Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

As the sun set, the summer heat lingered, and waves of heat rose from the cracks in the palace bricks, making it hard to breathe.

In a narrow alleyway on West Street, a group of eunuchs and palace maids huddled together, whispering and scrambling for something.

"Give me three!"

"I want five!"

Fu Dou was sweating profusely as she collected money and handed out apricots, muttering to herself:

"Don't rush, don't rush, one at a time..."

Fu, who was helping out, turned his head and his expression instantly changed. He urged, "Stop collecting! Run!"

What are you doing?

On the weekend, Qian Wu and I were patrolling this area when we saw a group of people blocking the alley. We called out to stop them.

Upon hearing the noise, the eunuchs and palace maids scattered, each clutching an apricot, and ran away with their heads down.

The alleyway was instantly empty, leaving only a pile of crushed apricot pits on the ground.

Fudai and Fudou also wanted to run away, but Zhoumo blocked their way with a quick step.

On the weekend, staring at their food containers, he asked, "What's inside? Open it."

The two stood frozen in place, mouths agape, trying to come up with a lie.

Zhou Zhengyin was walking down West Street carrying a basket of freshly picked apricots when he saw Fudai and Fudou being blocked by two guards in the distance, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He instinctively wanted to turn and run, but then he remembered the words in the book: "Never seek to escape danger." So he forcefully pulled his foot back.

He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, turned around, and called out, "Brothers!"

On the weekend, Qian Wu and he turned around upon hearing the sound.

Zhou Zhengyin, carrying a basket full of apricots, ran over with a grin. As he got closer, he took a look...

It was the two guards who took him and Jiang Shuoning to the observatory that night.

His mind raced, and his smile was warm and natural: "What a coincidence, it's you two guards, brothers."

On the weekend, Qian Wu and Zhou looked him up and down, and after exchanging a glance, they recognized him.

Weekend frowned: "Why is it you again?" As she spoke, her gaze fell on the basket of apricots, and her face darkened.

"I heard someone was selling apricots on West Street. It turns out it's you, kid."

As he spoke, he took a step forward and stared at Zhou Zhengyin:

"Article 72 of the Palace Regulations: All plants, trees, flowers, and fruits within the palace must be registered and recorded by the Imperial Household Department; private picking is strictly prohibited. Article 83: Anyone who steals palace property shall be punished with fifty strokes of the cane; serious cases will result in expulsion from the palace!"

Zhou Zhengyin's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned. He reached into the basket of apricots, picked out a few large ones, and shoved them into Zhou Mo's hand without a word.

"I'm not selling them, I just picked them for myself. I just picked them and was thinking of letting you two gentlemen have a taste."

She glanced down at the apricots in her hand on the weekend, then looked up at him and said, "You certainly know how to handle people."

Zhou Zhengyin's smile grew even warmer:

"Brothers, you've worked hard on patrol. On this hot day, have some apricots to cool off. They're very sweet."

Qian Wu stood to the side with a cold face: "Don't give me that. You're trying to bribe us."

Zhou Zhengyin immediately waved his hand, his smile becoming even more innocent:

"Oh, not at all. We just picked too many and were giving you two a few to try."

As he spoke, he discreetly slipped some loose silver into Qian Wu's hand, his movements so quick that no one had time to refuse.

Qian Wu was taken aback, glanced down at his palm, then looked up at him, his expression slightly changing: "What are you doing?"

Zhou Zhengyin's smile remained unchanged, but his voice lowered slightly:

"Brothers, you've worked hard on patrol. Here, have some tea on this hot day."

Qian Wu clenched the silver in his hand and glanced at Zhou Mo. Zhou Mo smiled slightly but didn't respond.

Qian Wu tucked the silver into his sleeve, his voice softening slightly: "...Don't sell it on West Street next time."

Zhou Zhengyin immediately nodded, casually stuffing the entire basket of apricots he was holding into Zhou Mo's arms, and took a step back with a smile:

"Yes, yes, we won't sell them next time. You two can keep these apricots and enjoy them slowly; they'll help you cool off in this hot weather."

On the weekend, he glanced down at the basket of apricots that had suddenly appeared in his arms, but before he could say anything,

Zhou Zhengyin suddenly reached out, grabbed one on each side, and pulled Fu Dai and Fu Dou away, saying as he turned back:

"Well... I'll be going now, so as not to keep you two brothers from doing your jobs."

I couldn't help but chuckle over the weekend: "He's certainly fast."

Fu Dai was pulled so hard that he almost fell, and the empty food box in his hand clattered loudly.

Fu Dou glanced back as she ran, stammering, "Ah... Brother Yin, they didn't catch up, did they?"

The three of them quickly turned onto a street.

Zhou Zhengyin stood up, panting for a while, before straightening up and kicking Fu Dai:

"...From now on, sell apricots at the right time, don't just stand there waiting to get caught."

