Chapter 19: with translation of chapter title

Eunuch 19 (《Thick Black Learning》 gets underway)

Since Song Gonggong's promotion, he still occasionally returns to visit the eunuchs who used to share a room with him.

It might be because his foster father Huo Gonggong transferred him to the Imperial Kitchen, where he lives in a pair of rooms, eats well and sleeps well, so he has grown even taller.

Everyone envies Song Gonggong for still being able to grow taller at his age.

Probably also because the work in the Imperial Kitchen is lighter than that in the Imperial Flower Bureau, and there is plenty of delicious food, so eating one's fill is no problem; seeing the rosy faces and many plump figures among the palace workers in the Imperial Kitchen shows how good their meals are.

Only Jiang He knows that Song Gonggong still hasn't given up.

Not only because of the halo's influence, but also because he has suffered many secret losses at Jiang He's place, making him resentful and always wanting to regain face.

He doesn't believe he can't control a lowly little eunuch inferior to himself.

Despite having suffered so many losses, he still rashly charges forward, disbelieving evil; one can only say Song Gonggong's fate is also quite tough.

The Fourth Prince also occasionally pops up to seek presence, playing the hero saving the beauty.

He is one who likes to play with erotic interests; even if a little eunuch repeatedly rejects him, he doesn't get annoyed, nor does he think it's improper—beauties, after all, if they have no temper, they're as easy to handle as those flashy trashes outside, and then they'd have no charm.

The rarer something is, the more precious it is, and his interest can last even longer.

Jiang He is speechless about this; don't think you're the only smart person in the world while everyone else is stupid.

Such foolish antics of first causing trouble for him then jumping out to play the hero saving the beauty are something only these princes can pull off, and they still feel smug, thinking they're very charming.

Not even a packet of medicine scattered over, still because he temporarily doesn't want to leave the palace.

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He was watering a pot of slightly wilted orchids, using a cup he himself had marked with measurements to drip the water onto the delicate orchid roots; this water was a nutrient solution he had specially prepared, capable of reviving the orchids.

Song Gonggong walked in, staring at him with a gloomy gaze, and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Little River, I've heard your work these days has been heavy and you haven't been able to rest on time." The eunuchs' characteristic sharp voice was extremely piercing, "Would you like me to help you?"

"No need!" Jiang He refused without even looking up, thinking he needed to get some pesticide, since spring brings more flowers and more bugs.

After finishing watering the flowers, he turned his head and saw Song Gonggong standing there, which again made his face dark with anger; he felt no disturbance in his heart, thinking it was nothing.

He was calculating in his mind what to do next; since he couldn't hide his sharpness, he might as well let it show a bit.

By then he will have more time, and it will also be convenient to take care of Jiang Yuner and her child.

Song Gonggong clenched his fists tightly, suppressing that anger.

"Little River." He let out a long sigh, "I had my foster father transfer you to the Imperial Kitchen—what do you think? Work in the Imperial Kitchen is definitely better than here in the Imperial Garden, right?"

These days, he had secretly observed that although Jiang He had caught the eyes of the palace ladies in the Hougong, those ladies only treated him as a plaything, summoning him at will, and the work he actually did was even more; having been tossed around enough, he must be sick of it and would probably hate to switch to a lighter duty.

Once Little River is transferred over, then how things turn out will still be up to him, right?

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Jiang He finally looked up at Song Gonggong; this pure malice could be solved with a packet of medicine, or failing that, he could stuff a sack at night, tie stones to his legs and throw him into the lake, or toss him into some abandoned well.

Anyway, as long as it doesn't involve Jiang Yuner and her child, he fears nothing.

He was too lazy to even pretend, "No need, anyway your foster father doesn't have the ability to transfer me."

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When he left the greenhouse, he met Yang Gonggong at the door; he gave a cold smile inside and greeted Yang Gonggong hypocritically.

Yang Gonggong wore a smile on his face, but in his heart he spat.

Although Song Gonggong was transferred to the Imperial Kitchen to work, he is still just a stoker, somewhat inferior to me, and I don't fear Song Gonggong.

Jiang He raised his head and saw this scene, a glint flashing in his eyes.

Yang Gonggong is the overseer of the Grand Dormitory, equivalent to the dormitory head of their quarters, supervising ten little eunuchs; Jiang He has always found him strange.

This Song Gonggong is still quite capable; compared to those effeminate eunuchs, he is remarkably heroic, and he hasn't been in the palace for a short time, yet he hasn't been promoted and still shares a four-person room with them.

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As long as no one comes to scheme against him, he also can't be bothered to worry too much, and instead thinks about what to eat tonight with Seventh Sister and Mingzhi.

