Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

It had been cloudy for several days. Finally, a sunny day arrived. It was especially quiet because the Emperor was taking his afternoon rest. No one dared to make any noise. The entire Qian’de Palace felt like it was breathing a sigh of relief. The guards and servants on the path all squinted, looking drowsy in the warm sun.

Amidst this peaceful atmosphere, Hui Ming walked hurriedly. She didn't stop until she reached the entrance of Yang’qian Palace and saw Eunuch Su.

Eunuch Su stood on the golden bricks outside the palace, slightly bowing his head under the winter sun. He seemed to be looking at the Narcissus basin below the steps. The sunlight was so bright that it cast a glow on Eunuch Su's pale face. For a moment, the usually aloof man seemed approachable.

Hui Ming was stunned by this sight. Remembering what Madam Xu had mentioned about Eunuch Su's past, she hesitated to move forward.

As if sensing something, Su Jin casually turned around. He paused when he saw Hui Ming, then lowered his eyes slightly. His brown eyes, warm under the sunlight, watched her slowly approach. Perhaps due to drowsiness, his voice was a little hoarse. "What is it?"

"Eunuch Su," Hui Ming stepped closer and curtsied slightly.

Eunuch Su nodded and turned to her with an inquiring look.

Under the sunlight, Eunuch Su's peach blossom eyes looked even more gentle and captivating. Hui Ming quickly averted her gaze, finally regaining her composure. She began, "Yuan Bao sent me tribute tea yesterday, saying it was your order. Thank you for your kindness."

"It was nothing." Su Jin said, glancing down at her again. He seemed to have noticed that Hui Ming had more to say but didn't rush her, waiting patiently.

"And about Madam Wei… You had a disagreement with her because of me, and you even asked Madam Xu to return to the palace to support me. I am deeply indebted to you, but I don't know how to repay your kindness!"

Su Jin seemed a little surprised but replied calmly, "Bai Hao was being disrespectful. I sent her away for my own dignity, it had nothing to do with you. As for Madam Xu, she had been away from the palace for so long, and there's a new group of people now. They only recognize Wei's authority. Madam Xu intended to establish her presence, taking you along was just incidental…"

"Why?" Hui Ming suddenly interrupted Eunuch Su's attempt to downplay his actions. She spoke quickly, as if she would lose the courage to continue if she slowed down. "Eunuch Su and I have never known each other. Why do you favor me and take care of me everywhere?"

She used to be delusional, mistakenly thinking that Eunuch Su had ulterior motives for her. It wasn't until her previous life, when Yuan Bao was ordered to send her to Consort Kang's palace, that she learned the truth. It turned out that she had met Eunuch Su a few times when she first entered the palace. He happened to see her being punished by the Head嬷嬷 and decided to help.

However, after much thought, Hui Ming couldn't recall when she had met Eunuch Su. Even after all these years, with his handsome and elegant appearance, if they had met, how could she have no impression at all?

This had been a puzzle for Hui Ming for two lifetimes. She didn't have the chance to ask in her previous life, but now she could finally ask. Hui Ming's eyes were exceptionally bright.

Under this gaze that seemed to see through everything, Su Jin dodged Hui Ming's eyes. He hesitated for a moment, holding the Ruyi knot at his waist, then lowered his eyes slightly and said, "It's not entirely true that we've never met. Five years ago, we met in the Imperial Garden."

Indeed, it was the same as what Yuan Bao said in her past life. Hui Ming nodded silently. She entered the palace at the age of ten and was now fifteen. Five years ago meant when she had just entered the palace. It made sense that she didn't have a clear memory, as she was young and naive. Still, Hui Ming insisted on asking, "Forgive my ignorance, but when was that?"

Su Jin looked up at her again. It might be her imagination, but he seemed to utter each word with extra care. "At that time, you were hiding under the water jar, crying. I saw you when I was filling it."

Speaking of crying, Hui Ming vaguely recalled something. It must have been when she first entered the palace. She couldn't remember why she cried, but she was found by the嬷嬷 and received ten lashes on her palms in front of all the little palace maids. The burning pain was still vivid in her mind.

Palace maids couldn't cry in front of others. This was the first rule she learned, and the wounds on her palms from the lashes were the first and last beating she ever received.

Thinking back now, those few lashes might not seem like much, but for a ten-year-old girl who had only ever been lightly disciplined by her parents, it was an unbearable punishment!

It hurt when she was being whipped, it hurt when she had to learn to hold a broom with her wounded hands, and it hurt even more when she tried to thread a needle.

