The two of them looked up and saw a disheveled and downcast woman emerging from the shadow cast by the palace. After a closer look, they recognized her as the Noble Consort De who had been defeated by Ji Feiyu and sent to the Cold Palace before. In this situation, it was truly a case of enemies meeting, and their hatred flared up!
At the sight, the head maid immediately lowered her eyes. She was deeply afraid of the Noble Consort De.
Ji Feiyu, however, remained calm on the surface. She ignored the woman and continued walking forward.
Unexpectedly, seeing herself being ignored, the Noble Consort De went crazy and rushed over, knocking Ji Feiyu to the ground. She desperately grabbed Ji Feiyu's neck and shouted, "You bitch! How you harmed me back then, I'll make you pay a hundredfold today!"
Ji Feiyu struggled helplessly and coughed violently. She was on the verge of suffocating. The head maid immediately rushed over and tried to pull the Noble Consort De away, shouting, "No! Let her go!"
The Noble Consort De ignored the head maid completely. With a fierce look in her eyes, she continued to strangle Ji Feiyu, sneering, "You troublemaker were so arrogant back then, weren't you? How come you've ended up like this today? It's really a case of karma. Hahaha."
"Let go! You'll kill her!" The head maid slapped the crazy woman hard, but it was of no use. Helplessly, she looked around and saw one or two eunuchs watching from a distance. She quickly ran over and pulled them, pleading, "Please, help us!"
The younger eunuch glanced at the older one's face and didn't dare to step forward. The older eunuch frowned and watched for a while. Seeing that Ji Feiyu was really struggling to breathe, he waved his hand impatiently and said in a shrill voice, "Go and pull them apart."
Lying on the ground with her neck tightly gripped, Ji Feiyu's vision was going black. At this moment, she felt like laughing.
The Noble Consort De had been sent to the Cold Palace by her own hands. It was only natural for the woman to hate her. But for Ji Feiyu, in the world of winner-takes-all, she had long forgotten about the Noble Consort De. So, she simply despised the woman.
However, it was this look of disdain that enraged the Noble Consort De. She tightened her grip even more. In the Cold Palace, the occasional death of a concubine went unnoticed. She was not afraid at all.
Just as Ji Feiyu was about to lose consciousness, the pressure on her neck suddenly eased. The Noble Consort De was screaming as she was pulled away.
"Let me go! Let me go, you eunuchs!"
"How dare you be so presumptuous in front of us! You're asking for death! Beat her!"
Ji Feiyu was dizzy and couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear the sounds of punches and kicks and the Noble Consort De's shrill cries.
"You fools! If I ever get out of here, I won't spare you!"
Hearing this, the older eunuch laughed and said, "We've already advised you not to have such delusions. In all these years in the harem, we've never seen anyone who was sent to the Cold Palace regain favor."
As they were talking, the head maid had already rushed over to help Ji Feiyu up. "Your Highness, Your Highness, are you okay?" Seeing the red marks on Ji Feiyu's neck, she couldn't help but shed tears.
Ji Feiyu gasped for air. Finally, she managed to catch her breath. Her neck felt as if it was about to break, and she couldn't help but touch it. Glancing at the head maid crying pitifully, she comforted her, "Don't cry. I'm fine."
The head maid saw Ji Feiyu's pale face gradually returning to normal and finally felt relieved. When she looked at Ji Feiyu again, she found that her gaze had turned to the Noble Consort De.
Several young eunuchs were surrounding the Noble Consort De, punching and kicking her while shouting that she was a crazy and ignorant woman. Standing beside them was an old eunuch with a cold expression. Judging from his clothes, he seemed to be the chief eunuch in charge of the Cold Palace.
Ji Feiyu recalled the roster of eunuchs she had seen and guessed that this man was Zhang Fugui.
Seeing Ji Feiyu getting up, Zhang Fugui walked over and said arrogantly, "Since you're new here, you should learn the rules. No fighting or causing trouble is allowed in the Cold Palace. If you violate the rules, we won't mind teaching you a lesson. Also, we don't care what your status was before you came here. In the Cold Palace, no one cares about rank or status. Once you're in, you should consider yourself an ordinary person. Don't even think about getting out. It's better for everyone if you just stay here quietly."
After saying that, he gave Ji Feiyu a deep look and walked away without looking back. The young eunuchs who had been beating the Noble Consort De also stopped and retreated.
Ji Feiyu glanced at the direction they had gone and then looked at the Noble Consort De on the ground. At this moment, the Noble Consort De got up from the ground, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and gave Ji Feiyu a terrifying smile. She mouthed to Ji Feiyu, "I won't let you off so easily."
Ji Feiyu pretended not to see. Fighting with a crazy woman would only lower her dignity.
Supported by the head maid, Ji Feiyu entered the inner hall of the Cold Palace. She found that there wasn't even a decent bed in the hall. Several cold-looking women were standing or sitting scattered around the hall.
The head maid noticed that everyone seemed to be sleeping on straw. So, she went to look for some thicker straw. But just as she found a place and was about to pick it up, a woman stepped on it and said, "This is mine. Get out of here!"
The head maid looked around. Seeing this, the few women in the hall immediately rushed to grab the straw on the ground. After the scramble, there was basically no extra straw left in the hall.
Ji Feiyu: "..."
She never thought that one day even the shabby straw would become a much-coveted resource.
The head maid said anxiously, "Your Highness, what should we do?"
Ji Feiyu, however, remained very calm. "Don't worry. Let's go find Eunuch Zhang."
Ji Feiyu remembered the direction Zhang Fugui had left in. So, she pulled the head maid and followed it. Sure enough, they found him.
Zhang Fugui didn't expect the person he had just warned to come to him so soon. He was quite impatient.
"Just say what you want."
"I want two quilts," Ji Feiyu said in a calm tone.
Hearing this, Zhang Fugui exchanged glances with the other eunuchs around him and burst into laughter. "Did we hear you right? Someone actually dares to make requests after coming to the Cold Palace. Get out of here!"
Ji Feiyu seemed not to hear their ridicule. She still stood there, exuding her own dignity.
Soon, the eunuchs on the other side stopped laughing. One of them said, "What are you still standing here for? Get out quickly! Do you really think you're still outside?"
Ji Feiyu just stared at Eunuch Zhang and said, "Zhang Fugui, you entered the palace in the second year of the Xuanwu era. You've served three generations of emperors. In the third year of the Chengxuan era, you were demoted for being involved in gambling in the palace and have been in charge of the Cold Palace ever since. You still have a ninety-year-old mother at home who needs your support. There's not much profit in the Cold Palace, so the money you've taken out of the palace over the years must be a bit less."
Zhang Fugui narrowed his eyes, his eyes glinting with cold light. But he quickly covered it up with a smooth smile and asked, "Our old background has been thoroughly investigated. So what?"
Of course, Ji Feiyu had to find out about him. Before, she had planned to find a way to get out of the Cold Palace. How could she not pay attention to everyone and everything in the Cold Palace?
Ji Feiyu knew that knowing someone's background alone couldn't threaten them. But people are always driven by self-interest.
So, she said, "I'm not good at many things, but I'm just lucky. Maybe I can help you win more money to take out of the palace?"
Zhang Fugui looked at her half-believingly.
"Please take out the dice and have a bet with me. Then you'll know," Ji Feiyu said with a faint smile on her lips.