The second month was the spring equinox. Flowers bloomed and withered according to the time. It was not yet time for the hundred flowers to rise to the sky. Temporarily, one would plant the spirit of spring with skillful hands. Where was the spirit of spring planted? It was planted on people's clothes. The petals fluttered and folded in the golden embroidery.
The day before, the Western embroidered cloth that the empress had requested had finally entered the Palace. No one knew how many bolts of cloth there were, but it had worked a number of eunuchs in the Palace. The person who had brought the cloth in from outside the Palace was Hong Zhu. For a small matter like distributing it today, a small matter that required physical strength, he was too lazy to do it himself.
He stayed in the main hall of the Eastern Palace and noticed that the Crown Prince was not there. As he carefully pulled out the brass pieces in the incense burner to prevent the incense from burning too quickly, he quietly ordered the serving girls to be more diligent and quickly spread out the three layers of cotton mattress because the empress would be reading in a moment.
Before long, a wave of fragrant wind brushed past. The inner curtain was lifted. The empress, with black brows, red lips, and a pair of flowing red phoenix eyes, walked out with a slight limp. She reclined on the low couch and drank the freshly brewed incense while reading the book in her hand.
The book was a collection of stories published by Danbo Bookstore. Although the empress hated Fan Xian and feared him, in her daily pastimes, this mother of the country did not want to lower the quality of her life.
After skimming through a few pages, the empress' brows furrowed. No one knew what she was thinking.
At this moment, Hong Zhu was behind the empress massaging her back. That pair of exceptionally clean little fists gently and orderly smashed into the empress's thin body. The empress had always liked Hong Zhu's playfulness and attentiveness to his service, particularly his skill at massaging her back. Today, she did not close her eyes to enjoy it as she usually did. Instead, she stared at the book in front of her in a daze.
"What are you thinking about, Empress?" Hong Zhu asked with a slight smile.
Compared to these nobles, the eunuchs and serving girls in the Palace were like ants in the mud. Thus, when normal people saw nobles like the empress, they didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. They were timid and respectful, wishing they could pull back their hands and feet.
However, Hong Zhu had once received Fan Xian's teachings. He also felt that although these nobles seemed to have a high position and power, wore luxurious clothes and ate good food, and had nothing to be dissatisfied with, it was these nobles who easily felt that life in the Palace was boring and lonely. They liked people to talk to them.
Ever since Hong Zhu had served in the royal study, he had been different from other eunuchs. He would not always lower his head and never forget to act like a servant. Rather, other than being respectful, there was a hint of magnanimity in the way he handled matters.
In fact, the reason was very simple. The nobles in the palace also needed to talk, but their status meant that they had no close friends to communicate with. If the little eunuch who had always been by their side didn't look so wretched and act so bashfully, they would feel much better.
That was why Hong Zhu was loved by so many nobles, including the empress.
The empress seemed to be used to talking to Hong Zhu. She sighed and said, "I was just thinking … I am tired of always being in the Palace. Aunt has been a vegetarian and chanting scriptures these two days. I haven't had many opportunities to see her."
Hong Zhu smiled and said, "It is good for me to accompany you and talk for a while."
He had to say that he was a slave, but he couldn't put on the appearance of a lowly slave. Otherwise, the master would only have the desire to slap him in the face when he saw the lowly slave, and would never have the thought of communicating with him.
"What can you say? Why don't we do what we did a few days ago and tell us about the days you spent wandering outside the palace when you were a child? "the Empress asked with interest.
After Hong Zhu's family was ruined by corrupt officials, he and his brother fled to Jiaozhou. In those years, who knew how much suffering they had suffered and how many joys and sorrows of the human world? In terms of experience, he was much richer than these nobles who had grown up in noble families.
Especially the secrets of the beggars, the rumors of the jianghu, and the eating and playing of the common people. When they fell into the ears of the Empress, they seemed so fresh and interesting.
Today, Hong Zhu was telling a true joke he had heard on his wanderings. It had to do with the girls in the brothels. After all, he was in the Royal Palace, and the person listening to the story was the mother of the country. Thus, Hong Zhu was particularly careful when he told the story and didn't dare to say too many explicit words.
As the empress listened to this story, a ripple appeared in her eyes. She smiled slightly and felt that it was amusing. She quickly yawned to hide it. She was in front of Hong Zhu, so he couldn't see. He just felt surprised that the empress didn't stop him from continuing.
