No talking, no talking.
The weather was starting to warm up over the past five days. Su Zhenzhen cleaned out a corner of the Little Southern Palace, moved her daily necessities there, and then found that the pile of things in that corner kept growing and growing, almost turning it into a second room for her.
Most of it was actually junk she had picked up.
In such a state of material scarcity, she had ultimately joined the ranks of the scavengers.
A bowl missing a corner, a table missing a leg, a vase broken in half, and so on.
Su Zhenzhen was squatting on the ground fiddling with something when a faint shadow fell over her from behind.
She looked up and saw Mu Dan standing behind her.
Hello, darling, give me a hand.
Su Zhenzhen had Mu Dan hold up this lame-legged table while she went outside to fetch a tree branch to serve as a makeshift table leg.
The branch was a bit too long. Su Zhenzhen took out a small sickle and chopped down on it.
The corner of her clothes got a little dirty.
Lu Hexu walked over to Su Zhenzhen, reached out to take the small sickle, directly chopped through the wrist-thick branch, and then fitted it under the lame-legged table.
Su Zhenzhen looked at this display of strength with shock.
Who would have thought?
His wrist looked so slender she felt she could circle it with one hand, yet he could chop through such a thick branch in one go.
It seemed she was the weak one after all.
The table was barely fixed. Su Zhenzhen placed two small stools beside it, then put the chipped vase on top, inserting a single red rose in the middle.
The rose was a very deep red, a crimson so dark it was almost blackish, half-open and half-closed, carrying a shy, bashful kind of beauty.
Su Zhenzhen also brought over a candle. It was white, but she really couldn't find any other color.
Well, you know, a candlelit dinner.
Su Zhenzhen sat down shyly on the small stool and brought out the two pork chops she had splurged on today.
Well-done pork chops.
Otherwise, there could be tapeworms.
"Wang Ji is dead."
Su Zhenzhen: ...Darling, is such an explosive topic really appropriate during a meal?
"No talking, no talking."
Why should we worry about things the big shots should worry about? Catching the mole won't land on our heads, rest assured.
Su Zhenzhen gave Mu Dan a pair of chopsticks, then took a pair for herself.
Oh, right, there's also milk tea.
Palace maids received a few small perks each month, like a share of tea leaves or such.
This time, Su Zhenzhen got ordinary green tea. She made a cup of milk green tea, extra sweet for the little eunuch, and three parts sweet for herself.
Such a heavy taste isn't good either, this condition really needs treatment.
Su Zhenzhen had marinated the pork chops in advance, so they were quite flavorful.
There were also condiments placed nearby, which Su Zhenzhen had thoughtfully labeled.
Lu Hexu picked up the salt jar, poured out a large handful, and dipped his food in it.
Su Zhenzhen: ...This condition really needs medical attention.
After the two finished dinner, Su Zhenzhen sat up straight and proper facing the little eunuch.
"Physical check-up."
The little eunuch leaned lazily against the wall behind him, tilting his head to look at her.
"Shake your head, blink, open your mouth."
Following Su Zhenzhen's instructions, the little eunuch frowned but complied.
Such adorable cold-face cuteness.
Full of disdain yet completely obedient.
So well-behaved, if he were in modern times, who knows how many online loans people would take out just to spoil him.
"Hmm..."
After observing, Su Zhenzhen thought Mu Dan's loss of taste was likely acquired, possibly related to the toxins in his body.
She needed to think about modifying the prescription and try again.
"Do you know there are a lot of toxins in your body?"
Lu Hexu glanced at her. "Yes."
"Do you know who did it?"
"They're already dead."
Dead?
Indeed, judging from the pulse, these were old, accumulated poisons. If not properly regulated, they could be life-threatening in the long run.
"In the past, did you... take elixirs?" Su Zhenzhen asked cautiously.
Lu Hexu's previously lazy gaze turned sharp. He stared at Su Zhenzhen, and the half-smile on his face vanished.
Oh, oh, oh!
"No talking, no talking."
Su Zhenzhen quickly waved her hands.
