Chapter 1955: Needle Punishment
All Attendant Zhou thought of now was getting out of her current predicament as quickly as possible. Now that she couldn’t even see the emperor’s face, even a servant could bully her.
That was what it meant to have no power. Attendant Zhou had been a sly office lady in her past life, not a little girl longing for love. After her time in the harem, she truly felt that having power was the most important thing.
The emperor gave her a position, a courtyard to live in.
She had failed three tasks, and yesterday she was punished by the favored concubine system – jabbed by needles.
Attendant Zhou originally thought that the needle punishment was just being stabbed by a needle. However, the pain of being stabbed by needles in every part of her body almost made her wet herself.
Her eyes had rolled back in pain for the ten minutes her punishment lasted.
The system said that if she failed the next task, then the pain would last for half an hour. There would even be electric shocks.
With that threat lingering in her mind, Attendant Zhou was terrified. She didn’t want to suffer anymore. No matter what, she had to leave the Moonlight Palace and see Zhao Xu.
Attendant Zhou saw the melon seed husks scattered on the ground and took in Consort Zhuang’s good complexion. She didn’t look sick at all. These two were deliberately messing with her.
Faced with such a situation, Attendant Zhou could do nothing but endure. She bowed to Ning Shu. “Empress, this attendant hadn’t gotten to greet the empress for a long time, so her heart was very uneasy. Tomorrow morning, this attendant wishes to greet the empress.”
Ning Shu raised her brows. Was this show of weakness meant to see her released from confinement?
“Don’t worry, when Consort Zhuang recovers from her illness, you two can greet this empress together,” Ning Shu said calmly. “Learn proper etiquette, and surprise the emperor when you get out.”
Ning Shu looked at Mama Li and smiled as she said, “Mama Li was someone who even the late emperor praised. Learn from her, Attendant Zhou. It will benefit you to learn from Mama Li’s way of dealing with people.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for the praise. This old slave dares not to accept such words.” Mama Li curtsied.
“Rest well,” Ning Shu said to Consort Zhuang before standing up and leaving.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Attendant Zhou watched Ning Shu and told Mama Li, “Mama, I have something to say to Consort Zhuang. Please leave first.”
Mama Li glanced at Attendant Zhou, bowed, and left.
“Consort Zhuang, this attendant apologizes to you.” Attendant Zhou curtsied towards Consort Zhuang as she spoke.
Consort Zhuang rolled her eyes, then raised a hand to stroke her temples. “Why are you apologizing when you didn’t do anything wrong?”
“There’s no right or wrong in this harem. I admit that what I did before wasn’t very considerate, but we’re under one roof and sometimes need to help each other. We could cooperate,” Attendant Zhou said frankly.
“If the emperor came to the Moonlight Palace, we would be the ones who benefit,” Attendant Zhou said. “I’ll reciprocate.”
“This…” Consort Zhuang’s expression was hesitant. She hadn’t received any favor recently, and this method of pretending to be sick didn’t help her situation.
In the end, this harem existed to fight over the emperor’s favor, for the opportunity to attend to him. Without his favor, they didn’t even compare to a slave.
“Don’t worry, Consort Zhuang. I’ll never try to take what’s yours and I’ll repay you. Our previous minor disagreements can be completely forgotten with a smile,” Attendant Zhou said sincerely. “You are a consort, but I am a mere attendant staying in the Moonlight Palace. There’s no way I could escape your control.”
Consort Zhuang pressed her lips together and pondered for a while without answering.
She was struggling with the decision. If she cooperated with Attendant Zhou, it would be tantamount to betraying the empress. No one in the harem could beat the empress and she feared that the empress would hate her for the betrayal.
Translator: Kaho
MTL Editor: Shark
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