Chapter 27 - 1#

Before dawn, Huiping woke up. They were responsible for sweeping, so they had to get up earlier than the other palace staff. Waking up in the dark had become their habit.

But as Huiping followed his usual routine and looked at Jingzhe’s bed, he found that there was no one on it.

Huiping and Jingzhe usually woke up around the same time, earlier than the others.

Huiping wondered, why did Jingzhe wake up so early today?

He looked up outside and saw that it was already a little bright. It turned out that he had woken up late.

Thinking this, Huiping was completely unaware of the faint fragrance that filled the room.

He yawned, quickly changed his clothes, and went out with a basin to wash up. As he passed the courtyard, he found that a set of quilt covers had appeared in the place where they usually dried their clothes. It looked…

It should be Jingzhe’s.

Huiping raised his eyebrows and watched as Jingzhe came over with a wooden basin, neatly dressed, looking as if he had already washed up.

Huiping: “Why are you washing your quilt so early in the morning?”

In the middle of winter, no one was willing to wash things for no reason. Putting their hands in the water would freeze them to death.

Some people who were not clean could go for half a month without bathing or washing their clothes. Huiping was glad that he and Jingzhe were not that kind of person.

But no matter how clean they were, in the middle of winter, this was…

Jingzhe: “I accidentally spilled water on the quilt when I got up to drink at night. I thought it had been a few days since I washed it, so I might as well wash it.”

His voice sounded normal, and his inner embarrassment could not be seen.

Huiping: “Spilled on the quilt? Then your inside…”

Jingzhe pointed to the back, “Well, it’s also drying there. I hope it dries soon.”

Huiping was a little anxious: “This is not good. You only have this one quilt. If it doesn’t dry, how can you use it?”

Although they could use some charcoal at night, the amount was not much, not enough to last the whole night, and it was impossible to be as warm as spring. At most, it could make the room no longer as cold as an ice cellar.

Without a quilt, just one day could make a person sick.

Jingzhe smiled: “It’s okay, it’s just a small piece, it’s still usable. At worst, I’ll sleep on one side at night and move it out to dry during the day.”

Huiping: “No, if you turn over in the middle of the night, you might sleep on the wet part.”

Jingzhe: “It’s okay, it hasn’t snowed these past few days. The sun will probably come out today, maybe it will dry.”

As he spoke, he walked towards the room.

Huiping shook his head helplessly, determined in his heart that if the quilt froze into ice today, he would definitely stuff Jingzhe into his quilt. Although it was a bit cramped for two people to sleep together, it was better than Jingzhe making do like that.

Behind him, Jingzhe walked quickly. When he reached the door of the room, he dared to relax his breathing, which became slightly rapid.

Jingzhe patted his face and pushed the door open to enter.

In the dim room, he used the faint light from outside the palace walls to grope and put the basin and washing tools back in their original places, then sat on the edge of the bed in a daze.

He…

Jingzhe looked down, his eyes so strange and bewildered, as if he had just arrived in a new world.

Waking up in the middle of the night from a strange restlessness, Jingzhe almost fainted when he saw the mushroom head appear.

What the hell is this?

After urgently recalling what this was, he fell into silence again. So… uh… this thing would… get up?

But that shouldn’t be!

Jingzhe tried for half the night, but couldn’t find a way.

When a person encounters a new thing, they may be self-taught, or they may not be able to find a way. Unfortunately, Jingzhe was the latter. The mushroom was in pain and crying. He was so anxious that he was sweating all over and wanted to cut it off.

Both were very painful.

After it was finally over, the smell was even more… made people want to die.

Jingzhe struggled to get up, wiped his hands clean, and tiptoed to the small box of incense that Rong Jiu had sent him. He then stole some fire from outside and lit the incense.

A faint fragrance soon filled the small room.

Although the smell was not strong, it dispelled the strange smell in the room. Jingzhe finally felt relieved, and then stared at the bed in the dark.

Although he couldn’t see clearly, Jingzhe knew that the bed was already a mess. Not only were there wet spots and a strange smell, but there was also a faint mark on it.

If Jingzhe sprinkled some crushed spices on it, it should be able to cover it up. But when he thought of the fishy smell on his hands just now, he couldn’t help but blush. And he still remembered…

The harem was inspecting the palace maids.

It was only the palace maids who were being inspected, not the eunuchs. Jingzhe should be grateful for this.

If it were his turn, there would be no second Chen An in this world to cover for him.

He picked up the things with a headache and carried them out to clean them lightly. Fortunately, they were already used to the darkness of the night and had developed the ability to walk in the dark without bumping into anything.

Jingzhe successfully washed everything and hung them up, then fell silent for a while.

