The maid's road to success

Zi Gu felt that the world was playing a joke on her. In order to ensure that the Empress Dowager's birthday passed safely, she was very careful and did not dare to make any mistakes. However, a palace maid actually knocked over the fruits that were to be offered as tribute while cleaning the palace. Zi Gu was so angry that she had her maid dragged down and beaten with twenty bamboo boards. She had no idea that she was later despised by the housekeeper and sent to the eunuch's bed.

But because of this, Taohua held a grudge against her and deliberately interfered between her and Wang Liangfei, instigating Wang Liangfei to ask her for money and silver, and then spend it all on her. Unfortunately, Wang Liangfei was a selfish person. The silver and money he cheated was enough for them to live a life of luxury for the next three lifetimes, but he did not really give it all to Taohua. It was also because of this that Taohua thought she still had money in her hands and did not expose the matter and ruin her reputation.

It's really funny. The master who had served her for more than 30 years wanted her to work diligently and then be buried with him. The man who was sincere to her only cared about her money and status and helped her live a comfortable life. The palace maid who made a mistake and was punished unintentionally was also a vicious woman who blamed all her sufferings on herself and harmed herself.

The person I had been targeting actually gave me a way to survive.

"I have to hurry back to the palace and can't stay for long. The master has already sent people to destroy the pornographic works that were leaked out of your palace. The palace people that Taohua could contact have also been dealt with. This is the reward that the master will give you first. It all depends on whether you can exchange it for enough benefits for the master."

Zi Gu nodded. The effect of the medicine on her body had not yet worn off, so she was afraid that she could not do anything. However, in her opinion, since Eunuch Cheng could betray the Empress Dowager, his new master must be one of those who participated in the struggle for imperial power. Although she didn't know which one it was, she knew that the new master valued her and Eunuch Cheng and could do nothing about the Empress Dowager because they knew the most about her secrets and evidence of her crimes.

Zi Gu also thought that Eunuch Cheng was an old man who had been with the Empress Dowager for thirty years, and he had a lot of evidence in his hands. But since he took the trouble to save her, one reason was that Eunuch Cheng did not intend to let her die, and the other was because of several things. In the harem, Eunuch Cheng's reputation was greater than hers, and many things could not be done by him. What's more, the Empress Dowager hated most that all things were known by one person, which would become the biggest hidden danger. Apart from the two of them, the Empress Dowager still had other people hiding in the palace, and these people had many lives on their hands. What Eunuch Cheng's new master cared about was nothing more than those things that Eunuch Cheng didn't know but she knew.

Zi Gu thought about it in her mind and finally came up with a preliminary idea.

Eunuch Cheng had cleared the stumbling blocks in Shou'en Palace. Now he could do things more conveniently. He did not hesitate to arrange for someone to tamper with the emperor's meals when he returned to the palace. The emperor's meals would be tested for poison by a special person. So he did not use poison. The emperor liked a steamed dish, which was made every few days in the imperial kitchen. As the ruler of the world, he should not have his favorite food, in case someone took advantage of his preferences to do something. However, the chef in the imperial kitchen was smart. He only made the emperor's meals for half a year and knew the emperor's preferences. This matter was reported by his own spies in the imperial kitchen. He wrote on the steamed dish with special edible crisp paper the evidence that Cheng'en Gong privately stockpiled military rations, and then heated it. The font would disappear, and the crisp paper would completely cover the steamed dish due to the heat.

This steamed pastry is served with a bowl of cold sauce, which is poured on it before eating. The color of the steamed pastry will change from snow-white to pink, which is also the characteristic of the steamed pastry. The words written on the crisp paper with special medicinal juice will appear in cold water and will then be presented to the emperor's waiter. The waiter must be the most trusted person around the emperor and will not hide the evidence if he sees it.

After arranging everything, Eunuch Cheng quietly waited for news in his room. In the Yuxin Palace, Gong Qisu had just finished half of his meal when the waiter dropped his chopsticks in shock and hurriedly came to him with a plate. Gong Qisu's face changed immediately when he saw the words on the steamed buns. Many thoughts flashed through his mind. He wanted someone to investigate who was responsible. After all, his own grandfather wanted to rebel and usurp his throne. This was no joke.

However, he thought that since the other party had gone to so much trouble to send this news to him, he would not act rashly. This matter might not be groundless. If he investigated it openly, the whole palace would know about it today, and it would cause considerable turmoil.

If this was true, what would Duke Cheng'en do? Gong Qisu did not make it public. The people who served the meal were all people he trusted. He only asked the eunuchs to pretend to eat the meal and then leave. He only told others that today's meal was prepared with great care and he wanted to reward the imperial kitchen. He summoned several eunuchs and cooks in charge of the imperial kitchen.

