Ch 140: This Eunuch Looks A Bit Like Older Sister
【Tyrants like that, you can only observe from afar, not play with. Enjoy the eye candy and that’s it. If you get too close, you don’t know how you’ll die.】
Chu Liuzheng, though a face-chaser, is a face-chaser who cherishes her life.
When she had nothing to do, she liked to think and think to amuse herself. Her thinking was quite jumpy. Thinking about the gossip she had just seen, she couldn’t help but secretly compare.
【Flower Butterfly is also quite tall, and has a handsome face. As for his figure… well, he’s certainly not a skinny guy. That fellow knows martial arts; I wonder how he compares to the tyrant? The ambassador will also be here later during the Firearms Camp’s drills, I have to take a good look.】
Xiao Jingfan… his face darkened.
It’s audacious enough to covet him, but to compare him to Weiming Liang!
Does that even need comparison?
Does this woman have eyes or not?!
*
“Depart!”
Cavalry led the way, the Emperor’s retinue in front, officials and ambassadors riding horses behind, they proceeded in a mighty procession towards the Jingdu suburbs hunting grounds.
Chu Liuzheng, sitting on the carriage shaft, turned her head to look around. She saw that behind the curtains pulled up by the soldiers, there were countless people standing and craning their necks to watch the excitement, their heads bobbing, like a bustling market.
Everyone wanted to see what the Emperor, who according to the Tea Master could do anything from going to heaven to entering the earth, actually looked like. Would he have three eyes, six hands, eight legs? Could he magically summon soldiers in a crucial moment and call upon celestial soldiers and generals to assist?
Unfortunately, the Emperor sat inside the carriage, more concealed than a bride in a palanquin. The people didn’t even see a shadow, and couldn’t help but feel some regret.
But since they were already here, if they couldn’t see the Emperor, they would look at others.
The people pointed and whispered about the officials and ambassadors.
“That’s Your Excellency Dong; I saw him when I went to the Yamen to lodge a complaint.”
“Who’s in that palanquin among the ambassadors?”
“A princess, I heard that the princesses are all very beautiful.”
“That, that one, see, the one whose face is particularly white, with a slightly recessed chin. His brother was caught by his wife visiting a brothel and had his leg broken.”
“My, what a virago!”
“Look ahead, that handsome elder with a beard riding a white horse is Grand Tutor Yan, a good official. It just snowed, and he set up a porridge stand outside the city to give out porridge. Other places give out watery porridge; only his place and the Princess’s Mansion provide very thick porridge, you can even stand chopsticks in it.”
“The Chongde Marquis Manor also does. They not only give out porridge but winter clothes as well. Those without homes can even live in the manor outside the city as long as they help with the work.”
“The Dou Mansion gives out white steamed buns, those who get there early can even receive meat buns, isn’t that better than porridge?”
“They only gave it out for two days. Who cares if it’s good or not when you’re starving, porridge is more practical, it’s never stopped.”
“Did you hear? This morning, Lao He, the man who hauls manure, found several corpses in the septic tank. Many constables went there. It seems they were big shots.”
“Nonsense, what big shot would die in such a filthy place? It’s probably just a group of drunkards who stumbled into the wrong place.”
…
Amidst the discussions of the crowd, a clear, childish voice stood out.
“Mother, I’m going to go look in front!”
Chu Yuxin, small and nimble, weaved through the crowd like a monkey, all the way to the very front, hugging a stone pillar and quickly climbing to the top, peering at the luxurious carriage that was gradually approaching.
This is the Emperor’s carriage! So big and grand!
Bai Shi, worried about the child getting lost, chased after her. Seeing her climb so high, she had no mood to watch the excitement, she kept her eyes fixed on her, repeatedly calling her down.
“No, I’ll watch a little longer.” Chu Yuxin hugged the stone pillar tightly with her legs, refusing to come down.
Her older sister was serving tea at the Imperial Presence. The Emperor had left the palace; perhaps her older sister had also left the palace, she had to find her older sister.
