[Such Beautiful Hands]
Su Zhenzhen's gaze involuntarily swept past the little eunuch's lower body, and as she moved it back up, she unexpectedly met his eyes.
For some reason, she had the illusion that he had seen right through her.
She had been very discreet about her looking!
Su Zhenzhen coughed lightly. It was an occupational habit. After a moment of thought, she went back to get a spoon, stuck it into the sweet potato, and said, "Eat it quickly, it's getting cold."
With that, Su Zhenzhen took her spoon and dug into her own roasted sweet potato.
The little eunuch stood there, stared at the roasted sweet potato for a while, then stared at Su Zhenzhen for a while, and finally walked over to her.
Su Zhenzhen was squatting by the stone steps under the eaves. She didn't dare to sit down; it was too cold.
The little eunuch reached out his hand. His clean, pale fingertips, revealing the naturally exquisite bone structure of a young man, brushed against her neck.
His hand was very cold, pressing against her skin like a block of ice.
At the touch of his hand, the little bit of warmth left in Su Zhenzhen's body vanished, and she shivered all over.
[Such beautiful hands. I want to lick them.]
The little eunuch withdrew his hand, his gaze turning bizarrely peculiar as he looked at her.
Su Zhenzhen looked back at him with a clear, innocent gaze. "Is there something on my neck?"
The first time she saw her current face in the mirror, Su Zhenzhen had been instantly stunned. Such a pure, innocent, and beautiful face, yet she was merely a lowly sweeping maid.
Su Zhenzhen believed she was exuding absolute goodwill, but the look the little eunuch gave her revealed a meaning she couldn't quite decipher.
He just kept looking at her without saying a word.
Su Zhenzhen felt a bit awkward.
In truth, she was a textbook introvert.
The injuries on the little eunuch's body were truly glaring.
There was a courtyard by the servants' quarters. Though it wasn't large, many wild herbs grew there. When Su Zhenzhen first transmigrated last year, she had been bored and dug around in the yard, finding a piece of ginger. She had preserved it with plant ash, stuffed it into a clay pot, and sealed it tightly.
Su Zhenzhen brought out the clay pot, took out the ginger, washed it clean, and sliced it into small pieces. Then, dipping it in some leftover white liquor from today, she pulled the little eunuch's hand over and applied it to his wounds.
Wiping a wound with ginger dipped in white liquor could promote blood circulation and clear bruises.
The little eunuch frowned. His gaze was wary, yet he didn't struggle, seemingly trying to resolve some inner confusion.
This reminded Su Zhenzhen of the crippled cat in her yard before she transmigrated.
Its leg had been broken by someone, so it would get very agitated, even to the point of an extreme stress response, whenever it saw people. It took Su Zhenzhen half a year to get it to warm up to her.
When that crippled cat cautiously curled up on her lap, Su Zhenzhen heard the sound of fireworks going off in her head.
The crippled cat's leg could never fully heal, but it didn't affect its daily life. It could still climb onto roofs to cause mischief and jump down to catch mice.
[This skin is so smooth.]
The little eunuch abruptly snatched his hand away, then turned and left expressionlessly.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
The little eunuch left, sparing the dry well, and he didn't take the roasted sweet potato she had given him.
Su Zhenzhen had no choice but to finish the large roasted sweet potato all by herself.
As the sky grew dark, the maids of the servants' quarters all returned.
They gathered together to gossip.
"I heard three more maids died today."
"Is it about that matter? I heard about it too."
"What matter?"
There were still some maids who didn't know.
Su Zhenzhen didn't know either.
One of the maids lowered her voice. "Three maids tried to strangle His Majesty with a rope while he was asleep. Unexpectedly, the rope got tied into a dead knot. They failed to strangle him and were instead stabbed to death by His Majesty with a single sword thrust."
Rumor had it that those maids, having seen His Majesty kill people like flies, were terrified that they would also be stabbed to death by His Majesty. Filled with fear and hesitation, and later provoked and encouraged by forces behind the scenes, they decided to strike first. Little did they know, it would cost them their lives.
