Chapter 401: Bone and Blood

……

At noon three days later, Lin Dengwan slowly opened his eyes. Still bare-chested, he lay on the bed. He tried to move his hand, but the slightest motion pulled against the ropes again, though they were not as tight as during the castration.

He had regained consciousness not long after passing out that day. When he awoke, the eggs had already been removed and the castration was complete. Yang Xiaodao had used suffocation as anesthetic, and by leveraging the force of his struggles, had squeezed the testicles out. By the time the severing happened, Lin Dengwan's senses were already blurred, sparing him the most agonizing part.

From the moment he awoke, he felt a searing, fiery pain in his lower body. While conscious, he could do nothing but scream and wail incessantly, and it went on for two full days. Now that fiery pain was still there, but it had subsided to a bearable level. The pig gallbladder covering the wound on his lower body seemed to have been removed at some point without him knowing, which meant it had more or less healed.

Footsteps approached from outside the partition. Lin Dengwan laboriously turned his head to look. The young attendant appeared in the doorway, a leather pouch in one hand and a bowl in the other.

"Husband Lin, time for congee."

Lin Dengwan obediently gave his thanks and watched as the attendant poured the congee into the leather pouch. The pouch was then moved in front of Lin Dengwan's face; it had a small hole in it.

Lying on his back, Lin Dengwan opened his mouth. The attendant tilted the pouch slightly, and congee trickled out through the little hole. Whenever the attendant saw his mouth was nearly full, he paused to give him time to swallow.

Lin Dengwan had heard the old man say that for several days after castration, the hands and feet must remain bound to prevent the wound from being disturbed by thrashing or touching due to pain. During those days, all eating, drinking, and bodily functions depended on those young attendants. If one hadn't given the attendant any favors, when feeding congee like this, he wouldn't care whether you could swallow or not, just pouring it all in at once, often leaving the castrated man's head and face covered in it.

Those Nameless Whites said that for those who could pay enough, the attendant would even spoon-feed it into their mouths. From the looks of it now, that price was certainly more than one tael. But even so, Lin Dengwan still felt grateful he had met a benefactor. If not for that one tael of silver given to the attendant, his situation right now would be entirely different.

Once he had finished eating, the attendant put away the leather pouch and said, "Today is the third day. Husband Lin, after you've eaten your congee and rested a moment, we can remove that little stalk. It'll be easier to get down and move about."

Lin Dengwan knew the stalk he spoke of was that short piece of wheat straw cut at the time, now inserted into the urethral opening left after the castration to prevent blood clots from blocking it. Every day, this wheat straw had to be wiggled a bit to keep it from sticking to the flesh with dried blood, and each time it caused Lin Dengwan agony worse than death.

Hearing that this thing could be removed, Lin Dengwan immediately said, "Thank you, young master. Please, take it out now."

The attendant tidied up, asked to be excused, and then began removing the wheat straw. After a bout of squealing like a slaughtered pig, the wheat straw finally came out. Drenched in sweat, Lin Dengwan gasped for breath, but his mood was the most relaxed it had been in three days.

"This wheat straw, I picked a moist one, cut from higher up on the stalk, so it's thinner. You'll leak urine less in the future."

The attendant was also quite pleased. After discarding the wheat straw, he began untying the ropes binding Lin Dengwan's hands and feet. Lin Dengwan lay on the bed board, looking up at the patch of roof overhead. It was exactly the same as three days ago.

The attendant skillfully finished untying the ropes. Lin Dengwan tried to move his legs and feet, and immediately felt a piercing, heart-stabbing pain. An "Ah!" escaped his lips involuntarily.

"Husband Lin must endure it. If you're afraid of pain and don't move now, your back will never straighten again. Every day from now on, this humble one must also help stretch your legs; it's absolutely necessary."

Lin Dengwan nodded and shifted his body little by little. Every movement brought that piercing pain, and by the time he reached the edge of the bed, he was already drenched in sweat.

Sitting up brought him back to a normal perspective for the first time in three days. His head swam with dizziness. When he opened his eyes, everything around him seemed to have returned to a familiar form. Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly glimpsed the place of the castration. Lin Dengwan quickly turned his head away. He had only seen a blurry shape just now and dared not look closely, but he could feel that the area had flattened and withered. For a moment, a suffocating tightness filled his chest, and his heart felt hollow and empty.

The attendant had him sit a moment longer before coming over to support him. Enduring the intense pain, Lin Dengwan mustered nearly all his strength and finally, leaning on the attendant, managed to stand. After lying down for three days, rising now made him feel as if the sky and earth were spinning. The attendant supported him firmly, and it was a good while before he came back to his senses.

"Husband Lin, hold onto the wall. This humble one will tidy up a bit first, so you can rest soon."