No one knew what they said behind closed doors. When they came out, the eunuchs in charge had pale faces, a few silver ingots in their hands, and their legs were shaking. When they returned to the imperial kitchen, someone came to inquire about what was going on, and they were persuaded to leave by the people who escorted them back.

"The eunuchs are so excited about the emperor's praise that they are extremely excited. Please let them take a break."

As soon as everyone left, the people who were escorting them closed the door and looked down at the three eunuchs in charge.

"You don't even know how someone mixed something into the emperor's meal. If this gets out, you'll be dead. The emperor is kind-hearted and doesn't blame you, but we are all servants. All we have to consider is how to serve the emperor. You might as well take this opportunity to find out what's going on in the imperial kitchen. Maybe you can atone for your sins."

As soon as a few people left the imperial kitchen, two young eunuchs came to visit the chief eunuch, Eunuch Wang, carrying tea.

"Master, what happened? I see that you don't seem to be overly excited. Do you want to go to the Imperial Hospital to ask for some medicine?"

When Eunuch Wang saw that the people who came in were his most proud disciples, he finally calmed down, drank the tea they brought, asked them to sit in front of him, and held their hands while talking.

"Today's meal had something extra that shouldn't be there. The emperor was furious and asked us to find out who did it immediately. I was so scared. How could someone tamper with the imperial meal? Isn't this going to cost me my life?"

Eunuch Wang was talking to himself, and did not notice the disgust and hatred in the eyes of the disciple he was holding. After he talked for a long time, the disciple patted him on the back to calm him down.

"Master, don't worry. How many people come in and out of the imperial kitchen before and after the meal? How many people did he come into contact with in the meantime? Who knows? If you trust us, we will help investigate. We have many good friends among the eunuchs, so we can always find out something by asking them privately."

Eunuch Wang listened to his apprentice's words, and his originally relaxed expression suddenly turned sinister. He pulled his apprentice's hands with greater strength, causing the two men to frown in pain. Only then did he speak with a forced smile.

"Don't worry about this matter. I will investigate it myself."

The two apprentices were so frightened that they stuttered and nodded quickly. Eunuch Wang was really frightened and didn't have the energy to say much. He waved his hand to let the two men go out, and then lay down to figure out what to do about the matter. He didn't notice the hatred in the eyes of the two young eunuchs who had their backs to him and their clenched fists. A slightly more stable eunuch looked at his brother who was a little out of control and quickly bumped him into him. Only then did the young eunuch regain his senses and leave the room.

"Brother, I can't stand it anymore. I want him to die now."

The older eunuch pulled his younger brother aside and told him not to say such things in public. He looked around and whispered in his ear.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Why do you think I dragged you to bring him tea?"

The young man's eyes widened immediately upon hearing this. The older man, noticing someone coming, hurriedly pulled him into the house.

"Have you already started it?"

When the older man heard his cheerful voice, his eyes lit up with smiles and he nodded.

"When Eunuch Cheng gave me those things, he also gave me a bead. It was sent by the master and soaked in medicine. I soaked it with Eunuch Wang's tea set this morning. The medicinal properties have been integrated into the cup. Just wait patiently for three days. However, during this period, it is best for us to meet with Eunuch Wang less and let him meet with other people more often to reduce our suspicion."

The young man nodded, thought for a moment, ran outside, got a bamboo basket, and spent money to buy some fresh fruits from the imperial kitchen, including a kind of fresh peach.

He deliberately shouted at the door of a room to irritate the eunuch inside. Sure enough, the thin, white-faced young eunuch who lived inside pushed the door open angrily and walked over to quarrel with the young eunuch. After a few words, the two men started fighting. Seeing this, the older eunuch immediately rushed over to help. For a while, the yard was in chaos. The eunuch in charge came out and saw several people fighting, and he became angry.

"You guys are really unruly in the fight. If I don't punish you today, I won't be able to manage this yard in the future. Go and..."

Before he could finish his words, there were loud exclamations from all around. The eunuch in charge looked over and saw that both the young eunuch and his brother had many red spots all over their bodies, which looked very scary.

"Eunuch, Xiao Liangzi and Xiao Chunzi are allergic to fresh peaches. If Eunuch Wang knew about this..."

The eunuch behind him said with some concern that Eunuch Wang was the chief eunuch of the Imperial Kitchen, in charge of all matters of the Imperial Kitchen. These two brothers were his favorites. If something happened, it would be difficult for Eunuch Wang to explain when he found out.

"I know what happened. These two got into a fight with others and got themselves stained with peach juice. What does it have to do with me? Send them to the room and lock them up for five days. Only give them one meal a day. The other person who participated in the fight will be beaten with ten sticks."

