Chapter 170 Li Guiping: We're all colleagues

Seeing the surprise and doubt in her eyes, Li Guiping chuckled softly, a laugh that sounded particularly eerie in the quiet night.

"You guessed right, our family does indeed work for Her Majesty the Empress."

He spoke in a calm tone, as if he were talking about something extremely ordinary.

“In this harem, anyone with a brain would want to serve the Empress. You entered the palace late and have little seniority, so you probably haven’t seen the Empress’s methods yet. If you had, you wouldn’t find today’s situation strange.”

He suddenly changed the subject, his tone becoming alluring and seductive.

"But then again, you didn't lose out from this beating; it was truly your good fortune. Her Majesty personally instructed us to take good care of you, and even... find a suitable opportunity to help you gain favor with the Emperor. Uya, do you know what this means?"

Showing his face...in front of the Emperor...

Uya's heart suddenly started pounding wildly, and she seemed to temporarily forget the excruciating pain in her back.

How could she not understand?

This means an opportunity to achieve instant success.

This means she could potentially escape her subservient status and become a mistress.

This means she has the opportunity... to take revenge herself!

She trembled slightly with excitement, and with all her might, she managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice from her dry mouth.

"Your Majesty the Empress... Your Majesty's grace is boundless. This humble servant... This lowly servant does not know what Your Majesty needs this servant to do? This servant would gladly die for it!"

Li Guiping was satisfied with her reaction, but shook his head.

"Her Majesty the Empress's heart is unfathomable. How could we possibly fathom her thoughts? Her Majesty has always acted with integrity and uprightness. This time, she helped you without any explanation. Perhaps she simply disliked that Tongjia woman, or perhaps she was just taking pity on you for your innocent suffering and made a casual move."

His tone suddenly turned cold, carrying a chilling edge.

"But you must remember this well: it was Her Majesty who gave you this chance. If you ever rise to a higher position, never be an ungrateful wretch. Otherwise, even if Her Majesty is magnanimous and doesn't hold it against you, we servants below will not tolerate such a heartless person. Even if you become the master, we servants have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead!"

Uya was startled by the ruthlessness in his words and quickly pledged her loyalty.

"This servant dares not! This servant's good fortune is entirely due to Your Majesty's grace. This servant swears to Heaven that in this life I am willing to serve Your Majesty like a dog or a horse, and will follow Your Majesty's lead without question. If I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning!"

Her loyalty at this moment, though containing an element of fear, was more driven by the excitement of escaping a desperate situation and a desire for future power.

Li Guiping nodded slightly, his tone softening.

"Just remember what you said today. The most important thing right now is to take good care of your health and get back to a healthy, fair complexion. We will take care of everything else in the future."

He paused, then offered a reminder.

"Also, don't have any wicked thoughts, don't go to Princess Tongjia to inform on you, and try to play both sides. You know in your heart that that princess doesn't even care about your worthless life. Today she was reprimanded by the Emperor for whipping you, and she probably hates you a lot. If you go to her, you will only be heading towards death."

"This servant understands!"

Uya immediately responded, her eyes flashing with resentment and clarity that were beyond her years.

"I hate her so much I can't even express it now. Though my life is lowly, I'm not stupid. This humiliation is etched into my bones. I will climb back up and take my revenge with my own hands!"

She took a breath, her voice filled with an almost obsessive determination.

"Once I have avenged myself, my life will belong to Her Majesty the Empress, and I will live only for Her Majesty."

Li Guiping rolled her eyes inwardly.

What a quick-witted and shrewd girl!

They know how to assess the situation and, more importantly, how to conceal their hatred and demonstrate their usefulness.

Such a person, once in power, is destined for greatness.

However, he didn't care how much of what she said was true or false.

As he said, in this harem, the Empress's word is law.

No matter how powerful your master is, you can still die silently.

This Wuya clan is nothing more than an interesting pawn in the Empress's game.

"It's good that you know what's going on."

Li Guiping said no more.

"In a little while, we will arrange for a reliable maid to come and apply the medicine for you. Just wait patiently and let your injury heal."

After saying that, he didn't linger.

The figure silently withdrew from the cabin and disappeared into the darkness outside.

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Inside the cramped room, only Wuya remained, along with the flickering oil lamp.

She lay on the bed, her heart filled with mixed emotions, like a raging storm.

One moment they were struggling on the edge of hell, the next they seemed to see the light in the clouds.

This near-fatal beating unexpectedly alerted the Empress in the inner palace.

And she was to be elevated from a lowly palace maid to a master?

Whether the Empress's actions stemmed from pity, manipulation, or were merely a whim, it doesn't matter.

For Uya, these were all immense blessings that she had to hold onto tightly.

It was also her only way to take revenge on the Tongjia clan.

She had to obey, she had to get better, she had to... climb into the dragon's bed.

The wound on his back still burned painfully, but he felt an unprecedented will to survive and ambition.

Like wild grass, it grew wildly in her heart.

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The following morning, inside the Chengqian Palace sleeping quarters.

While helping Tongjia with her washing and grooming, the old nanny gestured for those around her to leave with a glance.

She looked at Tongjia's face in the bronze mirror, which was still slightly swollen and gloomy, and pondered for a moment.

He spoke to Li Guiping, who was standing respectfully at the door.

"Steward Li, you don't need to serve here for now. The jewelry that the princess will be wearing today seems a bit dull. Go to the Imperial Household Department yourself and find the best craftsmen to clean and polish it carefully. Be sure to retrieve it before noon."

The excuse was plausible; sending away a chief eunuch to handle such an important matter made it seem like it was taken very seriously.

Li Guiping felt a slight chill in his heart, but showed no sign on his face, and respectfully bowed in response.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will take care of it immediately and do my best."

He left the bedchamber with his head bowed and eyes downcast.

As soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, Li Guiping stopped walking. The submissive expression on his face vanished instantly, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He subtly winked at his apprentice behind him.

The young eunuch cautiously approached.

Li Guiping didn't stop walking, her voice was extremely low, and she spoke very quickly.

"Go and tell Her Majesty that the old hag in Chengqian Palace may be suspicious of us and is plotting something. We need to use some methods to let Her Majesty know what's going on."

The young eunuch's face tightened, and he immediately nodded.

They quietly blended into the cleaning crew.

They vanished in the blink of an eye.

Li Guiping was not too flustered.

Firstly, he has the Empress as his biggest backer.

Secondly, suspicion is just suspicion; there is no real evidence. Tongjia was a princess who had just entered the palace and whose position was not yet stable.

They would never dare to easily touch this chief eunuch.

However, that old nanny... that shrewd old woman, keeping her around will ultimately be a disaster.

He had already secretly put getting rid of this old woman on his agenda.

Inside the bedchamber, the nanny watched as Li Guiping walked away.

Only then did he approach Tongjia, his voice extremely low and filled with unprecedented solemnity.

“Princess, after much thought, this old servant believes that there are spies from other families hiding in our Chengqian Palace, and this person is most likely Li Guiping.”