Lin Dengwan nodded and, still completely bare-chested, leaned against the brick wall. Once the attendant saw he was steady, he went off to clean up. Lin Dengwan tried to exert a little strength, but the sharp pain stopped him again. Sucking in air through his teeth, he turned his head to look back. The attendant was wiping down the area around the movable plank. He worked meticulously, first scrubbing away the filth and bloodstains around the plank, then sprinkling ash nearby.

Once finished, the attendant reached out a hand to support him. "You've just gotten out of bed today; a few small steps will do."

Lin Dengwan avoided the attendant's hand, instead placing his own hand on the attendant's shoulder. He began trying to shift his steps, but the moment he moved, the pain stopped him again.

The attendant showed no impatience; instead, he encouraged him. Lin Dengwan was somewhat moved. Over these two days, the attendant had been quite attentive, sparing him much suffering. Most importantly, it gave Lin Dengwan a sense of security, knowing that this attendant would definitely help him. He recalled promising that day to show his appreciation to the attendant upon leaving, but Lin Dengwan now had no silver left. Moreover, he was certain he would never return to this place and would have no use for this attendant in the future. That promised token of appreciation would now certainly have to be reneged on, and he felt a slight pang of guilt in his heart.

As he tried to shift his steps, Lin Dengwan spoke up. "I still don't know the young master's honorable surname."

The attendant replied while helping him move, "This humble one also took the surname Yang from my master. There was no food at home, so I was sold from a young age... and have followed my master ever since."

"I've troubled Young Master Yang with all your care."

The attendant was nonchalant. "Hey, it's no trouble at all. Those who come for castration are all hard-luck folk. I help where I can. Most of the castrated come from within two or three hundred li south of the Capital. From Husband Lin's accent, I'd guess you're from around there too."

"Indeed, I'm from the Daming Prefecture area. The house and fields at home are all gone. I have two younger brothers, and with no food either, we went around to nearby villages doing work for others just to get a meal. These past few years, the harvests have gotten worse and worse. Fewer and fewer people are hiring, and the pay is lower and lower. The three of us working wasn't enough to feed even one." Lin Dengwan paused, then added, "To be honest with Young Master Yang, I am a scholar. Doing that kind of manual labor made me a laughingstock, and I never wanted to do it in the first place."

The attendant was indeed somewhat surprised. "Husband Lin is a scholar! No wonder you treat people so well. I've seen no small number of those who come for castration, and not one in a hundred can read. The moment you arrived, this humble one felt you were different from the rest. Since you're educated, you're bound to have a future once you enter the palace. And isn't there that nobleman surnamed Jiang? He's the one who paid for your castration. Isn't that a ready-made patron right there?"

Lin Dengwan feigned complete indifference. "He does business with the imperial estates and shops. I have a fellow townsman in the palace, and I casually mentioned asking him for a favor. I never expected this Master Jiang to take it so seriously. That fellow townsman of mine is a close relative too, someone who can really help."

The attendant's tone grew even more eager upon hearing this. "That fellow townsman of yours must be a supervisor in the palace. You're bound to have a great future there. Don't forget to look after this humble one."

"It's precisely because he's there that I got the idea of entering the palace. Having received Young Master Yang's care this time, should that day ever come, I will naturally remember it."

The attendant became increasingly attentive. "Then once Husband Lin enters the palace, how will your two younger brothers at home make a living?"

"It's for them, hiss... neither can find a wife. Some in the clan say our family has no head anymore, no house, no fields, and won't allow us onto the clan register, hiss..."

Every time Lin Dengwan shifted his steps, the pain was excruciating. He would rest a moment, then talk with the attendant again. Because of the attendant's care over these past few days, Lin Dengwan had developed a certain dependence on him. The words he had kept bottled up in his heart for years could no longer be contained.

The attendant supported Lin Dengwan, listening quietly to his outpouring, until they walked back to the bedside. This bout of activity had drained all of Lin Dengwan's strength. He lay down with difficulty, already exhausted and covered in sweat.

The attendant still gently bound his hands and feet to prevent him from scratching or bumping the wound in his sleep, then said to him, "Husband Lin, rest for now. This humble one will go tidy up the castration basin."

Lin Dengwan looked up and asked, "Young Master Yang, have my severed bone and blood been properly stored?"

"Husband Lin, set your mind at ease. They are all properly stored, just waiting for you to redeem them when you leave the palace in glory someday."

Lin Dengwan expressed his thanks and lay back down, reassured.

The attendant took the castration basin and left, heading straight to the night-soil bucket and dumping everything in. He did not bother to wash the basin. After rubbing his hands on his waist a few times, he turned and went into another room.