He got up too early, and it was cold outside. Although it hadn’t snowed in the past few days, if he hung the quilt up now, it would definitely be covered with a thin layer of ice in a short time. But it was already soaked, so it was impossible not to dry it.

Jingzhe numbly hung up the quilt while reflecting on this extremely bad behavior in his heart.

It was uncomfortable and troublesome. What was going on? Could it be that the medicine Chen An gave him before was not effective enough?

Jingzhe had taken that medicine until he was fifteen, and then he stopped.

Chen An said that if he continued to take it, it would damage his foundation.

He was also obedient and put everything away, and never took it again.

Jingzhe fumbled in the box in the dark for a long time, and finally found the last few pills.

Fortunately, these were not clothes. If they were placed in the open, they would probably be thrown away by Rong Jiu again.

Jingzhe also felt heartache when he thought of the clothes that had been thrown away.

Although they had been worn for a long time, they were not broken yet!

Jingzhe took a pill with the cold water in the room. The cold water stimulated his throat, making Jingzhe shiver violently, and then he wiped his face.

He couldn’t be impulsive.

Nor should he have impulses.

So, admiring a person would cause this kind of physical reaction. People are really animals driven by desire.

Sorry, Rong Jiu, Jingzhe thought sadly in his heart. It seemed that he didn’t need to ask Yunkui for advice.

…

Because of Jingzhe’s quilt drying, he was laughed at by his friends for several days. In such cold weather, who would be willing to wash? Fortunately, the sun came out that day and it was very warm.

Otherwise, that quilt would have been completely frozen into a crisp layer of ice.

Jingzhe also let them laugh.

It was best not to associate it with anything that shouldn’t be there.

Some things, he didn’t even tell Mingyu.

About his hatred, about his secrets.

In fact, before this incident, Jingzhe had thought that whether it was Rong Jiu or Mingyu, it wouldn’t cause serious consequences if they knew the secret.

But the matter of thoroughly investigating the palace maids made Jingzhe sober up.

He still couldn’t let them know.

In this way, if something really happened, he would be the only one to die.

If one more person knew the secret, there would be a greater risk of it being leaked, and it would also make them live with worry.

Living in fear was not happy.

Jingzhe had been unhappy for a long time, and he didn’t want them to be unhappy either.

Two days later, the turmoil in the palace spread to the Zhidianjian. There were no palace maids in the Zhidianjian, but these eunuchs might not have any familiar palace maids.

After seeing someone suddenly burst into tears at the table while eating, Shi’en turned his head and said in a low voice:

“He has a god-sister who used to serve in Chen Xiaozhu’s palace, but it seems… she was found out this time and has been taken away.”

Jingzhe’s face turned slightly pale, and the others’ faces were not good either.

At first, this matter seemed to have no effect on them, but upon investigation, it might not be so.

There were the insane Wude and Wufu, and there would be the next one.

And most men in this world like women.

Even if they were not as cruel as them, there were not necessarily few who were greedy for women and forced palace maids.

After Zheng Hong came, he brought more news.

Recently, Jingzhe had become his regular customer. He didn’t know where that friend came from, but he would ask him to send things to Jingzhe every few days.

Isn’t this more cloying than raising a young lover?

Zheng Hong almost thought his judgment was wrong, but who cares, as long as there was money, he would do it.

Jingzhe helped him move the things down, but he was not in a hurry to look at them. Instead, he pulled Zheng Hong to sit down at the table.

Zheng Hong looked at him warily, “What are you doing? I won’t do anything for free.”

Jingzhe rolled his eyes, took out three coins from his pocket and threw them to him, “I’m asking for some news.”

Zheng Hong muttered and grabbed the three coins, “Asking for news is not this price.”

But he couldn’t possibly charge him much just because Jingzhe asked him a question. If he really asked, he would definitely say it.

As for charging money, hey, why not take the three coins for free?

Don’t underestimate three coins, many a little makes a mickle!

Jingzhe: “You know, in this palace, eunuchs and palace maids are closely related. Will this recent incident affect us?”

Zheng Hong glanced at Jingzhe, not surprised that he would ask this.

After all, a lot had happened recently.

Zheng Hong smacked his lips and shook his head, “If you ask me, I definitely don’t know. However, I did hear that the Empress Dowager seemed to have had this idea, but the Emperor went to Shou Kang Palace before, and it seems that there has been no movement since then.” To know so much meant that he had specifically gone to inquire.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t know so clearly. Although Zheng Hong had a wide network, some news didn’t spread so quickly.

The main reason was that Zheng Hong himself was not willing.

