Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

It had been gloomy for several days, and the first snow of winter finally fell. The harsh wind was mixed with snowflakes. As soon as the curtain was lifted, they rushed into the room, making the hairs on one's neck stand on end.

Huiming in the room was startled by the cold air. She put down the hand that was stroking her neck and looked up. She saw Qiuya, who should have died more than ten years ago, stepping over the threshold with snowflakes on her body. She walked into the room step by step, her face and features slowly becoming vivid and clear, as if she had come back to life from her previous life.

In fact, wasn't it?

Qiuya didn't notice Huiming's trance. She sighed comfortably in the warmth of the room and casually greeted Huiming, "Why are you up late today? Have you had breakfast?"

Huiming was wrapped in a cotton jacket and sat on a bench, looking at her in a daze as if she had not woken up yet. After a while, she stammered, "Not, not yet."

Qiuya looked at her strangely, but didn't ask in detail. She sat down beside her. Although she saw that Huiming didn't want to talk more, she couldn't help but lower her voice and say in Huiming's ear, "His Majesty coughed up blood last night!"

Huiming squeezed her hands tightly and lowered her head, humming.

Qiuya didn't care, but her voice became lower and lower, "The imperial physicians have been taking turns living in the side hall. They all say that His Majesty is afraid that he will not survive this winter. If something happens... It's just that they don't know who will..." The remaining words became more and more vague, even Huiming could hardly hear them clearly. Although they were in her own room, they were in the Forbidden City, so being cautious had already been engraved into her bones.

But there was really no need to finish. Anyone in the palace who heard this should be able to guess her unfinished words. His Majesty was over fifty years old, and this illness came so fiercely. The palace had not established a new crown prince for several years. It was unknown whether the successor after His Majesty's death would be Prince Xin, the legitimate son of the Empress, or Prince Rui, the son of the current Noble Consort Xian.

In fact, it was not only the servants in the palace, but also the nobles in the capital who were worried about this matter every day, so much so that their hair turned white.

But Huiming didn't have to think about it to know that she not only knew that His Majesty had survived this winter, but also that neither Prince Xin nor Prince Rui had finally won the throne. Instead, both sides suffered, and it was the silly and blessed Seventh Prince who finally benefited. She even knew that the Seventh Prince, who was a little foolish, didn't end up well. Within seven years, he was murdered by his empress and his father-in-law!

As for whether the treacherous father-in-law finally succeeded in usurping the throne, Huiming really didn't know, because as soon as the Seventh Prince died, Huiming was given death along with dozens of palace people who knew about it.

Who knew that after the three-foot-long white silk went away, the feeling of suffocation and boredom seemed to have not passed yet. When she opened her eyes, she returned to the winter when Eunuch Su had just brought her to the emperor.

Right, Su Jin, Eunuch Su!

As if she had finally found a thread from the messy ball of hemp, Huiming suddenly shivered. Her head, which had been muddleheaded since this morning, seemed to be illuminated by a flash of light. Eunuch Su! If, if she was not in the underworld now, nor was she dreaming, but really returned to the time when she was still a maid in front of the emperor, wouldn't that mean that Su Jin, Eunuch Su... was still alive?

Qiuya was startled by Huiming's movement. After waiting for a while, she saw that Huiming was still motionless in a daze, so she reached out and pushed her, "What's wrong with you?"

Huiming slowly turned her head, her mouth unable to open, her voice dry, "Qiuya, did you, did you see Eunuch Su on duty just now?"

Hearing this, Qiuya immediately showed a complex look of both envy and sympathy, and nodded, "Yes, with His Majesty in such a situation, Chief Eunuch Su can't leave his side for a moment. He is very busy."

It was no wonder that Qiuya reacted like this. Huiming entered the palace at the age of ten, and now she was fifteen. All in all, she had not stayed in the palace for five years. In addition, her family was just a small family in the town, and she herself had no great talent. The reason why she could become a maid in front of the emperor at such an age was all thanks to the promotion of others.

And the one who promoted her was naturally the Chief Eunuch Su Jin, whom Qiuya called.

As a woman, it was easy for people to look down on her for climbing up by relying on men, not to mention that the man she relied on was a rootless eunuch.

No matter how Huiming explained it, once such a reputation spread, it would be unclear. Otherwise, among so many maids in the Department of Internal Affairs, why did Eunuch Su only pick her out and put her in front of the emperor?

Since Su Jin suddenly promoted her to the position of maid in front of the emperor, the eunuchs and maids in the palace often showed such a look of wanting to please her but also subtly despising her. Huiming was no stranger to this.

If it had been in the past, she would have been embarrassed, wronged, and even unable to speak when she encountered such a situation. But now, not to mention the great changes she had encountered, just her experience of decades in the palace in her previous life was enough to make her indifferent to this. She immediately calmed down, her face unchanged, and continued to chat, "His Majesty's illness came really quickly."

