Eunuch Su, Eunuch Su!

“This servant thanks your ladyship for the gift.”

Inside the Wanxi Palace, Hui Ming respectfully bowed to Noble Consort Xian on the couch.

Time flies. A year and a half had passed since Hui Ming and Eunuch Su made their two-year agreement. Perhaps it was because of the cook's good skills in Jing Alley, but Hui Ming had grown taller in the past year or so, with her hair growing by almost three inches.

Because she had grown taller, Hui Ming didn't gain much weight, but she did develop a slender figure.

Noble Consort Xian smiled and gestured with her eyes. The head maid, Mei Hua, diligently helped Hui Ming up and said with a smile, “Her Ladyship is always happy to see you, there’s no need to be so courteous.”

Although she said so, Hui Ming didn’t dare to be disrespectful. She stood up straight as before, lowered her eyes, and stood honestly under the desk.

Noble Consort Xian was not annoyed at all. In fact, she had a gentle expression on her face. “I watched Eunuch Su grow up, if you need anything, come to me. Even if it's the Empress, if she makes things difficult for you, just come to me.”

Hui Ming respectfully agreed, but she didn't believe it in her heart.

After all, their statuses were different. Even if the Empress really wanted to do something to her, Hui Ming didn’t know if Noble Consort Xian could stop her. From the looks of it, Kunhe Palace would never do such a thing.

In fact, not only did Wanxi Palace treat her with courtesy, but even the Empress could not do anything to her, for fear of offending Eunuch Su.

The main reason for this was that the Emperor had become increasingly suspicious and irritable towards Prince Xin, Prince Rui, and even the concubines in the harem since he fell ill.

In contrast, the Emperor trusted Eunuch Su more and more.

Eunuch Su was not only in charge of the Directorate of Palace Attendance, but the Emperor had also issued an imperial edict the year before, adding a new department called the Department of Internal Affairs in addition to the existing four bureaus and twenty-four departments in the palace. Eunuch Su was directly responsible for this department and did not have to deal with any other trivial matters. He only listened to the Emperor's orders and rarely took action. However, whenever he did, he would disregard any other departments inside or outside the palace and carry out the Emperor's orders.

Although it was not explicitly stated, such actions already had some resemblance to the Eastern Depot and Western Depot of the previous dynasty. Now, there were already rumors outside, and people had started to call the Department of Internal Affairs the "Eastern Depot."

Hui Ming never expected that after Eunuch Su secretly told the Emperor about the two princes trying to win him over, such a thing would happen. However, Eunuch Su didn't seem surprised at all. Within half a month of establishing the Department of Internal Affairs, he found out about the corruption of an elder in the Empress's family and had him thrown into prison without mercy.

Everyone knew that Su Jin was the Emperor's loyal dog. Since he had done such a thing, it must have been the Emperor's instruction. Now, everyone in Kunhe Palace was in danger. The Empress was "sick" and did not even dare to leave her palace. How could she deliberately make trouble for Hui Ming?

After being politely sent out of Wanxi Palace by Mei Hua, Hui Ming looked at the time and did not return to Consort Kang’s Changxing Palace. Instead, she went to the west side gate of Qiande Palace.

The hottest time of July had passed, and the sun had moved to the west. Standing at the gate, Hui Ming felt the cool breeze. She didn't go inside but found a secluded place outside the gate and waited for about half an hour. She didn't see Eunuch Su, but Yuan Bao, who had grown stronger, came out of the gate with a few young eunuchs.

Seeing Hui Ming from afar, Yuan Bao, who had been holding his chin up with a straight face, immediately smiled and ran towards her. He bowed gracefully in front of Hui Ming. "Greetings, Aunt. Are you here to see Master?"

Since Eunuch Su had taken charge of the newly established Department of Internal Affairs, he had been exceptionally promoted to the first fifth-rank eunuch in the dynasty. As Eunuch Su's only apprentice, Yuan Bao naturally rose with the tide. In addition to his position as an eighth-rank eunuch, he also held a position in the Department of Internal Affairs and had three to five young eunuchs under him. He was quite imposing when he came up to greet Hui Ming with a group of young eunuchs following behind him.

Hui Ming stepped aside, still a little uncomfortable, and nodded. "Yes, is Eunuch Su still busy?"

Yuan Bao had also grown taller in the past year, but not much. All the food he ate seemed to have gone to his width. He looked quite fierce at first glance, but he was still very well-behaved in front of Hui Ming. He bowed respectfully and said in the same diligent and cheerful voice as before, "He was just about to come out, but His Majesty had something to ask him about. He might be delayed for a while longer. Aunt, please wait inside. I'll have someone bring you a bowl of herbal tea to cool off."

"Since His Majesty is asking him questions, it shouldn't take too long. I'll just wait here." Hui Ming didn't want to trouble them any further. However, Yuan Bao had already seen her, and naturally, he wouldn't leave his master's beloved Aunt Hui alone here.

Coincidentally, as they were talking, Su Jin appeared from inside the gate.

"Eunuch Su." Seeing Su Jin, Hui Ming ignored Yuan Bao and looked up to greet him with a big smile on her face.

Su Jin was still wearing his dark red eunuch uniform. He had a straight posture and an indifferent expression, as if nothing had changed.

However, after seeing Hui Ming, his cold expression instantly melted away like snow melting under the spring sun. His eyes were filled with tenderness. "When did you arrive? Why are you alone?"

"I just arrived. Noble Consort Xian summoned me this afternoon and gave me some gifts. I asked Liu An to send them back."

