The maid's road to success

When those gold, silver and jewels were brought into the palace, Zi Gu was like a dead leaf, blown to the ground by the wind, and fell into the mud, never to return to its original appearance.

Zi Gu originally thought that the Empress Dowager would not take her life, but unfortunately she thought too highly of the Empress Dowager and overestimated her own status.

Zi Gu never struggled along the way. To her, the man she loved had been deceiving her all along, and her master wanted her to die without any consideration for the relationship in order to prevent the matter from being discovered and implicated in Shou'en Palace. Eunuch Cheng, who had worked with her for so long, also spared no effort to trample her under his feet.

It's so sad and ridiculous that Zi Gu was rudely thrown onto the dirty and dusty ground. This palace was previously where a favorite concubine lived. It caught fire and half of it was burned down. The location was also remote, so it was just casually repaired and then abandoned.

"Eunuch Cheng, you are really great. You knew that I had told the Empress Dowager about you, but you held back and waited for my secret to be exposed so that you could deal with me."

Eunuch Cheng looked at Zi Gu with a smile, he was a man who valued his life and knew the times, he had never thought of going against Zi Gu, but it was a pity that Zi Gu was too loyal to the Empress Dowager, she refused to help him and even wanted to pull him in. He could not blame himself for being cruel and framing his friend of many years.

"Zi Gu, you are still stubborn. Look at the current situation. You have been deceived by this man and lost most of your life savings. I saved your face in front of the Empress Dowager just now. Do you know what else I found in his room? Wang Liangfei drew the picture of you and him making love in a book and sold it at a fixed price. Do you think he really drew it because he missed you? You are wrong. This man loves money. He cheated you of your private money and kept selling your erotic paintings. I also found silver with a lotus logo in his room. What do you think this means?"

Zi Gu's face changed drastically, and she looked at Wang Liangfei with resentment. What did it represent? Lotus was the Queen Mother's favorite flower. She would always choose the lotus logo to be printed on silver, round fans, jewelry, and even embroidered on clothes. Wang Liangfei's family had silver with the lotus logo. It was impossible for him, a guard on duty in the cold palace, to have such a thing, unless he exchanged his own information for it.

Wang Liangfei actually leaked the news about Shou'en Palace? Why did Eunuch Cheng hide it for me? Didn't he deliberately expose this matter in order to make the Empress Dowager give up on me?

"Why did you hide it? Wouldn't it be more to your liking if the Queen Mother knew?"

Eunuch Cheng's smile froze on his face, and he seemed a little lonely.

"I want to see if you, who did not leak the news of Shou'en Palace but had a private affair with someone, will be forgiven."

Eunuch Cheng did not say it very bluntly, but both of them knew that Eunuch Cheng was testing the Empress Dowager's heart. The two of them had been with her for so long that they really thought they could be trusted and protected by her unconditionally, but it turned out to be just wishful thinking.

"Before I die, I want you to know the truth. I knew the Empress Dowager's plan a year or two ago. The two of us are destined to be buried with her. We have done too many shameful and private things for the Empress Dowager. For the sake of her own reputation, she will not let us live with so many secrets."

"Since that day, I have been on guard. I mentioned it to you, but you firmly believed in the Grand Empress Dowager and even pulled me down to protect your own position. Zi Gu, just three days ago I didn't even think of harming you, but you wanted the Grand Empress Dowager to imprison me. I had no choice."

Zi Gu didn't expect that it was because of this? The Empress Dowager actually wanted them to be buried alive with her. No wonder she always found someone to take care of herself and her family. It turned out that she was watching her. Eunuch Cheng knew that even if he didn't instigate the Empress Dowager, she would have sent someone to monitor them. His suggestion was just for her to naturally put the blame on him.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is. I was so blind that I thought she would really let me leave the palace and enjoy a life of wealth and freedom."

Eunuch Cheng felt very sad when he saw Zi Gu, who was crying and laughing crazily. They entered the palace out of helplessness. If they had food to eat, who would want to come to this place where people are eaten? They just wanted to survive.

Here, you have no say over life and death. Too many palace maids and eunuchs have suffered too much torture. Their only wish is to be released from the palace when they are old enough, taking the money they have saved and enjoying a leisurely life. But even this is a luxury.

Zi Gu, like herself, was full of hope, fantasizing that after the Empress Dowager passed away, she could leave the palace safely with her reward, buy a farm, and live a rich and leisurely life. But in the end, it was just wishful thinking.

Fortunately, I woke up in time and didn't walk towards the cliff with my eyes covered, but Zi Gu had already fallen to the bottom of the cliff.

Zi Gu was very domineering and petty, but she was also a loyal servant. She had done so much for the Grand Empress Dowager, and all the scars and illnesses on her body were because of her.

