Chapter 28 - 1#

The day after the assessment at the Department of Palace Services (Zhi Dian Si), Yunkui went to the Miscellaneous Procurement Office (Za Mai Wu). In his place, Jingzhe appeared by Jiang Jinming’s side.

Jingzhe had been in the Department of Palace Services for a few months. Yunkui, Shi’en, and Gusheng, who were all well-connected, were his friends. Although Huiping was honest, calm, and not very talkative, he was also a veteran of the department.

It was somewhat surprising that Jiang Jinming chose him, but it was also reasonable.

However, just as Yunkui had to do daily cleaning, so did Jingzhe. But this task only took up half a day; every afternoon, he had to follow Jiang Jinming to handle affairs.

Jingzhe took a little time and quickly got the hang of it.

It wasn’t difficult for him.

The paperwork he handled was tedious, but in reality, it wasn’t that there was a lot of work each day. Rather, the accumulation of past tasks created the illusion of an overwhelming mountain of work.

After taking over, Jingzhe spent a few days sorting things out and quickly organized the messy tasks, putting everything in its proper place.

Yunkui had been doing these things, but apparently not very well. However, Jiang Jinming hadn’t cared before.

As the head of the Department of Palace Services, he knew that it wasn’t a very good position. It was difficult for the eunuchs who languished there for years to climb up the ladder. After all, it wasn’t like being in the various palaces, where one might see the noble masters and, with a bit of luck, gain their favor.

With fewer opportunities for promotion, the likelihood of a mediocre career was high. Although there were many miscellaneous tasks within the department, none were particularly urgent. Sometimes, letting a day’s work slide to the next was not a big deal.

Jingzhe wasn’t trying to make trouble for himself. The main reason was that he hadn’t handled anything related to writing for a long time. Even the most boring documents were fascinating to him.

After finishing the backlog of work, he soon found himself with free time.

With nothing to do, Jingzhe spontaneously started pulling out old documents to organize them. Jiang Jinming saw through his true intentions and turned a blind eye, letting Jingzhe do as he pleased.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to read some books.

Jingzhe was very proactive about this matter.

And it was true that someone needed to organize and do this work.

Thus, Jingzhe logically found what he was looking for.

Just as Zheng Hong had said back then, he clearly had better options, so why did he insist on staying in the Department of Palace Services?

His answer that day was only the superficial reason.

He came here for Chen An.

Chen An had also left from this place years ago.

To understand Chen An and learn about his past, now that he was dead, starting from the Department of Palace Services was the only choice.

The Imperial Pharmacy was too far away and truly inaccessible.

Jingzhe didn’t put Chen An out of his mind just because he was dead and the clues had dried up.

The green thumb ring that Chen An had given him through Zhu Erxi was still embedded in the wall of the Chuxiu Palace. He just couldn’t find a suitable excuse to retrieve it.

After all, the Chuxiu Palace was now sealed off.

Besides, leaving it in the unknown Chuxiu Palace was actually the best choice.

Jingzhe was very sharp.

When he was in the North Quarters, there were people watching him. That didn’t mean there weren’t any after he came to the Department of Palace Services. It was only later, perhaps when he was no longer useful, that the signs of searching disappeared.

One could only say that Jingzhe’s ability to hide things was truly strong.

In the end, no one ever found it.

During his time in the Department of Palace Services, Jingzhe slowly became familiar with the place and learned that among the several departments, the Department of Palace Services was the most important part. The similar names were a clue.

He had made the right choice in coming here.

Until he became Jiang Jinming’s deputy and organized past documents for him, he used this opportunity to openly examine the records, trying to find Chen An’s history in the Department of Palace Services.

Chen An had come from the Department of Palace Services, which was probably more than twenty years ago.

Not everyone could leave a record in the documents. Over the years, palace staff came and went. At most, their names and numbers were recorded during registration. To leave a record of one’s deeds was much more difficult.

But Jingzhe believed that a person like Chen An couldn’t have left no trace at all.

And indeed, he found what he was looking for.

Before coming to the Department of Palace Services, Chen An was actually a palace servant in the Seven Bureaus and Three Courts. He was sent to the Department of Palace Services after a conflict with the director there.

It was truly a fall from grace.

But Chen An quickly rose to the position of director, and only later was he transferred to the Imperial Pharmacy.

Jingzhe read the few lines about Chen An in the Department of Palace Services records over and over again and finally confirmed one thing. He probably knew how his father and Chen An had met.

While Chen An was still in the Department of Palace Services, there was an incident in the palace’s Seven Bureaus and Three Courts.

Incidentally, the Miscellaneous Procurement Office was also part of it.

An embezzlement case.

Places that handled the imperial household’s internal affairs, procurement, and finances were naturally the most profitable and also the most prone to problems.

That time, the late emperor assigned the case to the Minister of Revenue to investigate.

As a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue, Cen Xuan naturally participated. The director who had driven Chen An away was within the scope of this investigation, so Chen An was naturally taken in for questioning, and the person in charge of the investigation…

Was probably Cen Xuan.

Jingzhe couldn’t be 100% sure, but since Chen An later became the director of the Department of Palace Services, his past records would naturally be recorded, especially matters involving legal cases.

He had indeed been taken in for questioning by the Ministry of Revenue.

