20demayo Chapter 526 The Winds of the Harem
Chapter 526 The Winds of the Harem
The seemingly casual analysis of the situation caused both the master and servant to fall into a brief silence.
"Alright, Brother Lin, don't worry about me. Just focus on running the pastry shop well. Even though we have the support of the Tan family, we still need to have more profitable businesses of our own."
Chen Lin originally thought that the Second Prince only let him open a shop because he liked pastries, but he didn't expect that it was really to make money.
Suddenly realizing that the burden on his shoulders had become heavier, he knew he had to change his previous plans and find a way to earn more money for His Highness.
"Hey, don't look so bitter and resentful. Just do your best. I'm not expecting to build any kind of business empire."
Haha, as long as it's convenient for us to spend, Brother Lin, just think of it as helping me earn some pocket money!
Seeing Chen Lin's serious expression, the Second Prince quickly added another sentence.
"Understood, Your Highness. I understand. Please rest assured, I will make sure you don't lack pocket money!"
Inside Consort Liu's palace—
"Have you found out? What exactly are they doing sending people in and out lately?"
A beautiful woman whose age was hard to guess was eating fruit from a jade plate with a small silver fork. She didn't even lift her eyelids when she asked a question, and her expression was languid.
"Your Highness, we have already found out that the eunuchs sent out by the concubines in the harem are all junior eunuchs in charge of purchasing."
When leaving the palace, they would go to shops among the common people to buy things, such as a place called Liuxiang Pavilion, mostly common items like rouge and face powder.
"Ding~~!"
The silver fork fell into the jade plate.
The eunuch who answered immediately knelt down, almost burying his head in the carpet.
"You're always so thorough and meticulous in your work, how come you only investigated halfway this time?" Consort Liu's personal maid said disdainfully.
The little eunuch seemed not to understand, still keeping his head down. He believed he had investigated thoroughly, so how could this lowly man have made it sound like he had only investigated incompletely?!
"Hmph! Don't be so unconvinced. Look at this! I bought it from another palace maid at a high price."
The palace maid said that these were face wipes given to them by their mistress, and that they were bought from outside the palace at a high price!
Take a good look, these are the cosmetics and powders you mentioned~
A round white porcelain jar rolled onto the thick carpet; no wonder the palace maid dared to throw it down so directly.
The young eunuch picked up the white porcelain jar and opened it. A rich fragrance instantly filled the air, bringing joy and relaxation to the mind and body.
"This is?"
"So this is what you called the vulgar stuff they bought from outside the palace!"
The young eunuch was helpless. As a eunuch, how could he know these things? He asked a eunuch he was on good terms with, and that person said it was for women, to be applied to the face and lips. What else could it be?
Forget it, there's no point in explaining now. Women's thought processes are different from eunuchs'.
He'd rather save himself a beating than suffer another bruise on his backside.
"Alas, it was my carelessness and my ignorance that made me unaware that such fine things could be found in ordinary shops. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
Consort Liu raised her hand, but didn't actually punish him. This wasn't a serious offense; kneeling for a few hours would be enough to teach him a lesson.
"Alright, all the women in the palace have been using things from Liuxiang Pavilion lately. I've become the one who's out of touch. From now on, you need to be more careful in your work, understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness, there will be no next time!"
"Alright, now that you've asked and know the name of the shop, go out of the palace tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will certainly handle the matter well!"
The young eunuch didn't even ask why he was leaving the palace; he simply accepted the task and withdrew to complete his allotted kneeling time.
"Eunuch Liu, why don't you ask Her Majesty why she asked you to go to that shop?" asked a young eunuch who looked like he had just entered the palace.
"Is there even a question? There are only two possibilities: first, they'll make me buy the same things as other palaces; second, they'll make me cause trouble for this shop so I can never do business in the capital again."
The young eunuch's eyes widened. These two possibilities were worlds apart. What was Liu Gonggong going to do about this job?
"Look at you, what's so difficult about this?! Just take care of both for Her Majesty!"
The young eunuch was a little confused. How could these two things be done at the same time?
If you want to buy something from someone but then cause them trouble, how can they possibly sell it to you?!
He thought that Eunuch Liu might be a little confused, probably from being forced to kneel so many times.
Liu De had no idea that he was being secretly criticized by a young eunuch who had just entered the palace. He only knew that he still had three hours to kneel and had no time to waste words with the young upstart.
"Alright, alright, get back to work! Worry about what's your business, and don't ask questions about what's not your business."
"Hmph, it's only because I have a good temper that I'm taught these things. Who else would teach you these things!"
The little eunuch was sweating profusely inside. Did he not want to learn well?
Knowing the general trends in the harem was enough; survival was his priority, and he didn't want to be like everyone else, constantly striving to climb the ranks.
However, when it comes to petty and clueless "seniors," it's best to maintain a facade of "humility."
After all, it's better to offend a gentleman than a petty person.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Liu. You may go about your business now; I won't take up any more of your precious time!"
Watching Eunuch Liu's departing figure, the young eunuch had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
His sixth sense was always very accurate, which is why he was the only son left when his whole family fled.
Whenever danger approaches, he always feels uneasy, as if reminding him to run!
But in this deep palace, where could a rootless duckweed escape to?
The Imperial Concubine doesn't treat her servants like human beings, and it's probably not much better in other palaces. Alas, once you enter the palace, you have no say in your own life!
If I hadn't been starving, I would never have chosen to be stabbed and brought to the palace.
Now we can only hope that the Liuxiang Pavilion outside the palace doesn't have any powerful backing, so it's okay if it gets bullied by Eunuch Liu.
Ordinary people, who would dare to offend someone from the palace?
Even a minor eunuch in charge of a household would become a superior "eunuch" once he left the palace.
Don't think that eunuchs aren't officials. When it comes to bullying ordinary people, eunuchs can sometimes be even more ruthless and unscrupulous.
After all, he still had the master in the palace backing him up, so what if he caused trouble?
What owner wouldn't side with the dog they let out?
Ordinary people, once bitten, can only accept their bad luck.
The young eunuch shook his head and returned to the storage room where he usually stayed.
Those who had just entered the palace could only do rough, miscellaneous, dirty, and tiring work; in short, they had to do everything that others didn't want to do.
But for some reason, he felt quite at ease, much more at ease than when he was serving his master closely.