"But how could she know that once a person steps into the noble's side, there will never be a chance to leave again, unless they die. The noble will not allow people around him to leave with their secrets."
"I didn't understand this principle at that time, and neither did Lian Qiao."
"By the time we both understood, it was already too late."
"At that time, she worked under Concubine Li. I thought Concubine Li was a good person after all. She was kind to everyone and never treated the palace maids harshly. Many palace maids in the harem were willing to serve such a master."
"But when I saw my sister Lian Qiao, with her body covered in scars and needle marks all over her arms, I realized that the kind-hearted queen praised by everyone in the harem actually had a cannibalistic face."
"I want to do something for her, but I am just an insignificant maid. If a noble lady like that shows even a little dissatisfaction with me, there will be people below who will kill me to please her."
"Maybe I'm not shrewd enough. That day in the Imperial Garden, I heard a few palace maids praising Concubine Li and slandering Concubine Gui. I couldn't help but think of the numerous scars on Lian Qiao's body, and I couldn't help but retort."
"I never thought that just that one sentence almost cost me my life."
"In order to save my life, Lian Qiao actually gave herself to Eunuch Li, the most favored eunuch beside Concubine Li. Eunuch Li was a well-known pervert, and countless palace maids died at his hands."
"I saved my life, but Lian Qiao lost half her life. Eunuch Li didn't ask anyone to treat her, so I could only ask the doctors in the Imperial Hospital for help. But I was just a powerless little maid, and no one paid any attention to me."
"That day, Aunt Shuxin, the head maid in the Imperial Concubine's palace, felt sorry for me and told the imperial physician. The Imperial Hospital sent a young imperial physician who had just entered the palace to treat Lian Qiao."
“She was able to survive.”
After hearing this, Su Yin roughly understood why Aunt Lian Qiao saved her father's life. This was to repay the life-saving grace she had given her.
Every sip and every bite is predestined; the orchid’s fruiting must have a reason.
"Since then, I have never dared to say more. In this cannibalistic place, the more you talk, the faster you die."
"Aunt Shuxin probably saw that I was stupid, so she said something to me."
"If you don't want Lian Qiao to die, you must make enemies with her and stay away from her."
"I didn't understand it at that time, so I told Lian Qiao about it. Lian Qiao is very smart, smarter than me. She is the smartest among the maids who entered the palace with us."
"It only took her a few years to climb up to the nobleman's side and even win his eye."
"When I told Lian Qiao about this, she remained silent for a rare moment."
"At that moment, I suddenly realized that maybe what Aunt Shuxin said was right."
"Sure enough, my guess was right. Lian Qiao and I had an argument on the third day, and we parted unhappily, and our relationship has cooled since then."
"Since that day, I have no close friends in this cold palace. I thought at that time that maybe I will live alone for the rest of my life. Maybe when I die, no one will stay by my bed and pour me a glass of water."
"Perhaps I don't know how long it will take for someone to find me after I die."
"I was thrown into a mass grave with my bedding rolled up. That was pretty much how my life was."
"I thought we would never see each other again and live like this forever. But suddenly one day, Lian Qiao secretly called me to the cold palace late at night. At that time, I had a bad feeling in my heart."
"I asked her what happened? She didn't say."
"I know she's afraid that I'll get into trouble if I know too much."
"That night, she told me that if I made a mistake, I would be sent to the cold palace. Or, she would find a way to get me out of the palace.
"I have nowhere to go after leaving the palace. There is no place for me in this world, so I chose the former."
"At that time, the Imperial Concubine and the Li Concubine were both pregnant at the same time."
Su Yin and Su Xinguang both noticed this time point. It seems that Concubine Li had made all the preparations when she was pregnant.
At this time, Lian Qiao, who had some face beside Concubine Li, was afraid that she would discover Concubine Li's plan, or that Concubine Li had never hidden it from her from the beginning to the end.
No matter what the situation was, Lian Qiao knew that she was in great danger.
She was afraid that her affairs would implicate her good friend Hong Xiu, so she asked her to hide and become an invisible person to avoid being killed by Concubine Li to silence her.
It is Lian Qiao's thoughtfulness that has allowed Hong Xiu to live to this day.
"At that time, I was in the cold palace, keeping my head down all day long and not interacting with people. As time went by, many people gradually forgot about my existence. Perhaps this is how I was able to escape the clutches of Concubine Li."
"I still remember the day when the Imperial Concubine and Concubine Li gave birth at the same time. I was a little worried about Lian Qiao, so I sneaked out of the cold palace and walked towards Concubine Li's palace. I chose a secluded road that few people passed by. Halfway through, I thought of what Aunt Shu Xin said and what Lian Qiao said to me, so I stopped and prepared to walk back."
"But suddenly I heard a baby crying. The sound was very soft, but I heard it clearly."
"Where are the cries of babies in the palace? The only sounds are from the babies born to Concubine Gui and Concubine Li."
"I knew something was wrong, so I hid myself in a hurry. From a distance, I saw the chief eunuch, Li Gonggong, beside Concubine Li, carrying a basket and walking hurriedly towards Concubine Li's palace."
"Cough, cough..." Matron Hongxiu coughed violently for a while, and the sound sounded as if she was going to cough out her lungs in the next moment.
Su Yin poured a cup of tea from the table and handed it to her.
Madam Hongxiu took the tea, took a sip, and after calming down for a while, she continued, "After Eunuch Li left, I hurried back to the cold palace. I know that I saw something I shouldn't have seen that night. I didn't dare to say anything, not even Lian Qiao."
"Perhaps I was frightened. After that night, I had a high fever and was delirious. When I recovered, I heard that a palace maid died in the bamboo forest over at Cui Liu Xuan. She accidentally fell into the well."
"When I heard the news, I felt like I was falling into an icy cave. Because Cui Liu Xuan was the place I passed by that day, and it was the place where I saw Eunuch Li passing by with a bamboo basket."
"I dare not think whether the maid fell into the well accidentally or was killed because she saw something she shouldn't have seen."
"After that day, I became even more cautious, and I didn't even dare to step out of the cold palace."
"Until the day before the hunt..."
"I met Lian Qiao again after a long time. She came to the cold palace secretly late at night, handed me a bundle, and left a message."
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