Chapter Ninety-Two: Taken in a Little Maid

Since she wanted food, you should have given her something to eat and sent her away. Why make her stand here crying? Do you not know the princess is busy inside? Mo Yi realized that she could not break free from the woman’s grip.

Yet the woman also looked pitiful, and Mo Yi could not bear to use force, so she could only reprimand the two guards.

The guards lowered their heads. “Yes, Miss Mo. You are right. We will prepare something at once.”

“No need.”

The two guards were about to leave when Yan Heru stopped them. Since this young woman has nowhere to go and is such a poor soul, let her stay by my side. I am still short one maid anyway.

“This...” The two guards hesitated when they heard this. They exchanged glances, but neither of them agreed to the princess’s words.

One of the guards, being bolder than the other, stepped forward and said, “This woman is of unknown origin. If we allow her to remain by the princess’s side like this, she may well put the princess in danger. We cannot bear such responsibility.”

“If anything happens, I will take responsibility myself. Besides, what could such a frail woman possibly do to harm me? You are all simply thinking too much. It is all right, let her in.” After saying this, Yan Heru turned around and went back to her own work.

Mo Yi actually shared the guards’ view, but since the princess herself had already made her decision, she naturally could not stop her.

So Mo Yi took the ragged woman to change into clean clothes and wash herself up simply, and only then brought her before Yan Heru.

“Your Highness.” Mo Yi curtseyed.

Yan Heru nodded and looked at the woman she had taken in. “What is your name?”

The woman raised her head and looked at Yan Heru timidly, trembling as she answered, “This one is called Anuo.”

“Anuo? Do you not have a full name?” Yan Heru asked.

“Because my family was poor, and my parents could not read very well, I only have this single name, not a full one. Even my parents’ names were that simple, so this humble girl has no surname.” Anuo replied.

Yan Heru nodded. Looking at Anuo with her head still bowed, she fell into thought.

This woman was certainly no simple person. She had been able to seize Mo Yi so easily just now, which proved that coming here and placing herself beside her must have been part of a carefully laid plan. Keeping her close would make it easier to see what she was really up to.

“Since you have come to my side, you must listen to me. Do you understand?” Yan Heru said coldly, never forgetting to sort the herbs in her hands.

“Yes, I understand. I once served as a maid in a wealthy household, so I know how to attend to a young lady,” Anuo replied, still keeping her head down.

“Good. These herbs are already prepared, so do not damage them. Take them to the apothecary. From now on, your job is to stay by my side and help me carry and find herbs. Do you understand?”

Anuo looked up at the herbs in Yan Heru’s hands, then at Mo Yi beside her, and finally lowered her head again. “This... this girl does not know what these herbs are. I am afraid I might mix up the herbs the young lady has already sorted, so...”

“If they are mixed up, I will prepare them again. In short, this is what you need to do. Do you understand?”

Yan Heru’s words left Anuo with no room to refuse, and she could only nod in agreement.

Yan Heru’s attitude struck Mo Yi as strange. The princess had never been one to make things difficult for others. Why would she suddenly go out of her way to trouble a little maid now?

Could it be that she found this girl annoying? But if she truly wanted to make life hard for her, why keep her at all?

Mo Yi found that she truly could not fathom the princess’s thoughts.

“Mo Yi, take her around and let her get familiar with the paths in this post station. In a while, we will be moving to the city tower, so for now just let her get to know this place.” Yan Heru instructed.

Mo Yi agreed and then led Anuo away.

Yan Heru watched the two of them leave. As she looked at Anuo’s retreating figure, she still felt that something was off.

But none of that was urgent right now. Since the person was already at her side, if there was truly some hidden scheme, it would eventually reveal itself.

What she needed to do now was hurry with the preparation of those herbs. The cold poison in Shen Hezhi’s body had been being cleared for about a week now, and this stage was the most critical part of the initial detoxification, so the herbs absolutely could not be mishandled.

As for the herbs she had given Anuo, they were not actually the ones needed to treat the cold poison. How could she possibly trust anyone else with those?

After watching the two leave, Yan Heru turned back to her chamber. All the herbs needed to treat the cold poison were actually kept in the bedroom they shared, because she did not trust anyone in this post station.

And since Mo Yi could not keep her eyes on those herbs at every moment, she had no choice but to think of such a method.

The most dangerous place was often the safest. No one would expect her to hide all those herbs in the bedroom.

Even the pot used to decoct the medicine was kept in this room. It would only be taken out when needed, and before use it would be checked carefully. After use, it would be inspected just as thoroughly, and only once she was certain no one had tampered with it would she put it away again.

Yan Heru truly did not dare gamble with Shen Hezhi’s life.

In the bedroom, she let out a quiet sigh. Sitting by the bed and looking out at the sky, she suddenly drifted into a daze. But at that very moment, the door opened. Yan Heru immediately looked over, only to see that it was Shen Hezhi who had returned.

“Your Highness!” Delighted, Yan Heru threw herself into Shen Hezhi’s arms.

Feeling the softness in his embrace, Shen Hezhi was filled with joy as well. “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy these past few days and haven’t come back to keep you company.”

Yan Heru lifted her head from his arms, shook it with a smile, and said, “It’s all right. You’re only in the military camp now, not somewhere terribly far away. If I wanted to see you, I could just go to the camp, couldn’t I?

“Though I do feel that for a woman like me to go to the military camp would be a little inappropriate.”

After saying the first half, Yan Heru thought very seriously for a moment before speaking the second half.

Seeing how adorable she looked, Shen Hezhi could not help pinching her nose. “You can come to the camp to see me. It’s just that I think it would not be very safe. I’m afraid you might run into some danger on the way, so I didn’t let you go.”