Magistrate Su Fucheng never imagined that his remote courier station would one day see such bustling activity.
The reason was none other than the arrival of Eunuch An. On the very day he took up residence, the prefect of Minjiang Prefecture, along with several local notable officials and wealthy gentry, came to pay their respects. However, Eunuch An turned them away, citing fatigue from the journey and suggesting they meet another day.
While they couldn't see him in person, they still had to express their sentiments. Upon hearing the news, officials and wealthy gentry, big and small, not only sent in their name cards but also showered the station with lavish gifts—gold, silk, pearls, and jade—flowing in like a steady stream.
Eunuch An refused to see anyone, yet he accepted every single gift without exception. Not only did he accept them, but he also specifically set up a table right in front of the station's main gate, assigning a dedicated person to register every item in a ledger.
It was all recorded clearly and meticulously: who sent what and how much it was worth in silver.
This left everyone dumbfounded. What was the meaning of this? Should they send gifts or not? Those who sent gifts feared it would become evidence of bribery. Those who didn't, seeing that Eunuch An was registering everything, worried that if their names weren't in that ledger, they might be targeted later on.
In the end, everyone reasoned: if everyone else is sending gifts, what's there to fear? Send them! Not only send them, but send them quickly and early! They were all afraid of being listed at the very end of the ledger. Word spread from ten to a hundred, and in no time, carriages and horses came and went from the station in an endless stream, with lights burning brightly even at night.
A Mei never thought she would one day be exhausted from receiving gifts.
Because Eunuch An had declared from the start that all these gifts were to be handed over to his wife for safekeeping.
Initially, A Mei personally took charge of organizing the jewelry, gold, and silver. But as more and more items arrived, including some rare and precious large objects, the room was nearly overflowing.
Finally, it was Su Fucheng, utterly astonished and dazzled by the sight, who opened the station's long-unused storeroom. He had it specially cleaned out for Madam An to store these items.
A Mei gradually shifted from being initially apprehensive to becoming numb, and finally, she began directing operations in an orderly manner. Fortunately, someone else handled the registration, and she didn't have to do the moving herself. Yet, even so, A Mei was left panting and exhausted.
Finally, around midnight, A Mei returned to her room, throat parched and legs unsteady. An Sheng was there, reviewing letters delivered by his subordinates.
Seeing A Mei's utterly weary state, An Sheng felt both heartache and amusement. He set the letters aside and pulled A Mei into his arms. "Oh dear, let me see, how did you manage to tire yourself out like this?"
A Mei shot An Sheng a feeble glare. "Husband, you have no idea how many things there are. Anyway, my throat is almost hoarse."
An Sheng picked up the teapot nearby and poured A Mei a cup of water. "I didn't ask you to move them yourself. There are so many servants; you could have just ordered them to do it."
A Mei drank the tea from An Sheng's hand, feeling much relief in her throat. Seeing him put the cup down, she immediately snuggled into his embrace, her voice soft and coquettish. "Husband, I'm so tired. Hold me, husband."
An Sheng bent down, picked A Mei up, strode to the bedside, carefully laid her on the bed, removed both their outer garments, then pulled A Mei close into his arms as they both lay down.
A Mei wriggled a bit, finding a comfortable spot in An Sheng's arms, and continued, "There were so many things, and they were all valuable. You were busy with official duties and couldn't get away, so naturally, I had to keep an eye on everything to feel at ease."
"So you got tired from looking at treasures?"
A Mei murmured a vague "Mhm." She was simply too exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.
An Sheng pulled over the quilt, looked down at the sleeping face in his arms for a long while, then gently released A Mei, got up, carefully tucked the quilt around her, and left the room.
Next to the bedroom was the room where Eunuch An handled official business. Several people were already waiting there. As Eunuch An entered, the person at the head immediately presented two ledgers, one large and one small.
"Your Excellency, your subordinates have completed the registration of all items received today. This volume contains detailed information on all the officials and merchants. Please review it!"
