The reward for wishing the fourth prince a happy birthday was opened by Chao Sheng only on the second day when he had time.

  Inside is a two-tael silver ingot.

  Goodness gracious, it's really unbelievable.

  It's been ages since I've seen such a big silver fish!

  But she didn't feel particularly happy.

  It's not modern, as long as you earn your money cleanly and honestly, it's yours.

  Here, you unknowingly made a mistake. The consequences of making a mistake are extremely miserable, even former premiers and generals will be punished by having their homes confiscated.

  House search sounds like just two words.

  But behind this is a bloody and cruel situation that cannot be described in one sentence.

  Why should one person's actions implicate the whole family?

  Chao Sheng had heard about the general's story, which could be called a struggling history of a bitter child: his parents died when he was young, joined the army, and rose up step by step through big and small battles. He married a beautiful wife, had children, and continued to serve the emperor. Just because of one defeat in battle, not only did he die, but his family was also implicated without any doubt. His wife took her own life, his daughter died, and his son was conscripted as a slave.

  When Cai Sheng heard about this matter, he just felt a chill in his heart.

  Isn't there a saying "crime of non-resistance"?

  Who in this world can guarantee a lifetime of winning without ever losing?

  Lose once and learn from it, then come back stronger next time.

  Alright, the general is already dead and can't come back, but what fault does his wife and children have?

  In this era, even if you try your best not to do anything wrong, it's still useless. The emperor wants to arrest you and there's no room for negotiation. Not only will they arrest you yourself, but also your wife and children... If you still have a father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, seven aunts and eight uncles, I'm afraid none of them can escape, the whole family will be arrested together.

  Chao Sheng felt that he would never fall in love with this era, absolutely not.

  This is an era with neither human rights nor property rights.

  Thinking of this, Chao Sheng felt that he wasn't too miserable after all.

  Although I am now in a precarious situation, unsure of my future prospects. But even if one were to rise from humble beginnings like that great general, what would be the point? Or like that former prime minister, with connections and acquaintances all over the place, what good did it do him? His wife, who had lived a life of luxury and ease, wasn't she also dragged down and died in prison?

  So what can a small palace maid with an uncertain future do?

  Chao Sheng thought that his own idea might be too negative.

  In comparison, Chun Mo's mentality is very positive.

  Sometimes in her conversation, she can also reveal her unwillingness, but her approach is to work hard, work hard, and work harder.

  Be a superior person.

  The most convenient way is to be the pillow of the fourth prince.

  Of course, the princess is untouchable, but the prince will always have many women. Since that's the case, having served the prince for several years and understanding his personality and preferences, why can't a decent-looking person like herself become one of them?

  This idea is absolutely right, and the direction of effort is very correct.

  There were many palace maids by the princes' sides who became their bed warmers after they came of age.

  But it's hard to say whether he can get a good reputation later on.

  Will it be possible to achieve the desired outcome...

  Chao Sheng expressed pessimism.

  Chunmo's appearance is not particularly beautiful, her hands are not particularly skillful, and even in terms of personality, Chaosheng thinks that Qiuyan is better than her.

  She relies on the emotional connection they've built over the past few years of being together and taking care of each other.

  But... Chao Sheng really wants to say one sentence, big sister, what you've accumulated over the years is a master-servant relationship, not a romantic relationship between men and women, okay?

  It feels too unreliable.

  The bowl of crispy skin meat porridge given by the second prince was left uneaten in the end.

  It's not that she didn't appreciate the second prince's kind intentions, but the weather was really hot and the meat had been left in the cabinet overnight - it had gone bad.

  Chao Sheng thought it was a pity.

  What a great bowl of meat...

  Chao Sheng Zhen never had a habit of wasting food.

  Even in modern times when she wasted food, but this lifetime she really, really cherished every bite she ate.

  But this rotten meat... She really has a kind heart but is powerless.

  Got it... Is that all?

  That night, the fourth prince's extra dish was also crispy skin meat... Speaking of which, she finally got to eat some meat.

  The matter of this bowl of meat was soon forgotten by the tide of life.

  Huayeju divided several palace maids among them, two of whom were also senior palace maids like Chunmo and Qiuyan. One was called Jinhua and the other was called Jinye.

  As soon as these two people arrived, Chun Mo immediately felt a great sense of crisis.

  Jinhua and Jinye are not just pulled out from anywhere, they were personally ordered by the Empress Dowager, and were brought over by the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Palace. They have connections and a powerful backer. The Empress Dowager is nominally the mother of all the princes and princesses, and as the birth mother's gift, how could Chunmo not yield her first place to them?

  That's not possible.