But even though Eunuch Cheng kept it a secret and did not expose Wang Liangfei and sell out what she said, she still wanted to kill herself.

Why? It was just that they all felt that they had invested too much in Wang Liangfei, and staying with him would be a huge hidden danger, so they just got rid of him.

Wang Liangfei was also the culprit who pushed Zi Gu off the cliff and into hell. I helped him when he was at his lowest point, but he only wanted to get close to me for the sake of money and benefits.

He had told himself about the injustice and hardship so many times, and Zi Gu had repeatedly given him the money she had saved for her life after leaving the palace, but it was all lies. His mother was not seriously ill and needed ginseng for treatment, and his sister was not rejected by her husband's family because of her dowry, but these were all lies he told to cheat him of his money.

"How are you going to kill me?"

Zi Gu looked at Eunuch Cheng calmly. At this point, he was already a dying man, so she was not so frightened or scared anymore.

"Poisoned wine."

Eunuch Cheng handed Zi Gu a glass of wine. Zi Gu took it and looked at it for a long time. Finally, she drank it all and looked at the square sky above her head. After being trapped in this palace for more than 30 years, she could finally get rid of this fearful and cautious life.

Wang Liangfei was thrown to the ground. Watching the conversation between Zi Gu and Eunuch Cheng, he was already frightened out of his wits. He smelled a faint foul smell coming from his lower body and actually peed his pants.

Eunuch Cheng looked at Zi Gu, who was in a daze and calm, and felt deeply touched. He glanced at Wang Liangfei's embarrassing look and rolled his eyes. He didn't know how Zi Gu fell in love with such a spineless man and was deceived by him for so long?

Eunuch Cheng had Wang Liangfei pulled up and forced him to drink a glass of wine. He tried to struggle and scream to escape, but his bound hands and feet caused him to fall to the ground again and again. Finally, he trembled all over on the ground until blood flowed from his mouth and nose and he stopped breathing.

"Alright, call the people who are going to bring the bodies over, and tell them that two people have died. Have them take them to the mass grave."

Eunuch Cheng covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. Wang Liangfei had just peed his pants out of fear, and was struggling and thrashing about. The air was filled with dust and the smell of urine, which was really uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the trouble has been solved now. None of the other palace maids in Shou'en Palace can compare to Zi Gu's status. From now on, no one in Shou'en Palace will dare to point fingers at her, and it will be convenient to do things.

When Eunuch Cheng stepped out of the palace gate, the cold wind that had been howling for the past few days finally stopped, and the sun, which had been covered by clouds, also came out. The wind finally calmed down.

The biting cold wind stung her skin like needles. Zi Gu lay on the ground in a panic, her whole body still sore and weak. The stench of decay around her made her retch continuously.

A sinister cry came from nearby, and the rustling sound made Zi Gu very nervous, but she was unable to move and her whole body couldn't help shaking.

"Zi Gu."

When Eunuch Cheng's voice came, Zi Gu tried to turn her head to look at the person standing next to her in the moonlight. It was Eunuch Cheng. Why was he here? Could it be that she was not dead, and this was not the underworld?

"I'll give you a chance. If you're willing to help me find a job, I'll spare your name. If you still insist on doing it, you won't get a second chance."

Zi Gu then understood that Eunuch Cheng had no intention of letting her die. His intention from the very beginning was to make her see the Empress Dowager's ruthlessness clearly, so that she would give up on her and betray him.

"I will not kill the Grand Empress Dowager. After all, I have served her for so many years. It would be a lie to say that I have no feelings for her. But I will not put my life in her hands. My life is decided by me. When things are done, I will do my best to advise my master and keep her alive. But you must be loyal to my current master with me."

Zi Gu smiled bitterly, but she didn't know what medicine she had taken. She couldn't even control her facial skin. Her muscles were twitching, and she looked really scary like a ghost.

"it is good."

A hoarse and dry sound came out of Zi Gu's mouth, and even the sound of her voice was completely different from before.

Zi Gu originally just blamed herself for being careless and having her affair with Wang Liangfei discovered by Eunuch Cheng. Unexpectedly, under Eunuch Cheng's manipulation, she discovered that the master she had served for many years had been planning to have her and her companions buried with him.

I have served the Grand Empress Dowager so hard for so many years and have never had any second thoughts. I have accompanied her through so many dangers and seas of fire, but she was not even allowed to survive. The Grand Empress Dowager's health is no longer the same as before. She cannot sleep at night and she can't eat much. Her bones and internal organs are slowly having problems. How long can she last? I am only in my forties. As long as I take good care of myself, I still have many days to enjoy life.

