids in his palace!"

With a flick of her sleeve, she turned to leave. Hearing that this was going to be taken before the Emperor, the matron scrambled to kowtow. "Princess! Princess, you cannot go! It was me, it was my own doing! It is all my fault!"

As expected, Qiao Qingyun stopped after two steps, sneering, "A fine Laundry Bureau indeed. Had I not come, I would never have known such things were happening!"

"Princess, the medicine is here."

Qingluo moved quickly, arriving before Qiao Qingyun with a medicine box in her hands.

"Yuanbao, help your brother up. Zhong Shi, give him a hand. Check if Yuanbao has any injuries and treat them all at once. After that, I shall take Yuanbao away from this matron today. Do you agree, or do you not?"

Hearing that Qiao Qingyun intended to take Yuanbao, the matron was stunned. She wanted to refuse, but the words died in her throat. It was not for any other reason than the fact that the glares from Hongying and Zhong Shi looked as if they might devour her whole.

"Yes... yes, I obey, Princess."

"Princess, I have no injuries; they have already scabbed over. But my brother... he has not eaten in a long time..." As he spoke, Yuanbao’s tears fell in torrents. He knelt on the floor, his voice choked with sobs. Qiao Qingyun’s fury only grew. "You actually denied them food!"

"It... it was because he did something wrong! I..."

"Drag her away and give her twenty strokes of the cane. If you ever mistreat the maids or eunuchs again, I will have you sent to the slums!"

"Ah? Have mercy, Princess! Have mercy!"

Before the eyes of the crowd, the matron was dragged away. Qiao Qingyun looked around calmly and glanced at Yuanbao. "Enough, stop crying. A man shouldn't be so tearful. Hongying, go prepare some light refreshments. People need to be fed."

"Yes."

Hongying nodded and hurried off. Zhong Shi immediately followed Yuanbao and his brother to their quarters, but when he stepped inside, the sight before him left him stunned. On a dirt bed less than two meters wide, over a dozen eunuchs were expected to sleep!

"You... how do you all sleep like this?"

Zhong Shi placed Yuanbao’s brother on the bed and could not help but ask. Yuanbao lowered his head, his voice as faint as a mosquito's. "We have to lie on our sides; we cannot lie flat. At night, the head eunuch watches. If we lie down, we get beaten with the rod."

"You..."

Zhong Shi could not finish his sentence. He shook his head helplessly and checked Yuanbao from head to toe. Fortunately, there were no wounds. But when he examined Yuanbao’s brother, Yuanyi, the state of his body was already horrific, and he was burning with fever.

"Brother? Wake up, it’s time to take your medicine." Yuanbao gently nudged Yuanyi, terrified of accidentally touching his wounds. This was the place they least wanted anyone to see; they all hoped to live with some shred of dignity, yet they had been tortured beyond recognition.

"Stop calling him. It’s fine. The medicine the young miss prepared doesn't need him to swallow; it melts on contact and flows down on its own."

Zhong Shi reached out, pried Yuanyi’s mouth open, and poured in an anti-inflammatory pill, followed by a fever reducer, before applying an anesthetic to Yuanyi’s body.

"This is?" Yuanbao did not recognize these pills or the anesthetic and looked on in utter shock, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

"Don't worry. We cannot give you injections here for now, and since he hasn't eaten, it would be hard to find a vein. Take the medicine first to wake him up. Once he’s awake, the young miss will likely take you out of the palace."

Yuanbao nodded blankly. He didn't know why they would be leaving the palace, but if Qiao Qingyun said so, he would follow.

After a while, Yuanyi opened his eyes. The first things he saw were Yuanbao and another handsome face. Thinking it was their master coming to press them for work, he scrambled to kneel, startling Yuanbao.

"Master, wait, Yuanyi is coming right—"