After all, he was young. How could he know that no matter how sacred and inviolable a noble was, in reality, the things in their minds were no different from those of the women in the marketplace?
After he finished the story, the empress sighed and said, "The children of the common people do indeed have a hard time, but they can also see some different things."
Hong Zhu smiled awkwardly and said, "It's hard. What kind of person is the empress? Since childhood …"
This naturally led the topic to the empress's childhood. For a moment, the empress was lost in thought. She thought of the present Emperor. When she was young, he was still that unsmiling cousin. It seemed that they had occasionally had happy times together. However, later on … how did it become like this?
She immediately thought of the price her family had paid on that night when Jingdou bled with blood. Her emotions began to become unstable and gradually gained a sense of sorrow.
Hong Zhu carefully controlled his words. He used his peripheral vision to watch the frequency of the empress's eyelashes blinking. He then turned the content of the conversation to the little playthings of the empress in her childhood.
At this moment, the empress was warning herself in her heart. Furthermore, she couldn't tell a servant too much about herself. Hearing him change the topic, her heart relaxed and she began to count like she was counting her family treasures.
After countless twists and turns, Hong Zhu finally succeeded in, without leaving a trace, making the empress think of a piece of jade. A piece of jade that she had brought into the Palace from her paternal family.
…
…
The empress gestured at the size of the jade and said with a smile, "The quality of that piece of jade is not bad. Of course, it can't compare to the tributes stored on Dong Mountain. However, it would still be a rare quality in a normal noble family. Oh right, that was given to my paternal family by the previous Emperor. Thus, the engraving on it is the Emperor's style. It is impossible to wear it outside.
The Empress unintentionally pointed at her chest. Although she was wearing a thick winter coat, her fingers still sank into her ample bosom.
Hong Zhu gently swallowed and quietly said with a smile, "I don't think I've seen the Empress wear it in the Palace."
"Although that jade pendant is quite warm, the water is too shallow … I used to wear it when I was a girl, but it doesn't suit me now."
Hong Zhu fawningly said, "Your Highness is a heavenly beauty, not less beautiful than before. What difference is there between you and a girl … no matter how shallow the water, it is still suitable."
A stern look flashed in the Empress' eyes. She lowered her voice and shouted, "Your words are getting more and more impudent!"
Hong Zhu's expression was filled with shock. He quickly slapped himself heavily in the mouth, but he still did not notice the trace of a satisfied smile at the corners of the empress' lips or the growing meaning in her eyes.
… …
Yesterday, the Empress had learned of the news of the embroidered cloth entering the Palace. Naturally, she did not worry about such a small matter. Naturally, there were rules in the Palace to send it to the various Palaces. The empress dowager's side was the first, as well as the famous ladies in the Palace. In the end, it was the Eldest Princess' Guangxin Palace. Although the Empress had never liked this sister-in-law, for the sake of her son, she had to be careful.
At this time, the back room of the Eastern Palace was busy distributing the embroidered cloth. After Hong Zhu served the Empress, he had nothing else to do. With nothing to do, he stood outside the door and stared at the slender serving girls busying about. His gaze swept across the serving girls' full and slightly perky buttocks.
Suddenly, he felt a pain in his waist. Turning his head to look, he saw a charming palace maid glaring at him hatefully.
He couldn't help but scold in a low voice, "Xiu'er, you're crazy! There are so many people, and this is in the Palace! "
This serving girl, who was brave enough to pinch the head eunuch in the Eastern Palace, was the Xiu'er that Fan Xian had once heard of. She was also the companion that Hong Zhu had found in the loneliness of the Palace.
Xiu'er bit her lower lip and muttered, "Where are your eyes looking? You also know this is in the Palace? "
Hong Zhu chuckled and said a few words of comfort. He thought to himself, as a eunuch, he could only use his eyes and fingers to satisfy his cravings. What was there to be jealous about? He didn't think much of it. However, he suddenly thought of something and asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"
His heart suddenly jumped. Lowering his voice, he said, "Don't tell me she wants you to go to the various Palaces to deliver embroidered cloth?"
Xiu'er looked curiously at his nervous expression and said with slight surprise, "No … I don't know what happened today, but the Empress suddenly remembered a small object that she hadn't used in a long time and wanted me to go into the side room to look for it."
