There is no need to explain what was said afterwards. Even though the oldest girl in the room was only fourteen years old, everyone understood the meaning behind it.
After the death of the previous queen, Concubine Xiao's family was the only one in power in the palace. It was no exaggeration to say that they were favored by the emperor. If one could make something that pleased her, he would be rewarded, not to mention his future. Every year, new young maids entered the palace, and the Imperial Food Bureau would not drive them away. However, if they did not climb up or went to the kitchen of a palace, when they were over fifteen, they would still be in the same position as the new maids who were seven or eight years old, which was embarrassing.
There are not many opportunities to catch the eye of Concubine Xiao. Even if the credit is finally given to the female officials above, it will be much easier to climb up as compensation.
Xie Wangzhi didn't worry about this. Her father didn't care about her, but her brother had clearly said that even if she played in Daming Palace for the past two years, she would be taken home after she turned fifteen. She just wanted to live a stable life and had no intention of climbing up.
But Lou Hanyue couldn't do that and became nervous: "What does Concubine Xiao like?"
“… I don’t know.” Yao Yupan shook her head. She was also worried. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have to worry.”
The words were true, but the problem was this "I don't know". There was no conversation in the room for a while, and it was Lou Hanyue who broke the silence first and lay down on the couch: "Forget it, the boat will work itself out when the time comes. If it doesn't work this time, we'll talk about it next time."
"You're really careless." Shi Manqing thought for a moment, "If it doesn't work, just go and ask."
Yao Yupan was stunned: "Who are you asking?"
"Whoever knows, just ask them." Shi Manqing was thinking about how to send a message to Aye, and didn't plan to talk to Yao Yupan. "There are so many people in the palace, there must be someone who knows something."
Yao Yupan was soft-hearted and usually only did her job. She was honest, but she couldn't find another way out. It was impossible to ask someone about this. She also understood and felt embarrassed to ask someone to do it for her, so she sat down on the couch dejectedly.
Lou Hanyue was outgoing and knew many people. He thought about asking. He glanced at Xie Wangzhi and mouthed, "Ask?"
Xie Wangzhi understood what she meant and nodded.
**
The food bureau handles countless ingredients every day, and it is customary for palace servants to take some leftovers. As long as it is not too much, the higher-ups will turn a blind eye and will not count them at night. Not long after the Double Ninth Festival, there was a lot of rice flour left over from making rice brocade. Xie Wangzhi got up early in the morning, steamed a basket of rice brocade, made two sweet snacks, and went out to look for someone with the food box.
She didn't know many people, and they were all just one-time acquaintances. The only things she could give were the snacks she made herself, and she went out to try her luck. If she could ask, that would be the best. If not, she would just treat it as giving someone food to make a good relationship.
Just after I walked out of the Shangshi Bureau and walked on the main road for a while, before reaching the Taiye Lake, I saw a figure in the distance. The figure was dressed in green, had long black hair, and a thin braid hanging in front of her shoulders.
The dress looked familiar, and Xie Wangzhi secretly moved closer. It was indeed that overly pretty eunuch. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a little happy even though she was not the person she was looking for. She walked over quickly and said, "I see you. Do you still remember me?"
Changsheng was in a daze. When he heard the girl's voice, he turned around blankly. After a moment's pause, he nodded: "I just saw her yesterday. My memory is not that bad."
"That's right, I'm stupid." Xie Wangzhi felt that he was really stupid for asking such a question, so he smiled at him easily, thinking of what he said yesterday, and reached out to open the lid of the lunch box, "By the way, I made a few snacks this morning, take a look and see if you like any of them."
"No need." Changsheng said, "I can't eat it."
Xie Wangzhi didn't understand, thinking that he was allergic to certain ingredients, or that he would easily develop a rash after eating them: "It's okay, the dishes I made are nothing special, just rice noodles with bean paste or something, you can take a look first?"
"I really can't eat it." Changsheng sighed and honestly stretched out his hand to Xie Wangzhi.
The face was beautiful, and the hands were beautiful, with well-proportioned flesh and bones, well-trimmed nails, and fair skin, but the palms were covered with crisscrossing red marks, some of which were swollen and purple, as if they were whipped with a very thin bamboo whip. The round-collared robes of eunuchs should have narrow sleeves, with the wrists hidden in the sleeves, but judging from the direction of the red marks on the wrists, it is estimated that the arms are not necessarily good.
"This..." Xie Wang was startled, his hands trembled, and the lid of the lunch box snapped back, "Were you beaten?"
Changsheng nodded, his tone quite relaxed: "I can't get anything, so I won't eat."
Infighting is common in the palace. Anyone with a higher status can find any excuse to make trouble for the people below them. Looking at Changsheng, who is dressed in blue, he is the lowest eunuch. No one knows which eunuch disliked him and beat him.
This kind of thing cannot be asked, Xie Wangzhi thought for a moment: "Is there anything else going on now?"
"No." Changsheng was puzzled. "I came out to get some fresh air."
Xie Wangzhi glanced at him, pursed his lips, and said softly: "Then come with me."
She did what she said, and immediately turned around, slightly sideways, and waved her hand to Changsheng, frowning slightly, looking really anxious. Seeing her like this, Changsheng couldn't leave even if he wanted to, but he couldn't bear to refuse, so he followed her obediently to the Shangshi Bureau.
