Banished from the palace?
The faces of the many palace maids were filled with horror and unease.
“Why would Her Majesty banish us?” a palace maid asked, puzzled.
“In truth, I offended Her Majesty, and she also knows everyone was brought into the palace by me. So, this might implicate all of you. I am very sorry about this,” Xing Ruolan said with a hint of helplessness.
The palace maids looked at one another upon hearing this.
Xing Ruolan continued, her tone carrying some consolation: “Everyone need not worry too much. Even if you can no longer be palace maids, I still have ways to lead everyone in making a living outside. And also…”
She had originally intended to say that things might not develop to this extent, that banishment was merely one possibility she had judged. But before the words could leave her mouth, she was interrupted.
“No! We cannot lose our status as palace maids!” a nearby palace maid named Yun Xiang declared emphatically.
Xing Ruolan looked at Yun Xiang strangely. “Yun Xiang, do you like being a palace maid so much?”
“Being a palace maid is, in the end, just a job serving others. What’s there to like?”
“Then you…”
“But if we lose this profession, there are many things we can no longer do.”
“Many things? What exactly are you referring to, Yun Xiang?”
Xing Ruolan looked at Yun Xiang, puzzled. Yun Xiang was someone who had followed her for a long time, but the expression Yun Xiang displayed now felt somewhat unfamiliar to her.
That pretty, charming girl with fair skin now had an unreadable look in her eyes.
“Such matters are none of your concern.”
Yun Xiang spoke coldly. With a wave of her hand, a cloud of smoke surged towards Xing Ruolan. Before she could react, Xing Ruolan inhaled the fumes and felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She collapsed limply to the ground.
As she fell, Xing Ruolan noticed that at least half of the other palace maids had collapsed just like her. Only a few remained standing.
Lying on the icy ground, Xing Ruolan barely managed to hold onto her last shreds of consciousness as she looked at Yun Xiang and the others. “You… you all…”
“Hm? Your willpower is quite impressive, actually still conscious,” Yun Xiang remarked, looking at Xing Ruolan with surprise. Then she said coldly, “Don’t bother struggling. We only drugged you. We’ve done our duty, remembering our long sisterhood. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be just this.”
Xing Ruolan never imagined the people who followed her would do something like this.
What was their objective?
‘Assassinate… Her Majesty?’
Such a thought flashed through Xing Ruolan’s mind.
What other reason could there be for infiltrating the palace maids?
Yet, she hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t discovered that among the many sisters she gathered, some harbored malicious intent!
With great effort, Xing Ruolan raised her hand, as if reaching for something, but her dazed mind wouldn’t allow her to do more. Ultimately, her hand slammed back onto the ground as she fell completely unconscious.
Seeing this, Yun Xiang retracted her gaze.
Before her were the palace maids lying collapsed in a stupor. Including herself, only twelve remained standing.
“Sister Yun Xiang, are we making our move now? But we’re not prepared enough.”
“Yes, the attempt to poison the chicken soup failed last time, and we haven’t found another suitable opportunity since.”
The palace maids beside her spoke, their faces carrying hints of worry.
Yun Xiang took a deep breath, a look of helplessness in her eyes. “Of course, I know the timing is terrible and we aren’t prepared. But you heard what Xing Ruolan said. She somehow offended Her Majesty and might be driven out. We will be implicated and banished from the palace too. That means we’re out of time.”
Everyone fell silent.
The reality wasn’t as dire as Yun Xiang imagined, but she was too impatient. She hadn’t waited for Xing Ruolan to finish explaining before acting.
“But what do we do now? Can we really assassinate Her Majesty? Assassinate that Heavenly Mandate Empress?”
The eleven palace maids beside her were now somewhat despairing.
That was the Heavenly Mandate Empress! Such an existence was something they could only look up to. What could they possibly use to assassinate her?
“But do we have a choice? Why we’ve come to this point, everyone is perfectly clear. Do you think we can back down now?” Yun Xiang’s gaze slowly swept over the crowd.
Hearing Yun Xiang’s words, the others couldn’t help but recall the past, their eyes gradually becoming resolute.
Yes, they had no choice.
…
Di Lingwei sat in the front courtyard of Phoenix Perch Palace, holding a document in her hand.
It was information on Xing Ruolan!
According to the file, Xing Ruolan indeed originated from the Slums. At just fourteen years old in the tenth year of the Shenyuan Era, she participated in the palace maid selection and passed. Afterward, she steadily climbed the ranks from an unknown maid to the position of Chief Palace Steward.
Of course, becoming Chief Palace Steward was partly due to the changing times.
After Di Lingwei ascended the throne, the previous Chief Palace Steward was replaced. Among the remaining candidates, the Original Host took an immediate liking to Xing Ruolan, and so Xing Ruolan became the new Chief Palace Steward.
‘She passed the palace maid selection at fourteen. But without extensive prior knowledge of palace maid etiquette and rules, she couldn’t have passed so easily back then. So, who provided her with that knowledge?’
Di Lingwei pondered, already forming a general idea.
Xing Ruolan entered the palace seemingly to seek revenge for whoever framed her aunt. That meant Xing Ruolan’s aunt was likely also in the palace, probably a palace maid.
Thinking this, Di Lingwei immediately ordered Mu Fuwan to return to the Ministry of Personnel to retrieve related documents.
Mu Fuwan had recently frequented the Ministry of Personnel to handle matters for Di Lingwei and was familiar with the process. The round trip didn’t take long, and she soon returned with a thick dossier, handing it to Di Lingwei.
Di Lingwei opened it and began reading.
This dossier recorded palace maids from around the tenth year of the Shenyuan Era. Di Lingwei quickly locked onto one person.
It was a palace maid named Xing Lan, who had left the Imperial Palace in the ninth year of the Shenyuan Era. The reason for her departure wasn’t recorded. This Xing Lan was a palace maid from the Slums.
Could she be Xing Ruolan’s aunt?
But why wasn’t the reason for her departure from the palace recorded?
Di Lingwei frowned. This should have been the responsibility of the Chief Palace Steward at the time. By standard procedure, leaving the palace required a recorded reason, yet none was written. This seemed like negligence.
Without dwelling on it, Di Lingwei closed the dossier. “Have the Imperial Guard send out a notice. Summon all the senior palace maids here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Mu Fuwan quickly ran to the courtyard entrance to relay the order to the Imperial Guards on duty. The Guards would handle the rest from there.
