Jiang Yi slowly shook his head: "This palace maid named Denghua had no parents since she was a child. She was sold by her uncle and aunt to a rich family to replace their young lady as a servant in the palace."
This kind of thing was very common among the common people.
The young ladies of those landlord families were also pampered since childhood and were unwilling to be sent into the palace to serve others as slaves. So, the family would buy poor girls to replace them.
This practice was against the rules.
However, since the landlord's daughters needed someone to replace them and the poor girls could also enter the palace and have enough to eat, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. With no reports from the people and no investigation from the officials, a little bribery would help cover things up.
It was an open secret.
Denghua was just one of countless unfortunate girls.
Jiang Ning asked, "Have you found anything about Denghua's uncle and aunt?"