Since Su Jin was now in charge of the Department of Internal Affairs, things were different. After seeing that everything was in order, he sent a few more palace maids to Changxing Palace. They were nominally serving Consort Kang and the Seventh Prince, but in reality, they were not under the command of Changxing Palace. They were almost exclusively running errands and sending messages for Hui Ming. Among them was Liu An, who had a good relationship with Hui Ming. Su Jin had taken her to the Department of Internal Affairs and then sent her back to Hui Ming.

At first, Hui Ming didn't want to accept it, especially for Liu An. She was a good palace maid in the Directorate of Palace Attendance. Because of Hui Ming, she was assigned to this place, which was only slightly better than the cold palace. Even Hui Ming felt sorry for Liu An. It wasn't until Su Jin explained that because the Emperor's temper was getting worse, it was not a good thing to serve in front of him. Moreover, the Emperor intended to pay attention to the Seventh Prince and sent people to keep an eye on him. This was also the Emperor's intention, and they could not disobey. Only then did Hui Ming agree.

By this time, Yuan Bao had already tactfully taken his people to do their own work, leaving Hui Ming and Su Jin to walk slowly behind.

As they walked, Hui Ming asked worriedly, "Did His Majesty make things difficult for you?"

In the eyes of outsiders, Su Jin was now the Emperor's trusted confidant and was highly valued. However, only they knew whether it was warm or cold. In the past few days, Hui Ming had already heard from Su Jin that the Emperor was becoming more and more difficult to serve.

Su Jin shook his head and lowered his voice so that no one but Hui Ming could hear him. "His Majesty summoned me just now to discuss important matters. Starting tomorrow, he will be seriously ill."

To be seriously ill.

This was an unusual way to put it. However, after a year of Su Jin explaining everything to her in detail, Hui Ming instantly understood. The Emperor's health was indeed not good, but the Emperor wanted to deliberately make himself appear even more "seriously ill" and spread the news to see how others would react.

Was the late Emperor's serious illness also deliberate? Hui Ming didn't know, but she knew that Prince Rui didn't let the Emperor be "seriously ill" for nothing last time. He even dared to rebel.

What about this time? Would it be the same?

Hui Ming frowned and whispered, "Prince Rui…"

A glint flashed in Su Jin's eyes. "I'm afraid there will be some movement."

Over the past year, Su Jin had played the role of someone who was eager for revenge, unscrupulous, and only wanted to revive the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion in front of Prince Rui. Seeing that Prince Xin and the Empress were losing power day by day, he was even a little impatient. However, he didn't know that Su Jin had already reported everything to Emperor Xuande. Now, the Emperor was sitting on the shore, coldly watching what else his two sons could do.

Although Hui Ming already knew that this time was different from the last time, and even if Prince Rui really rebelled, Su Jin, who had already pledged his allegiance to the Emperor, might not die like the last time.

However, this was about the most important person to her. How could Hui Ming be at ease? Not to mention, no matter what, Su Jin died in the middle of this year in his previous life. Seeing that it was already July, she had been feeling uneasy for several days.

Because of this, Hui Ming couldn't help but have some thoughts in her heart these days.

Su Jin didn't know what Hui Ming was thinking, but as the Emperor's health deteriorated, the situation was indeed getting more and more tense. Especially what the Emperor had just said to him made him feel like a storm was brewing. Therefore, he didn't have the time to say anything more to Hui Ming.

They walked back to Jing Alley in silence.

After entering the house, Hui Ming seemed to have made up her mind. She regained her usual liveliness and ate dinner with Su Jin with a smile. As soon as they finished cleaning up the dishes, Hui Ming asked someone to prepare water in the front yard and urged Su Jin to take a bath.

It was still hot, and Su Jin loved to be clean. Especially since he lived in the same house as Hui Ming, he would take a bath and change clothes after sweating.

Therefore, Su Jin didn't think much of it and agreed. He went to the front yard and saw that toothpaste and a toothbrush had been prepared next to the wooden bucket specially prepared for him. Although he found it a little strange because it was still early, he didn't think much of it. He picked up the toothbrush and carefully brushed his teeth and tongue.

It wasn't until he finished bathing and returned to the house that he heard the sound of water coming from Hui Ming's room. He knew that Hui Ming was also bathing, and his face flushed slightly. Because he came back late from work, Hui Ming usually bathed before he came back. Such a situation was very rare.

He thought that he must have taken up the space in the front yard, forcing Hui Ming to bathe in her room. Thinking of this, Su Jin made up his mind to bathe later in the future so that Hui Ming wouldn't have to bathe in her room. He quickly went back to his room and closed the door tightly.

However, to Su Jin's surprise, just as he closed the door, he heard Hui Ming knocking on his door.

"The door is unlocked." Su Jin immediately stood up from behind the desk. He was looking at some documents, so he pressed them down with a paperweight before walking over to open the door.

However, before he could take a few steps, he saw Hui Ming who had entered the door. He was stunned, unable to move.

Hui Ming… Her wet hair was draped behind her back. She didn't wear any makeup, but she was a beautiful young woman with a natural charm. She was only wearing a loose, plain-colored undergarment, and through the overlapping collars, he could see her beautiful collarbones, like butterfly wings.

"Hui, Hui Ming…" Su Jin's voice was frighteningly hoarse.

Hui Ming's face was also flushed red, but she thought of the "etiquette" she had heard from Nanny Song a few days ago. She clenched her fists tightly and looked at Su Jin as she took a few steps closer to him.

"Eunuch Su." Hui Ming called out, her voice trembling, but it was like a seductive string being lightly plucked. "There's something I want to do with you, otherwise… I'm afraid that if something happens… I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

At this point, Su Jin finally came back to his senses. He had spent almost his entire life exercising self-control. He had just opened his mouth when Hui Ming didn't give him a chance to speak—

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ

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