Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

A lake breeze blew by, and the surface of the water was scattered with sparkling stars.

Bao Zhong finally turned his head and glanced at Zhou Zhengyin's neck before looking away. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but he remained silent.

Jiang Shuoning opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

She wanted to ask you how you could do that, wanted to yell at you if you were crazy, and wanted to say what if you cut too deep.

But all the words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.

I noticed faint scratches on the skin next to his fresh wound, as if he had hesitated several times and gestured many times before finally making the cut.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, but she managed to hold them back.

After a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, and sternly rebuked:

"Foolish! You think you're making me remember your kindness by degrading yourself like this? Humph! You just make me feel... worthless."

Zhou Zhengyin lowered his head, his eyes gradually reddening, his shoulders trembling slightly, and he stammered as he spoke:

"I... I didn't mean for you to remember my kindness... I just... I just didn't want you to be the only one suffering."

His voice grew softer and softer, the last few words almost caught in his throat, like a child who had done something wrong trying to explain, or like he was talking to himself:

"No one knows when you're in pain, but I know that feeling... I want to be there for you in your pain."

Jiang Shuoning felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat like a fishbone, unable to come up or go down.

The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs at her temples. She turned her face away, her voice hard but lacking the sternness of before:

"...Fool. Get up and get dressed."

Zhou Zhengyin then slowly and awkwardly pulled his collar back up and stood up with his head down.

Bao Zhong finally turned around, his gaze falling on Zhou Zhengyin, his voice indifferent and devoid of emotion: "From now on... you're not allowed to do that."

Zhou Zhengyin nodded slightly, his eyes red.

Immediately, Bao Zhong looked at Jiang Shuoning, his tone suddenly becoming more serious:

"It's not easy for us to meet. Let's get straight to the point. If we drag this out, not only will the patrols come by, but if you get back late, Consort Rong will become suspicious."

"She's already suspicious." Jiang Shuoning raised his eyes and looked directly into Bao Zhong's eyes. "From spring pancakes to lotus root starch dumplings, she ordered everything on purpose. She's testing who's behind me."

Suihe's death was already suspected to be my doing. She just couldn't produce any evidence. But it seemed she didn't need evidence.

Bao Zhong's eyebrows twitched slightly: "So you ate all those things, which is why you have indigestion."

Jiang Shuo Ning nodded calmly:

"She harbors resentment. Suihe betrayed her, she was confined to her quarters, and there were other things... she blamed everything on me."

She paused, her voice lowering, but she showed no sign of regret.

"But after all, it was me who did it. Whether she finds out sooner or later, it's all the same."

Zhou Zhengyin was holding his breath and listening when he suddenly realized that Jiang Shuoning and Baozhong were not avoiding him at all when they were talking.

His heart skipped a beat, and he quietly took another half step closer to her. He pricked up his ears, listening intently to their conversation.

His thought was that he wanted to help her.

Bao Zhong glanced at his subtle movements, ignored them, and continued speaking to Jiang Shuoning:

"Consort Rong is just torturing you. Either you'll give in and confess on your own, or she'll keep torturing you like this. After three months, you'll be the first to break down."

Zhou Zhengyin clenched his fingers, his knuckles turning white. He understood.

Consort Rong is slowly wearing Jiang Shuoning down.

He looked at Jiang Shuoning, then at Bao Zhong, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

Half of his joy was suppressed by worry, but he still listened attentively, trying hard to understand every word.

(under)

Jiang Shuoning remained silent for a while:

"Before Suihe died, she told me that she had written a letter to give to Consort Rong. She said she knew I was the one who did it. And Qing'er... Qing'er is emotionally unstable now. Suihe committed suicide because I made Qing'er say those things."

Bao Zhong stared at her, his brows slowly furrowing.

She had indeed lost weight and looked unwell. She had been consuming spring pancakes and lotus root starch dumplings every day, and even her strong stomach couldn't take it.

But besides being tormented by Consort Rong, she had other things on her mind.

The matter concerns the letter and Qing'er.

Qing'er is a girl who can't keep her mouth shut. If she accidentally lets something slip, she'll lose everything.

She's carrying all this on her own; no wonder she's lost weight so quickly.

He hadn't thought about it any deeper.

Zhou Zhengyin was so anxious that he secretly rubbed his hands together, wanting to ask but not daring to. He could tell that this matter was very serious, but after racking his brains, he still couldn't figure out how to help.

