The Lonely City Closed

Chapter 2

Chapter word count: 2077 Update time: 08-08-24 18:36

Before reading this article, please take a look at the titles of members of the Song Dynasty imperial family.

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The information related to the work will be helpful for reading the following text.

1. Forbidden Gate

The consequences of opening the palace gates at night were extremely serious, a fact I knew from the moment I entered the palace.

I was eight years old that year, and my clan arranged for me to be sent to the palace as a minor eunuch. My father had passed away, my mother had remarried, and no one in the clan was willing to adopt me, so there was nothing I could do about it.

Along with thirty or forty other children who entered the palace at the same time, I received education in court etiquette and regulations. When it came to important points, Liang Quan, the head eunuch in charge of teaching us, would invite officials from the various departments of the two provinces to explain them to us in detail.

"All the gates of the Imperial City must be closed at nightfall and must never be opened before sunrise." These words came from Zhang Maoze, the eunuch in charge of the Inner East Gate. Entering and exiting the inner palace mostly required passing through the Inner East Gate, and being in charge of the Inner East Gate was a very important position for eunuchs, responsible for the movement of people and goods within the palace. He was about thirty years old at the time, a rare age for someone holding this position, and he appeared calm and unassuming, speaking in a very gentle tone. I also noticed that among the eunuchs who came to give lessons that day, his clothes were the darkest and oldest, as if they had been worn for many years, yet they were very clean.

“If there is a truly important matter that requires the palace gates to be opened at night, an imperial edict and fish-shaped tally must be presented.” Zhang Maoze continued to explain the procedure: “The person receiving the edict must first write down the time, the detailed reason, the name of the gate to be opened, and the number and identities of the people entering and leaving, and send it to the Secretariat-Chancellery. After reviewing it, the relevant personnel guarding the gates, from the General of the Palace Gates down, must go to the Imperial Secretariat to report back. Only after obtaining the Emperor’s approval can the eunuch in charge of the palace gate keys be invited to open the gate at the appropriate time.”

Ren Shouzhong, the Chief Inspector of the Inner Palace, held a high position and wielded great power in the palace. He was not required to come and teach, but since he happened to be passing by, he decided to come in and take a look. After hearing Zhang Maoze's words, he nodded, glanced at us, and said, "Listen carefully, there are some rules to follow when opening the door."

I held my breath, listening intently as Zhang Maoze continued. "Before opening the gates, the gatekeepers must verify the bronze tallies and fish-shaped tokens with the eunuch in charge of the keys." Zhang Maoze raised a pair of fish-shaped tokens, gesturing to us seated in rows before him. "The bronze tallies are engraved with fish-shaped patterns and the names of the city gates. Each fish-shaped token is divided into two parts, one for the gatekeeper and one for the eunuch in charge of the keys. When the gates are to be opened, the gatekeepers and officials must first prepare the imperial guards and weapons, lining up in two lines inside and outside the gate to be opened, lighting torches. The gatekeepers and eunuchs must carefully verify the fish-shaped tokens to ensure they are correct before opening the gate. Even if the fish-shaped tokens match, if the gatekeepers open the gate without verification, or if they open it despite discrepancies, or if they open it without authorization, they will all be severely punished according to the law."

"Do you remember everything?" Ren Shouzhong interjected. We all bowed and said yes. He pointed to the eunuch closest to him in the front row and ordered, "You, repeat it."

The child seemed a bit slow, standing there thinking for a long time before stammering out two or three sentences, some of which contained errors.

Ren Shouzhong tapped him on the head and said angrily, "You can't even remember how to work in the palace with just these few words? In the future, some of you will inevitably be in charge of the palace gate keys. If you make a mistake, you'll lose your head!"

Zhang Maoze added from the side: "If people are not allowed to enter and exit according to the rules, the lightest punishment is exile, and the heaviest punishment is hanging."

The eunuchs were mostly shocked upon hearing this, looking around in astonishment.

"Get out of here and kneel down in the courtyard to reflect on your actions. You're exempt from dinner tonight." Ren Shouzhong announced the punishment for the child, then looked around at the others and finally chose me: "Have you remembered everything?"

I stood up and bowed, giving him an affirmative answer, and repeating Zhang Maoze's original words one by one: "All the gates of the imperial city must be closed after dark, and must not be opened before sunrise. If there is an important matter that requires opening the palace gates at night, there must be an imperial edict and a fish-shaped tally... If people are not allowed to enter or leave according to the regulations, the lightest punishment is exile, and the heaviest punishment is strangulation."