Hong Zhu's mood relaxed slightly. He carefully asked, "What object is it?"
"A light green jade," Xiu'er pouted. "I don't know who was the one who talked too much and made the Empress think of this thing … it's something that hasn't been used in many years. How could she find it in such a short time? If she can't find it, how will she explain it to the Empress? "
Hong Zhu was overjoyed. He knew that what he said earlier had finally had an effect. The empress had finally remembered to find that piece of jade.
At this moment, a serving girl covered her mouth and laughed as she walked past the two of them.
Xiu'er angrily said, "What are you laughing at?"
The serving girl stuck out her tongue and said, "Only you guys can laugh, but I can't?"
The Qing Kingdom's kingdom was actually not as bright and grand as the common people imagined, but it was also not as dark and terrifying as the novels made it out to be. Particularly in the Eastern Palace, the empress was well aware of her weakness and helplessness, so she purposefully put effort into these details. She was relatively gentle toward the serving girls and eunuchs and not very strict with the Emperor. She had the intention of building a good relationship.
Hong Zhu was also someone who was used to being careful. Even though he had become the head eunuch, he was not very bossy and bossy toward the people below him. That was why the serving girl dared to joke around with the two of them.
"Where are you going?" Hong Zhu smiled slightly as he looked at the serving girl, as well as the little eunuch holding two rolls of high-quality embroidered cloth behind her.
The palace maid giggled and bowed, saying, "This is for Guangxin Palace."
Hong Zhu smiled and nodded, allowing her to go.
…
…
The serving girl was called Wang Zhui'er. To have a surname meant that she was a rather favored figure in the Eastern Palace. She brought two little eunuchs to Guangxin Palace. Knowing the Eldest Princess's habits, she waved her hand and had the two little eunuchs wait outside while she laboriously carried the embroidered cloth in.
Naturally, there were Eldest Princess' serving girls in the Palace to receive it. Since it was someone representing the empress, the Eldest Princess casually said a few words to the serving girl, asked after the empress, and sent her out.
When Guangxin Palace was quiet and empty, the Eldest Princess moved behind the screen and looked at the Qing Kingdom's Crown Prince, whose face was full of happiness. Smiling warmly, she said, "Have you memorized the three strategies for governing a country?"
The Crown Prince gazed at her with infatuation and nodded his head. Gently holding the Eldest Princess' soft, almost boneless hand like he was holding a fragile and easily broken piece of jade, he brought it to the side of his face and rubbed it against it. In a quiet voice, he said, "Qian'er has already memorized it."
The Eldest Princess gently used a finger to touch the spot between his brows. Looking at the familiar mark between the Crown Prince's brows, for some reason, her heart throbbed and then softened. Using both hands to hold his face, she moved her eyes slightly and said in a gentle voice, "Be good, recite it for me."
… …
In the Eastern Palace, the empress was throwing a temper tantrum because the serving girls had searched for a long time and still hadn't found Shui Qing'er's jade. This made the empress in a bad mood.
Xiu'er stood fearfully by the empress's side. She thought to herself, Why does this mistress have to work so hard on that piece of jade? She had no idea that the empress had been moved by Hong Zhu's words and wanted to find some of the tail of time from many years ago.
"Search carefully for me!" The empress was very angry. She had only occasionally wanted to find something, but in the end, she couldn't find it. She was lenient, but these servants dared to overturn the heavens! She had faintly heard that there were people with dirty hands and feet in the Palace, but she had never thought that there would be someone so daring as to stretch their hands into the Eastern Palace.
Thinking of how she was alone and without help in the Royal Palace and was now being bullied by these dog servants, the empress was so angry that her lips trembled. She coldly said to the row of eunuchs kneeling in front of her, "If you can't find it in the storeroom, then search every room!"
The expressions of the row of people kneeling below were very ugly. They all thought to themselves, Are they preparing to raid the Palace? The three eunuchs on the lower right were so scared their faces were deathly white. Their hearts were filled with shock. All of the old, unused items in the Eastern Palace had been stolen out of the Palace by them to be sold. The piece of jade the empress had mentioned earlier was among them.
Fortunately, everyone had been frightened badly by the empress's sharp and dark scolding. Their expressions were not very good, so the little drum in the hearts of the three eunuchs was not detected by others.
