Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world

The Laundry Bureau.

The clothes of all the imperial family members in the palace are sent here, where dedicated palace maids wash them daily.

A group of palace maids were squatting by the canal, carefully washing the clothes.

The weather was bitterly cold, and the canal water was icy.

These were all minor problems.

The clothes of the imperial family were extremely precious, and they had to be washed with the utmost care. If they were accidentally damaged, punishment was inevitable.

This was the major problem.

Fortunately, the palace maids were already skilled in their work, and they could even chat while washing.

The clearest voice belonged to Su Lian.

Su Lian was also the most talkative on ordinary days.

She said with a lively expression:

"My Brother Bao is especially good to me, always bringing me nice things."

"But the one who is best to me is still my Brother Jin. He even brought me medicine to drink, which cured the frostbite on my hands."

"Sisters, look, hasn't the swelling gone down, and there are no cracks anymore?"

"The medicine is so effective. Needless to say, I know that Brother Jin must have spent a lot of money to buy such good medicine!"

Su Lian was somewhat careless and often spoke without thinking.

She always liked to tell the people around her how good Brother Bao and Brother Jin were to her.

She was sharing her joy with others.

But she didn't know that these words were seen as boasting by others.

Several palace maids in the distance glanced at Su Lian with envy, then muttered:

"That kind of person is missing a screw in their head. Just wait and see, that little hussy will suffer a big loss sooner or later."

The palace maids didn't take Su Lian seriously, but seeing her happy and cheerful when she chatted every day was really annoying.

Life in the palace was inherently oppressive and hard.

Everyone lived in fear and trembling, learned to shut up and be silent, and was always on tenterhooks.

Why could Su Lian be so happy?

Why could Su Lian be so silly and laugh foolishly every day?

Su Lian's personality, to put it nicely, was simple and innocent, but to put it bluntly, she was foolish and muddleheaded.

She was already fifteen years old, yet she was still so immature.

Did she really think the palace was a charity hall?!

A palace maid with a melon-seed face glanced towards the back. She seemed to see someone walking towards them.

Then, a sly look flashed in her eyes, and she whispered to the surrounding palace maids:

"Watch how I deal with her!"

Palace intrigues in the imperial palace didn't just happen among the concubines in the inner palace.

But were happening in every corner of the imperial palace.

The melon-seed-faced palace maid deliberately came close to Su Lian and complained in a low voice:

"Oh dear, these days, after washing clothes every day, we still have to do other work. It's really exhausting!"

These words immediately resonated with everyone.

Everyone knew that the matron was in a bad mood these days, so she was deliberately tormenting all the palace maids, making everyone suffer together.

When everyone started discussing it, Su Lian also joined in:

"That's right, we've already rinsed the clothes very clean, but the matron insists they're not clean and wants us to rinse them again and again."

"If we ruin them by rinsing, we'll be slapped in the face."

"She just slapped my left cheek swollen the day before yesterday, and it only just went down today. I hope she doesn't slap my right cheek swollen too, otherwise I won't have the face to see anyone."

Once Su Lian started talking, it was hard to stop.

When the melon-seed-faced palace maid saw that Su Lian had taken the bait, she slightly turned her head to look towards the back, then continued to fan the flames:

"Su Lian is right, the matron is too much!"

She said this very quietly, as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

The other palace maids knew the ways of survival in the palace. As soon as they heard these words, they knew there was a problem.

Speaking ill of the matron in public? Wasn't she afraid of being held accountable?

Unless…

Many people secretly looked back, seemingly seeing something terrifying, and were so frightened that they shut up and buried their heads in washing clothes.

But no palace maid was willing to remind Su Lian.

They were also jealous of Su Lian and were happy to see her suffer.

As expected.

Su Lian was simple-minded and didn't notice anything amiss. She even agreed with the melon-seed-faced palace maid's words:

"Too much is an understatement!"

"In my opinion, the matron is simply an old witch!"

Su Lian's voice was already clear.

As soon as these words came out, they were like jade beads falling onto a plate, and everyone present heard them clearly.

The palace maids suppressed their smiles, knowing that Su Lian was doomed this time!

Next, there was a silence.

Su Lian scratched her head:

"Why is everyone silent?"

The palace maids were still washing clothes with their heads buried, and no one responded.

Suddenly.

"Cough! Cough!"

Two familiar dry coughs sounded behind Su Lian.

Su Lian was startled and hurriedly turned around.

She saw a thin female official, about thirty years old, standing behind her.

This frightened Su Lian so much that she jumped up from the ground and tightly covered her mouth:

"Mat… Mat…"

These two words leaked from between Su Lian's fingers, full of terror.

Because this female official was Guo Min, the clerk of the Laundry Bureau, and also Su Lian and the palace maids' "matron."

At this time.

The melon-seed-faced palace maid stood up and complained:

"Matron, just now this little hussy was talking nonsense and dared to insult you behind your back. Her mouth should be torn apart!"

Guo Min's face showed a fierce expression.

Her hand was also raised high.

Everyone present knew that Guo Min was going to slap her!

Su Lian hurriedly covered the left side of her face, exposing the right side to the matron, while closing her eyes and waiting for the matron's slap.

The melon-seed-faced palace maid gloated, a sneer curling up at the corners of her mouth.

The other palace maids also turned their heads to watch the show.

Guo Min's slap finally came down.

"Smack!!!"

The crisp sound of the slap resounded throughout the entire place.

But from the sound, it was clear that this slap was very forceful!

The scene fell into silence.

Su Lian was full of doubt.

Her face… why didn't it hurt?

She couldn't help but open her eyes, only to see a look of astonishment on the faces of the palace maids.

And on the face of the melon-seed-faced palace maid, there was an extra red palm print.

The melon-seed-faced palace maid was a little dazed from the slap:

"Matron, it wasn't me who said bad things about you, it was Su Lian who said it!"

"It was she who called you an old witch, not me!"

As she spoke, she pointed her finger at Su Lian.

Guo Min snorted coldly and raised her hand again.

"Smack!!!"

Another loud slap came down.

Another palm print appeared on the melon-seed-faced palace maid's face.

This made her completely stunned.

Why was she still being beaten?

Didn't the matron hear Su Lian call her an old witch?

Impossible!

Su Lian said it so loudly, and the matron was standing right behind her at the time. There was no reason for her to have misheard!

Not only was she puzzled.

Even the surrounding palace maids, including Su Lian herself, didn't understand what was going on.

Guo Min reached out and pinched the melon-seed-faced palace maid's cheek and scolded:

"Little slut! You don't work properly all day long, you just love to gossip, don't you?"

"I heard clearly just now, it was you, you little slut, who was scolding me!"

The melon-seed-faced palace maid hurriedly wanted to defend herself.

But Guo Min's hand became even more forceful, and her fingernails dug into the melon-seed-faced palace maid's flesh, even drawing blood.

This caused the melon-seed-faced palace maid to scream repeatedly, and large drops of tears kept falling.

Su Lian was frightened and couldn't help but explain:

"Matron, actually—"

Before she could finish speaking, Guo Min directly interrupted her:

"Su Lian, you don't need to plead for her. Don't I know what kind of person you are?"

"You're usually the most sensible, the most diligent in your work, and the most pleasing to the matron."

"The matron isn't deaf. The one who was running her mouth just now was this little slut!"

"Everyone, tell me, is that right?"