Inside the room were several earthen jars. The attendant carefully examined the labels on them, then picked one up and hurried out to the outer room, where a pockmarked man was sitting.

The attendant respectfully said to him, "As my master instructed, the silver has been settled in full. Lin Dengwan's testicles and severed member are both inside, along with the castration contract. Once you, sir, have inspected it, you may take it away."

The pockmarked man lifted the lid, inserted two fingers, and carefully pinched the contract, taking great care not to touch anything else on the jar. Then, using two fingers of his other hand, he flipped open the contract. This contract served as proof, confirming whose severed parts these were.

After a brief glance, the pockmarked man immediately tossed it back into the jar. He was in no hurry to take the jar. Instead, he raised his eyes to look at the attendant. "Did you manage to ask anything else?"

"After this Lin's father died, the house and fields were seized by a creditor from the same clan. Now the family has no land or grain. The brothers can't even get onto the clan register. He's educated and thinks doing manual labor is shameful, which is why he came to the Capital. His two younger brothers do odd jobs in nearby villages just to eat. The one he worries about most is the youngest, seven years old, named Lin Dengbai. Some families in the clan are short on labor and want to adopt these two younger brothers. What he fears most is that his family line will be cut off, with no one to continue the Incense Offerings. He's hoping that by entering the palace, he might gain some power and authority to re-establish his family."

The pockmarked man listened expressionlessly, then freed one hand and produced a piece of silver. "For your trouble."

The attendant glanced left and right to make sure no one was around, swiftly accepted it, and said respectfully, "If you, sir, ever have any orders in the future, just ask."

……

"Those not yet castrated have been divided between two Knife Craftsmen for the procedure. Nameless Whites around the Imperial City's monasteries are easy to find, but none of them can read, and most are cunning and cowardly. With their families in other regions, it's hard to verify their ties. Those among them who are truly usable are admittedly few, but we've managed to pick out a handful. However, getting all these people into the palace at once probably won't be easy. This year isn't a mass recruitment, and this matter must not be publicized. We can't rely on Feng Quan or Ruan Dacheng; we can only take some obscure routes. Spending silver is secondary; the main issue is we likely can't handle this many. They'll have to enter in batches." (Note 1: During the Chongzhen reign, there were only three mass recruitments of eunuchs, each numbering ten thousand.)

Jiang Fan raised his eyes to look at Zhang Mazi. "Who do you think we should send into the palace first?"

Zhang Mazi lowered his head and thought for a moment. "Lin Dengwan can read and do sums. He speaks properly and isn't unruly. The background details he gave us aren't entirely true, but they're generally accurate, and he's fairly honest. He should be the most suitable. With some training during his recovery, he can learn those things quickly. This man's greatest hope is to rely on his brothers to carry on the family Incense Offerings, and he also hopes to one day return home with his whole bone and blood. We can use that to control him. His only weakness is his physical strength. When he first enters the palace, he'll inevitably have to do rough labor. I wonder if he can endure it."

"Having many hopes in his heart makes him easier to control. And indeed, someone who can read is more useful. During these two months of recovery, teach him Intelligence Identification and transmission, and some Shorthand and lock-picking. That should be enough." Jiang Fan picked up his tea bowl and took a sip. "Then it's him. Once he's recovered, send him into the palace first."

Zhang Mazi acknowledged, then added, "What about his two younger brothers? Should we take them away first?"

"No need for now. Lord Pang said to invest only in what has value. Taking two people means spending silver to support them. Right now, we're only guessing he's suitable. We'll only see if he truly has the ability once he's in the palace and handling tasks." Jiang Fan said casually, "Isn't he worried his two brothers will be adopted away by other branches? Leaving those two in their hometown keeps that pressure constant. He won't dare slack off in doing things for us."

"This humble official understands."

"When handling matters outside from now on, don't use official titles in address. None of the new eyes and ears recruited in the Capital this time are to be told they're working for the Anqing Battalion. This is the Capital. A Military Officer planting informants within the Imperial City—if it leaks out, it's a capital crime punishable by beheading."

"If they ask who the master is…"

"That is not something they should ask," Jiang Fan said, as if it were obvious. "That is the Dark Sentinel Division's Rule. They get their benefits, take them and just do their duty. When it is time for them to know, they will naturally know. And do not let Ruan Dacheng know of these matters either — he is not one of our own, after all."

"This humble one did not speak of it to him." Scarred Ma then recalled another matter and said, "Just now Ruan Dacheng came by and said that talks with Dong Xinkui's side are going smoothly, and he incidentally learned of something that may concern Lord Pang."

"Something concerning Lord Pang? What is it?"

"The Huguang Grand Coordinator, Yu Yinggui, has been dismissed from office."