Saying the name instead of the surname is neither elegant nor vulgar. It is both a blessing and a way of getting good luck. It does sound like the name that the eunuch changed after entering the palace. Xie Wangzhi had vaguely felt that he couldn't ask a strange man "Are you a eunuch?" and was still struggling with it, but now he was no longer annoyed, as he was sure that the person in front of him was a young eunuch.
The palace ladies were all there to make a living, so they always felt close to each other because they shared the same suffering. She smiled easily, her eyes curved, "How can I thank you? I'm from the Imperial Food Bureau. Is there anything you particularly like to eat? I'll try to cook it for you."
This was quite new. Changsheng smiled and shook his head: "No need. I don't lack anything."
Xie Wangzhi was afraid that he was embarrassed, so he said, "It's okay. The Shangshi Bureau has a lot of food, and they usually leave a lot of ingredients for us. We can make some."
"Really." Changsheng touched the black cat lying beside him with the tip of his shoe. "It was it that took your things. I'm just returning them to their original owner. How can I take your things again?"
Xie Wangzhi didn't force it, and looked at the curled up black cat. This cat was usually very fierce, and it would pounce on birds accurately, but when it came to Changsheng's feet, it was as obedient as a quail. She was a little curious: "Is this cat yours?"
"I feed it occasionally."
It seems that wild cats are also picky about people. Xie Wangzhi stared at the black mass for a while, looking at the thick fur, and felt itchy: "Can I touch it?"
Changsheng didn't expect her to say that. He looked at her in surprise, squatted down, and held the black cat firmly: "Touch it."
Suddenly being held down by its owner, the black cat meowed, obviously unhappy, but it didn't dare to scratch Changsheng. It obediently leaned its head on its raised front legs, drooped its ears, and let Xie Wangzhi reach out his hand listlessly.
Xie Wangzhi was a little nervous at first, but seeing its state, she scratched its head a few more times, bending her fingers and scratching its head lightly with her fingertips. These few times were quite comfortable, and the black cat could not resist its nature, so it stopped struggling and obediently let her rub its head.
Normally, he was so arrogant that he wouldn't even eat the meatballs mixed with shrimp oil, but now he could touch them freely under her hands. Xie Wangzhi couldn't help but pulled the cat's ears: "Does it have a name?"
"have."
"What's your name?" The cat was particularly black, and Xie Wangzhi thought he would hear a name like "Dark Clouds Splashing Ink". He became very excited and looked at Changsheng expectantly.
Facing her gaze, Changsheng said calmly, "Coal briquettes."
Xie Wangzhi: “…”
"… It's quite appropriate. It's really dark." She managed to squeeze out a few words, praising this really careless name. Suddenly she thought of something and stood up. "It's getting dark. I have to go back to the Shangshi Bureau."
Changsheng said "hmm" and stood up.
It was just a chance meeting, so there was really nothing much to say. Xie Wangzhi thought for a moment and said, "Goodbye then. If we are destined to meet again next time, I will make you some of my signature snacks."
She smiled at Changsheng, waved, slung the food box tightly in her arm, and walked out in a hurry.
Watching Xie Wangzhi walk out, Changsheng lowered his eyes and tapped the coal ball's head with the edge of his shoe. He didn't let it go even when he heard the aggrieved "ooh": "You are really amazing. I feed you freshly sliced fish sashimi every day, and you still run out to steal the young lady's purse?"
Coal Ball had no idea what he was saying, but he could sense that his master was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to jump around. He just lay there, looking at Changsheng with a pair of amber eyes, feeling a little aggrieved.
"But the Shangshi Bureau seems to be quite fun." Changsheng didn't care whether Meiqiu was wronged or not, he just squatted down and stroked its thick fur, as if stroking a new prey. He looked at the black cat, smiled, lowered his voice, and seemed to be coaxing, "Let's go back to the Shangshi Bureau to play next time, what do you think?"
**
Xie Wangzhi was born in the Xie family of Chang'an, a legitimate daughter of an aristocratic family. She was originally going to enter the palace before the marriage proposal, so that she could improve her status after leaving. But her mother passed away early, and within two years her father got married. Her stepmother was also from a prominent family and was not bad to her, but she was not as good as her biological mother.
After that, her stepmother gave birth to a child, and Aye's mind also turned to that place. Xie Wangzhi was a girl, and she felt more and more uncomfortable at home. Entering the palace became a way to escape. Being alone in the palace, she didn't have to serve tea and water in the Shangshi Bureau. As long as she didn't have any bad thoughts, it was pretty comfortable.
Several female officials in charge of the Imperial Food Bureau knew Xie Wangzhi's background, but she said that there was no need to care about her. The female officials were happy to have some free time and arranged a good sunny room for her. The four people living with her were all of similar age.
When Xie Wangzhi came back, Lou Hanyue went to meet him first and took the food box from her hand: "Feeding the cat again?"
Xie Wangzhi nodded and got up to get hot water from the courtyard. There was no guarantee when the palace would need hot water, and the Imperial Food Bureau was in charge of food, so there was always hot water. The palace servants also took advantage of this, and as long as they were a little sweet, they could get a bucket of hot water outside the house.
The hot water was new. Xie Wangzhi scooped up half a basin of water, added cold water, and washed his hands in it. He turned around and saw Lou Hanyue fetching water to wash the dishes: "I will wash it, no need to trouble you."
"What are we talking about?" Lou Hanyue deliberately glared at her and washed the dishes. "By the way, did you feed the black cat today?"
