Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 76: The Attack

“Li Yu.” Hongli tossed the memorial in his hand aside. “How many days has that woman been scrubbing night-soil buckets in the Cleansing Division?”

Li Yu hurriedly replied, “More than half a month.”

Under the candlelight, there wasn’t the slightest smile on Hongli’s face. In fact, ever since he failed to obtain Yingluo from the Empress in Changchun Palace, he had been wearing a foul expression for a full half month.

“She hasn’t cried?” Hongli asked with a sullen face.

Li Yu inwardly groaned but could only answer honestly, “No.”

“She hasn’t begged for mercy?” Hongli’s face immediately became even darker.

“No…” The words had barely left Li Yu’s mouth when Hongli swept all the memorials off the table with one furious motion and roared, “I see she won’t shed tears until she sees her own coffin—and even after seeing the coffin she’d probably still insist on lying down in it!”

Watching the supreme ruler of the Nine Provinces throw a tantrum like a petulant child, Li Yu really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He cautiously probed, “Then… shall this servant immediately give orders to increase her workload?”

Hongli’s cold gaze swept over. Just as Li Yu’s heart was pounding, thinking he had misread the imperial intent and said the wrong thing, Hongli huffed with a sneer:

“Increase it until she cries!”

In the Yong Alley.

   Wei Yingluo stood with head bowed and posture upright. Standing before her were Momo Liu and Manager Zhang.

Normally when Manager Zhang came to inspect this place, he would cover his nose with a handkerchief. Today was different—he put the handkerchief down, sniffed, and asked in confusion, “What did you put in those night-soil buckets? Why can’t I smell anything?”

“Reporting to Manager Zhang,” Wei Yingluo answered, “ordinary commodes have charcoal ash added, those used by consorts have fine sand, and for even better ones—this servant couldn’t find the materials. If one could obtain fragrant wood and leave behind the fine powder, it would wrap up the filth so not a trace of odor could be detected.”

Manager Zhang clicked his tongue in admiration. “You really are clever. No wonder the Empress values you so highly. Ai, someone like you being kept here is truly a waste. Momo Liu, in the future let her do some lighter…”

Before he could finish, a little eunuch suddenly darted in from outside, leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words. Manager Zhang’s expression changed instantly. He berated:

“Wei Yingluo, even scrubbing toilets you manage to do it differently from everyone else—this is called being pretentious! Keep scrubbing. After you finish, go carry all the water!”

With that, Manager Zhang huffed with a sneer, flicked his sleeve and left. But as he passed Yuan Chunwang, one arm casually reached toward the other man’s waist—only to be dodged by Yuan Chunwang taking a step back.

Wei Yingluo quietly took in the whole scene.

“Ungrateful thing!” Perhaps feeling he had lost face, Manager Zhang viciously cursed once and then hurriedly departed.

The little eunuch who had come to deliver the message earlier sauntered up to Yuan Chunwang and spoke in a sarcastic, affected tone:

“Born with such a good face, yet you have a block of wood for a brain! Manager Zhang has taken a fancy to you—that’s the good fortune you accumulated over several lifetimes. As long as you follow him, you won’t have to remain the lowest-ranking cleansing soldier anymore!”

Yuan Chunwang replied coldly, “I am a man, not a rabbit.”

This was the first time Wei Yingluo had heard him speak. Every word was clear and crisp, like spring water tinkling—unspeakably pleasant to the ear.

Not only could he speak, but what he said was especially sharp. In the end the little eunuch who had come to pick on him couldn’t out-talk him, and could only throw down one last vicious remark before stamping his foot and leaving in frustration.

“So you can talk after all.” Only after the other person left did Wei Yingluo step forward to chat with Yuan Chunwang. Very sincerely she said, “Your voice sounds really nice.”

Unexpectedly, he suddenly glanced at her, his face flushed red, and awkwardly turned his head away.

