Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

Inside the quiet room, Huiming, dressed in a green jacket with fur edges, stood by the window and looked out.

The weather hadn't been very good since the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. It had been cloudy for several days, and now it was finally snowing lightly again.

Afraid that the little prince would catch a cold, Huiming closed the window, leaving only a small gap for ventilation. She checked all the braziers in the room one by one, added more coal, and tidied them up. Only after she was done with all this did she return to the couch. She watched as the little prince made a move on the chessboard, then she flipped through the chess manual in her hand and made a countermove.

The little prince was kind and pure. After more than ten days of Huiming's persistent apologies and careful companionship in studying chess manuals, the Seventh Prince's attitude towards her, although not back to the former closeness, was at least no longer resistant. Especially after Huiming brought her own chessboard for the little prince, the little prince only hesitated for a quarter of an hour before accepting Huiming's suggestion to play a game.

The chessboard was a green jade chessboard originally prepared by Eunuch Su for the main hall of Jing Alley's backyard. The jade was crystal clear, and the chess pieces were made of high-quality black and white jade.

Huiming had never seen Eunuch Su use it in the room. Although she had learned to play chess with the little prince in her previous life, she had no talent or interest in it. The chessboard had always been left empty, untouched.

Huiming thought it was a pity, so two days ago, she casually mentioned it to Eunuch Su, saying that it was a waste to just leave it there. Eunuch Su didn't seem to mind at all and immediately asked Yuanbao to send it to Jingfang Room.

As expected, perhaps because the jade was not big enough, the chessboard was made particularly small and exquisite. It might be a little inconvenient for ordinary people to use, but it was just the right size for the little prince.

The little prince's expression became more and more serious as he looked at where she had placed her piece. He stared at the green jade chessboard on the table, motionless for a long time, holding the white jade chess piece in his hand, deep in thought.

The little prince had inherited Noble Consort Tian's beautiful appearance. He was born extremely fair-skinned. When he grew up, because of his "dementia," he hardly ever went out, so naturally, he was never tanned by the sun. At this moment, his small hands were slender and long, his fingertips holding the white jade chess piece. It made one feel that his hands were still like those of a newborn child, transparent and clear, as if they were even whiter than the white jade, making people can't help but admire them.

If it was only about looks, in this palace, the only person Huiming had ever seen who could compare with the little prince was probably Eunuch Su, right?

Huiming thought to herself, although she had never heard anyone praise Eunuch Su's appearance, it was because others didn't know. Because Eunuch Su didn't like to talk much, and didn't like to smile, it wasn't obvious. But if he looked up and smiled at you with his peach blossom eyes, he was really good-looking. Not to say that he was better-looking than the little prince, but he was really not worse than the little prince…

Just as Huiming was already bored, watching the flawless little prince and thinking about all this nonsense in her heart, the wooden window she had just closed suddenly rattled with a knock.

At first, Huiming thought it was the wind and didn't react. It wasn't until the little prince opposite her shrank back in fright that she turned her head abruptly and saw a familiar figure behind the window. With her hair in a bun and a red cloak, a small dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth when she smiled. It was undoubtedly Yugan.

Huiming didn't have time to pay attention to her for a moment. She quickly spoke to the little prince and comforted him a few words. After the little prince calmed down a little, she hurriedly got up, first closed the wooden window, and then went around the wooden screen to pull Yugan, who was waiting in the corridor. Her words carried a bit of complaint: "Didn't I tell you that the little prince is timid and can't stand being frightened? You suddenly knocked on the window outside, you really scared the little prince!"

"Of course I know!" Yugan stomped her feet and argued, "But your doors and windows are all closed tightly, and there's no one to announce me. I called you several times outside, but you didn't answer me! I don't knock on the window, do I still swagger in?"

Huiming was stunned when she heard this, but Yugan didn't stop, and continued: "It's fine outside, you can't hear me through the door, but I was standing by the window just now, and I called you several times first, even the little prince heard it. But you, you were sitting there comfortably, I don't know what you were thinking, just kept giggling. It's also thanks to the little prince being good-natured, if this was still in front of His Majesty, you should have been dragged out by the嬷嬷and beaten with a board!"

I don't know what I was thinking?

Naturally, I was thinking about Eunuch Su… Huiming blushed when she heard this. Knowing that she was negligent, she didn't dare to mention it again. She quickly apologized and asked Yugan what she was doing here today.

Yugan snorted coldly, and then slowly said, "Have you forgotten about asking 嬷嬷about that matter? I only had time to go yesterday. That's why I came here to tell you as soon as I got off work!"

Speaking of this matter, Huiming paused, her face couldn't help but turn even redder. She looked around, Jingfang Room was already secluded enough, but she still couldn't help but pull Yugan to a corner where no one could hear them in the back of the corridor, and whispered with her head down: "Then, then did you find out?"