The little girl strained her eyes, her gaze falling on the beautifully dressed sisters following the carriage, trying to see which one was her own older sister.
At the same time, Chu Liuzheng also craned her neck, trying to find her own mother and younger sister amidst the sea of heads watching the excitement.
【My eyes are going blurry, where are they? In the system… eh? Atop a tall stone pillar?】
She quickly turned her head to look at the stone pillar they had just passed.
It seemed like there was someone there.
She quickly leaned out, turning her head to look.
Up and down, two pairs of similar almond eyes met.
Chu Yuxin blinked, Chu Liuzheng also blinked.
Chu Yuxin thought: Does this eunuch look a bit like my older sister?
Chu Liuzheng thought: That monkey-like thing clinging to the stone pillar must be Xin’er.
At that moment, the wheel ran over a pebble, and the carriage swayed slightly. Chu Liuzheng was already barely maintaining her balance, and with this sway, she lost her footing and tumbled headfirst.
Chu Yuxin’s eyes widened in fright, and she instinctively called out: “Older Sister!”
Bai Shi, hearing the shout, her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly asked: “Did you see Youmiao? Where is she?”
Chu Yuxin shook her head. Seeing the little eunuch who fell from the carriage being rescued, she lowered her head and said to Bai Shi: “It wasn’t Older Sister.”
Calling a eunuch “Older Sister,” her older sister would definitely scold her, and her mother would scold her too.
The light in Bai Shi’s eyes dimmed again. She suppressed her discomfort, and called out to Chu Yuxin: “Get down! If those guards see you, they’ll surely catch you and lock you up in jail.”
Seeing her mother’s stern face, Chu Yuxin, afraid of being beaten, obediently slid down the stone pillar.
Bai Shi had no more heart to watch the Emperor. She grabbed her little hand and walked towards the outside of the crowd, but still asked somewhat concernedly: “Who did you call ‘Older Sister’ just now?”
Chu Yuxin rolled her eyes and shook her head: “No one.”
Bai Shi narrowed her eyes and looked at her.
Chu Yuxin felt guilty under her gaze and rolled her eyes even faster.
Bai Shi: “If you don’t tell me, you won’t eat meat tonight.”
“I’ll tell!” Chu Yuxin had been looking forward to this meal for several days, so she quickly said, “It was a eunuch, his eyes looked like Older Sister’s. I saw him lose his balance and fall off the carriage just now.”
Bai Shi immediately frowned: “Did he get hurt?”
Chu Yuxin shook her head.
For some reason, hearing that the little eunuch was alright, Bai Shi didn’t feel as uncomfortable. She didn’t think much of it, and patted her daughter’s head darkly.
Her Youmiao was a beautiful daughter, how could she possibly be a eunuch?
She still couldn’t escape the pat. Chu Yuxin sighed like a little adult, rubbed her head, and then cheered up at the thought of eating meat tonight, grabbing her mother’s hand and hopping to buy meat.
Yay! Meat tonight!!
On the other hand, Chu Liuzheng, who had fallen from the carriage because she lost her footing, was picked up by Xie Hui like a chick. She was still startled and stared wide-eyed at Xie Hui.
【Wow, Your Excellency Xie is so quick, I didn’t see anything before I was on the horse.】
Xie Hui found the little eunuch unfamiliar. Anyone who could sit on the carriage shaft with Eunuch Zhou must be someone trusted by His Majesty. Why had he never seen him before?
His eyes narrowed slightly as he sized Chu Liuzheng up: “Who are you?”
“Your servant, Liufeng, thank you, Your Excellency, for saving me.” Chu Liuzheng tried to keep her voice low, offering her sincere thanks.
Xie Hui felt something was strange, and just as he was about to ask a few more questions, the carriage door suddenly opened, and Chen Xing, who was attending the Emperor, poked her little head out and turned her head to say with a smile: “Liufeng, His Majesty summoned you.”
