Yellow plum season, every household rain.

  Sounds poetic, but in reality, this plum rain season is quite a nuisance. The "mei" in Huang Mei can also be replaced with "mold".

  It's not because it's always raining outside that people in the palace don't change their clothes.

  Exchange.

  That one also needs to be washed.

  But no matter how hard they tried, the clothes just couldn't be dried. The master's clothes could be ironed with a hot iron and made soft and dry, but ordinary palace servants didn't get such preferential treatment. Dried in the shade, half-damp and not dry, wearing them on their bodies felt humid and uncomfortable, let alone how unbearable it was.

  And the thread is also rough. The threads provided by the warehouse recently are not good, and once they get wet, they break easily, let alone being difficult to use.

  Chao Sheng slept in a position near the window, and the window gap always faced inward, seeping water. Chao Sheng thought of a solution, finding some wood shavings to use, wrapping them with cloth strips and stuffing them into the window gap to prevent dampness. However, although it could block the water, the damp air couldn't be blocked. After raining for so many days, there was a musty smell everywhere.

  "Tide is born, someone outside is looking for you."

  "Ah, here it comes." Tidori bit off the thread and put the spool aside.

  At the gate, there was a figure holding an umbrella. Chao Sheng took a glance and that person tilted the umbrella to one side, with tears in his eyes, smiling at her and saying: "Chao Sheng."

  "Is it incense?"

  It's been a short time since we parted ways, but it feels like half a lifetime has passed.

  Han Xun wiped her eyes and reached out to hold Chao Sheng's hand, suddenly startling him.

  "This hand of yours..."

  Chao Sheng turned his palm over, and this hand was much thicker than it had been in Yunxia Palace.

  There were many people in the house with prying eyes, so Cao Sheng didn't dare let Han Xiang enter the house. The two of them stood under an umbrella at the corner of the house talking.

  As soon as Hu Yan opened her mouth, she couldn't stop. Her voice was low, and the sound of rain on the umbrella was dense and continuous, so she wasn't afraid of being heard by others.

  "In the past, I always thought you were overthinking when you advised me. But after that incident, I realized you were right. Unfortunately, although you saw things more clearly than me, you got pulled in too." Huán Xūn's eyes turned red: "That morning, you disappeared early, and I wanted to ask someone about it, but everyone was locked in the house and not allowed to move around or speak. It wasn't until nightfall that I found an opportunity to sneak out and look for Jiě Mù sister to ask her where you had gone. But...I hid in a corner, watching as two people wrapped her in a quilt and carried her out of the house, with blood dripping on the ground. And there was another person following behind, erasing any traces."

  "Why is that?"

  "I didn't know... " She hesitated for a moment: "I was so scared that I didn't dare to breathe, and when those people left, I quickly returned to the house. In just two days, we were all sent away separately, and I was assigned to the East Inner... I didn't dare to ask anyone about your news again, but from time to time in my dreams, I saw you covered in blood coming to me for help..."

  The tide was low and comforted her in a soft voice: "I'm fine, aren't I?"

  "What's wrong? I heard you got forty lashes."

  "My life was spared, and I got up after lying in bed for just a few days."

  Chao Sheng himself was also somewhat perplexed at this point.

  Her injury was indeed painful at the time, but it healed quickly afterwards and didn't leave any deep scars. Now there are only some faint marks on her body, without any big scars.

  Forty lashes in the palace can really kill a person. She has no background, no money to bribe, and it's unreasonable for those people to show her extra mercy.

  That...

  Is there still someone taking care of her in secret?

  Is it the same person who takes care of both Tuo and his mother?

  Who could that person be?

  The tide is at a loss.

  "How are you now?"

  "I'm fine," said Huai Xun. "There's not much work to be done in the East Palace, I used to serve at the Xianyun Garden, now I attend to the Second Imperial Son."

  When it came to the second prince, she paused for a moment.

  At that time, Chao Sheng didn't know why, but after Chao Sheng left, she found a way to ask others.

  "That person said: 'The Second Prince? Alas, it's really... The Second Prince's biological mother was Consort Liu, who passed away early. The Second Prince has been suffering from leg disease since childhood, and this chronic illness has made his temper not very good. It is said that in the palace where he lives, people are often carried out on stretchers every three days..."

  A wave rises in his heart and then subsides.

  She knew things weren't as simple as what was said.

  There may be misfortunes, but they won't happen to them.

  It seems that Han Xiang's situation is no better than hers, and may even be more dangerous.

  For several nights in a row, she had been dreaming of someone carrying a black quilt out, and she vaguely felt that it was the end of the year, but also wondered if it might be her own funeral. When she woke up, she was covered in cold sweat, and her head was throbbing with pain.

