Chapter 66 - 3#
Jingzhe thought.
Everyone was bustling with activity, only Jingzhe remained unmoved as a mountain, steady as an old ox.
Jiang Jinming definitely couldn’t stand it.
Jingzhe grabbed Shi’en and shook him: “Stop watching the fun, the Manager means for me to try too.”
Shi’en’s eyes lit up immediately, “Wonderful, why didn’t I think of that!”
He immediately counted on his fingers for Jingzhe.
“I remember the Palm Print likes to eat fish. Don’t you have a good relationship with the Imperial Kitchen? How about this, you go find Mingyu, ask him to find some connections for you, get a few good fish over…”
Before Shi’en could finish, Jingzhe slapped a hand over his face, pressing his words back.
Shi’en struggled a bit, saying grumpily: “Your movement is too clean and efficient, almost suffocated me.”
Jingzhe froze for a moment, realizing his action of covering Shi’en just now was so much like Rong Jiu.
He reflexively withdrew his hand and said after a while: “I have no friendship with the Palm Print. Rushing up rashly is just humiliating myself.”
Shi’en didn’t think so: “Jingzhe, you can’t say that. If a person can climb up, what’s wrong with flattering a bit more?”
“Come on, Jingzhe isn’t that kind of temper.” Gusheng suddenly pounced from behind, interrupting their conversation, “Still flattering, you might not even be able to do it yourself.”
Passing by and hearing a few sentences, he wished he could plug Shi’en’s mouth.
Shi’en puffed out his chest: “Who said I can’t?”
Jingzhe shook his head with a smile, but also realized this was indeed an opportunity.
If there was no chance before, but now that it was at the door, shrinking back instead would be cowardly.
How about chatting with Liao Jiang?
Jingzhe had just thought this, but didn’t expect Liao Jiang to come to the door actively at night.
This time, his face carried urgency.
As soon as he entered, he went straight for Jingzhe, holding Jingzhe’s hands and shaking them up and down, saying annoyedly: “Previously I mentioned Manager Jiang to you, but didn’t expect him to leave so quickly. He’ll leave any day now, and currently, the Palm Print is about to select a suitable candidate. Jingzhe, you must save me.”
Jingzhe was blank: “Didn’t you say this matter has nothing to do with you?”
Liao Jiang had been a second-rank for such a short time, it was impossible to take over. This matter had nothing to do with him from the start.
Liao Jiang: “Indeed it has nothing to do with me. However, Liu Fu is on that list!”
Liu Fu was the apprentice of another Manager. Although to outsiders, he had a violent temper, a face full of fierce flesh, and a bad temper, towards superiors, his flattering words came out by the dozen, free of charge.
Many people fell for exactly this.
“The Palm Print prefers Liu Fu?” Jingzhe raised his eyebrows, “You don’t like him?”
Liao Jiang sighed repeatedly, sitting down opposite Jingzhe: “More than just dislike, Liu Fu simply hates me to the bone.” After saying that, he glanced at Jingzhe, “Oh, including you too.”
Jingzhe frowned: “I’m not familiar with him.”
Liao Jiang: “You weren’t familiar with Xinsheng either, why did he hate you so much?”
Hearing this, Jingzhe looked back and forth between himself and Liao Jiang, saying hesitantly: “Shangyu Garden?”
He and Liao Jiang didn’t have much in common.
Liao Jiang: “Exactly. He originally wanted to go to Shangyu Garden, but in the end, the Palm Print didn’t call him.”
The list was submitted but was rejected.
Although the Palm Print liked listening to his nice words, the trip to Shangyu Garden was to serve in front of the Emperor. The Palm Print knew Liu Fu’s character somewhat and didn’t want to cause trouble for himself.
“I heard Liu Fu say personally that because of this matter, the Palm Print feels somewhat guilty towards him. Maybe this time, he really will be chosen.”
Jingzhe was puzzled. It was normal for Liao Jiang to be hated by Liu Fu and unwilling for him to become a Manager, but why come to Jingzhe for help?
He also wanted Jingzhe to participate in the competition?
But if Jiang Jinming hadn’t mentioned this matter, Jingzhe wouldn’t know that the new Manager would be selected from within the Directorate of Palace Maintenance. Shi’en didn’t know either, which meant this matter hadn’t spread.
That also meant this was a secret known only to a few people.
How did Liao Jiang determine that Jingzhe might participate in this situation?