Su Zhenzhen wrapped her quilt tightly around herself and began calculating how many years she had left before she could leave the palace.
-
After resting for three days, Su Zhenzhen went to work as usual. The weather was still freezing. On her way back from work, she scratched her fingers, which were unbearably itchy from chilblains, and her brows furrowed slightly.
This body was too poor. She didn't have a single bit of savings. Even if she wanted to find someone to buy medicine from, she couldn't.
Thinking of this, Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but sigh. Then, looking up, she saw that it had started snowing again.
The first time she saw the falling snow, Su Zhenzhen had marveled at its beauty.
But ever since she took on this grueling, beast-of-burden job, her first reaction to seeing snow was that her workload was going to increase again.
She really wanted to go home, lie under the covers, and watch handsome guys with eight-pack abs do suggestive dances.
As she thought about this, Su Zhenzhen suddenly recalled the beautiful young man from that day.
He was truly gorgeous, but unfortunately, he was a eunuch.
Su Zhenzhen let her mind wander as she walked. The ground was wet and slippery, and with a moment of carelessness, her foot slipped, causing her to stumble.
A hand wearing a string of Buddhist prayer beads reached out from the side and steadied her.
"It's snowing. Be careful, the road is slippery."
The hand supporting Su Zhenzhen was pale and soft, carrying a scholarly aura. A faint sniff revealed the crisp, cold scent of Buddhist incense.
Following the smooth silk fabric, Su Zhenzhen looked up and saw an incomparably handsome face.
If the beautiful young eunuch from that day possessed a delicate beauty tainted with a dark, damp aura, then the face before her was handsome and gentle. Moreover, the scent of Buddhist incense on him gave off a feeling of merciful benevolence.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze moved downward, noticing the man's attire.
Although she wasn't a true ancient, she still understood the significance of the purple official robe the man was wearing.
Su Zhenzhen quickly knelt down.
She pressed her palms together and rested her forehead on them, her exposed fingertips showing obvious signs of frostbite.
"I have offended Your Excellency. Please forgive me."
A eunuch behind the man held an umbrella for him. Slanting, fragmented snowflakes fell onto Su Zhenzhen, clinging to the nape of her lowered neck, revealing skin like creamy white jade.
Shen Yanci had seen many beauties. The woman before him certainly had some looks, no, she was quite beautiful, but she couldn't catch his eye at all.
Shen Yanci wore a smile on his face, but his eyes were indifferent. It was an apathy that seeped from his very bones, yet it was perfectly concealed. The world could only see the gentle and modest exterior he presented.
He carried the temperament and strength of character cultivated by a prominent aristocratic family, as if nothing in the world could make him lose his manners and upbringing.
"It's cold. Take the umbrella," Shen Yanci said, bending down to look at the maid in front of him.
The maid kept her posture very low, visibly shrinking back when he approached.
Su Zhenzhen suddenly felt a chill run through her entire body.
She remembered.
She seemed to have read a novel before, in which there was an NPC background maid with the exact same name as her.
The book was titled Return to the Court. It was about a dynasty overthrown by a virtuous and capable minister of great renown, a dynasty with a mentally ill emperor, a dynasty of bloody massacres, and a dynasty restored by the crown prince of the previous regime.
The male lead was named Shen Yanci, a former crown prince who dreamed of restoration and succeeded.
His first appearance in the book was precisely under the palace walls during a light snowfall, where he gave a pale green oil-paper umbrella to a maid named Su Zhenzhen.
Shen Yanci's eyes flickered slightly, but he still maintained a faint smile on his face.
Shen Yanci knew exactly how popular he was with these women.
"Thank you for your kindness, My Lord, but this maid is of humble status and does not dare to overstep."
He had been rejected.
Shen Yanci straightened his back, his gaze toward the woman turning slightly cold, though the smile on his face only deepened. "If that is the case, then as you wish."
