Klares Wasser und wunderschöne Berge

Kapitel 12

He also noticed me, a stranger, that day. After Miao Zhaorong introduced me, he quickly remembered Fu Bi.

"Huaiji, that's a nice name," he asked me with a smile. "Is it your original name or something you changed after entering the palace?"

“It was changed after I entered the palace,” I replied, adding, “This name was given to me by Mr. Zhang Pingfu.”

"Maoze?" The official's tone was somewhat unusual, followed by a short but noticeable silence.

I was filled with anxiety, wondering where I had gone wrong, but the Emperor quickly regained his composure and said gently, “Now that you’re here, you don’t need to worry about anything else. Just avoid associating with people outside of Lady Miao’s Pavilion and focus on serving the princess well.”

I agreed, and he then told me to leave without saying anything more.

After noon, Qiu He wanted to take her leave, but was stopped by several of Consort Miao's maids, who all wanted to learn her new hairstyle. Qiu He had no choice but to teach them one by one, and half a day passed in this way. Consort Miao invited her to have dinner in the pavilion, and by the time she was finally able to return to her residence, it was already dark.

I volunteered to see her out, quickly went back to my room to retrieve Cui Bai's "Autumn River and Rongbin Picture" and hid it in my sleeve, then picked up a lantern and led her away.

Stepping out of the concubines' palace and finding no one around, I took out the scroll and told her about the matter Cui Bai had entrusted to me when he left the painting academy. She took the scroll, a faint smile on her face, but tears welled up in her eyes.

"Will Young Master Cui... come back?" she asked me in a low voice.

I sensed sadness in her slightly trembling voice, which left me somewhat at a loss. In order not to disappoint her, I could only reply, "Maybe... in the future."

She forced a smile, thanked me, then hurriedly said goodbye, clutching the scroll tightly as she left. As she turned, she slightly raised her right arm, presumably to wipe away tears.

After that, Qiuhe continued to visit Yifeng Pavilion frequently, and also often went to Consort Yu's quarters. The Empress would occasionally summon her over. She was always so busy, entering the inner palace before dawn and often not returning until dark. No wonder she was always hard to find before.

One day, she stayed at Yifeng Pavilion until very late, and I again saw her out of the inner palace. She looked very tired then, her face was pale, and she was walking slightly unsteadily. I asked her if she wanted to rest before continuing, but she said it was fine and urged me to go back. Although I finally stopped, I was still a little worried and watched her until she was gone.

She walked to the front of the Imperial Gate, but finally could not hold on any longer, her body went limp, and she collapsed to the ground.

I rushed over and saw that she was disoriented and there was no one around, so I picked her up and carried her to the Imperial Pharmacy.

That was a long journey. Along the way, we passed the Inner East Gate and happened to see Mr. Zhang Maoze coming out from there.

He was quite surprised to see us. He asked what had happened, then checked her pulse with two fingers. After a moment, he said, "She's alright. It's too much trouble for you to carry her to the Imperial Pharmacy like this. Why don't you come in and I'll give her acupuncture? She should get better soon."

He led us to the inner east gate wing room, took out a box of gold needles, and inserted a few needles into Qiuhe's head and neck. In just a moment, Qiuhe's expression calmed down. Mr. Zhang gently told her not to be nervous and continued to apply the needles. He only removed the gold needles after an incense stick had burned out.

Qiuhe's complexion had improved considerably. She curtsied and thanked him. Mr. Zhang said, "Mrs. Dong, there's no need for such formality. You're just overworked and haven't had enough sleep, which is why you have these symptoms. You should take care of yourself and get plenty of rest in the future."

Qiu He lowered her head in agreement. Mr. Zhang continued, "I heard from Lady Chu that after you return to the Imperial Dressing Bureau at night, you still have to prepare cosmetics and instruct the young palace maids, so you won't have much time to rest. I will explain to the Empress tomorrow and ask her to only let you work in the inner palace for half a day."

Qiuhe bowed in gratitude with tears in her eyes, but Mr. Zhang avoided accepting the thanks and asked me to escort her to her residence.

After seeing Qiuhe off, I went back into the East Gate Department. Mr. Zhang was still washing and disinfecting his needles and had not yet left. I thanked him, and he smiled and said, "It was just a small favor. Besides, I wasn't the one who performed the acupuncture. There's no need to thank me."

I lowered my head and smiled sheepishly, then asked him, "Sir, have you studied medicine?"

“I worked in the Imperial Pharmacy when I was young,” he said casually. He glanced at my clothes, then smiled and said, “Not bad, you’ve advanced. Congratulations. Many of the children who entered the palace with you weren’t as successful as you.”

I thanked him, hesitated for a while, and then asked him again, "But for us, does getting promoted mean we're successful?"

He frowned slightly: "What are you thinking about, child?"

But there was no reprimand in his tone; it was more like a gentle inquiry. So I had the courage to ask him the question I had been pondering for years: "Is advancement and promotion our goal after entering the palace? And what is the purpose of promotion?"

