A piece of Japanese incense

The walls of the imperial palace soar into the clouds, and under the azure sky, the golden glazed tile double-eaved roof looks particularly brilliant.

I don’t know how long Yuyi had been waiting at the entrance of the Girls’ School. She waved at us from afar and walked towards us quickly.

The magnificent lintel of the girls' school is carved with exquisite patterns, exuding an ancient and solemn atmosphere.

"Girl, you're back!"

"What's wrong, Yuyi? Do you miss us?" Yutuan joked.

"Just after noon, the imperial kitchen delivered meals to the young ladies of each courtyard. I waited in our courtyard, but there was no food for us. I took some silver and gave it to a maid who was delivering the food. The maid secretly told me that someone from above had ordered them not to give us any food!"

"What! How can this be so excessive!" Yu Tuan shouted loudly.

Yuyi and I both made a "hush" sound at the same time.

"Yutuan, take some more silver, pretend to be a palace maid, and go to various palaces to inquire. Yuyi, come with me into the house and take a look." Yuyi put the autumn-patterned cloak that she had prepared in advance on me, and then took me into the hall.

Entering the girls' school, we saw towering ancient trees, red walls and yellow tiles, and a magnificent appearance.

Yuyi and I walked to the end and saw an old courtyard. We stepped into the desolate house, but saw that the house was dilapidated and the window frames were half broken.

Walking along the blue brick corridor lined with weeds, mosses grow faintly in the damp cracks of the bricks, entwined vines grow everywhere, a few old trees block out the sun, the cold wind blows, the branches and leaves sway in the wind, and under the trees there is overgrown weeds, scattered all over the ground.

"We're staying here?"

"Yes, the aunt who brought me in said that the previous ladies haven't moved their luggage yet, so this yard is the only one left for us to live in."

I saw a bucket of turbid water and a gray rag hanging next to the bucket in front of the door, and thought that Yuyi must have cleaned the room. However, when I pushed open the shaky door, I was still shocked by what I saw inside the house.

I didn't expect that there could be such a shabby place in the palace: the few tables and chairs were in tatters; the water stains on the walls revealed that they had been attacked by rain; the wood of the only two wardrobes had turned yellow and even cracked; there was a hole in the corner of the bed eaten by insects; the windows were cracked in a crisscross pattern...

After all, I had lived a good life in this world for a few years, and seeing this scene, my heart was struck by a shock!

"Help! Did I offend some important figure as soon as I entered the palace?!"

I grabbed the collar of my fur coat and felt myself getting cold again. I was so cold that even my teeth started to chatter.

"Young lady!" Yu Tuan brought back a young eunuch dressed as a eunuch. "Before I took a few steps, Eunuch Ming En pulled me aside and said that he had received a favor from our old master and that the old master asked him to take care of you, so I brought him to you."

"I am Ming En, and I work in the Imperial Clothing Department. Your grandfather once lent me a helping hand when I was in trouble. I can't express how grateful he was for saving my life. I am willing to do my best to repay you. If you have any requests from now on, please feel free to tell me. I am willing to serve you like a dog and a horse to repay you."

Seeing him kneeling and kowtowing, she hurriedly ordered Yu Tuan to help him up, "Eunuch, you are too modest. There is no need to be so solemn. My grandfather is a kind and benevolent person. You don't need to exaggerate. Besides, I am just a tutor in the palace. Why is it so? Not necessary, not necessary."

"I saw that the young lady's courtyard was in a state of disrepair, and I thought that the aunt in charge had not taken good care of it."

"How is that possible? I have already stuffed her with a silver ingot!" Before Eunuch Ming'en could finish, Yuyi said, "Madam warned me that there are conflicts among forces in the palace, so I must prepare enough silver just in case!"

