Chapter 258: [Entering the Palace] (Part 1)

Murong Feiyan said: "I heard that Xiezhou had trouble, so I rushed there to find you right away, but when I got there I didn't receive any news of you, so I guessed you would come to the capital."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Why would you think I'd return to the capital?"

Murong Feiyan said: "Because you're an idiot; if you knew something happened to your family, you'd surely come here without hesitation."

"I thought that in your heart I was always a coward who clings to life."

Murong Feiyan bit her cherry lips: "You're not—" She hadn't finished speaking when a violent cough broke out; she covered her mouth with her hand, her pale pretty face flushed slightly from the violent coughing, and only after great effort did the coughing stop. Looking at her palm, it was already stained with fresh blood—she had actually coughed up blood.

Hu Xiaotian said anxiously: "You're coughing blood; let me check you."

Murong Feiyan shook her head: "It's fine; just my meridians are damaged, not something medicine can fix—I need to rest a while to recover."

"I'll go find Eunuch Quan."

Murong Feiyan reached out and grabbed Hu Xiaotian's sleeve: "Don't go!"

Hu Xiaotian gazed at the wan Murong Feiyan, feeling secretly sad; Murong Feiyan had gone through great trouble to come rescue him, and because of him she'd ended up imprisoned, yet he couldn't tell her the truth—what a torment. Murong Feiyan said: "I like the dagger you gave me..."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, his eyes reddening, and he whispered: "Don't worry, Eunuch Quan has promised not to pursue you and Ying Peng for his assassination attempt; today he'll release you." He rose to leave.

Murong Feiyan called from behind: "Xiaotian, did you agree to some condition for us?"

Hu Xiaotian's body halted at the door; after a moment he slowly shook his head: "I'll go see Elder Brother Ying first; later I'll have someone bring you fresh clothes. Leave the Cheng'en Mansion quickly; I'll handle the rest."

Murong Feiyan watched Hu Xiaotian's receding back, feeling he hid too much from her; grief welled up and tears poured forth like a spring.

Ying Peng's right calf was broken by Quan De'an with his prayer beads; Quan De'an also didn't treat them lightly. He specially had a doctor summoned to treat his bone injury; now Ying Peng's injury is healing well. Compared to Murong Feiyan, his external wounds are somewhat more severe, but his recovery speed is much faster than hers.

Seeing Hu Xiaotian arrive unharmed, Ying Peng also felt greatly relieved. He and Murong Feiyan hadn't planned to appear together; that day when he and Hu Xiaotian parted, he sensed Hu Xiaotian's movements were mysterious. Being evasive, he quietly followed him. Although Hu Xiaotian was very cautious and took anti-tracking measures, his martial arts paled beside Ying Peng's. Ying Peng tailed Hu Xiaotian to the Cheng'en Mansion; knowing it was related to the imperial household, he didn't dare rush in but hid outside waiting for Hu Xiaotian to come out. When Hu Xiaotian was carried by four eunuchs to the purification room, shouting for help, Ying Peng finally appeared to rescue him. He hadn't expected that an aged senior eunuch's martial arts would be so unfathomable; despite exerting all his strength, he still got hurt by Quan De'an's hands. At the moment his life hung by a thread, Murong Feiyan flew in to save them; even together they were no match for Quan De'an, and both were captured. They've been imprisoned here for nearly twenty days. Quan De'an hasn't made things difficult for him—aside from arranging a doctor for his bone injury, he has people deliver meals on schedule.

Imprisoned here and cut off from the outside world, Ying Peng naturally couldn't know Hu Xiaotian's current state. Now seeing Hu Xiaotian safe and sound, Ying Peng also relaxed. Hearing that Quan De'an would release him and Murong Feiyan and drop the assassination charges, Ying Peng first felt relieved, then realized things couldn't be that simple. Seeing Hu Xiaotian dressed in palace eunuch attire reminded him of that night when four eunuchs carried Hu Xiaotian to the purification room; a vague unease rose in his heart, and he asked softly: "Benefactor, why are you dressed like that?" Ying Peng wasn't a simple-minded brute; he tried to phrase his question tactfully.

Hu Xiaotian sighed: "I told you not to call me 'benefactor' by name; you risked your life to save me, so actually I now owe you a favor."

Ying Peng said: "Please don't say that; I won't call you benefactor."

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "You should know my identity from this attire."

Ying Peng's eyes widened: "You mean—" The words reached his lips, but he ultimately couldn't utter the five characters "you have already been castrated."

Hu Xiaotian looked at Ying Peng and nodded; some things need no explanation—it's better to let others guess. If the truth ever comes out, I won't be deceiving Ying Peng, since I never said I was castrated; it's all your own speculation.

Ying Peng said glumly: "How could this be? How could this be? Did they force you to do this? Using our lives to compel you to be castrated and enter the palace?"

Hu Xiaotian said calmly: "It has nothing to do with you; it's entirely the Emperor's doing. He promised to spare the lives of my entire Hu family, but on the condition that I enter the palace as a slave to atone for my father."