Everyone dragged the two men back to the room and locked the door from the outside. No one noticed the happy smiles of the two brothers. They could finally punish those evil guys with their own hands.

While Eunuch Cheng in the palace was busy arranging these things, An Zizhong had successfully delivered the news to the ears of the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince looked at the letter in front of him and finally smiled happily after being depressed for so long. The Sixth Princess, who was standing outside the door, felt bitter when she heard the Sixth Prince's hearty laughter.

She was born in a noble family, and she managed the Sixth Prince's Mansion in an orderly manner. However, no matter how well she did, no matter how much she did, she still couldn't win the Sixth Prince's favor. He only liked those weak little white flowers, and brought back one woman after another. The Queen Mother could only persuade her to be magnanimous, until Liu Yan's appearance completely panicked her. She didn't want Liu Yan to give birth to the Sixth Prince's bloodline, which was a great insult to her. So she couldn't help it and took action to kill the child in Liu Yan's belly, but she didn't expect that Liu Yan, whom she had always hated, valued the child so much and was so fierce that she actually burned herself to death in Jingnan Lane.

From then on, the Sixth Prince ignored her, as if he couldn't see her even when she was standing right in front of him. Liu Yan's death left a deep scar in the Sixth Prince's heart and she successfully took revenge on herself. From that day on, she was no longer the glamorous Sixth Prince's wife.

The Sixth Prince's excited voice awakened the Sixth Princess. As usual, she handed the soup in her hand to the maid and asked her to take it in. She had chosen this maid herself, not for anything else, but because of her eyes that looked very much like Liu Yan. How much she hated Liu Yan, how much she regretted it now. She killed Liu Yan and the Fourth Prince knew about it. With a full-strength attack, the Sixth Prince was pulled out of the robe and mud. He was demoted to the fiefdom, and his mother's family was influenced by her. Young girls could not find a good husband's family, and they complained deeply about her. Even the Empress Dowager repeatedly reprimanded her for being too impulsive and harming the Sixth Prince and her mother's family.

In order to make up for the mistake she had made, she tried every means to bring back the current substitute of Liu Yan, and personally arranged her to be beside the Sixth Prince. Only by looking at her pretty face beside the Sixth Prince time and time again could she remind herself how big a mistake she had made.

"Sixth Princess, the prince wants you to come in."

The maid's voice stopped the Sixth Princess's steps. She turned her head and looked at him in disbelief. It was not until the maid repeated it that the nanny pulled her back and she reacted and went into the study.

"The prince calls me."

The Sixth Prince looked at the princess in front of him who was still the dignified and respectful one, and at Xiaoyao whose head popped out from behind him. He seemed to think of the woman who once hugged his arms and cried and acted like a spoiled child. He felt a little uncomfortable. He lowered his head, looked at the letter on the table, and finally regained some reason and talked to the Sixth Princess.

"Take a look. This is the record sent from Kyoto of Lord Cheng'en's open sale of official positions over the years."

The Sixth Princess took the paper handed to her by the Sixth Prince and looked at it carefully. The Sixth Princess was more suitable for these power struggles than the Sixth Prince. She immediately saw from the positions of the officials on the list that Duke Cheng'en was not simply selling official positions.

"Who sent it? Can it be trusted? I'm afraid that Lord Cheng'en is not just committing corruption. This is a serious matter. We still have to be careful in dealing with it."

The Sixth Prince looked at the Sixth Princess curiously, not understanding how she could tell that Lord Cheng'en was not simply committing corruption.

"Master, take a closer look at these positions. They are either the Ministry of Revenue, which can manage money, or personnel who can access military reserves. If you are just selling positions for money, why don't you choose those rich places over there? Wouldn't you be able to make more? Besides, Duke Cheng'en is now the number one family in Kyoto. Is he really that short of money?"

The Sixth Prince suddenly realized that there was such a key. He kept the Sixth Prince's Consort because this woman was the same as the Grand Empress Dowager and was smarter than men. That's why he hated this woman's cruelty so much and never took action to punish her. Isn't it used now?

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Since she was old enough to understand, the Sixth Princess liked to read these books on strategy with her grandfather. She was always inexplicably excited about these real fights. If the Sixth Prince had not always been afraid of her, she would not be able to be locked up in the harem. She immediately had a strategy in mind.

"Let someone inquire about the truth of the matter in Kyoto first, and find a way to contact the Grand Empress Dowager. If this is true, perhaps we can use this letter to return to Kyoto, but there are pros and cons. If Duke Cheng'en knew that we got this letter, I'm afraid we would be dealt with by him, and perhaps the Fourth Prince would get involved. By then, we must make a foolproof plan to protect ourselves."