This reaction actually stunned Wei Yingluo for a moment. For no apparent reason, why did he suddenly look so shy? If he were interested in her, he should have been embarrassed the first time they met—why wait until now, after so much time had passed… wait!

“You… didn’t leave that day, did you?” Wei Yingluo’s voice involuntarily rose. “You saw me undressing?”

Yuan Chunwang glanced at her, then suddenly turned and left. No matter how much Wei Yingluo called after him, he didn’t stop, and naturally he didn’t give her a definite answer.

That half-hearted, ambiguous response was the most unsettling of all.

One must understand that a palace maid having an illicit affair with a guard was a grave taboo—especially for someone like her, who had already committed an offense and been punished by being sent to the Cleansing Department.

“That day… did he not leave? Did he see me with Fuheng? How much did he see? How much did he hear?” Wei Yingluo murmured to herself. “No, I have to find a way to get a clear answer.”

Getting a straight answer out of Yuan Chunwang’s mouth was truly difficult. Most of the time he was like a mute—nothing you said could pry a single word out of him.

After several fruitless days of trying, Wei Yingluo grew increasingly preoccupied. On her way to the dining hall to get food, she accidentally bumped into someone.

“Watch where you’re going.” Manager Zhang gave her a glance, then brushed past her.

Wei Yingluo watched his departing back thoughtfully. Then she turned back, lifted the lid of the pot—only one steamed bun remained inside. She shook her head and wrapped it up.

“Here.” When she found Yuan Chunwang again, she held out the still-warm steamed bun.

It was the same old well, the same bucket of well water. Yuan Chunwang sat beside the bucket, scooping water into his mouth spoonful by spoonful. That was his meal for the day. That was all the food he had.

Even after Wei Yingluo’s arm grew tired from holding it out, Yuan Chunwang never once turned his head to look at her, let alone take the steamed bun from her hand.

“A person has to eat to live. Otherwise, sooner or later you’ll collapse.” Wei Yingluo placed the bun—together with the handkerchief it was wrapped in—down on the grass beside him. “If you collapse, I’ll be the one who has to push the night-soil cart out of the palace. So eat.”

Certain that he wouldn’t touch it while she was there, Wei Yingluo left without hesitation after setting the bun down.

Behind her, Yuan Chunwang stopped scooping water. For a long moment he looked at her retreating figure with a complicated expression, then slowly shifted his gaze to the steamed bun on the ground.

After a long while, a pale hand finally reached out toward it.

From behind a tree, someone secretly watched the scene and began counting silently in their heart: one, two, three… When they reached fifty, there was a sudden thud. Their heart leaped with joy. They stepped out from behind the tree in a few quick strides.

Half of the eaten steamed bun lay on the ground, rolling in the mud. Yuan Chunwang braced one hand against the well’s edge, trying shakily to stand, but after several attempts he fell back down each time.

“…Who’s there?” He jerked his head around.

Manager Zhang had already emerged from behind the tree and was standing beside him. Lust swelled across his face. He shoved Yuan Chunwang to the ground and pressed a greasy mouth against his face in a frenzy of kisses. “Little Chunwang, let’s see where you can run to this time!”

Yuan Chunwang’s face turned ashen. He struggled with all his might, but his limbs were limp and weak; the blows he landed on the other man felt like nothing at all.

“I’ve taken a fancy to you—that’s your good fortune. Just behave and let me take good care of you.” Seeing this, Manager Zhang grew even more smug. He began to undo the other’s sash. Halfway through, his movements suddenly froze. His eyes widened round and huge. Slowly, he rolled off Yuan Chunwang.

Behind him stood Wei Yingluo, gripping a carrying pole used for night-soil buckets. One end of the pole was stained with strands of hair and fresh blood.

After catching her breath for a moment, Wei Yingluo said to Yuan Chunwang, “Can you get up by yourself?”

Yuan Chunwang propped himself up on his elbows, but he couldn’t lift his body.