Not a single word was wrong, and from Zhang Maoze down, all the officials and ministers nodded and smiled.

Ren Shouzhong was quite satisfied and asked me with a friendly smile, "What's your name?"

“Liang Yuanheng,” I replied, adding, “Yuanheng, the Yuanheng of Yuanheng Lizhen.”

This was clearly superfluous. Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this. Ren Shouzhong took two steps towards me and slapped me across the face: "You audacious little brat, don't you know how to be discreet?"

Then I vaguely remembered that when my father explained my name to me, he had also told me not to say the character "贞" in front of others, because the current emperor avoids the character "祯," so "贞" should also be avoided.

I was stunned and didn't know how to respond, so I just stood there silently with my eyes down.

Ren Shouzhong instructed his men: "Take him away and lock him up. I will consult the Emperor before taking any further action."

I stayed in a dark little room for two or three days, lying there blankly, barely eating. Several times when I drifted off to sleep, I thought I was about to die.

Finally, someone opened the door, and the long-awaited light rushed in like a tide, stinging my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw my teacher Liang Quanyi's kind face. Perhaps because we shared the same surname, he had always been very kind to me.

“Let’s go,” he said. Seeing that I was too weak to walk, he actually squatted down and carried me out himself.

Unable to hold back my tears, they dripped onto his neck. He continued walking as if nothing had happened, offering no comfort, but saying, "You must be careful from now on. Such taboos might often be covered up outside, but it's different in the palace. Even the slightest mistake could endanger your life. It was Mr. Zhang who pleaded with the Empress to intercede for you before the Emperor; you should remember that..."

Of course I will remember. After Zhang Maoze came to give another lecture, I followed him out, ran to him, knelt down, and kowtowed to thank him for saving my life.

He just smiled slightly and said, "Your name is too easy to contain taboo words. You should change it."

I agree and respectfully request that he change my name.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Huaiji, from now on you shall be called Liang Huaiji."

I thanked him sincerely. He then asked, "Have you been to school?"

I replied, "I learned to recognize a few characters from my dad when I was at home."

He nodded, then looked at me intently before turning and leaving.

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Autumn River and Hibiscus, Two Geese Flying 2. The Eunuch

Chapter word count: 2407 Update time: 08-08-21 15:30

After half a year, having become familiar with palace etiquette, we were dispersed to various departments of the two provinces to learn new things.

The inner court officials of the Song Dynasty were divided into two departments: the Inner Palace Attendants Department and the Palace Attendants Department. The Inner Palace Attendants Department served the inner palace and was in charge of the affairs of the inner palace. It was also known as the Rear Department or the Northern Department. The Palace Attendants Department was in charge of the inner court's offerings and the cleaning and miscellaneous tasks in the palace. It was also known as the Front Department or the Southern Department.

I was assigned to the Hanlin Calligraphy Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Inner Palace Attendants Department. Since I would be in charge of calligraphy in the future, we were taught by learned and skilled eunuchs. Apart from the chores that the junior eunuchs had to do, such as sweeping and cleaning, I spent my spare time reading poetry and studying seal script, clerical script, running script, cursive script, and flying white script.

I like the peaceful atmosphere and tranquil life in the Hanlin Academy, but Zhang Chengzhao does not, and he often complains.

Zhang Chengzhao was my partner at the Hanlin Academy of Calligraphy. He was two months younger than me, but had entered the palace two years earlier. He liked to act like a senior in front of the newcomers and would often take the initiative to talk to us in detail about palace affairs in a teaching tone. The others disliked his mannerisms, but I didn't say much and always listened silently. So we eventually became good friends.

He was determined to transfer to the Inner Palace Attendants Department, and it was through him that I learned that the two departments were not equal in status.

One day, we were ordered to deliver the documents copied by the Bureau of Calligraphy to the Secretariat. Because the minister was in a hurry, we ran all the way. When we turned a corner, we accidentally bumped into two eunuchs who were walking from the other side. The two men were taller than us and only staggered a couple of times, while we both fell to the ground, and the documents scattered.

"You little brats, are you blind?" the two men yelled at us.

I ignored them, only concerned with picking up the documents and checking for any damage. Zhang Chengzhao, quite annoyed by the noise, got up, ready to retort, but upon seeing their attire, he immediately lost his temper and instead smiled obsequiously, saying, "It was our carelessness in blocking your way, brothers. Please forgive us. We deserve a beating!"

After saying this, he slapped himself on the face, then smiled and bowed repeatedly in apology. The two men glared at us before leisurely leaving.

I was puzzled and asked, "Why are you so humble towards them?"