Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite-Chapter 495 Extra Story 4: Waiting to Rebuild the Old Mountains and Rivers, Toward the Heavenly Palace (1)

Chapter 495: Chapter 495 Extra Story 4: Waiting to Rebuild the Old Mountains and Rivers, Toward the Heavenly Palace (1)

At the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, a downpour fell over Shengjing City.

The rain was so heavy that water had accumulated in the low-lying areas.

In the city center, in a corner of a courtyard within the General Mansion.

There was a small servant girl, now soaked to the skin.

She kneeled there, shivering, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

In the house not far away, sounds of young girls laughing and playing could be heard.

The little servant girl kept her head down, her eyes had cried dry.

Her body felt both painful and weary, and she found herself utterly exhausted.

Were it not for the last bit of willpower she clung to, she feared she would have collapsed.

Suddenly, a silhouette of another servant girl rushed into the room.

She appeared to be wearing clean and decent clothes, adorned with hairpins and jewelry made of plain silver.

Clearly, she was someone of status, a figure among the ladies of the house.

A stark contrast to that little servant girl kneeling in the corner.

"What’s the rush?"

A vibrant woman sitting at the top spoke up.

The little servant girl steadied her footsteps and tone before speaking.

"Fourth Miss, the Eldest Miss has returned."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the previously uninterested Fourth Miss stood up.

She immediately gave an order.

"Bring my best hairpins and clothes, so the whole family can see that I, Zhang Yulan, am no less than that so-called legitimate daughter of the main branch."

"Yes."

Following, there was a flurry of preparation.

When this Fourth Miss of the Zhang Family stepped out, her clothes shone with brilliance in the post-rain sunshine, making her even more eye-catching.

Passing by the entrance, she saw the servant girl still kneeling.

A flash of displeasure crossed her eyes, but her good mood was not to be spoiled.

So she spoke coldly.

"Have her return, lest she falls ill and rumors spread that I am harsh to my servants."

"This servant will dismiss her now."

Turning quickly, she walked towards the kneeling servant girl.

She saw her soaked from head to toe.

There wasn’t a hint of worry in her heart.

Instead, there was a sense of superiority.

So she spoke in a condescending manner.

"The Miss has shown mercy, don’t kneel here anymore to be an eyesore, leave quickly."

The little servant girl’s head throbbed painfully.

But she dared not show any sign of it.

Otherwise, she would only bring trouble upon herself.

She could only muster her utmost effort to respond loudly.

"Thank you, Miss, for your mercy."

Yet still, her voice to others was like that of an inaudible fly.

The standing servant girl couldn’t help but roll her eyes, turned, and adjusted her dress.

Then she chased after the direction where the Fourth Miss had already left.

Until outside, when no more footsteps could be heard.

The kneeling servant girl finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She slumped to the ground.

Anyway, there wasn’t a clean spot from head to toe, a bit more mud wouldn’t matter.

Under her soaked trouser cuffs, there must be patches of bruising.

She had been kneeling since last night till now.

How could she stand up so quickly?

Luckily, everyone’s attention was now on the returning eldest daughter of the Gui Mansion.

She was just a weed-like, unnoticed servant girl, naturally, no one cared.

After sitting for a while, as her legs regained some strength.

She supported herself against the wall to stand up.

Limping, she walked out of the courtyard.

She was originally sold into the mansion by her stepmother to work as a third-class servant girl.

She naturally wasn’t fit to serve in the inner courtyard.

The reason she got the chance to enter the Fourth Miss’s courtyard.

Was all because of her face.

Not a beauty to captivate a nation, but a look that stirred a pitiful elegance.

Though only ten years old now, the past two years of hardship had hardened her spirit.

Endurance, restraint, and resignation.

This was exactly the effect Fourth Miss’s mother desired.

She still remembered how the Third Madam had spoken when selecting her.

"If trained obediently at home now, she could serve as a concubine or a concubine within her future husband’s house and still be manageable."

Because of those words, she endured much suffering.

Frequent beatings, scoldings, and kneeling punishments.

Except for her face, there wasn’t a part of her body in good condition.

Yet coincidentally, after each injury, the Third Madam would send someone to deliver the best ointment.

Which not only promoted blood circulation and dissipated clots but also nourished her skin.

Keeping her delicate and supple, but also subjecting her to more torment by the Fourth Miss.

Sometimes, when the torment was severe.

She thought of ending her own life by jumping into a well.

But outside the mansion, her younger siblings were also struggling under her stepmother’s hand.

Therefore, in moments of despair, thoughts of her mother’s dying words and their fearful eyes came to mind.

Every time, she gritted her teeth and held on.

Passing through the Moon Gate, she took a secluded path back to the rear servant quarters.

But her head was terribly dizzy.

So, halfway there, she fainted by the roadside.

Before she fell unconscious, she vaguely saw a pomegranate tree.

It was planted in the Eldest Miss’s courtyard.

Now its branches were laden with fruit, a good omen indeed.

Meanwhile, on the path back to the courtyard, the Eldest Miss of the Zhang Family walked with a calm demeanor.

But if one looked closely, a hint of weariness could be noticed between her brows.

Her mind replayed the words of the Empress when she left the palace.

She couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

It seemed she would be entangled with the golden cage of a canary all her life.

As her future seemed a bit uncertain, she saw the fainted servant girl by the roadside.

Beside her, Zhong Xia, a cautious one.

Immediately spoke up.

"Miss, don’t go over, let me see what’s the matter?"

"Alright."

Zhong Xia has served the Eldest Miss of the Zhang Family since childhood.

Naturally possessing abilities and demeanor unlike ordinary servants.

She approached, squatted down to take a look around.

Then glanced over the clothes the girl was wearing.

With an understanding in her heart, she stood up and returned to the Eldest Miss of the Zhang Family and said.

"Reporting to Miss, this servant girl should belong to the Fourth Miss’s quarters. She’s drenched all over, her face slightly flushed, likely soaked by the rain, now fainting due to exhaustion, I think she also has a fever."

When the Eldest Miss of the Zhang Family heard this, she looked quite displeased.

The people under her care were disregarded, yet there was interest in comparing herself to others in the main hall.

The thought of that eye-catching attire and jewelry the Fourth Miss wore just now irked the Eldest Miss.

The Third Aunt indeed lacked wisdom, raising a girl who spent all day on dressing up and abusing servants.

Wasn’t she afraid of rumors spreading, gaining a reputation for harshness towards her servants?

Leading to future difficulty in marriage?

"Find someone to take her to your room, seek the household physician to check her, don’t cause a fatality."

"Yes."

At this juncture, nothing could go wrong in the Zhang Family.

Otherwise, the Empress’s painstaking efforts would be in vain.