Chapter 269

Hu Xiaotian said: "Hey-xiu is doing that kind of thing; I am absolutely an untouched handsome youth, the problem must be with your technique—you've never practiced it yourself, so how can you know if it's useful? And since you don't understand it, how can you guide me?"

Quan De'an sneered: "It sounds like you're mocking the Zajia."

Zhangyu - Octopus

Quan De'an said: "Good! Good! Good! Zajia will teach you the Profound Darkness Yin Wind Claw!"

Hu Xiaotian felt a hint of yin wind upon hearing the name of this claw technique, stuck out his tongue and said: "Sounds pretty cool!"

Quan De'an coldly snorted: "Look closely, this claw technique has only seven stances, yet it contains forty‑nine variations." He began practicing as he spoke.

Although the sun was high and the autumn breeze kept bringing the scent of osmanthus, the courtyard was filled with waves of yin wind; six corpses lay on the ground, their blood still warm, a strong smell of blood permeated the air, and Quan De'an practiced the Profound Darkness Yin Wind Claw from start to finish.

Hu Xiaotian stared without blinking; this was his first formal study of a martial arts move. He focused his attention so as not to look at the six gruesome corpses on the ground, and of course there was also an element of spiting Quan De'an—you say I lack talent, then I'll practice to show you where the problem really lies. Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to learn more from Quan De'an, but Quan De'an had no interest in teaching him further martial arts, only saying "you'll bite off more than you can chew," urging him to return to the palace quickly. Don't delay returning to the palace.

Hu Xiaotian saw that it was already late and could only give up; before leaving, he glanced again at the corpse of He Yuexi. He Yuexi surely wouldn't dare deceive himself; the little eunuch Wang Desheng had set a trap intending to harm him. The reason, he thought, was that he had taken Wang's lucrative post, stealing money and wealth, harming lives. To say he had no intention of stealing Wang's position—yet since Wang Desheng today could hire assassins to harm him, if he saw Hu Xiaotian unharmed, he would surely nurture further malice; thus, against this person he must strike first. Returning to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, he first went back to his room, took a bath, and changed clothes. Although his previous clothes bore no obvious bloodstains, one should still be cautious. Just as he had finished changing, a knock sounded at the door—it was Shi Xuedong coming to find him.

Hu Xiaotian pulled open the door to let Shi Xuedong in; Shi Xuedong said: "Congratulations, worthy younger brother, congratulations!"

Hu Xiaotian knew this guy always had no proper conduct. While tidying his clothes he said: "What joy is there?"

Monthly Ticket - Monthly Ticket

Hu Xiaotian thought this guy was deceiving him, and he snapped: "Big brother, it's not because I didn't take you out of the palace that you bear a grudge against me, so you're messing with me in every way, is it?"

Shi Xuedong said: "Heaven and earth, my conscience—" before he finished, a soft, pleasant voice came from outside asking: "Is Lord Hu in?"

Shi Xuedong, hearing that soft, sweet voice, felt as if he had just downed two liques of wine, and exclaimed excitedly: "I told you I wasn't lying. She really is beautiful; I've been in the palace this long and have never seen such a lovely palace maid. You may doubt my words, but you must not doubt my taste."…

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but chuckle at this guy's eager, anxious look: "I say, Elder Brother Dong, have you finally been castrated?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Xuedong instantly deflated like a punctured balloon: "Clean, cleaner than his mother's woman—" This guy seemed to have something hard to say, wanting to speak but stopping.

Hu Xiaotian didn't pay him much attention, walking slowly to the doorway. There he saw a palace maiden in a red dress standing gracefully in the courtyard; although she didn't have the peerless beauty Shi Xuedong described, she could still be considered a top‑tier beauty—her skin fair, her big eyes watery and lively. Upon seeing Hu Xiaotian come out, her eyes instantly narrowed into crescents, and she smiled tranquilly: "Greetings, Lord Hu. I'm Baobao, who usually attends Consort Lin in the Lingyu Palace."

Hu Xiaotian had been in the palace for quite some time and had a general understanding of the situation; this Consort Lin, named Lin Wan, is one of the Emperor's favored consorts. Since coming to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, his impression of Consort Lin has deepened, mainly because she is quite picky‑eated, constantly coming up with whimsical ideas; a flick of the consort's tongue makes eunuchs run ragged, and Hu Xiaotian has often been put through his paces because of her mouth. Usually it's eunuchs who come to deliver messages, but this is the first time a personal palace maid has come to the Bureau of Imperial Gardens.

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "May I ask what instructions you have, Elder Sister Baobao?" Although he is the purchaser for the Bureau of Imperial Gardens and Baobao is Consort Lin's personal maid, there is an unwritten rule in the palace: the status of palace maids and eunuchs is directly tied to the master they serve; the eunuchs attending the Emperor certainly hold an exalted position, and besides, whichever consort the Emperor favors, the status of her attendants naturally rises as well.