From that day on, she became extremely diligent and obedient, simply because she was terrified of pain. She would rather endure hardship and fatigue as long as she didn't get beaten again. If not for this experience, she wouldn't have been able to enter the relatively respectable Garment Bureau to do needlework.

"At that time, you saw me hungry and shared half of your small steamed bun." Su Jin said, noticing Hui Ming's confusion. He paused and looked at her thick, black hair. "You had just shaved your head then, and it was bald…"

That's right! It was because of the head-shaving! Hui Ming suddenly remembered. When little palace maids first entered the palace, they had to shave their heads to prevent bringing in lice. She was too scared to resist when they shaved her head. After it was done, she saw her reflection in the water and couldn't help but burst into tears. She found a corner and cried secretly, never expecting to meet Eunuch Su at that moment.

Hearing this, Hui Ming understood why she couldn't recall this incident. Besides her young age, it was also because of the beating she received afterward. The memory was too painful, and people tend to intentionally forget painful experiences. If Eunuch Su hadn't mentioned it, she wouldn't have remembered that the only beating she received after entering the palace was because of the head-shaving.

Wait, head-shaving! Hui Ming suddenly realized something. So the first time she met Eunuch Su, she was not only a crying little palace maid but also a bald little palace maid who had just shaved her head?

Looking up at the elegant Eunuch Su in front of her and imagining that scene, Hui Ming wanted nothing more than to bury her face in shame.

However, Su Jin didn't know what Hui Ming was thinking. He only saw her uneasiness and wondered if he had made a mistake by wanting her to remember their first encounter.

He knew that since entering the palace, he was no longer the innocent and kind young master he once was. Yet, when it came to Hui Ming, he didn't want her to see him as the ruthless and dirty person he had become.

That day was his fifteenth birthday. It was also the day his years of scheming and flattery finally paid off. The steward finally agreed to transfer him from the hard labor of a handyman to the cleaning duty at Qian'de Palace.

But when he returned to his quarters, he found that his only remaining younger cousin had died of illness due to neglect. Now, he was the only male left in the Su family.

He didn't know what was the point of living anymore. No one knew that while he endured hunger, cold, and illness, carrying buckets of well water to fill the water jars, he thought about giving up and joining his family in death.

It was at this moment, lost in his thoughts, that he accidentally splashed water on Song Hui Ming, who was huddled beneath the jar. She was so tiny back then, a small bundle. She didn't cry or scream when splashed with water, only trembled and sobbed. With her bald head, she looked like a fledgling that had fallen from its nest, yet to grow its feathers.

Su Jin had seen such fledglings before, back when his family was still whole. Even though he brought them home and cared for them meticulously, they still grew weaker day by day, their chirping fading until they finally closed their eyes forever.

"I miss my parents, I want to go home…"

"Where are your parents?"

"D-don't cry, I secretly saved a bun, you eat it!"

"Why didn't you bring your Ruyi knot? The嬷嬷said that new palace maids must carry a Ruyi knot so that everything will go smoothly. I want to go home, I'll give you mine, and then you can go home too."

Su Jin remembered every word Hui Ming said to him that day. She was just a helpless little girl, yet when she saw him, his hands trembling from illness, she became his pillar of support, offering him a kindness and warmth he hadn't felt since his family's downfall.

One was a newly arrived, bald little palace maid, and the other was a thin and haggard young eunuch who had endured hardships. They huddled together under the water jar, one silent, the other sobbing, sharing a hardened steamed bun. Before leaving, Hui Ming even gave him her newly received Ruyi knot.

The mention of the Ruyi knot made Su Jin's grip tighten. He suddenly realized that if Hui Ming knew he had kept her gift all these years, his habit of carrying it with him would seem strange. Recalling Hui Ming's undisguised fear and rejection of him recently, Su Jin's eyes darkened. He immediately dismissed the thought of using the Ruyi knot to remind her of their past. He even turned slightly, hiding the knot at his waist more securely, afraid that Hui Ming might see it and remember.

But Hui Ming was in no state to notice any Ruyi knot. Since Eunuch Su mentioned the head-shaving, embarrassment and shame had overwhelmed her. All she wanted was to leave, but she was too embarrassed to excuse herself.

As both of them stood there with their own thoughts, a figure emerged from the hall. It was Madam Wei from the Emperor's chambers.

Hui Ming's heart skipped a beat, and her posture instantly became more respectful.

Eunuch Su turned and saw her. In an instant, all his emotions were replaced with his usual coldness.

Author's Note:

Song Hui Ming (clutching her full head of hair in disbelief): So you're saying the first time you saw me, I was bald?

Eunuch Su (looking at the female lead's black braids with a hint of regret): Yes, you were very beautiful bald…

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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