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Xueyan sneered coldly, "Left with no choice? As my maid, you betray your master and still say left with no choice? Today, I shall teach you a good lesson."

With that, she picked up an old teapot from the table and hurled it towards Shuiyao.

Shuiyao hurriedly dodged.

Seeing her dodge, Xueyan was even more infuriated and went up to slap her twice.

Shuiyao had already suffered a lot and it was because of Xueyan that she ended up poisoning the heir to the throne. With two slaps on her face, unable to contain her anger, she began to fight back.

For the first time, she slapped Xueyan twice.

Xueyan covered her swollen face, glowering at Shuiyao, "You lowly maid, you dare to slap me?"

In no time at all, the two were entangled in a brawl.

In the dead of night, Xueyan, holding her swollen face, was in so much pain without an Imperial Doctor and was so hungry that she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Shuiyao sat on the other side, exhausted from the fight.

At this moment, the eerie sound of a woman singing opera drifted in from outside.

Xueyan shuddered with fear. She carefully approached the door and looked outside, where she saw a female ghost in white, with dishevelled hair, and screamed in fright.

"Ah!!! There’s a ghost!!!" Xueyan turned pale with terror, ran to the bed, and shivered uncontrollably.

The scream startled Shuiyao as well, making her shudder involuntarily.

That night, neither of them dared to sleep, afraid the female ghost would come for them.

The next day, a special little Eunuch came to deliver food.

Usually, there were few people around, but many appeared at mealtime.

Xueyan had been hungry for a whole day and night, already starving to the point of weakness. Although Shuiyao was there to serve her, she couldn’t trust her after being betrayed once.

They went to collect the food together.

By the time they arrived in the courtyard, the others had already received their meals.

The little Eunuch opened the food box, brought out a bowl of fish and a piece of meat, along with some vegetables, and said to Xueyan, "This is for you."

Seeing the fish and meat made Xueyan feel even more famished. She took the bowl from the little Eunuch and turned to leave.

The other women, who hadn’t tasted fish or meat for a long while, saw Xueyan holding both and became instantly envious.

In the Cold Palace, there were no such rules.

A few dishevelled women immediately went to snatch the fish and meat from Xueyan’s hands.

Xueyan, who had been pampered since childhood, was unaccustomed to such rough treatment.

"What are you doing? This is my food, stay away from me."

"Whoever grabs it gets to keep it."

"Exactly, why should you get to eat fish and meat while we’re stuck with cabbage and radishes?"

The dishevelled women, without hesitation, snatched the fish and meat from Xueyan’s hands.

Xueyue was already very hungry, how could she possibly let them take her meal away?

During the scuffle, she was kicked several times by the dishevelled women and ended up lying on the ground unable to get up, watching others take her food away, and was so angry that she burst into tears.

The Eunuch delivering the food saw this scene and then took the food box and left the Cold Palace.

Inside the Study Room of the East Palace

Qin Xiao recounted to Xiao Jinyan one by one the hardships Xueyan faced in the Cold Palace.

"Today, she was also beaten up over fighting for vegetables."

Xiao Jinyan said coolly, "Let her taste the bitterness of living a life worse than death every day. Just make sure she doesn’t die."

"Your subordinate understands," Qin Xiao acknowledged and withdrew.

Xueyan, who repeatedly attempted to poison the heir, was relegated to the Cold Palace and became a hot topic during leisurely conversations in the East Palace.

At the same time, this served as a warning, even to those who were jealous, not to commit acts against the wind.

The Empress, too, had only heard some rumors and thus learned of Xueyan’s poisoning of the heir, her precious grandchildren, who nearly suffered at the hands of that vile woman.

What was more infuriating was that the damned Emperor had not informed her!

Upon hearing the news, the Empress immediately rushed to the East Palace.

Qing Ying, seeing the Empress walking ahead, reminded her, "Your Majesty the Empress should walk slower, be careful with the steps."

"The Emperor as well, such a big matter arose and he didn’t inform me, knowingly keeping it from me even though he knows how precious Taotao and Susu are to me," the Empress complained as she walked.

"Perhaps the Emperor was afraid that Your Majesty would worry, which is why he didn’t inform you," Qing Ying said softly.

The Empress snorted, "The Emperor is not that kind-hearted. He omits his duties and sticks to his stubbornness over matters that should not be done."

These past few nights, he had insisted on staying in Fengyi Palace, no matter how clearly she refused, nearly telling him to his face to get lost.

The Emperor still did as he pleased.

Having served the Empress for many years, Qing Ying naturally understood the undertones in her words.

The past few nights, the Emperor and Empress had to engage in a battle of wits, and then he would forcefully stay overnight.

She overheard everything from outside and chuckled at the thought of their daily life.