Chapter 25

Eunuch 25 (Character: Yang Gonggong's Conspiracy)

Seeing Jiang He patiently talking with the little palace maid, the system couldn't help but mutter a little.

Is the host especially concerned about these not-so-smart pure girls? Plus there's the little girl Qiu'er from the deposed crown prince's manor who can't remember after reading the book dozens of times; when the host goes out at night to handle affairs, he occasionally makes a special detour to check on her.

When the drunken deposed crown prince flew into a drunken rage and hit the little maiden, the host acted at once, throwing a stone that hit the deposed crown prince's knee, instantly breaking his leg; he's still lying in bed wailing.

Also, this Afu is clearly not very smart at a glance, with his thoughts entirely on food.

On the surface, the host frequently exchanges food talk with her to repay her favor, but really it's not just concern that one day the girl's luck might run out; he wants her to acquire a skill so she won't have to fear starvation.

The system cat watched for a moment, then sneaked back to Lenggong, thinking as it walked.

Although its host has a bit of a saintly complex, he still kills when necessary—for example, that beast of a tenth prince—and he still messes with people when he wants to, such as the soon-to-be-unlucky fourth prince.

Thinking this, the system again wondered whether the host was becoming more and more like a dog.

It swore that the fourth prince dying at the host's hands would be absolutely the most comfortable way, making him want to mess with him, so that he would wish he were dead!

"Could it be that the host enjoys messing with people because he's bored from doing tasks for too long?"

Unable to resist, it recalled a post on the system forum where a system complained that its host was a decisive sword cultivator who, having killed too much, didn't have enough points to deduct and had been doing unpaid work.

It couldn't help but fantasize that if its host were a sword cultivator, supposedly a single slash could settle things absolutely cleanly and neatly!

Although the points aren't high and often get deducted, that sword cultivator completes tasks the fastest, can take on more tasks, using quantity to make up for quality—could that be considered selling cheap but in volume?

The system calculated the points and found that even after doing ten tasks, that sword cultivator tasker still had fewer points and less merit than the host's single task.

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Its host considers many things; during tasks he always wants to save unrelated people and thinks about how to steer the world toward a better direction.

Many hosts only earn points from tasks, rarely gaining merit, but its host never misses either, practically a perfect-point hoarder, completing tasks that are almost always full marks!

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The two people in the flower room were still chatting while eating fried chicken.

"Tea oil duck not okay? You mean the Noble Consort thinks it's too oily? I have to think, what can absorb oil?" Jiang He thought for a moment, "Right, you can spread cheap tea leaves on the bottom of the plate; they absorb oil, add fragrance, and the tea leaves don't need to be thrown away. I'll give you a recipe involving tea leaves."

A Fu, with something in his mouth, nodded vigorously and scrambled to write it down.

Fortunately, although her mind wasn't very sharp, when it came to food she was enlightened and could record everything clearly.

After hearing Jiang He's suggestion, A Fu looked at him admiringly, wondering in his heart whether taking Xiao Hezi as a sworn brother was too far‑fetched.

She served in the Noble Consort's palace; although protected by the Consort, she was too clumsy, couldn't learn many things no matter how she tried, was reckless, often broke things, and the other palace maids whispered that besides being lucky she was a useless snack.

She also thought herself useless, unable to do anything right.

Later she met Xiao Hezi; Xiao Hezi asked what she liked, and she said she liked eating.

"Then let's study cuisine," Xiao Hezi said at the time.

A Fu later realized she wasn't bad at everything; she had a special talent for cuisine, and since she began mastering cooking, even the Noble Consort's little kitchen became her domain.

In this palace, aside from the Noble Consort, Xiao Hezi was the one who treated her best.

After finishing the fried chicken, Jiang He wiped his mouth clean and began working.

He lifted the flowerpot and said, "You go ahead, I'll deliver the flowers to you! Remember, if in front of outsiders…"

"I know, I know, we have to act unfamiliar!" A Fu rushed to answer, laughing until both cheeks hung down.

She knew Xiao Hezi would deliver it personally; the Noble Consort was kind‑hearted, and if he appeared more often before her, leaving a good impression, perhaps the Consort would protect him later.

By then, the palace maid named Ping An would definitely dare not give Xiao Hezi any attitude!

Jiang He, unaware of the junior maid's scheme, delivered the flowers to the Noble Consort, and by then night had already fallen.

That night, Jiang He paid a visit to the Fourth Prince's residence.

When he left, he sneaked off to the abandoned Crown Prince's residence to glance at the little girl Qiu Er, saw her earnestly studying with her mother, couldn't help but smile, thinking that if there were a chance, the little girl studying together with Mingzhi would be quite nice.

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After moving into the double room, Jiang He found Character: Yang Gonggong to be a good roommate: no snoring, no talking in sleep, no grinding teeth; he also loved cleanliness, and even if he couldn't bathe, he would wipe himself before getting into bed.

Moreover, he often lit the incense burner, making the whole room so scentless that other eunuchs dared not enter, fearing the room would become foul‑smelling.