First, he didn’t know how to investigate, and just hearing about the trouble was troublesome, which would definitely affect his money-making plan; second… in fact, in this palace, some of the junior eunuchs who were not completely castrated might have their treasures grow a little longer.

Although it was useless, the fact that the treasure could grow a little longer was a very happy thing for many people.

However, if it was too long and was found out, it would be cut off at the root.

Who would be willing to do that?

Jingzhe lowered his eyes. Emperor Jingyuan might not be thinking for these eunuchs. After all, he had always been very cruel. If, as Zheng Hong guessed, it was Emperor Jingyuan who stopped the Empress Dowager’s actions, then it could only be said that…

The Empress Dowager had touched the Emperor’s interests.

Emperor Jingyuan had never cared much about the affairs of the harem. Whether it was those concubines or palace maids, except for the occasional visit, Jingzhe had never seen the Emperor walk in the harem.

But eunuchs were different.

These eunuchs were not only the emperor’s handy knives, but they were also useful in the court and harem.

The Empress Dowager wanted to interfere with the eunuchs and investigate this matter. Was it really to pursue the so-called filth, or to take this opportunity to establish her authority in the harem?

Jingzhe: “Since it has nothing to do with us, I’m relieved.”

Zheng Hong looked at Jingzhe’s calm expression and sneered, “I can’t see where your expression has relaxed. Alright, I’ve delivered the things to you, I’m leaving.”

Jingzhe pulled him, “Later, I’ll ask you something else.”

Zheng Hong complained, “Why do you have so many things today?”

Jingzhe: “Didn’t I entrust Mingyu’s matter to you? How is it going?”

It was not convenient for him to run back and forth, and Mingyu’s matter always cost money. He looked around and found Zheng Hong.

Zheng Hong: “You’re talking about him.”

He rubbed his chin.

“It’s really not easy to handle.”

Jingzhe frowned, “Why is that?”

Mingyu was in the same batch as him, but he was a little younger. Although he didn’t have to be so anxious, after this experience, Jingzhe also knew that a latecomer like him was eye-catching in the eyes of outsiders.

The number of assessment places was limited. Who would be happy if someone came and took their place?

It was better to move as early as possible.

Zheng Hong: “You’re still asking. You don’t even know how many things have happened in the North Wing in the past one or two years. People outside don’t talk about it much, but the managers are all muttering in their hearts, afraid of attracting bad luck.”

Jingzhe was choked. He never expected this to be the reason.

…On second thought, a lot of things had really happened in the North Wing.

Zheng Hong waved his hand, “But it’s okay. There happens to be a lucrative position. I’ll go and see. If it really works out, you have to give me at least this much.”

He gestured to Jingzhe.

Jingzhe: “As long as you can do it, of course.”

He said without hesitation.

Zheng Hong looked at Jingzhe with amazement, “Didn’t you hear what I said? If it works out, the place he’s going to is much better than yours.”

Jingzhe smiled, “What does it matter? If he can go to a lucrative position, won’t I also benefit and get some of the glory?”

Zheng Hong clicked his tongue. No matter how good a friend was, he was still an outsider. Enjoying happiness yourself and蹭ing off others’ happiness were different after all.

If it weren’t for the fact that Zheng Hong felt that the Procurement Office was more lucrative, he wouldn’t have pushed such a good thing away. But Jingzhe was such a fool!

Couldn’t he tell that he was deliberately pointing it out to him?

Regardless of whether Jingzhe understood or not, Zheng Hong was sent away by him.

As long as Mingyu’s matter was not settled, Jingzhe’s heart was in his throat. But he didn’t tell anyone. After all, it was not confirmed yet, and it would be troublesome if he said it.

Two days later, Zheng Hong came to him in a hurry.

“Quick, go get Mingyu and follow me.”

Jingzhe was dragged a few steps by him in a daze, and immediately realized what he meant and ran with him.

For the next half a day, for Mingyu, it was like a whirlwind, without a moment’s rest.

The Imperial Kitchen wanted a few junior eunuchs, even those without rank. They went to look for a few newcomers, but they all felt that they were not suitable. The chief, Zhu Erxi, suddenly had an idea and decided to hold an examination to select people.

This was originally against the rules.

But who would have thought that after it was reported, it was actually approved.

Zhu Erxi began to prepare.

He didn’t deliberately leak it, but people with connections had already gotten the news. Even Zheng Hong had to spend some effort to get this news.

The reason why he specifically pointed out Jingzhe was because he knew he could cook a little.

After hurriedly sending Mingyu in, Zheng Hong glanced at Jingzhe, “See? If you want to go, this is the last chance.”

Jingzhe said calmly, “I’m doing very well now.”