If it was Cen Xuan, how they later interacted and became friends was not important.

What was important was that, following this line of inquiry, Jingzhe found a small slip of paper in the document.

These documents had not been touched for a long time and were very yellowed. The slip of paper was the same, bearing the marks of time.

“Roast.”

A very peculiar, very strange word, just quietly appeared in this warehouse that had been untouched for who knows how long.

Covered in dust, Jingzhe stared at this small slip of paper for a long while, feeling as if he had missed something, but he instinctively put the paper away.

He repeatedly confirmed that this document had not been touched by anyone else—the thick layer of dust on it proved this point. Then, he calmly tidied up the entire warehouse, putting everything that needed to be re-registered and classified back in its place.

On his way out, Jingzhe walked slowly along the corridor and saw a few eunuchs warming themselves by a charcoal brazier. The color of the flames danced on their plain palace robes, as if dyeing them a light orange…

Dye, color… discoloration… roast!

In a flash of insight, Jingzhe suddenly realized what the note meant.

So that’s what it meant!

Paper, roasting over a fire…

Those seemingly unrelated, blank sheets of paper from Concubine Yao were useful after all!

But after realizing this, Jingzhe couldn’t help but fall silent at Chen An’s arrangements. Every step was taken so casually.

Whether it was Zhu Erxi or this clue hidden in the Department of Palace Services, what if Jingzhe hadn’t thought of these things, hadn’t come here?

He pondered for a moment and then suddenly understood.

Perhaps this was Chen An’s intention.

Back then, Cen Xuan and Lady Liu were unwilling to let him know too much about many things and simply didn’t tell him.

This was safe.

For the young and ignorant Jingzhe, not knowing anything meant that even if he wanted to act recklessly, he wouldn’t know how.

He could only live.

And Chen An’s actions were perhaps for… the same reason.

He wanted to leave something behind, but he didn’t really want Jingzhe to know, because once he truly knew, Jingzhe would definitely not live a peaceful life. Compared to those secrets, he, like Jingzhe’s parents, preferred Jingzhe to live.

So, the clues he gave were casual and scattered, full of coincidences.

Was it really an accident that Jingzhe went to the North Quarters back then?

He clearly remembered that the final choice was his own idea, but how did he know about the North Quarters…

It was Chen An’s suggestion.

In the North Quarters, there was Concubine Yao.

The condition for Zhu Erxi’s “key” was… that he heard Jingzhe’s name in the palace, for any reason.

As long as Jingzhe lived a quiet and law-abiding life in the North Quarters, it would be impossible for Zhu Erxi to hear his name. But once Jingzhe’s name appeared in the harem gossip, it meant that Jingzhe was involved in the vortex, whether actively or passively.

And so the “key” fell into Jingzhe’s hands.

This was the first layer of security.

While Concubine Yao was still alive, with this “key,” getting the box would certainly not have been as difficult as Jingzhe’s solo effort.

But unexpectedly, Concubine Yao died.

Fortunately, before she died, Concubine Yao still did her best to leave Jingzhe a reminder, and the sewing kit did indeed fall into Jingzhe’s hands.

And then…

He finally opened that box and learned the reason for Chen An and Concubine Yao’s misfortune, as well as one of the biggest secrets of the harem.

Jingzhe now even suspected, was his father’s incident also related to this matter? Otherwise, why would the superior who valued his father so much suddenly turn against him?

Of course, these were just Jingzhe’s guesses, still unknown for now.

The first layer was already known. The second layer was that stack of blank paper. Although there wasn’t much, each sheet was neatly folded, just like the other letters in the box.

The “key” to this second layer was hidden deep in the warehouse of the Department of Palace Services, in a document that had long been forgotten.

Jingzhe couldn’t help but sigh at the thought of all the trouble involved.

Did Chen An want him to investigate, or not?

If he had never thought of coming to the Department of Palace Services in his life, then… he could only live like that for the rest of his life.

Powerless.

But at least he would still be alive.

…

When Yunkui came back to see his master, Jiang Jinming was still twisting his ear, telling him to learn from Jingzhe.

Yunkui smiled foolishly: “Master, you know I can’t do it. You should just leave this kind of thing to Jingzhe.”

Jiang Jinming was truly exasperated.

“Would I ever harm you?”

“But I really can’t read.” Yunkui also felt wronged. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn, but he really couldn’t. “Every time I see those words, they look like crawling insects, all trying to crawl into my brain, but I just can’t remember them.”

Jingzhe said from the side, “How do you usually read?”

Yunkui: “Just, read them like that.”

He gestured.

Yunkui was not completely illiterate.

Under Jiang Jinming’s guidance, he could read some characters, but he couldn’t write. But apart from the characters used in daily life, he really didn’t know any others.

When Jiang Jinming taught Yunkui to read, he would just read how each character was pronounced a few times and then assume he had learned it.

Jingzhe fell silent after learning about Jiang Jinming’s teaching method.

Jiang Jinming also didn’t understand: “How can you not learn something so simple?”

Jingzhe: “…”

In this world, there are people who can’t pass the imperial examinations but can teach countless talented people; there are also people who, despite passing the imperial examinations and being top scholars, are incapable of teaching and educating others.

The reason probably lies therein.

Jiang Jinming himself learned to read and write very smoothly, without needing to study much, and could understand by analogy.