Chapter 9: Eunuch 9 (Jiang Family Bloodline)

Eunuch 9 (Jiang Family Bloodline)

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Under the dim yellowish light, the imperial palace resembled a huge beast crouching.

It was dinner time, the quietest moment in the Lenggong, when a small figure appeared by the lakeside next to the Lenggong.

"Fishy, fishy, bite the hook, Mingzhi wants to eat fish."

The thin boy leaned against the mottled old railing, his milky voice soft and faint, as if a breeze would scatter it.

Jiang He stood in the tree shade, silently watching the child. He pondered a moment, then asked somewhat unwillingly: "This brat's skin and bones, even a tiger wouldn't eat its young—doesn't the old emperor give him any living expenses?"

The System Cat sat aside, licking its paws.

"His birth mother committed a grave crime; letting him live is already a mercy from the old emperor, throwing him into the Lenggong is just out of sight, out of mind."

Jiang He frowned, pulled up the plot, and asked: "Who is his mother?"

The system's voice suddenly turned shrill, chuckling: "Host, you guess."

Seeing Jiang He silent, it immediately meowed excitedly: "Host, let me give you a hint—we might actually be able to complete the mission to the original host's full score!"

The implication was clear; Jiang He narrowed his eyes, reviewed the original host's memories, and said plainly: "Related to the Jiang family?"

"Correct!" the system exclaimed excitedly, "This child's mother is Jiang Yun, the youngest daughter of the Jiang family's second branch."

Instantly, Jiang He felt a violent surge of emotion in his chest, his memories uncontrolled, recalling the original host's happiest yet brief seven years.

Before age seven, he was the Jiang family's most beloved child.

The system sighed: "Actually, even the original host didn't realize he still had living relatives—the Jiang family isn't completely extinct!"

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Back then, Character: Jiang Yuner, the youngest daughter of the Jiang family's second branch, was returning home by boat when she fell into the water unexpectedly; she didn't expect to be swept away by the tide, but a fisherman rescued her. Seeing her stout build and meaty frame, he thought she'd be easy to raise and wanted her as a child bride for his son.

Who would have thought the fisherman's son, while fishing, fed the Sea Dragon King; grief-stricken, the fisherman decided she was a husband-killer and simply sold her into the palace as a maid.

Worse still, Character: Jiang Yuner hit her head when she fell, losing her memory, and the fisherman's family was so dirt-poor they wouldn't have kept a girl just to make her a child bride for their son otherwise.

In the fisherman's home, Character: Jiang Yuner went hungry every day, but she became thin within a month and a half.

The thinned Character: Jiang Yuner practically became a different person—slender, with a pointed little face, an extremely beautiful maiden; the beauty scouts seeking beauties for the old imperial palace saw her, liked her instantly, didn't check her background, just added her name and sent her into the palace.

Naturally, the then fresh, flower-like Character: Jiang Yuner quickly caught the eye of the lecherous old emperor, who took her to his bed.

Until Character: Jiang Yuner inadvertently saw the Jiang family matriarch entering the palace to pay respects to the empress, she finally regained her memory; she had wanted to acknowledge the old lady, but before she could act, the Jiang family was wiped out.

Character: Jiang Yuner was decisive; she directly committed a grave mistake and was quickly thrown into the Lenggong by the old emperor.

Upon hearing this, Jiang He felt another suffocating pain in his chest.

This was certainly not his emotion, but the original host's.

Although the original host is gone, his emotions still linger in this body.

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He looked with some heartache at the fifteenth imperial prince, said to be seven but actually thinner than a five- or six-year-old child.

Character: Jiang Yuner's actions are understandable; if she had stepped forward then and revealed she was a Jiang daughter, no matter how fresh the old emperor's favor, he would not spare them—by then the Jiang family would truly be exterminated, not a drop of blood left, no one would seek justice for the Jiang family or avenge them.

She wanted to keep her own life, leave a drop of Jiang blood, and also avenge those of the Jiang family who died unjustly.