It was not uncommon for maids and eunuchs to have private relationships since ancient times. Now that Huiming was acting normal, Qiuya was surprised, but she didn't care. She reached for the copper pot and continued, "That's right! He was fine a few days ago, but who knew it would be so serious all of a sudden?"

Hearing this, Huiming lowered her eyes and looked at the flickering charcoal fire in the brazier. That was right. It was the thirty-third year of Xuange. She had gone from being an ordinary sewing maid in the Department of Internal Affairs to being in front of Eunuch Su last month. She didn't know why, but he brought her directly to the emperor without saying a word.

Although it had been rumored that she had an affair with Eunuch Su, in fact, Huiming had not seen Eunuch Su many times. The first time she met Eunuch Su was last month, when she stained a piece of cloth and was punished by her aunt to stand in the courtyard.

The so-called standing was to stand against the wall and stand still according to the rules. This was a skill that new maids had to practice when they first entered the palace. For someone like Huiming, who had already completed her training, it was not practice, but pure punishment.

It was a cold winter day. Although it was not snowing, standing in the cold wind for a long time still made her shiver all over. When Eunuch Su came to the Department of Internal Affairs to look for the head maid, she was already frozen stiff. When she came to her senses and saluted, Eunuch Su had been standing in front of her for a long time. However, because her body was stiff from the cold, she stumbled when she saluted and almost fell to the ground.

The reason why it was said that she almost fell was that at the last moment, Eunuch Su reached out and held her.

Huiming remembered clearly that Eunuch Su didn't show anything different to her at that time. After helping her up, he immediately let go of her hand. After that, he just casually said to the head maid, "Although the maid should be punished for her mistake, in such weather, she might catch a cold and pass it on to others." After that, because of this sentence, her aunt exempted her from the following punishment. And just when Huiming was grateful to Eunuch Su for this, two days later, Eunuch Su came to the door in person, ordered her to pack up, personally arranged her errands and accommodation, and took her to the emperor.

The gossip that she was clinging to Eunuch Su and that they were a couple started at this time.

Huiming silently clenched her fists. She entered the palace at the age of ten and died at the age of thirty. She had always been honest and self-disciplined in her life. Although she didn't die a natural death, she didn't suffer any great injustice. If there was anything she couldn't let go of, besides feeling sorry for the little emperor she had taken care of, who was now the Seventh Prince, the only one she often thought of in the past ten years was Eunuch Su Jin.

She had always thought that Eunuch Su had "taken a fancy to her" and wanted to bully her by his power. She was a good girl, and she was still waiting to return home after the age of twenty-five, so she naturally refused. Not only did she dislike and treat Su Jin coldly during her lifetime, but even after Su Jin died, she didn't react in time and couldn't even get his ashes out to be properly placed.

But in fact, Eunuch Su had never mentioned the matter of being a couple with her, nor had he ever done anything disrespectful. Now, not only did he bring her to the position of maid in front of the emperor, but even at the last moment of Prince Rui's rebellion, he sent her to the safe palace of Consort Kang in advance.

Judging from his actions, Eunuch Su was the only benefactor she felt guilty about in her previous life.

God had brought her back to life and returned her to this time, but did He want her to save people and repay her kindness?

But she was just a small maid, how could she save Eunuch Su, the chief eunuch?

Before Huiming could figure it out, a very respectful voice of a little eunuch came from outside the curtain, "Aunt Hui, are you there? Master has something to ask. I wonder if you are free?"

Huiming was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted. This was the voice of Yuanbao, the little eunuch in front of the emperor.

The reason why she remembered it so clearly was that in her previous life, the last words Yuanbao said to her were so impressive that every time she thought about them, it was like a slap in her face, making her ache and unforgettable for the rest of her life -

"Master said that he originally sent you to the emperor because he had met you a few times when you first entered the palace and had been taken care of by you several times. It was out of good intentions. Who knew that you were so thoughtful that you caused so much trouble for nothing. Since that's the case, I'll send you away!"

Huiming clenched her fists again and suddenly realized that Yuanbao was Eunuch Su's apprentice, so the master he was talking about was Eunuch Su!

Sure enough, as soon as the voice outside fell, Qiuya hurriedly smiled and turned to Huiming, "I just mentioned him, and here he comes. It's really telepathy, isn't it?" After saying that, without waiting for Huiming's reaction, she went ahead and lifted the curtain to welcome him out. Immediately, a respectful greeting came from outside the door, "Greetings, Chief Eunuch Su."

Qiuya, who was very discerning, flashed out. Naturally, Yuanbao, who came with Eunuch Su, would not come in at this time to obstruct their eyes. After lifting the curtain to let Su Jin in, he stood guard at the door knowingly. Before Huiming could come back to her senses, only Su Jin was left standing in front of her -

Eunuch Su Jin, who was still alive.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

Love what you read?