While the surface activity was registering gifts, An Sheng had secretly arranged for a detailed investigation of all local merchants, officials, shipping operations, and the financial dealings of various government offices related to taxation in the area. This information was then cross-referenced with the people listed in these ledgers.
An Sheng lounged lazily in his chair, his gaze cold and sinister as it swept over the two ledgers, followed by a long, deathly silent period of page-turning.
It was only early autumn and not yet cold, but as time dragged on, everyone in the room began to break out in a cold sweat. They couldn't help but recall how much better it was when Madam An was present. The reason was simple: Eunuch An exuded a chilling aura. Being alone with him brought an icy, creeping cold that made one shiver involuntarily. With Madam An there, it wasn't like this.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, A Mei was sleeping soundly. She didn't know how oppressive it was for others when she wasn't by An Sheng's side.
The next day, the people of Minjiang Prefecture who had been watching the station received news: the elusive Eunuch An had finally accepted name cards from two parties.
One was the famous local richest man of Minjiang Prefecture, the other a mid-level local official.
The two were overjoyed and immediately rushed to the courier station without delay.
However, after a good while, when the two men emerged, their faces were ashen and livid. The official, in particular, was so overcome with rage that he fainted on the spot.
This left the watching populace of Minjiang Prefecture dumbstruck, and all sorts of wild rumors immediately began to fly.
With one party unconscious and the other refusing to speak, everyone was burning with curiosity.
That night, the Prefect finally invited the richest man and the now-revived official to his residence, where a bit of information finally leaked out.
As for the richest man, he had gone all out this time, offering both silver and treasures, thinking he could surely win a smile from Eunuch An. Little did he expect that none of it would impress him. Eunuch An's words were both mocking and sarcastic: "What treasures haven't I seen in the palace? It's true, I like what's valuable. Looking at this batch of items, what you sent barely adds up to ten thousand taels of silver. It's not much, but you were more thoughtful than others. I'll grant you some face."
This "face" made the richest man grit his teeth and swallow his anger, all while forcing a smiling facade.
As for the official, he had a daughter of marriageable age, sixteen years old, renowned in Minjiang Prefecture for her talent and beauty. Unexpectedly, Eunuch An, having somehow heard of this, directly demanded that the official send his daughter to stay at the courier station for a few days to keep his so-called wife company for some heart-to-heart talks and chats.
Heart-to-heart talks indeed! It was nothing but a pretext for this depraved man's lust for women. But this was the Emperor's favorite! The official dared not refuse. The thought of his cherished, well-bred daughter being defiled by this eunuch made him feel utterly helpless, as if heaven and earth had forsaken him. Overwhelmed with fury, he collapsed.
When this news got out, the entire Minjiang Prefecture was in an uproar.
Everyone inwardly scorned this act of bullying men and seizing women, this insatiable greed, cursing in their hearts that this Eunuch An was truly shameless.
From then on, Eunuch An's reputation for insatiable greed, extravagance, and debauchery was not only confirmed but became something that could be said to be known to everyone in Minjiang Prefecture.
Now everyone knew how to curry favor with Eunuch An: undoubtedly, by throwing silver at him and presenting him with women!
But if the silver offered was too little, this Eunuch An wouldn't even look at it. Everyone pondered and realized, alas! They could only put their efforts into the women.
Thus, even before the daughters of officials that Eunuch An had demanded were delivered, those with quicker wits had already arrived at his doorstep bringing beautiful, delicate young ladies.
A Mei got up early in the morning and, without even eating, excitedly rushed straight to the treasury to rummage through and admire the goods. In the eyes of outsiders, without even needing to act, she unconsciously and vividly embodied the image of the avaricious eunuch's wife.
Unfortunately, A Mei's good mood only lasted until just before several delicate and soft-bodied beauties arrived.
