Eunuch Wu quickly complied, instructing the palace maid escorting Manbao to take good care of her as she left the palace.
Waiting until Eunuch Wu left, Manbao carried her medicine box towards the gate of the Eastern Palace. As she stepped out, she told the maid accompanying her, "Sister, you can return now. I can walk the rest of the way myself."
"It's better if I see you out of the palace," replied the maid.
Manbao smiled and said, "It takes more than four quarters of an hour to go back and forth. I know the way very well; just follow the palace wall straight ahead. Besides, it's getting late, and you'll soon have dinner in the palace. If you accompany me, the food will get cold when you return, and eating cold meals in this weather isn't good for the stomach."
The palace maid hesitated for a moment, but then bowed and gratefully said, "Safe travels, Doctor Zhou Junior. I will return now."
