"What can we do?" Duan Feihong sighed, scratching his gray and white hair, and said helplessly. "Concubine Zhao just pushed her here, and then she urged His Majesty to let Lan'er go to Ningguta. It's so obvious. Are we going to pretend to be confused? Forget it, let her go."
"What Concubine Zhao wants to do is... make sure Lan'er marries the deposed prince. She lets this girl spy on her openly." Madam Duan took a breath of cold air, "She wants to completely tie our Duan family to the deposed prince's broken boat, and we will never be able to turn over again in our lifetime!"
"It's good that you know." Duan Feihong said tiredly, "At this point, we have no choice but to follow Concubine Zhao's wishes. At least we can save the lives of our family."
Mrs. Duan's tears started to flow again. She sobbed and twisted her handkerchief, unable to sleep again.
The next day.
As usual, Ah Chou got up before dawn, chopped wood, boiled water and cooked. She was busy for an hour. After a night's rest, Ah Chou's waist began to ache again. She didn't know if it was because she was taller, but she always had body aches. She also didn't get enough sleep, and she had cramps several times last night. Ah Chou had been grinning for most of the night, and now she looked listless.
After bringing the prepared food into the main hall, Ah Chou set the table. When he was about to leave, he was stopped by Duan Feihong.
"Master, you called me?" Ah Chou looked at Duan Feihong and felt very scared. Ever since Duan Feihong brought her back from the Yanxi Palace, he had never treated her well. Ah Chou knew that he hated her and knew who was good and who was bad, so she never dared to stay in the main hall for long. She asked uneasily, "Master, what do you want?"
Duan Feihong looked at Ah Chou, whose face was about to bow to the ground, and stared at him for a long time, until Ah Chou's neck was sore, and then he heard Duan Feihong say: "Tomorrow you and the young lady will leave the capital together."
"Ah?" Ah Chou was shocked. She had known for a long time that Duan Rulan was going to marry in Ningguta, but she had never thought that this matter would have anything to do with her. At that time, she did not care whether Duan Feihong would hate her even more. She looked up at Duan Feihong and said, "Master...what do you mean?"
Duan Feihong's originally calm face suddenly showed disgust and coldness after Ah Chou looked at him like that: "Why? Do you think it's unfair to let an ugly girl like you be the lady's dowry maid?"
Yes, Achou is as ugly as her name suggests. It's not that she is born ugly, but there was a fire in the palace last year and she was licked by the flames while putting out the fire. The dark red scar is not large, but it runs from her right wrist to her neck, and there is even a scar on her chin that is the size of a fingernail. That's why Achou got this name.
"No, no, I don't feel wronged..." Ah Chou waved his hands hurriedly, paused and shook his head, "But..."
"There is nothing wrong with that!" Duan Feihong was too lazy to say anything more to her. He waved his hand to drive Ah Chou out. After a pause, he frowned and looked at Ah Chou's washed-white coarse linen robe and said, "Go ask the housekeeper for a decent set of clothes. You don't have to do rough work today. Go and serve the young lady in her room."
"Yes, I obey your command." Ah Chou agreed reluctantly. Her death contract was in Duan Feihong's hands, so naturally, whatever he said was what she had to say. How could she have any say in that?
It’s just Ningguta…
Achou frowned and went to find the housekeeper. He stared at the tender green grass sprouts emerging from the cracks in the stone bricks, and thought about the gossip he had heard from the palace maids in the past.
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