Granny Lan was quite considerate of Zhao Shuning.
She even let her rest for about five days.
When she thought Zhao Shuning had recovered well enough, she led her in front of the others.
"This is the new girl. Her name is Ningning. From now on, she'll work with you."
Zhao Shuning reached out her hand, greeting them in a friendly way.
However, none of them bothered to respond to her.
Granny Lan glanced at the peach blossom on Zhao Shuning's face.
She shook her head.
"Go and get back to your work. In two days, it'll be the memorial day of the eldest prince. We'll need a large number of utensils that day. You must clean them properly. You should know what will happen if anything goes wrong."
"We know, Granny. We'll follow your order."
Zhao Shuning watched these maidservants and thought Granny Lan was really good at managing people.
"Ningning, today you'll follow Xiaoyue and do things with her. Xiaoyue, you should teach her well."
The girl named Xiaoyue looked up.
She took a glance at Zhao Shuning.
"I know, Granny."
Then, Zhao Shuning was handed over to this girl named Xiaoyue.
Xiaoyue had a delicate and charming appearance. There was no expression on her face, but she was still a beauty. Zhao Shuning liked to make friends with beautiful girls the most.
So she was willing to follow Xiaoyue.
"You don't need to get so close to me."
Xiaoyue spoke.
Zhao Shuning said, "I noticed your behavior is different from the other maidservants in the laundry. Your words are so gentle. How come you end up here in the laundry?"
Xiaoyue glanced at her but didn't answer.
Zhao Shuning sensibly shut up.
Because she saw a sorrowful look on Xiaoyue's face.
"Xiaoyue is actually the daughter of Lord Qi. She's a young lady from a noble family, a daughter of the duke's mansion. Of course, she's different from us."
Xiaoyue quickly lowered her head.
Another maidservant said, "Exactly. Usually, a young lady like her would think the laundry is too dirty even to set foot in."
Xiaoyue quickly explained, "No, I don't think it's dirty. I've been in poor health since I was a child. Whenever I'm in a dusty place, I'll feel uncomfortable and have difficulty breathing."
"Come on. Now that you're in the laundry, you don't need to act like a young lady. Look at the branding mark on your face. You're the daughter of a convicted official. Your status is even lower than ours."
Xiaoyue buried her head.
"Anyway, now you have a companion. Look at this girl named Ningning who came today. There's such a big peach blossom on her right face. I don't know which powerful person she offended to receive such a punishment. The peach blossom looks quite gaudy, but she still seems so vulgar and disgusting."
Zhao Shuning widened her eyes.
When did the topic turn to her?
Moreover, this peach blossom was drawn by herself stroke by stroke. It couldn't be washed off with clean water, but could be removed with spiritual power.
The most important thing was, that maidservant actually said the peach blossom she drew was disgusting?
She couldn't bear this.
Zhao Shuning rolled up her sleeves and was about to walk towards the talking maidservant.
At the same time, she picked up the wooden club used for beating clothes beside her.
"What? Do you still want to hit me?"
Although she was still talking, there was already panic and evasion in the maidservant's eyes.
"I'll smash your mouth."
At this moment, Zhao Shuning looked like a crazy woman.
This woman actually dared to insult her taste.
Fortunately, at this time, Qi Yue hugged Zhao Shuning from behind.
"Ningning, don't argue with them. Granny will punish them."
"I'll accept Granny's punishment. Today, I must beat her so badly that she can't get out of bed."
"You, you, you wait for me. I have something to do today. I'll settle the score with you in two days."
After saying this, the woman ran away quickly.
Seeing the maidservant running far away.
Zhao Shuning stopped.
Qi Yue behind her was still tightly hugging Zhao Shuning.
"She's far away. You can let go."
Only then did Qi Yue open her eyes and look at Zhao Shuning blankly.
"Let go, beauty."
Qi Yue quickly let go of her hands and apologized to Zhao Shuning, "Sorry, I just..."
Zhao Shuning sat down with the wooden club and started to wash the clothes in her hand.
"Since you're so timid, why did you stop me just now?"
Qi Yue sat down.
She said timidly in a very low voice, "Because we'll be punished by Granny."
"Are you afraid that I'll be punished by Granny?"
Qi Yue nodded.
"Granny punishes people very severely. We usually don't dare to make things known to her."
Zhao Shuning said, "You're the daughter of the duke's mansion. How come you end up in the laundry?"
"My father went to the Changkong Academy with the eldest prince."
Zhao Shuning understood.
Although the death of the eldest prince, Gu Xingran, wasn't caused by the duke, he failed to protect the eldest prince's safety, so he received such a punishment.
"Where are your family members?"
"My parents and elder brother were exiled. The other female relatives entered the palace and served in different palaces."
"As the daughter of the duke's mansion, you shouldn't end up in the laundry."
"I offended Concubine Xiao."
"Concubine Xiao?"
"Yes. Concubine Xiao is the biological mother of the second prince, Gu Hanxun. Rumor has it that the second prince has feelings for me. Concubine Xiao doesn't like it, so she suppresses me in many ways."
"Rumor?"
"Yes. I've never met the second prince before. I don't know where these rumors came from."
Zhao Shuning didn't understand the rules in the deep palace.
When she was the female emperor, there was no harem. She was happy enough just staying with her master all day.
So, of course, she didn't understand why Concubine Xiao didn't allow her son to fall in love with the daughter of the duke.
Zhao Shuning washed the clothes in her hand and hung them up to dry.
Qi Yue helped her smooth out the clothes.
"Why did you suddenly tell me so much?"
"I think you're not a bad person. At least when you saw the branding mark on my face, you didn't look down on me."
Zhao Shuning gave a charming smile.
"Beauty, you're so cute."
Qi Yue blushed slightly.
"Ningning, in the laundry from now on, you'd better be cautious in your words and deeds. We're all sinners. If we accidentally do something wrong, those above won't show us any mercy. They'll just get rid of us."
Zhao Shuning looked at Qi Yue in front of her.
Sure enough, she was a young lady from a noble family. Raised in the deep boudoir since childhood, she was well - educated and didn't develop a willful and domineering personality.
Thinking of Miss Kong Shishuang and Miss Jun, the ninth daughter of the Jun family that she had met before, which one of them wasn't arrogant and domineering?
"By the way, in two days, it'll be the memorial day of the eldest prince. Remember, on that day, when those powerful people pass by us, we mustn't look up, or we'll defile their sight."
"Is it really that serious?"
Qi Yue shook her head seriously and said, "Last time, two maidservants in the laundry accidentally made eye contact with the second prince. That night, their hands and feet were cut off, and their eyes were gouged out. They were made into human pigs."
Zhao Shuning smacked her lips.
Cut off hands and feet? Gouge out eyes?
Was it that cruel?