Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

When they arrived at the gate of Jingfang Hall, Huiming's steps slowed down.

She still remembered Seventh Prince's vigilance and avoidance of her yesterday. However, she knew in her heart that it was her fault for breaking her promise. It was natural for the young prince, in his situation, to be even more concerned. So, after she came to her senses, she didn't mind her own feelings but was still worried that her sudden appearance would startle Seventh Prince.

Originally, she wanted to ask Wang Momo about the young prince's condition today. But after standing in the sun outside the door for a while, Huiming didn't wait for Wang Momo. Instead, she heard a "bang" from the main room, like a wooden window being pushed open.

Huiming felt a panic in her heart when she heard this. She reluctantly turned around to look and, as expected, a woman with a cloth wrapped around her head and a light veil covering her face, revealing only a pair of eyes, was standing at the window looking at her.

Huiming sighed silently but didn't dare to show it on her face. She just bowed and saluted: "Greetings, Noble Consort Tian."

That's right. The resident of this Jingfang Hall's main room was none other than Seventh Prince's birth mother, Noble Consort Tian. She was once the most favored consort in the entire imperial harem, relying only on her stunning beauty. However, her face was ruined by illness later, and she was sent to Changxing Palace.

It was precisely because of this that the Noble Consort Tian Huiming saw always had her face tightly covered. The rumored thinning hair and sallow complexion were never seen. The only thing visible was a pair of bright eyes, just like the young prince's, but compared to the young prince's clear and transparent eyes, Noble Consort Tian's eyes seemed exceptionally, well, flirtatious.

Just a casual glance from those eyes was seductive and alluring, as if carrying a hook that made your heart skip a beat. Just from these eyes, one could vaguely guess the peerless beauty of Noble Consort Tian before her illness.

However, having lived two lifetimes, Huiming was long past the time when she would be amazed by Noble Consort Tian's eyes. At this moment, she didn't dare to be negligent at all and just waited cautiously.

Inside the window, Noble Consort Tian raised her chin: "You are the new palace maid?"

Her voice was clear and crisp, filled with pride and arrogance. If one didn't know better, they might think it was a young, beautiful woman inside. However, Huiming was unmoved and responded respectfully. Noble Consort Tian continued, "I heard you came from serving the Emperor?"

Hearing this, Huiming already had a bad feeling in her heart. Sure enough, Noble Consort Tian's next words rang out self-righteously: "Then, when you were serving in Qiande Palace, did His Majesty ever mention me?"

"Never." As soon as Huiming finished speaking, she couldn't help but take a step back. The next moment, Noble Consort Tian's sharp voice rang in her ears: "Nonsense! How could it be! His Majesty must have thought of me! Why are you lying to me!"

Jingfang Hall was just a small courtyard with three main rooms, one bright and two dim. Her sharp shouting could definitely be heard by the young prince next door.

Huiming frowned, suddenly took a step forward, and while Noble Consort Tian was startled by her action, she replied in a clear voice: "You are right! This servant has only been in Qiande Palace for a month, and the time serving before His Majesty is even less. Perhaps His Majesty mentioned Noble Consort when this servant happened to be away?"

It wasn't that Huiming couldn't just casually agree and deceive her before. But based on her experience, if she did that, Noble Consort Tian would immediately ask what His Majesty had said, how many times, and when. If she answered anything that didn't please her, it would be endless, and her reaction would only be more intense than now.

Compared to that, it was better to just say that she hadn't heard anything.

As expected, Noble Consort Tian was taken aback when she heard this. She lowered her head, seeming hesitant. Seeing this, Huiming immediately persuaded, "Noble Consort, it's better to go back and rest. The sun and wind outside might hurt your skin."

Hearing this, Noble Consort Tian panicked slightly and touched her cheek through the veil. She nodded and said, "You are right!" Then, she immediately forgot about Huiming, turned around, and slammed the window shut again.

Seeing this, Huiming couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She was almost grateful that she had managed to deal with Noble Consort Tian so easily today.

There was no other reason, but Noble Consort Tian was truly a difficult person.

Let's not mention her appearance, as Huiming had never seen her true face. The young prince liked peace and quiet and couldn't stand any noise or disturbance. But Noble Consort Tian, whether it was her nature or because she was stimulated by falling out of favor, seemed to deliberately oppose the young prince. She was the type to make a big fuss whenever something was not to her liking.

