Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

After Eunuch Xin left Panting Lake.

Zhou Zhengyin remained rooted to the spot like a wooden stake, motionless and silent for a long time, his gaze fixed blankly on the ground.

Jiang Shuoning stepped up to him and looked at his distraught appearance. Her heart felt like it was being pricked by countless needles, both bitter and painful.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back.

At this moment, whatever I say seems light and airy, like throwing a pebble into deep water—it doesn't even make a sound.

A lake breeze blew by, ruffling the hems of their clothes. Zhou Zhengyin's dark hair was lifted by the wind, falling loosely over his shoulders, his hat rolling off his head and landing on the ground, but he was completely unaware.

Jiang Shuoning's hood was also blown around by the wind, but she didn't go to help it up. She just stood quietly, her gaze fixed on his absent-minded profile.

Neither of them spoke.

The lake breeze came in gusts, making the willow branches tremble and shattering the moon's reflection on the water into fragments that could never be gathered together.

After a very long time, Zhou Zhengyin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his voice hoarse and strained, as if forced out from deep within his throat:

"Aunt... will you be like Granny Yu?"

Jiang Shuoning was taken aback.

Zhou Zhengyin didn't look at her; his gaze remained fixed on the ground. His voice was soft, yet every word trembled:

"She raised me for seventeen years. For those seventeen years, I regarded her as my only family. She would lull me to sleep, add clothes for me when I was cold, cook for me when I was hungry, and always save the best for me."

She taught me to be kind, saying that there is already enough suffering in the world, and we shouldn't add to others' suffering. She sewed clothes for me night after night, burning lamp wick after wick; I never saw her sleep a full night.

His voice trailed off at this point: "But in the end, she was good to me because she owed my mother."

He slowly raised his eyes to look at Jiang Shuoning, his eyes brimming with tears: "Auntie, you've been so good to me... but why?"

Jiang Shuoning seemed to be burned by his gaze and involuntarily looked away.

Because those eyes were so clear and so intense, she dared not look at them for long.

She remained silent for a long time, so long that the lake breeze completely blew off her hood, and her long, loose hair swayed gently in the wind.

Suddenly, she didn't know how to answer the question.

Zhou Zhengyin looked up and burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking with laughter, but large tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks.

"It's all fake, all fake... My seventeen years of life have been nothing but a joke. The old woman who raised me, Granny Yu, turned out to be the culprit who killed my mother..."

His voice suddenly choked, and he grabbed Jiang Shuoning's shoulders with both hands, with great force, but he only held her clothes and did not pinch her.

He stared straight at her, tears and despair welling up inside him, his voice hoarse and almost cracking:

"Auntie, tell me what's true? Tell me, what am I to you? What am I?"

He shook her violently, more like pleading than questioning her.

"Auntie, please tell me..."

Jiang Shuoning trembled as he shook her. She bit her lower lip and looked into his red and wet eyes, feeling a mix of emotions.

Suddenly, she tiptoed, reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into her embrace.

She was stunned by the action, and by the time she realized what was happening, she had already hugged him.

"Granny Yu is just one of them. She's not the only one who harmed your mother. Let's investigate together."

She paused again as she spoke, her voice so gentle it didn't sound like her own.

The moment Zhou Zhengyin was embraced by her, he froze. It was as if he had never been hugged like that before, or rather, no one had ever hugged him like that before.

After a long while, his fingers curled slightly and lifted up little by little. He first tentatively touched the hem of her clothes, and then slowly, slowly, he grasped the back of her clothes, like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood.

He buried his face deeper into her shoulder, his shoulders trembling violently, tears soaking the fabric of her clothes.

All those things that had been silently suppressed for seventeen years finally poured out at this moment.

"Auntie... please don't abandon me. You're all I have left in this world. Please, don't leave me... okay..."

As Jiang Shuoning listened to his sobbing, his heart felt as if it had been stabbed hard, a mixture of sourness and pain.

Without hesitation or even a second thought, she simply tightened her arms around his neck, holding him even closer.

"it is good."

She closed her eyes, and the single word was as soft as a sigh, yet as steady as a nail driven into the wind.

At this moment, Baozhong stood quietly behind the willow tree, watching the two figures embracing each other by the lake.

His face was grim, but his hands, which were behind his back, were clenched into fists, with veins bulging on the back of his hands and knuckles turning white.

The lake breeze blew in, making his sleeves flutter, but he remained motionless, like a stone statue nailed to the spot.

He stared for a long time. So long that the wind blew away the last trace of emotion from his face, before he slowly loosened his fist, turned around, and walked away without looking back.

(under)

Bao Zhong walked alone on the palace road, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight.

He walked very slowly, the scene from just moments ago replaying uncontrollably in his mind.

Jiang Shuo Ning tiptoed and took the initiative to hug Zhou Zhengyin, pulling him into her arms so naturally and without hesitation.

His chest ached in waves, as if something was grinding against it.

He suddenly stopped and looked down at the lonely shadow on the ground.

Even at his worst, Zhou Zhengyin was still a real man. He was flesh and blood, able to stand upright before someone, to be embraced, and to be needed.

And what about him? Physically disabled, and having been castrated at the age of eight, romantic relationships should not have been his concern.

That's what he should cut off, forget, and tear out of his bones.

But some things can never be completely severed. Just like now, he knows he shouldn't be in pain, but his heart still aches, so much so that he can barely take a step.

He closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing the surging emotions, and then lifted his foot again, walking towards the Imperial Household Department.

With each step I took, my chest felt heavier, as if a stone was falling from my heart, getting heavier and heavier with each step.

The moment he stepped into the Imperial Household Department, he suddenly felt a metallic taste in his throat. He stopped abruptly, bent over, and spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered on the ground and gleamed dimly in the moonlight.

He swayed, his vision blurred, and before he could even reach out to grab the door frame, he fell straight forward.

"Eunuch Baozhong—"

Three eunuchs happened to be passing by and saw this scene. They cried out in surprise, hurriedly dropped what they were holding, and rushed over. They helped Bao Zhong up and carried him into the house, supporting his arms.

Some people rushed to pour water, some hurriedly made beds, and a young eunuch ran out to call the imperial physician; his footsteps echoed far and wide in the empty courtyard.

After an incense stick has burned.

After taking the pulse, Physician Qin pondered for a moment, then withdrew his hand, glanced at the eunuchs standing beside him who dared not utter a sound, and slowly spoke:

"Eunuch Baozhong's illness is due to overwork, causing stagnation in his heart meridians and deficiency of both qi and blood. In addition, he may have been subjected to some kind of shock just now, which caused him to vomit blood and faint. He needs to rest well for a period of time and cannot overwork himself again."

The young eunuch waiting by the bedside quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Physician Qin. Please prescribe some medicine."

Physician Qin nodded slightly, got up and walked to the desk, picked up his pen and wrote a prescription.

Chun Chan approached the bedside and glanced down at Bao Zhong. His eyes were closed, his face was as white as a sheet, his lips were bloodless, and he lay there as if he had no life.

She frowned and muttered something under her breath:

"That's really strange. Shuoning just had twelve doses of medicine prepared yesterday, and Eunuch Baozhong has fallen ill today? Did she have some kind of premonition?"

She paused, tilted her head, and muttered to herself, "But that doesn't make sense... those twelve doses of medicine aren't for this."