Su Zhenzhen remembered a type of eunuch mentioned in the original story, called Elixir Test Slaves.
The current Empress Dowager enjoyed taking elixirs. It was said the current State Preceptor was also highly skilled in alchemy.
The elixirs refined naturally couldn't be given directly to the Empress Dowager; they needed human testers.
The State Preceptor selected a group of eunuchs and palace maids to test the elixirs.
Eating large quantities of elixirs with unknown effects year after year, the luckier ones like Mu Dan survived, but their health was ruined.
The unlucky ones died directly.
Sigh, why did she have to bring up such a sad subject?
Sigh, Su Zhenzhen, you're being sentimental again.
"Let's go pick cherries."
Su Zhenzhen had discovered a cherry tree by the spring in the Little Southern Palace during the day. It was only April, but the tree already bore fruit.
Early-ripening cherries, who knows if they're edible.
Su Zhenzhen picked some, washed them, and handed one to Mu Dan.
The little eunuch leaned lazily there, holding the cherry stem with his lips, tilting his head to look at her.
That tiny cherry was even heart-shaped, dangling beneath the youth's lips.
The person was more delicate than the cherry.
Mom, she's in love.
-
After returning to the Palace of Gathered Elegance from the Little Southern Palace with her cherries, Su Zhenzhen was summoned by Matron Wu.
Matron Wu told her the mole had been found—a eunuch named Wei Yuan.
Sigh, why oppose anyone but the male lead?
You see, "accidentally fell into the water" and died, didn't he?
Inside the bedchamber, Lu Hexu entered feeling lighthearted, habitually kicking off his shoes and socks and removing his clothes.
"Your Majesty, although it is already May, walking without shoes and socks like this can still harm your health. These floor tiles are gold bricks, made from the heaviest, deepest silt from the lake bottom..."
"I'll kill you."
Wei Heng: ...
"Is the matter taken care of?"
"It is done, Your Majesty."
Wei Heng lowered his eyes, thinking of the task his master had ordered, and unconsciously frowned.
Following instructions, Wei Heng had spread the news of his master's secret interactions with a palace maid named Su Zhenzhen to a sleeper agent.
By now, that side must have received the information.
Since childhood, this master of his had never opened his heart to anyone.
After experiencing those events, he cared even less for anyone.
It was rare for Wei Heng to see his master so interested in a person.
But this interest was... deadly.
Hearing Wei Heng's reply, Lu Hexu hummed a light, cheerful tune, then looked outside through the curtain.
"How much longer until the Zi hour?"
Wei Heng was startled inwardly and replied respectfully, "The Zi hour has already passed. We must wait another twelve hours."
This Emperor never usually asked about the time, drifting through each day in a daze. Wei Heng always felt that one day, he might vanish with the moonlight into the wind.
This was the first time this master had asked what time it was.
Yesterday, tomorrow, time—none of it held any meaning for Lu Hexu.
But now, he was looking forward to tomorrow.
Why isn't tomorrow here yet?
-
Did they think pushing a Wei Yuan out would make him believe it?
Perhaps he could believe Wei Yuan was responsible for this incident, but what about the last time?
Hah, foolish.
In the dimly-chamber, Shen Yanci sat expressionless. He opened the intelligence delivered by his hidden agent, and upon seeing the small portrait, his mind flashed with that face of utmost purity and that slender neck that seemed as if it would snap with a single twist.
Su Zhenzhen.
Shen Yanci's eyes darkened slightly.
"What did the hidden agent report?" Liu Jingxing, Shen Yanci's advisor, pushed the door open and entered. With one glance at Shen Yanci's gloomy countenance, he knew his master was in a foul mood.
"He said this Su Zhenzhen is unaware that he is the Son of Heaven, believing him to be an ordinary eunuch. She seems quite fond of him, and their interactions are frequent. They meet joyfully every night in the Little Southern Palace. The matter concerning Song Lizhen was likely leaked by her."
Shen Yanci tapped the desk unhurriedly.
Just as expected.
