In the early morning, the faint morning light floated over the thick palace walls and into Longchang Palace, awakening the silence of the night. The buildings and pavilions with red walls and green tiles flashed dazzlingly under the morning light, as if they had been painted with new paint overnight. The palace servants who got up in the morning started their busy work at different times.

At the door of the clothing storeroom of the Shangyi Bureau, two palace maids and two eunuchs had just loaded a large wooden sedan chair [Note 1] onto a truck. The sedan chair was filled with neatly stacked packages of winter clothes that were to be sent to the Reserve Department for storage.

After a short rest, the two eunuchs were ready to drive away. Suddenly, the young eunuch at the back seemed to remember something, turned his head and said to one of the two palace maids standing by to take a breath, "Sister Wan'er, how can I return your handkerchief?"

The maid named Wan'er was about to open her mouth to reply when she heard this, but another maid spoke first and answered for her: "You don't have to return Sister Wan'er's handkerchief. Little Fushun, I'll give it to you as a token of love."

The woman who interrupted him burst into laughter after she finished speaking. She was so happy that it seemed as if she was not interrupting someone else's words but some valuable treasure.

The young eunuch named Fushun blushed when he heard such a teasing, and his tender little face became even more childish.

"Wu Qingyue, you're here again! You'll be suffocated to death if you don't tell jokes, right?" Qiao Wan'er, whose words were interrupted, looked annoyed and glared at the woman who was still giggling.

"A token? What kind of token is that? Why does Fushun have it, but I, Fuwang, don't? Sister Wan'er is biased!" The older eunuch at the front of the carriage seemed to be interested and started to tease as well.

This time, Qiao Wan'er's face also turned red: "Brother Fuwang, why do you like to joke as much as Qingyue?"

"Oh my, my handkerchief cannot be given away for no reason! You guys despise me because I'm not as pretty as Sister Wan'er and you don't want me, right?" When Wu Qingyue heard someone respond to her joke, she became even more excited. She ignored Qiao Wan'er's repeated attempts to stop her and teased Fuwang again.

"How could that be? How could that be? Sister Qingyue, why don't you give it to me as a token of trust? Hahaha!" Fuwang and Wu Qingyue were indeed of the same kind. Such a topic resonated with him, and he immediately responded.

It turned out that when the eunuch named Fushun was moving clothes, he accidentally cut his hand on a wooden thorn on the sedan chair. Qiao Wan'er saw this and took out a silk handkerchief she brought with her to stop the bleeding and bandage it. Before leaving, Fushun remembered the handkerchief and asked a question casually, but he was teased by the other two who loved to joke.

"Oh, I think you guys don't want to live anymore! Instead of working properly, you're flirting here!" A shrill voice sounded without warning, bringing the laughter and playfulness that were originally coming and going to an abrupt end.

Several people looked in the direction of the voice at the same time. When they saw the person coming, they all bowed respectfully and said, "Aunt Liu!"

The person called Aunt Liu was a plump lady dressed as a palace maid, standing not far from the group. Perhaps because her footsteps were too light, her ghostly approach did not attract the attention of any of the four people.

Aunt Liu's real name was Liu Baihe. She was one of the senior maids-in-charge of the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau. Although she was twenty-four years old, like Qiao Wan'er, her slightly plump figure and the swollen face that would never go away made her look at least ten years older than her peers. Therefore, the maids-in-charge of the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau privately called her "Granny Liu".

"Oh! Aunt Liu, you are such a busy person, why did you come here in person? Aren't you confident in us doing the job? Look, the two sisters have counted the number and then helped us load the car. Fushun and I are preparing to send the clothes to the reserve department!" The eunuchs were not directly under the supervision of the head palace maid, and Fuwang was a smooth person. Naturally, he was not scared by Liu Baihe's words, but replied skillfully with a smile that showed that harmony brings wealth.

"Humph, if I hadn't come here in person, how would I know that you guys would be slacking off here!" Liu Baihe still seemed to be unwilling to give in, but her tone was much softer. "The Reserve Department is still waiting for the goods to be put into storage! Why don't you two hurry up and deliver them over!"

"Okay! We'll go right away as ordered by aunt!" After Fuwang agreed, the two little eunuchs drove the wooden sedan chair one after another and ran away as if they were escaping for their lives.

After the eunuch left, only Qiao Wan'er and Wu Qingyue were left standing there, not daring to breathe.

Liu Baihe twisted her sturdy "snake waist" and walked towards the two of them. Her steps were indeed very light and silent. No wonder she could approach them as quietly as a cat just now.

"What? Do you really think I'm just bored and come here to supervise? Didn't I come here specially to discuss something with Wan'er?" Liu Baihe stopped in front of the two of them. The stubborn look on her face had completely disappeared. Instead, she was suddenly filled with a smile.

Qiao Wan'er and Wu Qingyue heard the obvious change in her tone and couldn't help but glance at her. When they saw the friendly fake smile on her face, they both had a sinister premonition in their hearts.

"Then I wonder why Auntie is looking for me so anxiously?"

"It's nothing serious. I just wanted to talk to you about Shuxiu."

When Qiao Wan'er heard her mention Shuxiu, she immediately fell to her knees and said, "Aunt Liu, I saw Shuxiu a few days ago. She was in a very bad state. She was in a daze and almost didn't recognize me. Please transfer her back to the Clothing Bureau!" After Qiao Wan'er finished speaking, tears couldn't stop flowing out of her eyes.

