The original owner held her tightly, tears unshed, feeling the warmth in her arms slowly turn cold.
She maintained this posture with vacant eyes, sitting through the entire night.
Early the next morning, someone discovered she had passed away and quickly reported it to the authorities. Despite her holding her close, someone still snatched her from her embrace. From then on, she never saw her again and didn't know where she was buried.
Bereft of her mistress, she became like a soulless doll, doing whatever others told her to do. By the time she came to her senses, she had already arrived at the Xinzheku (Department of Wardrobe).
Every day was filled with endless work, and a slight mistake meant a beating and no food. These hardships were nothing compared to the suffering in her heart. She was unwilling to see those who had harmed her mistress living happily.
She yearned to avenge her mistress, but the Xinzheku was only ever filled with piles and piles of clothes, with no outsiders seen for years on end.
She had been waiting for an opportunity, and it finally arrived. The managing嬷嬷, seeing that she had been diligent and well-behaved for years, assigned her to deliver clothes to a new imperial concubine.
She observed her surroundings throughout the journey, waiting for a chance. However, with many palace maids passing by, she dared not act rashly, fearing she would be beaten to death before she could exact her revenge.
Perhaps fate was on her side. Upon arriving at the concubine's courtyard, she saw Lu Guiren, chatting and laughing with others. She quickly lowered her head, intending to deliver the clothes to the new concubine's room quietly, without attracting anyone's attention.
But fate intervened. Lu Jieyu, as she was now known, inadvertently looked up and saw a familiar figure. Her pupils constricted, and she exclaimed loudly, "Wait, you are Dong'er?"
The original owner's body stiffened involuntarily. She pretended not to hear and continued walking.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Didn't you hear our mistress call you?" a palace maid beside Lu Jieyu scolded loudly.
Dong'er closed her eyes, then quickly turned around, pointing at herself with a hint of confusion, "Are you talking to me?"
"Who else would it be?" the palace maid replied haughtily.
One must bow to the powers that be. She hurried to Lu Jieyu's side and knelt down, respectfully saying, "Greetings, Lu Guiren."
"How can you speak like that? Our mistress is already a Jieyu," the palace maid beside her said with displeasure.
"So it really is you. You've aged so much in a few years. We're from the same hometown, you know. But I heard later you were exiled to the Xinzheku, and I thought I'd never see you again. Seeing you now reminds me of the poor Lin Mei-mei," Lu Jieyu said with feigned sympathy, her tone tinged with regret.
"My mistress was indeed not as fortunate as Lu Jieyu. But she was framed. Heaven is watching. I believe the one who framed her will be struck by lightning sooner or later." As she said this, although the original owner tried her best to control herself, she couldn't help but raise her head and look at Lu Jieyu with hatred.
Lu Jieyu was startled by her gaze and involuntarily took a few steps back. In an instant, she adjusted her expression and sneered, "She brought it upon herself. Who told her to be a thief? Besides, it was the Emperor who had her beaten. Are you dissatisfied with the Emperor's punishment?"
Her words, "brought it upon herself," sent Dong'er back to that day, when everyone looked at them with mockery and sarcasm. Though the weather was hot, they felt a biting chill. Watching her lips move, falsely accusing her mistress, Dong'er could bear it no longer.
At the same time, she knew clearly that confronting her today might lead to private retaliation, and her chances of leaving the Xinzheku again would be uncertain.
So, amidst everyone's panicked gazes, she quickly stood up and lunged at Lu Jieyu, tackling her to the ground. She then clasped her hands tightly around Lu Jieyu's neck.
Lu Jieyu's initial shock and the pain of falling to the ground slowly gave way to suffocation. She tried to push Dong'er away, but the person on top was immovable no matter how she struggled.
Her eyes began to roll back. The palace maids present were stunned by Dong'er's sudden action. Once they recovered, they rushed to pull her off.
Dong'er exerted all her strength. Seeing more and more people trying to restrain her, knowing she was no match for them, she resolutely bit down on Lu Jieyu's ear.
Lu Guiren cried out in pain, unable to speak. Despite the pulling and hitting from behind, Dong'er refused to let go, tearing off one of her ears.
Finally, the two were pulled apart. Lu Jieyu instinctively clutched her neck, screaming in agony.
Dong'er knew there was no good outcome for her. She had no desire to live anyway. In a fit of madness, she kicked at those holding her.
This time, Lu Guiren's personal maids, witnessing the gory scene, rushed to summon imperial physicians and protect her, never daring to leave her side again.
They all wailed inwardly. With their mistress in such a state, the Emperor would never summon her again, and they had no future but to grow old and die in the palace with her.
Dong'er was too frenzied. In their haste, a few palace maids lost their grip. She broke free from their restraints and, with all her might, rammed her head against a pillar at the entrance of the main hall.
Her skull split open instantly, brains spilling out. The palace maids, having never witnessed such a gruesome sight, stifled their cries of alarm. And so, mistress and maid vanished from the palace.
Recalling these events, Wu Caiwei couldn't help but sigh, lamenting that good people often met bad ends.
However, now that she was here, things would be different. Her eyes darted about, and a good idea formed.
The next morning, a slip of paper appeared on Lin Ziqin's desk. Startled by its silent appearance, Lin Ziqin realized the palace was full of hidden talents and decided to act with greater caution in the future.
Despite her initial fear, curiosity got the better of her, and she picked up the paper to see what it said. After reading it, she fell silent. If the events were as described, then all the scolding she had directed at Lin Ziyou for over a year had been in vain.
She hadn't believed it at first, but then she recalled the recent palace gossip that Lu Guiren had intended to frame someone else, only to suffer the consequences herself, with the evidence found in her palace.
She was the type to believe something if there was even a slight possibility of it being true. Since Lu Guiren was a suspect who had caused her such great distress, she would not let her off and quietly awaited the arrival of the three-month deadline.
The palace had been unsettled recently. The Emperor had indeed kept his promise and summoned many physicians from the populace to treat the Imperial Noble Consort. Unfortunately, all of them were helpless.
The Imperial Noble Consort, tormented by her illness, had become mentally deranged, seeing everyone as a threat and believing others were trying to harm her. A healthy person had slowly transformed into a madwoman.
While the Emperor felt a degree of sorrow, he also harbored fear. He had the doors to her palace sealed. He hadn't intended to be so ruthless, but a few days prior, the Imperial Noble Consort had escaped. She had first stormed into the Empress's palace and then proceeded to Noble Consort Li's residence, claiming they were the cause of her current condition.