Chapter 139: Chapter 139

Chapter 139 - An Yao Wants to Help

After breakfast, Long Yue skillfully began to clear the dishes and wipe the table with a cloth.

Seeing this, An Yao was shocked and hurried forward to stop her.

“Your Majesty the Empress, how can you do such rough work! Leave it to An Yao!” ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Seeing her so eager to help, Long Yue smiled happily and didn't refuse, handing her the cloth.

“I'll leave the table to you, then.”

“You can rest assured and leave it to An Yao!”

An Yao took the cloth and subconsciously raised her hand, wanting to cast a spell to control the cloth and wipe the table. But then she remembered that all her spiritual energy was gone, and she could no longer casually control objects with magic, let alone cast a purification spell to clean the tabletop.

Having no other choice, she had to grip the cloth and wipe the table bit by bit.

However, after wiping for just a little while, the cloth was stained with food crumbs and grease. It felt slightly sticky to the touch, making her frown with a look of disgust.

Previously on the Immortal-Demon Continent, as Her Majesty's personal handmaiden, her daily duties were generally to help the Empress dress, serve tea, and receive visitors for her. When had she ever done this kind of cleaning work?

But for the sake of Her Majesty, no matter how hard, tiring, or filthy the work, she had to persevere!

She would rather dirty her own hands than let Her Majesty's noble person be defiled by these stains!

An Yao gritted her teeth and, suppressing her discomfort, wiped the table.

However, wiping the table with a cloth stained with grease and food crumbs not only failed to clean it, but actually made it dirtier.

Seeing this, Long Yue quickly stopped her.

“An Yao, you can't clean it like that.”

“You have to first use a plate to scrape the crumbs on the table into it, and then wipe the table. That way, the cloth won't get covered in crumbs.”

“Also, when the cloth gets dirty, you have to wash it in the kitchen, and then wipe the table again to get it clean.”

Long Yue took the cloth back from An Yao's hands, wiped away the crumbs from the table, then put the cloth into a bucket of water with dish soap that she had prepared earlier, washed it clean, and wiped the table again.

This time, after she wiped, the tabletop looked brand new.

“So that's how you get it clean…”

An Yao lowered her head in shame.

As the Empress's personal handmaiden, she actually needed Her Majesty to teach her how to do things. Truly incompetent!

Long Yue pointed to the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

“Leave the table to This Empress. You can help by taking these bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen.”

An Yao nodded to accept the order and gathered all the dishes into her arms, carrying them to the kitchen.

Thinking she had to perform well this time, she decided to wash the dishes as well.

However, looking at the unfamiliar kitchen, she froze on the spot, at a complete loss.

Just like with cooking, she had never washed dishes before and had no idea what to do…

I should probably find a basin, fill it with water, put the dishes in, and then just wipe them with a cloth, right…

An Yao thought to herself. She stood in the kitchen looking left and right, but besides the vegetable sink, she couldn't find a single basin to hold water.

Just as she was in a bind, Long Yue, having finished wiping the table, came into the kitchen.

Seeing An Yao's helpless expression, she took the initiative, walked forward, and stood in front of the sink.

“An Yao, this sink is the place where mortals in this world wash their dishes.”

“You just have to use this stopper to plug the hole at the bottom, then turn on the faucet above, and wait for the sink to fill with water.”

“Remember to squeeze a little dish soap in, and use that sponge to scrub the surface of the dishes. That's how you get them clean.”

Long Yue picked up the stopper, turned on the faucet, then picked up the dish soap and gave two squeezes into the sink, her movements all one smooth motion.

“Oh! So that's how it's done!”

“You're so amazing, Your Majesty! An Yao understands now!”

An Yao had a flash of realization and impatiently volunteered to take over.

“Leave the dishwashing to An Yao from now on!”

With that, she picked up the sponge from the counter and began to scrub the dishes one by one. She would scrub each one over and over again, only satisfied and putting it down once she confirmed there wasn't a single stain left and it was as clean as new.

“An Yao, you don't have to scrub it that many times. Just once or twice is fine…”

Long Yue reminded her from the side.

An Yao's expression was grave as she sternly refused:

“How can that be okay! These are the utensils Your Majesty will be dining with in the future! They must be perfectly clean!”

As she spoke, she stared intently at a tiny black speck on the plate in her hand. Her eyes hardened, and she forcefully began to scrub it with the sponge.

Due to the excessive force, the plate cracked in two.

An Yao froze and looked at Long Yue sheepishly.

“Your Majesty, I'm sorry, An Yao seems to have accidentally broken it…”

“It's fine, it's just a plate. If it's broken, just throw it away. Be careful not to cut your hand.”

An Yao threw the broken plate into the trash can and cautiously picked up another one from the sink.

However, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.

Although she was extremely careful this time, her hands were covered in dish soap, making the plate especially slippery.

While she was scrubbing, her hand slipped, and the plate instantly flew from her grasp.

She subconsciously reached out to grab the falling plate, but in her flustered state, she knocked over the stack of already washed bowls and chopsticks at the side.

Bowls, chopsticks, and plates fell to the floor, and the sound of shattering rang out one after another.

“Your Majesty! A thousand apologies! An Yao's crime deserves ten thousand deaths!”

After a moment of silence, An Yao knelt on the floor with her head bowed to atone for her mistake, and began to pick up the broken shards piece by piece.

“Forget it, forget it. Let This Empress do it. You'll cut your hand like that.”

Long Yue quickly stopped An Yao, who was about to clean up the shards with her bare hands.

Just then, Meizhi, having heard the commotion, came to the kitchen with a broom and dustpan.

“Madam, please be careful. Leave the cleaning to this subordinate.”

As he spoke, he cleaned up all the debris on the floor in just a few quick sweeps.

An Yao stood blankly to the side, suddenly feeling particularly useless.

Trying to help cook, she ruined the food. Trying to help wash the dishes, she broke the plates and bowls. Even cleaning up the mess, she was worse than the Demon Sovereign's subordinate...

Without spiritual energy, she couldn't do anything right.

If this continues, will Her Majesty come to despise me and not need me anymore…

“An Yao, you still haven't adapted to a body without spiritual energy, so it's normal to have some trouble adjusting. Don't take it to heart.”

Seeing An Yao standing silently to the side like a child who had done something wrong, Long Yue gave a gentle smile and comforted her.

Seeing her , she couldn't help but be reminded of when she herself had first arrived in this world.

At that time, she had lost all her cultivation, nothing went smoothly, and she didn't understand anything.

She empathized with this feeling deeply, so she had no intention of blaming her.

“Your Majesty, An Yao will go out first…”

Listening to Long Yue's gentle words of comfort, An Yao's heart only felt more upset and full of self-blame. She walked out of the kitchen with her head lowered.

Watching her dejected back, Long Yue couldn't bear it. After a moment's hesitation, she called out to stop her.

“An Yao, This Empress is going to the market to buy some groceries in a bit and will need someone to help carry them. Why don't you come with me.”

Hearing this, An Yao stopped. She turned her head, and the dejected look in her eyes gradually gave way to radiance. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but lift slightly as she nodded solemnly.

As I thought, Her Majesty still needs me by her side!