How could she be willing? Her loyalty was rewarded with fear and death, so she no longer cared about the relationship between master and servant, and planned a peaceful future for herself.

Seeing that Zi Gu agreed, Eunuch Cheng had someone pull her up and carried her all the way to a remote mountain village. The village was not big and the road was very difficult to walk on, but fortunately there were few people and she would not be discovered here.

"How did you do it?"

Eunuch Cheng felt a little sad when he saw Zi Gu. She was such a proud person that even the imperial concubine had to win her over in the palace, but now she became like this.

"In fact, you don't need to advise the Grand Empress Dowager. There have always been people watching my actions, but I found out early and bribed them. What he said to the Grand Empress Dowager was just what I wanted her to know, which is the young palace maids and eunuchs that the Grand Empress Dowager assigned to serve us two years ago."

Zi Gu laughed sarcastically. It actually started from that time. She thought that the Empress Dowager really sympathized with her and Eunuch Cheng's age and found someone to help them. She was very proud of herself at that time. As a palace maid, she could order people to serve her like a master.

"Later, I stopped trying to seize our rights in Shou'en Palace and focused on buying off the people around me. I had already discovered your affair with Wang Liangfei, but because I thought you were lonely in the palace, I helped cover it up a few times. But I didn't expect you to speak to the Grand Empress Dowager and force me to leave the palace. If you simply wanted me to leave, I naturally wouldn't do it, but I knew the Grand Empress Dowager would not let me leave alive, so I had to make some plans."

There was even more sarcasm in Zi Gu's eyes, but the sarcasm was not directed at Eunuch Cheng, but at herself.

"I had someone leak the coughing incident so that I could search the palace openly and expose you. At first, I thought you would lose my trust and no longer be able to hinder me. But I didn't expect you to be bolder than I thought. You even gave Wang Liangfei your pair of cards."

"I found a lot of things when I went to the Wang family's house. I knew that if I handed over all those things, you would definitely die. But I want to see, and I want you to see, if the Empress Dowager didn't know that Wang Liangfei had a deal with the people on her side, and didn't know that Wang Liangfei had painted your erotic portrait, would she spare your life?"

Eunuch Cheng raised his head and looked at Zi Gu, who was already heartbroken, and still said the words she most didn't want to hear.

"But I didn't expect that even though the Empress Dowager didn't know that Wang Liangfei got the information from you and sold it, she still wanted you to shut up and eliminate all things and people that would hurt her."

Zi Gu lay on her back on the bed, tears sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the cotton sheets. She looked very conspicuous on the grey sheets.

"Wang Liangfei..."

Eunuch Cheng took something out from his arms.

"He's dead. He can't live. Wang Liangfei is not a good person. He at least obtained information from you and sold it to more than two people. I also burned all your portraits. I also found this on Wang Liangfei. His first wife is dead. You met after his wife died. But he kept the money he cheated from you because he has a concubine named Taohua. She has given birth to two children for him. She is also a maid in the palace, but she left the palace at the age of 25. It should be three or four years ago. They have planned to get married recently, and the engagement cards have been exchanged. He is planning to cheat you out of the remaining money."

Zi Gu looked at the engagement letter placed aside with hatred in her eyes. She had been deceived by such a villain to such an extent. No wonder she hadn't seen Wang Liangfei recently. She thought he hadn't found the right opportunity, but she didn't expect that he was busy getting married.

"Peach Blossom..."

Without waiting for Zi Gu to finish, Eunuch Cheng continued speaking.

"I didn't touch Taohua. I just inquired about the situation and left it for you. When the master is done, I will let you go and take revenge yourself. She is not wronged. She knew about your existence from the beginning to the end. Or maybe she seduced Wang Liangfei just to take revenge on you. It was also her who gave Wang Liangfei the idea to use up all your savings."

Zi Gu looked at Eunuch Cheng in confusion? Revenge? Why? She didn't seem to know a person named Taohua.

"Six years ago, at the birthday party of the Grand Empress Dowager, a maidservant made a mistake and was punished by you. That person was Taohua. You had her taken down and beaten with 20 bamboo sticks that day, but she was blamed by the housekeeper and sent to a eunuch to be his concubine. She suffered a lot."

"Four years ago, she saw that the jade pendant Wang Liangfei was wearing was the one you always carried with you, so she started to get close to Wang Liangfei, and then climbed into Wang Liangfei's bed, which led to all these things that happened later. Even if you and Wang Liangfei broke up, she would still expose this matter, so she is not wronged. As long as the opportunity comes, I will help you get revenge."

Zi Gu's tears could not stop flowing, soaking the pillow and clothes below. It turned out to be such a ridiculous reason.