Yugan, who was always straightforward, also showed a hesitant and confused look at this moment. She scratched her head and didn't answer, but instead asked, "There are two ways for eunuchs to enter the palace… Do you know?"

"Ah?" Huiming's eyes widened in surprise.

Yugan also lowered her voice and whispered in Huiming's ear, explaining the two methods one by one, and continued: "嬷嬷said that the first method is very cruel, many people can't recover from it. If they are young and haven't grown up yet, they usually use the second method, which is less damaging, and there won't be any… If they are older, they can only use the first method, which is cleaner."

Just listening to Yugan's words, no matter which method it was, Huiming felt a pang of heartache for Eunuch Su just thinking about it in her heart, how could she still care about those messy thoughts?

She bit her lip and said with heartache, "Then, at the age of ten, is it considered old or not?"

Eunuch Su entered the palace at the age of ten.

But Yugan also looked confused: "How would I know? You live with Eunuch Su, don't you know?"

Of course, Huiming didn't know. Seeing her silence, Yugan felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly said, "I originally wanted to ask both methods for you, it doesn't matter which one it is. But 嬷嬷said that these things, there are many rules inside, and I haven't even been through it myself, I still don't understand it very well. If I tell you again, if there is a mistake, it is uncertain what kind of trouble it will cause. 嬷嬷said that you need to go in person and let her tell you carefully, to make sure you really understand!"

Because of her heartache for the suffering Eunuch Su had endured when he entered the palace, Huiming had lost all interest in these matters. Hearing this, she just nodded silently in response.

"That's good. It's 嬷嬷Song from the Department of Internal Affairs. If you go there yourself, you can find out by asking around. If you don't want to go yourself, wait until I'm free someday and we'll go together!"

The weather was not good today. Not to mention there was no sun, the light snow was still falling intermittently. Because of the little prince, they couldn't enter the house. Standing in the corridor for a long time, their heads and shoulders were covered with a layer of snow, it was really cold. Therefore, Yugan was not in the mood to chat with her at the moment. She just delivered the message. Seeing Huiming's agreement, she thanked her again, said goodbye in a hurry, turned around, and left. ———————— And just as Yugan and Huiming were standing outside Jingfang Room whispering to each other, in the Qiande Palace on the other side of the palace, Su Jin had already thought about it for a long time in his heart. After he was 70% to 80% sure, he made up his mind. Taking advantage of the time when the Emperor was going to take a nap and the palace people had all retreated, he took the initiative to step forward and knelt down in front of the dragon bed, respectfully saying: "Your Majesty, this servant has something to report."

Emperor Xuande seemed to yawn sleepily and only vaguely said: "What important matter is it that you can't wait until I'm awake to mention it?"

Su Jin's heart was cold, but his face only showed three parts of anxiety, three parts of difficulty, and another three parts of helplessness. He lowered his head and continued: "Your Majesty, this matter concerns the two princes and the death of the late Crown Prince, this servant, dare not delay…"

Sure enough, hearing the names of Prince Xin and Prince Rui, Emperor Xuande was suddenly startled, as if the old and tired look on his face had disappeared in an instant. He straightened his face and looked at Su Jin on the ground slightly. The Emperor's might, even though he was nearly sixty years old, his eyes were still as sharp as ever.

Under this gaze, Su Jin lowered his body even more, hiding the flaws in his expression, but his heart was not disturbed at all.

When a ruler regards his ministers as his hands and feet, then his ministers regard him as their heart and soul; when a ruler regards his ministers as dogs and horses, then his ministers regard him as their countrymen; when a ruler regards his ministers as dirt and weeds, then his ministers regard him as their enemies.

He had read this truth on his grandfather's desk when he was just enlightened, and he had always kept his grandfather's teachings in his heart. As early as the day when the Duke of Zhen Guo's Mansion was raided and his entire family was executed, he no longer regarded the person in front of him as his monarch in his heart, and naturally, he no longer had the respect from the bottom of his heart.

At this moment, Su Jin was only thinking about what Huiming had said to him about a long and lasting life. Just thinking about it, it was as if someone had stuffed a warm stove into his heart.

He used to only want to make everyone suffer, risking his life to wander among them. Although Prince Xin and Prince Rui would definitely die, he still wanted the Emperor to be alienated from his subjects and die in hatred.

But it wasn't really necessary. Su Jin listened to the heavy breathing of the Emperor above him. The Emperor was already very old and sick. Even if he did nothing, he wouldn't live much longer.

He could choose to reveal everything in front of the Emperor and honestly be a loyal dog in the Emperor's eyes. The Emperor would not allow others to covet his throne, and he could use the Emperor's power to get rid of the two princes, and then quietly wait for the Emperor's life to run out.

This would indeed be letting Emperor Xuande off easy——

However, he had promised Huiming that he would try his best to save his life, and he would try his best to do so.

Sure enough, after a while, the Emperor on the bed coughed and said in an unpredictable voice: "Come closer and speak."

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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