The courtyard in Chuxiu Palace

Yunmei never thought that the bracelet in the box was broken. She was confused by the unexpected situation and betrayed by her own words.

When the crowd burst into an uproar, Gu Yunxi knelt on the floor, with her head down and her body immobile. Her thick eyelashes fluttered as her cold eyes flickered.

Yan Gui put back the lid and waved at some eunuchs, who then swarmed to Yunmei and pinned her down under his indifferent gaze.

Caring for nothing else, Yunmei burst into tears and screamed.

"Your Grace, Lord Yan, I will never do it again! It was Madam Liao. She put me up to it."

"Nonsense!"

Opposite her, Madam Liao's cheeks bulged and flushed with shame, looking angry and panic.

Crawling on her knees, she rushed towards Yunmei across the aisle. Scraping her way over the rough brick floor, she sounded like a ghoul gnawing on human bones.

Pitifully, the eunuchs caught the stalwart crazy woman halfway.

On the other side of the aisle, Yunmei stared at Madam Liao and cried out the truth.

"You! It was you... You have been worried that Muxue would replace you, so you schemed against her. Last time you asked your niece to frame Muxue at the Imperial Ceremony Office, but it backfired."

"This time you wanted to avenge your niece, yet you couldn't enter the Main Hall. Hence, you incited me to steal the valuable. I was out of my mind to have helped you!"

"But when I put the bracelet in Muxue's bedstand, it was still intact."

As soon as Yunmei finished speaking, Lanxin pointed at Madam Liao and indicted her indignantly.

"How could you be so cruel, Madam Liao? You have always been jealous of practical Muxue and spoken ill of her in the kitchen."

"Your plots failed again and again, but you did not stop. Everyone knows that His Majesty rewarded Her Grace that bracelet. And you ruined it on purpose to frame Muxue!"

"I, I..."

Shackled by the men's strong hands, Madam Liao's curvy body wriggled but did not break free. Speechless, she could not refute Lanxin's accusation.

Under the porch, Concubine Xu's eyes were cold, and her tone was vicious.

"The rules of the Palace deemed that Yunmei should be bludgeoned to death for damaging the imperial gift. Although Liao is the chief instigator, I'll show mercy on her for serving me all these years. She'll be banished from the Palace forever, with her kneecaps cut out and her belongings stripped away."

"Now, take the two to the Custody Office. Do not stain the floor of Chuxiu Palace."

The whole palace fell silent.

After the eunuchs dragged Madam Liao and Yunmei out of the courtyard, Concubine Xu's gentle eyes blinked and then moved to Gu Yunxi. Then she gave an order.

"From today, Tu Muxue is the governing Madam of the kitchen. All cooks and servants must fulfill your duties and not follow their example!"

...

The main hall of the Imperial Ceremony Office

Leng Qingtang was sitting at the sandalwood desk, flipping through a stack of files.

Bingbi Liu came in and saluted him. Then he leaned to his ear and whispered.

Leng Qingtang listened quietly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

However, the unusual flicker only lasted momentarily. Before anyone could notice, his limpid dark eyes returned to calmness as before.

After reporting, Bingbi Liu straightened up and distanced himself from the Master. With a wicked smile at the corners of his mouth, he disapproved.

"Look, just over a month into the Palace and she has climbed to the seat of the kitchen governor of Chuxiu Palace. She promoted two ranks up from a seventh-ranking maid!"

Tapping his fair fingers on the desk, Leng Qingtang looked calm, eliciting no emotions.

"Leave her alone. We'll mind our own business and keep an eye on the clues for our investigation."

With his hands folded and head bowed, Bingbi Liu smiled slightly and spoke respectfully.

"I understand."

...

It was another rainy afternoon. The sprinkle dropped from the gloomy sky like endless threads, sending an air of melancholy.

Gu Yunxi and Lanxin stood together under an umbrella before the gate of divine prowess.

At the end of the empty road, two eunuchs were slowly pushing a four-wheeled wooden cart in the rain. A person in plain clothes was lying on the cart. Her hair was put down, and her soaked body shivered in dismay.

Under the umbrella, a cold smile touched the corners of Gu Yunxi's lips. She turned her head to Lanxin and beckoned. Then the girls stepped forward and stopped the cart.

Gu Yunxi took two red envelopes from her sleeve pocket and offered them readily.

The two eunuchs glanced at each other and took the envelopes with a grin. They asked them to converse quickly and then stepped back to the drenched red wall not far away. Now and then, they would throw a look at the cart and then returned to watch.

Working in the Custody Office for a long time, they knew well the purpose of Gu Yunxi's red envelopes.

Now that they were alone, Gu Yunxi cast her chilling gaze at Madam Liao on the cart and gave her an eerie smile.