The empress slammed her right hand heavily onto the table. The emerald ring on her right middle finger shattered with a crack. She angrily said, "Find out who has dirty hands and feet. There's no need to report to me, just directly kill them!"
Hong Zhu lowered his head and looked at the pieces of emerald on the table. He smiled bitterly and thought that this ring was worth much more than the jade. He knew that the empress wanted to suddenly have an idea and be angry in her heart. She wanted to use this to establish her power in the Palace, so he couldn't say much. He bowed slightly and accepted the order. He then led a few high-ranking serving girls and eunuchs to search the Palace.
In an instant, there was a flurry of footsteps in the side courtyard behind the Eastern Palace. The sound of chests and cabinets being overturned rang out. It was like a raid. It made one's heart tremble unspeakably.
The serving girls and eunuchs who were obediently waiting outside the door for their fate's orders were not very worried. Even the three eunuchs who had handled it were not afraid. They had done this kind of thing many times. No one would be stupid enough to hide the taboo stolen goods in their own rooms.
However.
It seemed that some people were indeed that stupid.
…
…
The three eunuchs were dumbstruck. The serving girl who had been looking at them with an arrogant expression suddenly paled. In a sharp voice, she said, "This isn't mine! This isn't mine! "
In order to avoid arousing suspicion, Hong Zhu did not personally go in to search. When he saw a eunuch find the jade from under the serving girl's bed, he couldn't resist sighing. Gazing at the serving girl, he shook his head.
This serving girl was the one who had sent the cloth to Guangxin Palace earlier. Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with confusion. With a bang, she knelt in front of Hong Zhu and said in a trembling voice, "Young Eunuch Hong … it has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me … nothing to do with me …"
The three eunuchs who had truly stolen the jade looked at each other. They thought, Hadn't this jade already been sold out of the Palace? How could it suddenly appear in the Eastern Palace and in the hands of that serving girl? The three eunuchs immediately broke out in a cold sweat because of the appearance of stolen goods. Who knew what problems would arise from the interrogation later?
Hong Zhu furrowed his brows and looked at the serving girl kneeling in front of him. He sighed and said, "Tie her up and wait for the Lady's orders."
A few of the sturdier eunuchs went forward and flipped the serving girl to the ground. They used hemp rope to tie her up securely. The serving girl was already unconscious from fear. She could only endlessly cry out that she had been wronged and say she had never seen this piece of jade.
Hong Zhu shook his head and went to the front of the Palace to report. The three eunuchs looked at each other. One of the braver ones followed behind Hong Zhu and said in a low voice, "Sir, earlier, the Lady's intention was to find the thing and directly beat the lowly one to death. If we tell the Lady now, I'm afraid she won't be happy. It wouldn't be good to implicate you."
Hong Zhu stopped his steps and thought for a bit. "This matter is too big. It's best to wait for the masters to speak. As servants, we shouldn't meddle too much."
A glimmer of disappointment flashed through the eunuch's eyes. He had originally wanted to borrow Hong Zhu's hand to directly kill the serving girl. Then, no matter how the jade entered the Palace again, as long as the person was already dead and the jade came back, it would not be traced back to him. He had not thought that Hong Zhu would still go ask for the empress's orders.
"How could it be so simple?" Hong Zhu smiled coldly and glanced at him. "How could she be so daring to steal something from the Palace alone? There must be someone else helping her cover it up. Even if there wasn't a helper … where did this thing come from? In a bit, we will have the people of the internal court investigate it carefully. We will certainly be able to find the source."
The eunuch's heart chilled. He thought to himself that the source … if the investigation continued, wouldn't the three of them be pulled out? No matter what, he did not dare to admit this matter to Hong Zhu. He only asked probingly, "I wonder how the Empress will deal with this."
"If they truly find the scourge in the Palace … beating her to death is good. I'm just afraid that she will be thrown into the Celestial Prison and tortured by the Overwatch Council." Hong Zhu sighed.
The eunuch's eyes turned and he swallowed fearfully. "After all, this is a Palace matter. If the people of the internal court and Overwatch Council investigate, I'm afraid … the Empress will lose face. How about … we investigate it ourselves first?"
Hong Zhu seemed to be moved by these words. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see a glimmer of murderous intent in the eunuch's eyes. He smiled and nodded his head, ordering, "Investigate it carefully."