“Whether you’re interested or not, I don’t know.” Liao Jiang said, “But at Manager Jiang’s place, I saw a list.”
Jingzhe, Liu Fu, Baofang, Wang Jian.
These were the names on it.
Jingzhe raised his eyebrows: “No Chen Mi?”
Liao Jiang shook his head: “Chen Mi is also interested, but Manager Jiang doesn’t like him.”
About to leave, Manager Jiang naturally also had the power to select. Although he couldn’t point out who would go up, he could make it possible for someone not to go up.
People could hardly avoid vulgarity. Managers generally didn’t like someone with a somewhat withdrawn personality like Chen Mi.
As for Liu Fu, although he had some minor faults in their view, his sweet mouth and ability to handle things made him pleasing to the eye.
Thinking of this, Liao Jiang’s liver hurt from anger.
Liu Fu only flattered superiors, completely two-faced, truly hateful. Furthermore, he was very petty. Ever since Liao Jiang went to Shangyu Garden, he had been treating him with disdain.
If Liu Fu ascended to the position, he would definitely send Liao Jiang far away.
…No, that would be considered good.
If Liu Fu were a bit crueler, tormenting him however he wanted, he wouldn’t even have a way to struggle!
No wonder Liao Jiang came to the door urgently.
Jingzhe: “Given Manager Jiang’s regard for you, it shouldn’t be like this…”
Liao Jiang smiled bitterly: “Can’t stand the amount of money sent.”
Alright, money moves people’s hearts.
Gold is always the best stepping stone.
At this moment, Manager Jiang, repeatedly mentioned by Liao Jiang, was in the Palm Print’s room.
The Palm Print Eunuch’s residence wasn’t much more luxurious than other places, just elegantly decorated, pleasing to the eye.
The Palm Print Eunuch said slowly: “Is this the list submitted?”
He glanced at it briefly, looking over those few names.
“Any favorites?”
Manager Jiang looked about thirty, slightly chubby, “These people are all excellent. How could people selected from various places not be good?”
His eyes rolled, and he smiled again.
“However, this Manager position isn’t so easy to sit in after all. It’s better to let someone older and more steady take it.”
“Then you want to choose Liu Fu?”
“Dare not, dare not.” Manager Jiang laughed cheerfully, “Just feeling that ability is important, but prestige and age are also worth considering. Also to let people know, our place isn’t one that treats old people harshly.”
Click—
The Palm Print put down the tea cup, picked up this thin piece of paper, and casually tore it apart.
“What you said is correct, and this list is chosen well. However, for this candidate, I already have an idea.” The Palm Print said faintly, “Of course, it will be the most suitable, the most appropriate.”
The Palm Print spoke calmly, but Manager Jiang inexplicably had the illusion that what was torn wasn’t paper, but his flesh.
Manager Jiang’s self-cultivation was sufficient, so he naturally wouldn’t show any abnormality, “I wonder if the candidate in the Palm Print’s heart is on this list?”
The Palm Print said meaningfully: “Naturally, he is on this list.”
Manager Jiang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
Then Liu Fu should be almost certain.
He originally didn’t intend to put Liu Fu at the front, but the generous gifts sent were truly enviable. Although he had connections, the money spent to mobilize them was not a small amount. How could it not hurt him?
The money sent by Liu Fu could just fill his vacancy.
What Manager Jiang had to do was just mention a few more words for Liu Fu to ensure he could become a Manager.
This wasn’t hard to say.
For the sake of that money, Manager Jiang ultimately abandoned Liao Jiang.
In his view, he had promoted Liao Jiang all the way to now, which was naturally very generous already.
After he left, the Palm Print tore that piece of paper again and again, threw it casually into the charcoal basin, stared at the sundries swallowed by the flames, and casually looked away.
You have connections, I have connections too, and he has even more.
Does this palace still lack things like connections?
He knocked on the table with his bent finger and chuckled lightly.
…
After sending Liao Jiang away, Jingzhe rubbed his forehead wearily and flopped onto the bed with a smack. The tug-of-war with Liao Jiang just now had already given Jingzhe a bit of a headache.
Jingzhe could understand Liao Jiang’s panic, but he couldn’t act rashly either.
He asked a lot about Liu Fu from Liao Jiang.
This Liu Fu probably used money to move Manager Jiang, after all, what he lacked most now was money.
Jingzhe struggled to turn over, burrowed under the quilt, and lay still again.