However... the hidden agents he had planted near that tyrant had all been executed. He didn't know how that tyrant could be so sharp. Until now, only this Su Zhenzhen had managed to stay by his side.
Was it because she was unaware of the tyrant's true identity that she escaped harm?
For him, this was actually a good thing.
Suddenly, the sound of clinking porcelain came from outside. Shen Yanci's expression shifted, and the dagger in his hand flew out instantly.
Liu Jingxing swiftly pushed the door open to find a maidservant lying at the doorway, a lacquer tray beside her.
Liu Jingxing let out a silent sigh. "It was just a maidservant delivering tea. Master, you are perhaps being overly cautious."
This master of his was suspicious to an extreme.
Shen Yanci's expression flickered slightly. The ghastly phantoms before his eyes gradually faded. His other hand still rested on the soft sword at his waist, the prayer beads at his wrist swaying gently, his pupils trembling. "Better to kill by mistake than to let one go."
-
Su Zhenzhen was transferred to the Peony Garden to tend to the peonies within.
Tending peonies was much easier work than sweeping floors.
It only required rising at dawn each day to inspect the peonies' condition, removing yellow leaves and weeds, then watering, loosening the soil, and reporting any issues promptly.
Su Zhenzhen yawned and sat on a large rock to the side.
Shiver, shiver, shiver... so cold.
Suddenly, a cloak descended from the sky and landed on her.
Su Zhenzhen looked up in confusion and saw Shen Yanci standing behind her.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
"The weather is cold. Why are you alone here?"
Working, mister! Unlike you who seems to have all the leisure in the world. What about your great cause of overthrowing the Zhou and restoring the Yan?
Su Zhenzhen gave a violent shiver, and Shen Yanci's subtly fragrant cloak fell to the ground.
Su Zhenzhen immediately kowtowed, her head touching the ground. "Greetings, My Lord."
Shen Yanci had met many women. He knew they liked his handsome appearance, his gentle courtesy, his outstanding talent.
Therefore, he was very adept at discerning women.
"The ground is cold. Get up quickly."
Su Zhenzhen was pulled up by Shen Yanci, who held her arm.
He looks so refined and scholarly, how is his strength so great?
"Look, your clothes are dirty." The man lowered his gaze, his expression gentle.
If you hadn't suddenly appeared, requiring her to kowtow, would her clothes be dirty?
"Last time I saw you, weren't you sweeping near the Fengtian Hall?"
Su Zhenzhen kept her head bowed, showing Shen Yanci only the top of her head. "The Imperial Household Department transferred this servant here."
"Is that so."
Shen Yanci's tone was gentle, his expression smiling.
Su Zhenzhen continued to look down.
The smile on Shen Yanci's face gradually stiffened.
It was always women who sought him out to strike up conversation and find topics.
"The peonies here are very beautiful." Shen Yanci bent down, plucked a peony, and placed it in Su Zhenzhen's hair.
A beauty adorned with a flower—this face actually made the flower itself seem garish by comparison.
Su Zhenzhen was staring at the tips of her shoes, wondering when this scoundrel would leave, when she suddenly felt a cool sensation on her head, as if something had been placed there.
She looked up, bewildered, reached up to touch it, and pulled down a peony.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
"Ah!" Su Zhenzhen let out a cry.
Shen Yanci instinctively took a step back, a flicker of vigilance in his eyes, one hand pressing the soft sword hidden at his waist.
The wind picked up around them, leaving only the drifting fragrance of peonies.
"M-My Lord, this servant cannot afford to pay for this peony."
Why did you have to pick anything, and of all things, the Peony King! Just to show off your good taste!
Shen Yanci: ...
"How much silver." The man's smile stiffened slightly.
"This servant... this servant does not know." Su Zhenzhen panicked. She couldn't afford it. Thinking this, she grabbed a corner of Shen Yanci's robe.
"You were the one who picked this flower, My Lord, it has nothing to do with this servant. Could you please inform the supervising auntie?"