Wei Yingluo dropped the pole and was about to help him up from the ground when Yuan Chunwang reached out and pushed her away.

“Put that thing away. Don’t let anyone see it.” He pointed at the bloodstained carrying pole on the ground, then turned his gaze to the unconscious Manager Zhang. Very calmly, he said, “And him—if he lives, neither of us will survive.”

Wei Yingluo was silent for a moment. She walked over to Manager Zhang, grabbed one of his arms, and began dragging him toward the night-soil cart. A young girl didn’t have much strength; before long she was covered in sweat.

Yuan Chunwang watched her from the ground for a long while. Finally, having gathered a little strength, he laboriously climbed to his feet, staggered a few steps over, and grabbed Manager Zhang’s other arm. With tremendous effort, the two of them managed to heave the man into the night-soil cart.

After it was done, Yuan Chunwang even untied Manager Zhang’s sash and used it to bind his hands and feet. Then he scooped up a clump of muddy earth mixed with bits of grass from the ground and stuffed it into Manager Zhang’s mouth.

Wei Yingluo watched from the side. Every single one of his movements was meticulous to the extreme.

All she could do was pull off Manager Zhang’s waist token and say to him, “Tomorrow morning at dawn, the night-soil cart will be transported out of the Forbidden City. The cart is filthy, and the guards are used to it—they won’t inspect it. Without his waist token, he would be considered a private escapee from the palace. Returning would mean the death penalty. He definitely wouldn’t dare come back.”

Yuan Chunwang stood silently to one side.

He rarely spoke, and merely from his expression, Wei Yingluo found it very difficult to guess what he was thinking. She carefully tucked the waist token away, hesitated for a moment, then offered a word of comfort: “Without him around, you can finally go back and eat in peace. You won’t have to hide anymore to eat rotten leftovers scooped out of the gutter, or drink cold water to fill your stomach.”

“You were following me,” Yuan Chunwang suddenly spoke, his tone calm and certain.

Wei Yingluo was taken aback.

“Otherwise, how would you know that besides well water, I also dig through the gutter for food?” Yuan Chunwang narrowed his eyes and smiled. “You just said it yourself—I eat these things ‘while avoiding people.’”

This time it was Wei Yingluo’s turn to fall silent.

While she was thinking of how to explain, Yuan Chunwang suddenly shifted his gaze to Manager Zhang and said indifferently, “But first, we still need to deal with this nuisance. You too—get rid of that carrying pole in your hand first.”

The two of them temporarily split up to act separately. After cleaning the blood off the carrying pole, Wei Yingluo returned to the palace maids’ quarters in the Department of Punished Labor. It was already late; most of the maids had already crawled into bed. The few who were still awake were huddled together whispering. But the room was so small that even the slightest sound was amplified, and fragments of their hushed conversation drifted into Wei Yingluo’s ears. She heard them talking about Manager Zhang.

“Just now Liu’er was looking everywhere for Manager Zhang. Strange—where did that old bastard disappear to?”

“Maybe he drank too much and passed out somewhere!”

“Don’t even mention that beast. Do you remember how Nian’er and Liu’er died? When Liu’er died, her eyes wouldn’t even close! How many palace maids has he ruined? He wouldn’t even spare the good-looking eunuchs. It would be best if he never wakes up one day!”

Wei Yingluo had arrived late and didn’t know what kind of person Manager Zhang was. Now, with the maids exchanging words back and forth, a complete image of him gradually took shape in her mind.

Or rather—not a person. Merely a beast.

The discussion gradually faded away, replaced by the rise and fall of snoring all around her. Wei Yingluo turned over, gazing at the cold, clear moonlight outside the window. For some reason, the face of Yuan Chunwang suddenly appeared in her mind—along with the words he had spoken while looking at Manager Zhang: “But first, we still need to deal with this nuisance…”

Wei Yingluo abruptly sat up in bed.

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