Is this a case of "use it or lose it" or "practice makes perfect"?
She looked at Jin Zhuangzhuang with a complicated expression; that scream from her earlier had really frightened her.
[Zhuang, we can't do this to people!]
Zhuang, you need to be more careful! Even though the medicine I'm giving you is a bit bitter, it's for your own good!
[Do you think it's better to experience temporary discomfort or to have a constant itch?!]
[Don't be so scary! If you keep yelling like that, you're really asking for trouble!]
Yun Duoduo looked down at Jin Zhuangzhuang, communicating with her eyes. The two babies faced each other, their eyes shining brightly.
[Since I've gone to so much trouble to treat your illness, when you grow up, you'll have to acknowledge me as your older sister!]
Yun Duoduo's bright eyes darted around, sparkling. Zhuangzhuang was so dependent on her, and she had already gained a little sister before she was even a hundred days old. How wonderful!
...
Unlike the bustling and magnificent Anqing Palace, Xinzheku was extremely desolate, exuding an atmosphere of gloom and decay.
Ah Xiang did hard labor in the Xin Zhe Ku. When the night was quiet, she would sneak to Fu Shuang Gong, hold her breath, and secretly watch the clouds through the window.
She was initially worried that the young palace maids in Fushuang Palace wouldn't be able to take good care of the little princess, but when she saw that Eunuch Zhao had brought in the nannies, and that Granny Liu and some other very experienced nannies were taking care of the little princess, she felt relieved.
That day, when she woke up, she was brought before Yun Beiye.
Yunbei punished her by making her work in the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for laborers) to reflect on her mistakes. Once she had finished reflecting, she could return to the little princess's side. She originally wanted to return to the little princess's side as soon as possible.
However, after arriving at the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for palace maids and eunuchs to gather), she discovered that in this place where the lowest-ranking people in the palace gathered, she could hear a lot of news. The palace maids and eunuchs passed on gossip and the most private matters of the nobles in the palace.
The palace servants in the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for palace women to work in the Xin Zhe Ku) had all committed serious offenses and were doing the dirtiest, most tiring, and most arduous work.
When nobles in the palace needed someone to do dirty work, they would most often ask someone from the Xin Zhe Ku (a department within the palace) to carry it out.
The people here have lost all hope of survival; any glimmer of hope brought by anyone is seen as their only lifeline.
They would never refuse to do any dirty thing, such as poisoning, murdering, or stealing.
When nobles want to kill someone to silence them, the sudden loss of a palace servant in the Xin Zhe Ku (a place for palace servants) will go unnoticed.
She knew the fire in the Buddhist hall was suspicious, just like her young mistress had gone there after giving birth; it must be something she thought.
She hoped to stay here and gather information to help her find the culprit who harmed the little princess.
If we could find out who has been using drugs to ruin her young lady's body, and who is so ruthless in harming her, that would be wonderful.
Although she was of low status and could not change anything, at least when the little princess grew up, she could tell her who the enemy was and warn her to be careful.
She looked at the full moon in the sky, pounded the clothes in the bucket, her hands were red from the cold, her shoulders ached, and her knees were also cold and damp.
...
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. After a period of lively commotion, the palace has returned to tranquility.
Inside Shouchang Palace, the Empress Dowager removed the heavy headdress she wore and took off the bracelets on her hands.
Granny Zhang gently combed the Empress Dowager's hair and massaged the acupoints on the top of her head.
"How's the investigation into the fire at the Buddhist temple going?" The Empress Dowager's voice sounded slightly tired. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.
Today, Consort Chen and Grand Historian Zhen caused such a scene in the main hall. In the future, there may be others who will harm Duoduo in various ways.
Today, in front of all the civil and military officials in Anqing Hall, Zhen Taishi was dismissed from his post. This was also a warning to others who intended to harm her granddaughter.
"Your Majesty, this old servant secretly investigated. On the day the Buddhist hall caught fire, the palace maids and eunuchs who were originally guarding the entrance of the Buddhist hall were called away by Consort Ling, who lived nearby, saying that Fanghua Palace urgently needed manpower to clean the palace."
"Consort Ling of Fanghua Palace urgently needs manpower to clean the palace?" The Empress Dowager twitched the corner of her mouth. Hearing this, Consort Ling was very suspicious.
"This old servant inquired carefully and found that on that day, Consort Ling heard that His Majesty would pass by her palace, so she thought she should dress up nicely and hang some big red lanterns to attract His Majesty's attention."
"The Imperial Household Department was short-staffed, so they transferred palace servants from the vicinity of the Buddhist hall to help."
"Um."
"Is Consort Ling of Fanghua Palace the one who entered the palace half a year ago?" The Empress Dowager tried to recall, but she couldn't remember Consort Ling's appearance.
"Exactly."
"The water in the water tanks near the Buddhist hall was frozen, why didn't anyone notice?"
“The water vats near the Buddhist hall were originally under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department, but the head eunuch in charge of the department happened to be going back to his hometown to visit relatives those few days. We had to temporarily replace him, and there were too many things to do during the handover, so we forgot to check the water vats on time,” Zhang Mama explained.
"Hmph, these lackeys."
"That makes sense."
"Does Your Majesty think everything happened too coincidentally?" Granny Zhang paused in combing the Empress Dowager's hair, sorting through the cause and effect in her mind.
"This move was quite clever; it took into account the manpower of the Buddhist temple and the resources available for firefighting in case of fire."
"Do you remember this Consort Ling?" The Empress Dowager wondered. If Consort Ling was the one who planned this, she must be a steady, meticulous, and cautious person.
"This old servant remembers that when Consort Ling first entered the palace, she came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager every day, but she was always refused," Zhang Mama recalled, recounting events from a few months ago.
"For about a month, Ling Meiren was turned away every time she came, and later she stopped coming so often."
"Um."
"Is Lady Ling the daughter of an official?"
"She is the daughter of the Zheng family."
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, "Is he the same father as Consort Zheng in the Cold Palace?"
"Yes, this old servant has heard that Consort Ling is a concubine's daughter of the Zheng family."
"Um."
"Your Majesty, should the people from the Imperial Household Department be severely punished?" Zhang Mama asked. After all, the fact that there was no running water in the water tanks used for firefighting near the Buddhist hall was a dereliction of duty by the Imperial Household Department.
"Observe first, don't take any action."
"The person who did this knew that Duoduo went to the Buddhist hall. They either left spies near Duoduo's bedroom, Fushuang Palace, or near the Buddhist hall," the Empress Dowager said calmly.
"Does the Empress Dowager mean that this person might be after the little princess, or perhaps she's after the Empress Dowager herself?" Upon realizing this connection, Zhang Mama's expression instantly changed, and she gripped the wooden comb tightly in her hand.
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