Chapter 2 is hanging here—! Tsk, what a ghost story…

That damn thing is here again.

Hearing the noise, A-Zhu rolled her eyes inwardly, too lazy to even bother with it. Even an eighty-year-old woman in the village could speak more fluently than this thing.

This thing has been bothering Ah Zhu for a full nine years.

It was the night she first entered the palace when A-Zhu was awakened from her sleep by this strange, stumbling sound.

She was young and inexperienced, and in her fear, she screamed and got up, waking not only her roommates but also the head maid.

Unfortunately, only Ah Zhu could hear the sound, so no one believed her tearful and frightened explanation.

The head maid, Granny Sun, insisted that she was suffering from hysteria. In front of everyone, without saying a word, she slapped A-Zhu across the face, making her dizzy and causing her to bleed profusely from her mouth and nose. Her face was so swollen that she couldn't open her mouth for several days.

The beating immediately taught Ah Zhu to shut up, but Ah Zhu, who could still hear the sound, developed a fever due to worry and fear.

In her dazed state, after hearing the old woman say that if she went crazy again, she would be burned to death, A-Zhu came back to life and even her fever subsided.

This thing doesn't seem to be able to kill her for the time being, but the palace maids could burn her alive with a wave of their hands. Of course, A-Zhu was more afraid of the living maids in front of her.

Later, A-Zhu knelt down and kowtowed to the old woman to admit her mistake, saying that she had a nightmare after suddenly leaving home and made a commotion out of fear. Her head was bruised from kowtowing, and only then was the matter considered closed.

At first, this thing would make noise every few days. Even when A-Zhu hid under the covers and covered her ears, she could still hear it. She tried to listen to what it was saying, but all she heard was a harsh 'whoosh' sound.

The fragmented words and sentences were incoherent and painful to the ears.

In the past two years, A-Zhu has become so used to this piece of junk that he can ignore it completely and it doesn't affect him at all when he does anything.

She patiently endured it, waiting until she gained her master's favor and saved enough money to ask a master to ward off the evil spirit and bring blessings.

Once back in the courtyard and inside the house, A-Zhu immediately went to wash his hands and wipe away his sweat.

Lian Shuang, Chun Yun, and Zhu Qing were still in the room, but they pretended not to see her. A Zhu didn't bother to offend them, and turned her back to wipe her sweat with her clothes.

The three men's gazes fell on Ah Zhu. Seeing that Ah Zhu's chest was tightly wrapped, they exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with obvious contempt.

But seeing Ah Zhu dressed in all black, the group covered their mouths and laughed again.

There was a knock on the door: "A-Zhu, are you back?"

"Sister Xia, I'm here." A-Zhu quickly put on her clothes, opened the door, and saw Mingxia carrying a small basket.

"Dear sister, have you delivered my things?"

As A-Zhu asked the question, his eyes lit up as he looked into the basket in Mingxia's hands.

Mingxia glanced at Azhu with disdain, but when Azhu looked up, a smile appeared on her face. "I remember, that's why I brought it to you as soon as I got it."

As she spoke, Mingxia handed over the paper package in her hand and instructed, "After bathing and cleansing, apply this all over your body. I guarantee it will be effective on the same day."

Ah Zhu smiled broadly as she took the paper package from Mingxia's hand, but couldn't help glancing enviously at Mingxia's fair skin.

Ah Zhu's dark complexion wasn't very noticeable outside the palace, but once inside, she noticed that even the eunuchs' faces were whiter than hers.

And because Ah Zhu's personality is unlikable, the others will seize the opportunity to relentlessly rub salt into Ah Zhu's sore spots.

Not only did they openly and subtly say that she was dark-skinned, but they also gave her a very unpleasant name—Black Charcoal Ball, and said that the silver wire charcoal and red basket charcoal burned in the Noble Lady's Palace were whiter than her... These words really angered A-Zhu.

The more furious she became, the more excited the others got. The more excited they got, the more A-Zhu cared. This back-and-forth became a source of anxiety for A-Zhu.

