Xi Jiaorong accompanied Zhu Bifeng to listen to the piano. After Qi Yuer had eaten and drunk her fill, she decisively said goodbye and left without staying for a moment.
Xi Jiaorong's maid, Agui, had grown up with her. The two spoke in a casual manner. Agui reminded her, "Master, why didn't you stay a little longer?"
"What am I doing here? I've already eaten my fill, but I'm still here to make myself look bad."
Agui shook her head. Her master was good in every way except for one thing, and she would not listen to his advice.
After Qi Yuer came out of Concubine Xi's bedroom, Liangxiao Palace, she went straight to the Imperial Garden. The sweet osmanthus flowers were blooming beautifully in the summer, and she planned to pick some to make cakes.
Agui was helpless, as her master did nothing but eat and didn't care about her favor at all.
Qi Yuer walked a short distance away, and Mei Fei also said that she wanted to go pick osmanthus flowers. The two of them walked together. Jiang Yuan, who was in the pavilion not far away, was filled with mixed feelings.
The situation is not good. Concubine Mei has won over Concubine Qi, forming a powerful alliance, but she is alone and weak, and Sun Shurong is useless. Now she can only support the people around her.
"Shuang'er, raise your head."
The palace maid Shuang'er looked up timidly, "What do you want, Zhaoyi?"
"I intend to promote you to be my master, whether you like it or not."
Shuang'er was extremely unwilling, but Jiang Zhaoyi was moody, so she answered very tactfully.
"I am loyal and devoted to Concubine Jiang, and I have no second thoughts about her."
"What I value is your loyalty."
Jiang Yuan's eyes kept glancing at Shuang'er, as if she was looking at a piece of merchandise, with contempt and no pity at all.
She will take advantage of anyone who can help her climb up.
Jiang Yuan planned to push Shuang'er to gain favor, but Shuang'er was nervous. Shuang'er was a family-born girl, and her ancestors had been slaves in the Jiang family for generations. Jiang Yuan brought two maids with her when she entered the palace, one was Shuang'er, a family-born girl, and the other was Xing'er, a maid who was just bought before entering the palace.
They all had the same fate as slaves, slept in a large bunk bed, ate coarse grains, and drank coarse tea.
Suddenly one day, Xing'er realized that Shuang'er was about to fly to the tree and become a phoenix. The huge psychological gap almost made Xing'er go crazy.
Shuang'er did not fight or compete, and Xing'er became the person in charge around Jiang Yuan. The lowly palace maids also rushed to curry favor with her. Now that they heard the news, they all turned to curry favor with Shuang'er.
Xing'er hid in the room, biting her handkerchief and crying bitterly. Why, why didn't Jiang Zhaoyi choose her?
In terms of figure, she is miles ahead of Shuang'er.
She looks like a bean sprout, the emperor will not like her.
Shuang'er also keenly noticed Xing'er's jealousy. She had been thinking hard about how to break the deadlock, and finally came up with a solution.
Jiang Yuan opened the wardrobe and picked out three sets of old clothes that had never been worn and gave them to Shuang'er.
"Look, the color of Tianshuibi suits you so well. Take it and make it into a palace dress. Everyone will be happy when you wear the new clothes."
The other palace maids all laughed along with Jiang Yuan, but Shuang'er herself couldn't laugh.
Jiang Yuan enthusiastically took Shuang'er's hand and opened the jewelry box to choose jewelry.
The red gold hairpins, the red pomegranate double-headed hairpins, the slanted moon hairpins, the jade bracelets, the gem rings, and the necklaces made of various rare treasures are all dazzling.
The room was full of jewels and precious stones, but Shuang'er had a gloomy face. To her, jewels were not decorations, but shackles.
"My Lady, what virtue and ability does Shuang'er have?"
"Don't say bad things. I chose you, and the emperor will naturally take a fancy to you as well."
Shuang'er's heart sank to the bottom, and she could almost foresee a bleak life in the future.
"Cheer up, everyone. If I can lift up Shuang'er today, I can lift up all of you tomorrow."
The palace maids serving Jiang Yuan all showed respectful expressions.
In the evening, Shuang'er returned to her residence with the new clothes and jewelry given by Jiang Yuanshang. Xing'er felt sad and said a lot of sour words.
"Oh, someone has climbed up to a high branch, and the crow has turned into a phoenix."
Shuang'er could no longer bear her grievance and started crying.
Xing'er was panicked for a moment. She just wanted to tease her and didn't want to make her cry.
When Shuang'er started crying, Jiang Zhaoyi asked her about it and realized that she was the one who suffered the loss, so she hurriedly comforted her: "Shuang'er, don't be sad."
"I'm not sad, I'm happy."
Xing'er suddenly choked, and her expression was uglier than if she had taken bitter medicine.
"I'm finally getting through this. Empress Zhaoyi has given me such a boost that I'm about to soar to the sky like a phoenix."
"I heard that even the lowest-ranking official, the cloaking clerk, had two palace maids to serve him, didn't have to sleep in a large dormitory, received a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver, didn't have to kneel before anyone, and wore clean clothes year-round."
The more Shuang'er spoke, the darker Xing'er's face became.
I shouldn't have sympathized with her just now and let her cry a little longer. It's all my fault for being so mean. I had to ask questions and asked a lot of nonsense, which only made me angry.
"Your good days are coming, stop crying." Xing'er said and turned to leave.
Shuang'er raised the back of her hand to wipe away her tears, opened the package, and deliberately took out the jewelry that Jiang Zhaoyi had given her and placed it brightly on the pillow.
Xing'er came back to rest after finishing her work, and several palace maids gathered around Shuang'er's bedside, pointing and talking.
Xing Er yelled, "It's time for lunch break, why don't you just mumble nonsense?"
The palace maids immediately lay down to rest. Xing'er bit her handkerchief, her eyes were red, and the gold and silver hairpins were like sharp needles, piercing her eyes every time she looked.
The rewards given by the empresses can be exchanged for silver notes or sent out of the palace.
The gold and silver hairpins placed on Shuang'er's bedside weigh at least two or three pounds. If they were exchanged for silver notes, her family could live a good life, build a big tiled house for her parents, and send her nephew to school.
"Sister Xing'er, Empress Zhaoyi is looking for you."
"I'm coming."
A shout interrupted Xing'er's reverie, Shuang'er walked out from the darkness, and the fish had been hooked.
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