"Understood. Let go." Shen Yanci prized decorum above all. He looked down at the mud on Su Zhenzhen's fingertips staining the pure white corner of his robe.
A vein throbbed at Shen Yanci's temple.
"No."
Shen Yanci: "...Do you think I would run away?"
Su Zhenzhen bowed her head without speaking, just clutching him tightly.
Shen Yanci: ...
The peony Shen Yanci had picked was the Peony King, 'Yao Huang,' said to be a variety the Empress Dowager favored most, and it was needed for the upcoming Peony Banquet in a few days.
Therefore, the person who arrived was the female official from the Bureau of Gardens.
"Are you the palace maid in charge of the Peony Garden?"
The female official began with an accusation.
Su Zhenzhen hurriedly knelt. "Yes." As she spoke, she subtly tugged at Shen Yanci's robe again.
Shen Yanci took a deep breath. "I was the one who picked it."
Actually, picking a flower or two in the Peony Garden wasn't a major issue; it mainly depended on who did the picking.
If it were the Emperor, he could burn the entire Peony Garden down without consequence.
"If it was you, My Lord, then naturally there is no issue. However, this palace maid was negligent in her duties and must be punished."
"It was my mistake. Do not punish her." The gentleman frowned, clearly not expecting his unintentional mistake would cause a palace maid to be punished.
He immediately assumed all responsibility. Such a hero-saving-the-beauty scenario would surely make the palace maid feel favorably toward him.
Of course it was your mistake!
Su Zhenzhen kept her head bowed, a little finger hidden in her sleeve subtly pointing in Shen Yanci's direction.
This capitalist dog, making people work for nothing with a leash around their necks, and now picking her peony!
Since Shen Yanci, a high-ranking official of the second grade, interceded, Su Zhenzhen naturally received no punishment.
After Shen Yanci left, Su Zhenzhen saw the cloak on the ground and instinctively frowned.
-
"My Lord."
At the palace gate, Liu Jingxing had been waiting for some time.
Shen Yanci gave him a slight nod, then stepped onto the carriage stool and entered the carriage.
The two entered the carriage together, and Liu Jingxing poured a cup of tea for Shen Yanci.
"My Lord, how did it go?"
"Foolish."
"She is a low-level hidden agent, due to leave the palace in three years. She doesn't even know who is behind her, which shows she is naturally not a clever one." After finishing, Liu Jingxing noticed Shen Yanci was missing a garment.
"My Lord, where is your cloak?"
Shen Yanci frowned at the dark stain on the corner of his robe, his expression relaxing slightly. "I left it there."
Liu Jingxing paused. "You mean... a honey trap?"
Shen Yanci picked up the teacup before him and took a small sip. "Because she is unaware of that tyrant's true identity, she can deceive him. For her to work for us, we naturally cannot let her slip up. A high official of the second grade versus a deep-palace eunuch—she will naturally know which to choose."
-
Su Zhenzhen sold the two items Shen Yanci had left behind.
Shen Yanci had quite a market within the palace.
A red umbrella and a cloak, sold to the highest bidders for twenty taels and fifty taels of silver respectively.
What a pity she couldn't leave the palace. If she could, based on the infatuation noble young ladies outside had for Shen Yanci, she could have sold his things for an even higher price.
Having sold Shen Yanci's belongings, Su Zhenzhen finally had the silver to buy medicine for Mu Dan.
Things in the palace were expensive, but the quality was excellent.
After all, if items sent into the palace were faulty, it could cost someone their head.
Su Zhenzhen requested silver needles, which came in a new-looking needle pouch.
After finishing her duties at the Peony Courtyard, Su Zhenzhen took her newly acquired silver needles and headed to the Small Southern Palace.
"You're here."
This time, Mu Dan had actually arrived before her.
A soft lantern hung under the eaves, its warm yellow light falling on the young man's face, lending it a faintly aloof quality.
Su Zhenzhen walked forward, pondering how to broach the subject of administering the acupuncture.
Over there, Lu Hexun rested his chin on his hand, his tone drawn out. "I heard you met someone in the Peony Courtyard today."