While saying so, he poured the mixed wine from the bamboo tube into a porcelain bowl.

Jiang He smiled wryly: "Actually the proprietor originally wanted to rename this fruit liqueur as 'cocktail', but was stopped; supposedly the shopkeeper thought 'cocktail' wasn't elegant enough."

The cocktail mixed with fruit juice also added mint aroma and ice cubes; in this scorching summer it was simply delightful.

Fruit wine is fine; after all, it's a waste to let the barren mountain go unused—planting fruit trees gives the people an extra source of income.

Character: Yang Gonggong's eyes flashed with a cold glint as he poured a cup of pale green wine and, as usual, placed it before Jiang He.

Jiang He took a sip; unfortunately the varieties of ancient‑brewed wine were still limited, the cocktail could only produce few variations, so one could only work on the fruit juice.

To avoid arousing Jiang He's suspicion, he also drank a lot of fruit liqueur.

Character: Yang Gonggong laughed: "It's a newly opened shop on Xuanxu Avenue; the fruit wine liqueur there sells especially well! The proprietor has great business talent; before this, who could have thought mixing wine and fruit juice would taste so good?"

Obviously this is the pricier wine‑fruit liqueur, with more wine and less juice.

Character: Yang Gonggong thought it over well, fell into a deep slumber, excitedly awaiting promotion and wealth after waking.

Character: Yang Gonggong returned to his own small adjoining room, yawned, and fell asleep.

"This is a good thing," Jiang He said unreservedly; having treated each other to good food, politeness actually created distance, "This was brought in from outside the palace, right?"

Although called fruit liqueur, it could also be called wine‑fruit liqueur; it just depends on whether you prefer more spirit or more juice.

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He forced a satisfied look at the restless Character: Yang Gonggong, letting him go down.

Anyway he also drank fruit liqueur, more than Xiao Hezi, and slept longer; Xiao Hezi couldn't suspect him, and even if he earned the Fourth Prince's favor, he wouldn't see him as an enemy.

The Fourth Prince entered, and the incoming scent made his head a bit dizzy; he thought the fragrance was overly cloying.

Character: Yang Gonggong bowed his body, feeling he had thought everything through, fearing the master might be displeased, and even lit incense deliberately so that the eunuch's scent wouldn't ruin the mood.

"Indeed tasty…" Character: Yang Gonggong drank until his mouth was dry, leaned on the table to stand, and lit the prepared incense.

Historically drinks are expensive, fruit is cheap; the mixed wine not only tastes better but also cuts costs, yet this fresh mixed wine's price was even raised, and both drinkers and non‑drinkers couldn't resist trying it, then were amazed as if by a deity.

As expected, eunuchs just don't understand elegance; the most elegant fragrance is silent and unseen, appears unannounced, while overly domineering scents are inferior.

Character: Yang Gonggong envied greatly, how much silver does this host earn?

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Character: Yang Gonggong was very satisfied comparing him with the clean‑loving Xiao He; these days it's rare to meet such compatible roommates.

Jiang He is not a cheap‑taking person, so return the favor; after a few exchanges the two felt like the best roommates with a deep inner‑palace bond.

As the behind‑the‑scenes host, Jiang He felt especially frustrated; he always thought a cocktail was a synonym for elegance, didn't he see how many bartenders stylishly mix drinks? That is truly high‑style!

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Yet he didn't know that the Fourth Prince next door stumbled into his room…

He let out an incomprehensible sigh, then collapsed onto the table, cheeks flushed, looking already drunk.

Jiang He drank while pondering the grand scheme for the people's livelihood, and from the corner of his eye caught the expression on Character: Yang Gonggong's face opposite.

The Fourth Prince was about to scold, but soon found that after getting used to the scent it wasn't that unpleasant; the sweet fragrance was cloying, making people…

Character: Yang Gonggong agreed, "The shopkeeper is right; this host truly lacks the talent for naming."

Speaking of this would hurt one's pride; after Xiao He wakes up, even if he wants to settle accounts, he won't immediately pursue the culprit, and besides, even if he did, the Fourth Prince would be ahead of him.

So he often treats Jiang He to food.

Character: Yang Gonggong, who has a cleanliness obsession, spent two years in the Grand Dormitory, then four years in a four‑person dorm, and now can finally enjoy a double room, no longer having to hold it in; heaven knows he used to have the urge every day to kill those untidy roommates.

However, he need not be envious; he will soon become wealthy, not just wealthy, perhaps even receive a promotion.

Let alone brewing wine from grain, the fall of Great Liang was partly because Emperor Liang Kang suffered many natural disasters in his later years, and many peasants starved to death.

If one sees the profit, perhaps a mountain isn't even needed; one could plant a tree or two of fruit in front of and behind the house, in the courtyard; if they can't be sold, they can be made into candied fruit for children's sweet mouths, but the peasants don't know how to make candied fruit, the recipe could be spread…

A faint sweet scent mixed with the aroma of alcohol permeated the room; Character: Yang Gonggong patted his slightly dizzy forehead and, with utmost respect, opened the door.

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