The Nanming Palace's miscellaneous service room, the newly arrived Shang Gong Da Ren was as cold as ice and frost, extremely strict with all the palace maids.

  Jing Wan'er was scrubbing the toilet, and a foul smell filled the air around her.

  It's said that the new head chef in the imperial kitchen recently burned the dishes, causing many concubines and even Empress Zhong to get food poisoning, with several trips to the toilet every day.

  The palace maid in charge coldly said, "Jing Yu'er, come out."

  The young girl lifted her disheveled face, and the sleeves of her dress were still dirty. Jing Wanyu looked at the palace maid with confusion.

  The palace maid was even colder: "What are you dawdling for? Didn't you hear me telling you to come out?"

  Jing Wan'er looked at the brush and toilet in her hand, had to put it down, stood up and wiped her hands with her skirt, and walked towards the palace maid.

  But before they could get close, the strange smell had already made the palace maid change color.

  Jing Wan'er looked at her calmly: "Aunt, what's going on?"

  The maid in charge of the palace affairs held her breath and hastily turned around, "Don't waste words, follow me."

  Jing Yuanyu looked up and saw a eunuch wearing a eunuch uniform in the courtyard of the miscellaneous service room.

  The originally indifferent palace maid immediately had a hint of fear on her face and knelt down, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the guilty slave Jing Wanyan has been brought here."

  Jing Wan'er stared at the eunuch, somewhat dazed.

  "How dare you, this is the imperial eunuch by the emperor's side, and you, a lowly maid, dare not to kneel?" Upon hearing the palace maid's stern shout, Jing Wanyi suddenly remembered and hastily bowed her head, kneeling down.

  That eunuch frowned and looked at Jing Yuane, his nose slightly detecting a strange smell.

  "What's going on?" His face sank, "Are you going to meet the emperor like this? Can you afford to bear the great crime of losing etiquette in front of the palace?"

  As soon as she heard that they were going to pay their respects, the face of the maid in charge also changed. She immediately glanced at Jing Yuane and said: "Go and wash up quickly, go and change your clothes!"

  Jing Wan'er didn't move, looking at the eunuch and saying: "I've been cleaning toilets for three days, I don't have any clean clothes to change into."

  The eunuch's face turned black as he held his pen.

  The palace maid was slightly flustered and had to scold Jing Yu'er, saying: "I'll send someone to deliver a set to you, don't say another word, hurry up and get ready!"

  Jing Wan'er slowly stood up, patted her skirt with both hands, and quietly turned to leave.

  It was a flurry of activity, with several palace maids jealously helping Jing Yuanyuan bathe and change clothes, hastily lighting incense to dispel the smell on her body.

  Then they picked up the clothes that Jing Wanyi had changed out of and threw them into the foul-smelling toilet with disgust.

  Jing Wan'er stared at her, saying slowly: "I only have these few sets of clothes. If I lose them, I won't be able to go out and work in the future." The palace maid's clothes, each season only has one new set made, pitifully few, these people are disgusted by the smell and throw them away like this, when they see Zhong Zong return, it will still be her alone who bears the bitter fruit.

  The palace maid who had dropped her clothes stiffened in fear and hatred, saying: "You freak, you're really..."

  At this time, a palace maid with a sullen face walked in, "Not yet? Useless trash, how much longer do you want to make the Duke wait?"

  Those palace maids hastily took out Jing Yuane's clothes from the horse bucket and knelt down to face the housekeeper.

  Jing Wan'er turned around with a smile, "I'm done, Aunt." Her clothes didn't quite fit her, but that was because none of the palace maids were as slender and delicate as she was. The way they clung to her body was almost passable.

  But the palace maid in charge didn't dare to delay any further and could only hurry to shoo away the geese and let Jing Yuanyuan leave.

  Who dares to make the emperor wait for too long?

  That eunuch coldly swept his eyes over Jing Yuane, "Summoned by the Emperor, yet still dares to be late, truly a worthless servant girl."

  Jing Wan'er lowered her eyes and remained silent.

  The eunuch waved his duster and let out a cold snort before leading the way out of the servants' quarters.

  ——

  Pei Tan knelt in the Zichen Hall, unaware of how long he had been kneeling. Emperor Zhong looked at him with a gaze that was both dull and sharp.

  "Zong Huo's case and Ke Ju's case, you handled them both beautifully." Zhong Zong's voice was expressionless.

  Pei Tan just bowed his head even lower and said: "Your humble servant has only done what is within his duty."

  Zhong Zong's eyes suddenly sank: "But these two cases also made the Tang Dynasty imperial family and my face completely lost!"

  Especially the latter, it can be called a shame of the Tang Dynasty, and it also made the dignity of the Tang royal family accumulated over hundreds of years disappear.

  Pei Tan knelt on the ground speechless.

  Zhong Zong snorted and turned around after a while, saying, "Your Pei family has now been isolated by several major Guan Zhong families. This is all your credit."

  Bai Tan's words were provocative, and could only lead people to vent their anger on his family behind him.

  Pei Tan's eyes flashed with a hint of clarity; "From the moment I received the imperial seal from the Duke of Dali, I have only taken orders from Your Majesty alone, serving the Tang royal family." Regardless of any consequences, regardless of offending anyone.