What's worse, everyone says the noble ladies in the palace are precious and can't stand anything "dirty." With Ah Zhu's dark and dirty appearance, the noble ladies would definitely not like her...

This is outrageous!

Upon hearing this, A-Zhu became as anxious as a rat in a steamer, frantically trying to come up with a solution.

After all these years of searching, A-Zhu started asking around for a prescription, especially among the fair-skinned palace maids. Now, she finally has a result.

"Thank you, thank you."

After thanking her with a smile, A-Zhu was about to carry the precious item into the house with both hands when Mingxia stopped her.

"A-Zhu, the money hasn't been given yet."

? ? ?

Ah Zhu suddenly raised her head.

"Sister Mingxia, didn't I already give it to you before?"

Mingxia seemed to remember something and said "Oh".

A-Zhu smiled again: "Good sister, I, I'll go try it right away."

"When I have some free time, I'll invite you to tea, I'll have good tea."

Mingxia didn't let go of the hand that was stopping the person; instead, she looked at Azhu with a puzzled expression.

"A-Zhu, wasn't that five taels a deposit?"

You still have to give me ten taels.

!!

Upon hearing this, Ah Zhu's voice trembled with anger.

"We clearly agreed on five taels, and now you're asking me for ten taels?! Mingxia, don't be so greedy!"

Mingxia's smile vanished instantly.

She looked at A-Zhu and snorted coldly: "Go ask around and see who's willing to sell you this stuff?"

"Hmph, you think it's too expensive, huh?"

"If you think it's too expensive, then don't buy it. You'll just be a charcoal ball for the rest of your life."

As she spoke, Mingxia tried to snatch the paper packet from Azhu's hand.

"you--!"

Ah Zhu was so angry that her blood rushed to her head, but it wasn't noticeable because of her dark skin. She gripped the paper package tightly in her hand, staring at Mingxia with eyes that seemed to want to pierce a hole through her.

This fickle scoundrel, this greedy thief, this bastard, this mangy dog ​​whose words are like farts!

A-Zhu cursed Mingxia in his heart, but Mingxia's arrogant and domineering attitude of raising prices on the spot made A-Zhu think that her things were really useful...

Mingxia clutched the corner of the paper package, looked at Azhu who refused to let go, and coldly issued her final ultimatum.

"If you're not going to buy it, then give up!"

"Sister Mingxia."

Ah Zhu took a deep breath and forced a smile onto her face.

"I'll buy it, I'll buy it. Look at you, you've already come all this way, and the things are all wrapped up. It's not worth going through all this trouble to take them back."

That's more like human speech. Mingxia snorted, "It's good that you know right from wrong. Give me the money."

“Sister Mingxia, I really did buy it with good intentions, but these ten taels are really, really too expensive.”

"Considering our long-standing friendship, you should at least give me a discount, add one more tael..." Ah Zhu, gesturing with his hand to indicate one tael, gritted his teeth and raised another finger, "Add two more taels of silver and see."

Without saying a word, Mingxia reached out to take the paper package, but Azhu quickly covered it with both hands.

"Everything is negotiable, just add three taels, three taels!"

The two argued for a long time. Not only did A-Zhu become hoarse from talking, but Mingxia also felt short of breath and her chest tightened. In the end, A-Zhu added a full six ounces before the deal was finally settled.

Clutching the paper packet tightly in her hand, A-Zhu watched Mingxia's triumphant departure and snorted resentfully in her heart—just you wait, once I gain the master's favor, I'll make you pay!

After holding a grudge against Mingxia and feeling heartbroken over the money he had spent, Azhu reluctantly returned to his room.

Seeing how carefully Ah-Zhu hid his things as soon as he came in, the others in the room exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

Many people in this courtyard know what 'good' thing Mingxia sent. Tsk tsk, when Azhu actually uses it, there will be a good show to watch.

Soon, the inner palace returned to its former tranquility. After all, palace maids like A-Zhu, who had been in the palace for a long time, had already learned most of the rules and no longer needed to be dragged to the front courtyard by the nanny to endlessly learn the rules.

