My elder sister is so noble, this time it's my turn to strike back

Everyone looked back and wondered who else it could be but Xiang He.

She stood in front of Qiuyao without hesitation, facing Li Ma's oppressive gaze, and knelt on the ground with Qiuyao, saying:

"I admit that I was the one who stole Song Lian's jade pendant. Please don't embarrass my young lady, Ma'am. If there is any punishment, it's on me."

Madam Li's eyes glared, and she confirmed with her, "Xiang He, do you know that stealing property will result in thirty strokes of the cane, caning, and confinement?"

Xianghe's thin body trembled slightly, and she still clenched her teeth as if she thought of something.

"Xiang He knows her guilt."

Madam Li continued, "Then tell me why you stole Song Lian's jade pendant? And how did you get it onto Qiu Yao's bed?"

"I... I just wanted to take revenge on Song Lian. She was the one who spoke so arrogantly to the young lady a few days ago, so I stole her most beloved thing.

As for how to move it, I took advantage of everyone being asleep at night and secretly put it in the young lady's quilt. I had planned to ask someone to pawn it this morning, but I didn't expect Song Lian to come directly to the young lady's room.

In order to make her words more convincing, Xiang He looked towards Qiu Yao and said:

"Miss, I'm sorry. I didn't know Song Lian would come directly here. You were beaten innocently. It's all Xiang He's fault."

Qiuyao didn't expect that things would take a turn for the better again. Thinking of her previous attitude of avoiding Xianghe, she felt a faint sense of guilt in her heart.

After a while, Qiuyao moved her lips and said, "Xianghe...I..."

However, before she could finish her words, Xiang He interrupted her again, saying, "Miss, there's no need to plead for Xiang He. This is all I deserve. It's because Xiang He is unlucky. I'm afraid I won't be able to continue serving you in the future..."

When she said this, tears welled up in Xianghe's eyes and kept rolling around in her eye sockets, making her look very sad.

Seeing this, Qiu Ning, who was standing by, couldn't help but look up to Xiang He.

It seems that Qiuyao's position in Xianghe's heart is more important than she imagined.

Qiuyao had sold her out, but he would rather sacrifice himself than let Qiuyao suffer any injustice.

Tsk, what a deep love between master and servant.

In the end, Xianghe accepted all the punishments for Qiuyao, and was executed by a palace maid beside Madam Li. She was whipped with a stick thirty times on the back and her hands were clamped.

After being tortured, Xianghe gritted her teeth and said that she had stolen the things and it had nothing to do with Qiuyao.

Finally, Nanny Li released Xianghe according to palace rules, and Qiuyao was cleared of suspicion and was able to continue working in the laundry room.

Afterwards, Qiuyao applied medicine to Xianghe while comforting her: "Today's incident is all thanks to you. Don't worry, when I become successful in the future, I will definitely avenge you with blood!"

Xiang He heard Qiu Yao's "bold words" and for some reason, her inner turmoil seemed less intense than before. She even felt somewhat calmer.

That's right, it's calm.

Qiuyao's promise seemed to no longer affect her emotions.

But as the young lady's maid, Xianghe knew that she had to say something at this time.

So she said, "I am but a worthless servant, and I am not worthy of such treatment from my lady."

"No! Xianghe, you know I've always treated you like my own sister, even closer than my second and third sisters. Take good care of yourself these few days. I'll ask for leave from Eunuch Li on your behalf. I heard Prince Yong will be returning to the capital in a few days. You must get better quickly and help me seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Qiuyao held Xianghe's hand and gave her serious instructions.

When Xiang He heard this, a touch of emotion flashed in her eyes, "Yes, I will listen to you, young lady."

……

At the same time, Qiu Ning finally received good news.

Nanny Li took the silver and items given by Qiu Ning and bribed the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department with a large sum of money, and got a job for Qiu Ning to go out of the palace to do purchasing.

When the news reached Zuifangsi, everyone was shocked, and of course, more of them were envious and jealous.

Everyone knows that going out of the palace to make purchases is a lucrative job, and if it is done properly, a lot of money can be made.

For a time, some people tried to curry favor with Qiu Ning, while others hid aside and made sarcastic remarks.

"How long has she been here? Why is she the one to do this kind of thing?"

"Of course she got it by flattering me. I heard that Qiu Ning goes to Madam Li's room every night to serve her. It's normal for Madam Li to think of her since she has received some benefits."

"That's right. The key is that they invented this highly efficient tool, which greatly saves everyone's time and energy. Otherwise, there would be endless toilets everywhere, so where would we have time to chat here?"

"Yes."

"..."

For a time, Qiu Ning became a celebrity in the entire Zuinfangsi.

When she went out of the palace to shop, she would sell some embroidered handkerchiefs, sachets and other items made by Zhang and her two concubines, and exchange them for some silver to buy medicine for Zhang and her concubines. She would use the remaining money to buy some cloth, daily necessities and other items to bring back to the palace.

After hearing this, Qiuyao just laughed coldly and continued to pluck the strings in her hand.

She wanted to find a way to win the favor of King Yong at his celebration banquet and fight for a chance to escape from this criminal gang.

Then, he would no longer have to see Qiu Ning's annoying face, nor would he have to face his biased mother.

She found out that Prince Yong loved playing the zither very much and would often communicate and discuss with other zither lovers.

What Qiuyao wanted was to seize this opportunity to meet King Yong.

She was confident that as long as King Yong heard her piano playing, he would be moved.

Therefore, she has been preparing for this matter these days and has no time to pay attention to Qiu Ning and the others.

In this way, another ten days passed, and today was the day when Qiu Ning went out of the palace to buy things.

Early in the morning, she set out from Jiaomen to the market, first taking Zhang and others' embroidery to sell, and then going through many rounds of bargaining. When she returned to the palace in the evening, she had a big bag on her back.

The bundle contained cloth and medicinal herbs bought for Zhang and the concubines, small jewelry for the two younger sisters, and some food.

As there were so many things, Qiu Ning had a hard time carrying them. After turning a corner, he unexpectedly bumped into a young eunuch.

With a "bang", the food box in the other person's hand was accidentally knocked to the ground, and the plate and food all rolled out.

"Oh, sorry, are you okay?" Qiu Ning's first reaction was to apologize first, and then check if the other person was injured. After all, she didn't pay attention to look up while walking.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a young eunuch he didn't recognize, wearing the lowest-ranking eunuch robe in the palace.

The young eunuch was actually not seriously injured, he just fell on his buttocks. He was afraid of offending the noble, so he immediately stood up while rubbing his buttocks.

When he saw Qiu Ning, his eyes lit up and he thought to himself, what a pretty little palace maid.

Little Dengzi also looked at Qiu Ning and said, "Which palace are you from? Why are you walking so carelessly? All the food has been spilled. What if this delays my work?"

Qiu Ning glanced at the mess on the ground and found only two broken plates, half a hard steamed bun, and a dish of vegetables with no visible oil or water. Judging from the color, the vegetables must have been left out for a long time.

Qiu Ning was surprised: "This is..."