Night deepened by a few shades. Mo Bei and a young eunuch had been assigned to the servants’ quarters at the far eastern end. There was no air conditioning, no electric fan—not even a cup of ice water! For someone as heat-averse as her, sleep was impossible.
“Sigh!”
A sigh sounded by her ear.
Mo Bei did not turn around. She remained at ease, leaning by the window and listening to the wind and rain.
“Sigh!”
Another one. This time, the commotion seemed a little louder.
A smile surfaced in the depths of Mo Bei’s eyes. She shifted into another position, still unmoved as a mountain.
“Sigh! I say, you—this young master’s been sighing here for ages, and you won’t even ask what’s wrong!”
Her sleeve was yanked over. What came into view was a face still carrying traces of childishness, yet disastrously handsome. What a waste for this fellow to be a eunuch! Mo Bei very obligingly glanced at him and said, “May I ask, Eunuch Rong, what troubles you?” (Say it and let everyone have a good laugh, hehe.)
In truth, she did have some impression of this colleague, if only because of that one line: “The greatest ambition of I, Hua Rong, is to become the number one eunuch of Huangcheng!”
That ambition really was grand—so grand that the corner of Mo Bei’s mouth twitched. She had conveniently glanced at Eunuch Deng’s expression then, and sure enough, it was just as she had expected: a face like a green-faced demon baring its fangs. And thus, on her way to Zhinuan Palace, she had inexplicably gained a follower.
Look, just look—this was the consequence of offending evil forces. Have you ever seen a salesman arrive at a new company and immediately declare he was going to kick the manager off his throne? A textbook case of asking for a beating after eating too much!
However, someone clearly had yet to grasp this truth. He kept clawing at his hair beside her. “Don’t people always say a soldier who doesn’t want to be a general isn’t a good soldier? Ahhh! Lies!”
It was clearly an action born of frustration, yet when he did it, it was extremely cute. There really were advantages to having a handsome face. Mo Bei narrowed her eyes and asked casually, “Why did you enter the palace?”
The atmosphere only stiffened for the briefest moment before Hua Rong began spouting at length about how poor his family was, how since childhood he had admired those who could work by the emperor’s side, and so on.
At the end, he even asked in return, “Then why did you enter the palace?”
“Silver.” Mo Bei gave him a deep look, then placed both hands behind her head and lazily closed her eyes.
“Oh~” Hua Rong wore an expression of complete understanding, then nosily picked up a teacup with a grin. “So the two of us have the same ambition!”
Same your head! Mo Bei bit down on her teeth, forcefully suppressing the urge to chop someone to death, and said absentmindedly, “We’re both going to serve a fool. What ambition is there to speak of?”
Crash!
Hua Rong’s hand slipped, and the porcelain cup shattered all over the floor. He crouched down, then suddenly stopped speaking.
“What’s wrong?” Mo Bei raised a brow. Strange. This noisemaker actually had quiet moments?
As if trying to cover something up, Hua Rong abruptly sprang to his feet and leaned in close to her. “Looks like you don’t know anything at all!”
“Know what?”
“The foolish prince we’re going to serve was once the dynasty’s prodigy, famed throughout the capital. Skilled in both letters and martial arts—there was nothing that could stump him!”
Mo Bei stared at Hua Rong and slowly smiled, starlight glimmering in her eyes. “Then how did he become like this now?”
“It was all because ten years ago…”
Bang, bang, bang!
A shrill, angry roar came from outside the door. “In the middle of the night, what are you two whispering about? Hurry up and sleep!”
“Yes, Eunuch, we’ll sleep right away, right away!” Hua Rong answered, climbing into bed in a few quick movements. In less than fifteen minutes, he had actually fallen asleep.
Mo Bei swept a meaningful glance toward the night beyond the window. It seemed this imperial palace was rather interesting.
The foolish prince, was it? Mo Bei stroked her chin, her lips curving wickedly. She would be able to meet him tomorrow, wouldn’t she?