  There is no way anyone can take advantage of Dalí Temple and get past Baipu.

  Zhong Zong looked at him, his eyes deep and profound: "It sounds like only you are loyal among all the civil and military officials of mine."

  "Your Majesty, I didn't mean it that way."

  Zhong Zong snorted again, his back against the door of the study, lost in thought.

  "In fact, I am clear in my heart that these two cases, if they had been handled by someone else at the time, might have preserved the dignity of the imperial family... At this moment, it would not have come to the point where the same clan and household are fighting each other." However, the dead are indeed unjustly dead, their souls will never be at peace.

  Zhong Zong suddenly seemed to smile but not quite, "Lord Pei, I've heard that in the streets, there's already a reputation for you as 'Pei Qingtian'. Are you using the face of the Great Tang imperial family to complete your own clear name?"

  Pei Tan suddenly knocked his head on the ground and after a long time said: "If this is what Your Majesty has in mind, then I request to resign from the position of Da Li Temple Minister."

  He was originally a young master of the Pei family, without any intention of going out and serving as an official, nor did he have the heart to bring glory to his ancestors.

  Zhong Zong gazed at him for a long time without speaking, he knew that at the palace feast held after his ascension to the throne, what caught his eye about Pei Tan was the clarity in this man's eyebrows and eyes.

  Those clear eyes, Zhong Zong had been entangled in the dirtiest sea of power and desire since birth, for the first time being shocked by such clarity.

  This man does not make Da Li Temple Lord, who else will.

  "Alright, I am not a foolish ruler who fails to recognize people," although the rumors about him in the streets were not very good, Zhongzong continued, "I know what you want."

  The Temple of Great Rites rewards good deeds and punishes evil ones; Pei Tan is no exception.

  Just then, a eunuch at the door came in to report: "The guilty slave, Jing Yu'er, has been brought."

  Zhong Zong's expression turned cold and he ordered in a low voice: "Bring him in."

  On Pei's face, a hint of surprise flashed by. At this time, the girl had already come in.

  Jing Wan'er changed into a new set of clothes, but unfortunately, the shoes on her feet were still the same old pair, and the soles were stained with mud from who-knows-where, emitting a foul smell.

  The eunuch who brought her in immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, this woman's appearance is not proper, I have already given her time to change and wash up..." Who knew it was still so improper.

  Zhong Zong frowned and waved his hand for the eunuch to withdraw: "Withdraw."

  Jing Wan'er stood in the grand hall with her eyebrows lowered, and as soon as she entered, she saw the man kneeling on the ground, her heart had already begun to beat uncontrollably.

  Then she slowly lifted her skirt and knelt down: "Guilty slave Jing Wanyu pays homage to Your Majesty."

  Zhong Zong gazed at her quietly, "Jing Yuanner, do you know why I summoned you?"

  Jing Wan'er lowered her head and covered up her emotions: "This servant doesn't know."

  She was a palace maid responsible for collecting corpses. Even the lowest-ranking servants in the palace could bully her, so how would she know the emperor's mind?

  Pei Tan slowly closed his eyes, feeling the gaze of Zhong Zong upon him. This entire Da Ming Palace was under Zhong Zong's control, and it was hard to say whether anything that happened here could escape the emperor's notice.

  For five years, Jing Wan'er has been living in the miscellaneous service room. Zhong Zong only needs to call two people and ask them a few questions to understand everything clearly.

  A newly entered palace was bullied and scolded by all the palace maids, but today one sentence scared away all the palace maids who didn't dare to get close to the "freak" undertaker. Even someone who has been in the palace since childhood can't cultivate such a knife-proof and gun-proof body, how did a former famous lady do it?

  Zhong Zong's eyes were tinged with a cold, eerie intent: "Jing Yu'er, I want you to follow Da Li Temple Master from now on. From now on, everything will be arranged by Da Li Temple. I must warn you, except for Da Li Temple, you are not allowed to go anywhere alone. If you do, it will be considered treason, and at that time, I will definitely not forgive you!"

  Jing Wan'er bowed her head to the ground with both hands on it, saying slowly: "Your slave obeys, your slave thanks Your Majesty for his kindness."

  It wasn't her turn for Jing Yuane to ask why, a maid only had the duty to listen and obey.

  "You wait outside first." Zhong Zong said coldly.

  Jing Wan'er bit her lower lip and slowly backed out of the hall.

  "Can I have a peaceful rest with such a woman staying in my Da Ming Palace?" Zhong Zong looked at Pei Tan, "This girl is still young, but she's already cruel and ruthless, showing no mercy, poisoning the son of the Minister, able to sleep with a corpse. Wei Xiang told me the other day that this kind of ferocious woman should be placed in your Da Li Temple."

  Pei Tan just realized that Zhong Zong was not joking this time. If he really thought that Jing Wanyan was unlucky, why didn't Wei Huanguo directly advise Zhong Zong to kill Jing Wanyan?

  But Pei Tan was also unable to ask, thinking of Jing Wanyu outside the temple at this moment, he could only slowly lower his eyes.

  "I obey your orders."

  Zhong Zong waved his hand: "I have one thing, just about to entrust it to the Grand Court of Justice, don't let me down."