486 The Death Of A Palace Serving Girl (1/2)
Chapter 486: The Death Of A Palace Serving Girl
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Spring arrived in February. Flowers bloomed and withered depending on the time of day. Until the flowers bloomed toward the sky, one temporarily borrowed clever hands to plant the spirit of spring. People often wondered where is the sense of spring, the spirit of spring? They were planted on people's clothing. Those flowers bloomed, abundant and layered amongst the gold-edged embroidery.
A day earlier, the foreign cloth the empress in the Eastern Palace ordered had finally arrived in the Palace. There were countless yards, and it needed the labor of countless eunuchs. The person who had brought the cloths into the Palace was Hong Zhu. For the simple tasks, such as dividing up the cloth and the heavy labor work, he was too lazy to do it himself.
He stayed in the Eastern Palace and noticed that the Crown Prince was not there. As he carefully moved the yellow copper piece in the fragrance pot to prevent the incense from burning too quickly, he ordered the serving girls to work more diligently and to quickly spread out the three layers of mattresses because the empress was going to read in a moment.
A gust of fragrant breeze blew in, and the inner curtain was lifted. Black-browed, red-lipped, and with a pair of smooth and slanted eyes, the empress walked out weakly. She leaned on the low couch, drank the already steeped scented tea, and read the book in her hand.
The book was a novel published by the Danbo bookstore. Although the empress hated Fan Xian with a passion and was terrified of him, this mother of a nation was unwilling to lower her living standards in her recreations.
After reading a few pages, the empress's brows furrowed as she thought about something.
Hong Zhu was standing behind the empress gently hammering on her frail body with his particularly clean fists. The empress always liked Hong Zhu's tact, carefulness, and considerate service, particularly, his skill in massage. However, she did not close her eyes in enjoyment, as usual, rather, she stared at the book in front of her in a daze.
”Mistress, what are you thinking about?” Hong Zhu smiled slightly and said.
Compared to the nobles, the eunuchs and serving girls were like ants in the mud. When normal people saw a noble like the empress, they would always be terrified to even make a loud noise. They were always timid and respectful, as if they wished they could completely retract their hands and feet.
However, Hong Zhu had once received Fan Xian's teachings. He also felt that although these people looked to have high and powerful positions, dressed and ate well, and had little to be discontented with, these nobles easily felt suffocation in the palace, loneliness and uneasiness, and liked to have someone keep them company and talk with them.
From when Hong Zhu was in the royal study, he was different from the other young eunuchs. He would not always lower his eyes and never forgot his servile appearance. Rather, he was respectfully and a bit more magnanimous when dealing with matters.
In reality, this logic was simple. The nobles in the palace also needed to talk. However, their status meant that they did not have any close friends with whom they could talk. If the eunuchs, who were always at their side, did not appear vulgar, were not coy or suspicious, their mood would be much better.
That was why Hong Zhu was liked by so many nobles, including the empress.
The empress seemed to be used to talking with Hong Zhu and sighed. ”I was just thinking… it's rather irritating to stay in the Palace all day. Aunt is busy fasting and reading prayers, so I don't have much opportunity to see her.”
Hong Zhu smiled and said, ”Your servant can chat with you for a bit.”
It was imperative that he said ”servant,” but there must not be a subservient expression on his face. Otherwise, if the master or mistress saw the subservient servant, their only desire would be to hit him and would certainly not share their thoughts.
”What can you talk about?” the empress asked with great interest. ”How about you tell me of your childhood spent wandering around like you did a few days ago?”
After Hong Zhu's family was ruined by a corrupt official, he and his brother escaped to Jiaozhou. In those years, they had suffered endlessly and saw plenty of the joys and sorrows of life. Speaking of experience, his was far richer than those nobles who had grown up in royal families.
Every time he spoke of beggar secrets, little rumors on the jianghu, and food and entertainment among the common people, the empress always found it new and interesting.
Hong Zhu told her about the true jokes that he had heard while wandering on the road related to the girls in a brothel. However, he was in the Royal Palace, and the person listening to the story was the mother of a nation, so he told the story with particular care, not daring to say anything too explicit.
As the empress listened to this story, her eyes twinkled. She smiled slightly. She found it funny and quickly gave a yawn to hide it. She was in front of Hong Zhu, so he couldn't see. He only found it strange that the empress had not stopped him from continuing.
After all, he was very young. He had no idea that no matter how inviolable nobles were, the things in their heads were not much different from the women in the marketplace.
After he finished telling the story, the empress sighed and said, ”The commoner's children do have it very tough. However, they can see some very different things.”
Hong Zhu mumbled indistinctly, ”Speaking of bitterness, given Mistress' status, ever since you were young…”
This very naturally brought the conversation onto the empress's childhood. For a moment, the empress's mind wandered. She thought of how the present Emperor, when she was a child, was still a boy careful with his words and smiles, but they seemed to have the occasionally joyful moment. Later… how did it become like this?