  Does Chunmo want to?

  That's definitely not what I wanted.

  Chun Mo had already considered Huaye Manor as her own territory - and by extension, the Fourth Prince as belonging to her.

  A mother tiger is always terrifying when she encounters danger.

  There is a feeling of impending storm.

  Qiu Yan also advised Chun Mo: "You put your eyes on the long-term, their origin, the palace will not be at ease with them, you bear a little heart, don't be in a hurry."

  Chun Mo simply nodded, without making a sound.

  Qiu Yan didn't feel at ease and secretly told Chao Sheng: "Keep an eye on her, if anything goes wrong, come tell me right away."

  Chao nodded slightly.

  What's wrong with it?

  Chun Mo would never use a knife to stab Jin Hua and Jin Ye.

  But Chun Mo obviously didn't plan on giving up his own territory either.

  Huaye's affairs have always been controlled by Chunmo, especially in terms of finance and personnel.

  But with Jin Hua and Jin Ye arriving, Chun Mo discovered that things were getting out of control.

  First of all, Gui Zhi and they didn't listen very much anymore.

  Chao Sheng also discovered it.

  In the past, when Chunmo gave orders, they would all rush to do them, and the sisters would flatter her excessively. Now, however, it's like shouting three times without anyone coming, and even if someone does come, they'll make excuses like "Elder sister Jinye told me to water the flowers" or "Elder sister Jinhua asked me to embroider a purse".

  It's chilling just watching from the side.

  Even if Chunmo had treated them poorly before, they were still swayed by the small benefits offered by Jinhua and Jinye.

  Who knows what will happen in the future?

  In other aspects, it is also slowly changing bit by bit.

  Jin Hua came with a smile and asked Chun Mo for the key to the cabinet.

  "What are you going to do?" Chun Mo watched her vigilantly.

  Jin Hua smiled and said, "The master has ordered it. Take advantage of the good weather to take out those old books from last year and dry them in the sun. The books are all stored in the back room, and the key is with my sister. Who else would I ask if not you?"

  "Your Highness wants to dry books? How come I don't know?"

  Jin Hua smiled and said: "Wasn't sister busy yesterday? The prince instructed me and Jin Ye. Ah, Chun Mo sister, that key..."

  Chun Mo turned around and walked out: "I'll go myself."

  She didn't say whether she was going to open the door or take care of drying the books herself.

  But Chao Sheng didn't think much of her.

  The East Palace is very closed, and the masters in the Autumn Palace are only the second and fourth princes. Even if there are some conflicts, they are just small waves in a teacup, and cannot go beyond this circle. On the surface, everything is still harmonious.

  But golden flowers and golden leaves are different.

  They can fight their way up from among thousands of people in the harem, get the favor of the emperor's wife, and be personally selected by her to come here, they must have some ability.

  No beating, no scolding, no killing. What's inside doesn't matter at that point. When it really comes to that step, the outcome has already been decided, and it's the final step.

  Even if the means are similar, Chun Mo has only himself, while Jin Hua and Jin Ye have two people.

  The Songtao Pavilion next door also has a new person, but it seems... different from the situation with Huaye. The Second Prince doesn't care who you are or where you come from, if he doesn't like the look of you, he'll chase you out to sweep the garden and courtyard - this is already considered the lightest punishment. However, although the Yiqiu Palace isn't too big, it's not too small either, and sweeping every fallen leaf clean... you're sweeping leaves off trees, and they just keep falling, so you spend all day running around looking for leaves - who has the energy to look for trouble?

  Anyway, the second prince didn't care about his reputation anymore. When others said something about him, he just ignored it. According to Huan Xun, a few days ago, someone from the palace came over and before they even asked about the service of the palace maids, the second prince had already started complaining, saying that the one sent was not a proper palace maid, but rather a flirtatious woman who kept trying to get close to him and even spilled tea on his sleeve...

  The queen must have assigned people to them, Chao Sheng thought, probably with the intention of surveillance and control. But the fourth prince cared about his face, while the second prince didn't care about his face at all, nor did he give the queen any face. Anyway, he had long been notorious for his violent and reckless behavior, what was he afraid of?

  As expected, the person who was in a difficult situation in the palace returned in disarray and also took away several palace maids from Songtao Pavilion.

  And what about Hua Yeju?

  Chao Sheng thinks that the fourth prince is absolutely a person who understands his mind.

  He just can't be as unscrupulous as the Second Prince.

  Would he just stand by and let Huaye Ju change everything?

  ——————————————

  Uh, I just finished writing that chapter and forgot to post it...

  So it ended up being uploaded in two chapters together...