A Mei had just returned from the treasury when she saw her husband receiving guests in the main hall. She moved closer and heard a round, plump middle-aged man who called himself Squire Su speaking with a lecherous smile.
"These few are all meticulously selected by this humble commoner to serve Eunuch An. They are not only skilled in song and dance, with looks that are first-rate, but they also know how to serve a man well. Eunuch An has endured the toil of travel and handles a myriad of affairs daily; he must be terribly weary. These beauties are perfect for providing some distraction."
A Mei was stunned for a moment. Her brain, for the first time ever, began to operate at lightning speed. By the time she realized what was happening, she felt a surge of inexplicable anger and a sense of crisis rush into her mind.
Especially since her husband was still sitting there, looking at those women with a faint, ambiguous smile.
Then they heard A Mei, her face flushed with anger, address Squire Su: "Say that again?"
Startled by the sudden female voice, Squire Su turned and saw a young, delicate-looking woman glaring at him angrily as she questioned him.
Squire Su was taken aback and asked hesitantly, "This... who might this be?"
An Sheng, seated in the host's chair, spoke. He looked down at Squire Su expressionlessly, his pale, thin face carrying a certain sharp severity. His gaze, lowered heavily, held an icy, bone-chilling coldness: "This is my wife."
That one look made Squire Su feel as if his whole body had been plunged into a freezing pool. The chill traveled from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head. His intuition told him he might have made a mistake. But upon second thought, on such formal occasions involving men, where would a woman casually speak up? Moreover, what kind of person was Eunuch An? He was someone who could serve closely by the Emperor's side and had been entrusted with this inspection duty alongside the Imperial Commissioner. Naturally, he wouldn't be swayed by a mere woman.
He immediately put on a smiling face, completely unaware of the seriousness of the situation: "So it is Madame An. This humble commoner pays his respects to Madame An."
A Mei herself didn't know why her temper had suddenly become unlike herself. She internally attributed it to her husband's earlier instruction for her to cooperate in putting on an act. A Mei shot Squire Su a fierce glare and said through gritted teeth, "I was only out for a short while, and Squire Su has already brought me such a grand gift. Thank you so much!"
Before Squire Su could react, he saw this woman, whom Eunuch An called his wife, shoot Eunuch An a glance full of reproach and fury. Then, in front of everyone in the room, she walked up to An Sheng and directly called him by his given name.
Shrieking like a shrew:
"Hmph, fine then, An Sheng! If you dare accept these women, don't you ever set foot on my bed again!"
Having said that, regardless of the shock on everyone's faces, she directly picked up the teacup beside An Sheng and hurled it in Squire Su's direction.
A Mei took advantage of this moment to shoot a quick glance at her husband.
The corner of An Sheng's eye and the corner of his mouth twitched simultaneously, the movement vanishing in an instant.
For some reason, A Mei had the illusion that her husband was holding back laughter.
A Mei felt both furious and embarrassed, but she had to grit her teeth and continue the act.
Especially seeing An Sheng keep glancing at those women, A Mei looked them over: their skin was fairer than hers, they were taller than she was, and their chests were fuller too. A Mei felt both humiliated and indignant, and she vented her anger directly at the man called Squire Su: "Fine! Presenting women to my husband right in front of me! Do you take me for dead, you old man?!"
Squire Su, taken off guard, was struck by the cup and cried out "Aiyo!" Then Madame An pointed at him and scolded him. He finally grasped the situation and began to wail inwardly without end. Who could have imagined that bringing women would get him into such trouble? He had heard that Eunuch An had a wife, but a eunuch's wife was merely a figurehead, wasn't she? Everyone knew the husband was master of the wife. Not to mention a eunuch—among ordinary men, having three wives and four concubines was quite common.
"This... this... Madame, please forgive me! This humble commoner didn't... didn't mean to..."
A Mei wasn't listening to his explanations at all. She directly turned her face away and stormed off, leaving everyone in the room not even daring to breathe loudly.
