Chapter 378

Although Hu Xiaotian's words were spoken tactfully, they still reminded Wen Ya. The Bright Moon Palace had been plagued by one misfortune after another, causing Wen Ya's inner calm to falter; it was Hu Xiaotian's reminder that suddenly steadied her. She did not represent only one person's interests, and those on the same side as her should not turn a blind eye to her current predicament.

Wen Ya slowly nodded and said, "Go clean the roads inside the palace, then later accompany me to visit the Empress."

Hu Xiaotian's face involuntarily showed a bitter smile. "A woman's heart, a needle at the bottom of the sea"—just now she wanted to drive me away, but in the blink of an eye she changed her mind. Actually, it's not surprising: the Bright Moon Palace originally had three palace maids and three eunuchs; now two have died, two were taken away by Mu Rongzhan, and if she were to drive me away as well, only Baobao would remain. Having me clean the roads inside the palace—doesn't that amount to a punishment?

Hu Xiaotian did not resist, and obediently cleaned the roads of the Bright Moon Palace a bit. After about half an hour, Baobao, who had gone to report to the Fragrant Peace Palace, returned. The Empress is the head of the inner court and not someone you can just see whenever you say so; therefore Wen Ya had Baobao go ahead to the Fragrant Peace Palace to ask whether the Empress had time, and only after receiving the Empress's assent could they meet. The news Baobao brought was not ideal: Empress Jian had caught a chill today and was feeling unwell.

Upon hearing this, Wen Ya immediately knew it was an excuse; Empress Jian clearly did not want to meet her at this sensitive moment. She nodded glumly and told Baobao, "You may go."

At this moment, Hu Xiaotian came over with the evening meal. Previously, such tasks were done by Wang Ren and Ma Liangpeng, but now some are dead, some have been arrested. Only he could personally take over. Approaching Wen Ya, he respectfully said, "Please, Talented Person, have your meal."

Wen Ya sighed and said, "I don't want to eat. Take it away."

Hu Xiaotian and Baobao exchanged a glance; he gave her a look, and Baobao withdrew first. Hu Xiaotian set the tray on a nearby small table, approached Wen Ya, and made a bow, saying, "Talented Person, people are iron, food is steel—skip a meal and you'll grow hungry; the body is the capital of revolution. If your health fails, you won't be able to do anything."

Wen Ya glanced at him with a hint of resentment and said, "If this palace were to fall, I dread to think how many people would be pleased."

Hu Xiaotian said nothing, sighing inwardly. "Good intentions rewarded with ingratitude—I harbor no ill will toward you." Watching Wen Ya's face gradually grow thin, a feeling of pity welled up in him unbidden; he clearly knew this pity was for Le Yao, not Wen Ya. Hu Xiaotian silently lifted the bowl of bird's nest porridge and handed it to Wen Ya, saying, "Talented Person, you should at least eat something; if you truly ruin your health from hunger, the Emperor will blame me, and I cannot bear such responsibility."

Wen Ya bit her lip, her gaze once again sweeping over Hu Xiaotian's face, and she whispered, "You say you won't harm me—is it because this palace and Le Yao look alike?"

Hu Xiaotian pushed the bowl of bird's nest porridge forward again: "Talented Person, eat it and I'll tell you."

A smile unexpectedly appeared on Wen Ya's usually indifferent face—this smile was like a spring breeze brushing the face, capable of melting ice and snow. She nodded and said softly, "Actually, I fully understand why you've come here." She took the bowl of bird's nest porridge from Hu Xiaotian's hand: "You may go; I will eat properly."

Hu Xiaotian stepped outside. Baobao came up to him and asked, "What's the situation?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "What else can we say? Let's fill our stomachs first." He and Baobao went together to the kitchen; after a day's work, Hu Xiaotian was already hungry, he reached for a steamed bun, but Baobao slapped the back of his hand: "Go wash your hands!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled, went to the washbasin and cleaned his hands; meanwhile Baobao had already prepared the food and had specially heated a pot of liquor for him.

The two sat by the small stove; Baobao poured Hu Xiaotian a cup of wine. He raised his cup and took a sip, then directly brought the remaining half to Baobao's lips. Whether it was the stove's heat or her shyness, Baobao's pretty face looked especially charming; her beautiful eyes, full of allure, glanced at Hu Xiaotian. She took the half cup of leftover wine and drank it all down. Lifting her eyes, she saw Hu Xiaotian still wearing a mischievous smile, and she couldn't help but spit, saying, "How annoying—you always force me to do things I don't want to."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Between us, such intimacy is only natural."

"Who wants to be that intimate with you?" Baobao filled the cup, took a half sip herself, then imitated Hu Xiaotian by bringing the cup to his lips; Hu Xiaotian drained it in one gulp. Baobao set down the cup, slipped a piece of chicken into his mouth, half of it still protruding from his lips. Hu Xiaotian leaned in and said, "Nyo nyo!"

Baobao giggled, embarrassed, shaking her head; no matter what, she refused to move closer to share that piece of chicken with him.

While they were lost in their mutual affection, Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but think of Wen Ya inside the palace; at this moment she must surely be alone and forlorn.

