early morning
The summer sun was blazing, a warm breeze was blowing, and occasional bursts of thunder echoed in the sky.
The small and medium-sized bluestone slabs made a rustling sound, and every now and then, two or three palace maids dressed in dark green palace clothes would hurry along the palace path.
Not far away, a woman in green was frantically sweeping the ground with a broom; that's where the earlier noise came from.
Mingxiu hurriedly finished sweeping the floor before the autumn rain came. She grabbed her things and rushed into the house. Suddenly, a heavy rain began to fall, and people were running around inside the palace walls.
Looking at the chaotic scene before her, Mingxiu smiled. Judging from the rain, it was bound to rain for two days. Great, finally she didn't have to work.
She has been in this world for over a month, and every day she sweeps the floor. Everyone in the palace has their own job, and generally, once they have finished their own tasks, they are not allowed to do anything else unless the master requests it.
But when it rains, she doesn't have to go out to work. You have to understand that this is the first time she's had a day off in more than a month. For a whole month, she's been getting up earlier than the chickens and going to bed later than the dogs. Even capital doesn't exploit people like this.
It's truly heartbreaking to hear; if she worked this hard in modern times, she would probably have been promoted and received a raise long ago.
Wiping away imaginary tears, Mingxiu stretched and resolutely decided, 'I'm not getting out of bed tomorrow, no matter what. I'm going to stay in bed!'
"What are you standing there grinning about?" A woman in pink slowly walked in through the doorway. She was graceful and beautiful, with delicate features on her fair face.
"Sister Muyao, what brings you here? Doesn't Her Majesty the Empress need your service?" Upon seeing the visitor, Mingxiu quickly bowed and greeted her. The others behind Mingxiu also stepped forward.
To be honest, she didn't have many other profound experiences in the past month, but the practice of bowing was extremely difficult for her. She had to bow every three or five steps, and she had to bow to everyone she met. This was something that someone from the 21st century like her found very difficult to adapt to, so she now tries to stay home as much as possible.
"Her Majesty the Empress has instructed that the Emperor will be coming tonight. You all need to clean the courtyard one last time. Don't neglect it, or Her Majesty will give you a good scolding," Mu Yao said, looking at the people who were bowing.
“Yes,” Mingxiu and the others quickly replied.
Watching Mu Yao's departing figure, it's no wonder that Sister Mu Yao values things so much. The court is busy right now, and the Emperor doesn't come to the inner palace very often. Moreover, when he does come, it's usually only on the first and fifteenth of the month in the Empress's palace. The rest of the time, he spends most of his time with Consort Tong and Consort Shu.
"Sister Mingxiu, have you ever seen the Emperor?" A little girl with an oval face came up from behind.
Shaking her head, Mingxiu couldn't help but admire the beauty of the young girl in front of her. The girl was named Qingyin, and she had entered the palace with her. She had seen the concubines when they came to pay their respects to the Empress during the month she had been there. It must be said that each of them was exceptionally beautiful and had their own unique features. The only difference was that the Empress's appearance was slightly inferior, but the Empress's aura was something that no one else could match.
Having seen it from afar, she immediately understood why men liked having multiple wives and concubines. She liked it too—surrounded by a group of beautiful women with different styles, it was truly a wonderful feeling.
But the girl in front of her was no less beautiful than any of the concubines in the imperial harem. She had willow-leaf eyebrows, fair skin that exuded the unique fragrance of a young girl, naturally red lips, and upturned phoenix eyes that made her look charming. Yet, because of her young age, her eyes revealed a clear naivety, truly captivating people without them even realizing it.
No wonder she was ostracized, Mingxiu thought to herself, though she didn't show it on her face.
"I really want to meet the Emperor. I wonder if he's handsome?" the little girl said with longing.
"You should just stick to your work. Why do you want to climb the social ladder and get the Emperor's attention? Don't you even realize you're not good enough for him?" The woman next to her immediately spoke up disdainfully when she heard her say that.
When Qingyin heard her say that, she was about to retort when she saw another girl next to her, who hadn't spoken until now, speak up.
“Sister Pinzhu, you’re mistaken. Qingyin didn’t say anything. The Emperor is so wise and powerful, who wouldn’t want to see him? Don’t you want to see him too?” She walked over and took Qingyin’s hand. She continued, “Or is it that you also want to see the Emperor, so you can’t stand seeing others see him?”
After saying that, she quickly covered her mouth, surprised, "Oh dear, sister, I didn't say something wrong, did I? I didn't mean anything by it. I didn't mean that you're thinking about the Emperor. Please don't misunderstand me."
"You, you, you, shut up! Song Jialan, how dare you slander me? I'll tear your mouth apart!" Pinzhu pointed at Lanxin with a trembling finger, her face flushed red, and she was so angry that she could barely speak.
After saying that, he went over and started fighting with her. Qingyin, who was standing next to him, looked bewildered and scared. She tried to pull on this person and tug on that person, but no one could hold her back. She was so scared that she was about to cry.
Mingxiu looked at the scene before her, speechless. The four of them had lived together since entering the palace. They were all third-class maids, so what conflicts could there be? But since entering the palace, almost everyone had started to intentionally or unintentionally ostracize Qingyin. It was understandable, since she was pretty. But this Xilin Jueluo clan's Pinzhu and Song Jialanxin just couldn't get along. One had a bad temper, and the other was a green tea bitch. They really had a problem every day. Mingxiu didn't know what to say.
Looking at the sky outside, he said, "You two stop fighting. The Emperor will be here soon. Hurry up and get ready, or the Empress will punish you." Without waiting for the other two's reaction, he grabbed Qingyin and left quickly.
When she came out, she saw that everyone was already busy, so Mingxiu quickly grabbed a broom and started working as well. After a while, Pinzhu and Lanxin also came over. They didn't say anything, but their expressions weren't very good, so they started working too.
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