If Chao Sheng hadn't gone through those days in the Yunxia Palace, hadn't been mysteriously beaten and demoted to this place, but had entered the palace and arrived at Huanyi Alley directly, she might have been more content and happy.

  After all, although the work here is heavy, no one urges you to do it until midnight. The food is coarse, but it can fill your stomach. Although the living place is old and simple, there is a tile to cover your head, and there is a space of five feet long that can hold your body, and the minimum living guarantee is available. Before she entered the palace, what she thought about was filling her stomach and surviving.

  It should be said that Huanyi Lane fits her idea when she first entered the palace.

  But she had gone through that experience in the Smoke and Clouds Palace.

  She knew that in this world, even for a palace maid, there was more than one way to live.

  People always yearn for a better life, this is not a bad habit, it's human nature.

  Not like now, washing clothes from dawn till dusk, fingers swollen from soaking, and when the weather gets colder, they will crack. Not like now, eating only coarse cakes and millet rice, with husks and bran scratching the throat. Not like now, sleeping on a mat that has already torn open at the edges, and if you're not careful, you'll be scratched by the reeds.

  It's not like living now.

  But now she can't see any hope for change.

  She could only do some small things, such as finding ways to get some oil to rub her hands, so that they wouldn't crack and hurt so much. The laundry alley was not short of old rags, she sewed the edges of the mat with old cloth, so that it would not scratch herself. Not only did she help herself, but also helped Man'er's mat.

  "Chao Sheng sister, your hands are really skilled." Man'er touched the edge of the bed again and lay down to rub against it: "Now it's all right, I don't have to be afraid of sleeping. These stitches, I think they're even better than those sewn by the sisters upstairs."

  Chao Sheng waved her hand: "No way, what I did wasn't good either."

  Man Er pulled up the quilt and the two lay down together.

  Chao Sheng was somewhat curious: "Man Er, how long have you been in the palace?"

  Man'er thought for a moment: "It's been ten years, I suppose?"

  Ten years? She's only eleven or twelve now.

  "When I was a child, I was placed in a wooden basin and thrown away at the Yuhua Bridge. Wu Mama saw the wooden basin when she went out of the palace to handle some affairs and picked me up, so I grew up inside the palace. I have never been outside the palace gates and do not know what it is like outside. Chao Sheng sister, where is your family from?"

  The tide was slightly surprised.

  She thought her fate was already bad enough, having transmigrated into the body of an orphan girl and then encountering a calamity after entering the palace. But at least she still had the happiness and joy of her past life for over ten or twenty years.

  Even if we don't mention the past, compared to Man Er, at least she had more experience outside the palace. In her experiences in the Smoke and Clouds Palace, she knew what those beautiful brocades looked like, had eaten delicious dishes and pastries, and had even received a golden hairpin before.

  But Man'er didn't even know what the palace gates looked like from the outside - or perhaps she didn't even know what this imperial palace outside the washing clothes alley looked like.

  "My...my home is in the capital city, located in Liujiayuan Alley in the northwest."

  "What other people are there in your family? Is your house big or small? What is it like?"

  "Uh, there are only my uncle and I at home... The house is not big, it's an old house, but fortunately it doesn't leak wind or rain. There is a apricot tree in the yard, leaning against the wall of the yard..." Chao Sheng didn't have a deep impression of that small yard. Without relatives, a house can only be considered a house, and cannot be called home.

  That uncle who had never been seen before, where did he go? I heard from the neighbors that this person usually doesn't talk much and looks like a honest and kind-hearted person. He abandoned his niece at home and left without returning, did he encounter some unexpected event? If he comes back to see that there is no one left in the house, what will he think?

  He leaned against his arm and said wistfully: "That must be great..."

  Wu's mother and her were about the same age, and they didn't talk to anyone else. But after Chao was born, probably because they were close in age, they naturally became companions. Not only did they live together, but when working, the two of them always stuck together.

  Man'er leaned over and whispered, "Chao Sheng sister, your hands are so skilled, it's a pity to do laundry work. In the front yard, there is a special ironing and sewing job, the work is lighter than here, not affected by wind or rain. Why don't we ask Wu Mama to let you go to the front yard?"

  Chao Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately laughed at himself in his mind.

  Man'er doesn't understand, how could she not understand? Who doesn't know that light work is easy to do? If it were really so easy to get a turn, wouldn't everyone be scrambling to do it? To do that kind of job, you either need some connections, or have good skills, or else have seniority. Her little needlework isn't worth mentioning, let alone her connections and seniority - she's just a punished person who came here, how could she hope for a high-ranking job, wouldn't it make people laugh their teeth off?

  She is now very conflicted, on the one hand telling herself to be content. Sticking her head out may not necessarily be a good thing - didn't she stick her head out when she was in the Smoke and Clouds Palace? As a result, she was first found fault with by Qingjing, and then because of Chen Fei's miscarriage, things ended up like this. But deep down, there is still a sense of unwillingness...

  What for? Why does she have to endure all this? Why can't she live a better life?

  Just like the woman who pointed at her nose and scolded her "a cheap look, eight lifetimes won't be able to turn over" during the day, Chao Sheng's hand was tightly clenched into a fist, feeling that all the blood in her body was about to rush to her face.

  Why must she be so bullied by others?

  Man'er was already used to all of this, she didn't know that people had other ways of living. Even if she knew, she hadn't personally experienced it. Her longing for happiness was very realistic - on a day when she didn't have to work, and could eat a delicious meal with meat dishes, that was already a happy life.

  But Chao Sheng's yearning was not like this.

  In this era, with her identity, what she can yearn for is what the end of the year depicts: leaving the palace to seek a free life, marrying an honest and kind person, you care about me, I take care of you, not seeking wealth or nobility, just warmth, comfort, and happiness.

  But this ideal, for now, seems like a castle in the air, just a beautiful and extravagant wish.

  It was already October, and the weather was getting colder by the day. Qīng Chū felt that his hands would lose sensation after just a short while in the water basin. Moreover, at this time of year, clothes were much thicker and heavier than those worn in summer, making washing them even more laborious. Although it wasn't necessary to change clothes as frequently as in summer, the work was actually harder and more tiring. After several days of strong winds, many people in Huàn Yī Xiàng had fallen ill, resulting in a shortage of hands, so many palaces could only send someone to collect their laundry themselves. Wǔ Māma was extremely busy, running around non-stop, and she called Qīng Chū over early that morning to help out.

  As time went on, Chao Sheng actually admired Wu Mama a lot. Although she had a quick temper, she didn't intentionally bully people. She seemed rough and careless, but when it came to remembering which palace sent which clothes, colors, fabrics, patterns, and quantities, she was meticulous and never made mistakes or mixed things up.

  But she was no superwoman and with two of her top lieutenants, Song and Tian, falling ill one after the other, she found herself overwhelmed.