Baobao whispered, "Will the matter concerning Wutong implicate the Talented Person?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Hard to say." He picked up a slice of beef and brought it to Baobao's lips; this time she did not refuse, lightly parting her lips to bite the beef, but she didn't expect this rascal to suddenly lunge forward with his lips and snatch away half of it.

Their eyes met; Baobao was overcome with shyness, yet her eyes shimmered with endless sweetness. Hu Xiaotian seized the moment to lightly suck on her lips, then returned to his original position and sighed, "Such a little life is truly blissful, like living among the immortals."

Baobao said, "If you bully me again, I'll stay far away from you."

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Can you bear to?"

Baobao bit her lip, not answering him, but she already had the answer in her heart—naturally, she was reluctant; the longer she interacted with him, the more she found herself unable to let go. Her sister had indeed been right: she had developed extraordinary feelings for this little eunuch. Thinking of Lin Wan in the Lingyu Palace, Baobao's mood instantly sank again.

Hu Xiaotian noticed her smile suddenly disappear and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Baobao said, "I just suddenly remembered something."

Hu Xiaotian guessed she was worried about the Ten Thousand Insects Bone-Eroding Pill she had taken, and he said softly, "Don't worry; with me here I can certainly help you resolve that."

Baobao said, "Over the past few days, one incident after another has occurred in the Bright Moon Palace; I don't even know how long we can stay here."

Hu Xiaotian was not overly worried about this; he said calmly, "Take things one step at a time; in any case, it won't involve us."

Baobao asked, "Who exactly killed Qiuyan?"

Hu Xiaotian set down his cup, rose, went to the door, pulled it open and looked outside. Apart from the lights still on inside the Bright Moon Palace, everywhere else was pitch dark, with no one around. He then closed the kitchen door again, returned to Baobao's side, and said, "I don't know."

Baobao said, "Wang Ren seems the most likely, but it probably isn't him—he and Qiuyan were very close."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Everything stems from the Talented Person." In his view, Wutong, Qiuyan, Wang Ren, and the others were all innocent victims.

Baobao pursed her lips and said, "I'm so afraid; now it's just the two of us, and I don't know whether misfortune will befall us……"

Hu Xiaotian reached out and took her hand, saying, "No! I will definitely not let anything happen to you!"

Baobao's eyes reddened; a feeling she had never experienced before surged in her heart, her nostrils flared slightly, and she whispered, "Actually… actually I have also deceived you……"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "The past is past; to me it's utterly unimportant. As long as you treat me well from now on and spend the rest of your life making it up to me, that will be enough."

Baobao pursed her lips; Hu Xiaotian thought she was about to tear up from being moved, but instead she said, "It sounds like I'm the one who ended up at a great loss."

"To suffer a loss is to gain an advantage; you appear to be the loser, but in fact you have taken full advantage of me."

Baobao was about to retort when suddenly a voice came from outside: "Is Eunuch Hu there?" The sound came from outside the Bright Moon Palace; though not loud, it was crystal clear to their ears. Hu Xiaotian recognized the voice as that of Zhang Fuquan, so he paused his conversation with Baobao, stepped out the door, went outside the Bright Moon Palace, and saw Zhang Fuquan of the Imperial Kitchen's cattle and sheep shed standing at the gate; this time he had no attendants, having come alone.

Hu Xiaotian clasped his hands toward Zhang Fuquan and said, "Eunuch Zhang, what instructions do you have?"

Zhang Fuquan held a lantern in one hand, a faint smile on his face: "Eunuch Hu, there are some official matters, so I'd like to ask you to come to my place for a talk."

Zhang Fuquan was a trusted aide planted in the palace by Quan De'an; Hu Xiaotian naturally understood that this visit was almost certainly at Quan De'an's behest, surely because the recent events in the Bright Moon Palace had alarmed Quan De'an, prompting him to send Zhang Fuquan to inquire into the matter.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Eunuch Zhang, please wait a moment; I'll go inform the Talented Person."

"Sure!" Zhang Fuquan waited there, smiling.

Hu Xiaotian went back and told Wen Ya, then instructed Baobao to leave the door open for him tonight, after which he followed Zhang Fuquan toward the Imperial Kitchen.

Along the way, Zhang Fuquan remained silent; since he refused to speak, Hu Xiaotian saw no point in asking. Arriving at Zhang Fuquan's quarters, upon entering his room Hu Xiaotian discovered that Quan De'an was not there. He felt a bit surprised and puzzled, saying, "Eunuch Zhang, why isn't Eunuch Quan here?"

Zhang Fuquan smiled, "The Emperor is unwell; Eunuch Quan has gone tonight to visit him. He had said he would come over, but perhaps something detained him." Hu Xiaotian looked at Zhang Fuquan's smiling face, harboring private doubts, but he did not fear that Zhang Fuquan would act against him, for he was still useful to Quan De'an and the time had not yet come when the birds are gone and the bow is put away.

Zhang Fuquan said, "Please have a seat, Eunuch Hu; I asked you to come over just for a casual chat."

The new year has arrived; Zhangyu earnestly requests your monthly ticket support, seeking a New Year's gift—may all of you cast your monthly votes for me! (To be continued~^~)