Chapter 397: 12.5

Meilan's hand trembled as she served the food in front of her Master, Bai Yunyu. After the disastrous night with Emperor Xianliang storming off the Cold Palace, the Emperor severely punished Empress Xiuying, Bai Yunyu. 

Emperor Xianliang rationed the food for Master Bai the next day, with Master Bai only getting a bowl of rice and a block of tofu as his lunch. At the same time, he was not served breakfast, and for his dinner… Emperor Xianliang only gave him a boiled fish and a glass of water.

There was no tonic, no soup, and the rice was probably yesterday's rice since it smelled a bit funny. 

This was even worse than the food served for the prisoners! 

Meilan's hand trembled even more when she put the food down. Meanwhile, Bai Yunyu only smiled and picked the chopstick. It had been the fifth days since he ate the same thing, a bowl of yesterday's rice and tofu. 

But Bai Yunyu didn't complain, even though Meilan knew that her master was so weak right now. Of course, even Meilan got to eat something better than her own master!

Meilan trembled as she tried hard not to cry when she saw how Master Bai's hand trembled as he tried to hold the bowl. 

His body was too weak that holding a bowl was already an arduous task for him. This was not the same Master Bai that she met for the first time. Master Bai was an amazing young ger man! Although he is a ger, he had the strength of a martial artist! He was intelligent and capable of both studying and fighting!

He was so beautiful and popular that many men were trying to court him. Even some women were falling in love with him. 

But he rejected them all because he wanted to focus on his study and training rather than chasing romance…

Until he met with the Seventh Prince, Huang Shu. Huang Shu was the most handsome, gallant, and heroic Princes compared to his other eight brothers. The two met in a spring festival when Huang Shu attended a spring festival in the city and met a man who performed an extraordinary dance with the flame snake. 

Their tale was so beautiful, but it ended horribly like this. 

Just because both of them were stubborn and refused to admit defeat to each other.

Bai Yunyu saw a teardrop on the wooden floor in front of him. He looked straight and saw Meilan was crying. He frowned and asked with his weak voice, "Meilan, why are you crying?" 

Meilan tried to wipe the tears on her eyes, but that also exposed the whipping wounds on Meilan's hand, "Who hurts you? How did your hands got bruised?"

Meilan couldn't stop crying when her master asked about her wellbeing. He was obviously in a critical condition right now, but he still had the heart to ask about other's suffering. 

"I… I wanted to smuggle some food for you when I was eating with other servants, but I got caught and… and… the head eunuch hit my hand a few times as a punishment. He said that nobody is allowed to feed Empress Xiuying. This is an important message from the Emperor…"

Bai Yunyu frowned, "I think I still have some medicine to treat bruise in the drawer. You can use it, Meilan. Don't cry so much."

"No! M—Master, this is just a scratch! It will heal after I washed it with water! But how about you!" Meilan was so stressed out about her master's body who was only skin and bones now.

"It's alright, Meilan. I don't need much to eat anyway. You should be the one who eats a lot since you take care of everything. All I do is sleeping and reading some books," Bai Yunyu said. 

"Master, at this rate, you'll die out of starvation!" Meilan wept, and she approached her master and then snatched the rice bowl. "Look at your hands, Master. You're trembling just to hold a bowl of rice! Let me feed you instead!"

Meilan also snatched the chopstick and started feeding her master. 

Bai Yunyu smiled at Meilan and opened his mouth. He chewed the rice slowly, and he said, "You're so good to me, Meilan. You've been taking care of me for so long, even in this state. I don't have much, but I can always give you something from my family after my death. I can write a letter for my dad."

"What are you saying, Master Bai!" Meilan's tears streamed down even more. "If you leave me after this, then I will come with you!"

"You're young… don't be too hasty…" 

"I've decided since the day you take me! I will follow you everywhere, Master Bai!" Meilan proposed. "Even if you pass the sorrow of yellow river, then I will swim to your side and hold tight in your boat!"

"Meilan… I just hope that you can think about it clearly, okay?" Bai Yunyu said weakly. "You've sacrificed too much for me. You deserve happiness."

"My happiness is to serve you, Master Bai!"

[…]

[This girl is so stubborn, aish. I feel so bad for her!]

[Pupa: Well, even in the original background, Meilan has always been your most loyal and trusted servant. She devotes herself to your wellbeing because you took her from the street when she was just eating rice thrown by people.]

[But still…]

[Pupa: Are you serious about your decision?]

[Indeed, I will not yield to those nasty bitches. Based on the world background, they have been scheming me and pushed me down to the gutter. I'd rather die than kissing their smelly feet!]

[Pupa: Well, we can have a restart after your death. But in this world, it is a bit different…]

[What do you mean?]

[Pupa: This world is controlled by Huang Shu's rewind stone. So I don't know what'll happen after your death. You might be thrown back to the past, staying in this current situation, or something else. It depends on how Huang Shu wants it.]

[Eh… that's a bit confusing, but everything is better than this current deadlock, right?]

[Oh, I haven't asked you about the Breakmeter and Fatemeter and what caused the world to be destroyed.]

[Pupa: Breakmeter is 0%. Fatemeter is 50%. Huang Shu does love you, but he still prioritizes his empire and big family rather than an infertile ger man.]

[Pupa: About the reason why the world got destroyed… it's a bit hard to explain, but it's about the rewind stone that Huang Shu had. I'll tell you once the situation calls it.]

[I see. Well, I guess I just have to bear this a bit longer. Fortunately, I don't think this body of Bai Yunyu can survive much longer. I have been starved for days, and my body has been sickly.]

[Let's see if I can create some impact on Huang Shu before my death, hehe~]

[Pupa: You want to make some drama, don't you?]

[What's with the condescending tone? Don't you see that I thrive with drama? Even my readers love drama!]

Pupa rolled its eyes.

[Pupa: Whatever with you and your imaginary readers, just don't put me in your imaginary novel.]