A few days ago, the Custody Office took over and executed Yunmei with the order of Concubine Xu.

Madam Liao, the chief instigator, had her kneecaps cut out. She seemed to have kept her life, but that was too good to be true.

Her punishment was removing her kneecaps, which would leave her permanently crippled and unable to walk.

For those who had survived this cruel punishment, their ignoble existences afterward would be much more miserable than death.

Madam Liao passed out after the purgatory. In the next few days, she would struggle through every minute with unbearable physical pain and mental devastation.

The Liao family had received the news and was awaiting her out of the gate of divine prowess today.

At noon, the Custody Office would send Madam Liao on a cart to meet her family out of the gate.

Concubine Xu had ordered that Liao must not take away anything from the court, including her income of the year.

Therefore, Madam Liao was only wearing a shirt and a pair of trousers on her way out, without even one personal baggage.

At the gate of divine prowess, she encountered her enemy in the purple suit of a rank-fifth governor, which set off the girl's fair face beautifully. The tailored suit fitted her properly, perfectly pressing against her youthful curves. Her black hair was pinned up elegantly with jewelry. Compared to a lowly maid, now she looked more sophisticated with a completely different vibe.

And by her side was Lanxin, the loyal maid, holding the umbrella for her.

Instantly, Madam Liao was insane with rage. Baring fangs and brandishing claws, she tried to get up, only to have her face distorted in crucifying pain.

Smiling leisurely, Gu Yunxi took the woman's agony and desolation in her eyes, where mysterious brilliance flashed.

"Today is your day to retire. I'm more than thankful for your care during the last month, so I come to see you off."

Her tone rose and fell, infusing with a trace of sarcasm.

Then, Gu Yunxi chuckled and looked down at the defeated opponent.

Madam Liao's wrinkled face was fraught with hatred. Glaring, she screamed.

"Get out of my face! It's not your turn to laugh at me yet, bi*ch!"

"Why? It's you who have plotted in the first place, and hence I wait here in the rain for you especially."

Provoked by Madam Liao's clamor, Lanxin grabbed Gu Yunxi with one hand and urged indignantly.

"Muxue, don't listen to her filthy words. Let's go back!"

Madam Liao became more violent. She raised her finger at the two girls under the umbrella and cursed.

"Bi*ches! Whores! My Cuiqiao was expelled from the Palace because of you. Now you set me up and killed Yunmei. Aren't you afraid of karma?"

"Karma?"

Gu Yunxi sneered at the word. She bent over to Madam Liao inch by inch and reached towards her stinky crippled legs covered with blood.

As soon as Gu Yunxi bowed over, Lanxin tilted the umbrella to shield her friend from the rain.

The raindrops hit the paper umbrella and then slid down its surface onto Madam Liao's soaked hair.

"What are you doing?!"

Screeched in horror, Madam Liao stared at Gu Yunxi's petite hand, which hovered over her hollow knees and then tapped gently.

Overwhelmed by infinite fear, Madam Liao gritted her teeth in suffering, her clammy body trembling uncontrollably.

Gu Yunxi fixed her grim gaze on the old woman in the cart.

"Since I entered the Palace, I've stayed in my place and respected you. I never planned to overstep you. It was you who could not let me be and harmed me repeatedly. I was forced to defend myself. As for karma, why don't you check yourself? Think carefully about it, and you'll realize who has faced it already!"

"You!"

One second ago, Madam Liao was squinting her eyes resentfully. Now suddenly a touch of shock ran across her angry cheeks. At this moment, she only felt a chill down her spine that was freezing her marrows.

The unimaginable truth made her stumble.

"You... You framed me up... It was you who had broken Concubine Xu's bracelet..."

"Hush..."

Murmuring softly, Gu Yunxi put her index finger up against her lips and then smiled.

"Watch your mouth, Madam. You have no evidence. Besides, in your status now, who do you think Concubine Xu will trust even if she hears about it? You, or me? To be honest, you are much luckier than Yunmei. You have spared your life. Now go back to your hometown obediently and cherish it."

"..."

Madam Liao's bloodshot eyes opened blankly wide and met the limpid ones of Yunxi.

Suddenly, she raised her head and roared, desperately plunging into her enemy.

Here and now, she could not wait to tear up the mocking girl with her claw-like fingers.

Sensing the danger, Gu Yunxi held Lanxin's waist and moved her steps dexterously to avoid the attack.

The two eunuchs from the Custody Office witnessed the scene. They rushed back, slapped Madam Liao, and then pushed the cart to the gate of divine prowess.

In the patter of rain, Madam Liao's vile curses rumbled like thunder, resounding between the red walls.

"Tu Muxue, you'll die in your boots! I hate you. Yunmei and I will never let you off even after death…"