After an autumn and a winter passed, Jiang Yuner's illness had mostly recovered; Mingzhi's body was originally fine, aside from not eating enough, which caused slight stomach issues, but he quickly grew plump-cheeked from the nutritious and tasty medicinal meals, even developing baby fat.

Jiang He recently considered giving him a medicinal bath and teaching him martial arts.

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"From now on call me Little River Grandfather." Jiang He patted the boy's head neither lightly nor heavily, "If outsiders hear that, it'll cause trouble."

When Mingzhi saw that scene, he was frightened stiff all over; still, the System Cat covered his eyes with its tail and dragged him away, but that scene remained deeply etched in the child's mind, making him realize for the first time how cruel and terrifying death is.

Later, when Jiang He came over, Mingzhi still couldn't help telling him about this, asking, "Uncle, was that palace maid sister drowned?"

But this is only in front of them; when encountering outsiders, he remains a little mad dog with bristling spikes all over.

After returning, she took out a book Jiang He had specially written and decided to use it to teach her son.

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Later, Jiang He fished the corpses out of the lake and buried them in a pit he dug under the nearby trees.

Mingzhi had already learned many characters; he had mostly recognized those in the Analects, and upon seeing the cover of this book, he felt doubtful, "Thick Black Learning? Mother, what kind of book is this? Why is the name so strange?"

He just likes to call him uncle, which makes him feel they are the closest relatives.

After being raised for a long time, she finally put on some flesh on her face, no longer resembling the skin-and-bones skeleton she was when they first met, but her complexion remained sallow; although her features were decent, compared to the various beauties in the palace, she still lagged far behind.

Not long ago, another palace maid fell into the lake beside the Lenggong; when her corpse floated up, half of her body had been eaten away by fish.

Could it be that the wild beasts the emperor keeps in the Imperial Menagerie are eating people?

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Upon hearing her son's words, Jiang Yuner's expression froze slightly.

Jiang Yuner was made to laugh by him, and her face showed a relaxed expression.

Jiang He shook his head, "It wasn't drowning; the corpse was dumped there after death."

Mingzhi sat on the broken stool, happily drinking sugar water, his little feet swinging back and forth.

Little Mingzhi didn't want to admit he was timid, scared by the fish in the lake that were eating corpses; anyway, braised pork is the most delicious, a hundred times better than fish!

"I saw that among the things Jiu Lang sent last time there were mung beans and osmanthus honey, so I boiled a pot of sugar water with them; try it and tell me how it tastes."

Little Mingzhi pulled Jiang He over, sweetly saying, "Mom's is definitely delicious~"

The sugar water is really tasty, sweet and sweet~~

From birth until now, a child who has never tasted anything sweet feels a sense of happiness.

The child pouted, "There's no outsider here."

Even as an emperor, one must be versed in both civil and military affairs; at the very least, one's legs must be agile and one must be quick to escape danger, for the emperor's profession easily invites open assassinations, covert assassinations, and poisonings—in short, one must learn all-around offense and all-around defense.

Mingzhi took his mother's hand and stood not far away; his tender face showed a bewildered expression, with a hint of indescribable sorrow, while the fear in his heart gradually faded.

The child happily circled around Jiang He, saying, "Uncle, I want to hear a story."

Jiang He dodged the patrolling guards, nimbly scaling the wall into the Lenggong.

Little Mingzhi listened, feeling very afraid; it turned out not only did the fish eat people, but there were also man-eating things in the palace?

Since recognizing his uncle, their lives have improved; Mother no longer needs to toil daily planting vegetables and doing needlework to support him, and he no longer needs to spend much time each day grinding the small iron rod into an embroidery needle.

Li Mingzhi inside the room saw his silhouette, wobbling out on his two short little legs, "Uncle, you're here!"

Now that he has his back, the little mad dog has become a little puppy, truly adorable.

The sister and brother have the same approach to educating Mingzhi; they don't want to raise a naive child ignorant of the world.

Jiang Yuner's complexion wasn't great; she softly sighed, "Mingzhi, do you know? This palace is a man-eating place; to live well here, you need to have ten or eight hearts."

In front of the house, Jiang Yuner called them over to drink osmanthus mung bean sugar water.

Jiang He saw his little face all red and flushed; finally his face showed the innocent liveliness that a five-year-old child should have.

He didn't sugarcoat these things just because the child was young; he frankly told him, letting him know how terrifying this palace is.

He no longer wants to eat fish; anyway, with his uncle around, the uncle will bring them lots of meat—if they have meat, why eat fish?

In Jiang Yuner's eyes, her son, who is seven in nominal age, is no longer a little child; he should face the wind and rain from the outside world.

He felt immensely grateful; fortunately his uncle found him and his mother in time, so they didn't have to starve enough to eat those lake fish.

Little Mingzhi shook his head.

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