Xie Wangzhi took Changsheng along a secluded path and brought him to the small courtyard in front of the house. There was no one there at this time. Usually, the eunuchs who worked as handymen in the Shangshi Bureau would sit here when they came to visit. She had nothing to avoid, so she put the food box on the table and said, "Wait a moment. I'll go back to the house to get something."
There was nothing else Changsheng could do but nod and watch the girl hurried back to the house.
This place was new to him, so he looked around the yard. The yard was clean and tidy, with a set of tables and chairs in the shade and a flower stand on the side, all of which were things his daughter liked.
He smiled and raised his hand to support his chin out of habit. His hand was injured and it was touched. The pain for a moment made him frown in annoyance.
Xie Wangzhi had just found the medicine for the wound. Seeing him frown, he thought he was in great pain, so he quickly scooped up some warm water and brought it over, and put it on the table with the handkerchief: "By the way, I have to ask, is there any cuts on your hands?"
The scholar he invited to teach him was really capable. He whipped him with a bamboo whip so hard that his eyebrows and eyes wrinkled, but his skin was not broken. Changsheng shook his head: "No."
"That's good. This medicine can't be used if the skin is broken." Xie Wangzhi breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the basin. "You have to wash it with warm water first."
Changsheng understood: "Don't worry about me, I will get the medicine when I get back."
"No. The palace..." Xie Wangzhi didn't know what to say, "There are so many bad guys in the palace. If it was really that easy, why would it have dragged on until now?"
She pursed her lips and pretended to be fierce, "I won't hurt you. Stretch out your hand!"
Changsheng had no choice but to reach out his hands.
He also had an injury on his arm, so Xie Wangzhi was extremely careful when rolling up his sleeves for him. He held the cuffs and moved up inch by inch, moving a little bit and looking at him, for fear of accidentally bumping into him and hurting him.
Changsheng found it funny: "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."
He said it himself, but just thinking about those whip marks made his bones tremble. How could Xie Wangzhi dare to do anything rash? He was very careful and pushed the cuff to the middle of his forearm, where it got stuck.
Fortunately, the whip marks only reached the front half of the forearm. It was probably because the bamboo whip was too long and I didn't stop a few times, so I accidentally whipped it. Xie Wangzhi wrung the handkerchief in warm water, held it in his hand, frowned, hesitated and didn't dare to reach out: "It will definitely touch, it will hurt... Can you bear it?"
"I can do it myself?"
“…That’s fine.” Xie Wangzhi knew best how to use strength, so he breathed a sigh of relief and handed the half-dry handkerchief to Changsheng.
Changsheng took it and did something that shocked her.
He didn't seem to care how much it hurt, he wiped his forearm to fingertips with the handkerchief, then changed hands, and finally dipped it in the basin, wrung it out, and wiped the water off his hands. It might be bearable to wipe the skin with a handkerchief filled with warm water, but wringing the handkerchief was something that required a lot of strength, and although it was a soft silk handkerchief, Xie Wangzhi felt pain just looking at it.
She was so shocked that she couldn't speak clearly: "... Don't do this, it hurts..."
Changsheng handed back the wrung handkerchief and said casually: "I'm used to it."
But there was so much pain hidden behind these four words. Xie Wangzhi didn't want to guess, nor did he dare to guess. After a little hesitation, he opened the bottle of wound medicine and picked up some light green ointment with a bamboo stick: "I'll apply the medicine to you, gently."
The light touch was indeed very light. A little bit of it was applied to the raised whip marks, and immediately a cool feeling penetrated into the skin, suppressing the burning pain. The light green ointment had a slightly fresh scent of grass and trees, like the fragrance that came out after a heavy rain, vaguely reminding Changsheng of his childhood home. After the rain, he went out and saw patches of green outside the palace, with water drops dripping from the tips of the leaves.
His Xianbei-blooded mother squatted down, put her hand on his shoulder, and said softly, "Changsheng, look, after the rain, the leaves are extra green and the flowers are extra beautiful. Do you like it?"
Changsheng felt that there was something strange about what Ah Niang said, but he was too young to understand the meaning behind it. He nodded and said, "I like it. I like the rain."
"That's great. I like it too. The rain outside the palace is even more beautiful, and it's also beautiful after the rain. I really want to take you to see it." The woman smiled happily, but the smile was fleeting. She said softly, "But mother... there is nothing we can do."
"Okay." The whip marks were all medicated, and Changsheng's hands were covered in large patches of green. Xie Wangzhi felt a little embarrassed and cleared his throat. "Now there is the color of the ointment, but it will disappear after a while, and the swelling will also go down. It's okay."
Changsheng didn't care and stopped: "Okay, thank you."
Xie Wangzhi didn't ask for this thank you. At first, it sounded a little awkward: "Well, it's okay. Anyway, it's useless to keep the medicine for the wound, so why not give it to you? This medicine is very effective."
"Thank you after all." After a moment of silence, Changsheng suddenly stood up and leaned towards Xie Wangzhi, with a smile on his face. The girl was reflected in his amber eyes, which seemed to be mocking. He said softly, "What should I give you to repay you?"
――What exactly are you looking for