Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid

Untitled Part 46

Xi'er had watched with her own eyes as Xiu Yun was beaten to death. She had never thought the smiling Eunuch Fu would be so ruthless.

Furthermore, it was carried out in front of all the uniformed palace maids and eunuchs in the Hall of Splendor. There had been another palace maid who was beaten alongside Xiu Yun who Xi'er didn't recognize.

It was only due to this that she realized both times Xiao Hua had gotten sick was due to Xiu Yun poisoning her.

Xi'er had been scared to tears on the spot. She had never known someone could die so tragically. Directly getting beaten to death by the plank, bleeding from all seven orifices1 and the body clearly beaten to a pulp.

They were dragged out after they died. Xi'er and the rest of the low-ranked palace maids cleaned the courtyard bit by bit with water.

No one dared to cry at the time, and merely cleaned with trembling hands and dulled eyes....Xi'er would never forget what she had seen for her entire life. That kind of thudding sound, Xiu Yun and that unfamiliar palace maid's gagged mouths and fierce faces, and the acrid smell of blood....

After they were taken out of the Hall of Splendor and into other areas to work, Xi'er had nightmares multiple nights in a row for over half a month before slowly recovering.

Xi'er was assigned to the estate's needlework area after leaving the Hall of Splendor, and was responsible for the estate's handicraft.

Although it couldn't compare to what she initially did in the Hall of Splendor, it was better than the sweeper area by far.

The current Xi'er seemed to be a completely different person if one didn't look at her face. She became taciturn and didn't like interacting with others.

She never revealed to anyone the fact that she had served in the Hall of Splendor before. Before she left, one of Eunuch Fu's subordinates had warned them not to reveal anything regarding the hall.

Thinking of Xiu Yun being beaten to death, Xi'er kept this warning solidly in her mind.

When she woke up in the middle of the night, she would also think of Xiao Hua.

Out of the six of them, only Xiao Hua was not expelled, and she wondered how she was doing.

But she merely thought about it a little, since the happenings at the Hall of Splendor had very little to do with her anymore.

Only now did Xi'er realize the good fortune she had stumbled into previously, to actually be able to serve in the Hall of Splendor. Unfortunately she did not seize the opportunity properly and now, she wasn't even able to touch its doors.

Her previously noisy self had matured quite a bit after this experience. Only now did she realize this grand, imposing, majestic estate also had a different face.

Just as the elderly palace maids she interacted with said, only with suffering comes growth, and only those who have been beaten know the meaning of pain. Before she hadn't taken their words to heart, and only now did she truly experience what they meant.

..............

"Xi'er, you've been working for so long. Rest your eyes. It's lunch time, let's go eat." A fourteen or fifteen year old low-ranked palace maid ran up to Xi'er and said with a smile.

Xi'er lightly smiled in response and put down the needle in her hand.

This low-ranked palace maid was called Cheng'er, and was also a low-ranked palace maid in the needlework area. She was around Xi'er's age and was very cute and lively.

Every time she saw Cheng'er smiling, Xi'er would be reminded of her past self. Although only a few months had passed, she felt like she aged quite a lot, and was unable to smile as freely as she did in the past.