The eunuch following behind Shen Yanci, holding an umbrella for him, frowned as he glanced at Su Zhenzhen. He felt this palace maid was truly ungrateful. It was only thanks to Lord Shen’s reputation for having a good temper that she wasn't punished.
Shen Yanci and the eunuch departed.
Su Zhenzhen remained in that same posture, unmoving.
She knew exactly how insidious, calculating, and hypocritical this Lord Shen was—a man with a Buddha’s face but a snake’s heart.
In the book, he appeared to be a famous virtuous official of the Great Zhou Dynasty, gentle and kind, the most beloved of the people. Ultimately, it was because of this reputation for sagacity that he was pushed onto the imperial throne. In truth, this was all the result of his own meticulous behind-the-scenes maneuvering rather than something that happened naturally. His true identity was the Crown Prince of the previous dynasty.
Su Zhenzhen was the only one who knew of the ambition Shen Yanci hid deep within his bones.
Under normal circumstances, she certainly would not have involved herself with such a person in the slightest.
But unfortunately, the original owner of this body was one of Shen Yanci’s people.
Shen Yanci had arranged many eyes and ears within the palace. This work was handled by his subordinates, so as the big boss behind the scenes, he certainly wouldn't recognize every single pawn—especially a low-level sleeper agent like her.
Even though Shen Yanci didn't know her, the tyrant was about to find her.
Su Zhenzhen’s heart pounded like a drum.
She was about to die.
Su Zhenzhen was the most humble of pawns under Shen Yanci’s command. Therefore, even if she were discovered, no one would lift a finger to save her. In fact, they would likely offer her up as a sacrifice to take the blame.
Su Zhenzhen returned to the servants' quarters. Because her workplace was the furthest away, by the time she returned, almost everyone else was already back.
A charcoal brazier with an unpleasant smell was burning in the room, and several palace maids were huddled together gossiping.
"I heard a little eunuch jumped into a well and died."
Su Zhenzhen’s expression shifted as she suddenly remembered that handsome little eunuch.
Had he really died after all?
The inner palace seemed like a place of supreme nobility to outsiders, but in reality, one couldn't even control their own life here. Every year, eunuchs and palace maids would throw themselves into wells to end their misery.
Su Zhenzhen knew she couldn't do anything about it, so she simply lay on her bed and sighed silently. At the same time, a sense of shared tragic fate washed over her.
She was going to die too.
Because a palace maid had previously harbored murderous intent toward the tyrant, the entire palace was being turned upside down in a search.
Shen Yanci was calmly preparing to throw away a few unimportant pawns to bring the matter to a close.
Su Zhenzhen was one of those unimportant pawns.
She remembered that the original owner of her body had been thinking of Shen Yanci right up until the moment of her death.
Yes, the original owner had a crush on Shen Yanci.
She was a total love brain.
She heard that in the end, the girl died while clutching the umbrella Shen Yanci had given her.
Su Zhenzhen rolled over and saw someone lift the curtain and enter, holding a familiar oil-paper umbrella.
"Hongxing, where did that umbrella come from? It doesn't look cheap."
"Lord Shen gave it to me."
Hongxing had a bright and beautiful face; she was something of a beauty. She held the oil-paper umbrella, a shy smile appearing on her face.
Another love brain.
If Su Zhenzhen remembered correctly, Hongxing was also a sleeper agent.
-
Even though Su Zhenzhen knew she was going to die, she still had to go to work the next day.
There was a popular meme on the internet.
If you were diagnosed with cancer at the hospital in the morning, what would you do in the afternoon?
Go to work, of course, because you only took half a day off.
Su Zhenzhen felt that this was exactly her situation.
The blade was hanging over her head; she knew it would fall, but she didn't know when.
And for the sake of surviving today, she had to keep working.
The weather was clear today, and she finished her shift early. On her way back to the servants' quarters, she saw a circle of people gathered ahead. Curious, she stood on her tiptoes to look. She saw the people in the circle turning pale, and some couldn't help but vomit.