…
…
When they arrived at the bedchamber in the front of the Palace, Hong Zhu's expression changed. He first told the empress the information he had already found. He then sincerely urged the empress to deal with the matter with leniency. After all, the empress dowager had been on a vegetarian diet these days. If someone died, she would probably not be happy.
The empress was originally very angry, but after Hong Zhu's persuasion, her anger gradually dissipated. She held Shui Qing'er's jade in her hand and slowly stroked it. Furrowing her brows, she said, "That makes sense. However, death can be forgiven, but punishment cannot be avoided. Give the order to beat him heavily!"
Hong Zhu accepted the order and was preparing to go to the back when the empress called him back and said, "What are you going to do? Just give the order … stay here with me. I've always heard you boast about your dexterity with your hands. Weave a golden thread to tie this piece of jade together. "
The empress's expression was calm. No emotion could be heard from her. Hong Zhu was secretly happy. He thought to himself that if he was asked to lead the investigation, who knew if he would be dragged into it?
…
…
After an indeterminable amount of time, a eunuch knelt outside the Palace with an ugly expression. Hong Zhu furrowed his brows and went over to listen to him say something. His expression also became ugly.
He moved closer to the empress's ear and quietly said a few words.
The empress's beautiful brows furrowed and she said with disgust, "How inauspicious … it's fine if you can't take a beating, but at least you have some sense of shame and know to commit suicide to be clean …" This mother of the nation casually said, "Have Jingle Hall drag it away and burn it."
Hong Zhu's heart trembled slightly. He knew that in the eyes of these nobles, servants like him were only objects to be ordered around and toyed with. Human lives were not worth as much as ants. He silently bowed and then went to make arrangements for the serving girl's funeral.
He knew that the serving girl's death was certainly not as simple as suicide. It had to have been secretly done by the eunuch he had arranged to interrogate her in order to silence her and protect his glory, wealth, life, and wealth.
However, this was something Hong Zhu had arranged, so he was not very surprised. He only felt a glimmer of guilt toward the innocent serving girl.
…
…
The Qing Kingdom's Royal Palace was very large, taking up a quarter of Jingdou's area. Inside lived the noblest men and women in the world, as well as the lowliest women and people who were neither male nor female. In this cold palace, who knew how many stories happened every day. Who knew how many lowly people would mysteriously or silently disappear or die, and no one would remember that they had ever existed in the palace.
Although the Qing royal family was not known for their strictness, this kind of strict barrier between classes meant that the Royal Palace would forever be a dog-eat-dog place.
Thus, the death of a common serving girl in the Eastern Palace did not attract much attention. It was just that there was an extra body on Jingle Hall's burning ground. There was a girl in the embroidery bureau who was lucky enough to obtain the opportunity to enter the Eastern Palace to serve the empress. The empress continued to listen to Hong Zhu's jokes every day. The empress dowager continued to eat vegetables every day. The Crown Prince continued to learn how to govern a country every day and then went to Guangxin Palace to ask the Eldest Princess for advice.
Everything was as usual.
… …
"As long as it is a big clan, if someone attacks from the outside, it will not be destroyed immediately because it has a strong foundation … However, if there is a problem within the clan, and people start to attack each other, suspicion, and internal strife will become the norm, then the day of death will not be far."
On the newly built earthen dike in Yingzhou, Fan Xian watched the river below the dike roll toward the east. Deep in thought, he said, "A thousand-li dike can be destroyed by an ant's nest. A thousand-year family can be destroyed by a thought."
He turned his head to the dark-faced Yang Wanli and said, "I'm not just talking about the river dike you built or the Ming family. I'm also talking about the world."
Fan Xian did not make his words clear. He calculated the time. Today should be the day the serving girl died. After a few more days, when the rumors spread and the Emperor noticed the strange death of the serving girl in the Eastern Palace, given his suspicious nature, he would certainly find many problems.
The tranquility and harmony of the royal family on the surface might cause an unexpected upheaval because of the death of that palace maid.
…
…
(I'm seriously asking for your monthly votes here. In a few hours, the doubling of the monthly votes will end, and the friends behind me have narrowed the gap by 600 votes in one night. I'm feeling a little tight … I want to be in the top 3 this month, and these few hours will play a very important role … So, please throw the votes in your hands over to me, and tamp down the soil and stones. Thank you, thank you!)
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