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墨書 Inktalez
In a blue shirt, she reveals her fair hands, crushing the shadow of the flower branches. Avoiding any onlookers, she tries on a golden hairpin.
Even if she doesn't think of the lotus flowers' intertwined meaning, can she bear to close her eyes and not see the solitary flying swallow?
This night is quite ordinary, with a coolness pressing against restlessness. The pomegranate flowers cast their shadows on the light green window paper, resembling small dippers, occasionally trembling lightly, like a maiden's soft laughter. The eunuch fish grass pours sesame oil into the lamp dish, the flame sputters as it absorbs the oil, brightening the entire small room. The flower shadows on the window paper fade away, but the trembling, like the laughter of a maiden, grows stronger. The pomegranate flowers seem to have laughed out loud: "Fish grass, fish grass!"
The eunuch blinked, about to push the window open, when the door was pushed open by someone. Two young women with a sweet demeanor barged in: "fish mint, I'm not going back tonight, I'll stay here for the night, and I've brought a friend, her name is Tao Hong, also a favorite maid of Consort Cao."
Xing'zi threw the flat pole in her hand and pulled Tao Hong forward to introduce her to the people. Tao Hong followed Xing'zi through twists and turns to an unfamiliar place, looked up and saw a man's face, blushing with embarrassment, turned to run, but was stopped by Xing'zi. Xing'zi told her, "He doesn't count as a man, look carefully, he's a little eunuch."
The eunuch was slender, dressed in indigo clothes, indistinguishable from ordinary men, but with fairer and smoother skin. Xing'zi's words made him smile helplessly. He had a very handsome smile, but his voice was thin and delicate, like a girl embroidering: "Xing girl is teasing me again, I'm a rootless thing, I know that myself. You keep reminding me, I'll cry again at night."
Xing'zi Yuanzheng Xing eyes, the corners of his lips turned up: "I misspoke. But what's wrong with a man shedding tears? It's no big deal. With you here, it's even more convenient. Look at Dun Dao and the others, they have to carry the chamber pot every day. Tonight, I have to fetch water. And you, what about you..." Xing'zi looked around and saw the books and pens spread out on the table, and said with a smile, "Look at you, still able to leisurely read and practice calligraphy. Isn't that easy?"
Nestled in Xing'zi's warm embrace, Tao Hong secretly glanced at the eunuch. He was about the same age as them, and his eyes were always smiling, as if they held stars. Tao Hong knew that those stars in his eyes were for Xing'zi.
"Tao Hong Miss, my name is fish mint." He glanced at Tao Hong and then looked at Xing'zi, asking, "How did you get punished to come out again tonight?"
Xing'zi pushed Tao Hong to sit on the bamboo mat, then closed the door behind them. She said, "It's not my fault. Whatever that person over there is saying, Consort Cao is feeling pressured now. If he has no news, does he have nothing to say? Isn't he afraid..."
Tao Hong looked timidly into fish mint's alert eyes. The eunuch named fish mint seemed hesitant to speak. Xing'zi then said, "Don't worry, Tao Hong is fine. She is the person Consort Cao likes, she doesn't know who we are talking about." fish mint then said, "That official has always been cautious in his actions, he should have handled it. But I feel that in this power struggle, they may not spare our lives, so..."
Xing'zi turned her face and casually said, "Why are you being so long-winded?" She came over to the bamboo mat and sat down, saying, "Bring out the preserved fruits and nuts, let's eat until we're stuffed."
fish mint obediently brought out two plates from a small cabinet. The plates were delicate and clearly a gift from a noble. Xing'zi sat next to Tao Hong, and fish mint sat close to Xing'zi. She pushed him away, but he continued to lean in, saying, "I'm a eunuch, what are you afraid of?" Xing'zi replied, "I'm not afraid of you. I am..." It seemed like she had something to say, but Xing'zi didn't continue, pressing her soft and warm body close to Tao Hong.
The fish mint's mouth corners drooped, like someone who has been starving for half a lifetime. He grabbed Xing'zi's hand and suddenly said: "I'm doing this to help you, don't I hope you can help me realize some crazy dreams? Let me..." His eyes wandered lovingly on Xing'zi's face, then he bent down, his nose tip touching her fingertips: "Touch the woman."
Tao Hong's expression changed as if she had been struck by lightning. Apart from the emperor and imperial consorts in the harem, all desires within it were like Xing'zi's hand being forcibly gripped by an eunuch - soft and fleshy, unable to see daylight, lewd and sticky. Her eyes fell tears of scorching heat, her arms wrapping around Xing'zi to try to pry him open. Xing'zi patted her with his other hand, looking gruff, and said: "Nothing's wrong. Little Peach, just look. There are too many people like this in the palace. Unable to be a man, yet still has a man's heart for one lifetime, he'll go mad."