He had been sleeping very heavily recently.
But after getting up, he didn’t feel like he had slept for a long time. Instead, it felt like running with weights in a dream, very tiring.
He didn’t know what was going on. Every night he had messy dreams, either spiders and venomous snakes, or man-eating flowers, or overwhelming insects. This almost tortured him into neurasthenia.
He raised his hand, looking at his arm. Could his soreness all over be from running in his dreams?
Who runs away in dreams every day?
Every time he woke up, Jingzhe felt sticky.
Not that he was really sweating all over… that was a strange feeling.
As if that damp breath had seeped into his skin, wriggling weirdly inside his body with his blood and bones, suffocating him terribly.
He would feel tired, but also weirdly relaxed.
As if these continuous strange dreams also took away Jingzhe’s irritability and fanatical impulses.
He hadn’t tossed and turned, too hot to sleep for some days.
From this point of view, it seemed like a good thing?
Jingzhe hesitated, pulled open his outer clothes under the cover of the quilt, and looked inside a few times.
He always felt his chest was weird recently.
Actually, when Jingzhe bathed, he had also examined himself. There were occasionally fine red marks on his body, scattered everywhere, but they didn’t hurt or itch.
Sometimes, they were even in extremely private places.
Like the roots of his thighs, or lower abdomen, even on his ankles.
If Jingzhe originally had any guesses, after discovering them even near that… something, he had started to reflect painfully. Was it because his clothes and bedding weren’t washed clean enough and he was bitten by something?
Annoying!
He was the cleanest person in the entire Directorate of Palace Maintenance!
In the end, he didn’t see any reason, so Jingzhe could only check the marks every day after waking up and apply medicine to them.
But the speed of disappearance couldn’t catch up with the speed of appearance. How could this be!
Jingzhe gritted his teeth and got up to light the calming incense.
He wanted to smoke all the insects to death!
After the calming incense was lit, the entire room was shrouded in that faint fragrance. Jingzhe then extinguished the lamp and lay down.
He sighed, finally able to have a good sleep.
In the dead of night, the remaining candlelight extinguished one after another. Entering the night, a place like the Directorate of Palace Maintenance had only a few places hanging lanterns.
There would always be a pair of eyes, watching Jingzhe’s surroundings day and night.
The sound of footsteps on the snow, almost undetectable, attracted those pitch-black eyes. After discovering the identity of the comer, they sank back into silence as always.
Recently, every night was like this.
In winter, when the tightly closed doors and windows were pried open, no matter how slight, it would bring in the chill from outside. Lying on the bed, Jingzhe, who had almost stuffed his entire head into the quilt, remained motionless.
Tonight he lit the calming incense, which instead made him fall into a purely sweet dreamland, almost unaware of the movement outside.
Not to mention that the person trekking from the darkness brought an aura he was all too familiar with.
In the consistently cold fingers, a palm-sized hand warmer was held, casually placed at the head of the bed.
Along with a weak oil lamp.
The wick had been specially trimmed. The bean-sized light could only illuminate a square inch, looming, making it hard to see clearly.
After a while, Jingzhe seemed to feel a bit hot, struggled to poke his head out of the quilt, moved around, and was caught by a hand.
Jingzhe never understood why his charcoal fire wasn’t enough, almost always used up by the next day.
But checking the stock, there was no change.
As if it were his illusion.
The comfortable spring-like temperature in this room should be an explanation. Even with the quilt lifted, it wasn’t cold at all.
Fingers warmed by the hand warmer landed lightly on the chest.
Easily, the person who was sleeping peacefully seemed to have some switch turned on by this simple action, his body involuntarily trembling slightly.
That was a strange kneading.
Jingzhe’s originally peaceful sleeping face suddenly frowned slightly, as if enduring some suppressed feeling. That body instinctively flinched, as if naturally knowing what would happen next.
Under the cover of darkness, in Jingzhe’s unawareness, he didn’t know how many contacts he had with that greedy monster, bit by bit, urging that naked and green body to ripen into a wanton and obscene fruit.
Jingzhe wouldn’t know why the dense tide was so full it almost burst the peel, nor would he know his licentiousness when moaning.
He was still an ignorant beginner, but he had already tasted the sweet tide countless times.
One day, he would know, trusting easily…
Always had a price to pay.
Especially when facing such a monster that knew no fatigue and no satisfaction.