Tangli Fried Snow

Before long, Sherry had been staying with the Empress Dowager for more than ten days.

She swept the floor very professionally. Aunt Ruyi praised her and Su He, saying that they were quick, quiet, and likable.

You might ask, shouldn't life in the palace be incredibly difficult, like walking on thin ice, with every day unbearable? How come she lives such a peaceful life?

That's because you watch too many TV dramas, especially those featuring ambitious female protagonists. They portray legendary women! A woman whose father and brothers are all capable, who is beautiful and talented, and who has incredible luck. She has to crush all her rivals, win the emperor's favor, bear him a prince, raise him to be successful, and then help him seize the throne ten or twenty years later. Just talking about it is exciting!

Shirley was just a third-class palace maid, a mere tool. As long as she followed the rules and did her job well, spending her days with a broom, she didn't need to compete for favor, harm the concubines, or plot against the imperial heirs. Why did she have so much screen time?

Then you might ask, why didn't they send her to Princess Yaoguang's side and take the opportunity to switch places with her so that Duan Xueyao could be sent out as soon as possible?

When you play chess against a master, can you checkmate them in one move? When you gamble, can you go all in with your opponent right away? In the end, she's just a pawn. Would you mark your important chess pieces in red? Teacher Jinhuan would definitely be the first to jump out and scold you.

Duan Xueyao is right under Empress Jin's nose, and they're shoving a living person in there? Do you think her eyes are breathing?

Would Duan Jingyu tell her the plan and make Xue Li willingly go to her death? Would those spies and subordinates in the palace be stupid enough to contact her privately and inform her in advance?

Don't be silly. Apart from passively waiting for someone to give her the "final instructions" one day, she can only obediently sweep the floor in the Empress Dowager's courtyard for now.

It's not good that her life is completely in someone else's hands.

A sharp sword hangs over her head, and she never knows when it might suddenly fall and cut off her head. This is terrible!

She hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time; she hadn't felt this bad even when she was sleeping with a bunch of soldiers on the battlefield.

Waaah, it's better to be a caged canary. At least there's no danger to my life. I'd just do manual labor in bed, be a concubine of Jin Cheng, and be bullied by his wife. Then, when my looks fade and his love wanes, that jerk will just kick me to the curb.

Pshaw, pshaw, pshaw... Hurry up and tap the wood.

After spending half a month in the palace in a daze, Shirley finally made a major decision. She was not going to sit idly by and wait to be manipulated by others; she was going to take control of the situation herself.

The first thing she needs to do is familiarize herself with the entire harem. At the very least, she needs to understand the people and the situation. She can't be completely clueless. She can't keep sweeping the floor. It would be best if she could do a job that involves running errands every day, visiting each palace, getting to know the people and the routes. She doesn't dare say she'll become a familiar face, but at least she should know which way is north, south, east, and west when she's on the run. Even if she has to escape through a dog hole, she should at least find the dog hole in the city wall.

Here, I must mention the personnel layout and management of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which she has carefully observed over the past few days.

There were a dozen or so third-class palace maids and eunuchs, whose main tasks were washing clothes, cooking, and cleaning in the outer courtyard. There were also a few maids who did manual labor. In addition, there were people in the small kitchen: three cooks, three kitchen helpers, two people who tended the fire, and two people who cleaned the kitchen. These were all laborers, manual workers, ordinary employees.

There were a dozen or so second-class palace maids whose duties included tidying the Empress Dowager's clothes, burning incense, watering flowers, serving her baths, performing Buddhist rituals, and cleaning the Buddhist hall and the Empress Dowager's bedroom—all meticulous tasks. There were also some older aunts and matrons who had served the Empress Dowager for a long time. They were essentially the kind of people who did the finer work in an office.

The first-class palace maids and aunts all held official positions, essentially being tenured internal staff. There were about seven or eight of them, and they were all quite old. They were the Empress Dowager's most trusted people, and their duties included dressing the Empress Dowager, combing her hair, keeping accounts, distributing her monthly allowance, organizing the storeroom, and serving her meals and bedtime—all requiring close personal service. These were essentially positions like accountants, cashiers, and personnel.