Función clerical

Capítulo 21

Mingyue Palace, a certain courtyard.

The boy pushed a cart loaded with several chamber pots into the yard, shouting, "You lazy woman, come out here! Stop pretending to be dead!"

The lazy woman rolled over and continued sleeping with her head facing inwards.

"Get up and clean the chamber pot!"

The lazy woman yawned and said, "Shut up my head."

The boy dropped the cart and rushed to the bed. Just as he was about to push the woman who was sleeping on the bed, the person on the bed acted like lightning, and a thin silver needle pierced the boy's body. Almost instantly, the boy froze, unable to even move his tongue.

Yawning again, Shen Zhili got up from the couch, rubbing her temples, and said, "Why are you so persistent? I told you I wouldn't brush it."

The boy stared wide-eyed, but couldn't utter a single word.

Shen Zhili took a step back in disgust, half-covering her nose: "It stinks, don't you think so? Or do you actually think it smells good... What a strange place, what strange taste, that someone would like the smell of such disgusting stuff."

The boy glared angrily, his eyes like copper bells.

Shen Zhili poked the boy's chubby cheeks and said after a moment, "I'll let you speak, but you're not allowed to shout, or I'll strip you naked and throw you out."

The boy continued to glare angrily.

Seeing this, Shen Zhili yawned again: "Then I'll continue sleeping." Saying that, she was about to lie back down.

The boy was terrified, his eyes pleading.

Shen Zhili smiled and pulled out the silver needle: "Good girl."

Spending so much time with Su Chenche, and then dealing with this kind of mindless creature, it really feels... so relaxing...

As soon as the silver needles were removed, the boy felt a sense of lightness in his body.

Although she couldn't move yet, she could speak: "How could you be like this, woman! Let me go! Or I'll go tell Young Master Xiaoye right now! See if he doesn't have someone beat you to death!"

Shen Zhili remained unmoved: "You've been talking about Young Master Xiaoye for so long, but who exactly is he?"

The young man puffed out his chest, looking very proud: "Young Master Xiaoye is currently the most favored young master in the palace! Even the Palace Master dotes on him! He spends most of the month at my young master's place!"

Shen Zhili rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a while before saying in a daze, "Palace Master... could it be Ji Mingyue?"

The boy seemed shocked by her audacity, and after a pause, he shouted, "How dare you address the Palace Master by her name! This is utterly disrespectful! If Xiao..."

It's so noisy...

Shen Zhili raised her hand and tapped the back of the boy's head, and the world fell silent.

She continued to ponder, resting her chin on her hand.

After falling off the cliff, she woke up in this godforsaken place, facing this silly and foolish boy, and had never seen a third person besides him.

She sighed, recalling the countless wounds, large and small, that covered her body when she first woke up. Although they were all minor injuries, the blood loss she had suffered was enough to drive her to despair. After resting for a few days, she finally felt better and should start thinking about how to find Wumo Manor and... Su Chenche.

As for Ji Mingyue... she doesn't need to worry about herself. Ji Mingyue has always only been interested in men with handsome and refined appearances...

However, Su Chenche... cough cough, perhaps she should be worried about Ji Mingyue?

After thinking for a moment, Shen Zhili released the boy's speech-impairing pressure point: "Where is this?"

The boy bit his lip and did not answer.

Shen Zhili poked the puffed-up cheek that was holding its breath: "What's wrong with you? I've already released your speech acupoint."

The boy bit his lips until they were bright red: "I can't move my body yet."

Shen Zhili said, "I'll help you move wherever you want." She made a move to get closer to the boy.

The boy was terrified again: "What are you doing... Get away from me! I belong to the Palace Master in life and in death! I will never submit to another woman! If you come any closer... I'll bite my tongue!"

"You're overthinking it." Shen Zhili's lips twitched. "...Do I look that desperate?"

The boy stared intently at Shen Zhili, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he seemed to find no lust in her eyes.

Shen Zhili: "Can you tell me where this is now?"

The boy looked at the sky, then at the ground, and answered sullenly, "Bright Moon Palace."

Shen Zhili: "Then how do we get out?"

Boy: "I don't know."

Shen Zhili: "Where is Wumo Manor?"

Boy: "I don't know."

Shen Zhili: "Where is Su Chenche?"

Boy: "I don't know."

Shen Zhili: "..."

Seeing Shen Zhili get off the bed and walk towards the chamber pot, the young man couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do? Have you finally resigned yourself to cleaning the chamber pot?"

Shen Zhili: "No, I'm planning to put the chamber pot on your head."

The boy trembled: "...You, you're not serious, are you?"

Shen Zhili: "You'll find out soon enough."

The boy burst into tears: "I really don't know anything! I've been serving Young Master Xiaoye ever since I was bought here, I really don't know anything else... Ah, Young Master Xiaoye, please save Liuli, this crazy woman is going to use the chamber pot..."

