When Xiao Cheng returned to the palace, it was past the curfew.

If it weren't for her status as the head of the Imperial Dining Room, she would have been captured as an assassin by the patrolling guards and sent to the prison.

Because she had been tied up for too long, and the room was wet and cold, Xiao Cheng's limbs were numb, and she slowly dragged her back to her room.

Lying in the warm quilt, I couldn't help but shiver.

She gritted her teeth, her eyes closed slightly, and a picture of Zhong Xiaoshu being tortured gradually appeared in her mind.

A cruel smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Zhong Xiaoshu was woken up by the noise outside, and Yin Zhige went to the imperial study early in the morning to deal with things.

If you want to find him, you shouldn't come to Kunning Palace, this point, eight times out of ten. Nine came to her.

Listening to the small and fragmented sound outside, Zhong Xiaoshu lay on the bed and pretended to be dead and didn't think about it, but the sound kept stopping, which made people feel irritable.

Zhong Xiaoshu lay on her stomach for a while, she was really impatient to listen, and she sat up.

The earth dragon in the morning has almost gone out, and Qing'er just let people burn it just now, and the temperature has not yet risen.

The cold wind provoked her to sneeze several times.

When Xia Zhitao came in with water, she saw Zhong Xiaoshu sitting on the bed sneezing, she was stunned for a moment, and then spoke softly.

"Niangniang is up, the earth dragon has not burned yet, and the house is cold, why don't you go back to the bed and lie down for a while."

"What's so noisy out there?"

Zhong Xiaoshu squinted her eyes and shook her head, she grabbed a handful of her hair, a little groggy.

Xia Zhitao glanced back at the door and sighed, "Does Niangniang remember Xiao Cheng, the director of the imperial dining room?"

She was outside, and she came early in the morning, saying that something had happened at home.

begged Niangniang to let her out of the palace, but Sister Qing'er persuaded her for most of the hour to no avail. ”

"The palace maid must be at least twenty-five years old when she leaves the palace, and Xiao Cheng is still the director of the imperial dining room appointed by the mother.

There are many people who have sat in this seat all their lives, and where is it said that they will be released out of the palace. ”

Xia Zhitao said as she handed a hot handkerchief to Zhong Xiaoshu.

The latter was still a little dazed, but after taking the handkerchief and wiping his face, he instantly became a lot more sober.

"Let her in, kneeling for so long in such a cold day, people will be wasted."

Xiao Cheng followed Qing'er into the house, and looked at Zhong Xiaoshu, who was sitting on the soft couch without makeup and making bird's nest porridge, and a trace of hatred crossed her eyes.

She knelt down with a puff, "Something happened to the slave maid's family, begging the mother to let the slave and maid out of the palace." ”

There was a crying voice in the words, which made people feel so pitiful, Zhong Xiaoshu put down the spoon and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Xiao Cheng, it's not that the palace is unkind, it's just that the rules are there, and ordinary palace maids must be at least twenty-five years old when they leave the palace.

You are still the head of the Imperial Dining Room......

If the palace agrees, with your precedent, everyone behind them says that they have an accident at home and want to leave the palace, then the rule is just an ornament. ”

Xiao Cheng gritted her teeth, she lowered the corners of her eyes, "It's Xiao Cheng who has overstepped the rules." ”

After she left Kunning Palace, Zhong Xiaoshu sighed deeply.

"Let Zheng Cong find out what happened, if you can help, you can help, so that she doesn't have to worry so much."

"Yes."

After Xiao Cheng left Kunning Palace, her heart was full of irritability, she had already said that Zhong Xiaoshu would not be easily fooled, and now there was no way.

She walked forward slowly, and when she passed a corner, she saw a lame old palace maid limping to the ground not far away.

She was stunned for a moment, and then immediately had an idea in her mind.

In the afternoon, everyone in the imperial dining room noticed that something was wrong with Xiao Cheng, and the palace maid who had a good relationship with her looked at her worriedly.

"Xiao Cheng, are you okay? Your face is not very good-looking, do you want me to accompany you to the hospital. ”

Xiao Cheng smiled and shook his head, "It's okay, maybe it's just a cold, I'll go by myself later." ”

"But I see that your walking posture is not quite right, and someone saw you go to Kunning Palace in the morning.

Didn't something happen to your family two days ago, could it be that you went to ask the queen mother? ”

Xiao Cheng's expression changed instantly, her eyes dodged, and the palace maid seemed to have received an answer, "Niangniang didn't agree, did she?" ”

Xiao Cheng bit his lip and nodded with a somewhat bitter expression.

"Niangniang said that there are rules in the palace, ordinary palace maids can only leave the palace when they are twenty-five years old, if I set a precedent, others should be dissatisfied.

What Niangniang said makes sense, since I have entered the palace, I should no longer worry about the home outside. ”

The palace maid looked at her aggrieved appearance, and instantly became a little angry, "The rule is that the dead are alive, and the queen is really unreasonable."

There was such a big thing in your family, she actually moved out of the rules to pressure you, so many palace maids who made an exception and released the palace to which one is not in a big emergency?

Why do you have to follow the rules when you come here, it's so unfair! ”

"Don't be like this, don't be like this, it's not good if others listen to it." Xiao Cheng covered the palace maid's mouth and pulled her out of there.

A few days later, Xiao Cheng took people out to shop, and sighed the whole time.

made the little palace maid think that the ingredients she picked were not fresh enough, and she trembled.

"Sister Xiaocheng, have you encountered something?"

The little palace maid asked more, and Xiao Cheng sighed again, "It's okay." ”

The expression of a sad face looked like an expression of nothing, the palace maid didn't believe it, Xiao Cheng was helpless, she lowered her voice and whispered.

"Something happened to my family a few days ago, and I wanted to ask the queen mother to be a few days off so that I could go home and see the situation.

But the mother said that the ancestral system has no precedent, so it is not good to let me take this leave. ”

"It is said that the rule is that the dead are alive, just a few days off, and there is no way to do it if the palace is not missing.

Why is Niangniang so ruthless, the last time I saw her, she was not like this to Sister Qing'er. ”

She sighed again, and then her expression was a little flustered.

"I don't mean anything else, don't think about it, my mother is very good to me on weekdays, I ......"

The little palace maid took her hand, "The queen mother is pampered by His Majesty, and Sister Xiaocheng's good temperament will excuse her."

If it's good to you, it won't embarrass you, didn't you say last time that you would be asked to find fresh vegetables in 39 days?

The snow fell twice, and the grass froze to death. ”

Xiao Cheng pursed her lips and didn't speak, and the little palace maid was still angry.

"Because on Chinese New Year's Eve last year, I invited the bosses in the city who couldn't return home to have a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and everyone outside praised the queen and mother for having the temperament of a mother of a country.

But I don't know how she treats us on a daily basis. ”

As she spoke, her voice suddenly rose twice, Xiao Cheng was so frightened that she trembled, and she hurriedly reached out to cover the little palace maid's chattering mouth.

"Good sister, don't talk about it, if you let others hear it, you don't know what will happen.

She is the master, we are the slaves, even if there is a grudge in the heart, we should not say this. ”