As summer approached, the temperature had already begun to feel oppressive.
The smell in the Xinzhe Repository was even more unpleasant, so Zhou Shengsheng covering her face with a sweat towel didn't seem out of place.
The newly appointed Head Matron walked over silently, nearly causing Zhou Shengsheng to drop her bucket in fright.
However, the Head Matron didn't blame her at all. Before taking up her post, she was well aware of how her predecessor had met her end.
"Miss Shengsheng, the Imperial Noble Consort has sent someone to fetch you." She forced a smile and kicked away the troublesome bucket for Zhou Shengsheng.
Zhou Shengsheng wasn't surprised in the least.
It seemed Duan Fusheng was already aware of Ming Siran slapping her.
Sure enough, the little eunuch waiting outside was Xiao Pingzi, who was on good terms with Zhou Shengsheng.
"Sister!" Seeing Zhou Shengsheng, Xiao Pingzi was naturally delighted.
In recent days, Sheng Lan had made things difficult for the eunuchs and maids who had been close to Zhou Shengsheng in Qianyi Palace. Now that Zhou Shengsheng was back, they felt like they had found their backbone again.
"Xiao Pingzi, what's been happening in Qianyi Palace lately?" As they walked together, Zhou Shengsheng began to inquire about the situation.
In the original story, after Duan Fusheng met the female lead, he often summoned her to the palace under the guise of her imperial concubine status to satisfy his own desires.
Xiao Pingzi thought for a moment: "It's the same as usual, nothing major." He then remembered something: "Oh right, Sister Shengsheng, on the day of the Spring Banquet, Sister Sheng Lan had me go to the Xinzhe Repository to check on you."
"Check on me?" Mentioning Sheng Lan, she suddenly remembered this person still needed to be dealt with.
Previously, she hadn't bothered with her because, aside from mutual dislike, Sheng Lan hadn't done anything harmful to her. But now that she had been sent to the Xinzhe Repository, Sheng Lan had started plotting against her.
It was time to clean house in Yikun Palace.
Having been a senior palace maid for so many years, Zhou Shengsheng was well-versed in the necessary skills of palace intrigue.
"Speaking of which, Sister, aren't you going to take that thing off your face?" Xiao Pingzi asked weakly, glancing at the sweat towel on her face.
Zhou Shengsheng thought about it. Since Duan Fusheng already knew she had been hit, there was no need to hide it.
After a long absence, Zhou Shengsheng finally returned to her room. She first rolled around on her bed with abandon before changing into clean clothes to see Duan Fusheng.
She had originally planned to cover up the bruises on her face with makeup, but fearing it might harm the wounds, she eventually gave up.
So, with a face swollen like a pig's head, she walked past the astonished gazes of the palace attendants to meet Duan Fusheng.
As soon as she entered, she couldn't help but smile.
Her sworn enemy, Sheng Lan, didn't know what she had done wrong, but she was now trembling on her knees, with Duan Fusheng's beautifully sullen face looming above her.
At a glance, she understood what was going on.
Quickly offering her greetings, Zhou Shengsheng stepped forward and kicked away the brightly colored silk robes laid out in front of Duan Fusheng, then instructed Xiao Pingzi, who was still in a daze: "Go, burn them all."
Xiao Pingzi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Only Zhou Shengsheng in all of Qianyi Palace would dare to unceremoniously destroy the items the emperor had bestowed upon the Imperial Noble Consort.
Walking up to the still trembling Sheng Lan, Zhou Shengsheng sternly ordered: "Look up!"
Sheng Lan slowly raised her head, and upon seeing Zhou Shengsheng's swollen face, she was momentarily surprised before her expression turned to disgust.
"Who is our master?" Zhou Shengsheng asked, her eyes lowered.
After hesitating, Sheng Lan answered in a trembling voice: "It's the Imperial Noble Consort."
Zhou Shengsheng was about to smile in approval, but feeling the pain in her cheeks, she held back.
