"Hey, don't mention it, it's all my bad luck." Ah Chou was stabbed in the heart. Sitting on the bed, while cutting Zhong Mingwei's beard, he kept telling Zhong Mingwei about his bad luck over the years.
Ah Chou was not born a slave. She had a good background, after all, she was the eldest daughter of an official family. But she was not destined to enjoy a good life. In the 20th year of Jiasheng, when Ah Chou was four years old, her father, who was a censor, spoke harshly. He offended the big shots above, and Ah Chou's good luck ended there. Not only were her parents executed, but she, a baby who had just learned to talk and walk, became a palace prostitute overnight. She began her arduous journey of washing clothes in the laundry department.
But what kind of clothes can a four-year-old girl wash? Fortunately, the aunts and maids in the laundry department took care of this poor child without a father or a mother, so Ah Chou grew up peacefully in the laundry department until she was thirteen years old.
When she was thirteen years old, Ah Chou had a rare good fortune. Relying on her sweet mouth and good talk, she was recommended by the head maid of the laundry bureau to work in the Yanxi Palace of Concubine Zhao, who was the most favored by the emperor. Although she was still a laundry maid, at least she had a rank. From then on, she could receive a monthly salary, although it was only a small amount of one penny of silver each month. However, life in the Yanxi Palace was much better than that in the laundry bureau. Not only were the food and clothing expenses of a higher grade, but there were also rewards during every festival. In a year, Ah Chou could save nearly two taels of silver. Although she had no use for spending money, who wanted her to be stingy?
But Achou was used to being unlucky, and her good luck did not last long. After washing clothes in the Yanx Palace for two years, on the New Year's Eve of the 30th year of Jiasheng's reign, the palace was going to set off fireworks as usual. According to the ancestral system, on this day, all the servants in the palace, regardless of their rank, could watch the fireworks. So all the palace servants who usually only knew how to work with their heads down, ran to watch the fireworks. Achou did not go. She had been in the palace for eleven years and was tired of watching fireworks. Instead of going out and making a noise, she might as well take the place of others on night duty and earn two dollars a night.
Moreover, she did not have the mind of other palace maids to dress up so gorgeously. She had to bear the identity of a criminal slave for the rest of her life, so she naturally did not have the extravagant hope of becoming successful overnight and becoming the master.
It was also too late. That night, there was a fire in the Jingren Palace. Ah Chou was dozing off in the side room and was awakened by the crackling sound of a fire. She pushed the door open and saw flames shooting up to the sky. The Jingren Palace was separated from the Yanxi Palace by a wall, so she naturally could not just sit there and watch, so she hurried over with some water.
An hour later, the fire in Jingren Palace was finally put out thanks to the efforts of a group of guards and servants. Ah Chou's right arm was burned, from the right wrist to the arm, shoulder and neck, and even the chin was licked by the flames. Her skin was really torn apart. Ah Chou gritted her teeth and endured the pain and returned to Yanxi Palace. Even though the pain was excruciating, thinking of the person who was dressed like her master and was just pulled out of the sea of fire, she still fantasized that this time she could turn a disaster into a blessing, and maybe she could get some reward.
The next morning, Cuiping, the personal maid of Concubine Zhao, came as expected, but she did not give her any reward. Instead, she praised her in a neutral way for her sincerity and courage to be the first. Ah Chou did not even react, and Cuiping turned away and left.
Later, the little sisters in the same room secretly told Achou, Achou, you are in trouble.
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