However, Ah Zhu, who was holding the embroidery needle, was not in the mood to do embroidery. She looked at the sun outside the house and wished it would set immediately and it would get dark so that she could try out the medicine powder that she had finally managed to get.

The water in the palace stoves was mostly reserved for the nobles, especially before bedtime when water usage was at its peak. At this time, hot water was reserved for those highly respected masters, and palace servants like A-Zhu were naturally not qualified to have it.

Once the nobles had retired for the night, the remaining hot water could be distributed, and others could also get it by paying money. Naturally, what A-Zhu wanted to buy was this hot water.

......

At the edge of Taiye Pond, Azhu carried two buckets of water, walking towards Yeting while secretly cursing Mingxia.

These palace maids only received half a tael of silver per month, and they had no way to receive rewards or tributes.

Although the palace manages all the food, clothing and daily necessities... does it cost money to show "filial piety" to the nanny, and does it cost money to send some light trinkets to the aunt?

In the past two years, A-Zhu's eyes have almost gone blind from doing embroidery work. She only managed to earn an extra dozen or so taels of silver, and Mingxia took most of it as soon as she asked for it.

Tonight, Ah Zhu bought water but couldn't bear to spend money to have it delivered, so she had to carry it herself.

The back alley of Yeting is in a remote location. The shortest route is through this place next to Taiye Pond. There are no important palaces here, and no one would come to wander around in the middle of the night.

"That heartless thieving woman has a skin even thicker than mine."

"You skinning devil, five taels wasn't enough, you want ten! Ha, once I use the prescription tonight and gain the master's favor, I..."

In the darkness of night, Ah Zhu, who was angrily cursing, accidentally stepped on a pebble, and his body, which was carrying a bucket of water, swayed and he fell halfway into Taiye Pond.

"Gurgle—"

A-Zhu struggled a few times, desperately trying to hold onto the bank, before managing to avoid falling completely into the Taiye Pond.

"Cough cough cough."

Half of his body was soaked and he had choked on several mouthfuls of water. A-Zhu clutched his chest in fear and coughed violently.

After coughing for a while, Ah Zhu came to her senses and looked at the wooden tub that had fallen into Taiye Pond not far away. Her head was filled with blood, and she was angry and annoyed, so angry that she gritted her teeth.

When someone is down on their luck, even their farts hit their heels.

After grumbling and swearing, Ah Zhu took a few breaths and had no choice but to reach for the wooden bucket in the pool again.

"Splash—splash—"

Ripples spread across the water under the moonlight. The twig in her hand seemed to be entangled in something. Ah Zhu frowned and reached out to touch it—it was soft and slippery... What was this thing?

The object pulled from the water revealed its true form in the moonlight... It was a hand!

Under the moonlight, my skin was so white it looked almost cloying, and my hands were swollen from being soaked in water.

!!

Thanks to the "blessing" of being slapped across the face with blood on her first visit to the palace for screaming, Ah Zhu now never screams no matter what she encounters. She just clenches her teeth and won't let go even if she bleeds.

With her mind blank and eyes glazed over, A-Zhu mechanically dropped the hand, woodenly picked up the wooden bucket that had drifted to her side, and stumbled and scrambled to her feet.

At first, A-Zhu was walking as if floating, but then she started running, running faster and faster, and then, without a care in the world, she grabbed the wooden tub and ran towards the Yeting Palace.

【“Beep—”】

"Failure to provide assistance has resulted in the identification of the host's cultivation path *****"

"Host **binds to **system***"

[Activate *** to receive a free snow-white ***]

[“Warning, system is under interference, reward—buzz—”]

【"please***,**"】

A note from the author:

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Hugs to all the cuties, sob sob sob, I'll give each and every one of them a big kiss.

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According to forensic observations, after a body is immersed in water, the skin on the hands and feet usually begins to swell within 4 hours... The relevant information is from Baidu, please forgive any errors or omissions.