"Correct. So, what should we do with things the Imperial Noble Consort dislikes?" she continued, guiding the conversation.
Sheng Lan understood what Zhou Shengsheng was getting at but still gritted her teeth and replied: "Throw them away."
Zhou Shengsheng's point was clear: their master was the Imperial Noble Consort, not the emperor. If the Imperial Noble Consort disliked something, even if it was a gift from the emperor, what did it matter?
Yet, despite knowing this, who would truly dare to discard a royal gift?
Perhaps only Zhou Shengsheng, who had endured the emperor's wrath for so long and still managed to survive.
Zhou Shengsheng nodded: "Qianyi Palace doesn't need servants who can't serve their master properly. From today onwards, you are a criminal slave in the Xinzhe Repository." With that, taking advantage of the angle, she playfully winked at Sheng Lan.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! I was wrong! Why are you punishing me? Why!" Sheng Lan's face turned pale. She looked at Duan Fusheng with hope, while glaring at Zhou Shengsheng with hatred.
"Wow, did you see that, Pang? She can look at two different people at the same time! With that skill, does she even need to worry about going to the Xinzhe Repository? She could clean two buckets at once—left eye on this one, right eye on that one!"
Hearing this, Duan Fusheng's drowsy gaze suddenly fell on Sheng Lan on the ground.
Indeed, it was true.
But this glance was mistakenly taken as a sign of hope by Sheng Lan, who immediately tried to grab Duan Fusheng's leg.
Zhou Shengsheng quickly stopped her and called out: "Come! Take this criminal slave away!"
Soon, eunuchs came in and dragged her out.
Seeing her gone, Zhou Shengsheng stepped forward and took away the teapot that had been in front of Duan Fusheng, then brewed a new one.
As she poured the tea, Duan Fusheng's languid gaze remained fixed on her face.
When the tea was poured, he finally opened his lips and slowly uttered two words.
"So ugly."
Zhou Shengsheng: "......"
"You have no idea, I'm so cute it's bubbling over!"
Seeing the face in front of him, whether swollen or not, it certainly didn't match the word 'cute,' Duan Fusheng casually remarked: "Tomorrow, the Emperor of Yongguo is coming to visit Qianyi Palace. I had originally planned for Sheng Lan to entertain him properly, but since you've sent her away, you'll take care of it."
Hearing the words "Emperor of Yongguo," Zhou Shengsheng straightened her back.
However, it seemed a bit unreasonable for the ruler of a neighboring country to visit the palace of another emperor's favored concubine.
Leaving that aside, this plot point wasn't in the original story.
That meant she didn't have to maintain this storyline and could act freely?
Thinking about Ming Siran coming to her territory, Zhou Shengsheng's eyes gleamed with contemplation.
Glancing at Zhou Shengsheng's somewhat serious expression, Duan Fusheng withdrew his gaze. Anyone who dared to lay a hand on someone in his palace, even a ruler of a country, would face his wrath. He had given Zhou Shengsheng an opportunity for revenge, and he hoped she wouldn't disappoint him. It would be best if it ended in bloodshed.
"Pang, do you have any medicine that can't be detected but will make someone severely ill?"
Quietly standing beside Duan Fusheng to reduce her presence, Zhou Shengsheng asked the little panda above her head.
Pang thought for a moment: "Yes, but why do you need it, Host?"
Half of Zhou Shengsheng's face hidden in shadow, she grinned, taking advantage of no one paying attention to her.
"Of course, to make Ming Siran walk in and spray out."
"Cough..... cough...." If not for his usual self-control, Duan Fusheng might have spat out his tea.
"It seems Ming Siran hasn't sprayed yet, but you're about to." Zhou Shengsheng teased, then went over to pat his back, saying with concern: "Your Highness, be careful, you almost choked yourself, and it nearly broke this servant's heart."
Duan Fusheng: "Heh."