Baobao giggled: "It's nothing major; Consort Lin suddenly wanted to eat Chinese bayberry, so she sent me to check."

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaotian realized it was basically a problem set for him—Chinese bayberry is most abundant in June and July, now it's September, Kangdu lies north of the river, and this stuff isn't good for storage; where could you find it? This consort is also presumptuous. He smiled: "The season for Chinese bayberry has passed; actually there are plenty of tasty fruits in season right now—why don't I take you to have a look?"

Baobao said: "I also know this request might be difficult for you, Lord Hu, but Consort Lin has felt unwell these past two days, her appetite poor; from yesterday to today she's hardly eaten anything, and only with great difficulty did she think of something she wants to eat. As a lowly servant, I have no choice but to give it a try." Her pretty face showed a look of disappointment.

At this moment Shi Xuedong came over and said, "Just now a batch of tribute black mulberry from the Western Regions has arrived for the court; it's extremely rare, and its taste is similar to yangmei. Lord Hu, why don't you take Miss Baobao to have a look?"

Hu Xiaotian glared at that fellow, really talkative; at first hearing the words sounded earnest, but upon careful thought there's a significant problem: first, tribute from the Western Regions should be tasted by the Emperor first, yet the Imperial Fruit Bureau hasn't had time to send it to the Emperor; even if Consort Lin is favored, there must be an order, and moreover Shi Xuedong saying the taste is similar to yangmei clearly shows this fellow has sneakily eaten some.

Actually, in the Imperial Fruit Bureau this sort of thing isn't rare; if the Emperor hasn't tasted it yet, a little eunuch stealing a few out of gluttony isn't a big deal, but once it's spoken of the trouble becomes great—lightly a reprimand, heavily a charge of disrespect.

Shi Xuedong also realized he had slipped up, and hastily lowered his head.

Baobao laughed and said, "This lord surely has already eaten some."

Shi Xuedong was startled and turned pale, hastily saying, "How dare I, I just thought it looked similar."

Baobao refused to let up, saying, "I clearly just heard you say the taste was similar."

Shi Xuedong wished he could slap himself twice for his talkativeness that got him into trouble.

Hu Xiaotian coldly said, "When is it your turn to speak here? Get out!"…

Shi Xuedong knew Hu Xiaotian was helping him out of the predicament, and hurriedly slunk away.

Baobao was obviously intrigued by that black mulberry, smiling brightly and saying, "Lord Hu, why don't you take me to see it? Not many words."

By now, Hu Xiaotian couldn't conveniently refuse; he nodded and said, "I had already said I would take my sister to pick."

Although the Imperial Fruit Bureau is responsible for purchasing and storing produce, it does not handle distributing the produce to the various parts of the palace; the usual procedure is that the Imperial Meals Bureau issues a list to them, they prepare it, then in the afternoon send it to the Imperial Meals Bureau, and the specific washing and distribution are carried out by the Imperial Meals Bureau.

Dakang is vast and rich in resources, with tribute produce arriving from all over almost daily; the Imperial Fruit Bureau, after receiving the tribute, conducts statistics and then sends the list to the Imperial Meals Bureau, and finally the Imperial Kitchen decides what can be served to the Emperor and what cannot, so much of the tribute never reaches the Emperor, and plenty simply spoils in the Imperial Fruit Bureau's storehouse. The little eunuchs' pilfering of tribute is an open secret; besides, spoiled things are just thrown away, and the waste within the palace is staggering.

To facilitate storing these fruit tributes, the Imperial Fruit Bureau specially dug a cellar; even so, it still couldn't completely eliminate waste. The cellar underwent several expansions, and later some unknown bureau eunuch came up with the idea of setting up a small winery within the bureau, using the surplus tribute fruit to ferment and make wine. Consequently, the bureau's underground also gained a wine cellar for storing fruit wine, and now the bureau's underground is almost entirely empty.

Usually, the cellar storing produce has a dedicated keeper, since things are sent to the Imperial Kitchen almost daily; as for the wine cellar, however, it attracts no attention. Although the small winery continues production, the fruit wine it brews seems unpopular within the palace, and the Emperor only occasionally thinks of it, bestowing these stored fruit wines as gifts to officials.

Hu Xiaotian brought Baobao to the produce storage; this time there were several baskets of black mulberry that had come in, and the eunuch in charge of the store picked the basket with the best quality, setting the rest aside. Having spent a long time in the storehouse, one comes to understand the Emperor's and the imperial consorts' tastes—this black mulberry is overly sour and astringent, so it usually attracts no interest. Even if someone occasionally wants to eat it, it's just for novelty.

Already twenty-five Monthly Tickets; self‑stimulated, upon reaching thirty it will be Three More today—sweat! Zhangyu has fallen to such a state, like a big clearance sale—just five Monthly Tickets, and I don't believe we won't manage to gather enough today…