As a man, Ying Peng better understood what sacrifice entering the palace as a eunuch entails. Although Hu Xiaotian repeatedly said what happened had nothing to do with them, Ying Peng still felt self-reproach and regret, believing that his failure to rescue Hu Xiaotian that night—instead being captured himself—was one of the reasons Hu Xiaotian fell into misfortune.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Elder Brother Ying, you needn't feel sorry for me; this is actually the best solution. My entering the palace alone to atone is preferable to my Hu family being exterminated. Either way it's a lifetime; I've never been inside the palace before, but being able to serve beside the Emperor means I'll want for nothing in this life—it's a blessing in disguise."

Ying Peng pursed his lips, looking at Hu Xiaotian full of sympathy; he understood that from now on Hu Xiaotian would no longer be a normal man, his sacrifice immense, his life devoid of any happiness. He suddenly recalled that night when Murong Feiyan likewise risked her life to save him; from the scene it's easy to judge that Murong Feiyan feels deep affection for Hu Xiaotian. If Hu Xiaotian enters the palace, could he and Murong Feiyan ever walk hand in hand again in this lifetime? Ying Peng felt deep regret for Hu Xiaotian. But things have come to this, beyond human power to change; Ying Peng composed himself and said softly: "Brother Hu, is there anything you need me to do?" From calling him benefactor to Xiaotian, now addressing him as Hu Brother, Ying Peng's inner journey has been tortuous; he feels the term 'brother' best expresses his feelings, and no matter what Hu Xiaotian becomes, he won't change his attitude.

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Indeed there is something, Elder Brother Ying. Although the Emperor has promised to spare my father's life, he also stripped him of his office, letting him merely remain in the Ministry of Revenue; the real purpose is nothing more than using my father to handle the handover work in the ministry. Once my father loses his value, the Emperor will naturally discard him like worn-out shoes."

Ying Peng nodded; though he doesn't understand court affairs, he's long heard of the court's ruthlessness.

Hu Xiaotian said: "My father made many enemies in the past; now that he's in trouble, naturally many old scores will come to settle. Though the Hu mansion has many warriors and servants, now that the Hu family has fallen, only a few loyalists likely remain to guard my parents. In a few days I must enter the palace; after that I won't be able to come and go freely for a while. Elder Brother Ying, I want you, once your injury heals, to look after the Hu household and protect my parents' safety."

"Rest assured, as long as I, Ying Peng, draw breath, I will certainly not let Uncle Hu and his kin be bullied."

Hu Xiaotian added: "When you see my parents, tell them this: 'As long as the green hills remain, we need not fear lack of firewood.'"

Autumn rain drizzled, drifting through the hazy air, enveloping Kangdu in a misty veil. Quan De'an and Hu Xiaotian stood shoulder to shoulder at the highest point of Cheng'en Mansion, watching the black-canopied carriage slowly depart from the rear gate.

Quan De'an gave Hu Xiaotian a meaningful look: "Once you pass the palace gates, it's as deep as the sea; to survive you must forget the past."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What if I can't forget?"

"If you can't forget, you can only live in pain." Quan De'an placed his bird-claw-like hand on the battlement: "I've done what I promised you; now it's your turn."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Until now I still don't know what you want me to do for you."

Quan De'an said: "First prove to me you can survive in the palace." He turned and walked to another side, gazing far toward the southern sky where the imperial city lay shrouded in smoke and rain.

Hu Xiaotian followed him over: "With you, the Superintendent of the Directorate of Rites, looking out for me, shouldn't the palace eunuchs and maids with any sense dare not bully me?"

"The Zajia won't look after you; don't forget you're entering the palace to atone, your status there is the lowest. Although I'm the Superintendent of the Directorate of Rites, do you know that in the imperial city there are twelve directorates: the Directorate of Rites, the Directorate of Palace Affairs, the Directorate of Imperial Use, the Directorate of Setting, the Directorate of Imperial Horses, the Directorate of Divine Affairs, the Directorate of Imperial Food, the Directorate of Treasured Objects, the Directorate of Seals and Ribbons, the Directorate of Palace Halls, the Directorate of Imperial Attire, and the Directorate of Knowing All. Besides these there are four offices and eight bureaus: the four offices are the Office of Cherishing Firewood, the Office of Treasure Notes, the Office of Bells and Drums, and the Office of Mixed Hall; the eight bureaus are the Arms Bureau, the Headgear Bureau, the Needlework Bureau, the Interior Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, the Liquor-Vinegar-Noodle Bureau, the Horticulture Bureau, the Laundry Bureau, and the Silverwork Bureau."

Hu Xiaotian, just hearing these tedious, complicated titles, already had a headache: "I say, Eunuch Quan, make it simple—are you giving me a directorate head or a bureau chief?"

Quan De'an said: "The palace's internal affairs were all handed over to the Zajia after the Emperor ascended the throne; I'm a cripple, my hands and feet are useless, how could I serve the Emperor well?"r861

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