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

Before she could react, another bolt from the blue hit her.

"Because Concubine Qiu is of lowly status and has just entered the palace, the princess is kind and has temporarily granted her the status of a lowly concubine. As long as Concubine Qiu is careful in her words and deeds and does not make any mistakes, with time, she will have the opportunity to improve her status and become a concubine."

A concubine is an ordinary concubine.

"Concubine...concubine..." When Qiu Yao heard this, she almost fell down on the spot.

She was the eldest daughter of the prime minister's family, but she was demoted and ended up becoming someone else's concubine. That would have been fine, but she was still the lowest and most humble concubine.

They were even worse than the servants in the mansion. They were the lowest of the low, someone that anyone could step on.

Qiu Yao was unwilling to accept this fact and retorted, "That's impossible. You must have made a mistake. I want to see the prince."

Taohong frowned upon hearing this and said, "Aunt Qiu, I'm kindly advising you not to say such unrealistic things. The prince has just returned from a victorious battle and is very busy. According to the palace's rules, if you wish to see the prince, you must first report to the princess and obtain her consent."

As the pink slid away, Qiuyao's face turned extremely pale in an instant, as if all the blood had faded away. Her brain was buzzing.

"No... this is impossible!" She shook her head in disbelief. The heavy blow fell on her heart like a huge rock, making it hard to breathe.

Xianghe was also panicked for a moment and didn't know what to do.

They thought that after leaving the cold palace, they would be greeted with fine clothes and a good life with no worries about food and clothing. But who would have thought that they would have to live in this remote and dilapidated courtyard, and even a maid who led the way would give them a cold shoulder.

If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed in the cold palace.

At least, with Zhang and the others taking care of her in the cold palace, her life wasn't so... hopeless.

"Miss, this...what should I do..."

After Taohong left, Xianghe couldn't help shedding tears. She didn't know whether she really felt sorry for Qiuyao or regretted her momentary confusion in choosing to leave the palace with Qiuyao.

It took Qiuyao a long time to accept and digest this fact.

She looked up at the dilapidated courtyard, her eyes flashing, and then as if she had made some kind of decision, she straightened her chest and walked into the yard.

"What are you afraid of? Now that we're here, we should make the best of it. There's no turning back now that we've started. Trust me, I'll definitely find a way to gain a foothold here."

He said this to Xianghe, but also to comfort himself.

Perhaps Qiuyao still subconsciously felt that the prince had not yet discovered her value, which was why she was temporarily overlooked.

What she had to do was to try to win the prince's heart in the days to come.

……

Meanwhile, in Lianxin Garden, Concubine Su Wan'er, after having sex with Prince Yong, leaned tenderly in Prince Yong's arms, rubbing circles on his chest with her hand. She said:

"Your Majesty, are you satisfied with my service?"

What Prince Yong liked most about Concubine Su was that she was wild and bold in her words.

Unlike the princess, who always puts on airs and never smiles in front of him, she is completely uninteresting.

He suddenly grabbed Su Wan'er's rebellious little hand and said teasingly, "What? You want to do it again?"

Su Wan'er tapped his chest lightly with her index finger and said coquettishly, "Your Highness is so mean. He knows that this is not what I meant."

"I want to ask Your Majesty, how does this compare to the new beauty I got last night?"

Prince Yong paused for a moment, then he remembered that she was probably talking about Qiu Yao.

He chuckled first, then scratched Su Wan'er's nose lovingly and said with a smile, "Are you jealous already?"

"She is nothing more than a slave in the cold palace. How can she compare to my Wan'er, my wife, with such low status? Don't worry, I have already placed her in a remote place. Just think of her as an extra mouth to feed in the palace."

Hearing Prince Yong's words, Su Wan'er felt better. She smiled charmingly and said, "I heard that this girl was the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Qiu and she plays the zither very well. How could Your Majesty be willing to let her go?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Yong seemed to recall something and snorted coldly, saying, "She does play the zither well, but if she has ulterior motives, how can I allow her to do as she wishes?"

When King Yong learned that Qiu Yao was just a criminal slave in the Criminal Bureau, he couldn't help but regret having favored Qiu Yao.

With such a low status, it is not enough to enter the palace as a concubine.

What's more, it was obvious that Qiu Yao had other intentions, as if she was waiting for him on the way out of the palace.

Otherwise, why didn't he play the piano earlier or later, but instead heard the sound after all the other ministers had left and when he happened to pass by nearby?

Upon hearing this, Su Wan'er couldn't help but ask seriously, "Your Highness, are you saying that this woman is deliberately seducing me? Do you want to use this opportunity to escape from the cold palace?"

If this is true, this woman is quite thoughtful and we have to be on guard against her.

"I don't know yet, but since he's already arrived at the palace, I believe he'll reveal his true intentions soon. Let's wait and see."

Su Wan'er nodded, secretly thinking about something in her heart.

……

Qingbo Garden.

The next morning, Taohong came to Qiuyao's yard again and brought news.

"Madam Qiu, according to the rules of the mansion, a madam can only be assigned one maid. Of course, if you want more, you need to pay for them yourself. I came here to confirm with you how many maids you plan to assign."

When Qiuyao heard this, her expression froze for a moment. She glanced at Xianghe and then said, "Xianghe and I are new here and we're unfamiliar with the place, so let's add one more person to help with the cleaning and rough work."

"By the way, this courtyard is in a dilapidated state, and the furniture inside is all worn out. The princess is so busy that she might have forgotten to renovate it. Miss Taohong, please remember to tell the princess to have the courtyard repaired as soon as possible."

Qiuyao's tone revealed an innate sense of nobility, as if she was giving orders.

She stayed here last night and found that the bed was not only hard, but the quilt also had a faint smell. She was also bitten by mosquitoes in several places and she is still itchy.

But she and Xianghe left the palace in a hurry and did not prepare mosquito repellent cream or other things. She took it for granted that in such a big palace, if they wanted anything, they could just tell the prince directly.

After all, when they were in the prime minister's mansion, the two concubines and my mother got along quite harmoniously. My mother and father would try their best to satisfy whatever the concubines wanted or had any needs.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Taohong gave Qiuyao a strange look and said, "The monthly allowance for a servant is two taels of silver. Madam, are you going to pay it now or wait until the person arrives?"