The young prince would occasionally scream at the top of his lungs as if he was going crazy, but that was when he was pushed to his limit and had no other choice. However, Noble Consort Tian's noise was more like that of a half-grown child, only caring about herself and throwing tantrums without regard for others. She was clearly already a mother, but she wouldn't yield to the young prince even when he was in such a state.

The worst time was after the young prince ascended the throne. Huiming was careless for a moment, and the mother and son, as if competing with each other, screamed at the top of their lungs in the bedchamber. Although Noble Consort Tian didn't dare to lay a hand on the young emperor who had already ascended the throne, she smashed all the vases and ornaments on the antique shelves, creating a scene of chaos.

Noble Consort Tian was fine. No matter how much noise she made in front of the emperor, she would forget about it after a quarter of an hour and start applying fine pearl powder to her face. However, after such an experience, the young prince couldn't recover for more than a month. Even though Huiming tried her best to comfort him, he would still cower in a corner every day, trembling all over whenever there was a slight noise around him.

If it were anyone else, even Empress Gu of the Middle Palace or the officials in the court, Huiming could persuade them with a few words or even directly stop them and send them away. But only Noble Consort Tian, no matter what, was the young prince's birth mother. Huiming couldn't stop her, and trying to persuade her was pointless as she wouldn't listen at all. Once she got an idea in her head, there was really nothing Huiming could do but get a headache.

Now that Noble Consort Tian had retreated to her room, Huiming was relieved. But she couldn't help but worry about the prince in the west wing. After thinking about it, she decided she couldn't just wait for Wang Momo to return. She turned around and slowly walked into the room.

At this hour, the young prince was already awake. He was neatly dressed and sitting on the wooden couch by the window, staring at the bare wooden chessboard in front of him. He looked calm, as if he hadn't heard Noble Consort Tian's noise at all.

However, he didn't react to Huiming's approach or greeting either.

But Huiming was relieved instead. Indeed, in her heart, she still felt that the young prince was the little emperor from her previous life and couldn't bear any stimulation. But in reality, because Wang Momo hadn't died early, the young prince's "condition" was much milder than in her previous life.

"Your Highness?" Huiming called softly and turned to see the chess manual she had sent yesterday on the table beside her. She went over, picked it up, and asked, "How about I read the chess manual to you, Your Highness?"

Seventh Prince, perhaps still minding her two previous broken promises, just sat there motionless. Even though Huiming waited patiently for a long time, the young prince still refused to give her any reaction.

However, it was already much better than yesterday when he hid from her. Huiming had all the patience in the world when it came to Seventh Prince. Since he didn't refuse, she took it as his agreement. She looked around and sat down on a low stool a little further away. Then, she began to read the chess manual, sentence by sentence, in a soft voice.

At this distance and volume, the young prince could hear it if he wanted to, and if he didn't want to, it shouldn't be too annoying.

However, Huiming was still extra careful. One eye was on the chess manual in her hand, while the other paid attention to Seventh Prince's reaction. It wasn't until she saw the young prince slightly raise his head and turn his ear towards her that she couldn't help but smile and completely relax, focusing on reading the chess manual.

Just like that, about two hours passed. While Huiming was reading, she happened to look up and saw a figure peeking at the door.

It was Yugan. She had learned a lot about Seventh Prince's taboos from Huiming during her previous visits. So, although she saw Huiming at the door, she just smiled from afar, showing her dimples, and waved her hand. She didn't enter the room casually and didn't make any sound.

It just so happened that Huiming had almost finished reading the chess manual. Seeing this, she mouthed "wait a moment" and continued to read the current section to the young prince slowly and calmly. She told the young prince to think about it himself first, and she would continue with the rest tomorrow.

After saying that, seeing that the young prince didn't react, Huiming put down the chess manual, went out to close the door, and pulled Yugan to a secluded place. She asked, "Why are you free to come over today? Aren't you on duty?"

Yugan curled her lips and lowered her voice: "His Majesty is ill. These two days, Consort Xian has been staying in the side hall attending to him. So I asked for leave."