A soft, melodious voice came from beside her, carrying three parts coldness, three parts arrogance, and four parts gentleness: "I understand."

Shen Zhili suddenly turned around and saw a handsome man in a scarlet shirt with smooth, flowing black hair staring straight at her. She unconsciously took a step back, and an indescribable strange feeling welled up in her heart.

The man glanced at her sideways, his bright red tongue darting out and licking around her pink lips, leaving them glistening and alluring.

His eyes shimmered with light as he parted his lips and chuckled softly, “It’s been a long time since a new woman has come to the palace.”

Two words flashed through Shen Zhili's mind.

A beauty...

"Xiaoye, have you found your servant?"

Young Master Xiaoye turned to the side and replied in a soft, charming voice, "Found her, but it seems there's a new woman here? Would you like to take a look?"

"Okay, okay!"

"A new woman? I want to go too!"

"Then I'll go take a look too..."

After a few murmurs, several beauties of different types entered through the narrow gate of the courtyard: cute, gentle, haughty, glamorous...

They stared at Shen Zhili with all sorts of strange looks.

Four words flashed through Shen Zhili's mind.

A harem of handsome men.

What an amazing place this is!

Chapter Nineteen

After being scrutinized from head to toe, Shen Zhili heard the following comments:

"It's not good-looking."

"It's just so-so."

"Not even as good as one of the Palace Master's fingers."

"As expected, the Palace Mistress is the most beautiful; the other women are simply not pleasing to the eye!"

Then... the beauties, once again swaying in their bright and gorgeous robes, walked away, some with swaying waists, some with dragon-like strides, and some with light and ethereal grace.

Shen Zhili watched them leave, cursing their ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart.

With a flick of his sleeve, Young Master Xiaoye smiled faintly at Shen Zhili, his captivating eyes saying, "Please don't mind them, that's just their nature. But indeed, there is no woman in this palace more outstanding than the Palace Mistress."

Palace Master... Ji Mingyue...

Shen Zhili couldn't help but step forward and tug at the seemingly more reasonable Young Master Xiaoye, revealing the doubts that had been nagging at her since earlier: "Um... are you all really staying in Mingyue Palace willingly? But you look only twenty, and the Palace Master... shouldn't she be nearing forty... why are you still..."

Before she could finish speaking, Young Master Xiaoye angrily shook off her hand.

"What do you know, you immature little girl!"

Shen Zhili: "..."

Young Master Xiaoye adjusted his clothes slightly, his alluring smile mixed with a hint of arrogance: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. This is why she is the mistress of a palace, while you can only stay here and clean the chamber pots."

Shen Zhili was stunned for a moment, then stared at him with a somewhat sympathetic look: "Have you been brainwashed, or... is this the legendary true love? It's so touching..."

“You…” Young Master Xiaoye frowned, her alluring eyes glancing sideways as if she were about to get angry, but then she suddenly lowered them. “How about this, I’ll let you meet the Palace Master, and you’ll realize how insignificant and ignorant you are!”

Turning to the boy beside her, she said, "Liuli, take off your clothes!"

The numbing effect had just worn off, and Liuli, who could barely move her limbs, exclaimed in astonishment, "Ah..."

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The crimson hem of her dress meandered across the ground, making a soft rustling sound.

"Young Master Xiaoye".

"Young Master Xiaoye".

Young men dressed in pale yellow palace attire kept bowing to him from his side, their postures respectful and humble.

The handsome man nodded slightly with a reserved air and walked forward, followed closely by a young man in palace attire with lowered eyes.

Entering from the outer palace, passing through countless magnificent palaces and luxurious, secluded corridors, the handsome man stood before a door embroidered with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. Standing before the door were two identical, exquisitely beautiful boys, like porcelain dolls.

Shen Zhili raised her head slightly, sighing: Where did Ji Mingyue find so many beauties? Taking two such young men out with her is just too flamboyant... She used to be the master of a valley, how come she never thought of finding a few handsome young men to bolster her image? But... raising these things must be very expensive...

While she was calculating, the young master Xiaoye's figure was blocked by the boy on her right.

Young Master Xiaoye frowned slightly: "I want to see the Palace Master."

The boy on the left smiled, his dimples shallow: "The Palace Master is not available to see anyone right now, but I will inform her on her behalf. Young Master Xiaoye can go back first, and someone will call you after the Palace Master gives her permission."

Young Master Xiaoye relaxed his brows and smiled, "In the past, I never needed to announce my arrival. What happened? Or perhaps..." His voice suddenly sharpened, "What happened to the Palace Master!"

The boy on the left said, "The Palace Master is fine, Young Master Xiaoye, there's no need to worry."

Young Master Xiaoye smiled coldly: "What if I insist on going in!"