Fu Dai rubbed the spot where he'd been kicked, shrinking his neck and muttering, "Well, I didn't have time to run away..."

"Didn't have time?" Zhou Zhengyin pointed to himself, still catching his breath. "I saw you two were busy counting copper coins."

Fu Dou whispered to the side, "Brother Yin, the silver you slipped to that guard just now... it was all the money we earned from selling apricots these past few days."

Zhou Zhengyin wiped the sweat from his forehead without turning his head:

"If you don't bribe us, are you going to wait to have us arrested and thrown into the Imperial Prison? That little bit of silver for three lives is worth it."

He took two steps forward, then looked back at them.

"As long as the green hills remain, there's always firewood to burn. We were lucky this time to find two people willing to take the money. We might not be so lucky next time."

Fu Dai and Fu Dou stood facing each other, neither saying a word.

Zhou Zhengyin turned around and walked towards the library, adding:

"Let's go somewhere else tomorrow, not West Street. Let's go to East Alley, where the patrols change later."

Fu was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after him: "Brother Yin, are you still selling?"

Zhou Zhengyin didn't turn around, his voice drifting over from the front: "We've already given away all the money, if we don't sell more, we'll lose money."

Fudai and Fudou exchanged a glance and quickly followed.

(under)

Qian Wu handed the loose silver in his hand to Bao Zhong, smiling obsequiously:

"Eunuch Bao, that boy is quite clever. He's been slipping me silver and apricots, he's got a whole set of tricks up his sleeve."

I took a bite of an apricot over the weekend, chewed it a couple of times, and suddenly my eyes widened: "Delicious! So sweet!"

Bao Zhong took the silver, weighed it between his fingertips, and a slight smile appeared on his lips:

"Not bad, you have a good head for making money. You know how to use money to pave the way; that's an improvement."

He looked up at Zhou and Qian, and said to them:

"I reckon he'll have to move on. You two keep a close eye on him, don't let him get out of our sight."

Little Deer, standing to the side, covered her mouth and chuckled, "He probably never dreamed that all this trouble would be to earn money for our father-in-law."

Bao Zhong glanced at him, and Xiao Lu Zi immediately covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes darting around, and dared not make a sound.

Immediately, Bao Zhong walked forward, and Zhou Mo and Qian Wu followed closely behind.

He lagged half a step behind on the weekend, whispering, "Eunuch Bao, I heard Consort Mei has fallen?"

Bao Zhong didn't reply, nor did he stop walking. He simply took out a money pouch from his sleeve and casually handed it over.

"Let's keep Xiao Duan in the Censorate for two or three days, then release him."

I took the money bag on the weekend and opened it. Inside was half a bag of golden melon seeds, bright yellow, so heavy that they felt heavy in my hand.

He weighed it in his hand, then couldn't help but ask, "Don't worry, Eunuch Bao, he'll be released in a few days. But... why are you helping him?"

Bao Zhong smiled, without stopping his steps:

"He was acting under orders, it wasn't his own intention. In this palace, having one more friend is nothing, having one less enemy is a real skill."

Zhou Mo was stunned for a moment, and before he could say anything, Qian Wu leaned over and glanced at the money bag. His eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.

"Eunuch Bao... is truly generous."

Little Deer muttered from behind, "This servant has been following you for so long, and I've never even seen a gold melon seed."

Upon hearing this, Bao Zhong turned around and glanced at him: "We haven't even settled accounts with you yet, and you're already acting all aggrieved."

The little deer shrank its neck and subconsciously reached out to touch its bottom:

"The kick you gave me, sir... that was enough punishment. Besides, Sister Shuoning was there at the time. You really didn't give me any face at all."

Bao Zhong's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything and turned back to continue walking.

Qian Wu quickly left the weekend behind, moved closer to Bao Zhong, and lowered his voice:

"Eunuch Bao, speaking of Miss Shuoning... I heard something last night."

Bao Zhong paused, glanced at him sideways, and his smile faded slightly: "Speak."

Qian Wu took a half step closer, glanced left and right, and lowered his voice even further:

"Fengchun from Yihua Palace came to the Imperial Guard last night, suddenly looking for Leader Yang Fan."

On the weekend, someone chimed in, "They say that Consort Rong wants to arrange a marriage for Miss Shuoning with a bodyguard. She has only one requirement for choosing a man: she won't pick the best."

After those words were spoken, the alleyway fell silent for a moment.

Bao Zhong stood in the shadows, his smile completely gone, as if wiped away, revealing a cold and somber face beneath.

On the weekend, Zhou Mo and Qian Wu exchanged a glance, neither daring to utter a sound.

After a while,

Bao Zhong finally spoke. His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid someone would hear, but every word landed like a hammer blow:

"...Consort Rong is really something, leaving her no way out at all."