The emperor and empress were deeply in love. Even though Empress Zhenxian had passed away for many years, His Majesty still missed her. Although Concubine Zhao was the most favored by the emperor and the previous dynasty had a high voice to establish an empress, His Majesty still had no plan to establish another empress. He even established Zhong Mingwei, the eldest prince born by Empress Zhenxian, as the crown prince. Concubine Zhao, who had given birth to two princes in succession, had no place to vent her anger. Unfortunately, Empress Zhenxian's Jingren Palace was next to her. With Jingren Palace next to her, her Yanxi Palace, no matter how colorful and glittering it was, still exuded the shabby atmosphere of a concubine's room. Naturally, Concubine Zhao hated it with gnashing teeth.
Concubine Zhao must have been overjoyed when the Jingren Palace caught fire for no apparent reason. But she didn't expect that the people in her palace would be so kind-hearted and risk their lives to put out the fire.
Ah Chou understood everything and was completely disappointed. She was afraid that she would not be able to save her life, let alone the reward.
Ah Chou was in fear for several months. Her wounds healed and she was saved, but Ah Chou, who was always talkative and funny, became silent. She was busy washing clothes all day. After washing her own clothes, she was busy helping others wash clothes. She wanted to bury her face in the wooden basin and never come out.
It was also from that time that Achou got this unpleasant name.
Yes. Ah Chou was not ugly before. Not only was she not ugly. She was pretty. But after escaping the fire, Ah Chou became ugly again. The scar on her right wrist that spread to her chin, although her appearance was not affected much, was very eye-catching. Ah Chou became an outlier in the Yanxi Palace. How could Concubine Zhao, who was loved by everyone, tolerate such an ugly and inconsiderate servant in front of her?
Achou had always been prepared to be sent back to the laundry department, but Concubine Zhao seemed to have forgotten about it. She stayed in the Yanx Palace until the New Year's Eve of the following year, which even she found unbelievable.
However, on the New Year's Eve of the following year, another big incident happened in the palace. At the New Year's Eve dinner, Crown Prince Zhong Mingwei was drunk and rude. Not only did he dance with a sword in the hall, he also accidentally knocked over the tablet of Queen Zhenxian. The Emperor was furious and ordered the Crown Prince to be locked up in the clan house on the spot. He also ordered the Ministry of Justice to thoroughly investigate the Crown Prince's crimes over the years. Even though the Empress Dowager came forward to plead for him, the Emperor refused to revoke his order.
In the 32nd year of Jiasheng, as soon as the dynasty was established, the Zhou Dynasty changed. The crown prince was deposed by the emperor on the charge of "forming a clique and acting recklessly, being arrogant and frivolous, being disrespectful and unfilial", and was demoted to a commoner and directly sent to Ningguta. The deposed crown prince's future father-in-law, the right prime minister Duan Chenghong, was demoted six levels and became a mere sixth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy.
Ah Chou didn't care much about the major events of the previous dynasty, but something happened in her own little piece of land at this time.
The crown prince was deposed. The complacent Concubine Zhao heard that Duan Chenghong, who once held great power in the court, was now living a miserable life. A mere sixth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy, he was certainly not as famous as the right prime minister in the past. Now his family of more than a dozen people were squeezed into a small courtyard, and there was not even a maid to do the laundry and cooking. Concubine Zhao was kind-hearted and awarded the capable Achou to Duan Chenghong to serve in his house. She also specifically reminded him that she, the imperial concubine, liked this maid named Achou very much, and asked Duan Chenghong and his family to treat her well.
How could Duan Chenghong dare to offend Concubine Zhao? He took Ah Chou home that day, and Ah Chou's bad luck reached its peak in history.
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