Chapter 254: Eunuch Yan’s Gossip
“Ah!”
The Emperor let out a lazy yawn.
For those officials, today was a tense day.
Today might decide many things, and there would be many changes.
The rights they had been fighting for all this time should have a result today.
And for some minor officials, having worked hard for half their lives, they had finally earned a chance to see the Emperor.
Being able to see the Emperor today might change the fate of their entire life.
Rising to the top, or remaining in obscurity.
In short, this was a very, very important day for the officials in the Imperial Court.
Perhaps a matter of life and death, perhaps a turning point in their destiny.
For the Emperor, it was just a rather dull day among thousands of workdays.
He had to wake up early on this day.
Last night, he had discussed plays with Wen Xin, so he had gone to sleep a bit late.
Getting out of bed was difficult.
Before dawn, the eunuch responsible for waking him up frowned, not wanting to play the villain.
The Emperor had finally fallen asleep, and was sleeping soundly in the early morning.
Those ministers all had their own agendas; no one truly cared about the Emperor’s health.
They were the ones who truly cared about the Emperor.
After all, they had nothing else, only the Emperor; their lives were bound to his.
But in the end, he had to wake him.
As much as he felt sorry for him.
The task still had to be done.
Watching the Emperor, bleary-eyed and just waking up, he looked every bit an aged old man, with many more age spots on his face.
His hair also looked white and sparse.
He wasn’t even as robust as an ordinary old man.
The Emperor was actually not as old as Old General Meng.
But when Old General Meng returned last time, he walked with vigorous strides and ate three bowls of hard rice in the imperial palace.
The Emperor was far worse off.
From time to time, if he sat for too long, he would get dizzy.
Before the Emperor was washed and dressed, the eunuchs would silently ensure no mirror appeared before him.
After everything was tidied up, the Emperor changed into his magnificent dragon robes and wore his crown, covering his sparse, white hair.
His face had also been massaged, plumping it up.
In fact, the Emperor himself knew more or less.
He just didn’t want to face it.
Anyway, he would be as happy as he could.
However, every time he summoned Wen Xin, it was only after he had finished getting ready.
It was even more formal than seeing his concubines.
It could be said that Eunuch Yan was the kind of friend whom the Emperor needed to dress up to see.
Whereas those concubines had seen the Emperor’s unadorned face.
After getting ready, he had some breakfast.
The Emperor didn’t need to worry about needing to use the restroom; he was the boss, and if he wanted to go, he could just have someone dismiss the court.
He had breakfast with Eunuch Yan.
Nowadays, in the imperial palace, there was no Empress Dowager, no Empress, and the concubines couldn’t control the Emperor, so no one would gossip about the Emperor choosing to dine with a eunuch.
Outside, it was rumored that Eunuch Yan was the Emperor’s male favorite, but that wasn’t the case at all.
It was just that when a man gets old, sometimes his interest in women fades, and he prefers someone he can talk to; gender isn’t that important.
If he talked like this with the court officials, they would all try to guess if there was some deep meaning behind it.
Eunuch Yan was different; he was just a eunuch who loved to sing, and Eunuch Yan understood him.
They discussed interests and hobbies, art.
Perhaps the word “art” didn’t exist then, but in any case, they were just like-minded.
Over there, the court officials were traveling by carriage under the stars, parking, queuing, socializing, interacting, and scheming against each other.
Over here, in the warm imperial palace, the Emperor was discussing with Eunuch Yan that the melon wasn’t very sweet.
“It doesn’t need to be too sweet. It’s refreshing and good for soothing the throat. If it’s too sweet, it gets a bit cloying,” Eunuch Yan said unhurriedly, eating in a very unhurried manner as well.
The Emperor laughed.
He liked this detached attitude of Wen Xin.
He knew how to play, loved to play, could afford to play, and had a good mindset. Being with Wen Xin, he always felt several years younger, and everything he saw was satisfactory.
“Wen Xin, with your personality, didn’t you have a girl you liked in the past? You must have been popular with girls, too,” the Emperor asked, eating a piece of the not-so-sweet melon.
“I did. Back then, I really liked a big sister in the village. She was tall and sturdy, with a round face and was very strong. When chopping firewood, she could carry this much by herself,” Eunuch Yan said, gesturing with his hands to draw a big circle.
The Emperor couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this.
The eunuchs and maids serving nearby also couldn’t help but suppress their smiles.
For a moment, the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
The more the Emperor thought about it, the funnier it was.
What the heck was this about the girl Wen Xin liked being tall and sturdy? And being able to chop so much firewood… how much was that? Who measures a girl by firewood?
“And then?”
“I had a weak constitution and no relatives. I could only sing and couldn’t even support myself; I had to be helped by that big sister from time to time. One day, I finally made up my mind to work hard and earn money. I went to the county town and found a job as a waiter in a tavern. After working for a month, I finally saved enough money to buy a hairpin.”
Compared to the messy affairs of the Imperial Court, listening to gossip was clearly more interesting.
And it was the person in front of him sharing his own gossip.
He told it vividly.
The Emperor and everyone else in the room were intrigued.
Eunuch Yan had a pleasant voice.
Crisp yet tender, naturally filled with affection and melancholy.
“That day, I took a day off and went excitedly to find the big sister with the hairpin. It turned out that when she went up the mountain to chop wood, she passed by a river and saw someone floating in it. She was a kind-hearted person, so she jumped straight into the river to save the person. Our village was isolated and backward. Jumping into the river to save someone and dragging them out was equivalent to intimate physical contact. Although I didn’t care, she did… The most important thing was that the man was extremely handsome, much better looking than me.”
Eunuch Yan had been telling it quite tragically.
A twisty, winding love story.
The listeners were stunned.
Even the Emperor felt a bit sorry for him.
He even wanted to offer a word of comfort.
But then he heard the last sentence.
The soup in the Emperor’s mouth was about to spray out.
What the heck…
The other eunuchs and maids struggled to hold back their laughter.
“So, did your big sister marry that man because he was handsome?” a favored eunuch asked from the side.
“Who’s to say otherwise? I had worked excitedly for a month and bought the hairpin as a wedding gift for the big sister,” Eunuch Yan said with an extremely aggrieved look.
“Hahaha!” The Emperor finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“How could there be a man in this world better looking than Wen Xin? That woman had poor judgment; what a pity.”
“It’s a good thing Eunuch Yan didn’t marry that woman, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see Eunuch Yan’s elegance. Now that Eunuch Yan is in such good condition, do you still think about that big sister?” Eunuch Liu, who was nearby, added in to join the fun.
This remark was a bit catty and insinuating. A eunuch had lost everything; how could he think about women? Also, now that Eunuch Yan was wealthy, had he helped out his childhood sweetheart from the past? Did he have any kindness left? Or was it disgusting?
The Emperor was the master; it didn’t matter what those around him said. Only others tried to guess his thoughts; he never tried to guess theirs.
He also asked casually, “Did that woman regret it?”
Attendant Yan Wenxin shook his head and said, “The man my big sister married was peerless in appearance and very successful in his career. I estimate that the Emperor will be able to see him at the Imperial Court meeting today. I have actually always been thinking of her, but with my status, it’s not appropriate to approach her. Seeing that she is living well is enough.”
With that said.
The Emperor remembered.
The Imperial Court meeting.
Morning court.
He still had to attend court.
He finished eating, felt a chill, left the inner palace, and walked out.
The smiling face under the crown also turned stern.
He didn’t want to go to work.
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