"Oh! What do you mean? Get up! Get up!" Liu Baihe stepped forward and helped Qiao Wan'er up, still with a fake smile on her face: "Wan'er, you are right, I came to you just for this matter. Shuxiu is really not suitable to stay in the inner class in this situation, how about this? You go to work for Eunuch Xu, and take Shuxiu back to the clothing department?"

"What? How can this be possible..." Without waiting for Qiao Wan'er to reply, Wu Qingyue on the side could not help but spoke up, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she caught a glimpse of Liu Baihe's sharp eyes glaring at her, so she quickly shut up.

"Wu Qingyue, is it up to you to decide whether this is possible or not? Do you have any say here?" Liu Baihe's voice instantly rose eight octaves, and her face full of fake smiles immediately turned into a debt-collecting face, as if someone owed her hundreds of dollars.

"Aunt, I... I don't mean that. I just want to say that it's not appropriate to let Wan'er go. She is an 'old hand' in our Clothing Bureau, and no one is as skilled and efficient as her... By the way... how about... how about... let me go!" Wu Qingyue replied timidly while facing Liu Baihe's vicious gaze.

When Qiao Wan'er heard Liu Baihe ask her to serve as an errand boy for Eunuch Xu, she was already confused and didn't know what to do. Then she saw Wu Qingyue interrupting her without thinking about the seriousness of the matter, which made her even more confused. She could only anxiously shout at her in a low voice: "Qingyue, you...just say less!"

"Wu Qingyue, look at what you said! I think you should go back and look in the mirror first! Eunuch Xu's place is the inner class, not everyone can go there. I specially arranged this opportunity for Wan'er because she is smart and capable. Others can't go even if they want to!" Liu Baihe's face was filled with anger, and her voice became a few decibels higher.

"Since it's such a good opportunity, let's give it to someone else! Sister Wan'er won't mind what my aunt does." The more Liu Baihe spoke, the more imposing her tone was, which in turn provoked Wu Qingyue to become more rebellious. Her initial timidity disappeared, and her voice became full of energy.

"Wu Qingyue, I think you really don't want to live anymore. How dare you talk to me like this? Let me tell you the truth! Arranging for Qiao Wan'er to serve as an errand for Eunuch Xu is just a matter of a word from me, Liu Baihe. Do you really think I'm negotiating this? I'm just being polite and letting you know! Don't be so shameless!" After Liu Baihe finished speaking, she raised one hand and slapped Wu Qingyue hard on the cheek.

After being slapped, Wu Qingyue instinctively reached out to cover the painful half of her face. However, this slap did not make her a coward. Instead, it seemed to have touched her weak spot, inspiring her fighting spirit: "Aunt, don't you know that the old eunuch is a big pervert? Why did Shuxiu become like this? It's because of him... "

"Wu Qingyue! You are really tired of living! How dare you talk to the chief eunuch like that! Believe it or not, I will punish you for treason and send you to be whipped fifty times!" Liu Baihe was too disdainful to continue pretending. Her face was full of ferocity. She raised her hand and slapped Wu Qingyue again. However, this time, she unexpectedly missed the target.

It turned out that when Liu Baihe swung her hand out, Qiao Wan'er just happened to pull Wu Qingyue to kneel down together, and the palm just lightly scratched one side of Wu Qingyue's hair.

"Aunt, calm down! Qingyue is young and ignorant, and she doesn't know how to speak properly. Please forgive her this time!" Qiao Wan'er, who was kneeling on the ground, pleaded, "Wan'er knows that Aunt wants to help me, so there is no need to discuss it with me. Just let someone know. I am very happy to serve Eunuch Xu."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qingyue was anxious and wanted to reply, but before she opened her mouth, Qiao Wan'er stopped her sternly with a look.

Seeing the two kneeling in front of her at the same time and Qiao Wan'er agreeing so readily, Liu Baihe immediately relaxed her expression and shook her wrist, which had been too strong just now, as if she was ready to stop: "Wan'er is indeed a sensible person, and knows my good intentions. You have been working under me for a long time, so how could I harm you? If you go to Eunuch Xu's side, you will naturally have a good life and be taken care of by him. That is a hundred times better than being in the Shangyi Bureau. Shuxiu is just not blessed enough to enjoy it."

"Yes, yes, aunt is right!" While speaking, Qiao Wan'er pinched Wu Qingyue's forearm with one hand, indicating that she should not respond without considering the consequences.

Wu Qingyue naturally understood, and gritted her teeth to stop the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She lowered her head, looking like she was respectfully admitting her mistakes, but in fact she just didn't want Liu Baihe to see her angry expression.

Liu Baihe suppressed her smug look after achieving her goal, and after tilting her head to glare at Wu Qingyue who was kneeling on the ground, she turned to Qiao Wan'er and said, "But you really didn't discipline Wu Qingyue well. She is not as obedient as Shuxiu! She doesn't know her own weight and is so talkative. I can let it go for Wan'er's sake today, but if it's someone else, can you see if she can keep her tongue in her mouth?"

"Thank you, Auntie, for your generosity. Wan'er and Qingyue will never forget your kindness." Qiao Wan'er bowed and said, "I will definitely have a good talk with her when I go back today and make her reflect deeply."

"I think, Wan'er, you don't have to worry about this. Go back and pack up and prepare to report to Eunuch Xu tomorrow! When you go to the inner class, I will find someone to teach her well." After Liu Baihe finished speaking, she glanced at Wu Qingyue, who had been keeping her head down and silent, and a malicious sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.

After hearing Qiao Wan'er's respectful "yes", Liu Baihe showed a proud look of having achieved her wish. Finally, she twisted her "snake waist" and walked away lightly.

(End of this chapter)

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