He paused, not answering for a moment, so I asked again: "Sir, you are now the Inner West Head Attendant, in charge of the Inner East Gate, responsible for the entry and exit of palace personnel and the internal and external transmission of confidential documents. You are a high-ranking official among the eunuchs, but you still dress simply, eat simple food, and treat people kindly and generously, unlike other high-ranking officials who take pleasure in beating and scolding their subordinates. So where does your pleasure come from? Do you have any wishes? What is your greatest wish?"

He pondered for a long time before finally saying, "I may answer your question someday. But for now, you only need to do what the Emperor and Lady Miao ask you to do, and don't think too much about anything else."

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Meeting you then, I've already taken notice. 10. Night Talk

Chapter word count: 4404 Update time: 08-09-13 15:35

"elder brother."

Her clear eyes were untouched by any worldly dust, and the princess called to me with such expectation. I was caught off guard and utterly defeated.

She begged me to ghostwrite for her an article on a topic assigned by her father, discussing "the nature of a gentleman, with benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom rooted in his heart."

She was the smartest little girl I had ever met, but she had no patience to read those Confucian classics. The emperor paid close attention to her studies and often came to check on her and urge her on. He would often leave her a pile of homework to complete. At first, it was just copying the classics and practicing calligraphy, but later he asked her to compose poems and write essays.

Once, I saw that she had too much to copy and was struggling to write, so when no one was around, I secretly wrote a few pages for her. Copying other people's handwriting was a piece of cake for me, and the princess was overjoyed. From then on, whenever she had a little more homework, she would ask me to write it for her.

I wrote for her two or three times, then refused to write anymore, repeatedly explaining to her that the beauty of calligraphy and the essence of literature could only be grasped through personal study and understanding. She said she knew, but then said it would only be this once, and never again. She begged me to agree, but soon there would be another time.

This time it was purely a ghostwriting attempt. Finally, I made up my mind, coldly telling her that I would never agree to her request again, no matter what.

She glanced at me for a moment, then ordered a maid to fetch tea. Only the two of us remained in the study. She came closer, took my sleeves with both hands, and softly called out, "Brother."

My heart felt as if it had been gently scratched by her finger, and suddenly contracted.

She watched with satisfaction as I stared in disbelief, then lowered her eyelashes, suppressing her smile. She tugged at my sleeve and shook it, then pleaded, "Brother, please help me write this just this once, okay? I promise this really is the last time. If I don't finish it before dinner, Father will scold me again."

What can I say? In this situation, even if she told me to die, I would gladly obey.

I sat down quietly, and she laughed and hopped around like a little sparrow, laying out Shezhou Chengxintang paper for me, grinding Yanxi ink in the Duanxi Longxiang inkstone, and then personally handing me a Xuancheng Zhuge Sanfu brush. Finally, she brought over a round drum stool, climbed up and knelt on it, resting her elbows on the desk, smiling as she turned her head to watch me write, praising me from time to time.

That "brother" became an inescapable curse. The princess liked to use it to make me obey, but sometimes she would call me that for no reason at all.

Occasionally, she would call me "brother" in front of others. At first, the palace servants were shocked and said that there was a difference in rank and asked her to change her address. But Consort Miao did not care and said, "Back when the Emperor was in the Spring Palace, he also liked to call his eunuch Zhou Huaizheng, who served him, 'brother.' It's nothing more than a way of showing affection to his subjects."

"The princess has no elder brother, and the emperor's adopted son, the thirteenth militia commander, has already left the palace to live outside. She must be a little lonely," Han said to me privately.

The current emperor has no sons, so he raised the thirteenth son of Prince Yunrang of Runan in the palace, named him Zongshi, and appointed him as the military commissioner of Yuezhou. Therefore, people in the palace often called him "the thirteenth military commissioner". Later, because Consort Miao gave birth to Prince Yu Xin, the current emperor ordered Zongshi to return to his princely residence. Later, the prince died young, and the current emperor never summoned Zongshi back to the palace.

"When the Thirteenth Regiment was in the palace, the princess called him 'brother.' You are about the same age as the Thirteenth Regiment, so she felt a sense of closeness and called you that," said Madam Han. But she added, "However, we are of lowly status, and being addressed with such respect by a nobleman is considered unlucky. When Your Majesty was the Crown Prince, Zhou Huaizheng was the Deputy Director of the Palace, in charge of the Eastern Palace affairs. He often served Your Majesty, and Your Majesty jokingly called him 'brother.' Once, Zhou Huaizheng saw Your Majesty practicing calligraphy and asked for a piece of imperial calligraphy. On a whim, Your Majesty wrote a few large characters for him—'Brother Zhou, behead him!' It was originally a joke, but years later, Zhou Huaizheng conspired with others to assassinate Minister Ding Wei, appoint Kou Zhun as prime minister, and elevate Emperor Zhenzong to the position of Retired Emperor, abdicating in favor of the Crown Prince, who is now Your Majesty. The conspiracy failed, and Zhou Huaizheng was eventually beheaded. Your Majesty's words were a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some also say that Zhou Huaizheng, unaware of the taboo of being addressed with such respect by Your Majesty, would sooner or later suffer divine retribution."

I understood what she meant, and later I expressed to the princess that I hoped she would stop calling me that, but she ignored me and continued to call me that whenever she wanted. I didn't say anything more, and was even a little glad that she did what she wanted, because every time I heard her call me brother, I would feel a secret warmth.