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The System Cat said: "I heard Consort Jiang besides loving food had no flaws; the old emperor thought her innocent and naive and liked her quite a bit." Its current three-colored cat shell, fattened by the Imperial Kitchen's delicacies, made it sympathize with the scrawny youngster.

The only males who can appear in the rear palace are the old emperor, the neutered eunuchs, and those young princes who haven't yet left the palace to establish their own mansions.

The System Cat had lingered in the Lenggong for a long time; watching the boy's focused expression, it couldn't help but grow curious about his mother.

The little boy bargained with the System Cat, then rummaged and pulled out a few nice stones, a rough wooden fish carving, and some wilted fruits from his pocket.

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The three-colored cat's whiskers twitched up; it liked polite youngsters, and under the little boy's eager gaze, it took the wooden fish carving.

At that moment the System Cat meowed twice, just about to eat, when it suddenly heard nonstop gulping sounds.

The three-colored cat first glanced at the surroundings, then at the wild vegetables in the youngster's small hand; even the most miserable palace maids and eunuchs in the palace get three coarse-grain buns a day to fill their stomachs—for them, the torment is more mental, and there really aren't any palace maids or eunuchs who have starved to death.

This youngster before them is so thin that the System Cat feels he's about to starve to death any moment.

The youngster's eyes lit up instantly, he swallowed a gulp of saliva, and asked timidly: "Are you going to treat me to eat?"

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To be usable as a Lenggong, it's naturally rarely visited, and though the Lenggong is a corner of the imperial palace, the scenery is decent; the waist-high weeds easily conceal traces, going unnoticed.

The boy was grinding a small iron rod as thick as his pinky on a stone.

Anyway, it's a cat deity of the palace; acting a bit more human raises no objections, especially since this kid is nearly starving to death—he probably wouldn't care whether he met a cat god or a cat demon.

Moreover, it's because it accompanied Jiang He observing so many hopeless princes; encountering a princeling who hasn't gone astray is rare, making it feel precious, so it hurriedly checked to see if there was still hope.

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It jerked its head forward and saw a thin human youngster ahead, his black-grape eyes fixed longingly on its grilled fish, his stomach rumbling loudly.

Halfway through eating, the little boy reluctantly put down the remaining grilled fish.

The three-colored cat sat aside, suddenly realizing: "Ah, this is the legendary 'grinding an iron rod into a needle'."

A human youngster appearing in the Lenggong needs no questioning—he must be a prince.

In this Lenggong, not to speak of a cat that understands humans, even food dragged in by a stray dog is precious.

Unable to bear such misery, the System Cat waved its plum-blossom claws, pushing the grilled fish on a leaf toward him to signal him to eat.

One just doesn't know who this prince's birth mother is, what she did wrong, or why he's locked in the Lenggong.

Three days ago, the System Cat snatched its favorite grilled fish from the Imperial Kitchen, looking for a quiet spot to savor it slowly.

"Kitty, can I take the leftovers home for my mother? She hasn't eaten anything for days…"

The original host's lifelong-unfound family were actually encountered by chance by the System Cat!

The system being able to discover Character: Jiang Yuner and the Fifteenth Prince is also an accident.

The little boy was indeed extremely hungry, and he didn't mind that the one giving him food was a cat that understood human nature.

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After all, it is now a cat deity; everyone in the palace recognizes it. If it doesn't hide a bit, it will definitely be annoyed to death, not even able to eat a meal in peace.

These are all my favorite things; I want to trade them with you, okay?

"Indeed, kitties all love fish." The little boy said happily, "I'll soon be able to make a fish hook, and I also know how to dig earthworms; wait for me to fish and give you something to eat."

System Cat nodded, patted the spot beside it, gesturing for him to sit down and eat.

However, this little prince's mother is also quite formidable; despite these circumstances, she hasn't neglected his education—this is how she's tempering his patience by grinding an iron rod.

System Cat rarely felt curious.

He sat there happily eating fish; although he was starving, his back remained straight, he sat properly, and even while gobbling his food, no crumbs fell—clearly he had received good manners.

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