Huiming had also seen Consort Xian's temper. Even when they met by chance in Wanxi Palace, Consort Xian would make things difficult for her. Not to mention seeing her personally watching over His Majesty at night in Qiande Palace. Huiming nodded in understanding and asked, "At this time, everyone is probably reluctant to take the night shift, right? How did they approve your leave?"

Yugan smiled mischievously: "They might not approve others' leave, but they have to approve mine! His Majesty favors me! Yunhua wouldn't dare to make things difficult for me!"

After Wei Shi went to Wanxi Palace, Xu Momo promoted Yunhua, the most senior palace maid in the Department of Internal Affairs, to be in charge. Huiming knew that Yunhua was a kind old woman who didn't want to offend anyone. Although Yugan had only served His Majesty twice, His Majesty's favoritism towards her was evident. So, her words weren't considered arrogant.

Knowing that although Yugan was naive and innocent, she wasn't blindly frivolous, Huiming didn't say much. She just reminded her to be careful in her daily conduct. Yugan responded a few times and then said impatiently, "Alright, alright, I know. By the way, I came to you today because I have something important to ask."

"What is it?" Huiming asked as she sat down in the corridor.

Yugan bowed to her solemnly: "Please, Sister Song, help me make a presentable piece of needlework!"

Her behavior made Huiming smile. She looked up and asked, "What kind of needlework? What do you want to make?"

"A gift."

"For whom?"

"Head Momo He from the Department of Palace Supplies!" After saying that, Yugan looked around and leaned closer to Huiming, lowering her voice: "She was one of the momos who taught me how to serve His Majesty in bed."

Mentioning this, Huiming blushed and also lowered her voice: "Why are you looking for them?"

Yugan, who was usually cheerful, finally showed a bit of bitterness on her face: "His Majesty's health isn't good, and he doesn't have much energy himself. He always resorts to other means when he calls for palace maids to attend to him at night. I can't stand it. I want to prepare a gift and ask Momo if there's any way to make it more comfortable for me. Or find other ways to satisfy His Majesty first, so he won't always torment me like that."

Huiming was speechless for a moment. Seeing her expression, Yugan seemed to have misunderstood something. She sat up straight again and frowned, "Do you also think I'm shameless? I discussed it with my sister before, and she just said everyone is like this, as women, we just have to endure it. But why should I suffer when it's so uncomfortable? Clearly, what Momo taught us before wasn't supposed to be so painful!"

"Of course not!" Huiming quickly grabbed Yugan's hand and shook her head. "Don't you dare put words in my mouth. I'll prepare the needlework for you, alright? Honestly, I've never seen anyone ask for a favor with such a temper!"

Hearing Huiming's complaint, Yugan's face actually looked better. She pursed her lips, a little embarrassed, and leaned closer again: "I heard you're living with Eunuch Su now. Does Eunuch Su make things difficult for you in that regard? Otherwise, I can ask for you too?"

In the palace, there were indeed some eunuchs with official positions who would bully others, taking advantage of their power to take good-looking and easy-to-bully little palace maids into their rooms. This was different from formal marriages. It was forced, not to mention that eunuchs were different from ordinary men. It was said that the forced palace maids would suffer all kinds of torture in bed, and some couldn't bear the humiliation and would rather die.

Huiming had vaguely heard about such things a few times before. The reason why she was so afraid of Eunuch Su in the beginning of her previous life was partly because of these rumors.

But now, having just asked Eunuch Su to bring her face cream this morning, Huiming naturally didn't want Eunuch Su to be falsely accused of such despicable behavior. She immediately straightened her face and said seriously, "Don't talk nonsense, Eunuch Su is not that kind of person!"

Huiming had never spoken to her so harshly before. Yugan was startled. After a pause, she pouted with some grievance, "If he's not, then he's not. Why are you being so fierce? Even if he's not, can't I ask? Do you know how many couples in the palace don't know the ways and just foolishly sleep in the same bed, missing out on so much fun!"

Huiming really didn't understand. She entered the palace at the age of ten and wasn't a palace maid specifically for serving in bed. Even how ordinary couples outside had children was a mystery to her, let alone eunuchs and palace maids.

So, were there many things to be particular about in this regard? Did Eunuch Su know?

As soon as she thought of this, Huiming's face immediately turned as red as a cooked shrimp. She turned her head, her words becoming incoherent, "Then, then I'll prepare two gifts for you… Please, could you also ask for me…"

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

Love what you read?