She immediately thought of the prince her family paid that night Jingdou ran red with blood. Her emotions became unstable. Gradually, feelings of sorrow welled in her.
Hong Zhu carefully controlled his word and watched the fluttering of the empress's eyelashes. He then turned the contents of his words to the little playthings the empress had in her childhood.
The empress was warning herself that she could not tell a servant so much about herself. Hearing him change the subject, she relaxed and began to count with great familiarity.
In the end, after endless turns, Hong Zhu finally successfully, and without leaving any traces, made her remember a piece of jade. A piece of jade that she had brought into the Royal Palace from her home.
The empress gestured as to the size of the piece of jade and smiled. ”The color of that jade was pretty good. Of course, it couldn't compare to the tribute goods kept in the Great Dong Mountain. However, it was an item of rare quality in a normal royal family… Oh yes, it was gifted to my family by the previous Emperor, so it has the Emperor's mark carved on it. It can't be worn outside and had to be kept among the clothing.”
The empress unconsciously pointed at her chest. Although she was wearing thick winter clothing, her finger still sank into the plumpness.
Hong Zhu gently swallowed and carefully smiled along with her. ”I don't think I've seen Mistress wear it in the Palace.”
”Although that piece of jade was gentle, the green is too light… Back in the day, I often wore it before my marriage, but now it doesn't suit me.”
Flatteringly, Hong Zhu said, ”Mistress is beautiful and no less so than the past. There is little difference to a young girl… No matter how light the jade is, it is suitable.”
A severe light flashed through the empress's eyes. She lowered her voice to yell, ”Your words are becoming more and more impudent!”
Hong Zhu's expression became one of great shock. He quickly slapped himself heavily on the face. He did not notice the glimmer of a satisfied smile at the corners of the empress's lips as well as the meaning growing thicker and thicker in her eyes.
…
…
The empress learned of the entry of the embroidered cloths into the Palace, but, naturally, she did not worry much about these little things. The Palace would send it to the various palaces based on ranking. The empress dowager would be the first, and the concubines with ranking would each receive some. In the end, it would reach the Eldest Princess' Guangxin Palace. Although the empress did not much like this aunt, she had to keep her mouth shut tightly for her son's sake.
Meanwhile, a side room in the Eastern Palace was busy with the distribution of the cloth. Hong Zhu was serving the empress but did not have any specific tasks. With nothing at hand, he stood outside the door and stared at the slender serving girls rushing around. His gaze swept over the serving girls' plump and perky behinds.
Suddenly, he felt pain at his waist and turned his head to see that a charming serving girl was staring ferociously at him.
He couldn't help but scold in a low voice, ”Xiu'er, are you crazy? There are so many people, and this is in the Palace!”
This serving girl, who was so bold as to pinch the head eunuch of the Eastern Palace, was the Xiu'er that Fan Xian had once heard about. She was also a companion Hong Zhu had found in the loneliness of the Palace.
Xiu'er bit her bottom lip and mumbled, ”Where are your eyes looking? Are you sure you know this is the Palace?”
Hong Zhu chuckled and said a few soothing words. He thought to himself that since he was a eunuch, he could only satisfy his cravings with his eyes and fingers. What was there to be jealous about? He didn't think much of it, but he suddenly thought of something and asked, ”What are you doing here?”
His heart suddenly jumped, and he lowered his voice, ”Surely they're not sending you to the various palaces to deliver the cloth?”
Xiu'er looked at his nervous expression with curiosity and said, a little startled, ”No… For some reason, the empress suddenly remembered a little item she hadn't used in a long time and sent me to look for it in the side room.”
Hong Zhu relaxed a bit and carefully asked, ”What item?”
”A light green piece of jade,” Xiu'er pouted and said. ”Someone must have said something to her and made her remember this item. It hasn't been used in so many years, where am I to find it in an instant? If I don't find it, how will I explain it to the empress?”
Hong Zhu was overjoyed. He knew that his words from earlier had worked. The empress had finally thought to look for that piece of jade.
A serving girl covered her smiled and walked by the two of them.
Xiu'er said angrily, ”What are you smiling about?”
The serving girl stuck out her tongue and said, ”Can only you two smile but I cannot?”
The empire of Qing Kingdom was not as radiant and imposing as the people thought, but it was also not as dark and terrifying as described by some novels. Particularly in the Eastern Palace, the empress was aware of her weakness and helplessness, so she purposely put in more effort in the details. She was relatively gentle toward the serving girls and eunuchs and was not very harsh in front of the Emperor. She had the intention of having everyone get along.
Hong Zhu was also a very careful person. Even now, as the head eunuch, he was not arrogant and bossy toward those below him. That was why the serving girl dared to make a joke about the two of them.
”Where are you going?” Hong Zhu smiled at the serving girl, as well as the little eunuch behind her holding two rolls of superior cloth.
The serving girl giggled and bowed. ”This is being delivered to Guangxin Palace.”
Hong Zhu nodded with a smile and let her go.