The eunuch fish mint studied Xing'zi's appearance and leaned against him like a sister embracing her brother, his palm hovering over his hair. He laughed crazily and said: "I'm crazy too, but not as crazy as these high-ranking officials, nor as crazy as your esteemed master who is also crazy. She's about to lose her footing and cause trouble for how many people before she dies? It might even drive Emperor mad. I'm a man without roots, while Emperor is a useless man."
Being worshipped by others, the revered Emperor probably never imagined that he would be mocked by a eunuch. The sharp and resentful laughter echoed in the small room for a long time before stopping. The smoke from the flickering oil lamp rose in thin wisps, coiling like a snake around the floral patterns on the window screen. The night in this small room was so quiet and long.
Tao Hong watched as Xing'zi's hairpin was pulled out by Fish Mint, and her black hair scattered. Fish Mint twisted a lock of her hair, complaining, "I told you to apply some Xing flower oil earlier, so it wouldn't look so dry." He opened a drawer, took out a slender-necked bottle, uncorked it, poured some onto his hand, and slowly applied it to the ends of her hair. "Give it here," Xing'zi snatched the bottle of flower oil and asked Tao Hong beside her to apply some too.
Tao Hong had become like a wooden puppet, motionless and unresponsive. With a blink of her eyes, tears would roll down her chin. This provoked Xing'zi to scold her, "You timid thing, don't cry over things you shouldn't cry about. Luckily, I'm not like you." Xing'zi wiped her face with her sleeve and continued to berate her, "If I were like you, I would have cried to death at home. How could I have entered the palace and lived a life of abundance without lacking food or necessities?" She then pointed at Fish Mint and said, "He's the same. If he had that 'thing,' he wouldn't have entered the palace and had access to flower oil and cosmetics." Fish Mint stopped and his face showed a thin layer of resentment, saying, "Miss Xin'er, don't always pick on me. Sometimes you should speak from your conscience and blame your mistress. If she stood a little higher and steadier, would she still need you to deal with me? What do you think?" Xing'zi laughed, "You're the same."
He bit the inside of his mouth, suddenly laughed, and said, " Xin'er girl, let me tell you a rumor. I don't know who it's about. I also don't know the real meaning. Just listen." He said, there was once a wealthy family who secretly invited the oldest midwife in the city to help a servant girl give birth one night. Then, one or two years later, they threw out a dead baby, asking someone to directly throw it into the desolate mountains.
Xing'zi stared at him and said, "Watch your mouth." fish mint said, "I only told this one thing. There are many more things you know. Tao Hong girl, you must not imitate Xin'er girl. She might die, but she still wants to hold Consort Cao's feet and die." Xing'zi threw the bottle of flower oil back to him and said, "I will hold whoever is good to me! Whoever is truly kind to me, I will die for them." fish mint sighed and said, "What more do I need to do to be truly kind to you? I could clearly ask for more from you, but I have endured it, haven't I..." And Xing'zi sneered, "You have a man's heart, thinking about men's matters. How could you understand!"
This night is so long, so long. They are saying something, arguing about something, Tao Hong half understands, in a daze. Her heart feels like it's been bitten by a snake. Not far away, on the green window screen, eunuch fish mint is the snake, Xing'zi is the entwined flower shadow, and a large pomegranate flower suddenly falls from the branch.
The next day, with dark circles under her eyes, Tao Hong took the opportunity while Xing'zi was still asleep to return to the maid's quarters. After being absent for the night, The old maid was extremely angry, lashing out with a cane on her hands and feet, leaving many bruises, and then sending her to do the laundry. In this harem, the maid is carefully selected, and if her appearance is not good enough, she can only do the lowest level of work. In the entire harem, with over two hundred concubines, when the weather gets hot, they change clothes twice a day, inside and outside, casually discarding one, nearly a thousand pieces of clothing, all needing to be carefully washed by hand.
The laundry is done by the daughters and eunuchs, and they do these tasks every day, the only pastime being chatting. They talk about which maid, which concubine, which eunuch. Tao Hong buried her head, vigorously scrubbing the clothes, and when she heard fish mint's name, she splashed water out of the wooden tub. She finally slowly raised her head, facing the eunuch who was speaking, and asked, "Who is fish mint, the eunuch named fish mint, favored by?"
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