Guo Nüwang had not returned all night yesterday, and the commotion in the bedchamber could not be concealed, so many palace maids knew what had happened there last night.
Seeing Guo Nüwang return looking downcast, quite a few palace maids secretly sighed in relief and began gossiping.
"Some people just don't know their place. They dream of flying onto a branch and becoming a phoenix, never realizing they're nothing but sparrows. How laughable."
"You can't say that. After all, who doesn't have a dream? Hahaha."
"She should take a look at herself first. Did she really think a moment of the Son of Heaven's favor would let her rise above us?"
"Keep your voice down. She might hold a grudge against us later."
"Hah, she'd have to survive first."
The palace maids made no attempt to avoid Guo Nüwang as they mocked her with barbed remarks, their voices full of delight at her misfortune.
There was no shortage of palace maids who hoped to rise by offering their bodies.
But very few managed to get ahead.
Many palace maids gained no title even after giving themselves, and in the end could not even leave the palace, condemned to grow old there alone.
Moreover, there was an unspoken rule: palace maids who tried to rise by offering their bodies would not meet a good end if they failed to secure a title.
After all, the consorts in the palace were no meek vegetarians.
So this was no different from gambling. Winning meant becoming a consort of the Son of Heaven; losing meant spending a lifetime in the Cold Palace, or even losing one's life.
Many palace maids had long envied Guo Nüwang for receiving the Son of Heaven's favor. Now that she had offered herself without gaining a title, they