Ning Huaixiu had been utterly disheartened since she was injured that night. Although she was grateful that the Empress Dowager did not kick her while she was down and was willing to lend her a hand, she could not hide her own disappointment. After all, the man who loathed her like vermin was the one she had deeply loved for many years—loved with all her heart, her liver, and her very marrow.
Since her injury, she had been lying in the room recuperating every day. In just a few short days, she had already experienced the warmth and coldness of the world.
The palace maids living in the same room all knew of her original status and looked down on her self-inflicted degradation with disdain. Though they did not trample over her, each one of them treated her like she was air, unwilling to engage with her.