It was a casual question, but Xie Wangzhi felt a little hot on his face when he heard it. Fortunately, it was dark and it was not visible. She felt guilty when she thought of Changsheng, and said vaguely: "No. That cat is not friendly and can't be fed."
"I said, it must have become a spirit." Lou Hanyue splashed the water in the basin, "Of course the cat demon doesn't like people. Forget it, if I want to feed it again, I will eat this basin."
Hearing her swearing like that, Xie Wangzhi would usually laugh at her, but now he had no mood to do so. His mind was groggy and he couldn't help but think of the young man in the inner hall of Qingning Palace, who was dressed in green, had a cold and beautiful face, and eyes like a cat.
Xie Wangzhi was stunned for a while, and suddenly felt that this was wrong. He should not think about others randomly. He quickly shook his head and poured out the water in the basin: "Well, that cat is very powerful. I have seen it catch birds several times. We don't need to feed it."
"Too."
Xie Wangzhi took the basin back to the room and put it away, then sat down beside his couch and opened the small bottle on the table. The palace maids in the Shangshi Bureau had to touch water when cutting and washing vegetables, and they had to be careful all year round. Otherwise, it would be fine when it was hot, but in winter, they would suffer from cracked hands, so the palace maids would prepare some moisturizing ointments and perfumes and apply them after washing their hands.
This bottle contains perfume, which was sent by a compatriot brother. Xie Wangzhi is not the kind of person who would be reluctant to part with it, but she treasures it very much and is very careful when applying it. She has not used it up in half a month. She wanted to dip a little, but her fingertips touched nothing.
There should be half a bottle left, so Xie Wang was stunned. She took her hand away and found that there was obviously less perfume in the bottle. She picked it up and shook it. It was much lighter, as if only the bottom layer of the bottle was left.
Used perfume is not valuable, and no one would deliberately run in and risk being chased out of the palace, just to take away half a bottle of perfume. Xie Wangzhi thought that Lou Hanyue had used up her own perfume, so he temporarily used hers: "Hanyue, have you used my perfume?"
"No." Lou Hanyue was puzzled. "I just bought new ones two days ago, and I accidentally bought too much. What's wrong?"
It was just a bottle of perfume. Xie Wangzhi didn't need it, so he didn't plan to say anything. However, Lou Hanyue had a hunch that something was wrong, so she walked over to take a look at the bottle. She thought about it, and then walked directly to the two couches opposite: "Manqing, when I came back earlier, I happened to see you walking past Wangzhi's couch. Did you use it?"
Shi Manqing didn't expect Lou Hanyue to be so straight, her face didn't look good, and she coughed: "I used it. I've used it up."
"Then you can't just use other people's things casually." Lou Hanyue was a little annoyed, "Just use it, why didn't you tell Wang Zhi?"
"It's not yours, why do you care so much?" Shi Manqing was also annoyed. She got off the couch, walked over in her embroidered shoes, and looked down at Xie Wangzhi. "Then I'll compensate you. Just tell me how much."
Shi Manqing's family was not bad. Her father was the chief secretary in the Secretariat. With this relationship, she lived a comfortable life in the Shangshi Bureau. She was not a bad person, but a little arrogant. She always felt that she was the daughter of an official and was different from the common women in the same room.
After all, they were living together. If Xie Wangzhi didn't do anything wrong, she would have to pay for it. Besides, the perfume was expensive. She stood up and said, "No need. Since we live together, we can always use something temporarily. Just remember to tell me next time. Otherwise, I will be anxious and it will not look good if there is a commotion."
When she said that, Shi Manqing was not in the right anyway, so she apologized vaguely and went back to the couch.
Lou Hanyue still felt uncomfortable and returned to her own couch. The two couches were close together, so she pulled Xie Wangzhi by the arm and looked at her without saying a word.
Xie Wangzhi knew that she was holding a grudge, but Shi Manqing was still in the room, so there were some things she couldn't say. She simply poured out all the remaining perfume in the bottle without rubbing it evenly, and grabbed Lou Hanyue's hand.
The fragrance dew was too cold, Lou Hanyue was startled, and tried to grab Xie Wangzhi. Xie Wangzhi quickly hid. After a while of this, the fragrance dew on the hands of the two people was evenly spread. Lou Hanyue was no longer angry, sat back on the couch, and smiled at Xie Wangzhi.
At this time, Yao Yupan, who was sharing the same bed with Shi Manqing, suddenly whispered, "Do you know that the autumn season is almost over and His Majesty is going back to the palace?"
Xie Wang was stunned: "After the autumn is over, won't you go to Huaqing Palace and come back in the twelfth lunar month?"
"It doesn't seem to be the case this year. It is said that Concubine Xiao wants to come back." Yao Yupan said, "I don't know if it is true or not. Anyway, I heard it from Zhang Dianshan."
The Emperor went to the palace, and the ladies of the Imperial Food Bureau and the Four Departments had to go with him. The person in charge of the Imperial Food Bureau was actually the Imperial Clerk. Zhang Imperial Clerk was serious and would not talk nonsense, so it seemed that the news was almost certain and should be true.
However, whether the emperor returns to the palace or not has nothing to do with the palace maids below. It's just that they may be a little busier and have to do more work. Shi Manqing lay down on the couch: "Next time I'll ask my father. But this has nothing to do with us."
"Yes." said Yao Yupan.
Lou Hanyue was stunned: "What else did you hear?"
Yao Yupan looked out the window, then at the girl in the same room, feeling a little nervous. She said in a low voice, "I heard from the chef that this time it seems like they want to please Concubine Xiao, so they asked the Imperial Food Bureau to prepare. The chef said they want the people below to think about it."