This body is 15 years old. Due to years of malnutrition, it is very thin and looks only about twelve or thirteen years old.
Among the eunuchs who came in to seek survival, one of them was the youngest. He had a thin body and a skinny face without any extra flesh. However, his eyes were very bright and innocent when he looked at them with his eyes open.
This is also the reason why the prospective eunuch who came in a few days ago took the initiative to talk to the original owner.
Hong Xing was worried that the sun would tan the lady's skin, so she held up a light green oil-paper umbrella to shade the lady.
There are green trees planted everywhere in Chuxiu Palace, and the paths are shaded by branches and leaves, so there are seldom places where the sun is too hot, unless you leave the path and go outside.
Shi Qian walked slowly along the wall, casually admiring the flowers and plants on the roadside. Her light brown eyes were indifferent, and she felt helpless about Hong Xing's nervous umbrella-holding behavior:
"You were the one who asked me to walk around more, so why are you also the one who's worried about me getting tanned? Don't worry, this little bit of sunlight won't tan me."
Hong Xing held the umbrella over the young lady's head with all her heart, puffed up her cheeks and said, "Walk more and be careful to protect yourself from the sun! If you get your fair skin sunburned, I will be guilty."
Shi Qian blushed slightly, and the indifference in her eyes was tinged with a hint of shyness. She tightened the mandarin duck handkerchief in her hand and said:
"What, what icy skin and jade bones? Don't talk nonsense. I am just an ordinary person. If you want to talk about icy skin and jade bones, it has to be the Fragrant Concubine I met that day..."
Empress Xiang was one of the Four Concubines. She was 28 years old and had just been canonized. She was a princess sent from the Western Regions and was quite loved by the old emperor. She set a record of being called by the emperor for five consecutive days. She was extremely favored at the time, even the Imperial Concubine was overshadowed by her. She was the center of attention.
"The Fragrant Concubine has her own merits, and the young lady has her own merits. Both are naturally beautiful." Hong Xing narrowed her eyes and smiled, her little mouth seemed to be covered with honey.
Although Shi Qiang knew that her family background was not as good as others and her appearance could not win the emperor's favor, she had a low self-esteem. However, she was also very happy with the maid's words. She blushed and twisted her handkerchief, saying:
"You're good at teasing me."
"What I said is the truth!"
When they passed the corner, Hong Xing paused. Shi Qiang, who was admiring the flowers in the distance, was pulled by Hong Xing's sleeve. Shi Qiang was stunned, stopped and looked at Hong Xing in confusion.
"My lady, there's someone here." Hong Xing said.
It was a young man dressed in low-class eunuch attire who was sweeping the floor.
Shi Qian was quite relaxed: "It's okay, he's just a eunuch."
Hong Xing relaxed her nerves and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, my lady, I was too nervous and thought it was a foreign man who entered Chuxiu Palace!"
Shi Qian lowered her eyebrows and smiled, patting the back of Hong Xing's hand: "How can a man from outside enter the harem? Don't be nervous."
...But...Hong Xing felt a little confused. The man didn't look like a eunuch. Instead, he looked like the cleaning boys she had seen before entering the palace.
During the few days since entering the palace, Hong Xing had to go to the eunuchs every day to get the young lady's daily food allowance. She had met many eunuchs, but had never seen any one with the temperament like that young boy over there.
Maybe it was an illusion. After all, the only men who could enter the harem, apart from eunuchs, were the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The clothes worn by the young boy were clearly eunuch's clothes.
On the other side, Chu Qi caught a glimpse of Shi Da Ying and Hong Xing, who were walking towards her, sweeping the floor non-stop. When the two of them approached, she pretended to look up casually, and as if she noticed Shi Da Ying, she hurriedly put down the broom in her hand, walked over, hunched over and saluted:
"The servant greets the young master."
There are strict rules on the number of servants for concubines of each level in the harem, so to recognize the other person's level, you only need to observe the number of people serving them, as well as their headdresses, body decorations, etc.
Shi Qiang had a simple headdress and was wearing a light pink long dress with scattered flowers. She was only followed by a palace maid and was walking around the Chuxiu Palace. It was easy to tell that she was a concubine.
But being able to see that it was a promise doesn't mean knowing which promise it was. In this case, Chu Qi could not go wrong by calling the other party "young master".
Shi Qian was stunned. Speaking of the eunuch in front of her, he was the first eunuch she met face to face since she entered the palace. Seeing his messy hair, she lowered her eyes slightly and said, "No need to be polite."
Chu Qi lowered his head even lower: "My lady, I will go back to work."
"Go ahead." Shi Qian said.
When the man walked away, Hong Xing frowned and said with some disgust: "My lady, he stinks."
Chu Qi hangs out with some real eunuchs all day long. Even if she wasn't raped, she would inevitably be contaminated by the uncontrollable urine smell of the real eunuchs.
And...lower-ranking eunuchs can only take a hot bath once every seven days, and taking a cold bath can easily make them sick. Eunuchs' lives are cheap, and when they get sick there is no imperial physician to diagnose and treat them, and getting medicine is even more difficult. Without some money for bribery, forget it.
Therefore, generally speaking, eunuchs would wash themselves with a towel dipped in water and wipe their bodies, and would not go through the trouble of washing with cold water, which would cause the lower-ranking eunuchs to stink even more.
Of course, this is only temporary. After a while, when the lower-ranking eunuchs receive their monthly allowance, they will buy some perfumed powder like the senior eunuchs and rub it on their bodies. This will cover up a little the bad smell, and then it won't be so smelly anymore.
Shi Qiang was more open-minded:
"Eunuchs also have their own difficulties. If there is a stink, just pretend you didn't smell it. Don't talk about people behind their backs."
Hong Xing thought so too, so she nodded and said, "I understand, young lady."
Chu Qi walked away, but that didn't mean she didn't hear anything. She heard everything the maid said, and she also heard everything Shi Qian said to defend her.
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