After a moment, Baozhong spoke:

"Go see Consort Rong tomorrow and tell her about the letter. Remember, only say that Suihe mentioned a letter before she died, and don't say a word more than that."

After saying that, he walked forward, his voice drifting back indifferently: "Leave the rest to me."

As Jiang Shuoning watched Bao Zhong's figure recede into the distance, a thought flashed through his mind, and he seemed to vaguely understand what Bao Zhong was about to do.

A night breeze blew from the lake, its coolness seeping into the collar of my clothes along the back of my neck.

Suddenly, I felt a warmth on my back.

She turned around abruptly, and Zhou Zhengyin had already taken off his coat and gently draped it over her shoulders. He smiled at her.

His smile was clean and bright. The moonlight falling into his eyes was like a pool of shattered stars, gentle and tender, as if it could dispel all the gloom in people's hearts.

Her fingertips curled slightly, as if burned by the heat.

"...Go back quickly." She turned her face away and walked forward quickly.

Zhou Zhengyin was stunned for a moment, then a small joy welled up in her heart; this time, she actually didn't throw the clothes back.

Before he could even finish feeling happy, the coat flew towards him and hit him squarely on the head.

Jiang Shuoning's voice came from afar, gradually fading into the distance: "Go back to Changmen Palace."

Zhou Zhengyin pulled the clothes off his head, hugged them to his arms, and watched her figure disappear behind the shadows of the trees.

A faint scent of eucalyptus lingered on his clothes. He lowered his head to smell it, and couldn't help but smile.

The night grew deeper. On the other side of the palace walls, the lights were still on in the Imperial Household Department's duty room.

As Bao Zhong stepped into the courtyard, a young eunuch ran up to him, looking terrified.

"Eunuch Baozhong, you've finally arrived. Eunuch Feng is looking for you."

Upon hearing this, Bao Zhong frowned almost imperceptibly, then raised his hand and patted the little eunuch on the shoulder:

"Understood. Whose concubine did the Emperor choose tonight?"

The young eunuch quickly replied, "It is still Consort Wei."

Bao Zhong nodded slightly, his expression unchanged: "Alright, you can go back to your work."

The young eunuch bowed and ran off in a flash.

Bao Zhong stood still, his gaze fixed on the lighted guardhouse deep in the courtyard. He paused for a moment before walking over.

The candlelight in the duty room was dim, and the fragrance was cloyingly strong. It was the finest styrax, but it couldn't mask the surging bitterness of the medicine beneath, nor a lingering, foul odor.

This scent has been ingrained in my bones since the day I was cleansed.

Every eunuch had one; everyone covered themselves up with incense, medicine, frequently changed clothes, and everything within reach.

He will keep it a secret for the rest of his life.

But Feng Xi was the oldest, so his pungent smell was the strongest. When mixed with the fragrance, it made people's throats feel tighter.

I don't know whether to feel sorry for him or for myself, who is only in my early twenties and can already see what old age will be like.

"Where did you go?"

Feng Xi's long, drawn-out voice came from the bed, his throat sounding like it was full of phlegm, sticky and sticky.

Upon hearing this, Baozhong bent down, picked up the spittoon from the corner, and walked to the bedside.

Feng Xi was reclining, his hair loose, a mix of black and white. You couldn't tell he had so much white hair when he wore a hat.

He had a long cigarette holder dangling from his mouth, slowly exhaling smoke rings.

Bao Zhong, holding the spittoon with both hands, bent over and held his breath as he replied:

"Reporting to my godfather. Tonight, the Emperor went to Consort Wei's place again; she's currently enjoying his favor. I was thinking of adding fuel to the fire by sending some jewelry over, but I haven't made up my mind yet, so I came to ask for your guidance."

Feng Xi glanced at him sideways, coughed, and spit out a mouthful of phlegm. Bao Zhong immediately brought the spittoon to his mouth.

Feng Xi vomited, and then grabbed Bao Zhong's sleeve to wipe his mouth.

Bao Zhong pressed his tongue firmly against the roof of his mouth, forcefully pushing back the acidic fluid that was rising up.

He casually placed the spittoon on the side of the bed.

"Baozhong..."

Feng Xi took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said in a high-pitched, leisurely voice:

"You've really grown your wings, haven't you? Even we have to step aside in front of you. Now you're even trying to take over the imperial kitchen and the guards?"