The Cold Palace.
Carrying a food box, the First Imperial Prince arrived at the Cold Palace to visit Lady Wu.
The Cold Palace was not merely deserted and desolate-it was genuinely cold. After stepping inside, the First Imperial Prince shivered several times.
In the side courtyard, the flowers and trees had withered, and broken branches and dead leaves littered the ground, unswept. Two young palace maids stood nearby.
The maids, however, were chatting, turning a blind eye to the work before them.
The First Imperial Prince snapped, "What are you talking about so merrily?!"
The two maids froze, turned to see the First Imperial Prince, then bowed to him.
The First Imperial Prince asked, "Where is Her Ladyship?"
The two maids exchanged a look before one replied, "Your Highness, there is no ladyship here."
She had been banished to the Cold Palace and demoted to a low-ranking attendant. What ladyship?!
The two maids treated the First Imperial Prince with utter nonchalance.
That was how the Imperial Palace worked. Everyone swarmed around favored masters, eager to serve them, while neglected masters lived worse lives than servants.
Suppressing his anger, the First Imperial Prince demanded, "What is Lady Wu doing? Instead of attending your mistress, you servants are running about everywhere. Where is your sense of propriety?!"
The maid replied, "Your Highness, this servant has several mistresses to look after."
There were few servants in the Cold Palace to begin with, so personal attendants were out of the question. Besides, its residents had no money to grease palms. No one knew when they suffered mistreatment, and even if someone did, no one cared. Why would the Cold Palace's servants bother serving them diligently?
These servants were shrewd indeed. They had long known that the First Imperial Prince would soon leave the capital,