This was the only path back to her quarters. Su Zhenzhen lowered her head and tried to walk past, but she saw a fat, high-ranking eunuch standing there. His gaze swept over the circle of maids and finally landed behind her.
Before Su Zhenzhen could react, she was dragged over by two small eunuchs standing beside the fat one.
"You, come and watch too."
Su Zhenzhen was forced to stand there. She saw a massive steamer in front of her. It reminded her of the old version of Journey to the West she saw as a child, where Tang Sanzang and his disciples were put into a steamer by demons. Accompanied by festive music, it hadn't seemed scary then.
As a child, Su Zhenzhen hadn't understood anything, so of course, she didn't find it terrifying.
But now, Su Zhenzhen could fully comprehend that horror.
"Let me tell you, anyone who dares to harbor treacherous thoughts will end up like this!" the fat eunuch said in his high-pitched, pinched voice.
Su Zhenzhen’s face was whiter than a sheet of paper.
They were... steaming a person.
-
When Su Zhenzhen returned to the servants' quarters like a wandering soul, the palace maids were sitting in small groups. They looked terrible; clearly, most of them knew about the steaming incident.
Su Zhenzhen touched her cold neck.
She felt like someone who had been electrocuted for three days in Myanmar and still thought their family was playing a prank on them.
Hongxing’s oil-paper umbrella was still by her pillow; it was her most precious treasure.
"I really didn't expect that Hongxing was actually a rebel."
"Yeah."
The maids whispered among themselves. Su Zhenzhen leaned her head back and collapsed onto her bed.
She dreamed again. She dreamed she was in a very hot place, surrounded by billowing steam.
Su Zhenzhen raised her hand, wanting to push open the cover above her and get out, but she was pinned down firmly.
She tried to make a sound, but found she couldn't speak at all.
Finally, Su Zhenzhen was woken up by a sense of suffocation. She opened her eyes and found that her leggings were wrapped around her neck.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen checked the time. It wasn't light out yet, but she already had to get up for work.
Because her workplace was the furthest from the servants' quarters, she had to wake up the earliest and return the latest every day.
To put it bluntly, she was a manual labor maid.
Su Zhenzhen put on her leggings and left the room.
She wasn't in good spirits and felt sluggish. As she passed the side room next to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, she saw that little eunuch again.
He wasn't dead.
Su Zhenzhen felt an inexplicable sense of relief. It seemed the little eunuch who had jumped into the well wasn't him.
Su Zhenzhen’s gaze drifted down to the back of his hand.
The wound seemed to have mostly healed.
As if possessed, Su Zhenzhen walked over to him. "I'm going to die."
The little eunuch turned to look at her, his brow immediately furrowing.
Su Zhenzhen didn't care about his sour expression. She suddenly burst into tears, snot and all, and then reached out to grab the hem of his robe to wipe her nose.
The little eunuch looked at her in shock.
Lu Hexu had obtained a list of sleeper agents. However, it was only a list of low-level pawns, looking as though someone had thrown them out as sacrifices to settle a certain matter.
And until now, the secret guards had not yet discovered who the mastermind was.
Lu Hexu didn't care.
Because it didn't matter to him, and he wasn't interested.
This list of sleeper agents had been in his hands for a long time.
The secret guards by his side had worked for him, investigating the information of every person on the list one by one. They had even attached portraits.
Lu Hexu recognized her the moment he laid eyes on her.
Su Zhenzhen.
A lowly sleeper agent.
He could kill her at any moment.
As his hand pressed against her throat, he heard her voice.
[His hands are so beautiful. I want to lick them.]
Now, this sleeper agent was sobbing as if she were going to die tomorrow, clutching his sleeve to wipe away her disgusting snot, even as he heard her thinking:
[You smell so good.]
Su Zhenzhen: You smell so good, sister.
Lu Hexu: It’s "husband."