"Girls, you may not know that although the Empress is in charge of the harem, in fact, the affairs of the eldest prince, the crown prince, and Princess Yan are the most important, led by Concubine Xin. Because the crown prince and the eldest prince are at odds with each other, the crown prince and the grandson have been enemies since childhood. The study partners of the crown prince and Princess Yan are the eldest grandson and granddaughter of the Marquis Wanning. They are of noble status, and all the young men and women follow their lead. As the study partner of Princess Tingzhu, you will definitely be rejected by them."

"I see. No wonder I have nothing to eat and my home is so shabby!"

"Young lady, you can follow the example of the second young lady of the Minister of Rites and make friends with Princess Yan and stay away from Princess Tingzhu. Then your life will be much better. When you reach the age of marriage, you can escape from the disputes in the palace in just two or three years."

"Thank you for your guidance, eunuch." Then he winked at Yuyi.

Yuyi handed over a gold ingot, but Eunuch Ming'en shook his hand to refuse.

"Eunuch, I still need to stay in the palace for two years. I have nothing special but I love to eat delicious food. I hope you can take care of me and buy some delicious food for me in the future. Money is only valuable when it is used wisely."

"Miss, you are too polite. This is what I should do." After saying that, he put the gold ingot into his sleeve.

After Ming'en left, Yutuan and Yuyi began to clean the courtyard.

I sat on a worn-out chair, eating raisins, and thinking about how I would live my life in the palace in the future.

(It’s no wonder that Princess Tingzhu is indifferent to me. Everyone is trying to please Princess Yan, so who wants to make an enemy? I was supposed to go to the palace to look for exotic flowers and plants, but now I can’t even eat! My dog ​​father is not reliable either. His own daughter is in a dangerous place, but he ignores her! Oh! It’s better to rely on yourself than on others!)

(I’m afraid I’ll have to wait until Qingming Festival to worship my ancestors before leaving the palace next time. Money is like water, so I can’t squander it like this. I’ve watched Legend of Zhen Huan quite a lot, and although I don’t remember the plot very well, I also know that it’s important to stand in the right line. If I stand in the wrong line, I’ll not only lose my life, but my entire clan may also be implicated!)

I couldn't help but shudder.

"Oh my goodness~ This courtyard is even shabbier than the one my wife lives in!~" A woman wearing a lake blue brocade crane cloak with dark patterns and gold brocade appeared in the courtyard, followed by a group of young ladies and maids. She covered her nose with her handkerchief and said disdainfully:

"You must be Zhi Yihe, the daughter of the concubine of the wife abandoned by the prince consort? You are really not good-looking!"

"What do you mean by abandoned? Our young lady divorced her brother-in-law! Our girl is not a concubine's daughter!" Yu Tuan retorted unconvinced.

I waved my hands to stop Yutuan from continuing speaking, and Yuyi also stopped what she was doing and stood in front of me.

"If the prince consort had not been favored by the emperor, how could you have come to the palace to enjoy the good life!"

"That's right, a merchant's daughter is worthy of being our classmate!"

Faced with this group of women in front of me, I rolled my eyes inwardly and remained silent.

"Hey, how can you be so tactless! Didn't you hear us talking to you?" A girl with a cross bun said indignantly.

"Wow! Which beautiful daughter are you from? You are so pretty! Especially this plum blossom-shaped gold hairpin, it perfectly matches your temperament!" I walked towards her and pretended to touch the hairpin on her head with envy.

"Really?! I like this hairpin too. I bought it for three hundred taels!" The girl's attention was instantly diverted by me.

"Cough, cough!" The leading woman coughed a few times.

"This girl is even more beautiful! What kind of powder did you put on your face? How come it's so white! Your skin is so translucent that it seems to glow!" Just then a breeze blew, and she quickly followed suit to flatter him!

"What kind of fragrance are you girls smelling? I thought spring had come and my yard was full of flowers!" Everyone took the opportunity to smell the scent of themselves.

"I'm sorry, I just have a cold. I don't dare to get too close to you sisters, otherwise, I will have to lie on you and smell you enough!"