  The tide is rising in warning.

  Caught a cold.

  Mustn't get sick, absolutely mustn't get sick.

  She can't afford to get sick in this place. She hasn't saved up any money, and she can't even afford a packet of medicine - besides, she doesn't have the means to buy medicine either.

  The laundry alley is at the northernmost part of the imperial palace, not far from the palace gate. After leaving the alley and passing through another gate, it is a side gate leading out of the palace. Every day, there are miscellaneous servants, procurement officials, small eunuchs, and older palace staff entering and exiting here. They often bring things in from outside, and naturally, the palace people also give them some benefits and convenience. The medicine that Wu Mama used to treat Chao Sheng last time was brought in by someone from outside.

  Even if the palace maid with a good reputation like Wang Mei got sick in the Yunxia Palace, she could only ask someone to get some medicine pills for her, and it was impossible to decoct medicine. Firstly, it was impossible to let someone diagnose and prescribe medicine, secondly, even if there was a prescription, after getting the medicine, did you dare to decoct it in the palace?

  Don't mention the slaves, even the masters can't get out of bed. Do you know how many people's hands the medicine you take has passed through? Do you know that when you fall ill, others will take advantage of your weakness and do something? Moreover, in such a cruel palace, flowers don't bloom for a hundred days, does the emperor want to see your pale and sickly face?

  Chao Sheng made an effort to pour hot water into her belly, and also asked someone to get a bowl of ginger soup for her. These days, she was quite familiar with the little eunuch Bai Rong. She had knitted a pair of socks for Bai Rong before, and he had returned the favor by helping her buy a hairpin. Although it was only worth one or two cents, they had gradually become more familiar with each other through their interactions. Bai Rong also didn't have any powerful connections to rely on; when he entered the palace, he had been young and had managed to get along well with everyone everywhere, often taking advantage of his duties to slip out of the palace gates and help others deliver things. Sometimes he could earn a bit of tea money, but if it was someone important giving him orders, he would end up losing more than he gained.

  The woman in the room had her own way, and Bai Rong also grabbed a handful of roasted melon seeds for her: "Here, take it."

  Chao Sheng laughed and accepted it: "Where did this come from?"

  "After sitting with Old Man Su in the teahouse for a while, I grabbed some from the plate when leaving."

  Aren't you going to eat?

  "I've eaten outside."

  Chao Sheng thanked him and picked up a melon seed, which was slightly charred on the outside. The melon seeds were five-spice flavored and had been stir-fried to a slight crispiness, with a hint of burnt smell.

  Bai Rong whispered to her: "Chao Sheng sister, have you heard?"

  "What?"

  "I heard Old Man Su say that there aren't enough people up ahead and it seems like they're going to transfer some from the Washing Clothes Alley side."

  "Really?"

  "Hmm." Bai Rong said: "Going over there is better than being here, at least there's something to strive for."

  But Cao Sheng thought that the opportunity would not fall on her head. She was demoted here because of a crime, equivalent to leaving a case file - such an experience, which master would be willing to use? There were many people who had harder relationships than her, were more capable than her, and had cleaner histories than her.

  The tide has some vague fear.

  For outside use.

  Although it's hard work in Xiangjiang Lane, this place makes her feel safe for the time being.

  But she also felt some regret.

  Is this life going to be spent in the laundry alley? Endless washing, sewing and mending, who knows when I'll collapse and never wake up again. Then like other unfortunate people, wrapped in a broken mat and thrown into the palace sewer?

  As expected, within two days of Bai Rong telling her about it, Chao Sheng heard Man Er mention it too.

  Unlike He Chao's calmness, Man Er was full of energy and ambition, eager to seize this opportunity.

  She knew nothing of the dangers outside the alley, she only knew that the world outside was farther and more beautiful. The people outside ate better, dressed better, and used better things - countless times better than here. People outside had dignity, had power - Man'er didn't hide it at all, she even dreamed of becoming a concubine herself.

  She once put on a delicate and beautiful dress, reflected in the water.

  Chao Sheng wanted to tell her that things outside were not as simple as she thought, and maybe one day, she would lose her life without even knowing the reason.

  She is a living example herself.

  At that time, what happened, she still didn't understand until now. The fragmented news gradually gathered together, but it made her more and more frightened.

  "Chao Sheng, don't you want to go out?" Man Er asked with some curiosity.

  Tidal life bit off the thread head, stroked the needle foot: "You see if this is okay?"

  Man'er stood up and took a look, the place where the thread was torn had been mended neatly. She was delighted and forgot about her question just now.

  After she left, Chao Sheng sat there alone.

  Think.

  She wants to go out.