Yes, she even thought about tea, worried that the dry pastries would choke the little eunuch.
Chu Qi wiped her mouth after eating and started chatting with Hong Xing, "Miss Hong Xing, I want to talk to you about something private."
A little eunuch had a private conversation with her?
Hong Xing was quite interested and asked, "What's the matter? Tell me."
"If you agree to only use ordinary charcoal for heating, will you be able to sleep well at night?"
Hearing this, Hong Xing's face changed and her good mood disappeared. If she didn't know Xiao Wuzi's character and hadn't just given him food, she would have thought that he was deliberately trying to mock her!
"What's wrong?" Hong Xing tried to suppress her anger and asked calmly, but her tone was inevitably a little stiff and dry.
Chu Qi didn't seem to notice Hong Xing's hidden anger. He scratched his head innocently and lowered his head and said:
"Hasn't the weather been getting colder recently? Yesterday I found that Miss Shi Da Ying's hands were red from the cold... Last night, I got some red radish charcoal, so I thought of giving it to Shi Da Ying so that she can sleep well at night."
So that's how it is... Hong Xing realized that she had misunderstood the other person's meaning. She was embarrassed for a moment, and then she softened her tone and said:
"Aren't you just a small eunuch who sweeps the floor? Where did you get the red radish charcoal?"
After saying this, Hong Xing realized that her words were no different from poking someone in the sore spot. She blushed and said,
"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say that you are bad. I mean, you finally got such a good thing, how can my young master take it?"
Hong Xing also knew the person who agreed to the request clearly, so she dared to help reject the request without asking for the young lady's opinion.
"This is what Eunuch An gave me when I boarded his ship," Chu Qi said with a somewhat gloomy face, "Miss Hong Xing, does your mistress dislike me because I'm a eunuch and that's why she refuses to accept my things?"
"You know, I have no parents. I entered the palace to be a eunuch in order to earn a living. It is a blessing from my previous life that I can be pitied by your young master. I don't have any wishes in this life, except to have enough food and warm clothes, and to repay your young master for his pity for me. If you don't agree with this, then what's the point of me living?"
After the call, Chu Qi's handsome cheeks turned red, and a few drops of crystal tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, making him more beautiful than flowers.
Hong Xing slowly opened her mouth: "..."
Hong Xing slowly closed her mouth again: "..."
She was totally stunned!
This was the first time in her life that she had heard someone express his desire to repay someone so directly. What's more, his tone was extremely sincere, which was very different from the obvious polite words.
Hong Xing believed it.
Are you still a human being if you refuse the reward from such a handsome little eunuch?
Anyway, Hong Xing can't refuse.
She was so flustered that she used her handkerchief to wipe Chu Qi's tears and coaxed her, "Hey, don't cry! My young lady will accept it!"
*
On the other side, Shi Qian tentatively reached out her hand, put a piece of cake on the windowsill, and called the gray bird to come and eat.
The gray bird tilted its head and heard the call. It flapped its wings a few times, flew in front of Shi Qiang, lowered its little head, and started to eat the cakes that fell on the windowsill.
The pastry is Jade Glazed Cloud Pastry, which is said to be the specialty of the chef in the imperial kitchen and one of the favorite pastries of the concubines in the harem. Because it is popular among the public, this pastry is also one of the most commonly made pastries in the imperial kitchen.
Shi Qiang also benefited from this and could eat it from time to time.
Shi Qian breathed lightly, fearing to disturb the cute elf on the windowsill. Suddenly, she sneezed and scared the gray bird away.
"Oh no! Why did I suddenly sneeze? Did I catch a cold?" Shi Qian knew how weak her physical condition was, but she shouldn't be infected so easily.
She was so scared that she grabbed the blanket from the couch and covered her legs with it. For some reason, her right eye started twitching again, and she had a bad feeling in her heart.
This premonition made her uneasy, and she even lost interest in teasing the gray bird. She closed the window more tightly, curled up on the couch, and took out a book of poetry to read.
When Hong Xing came back, she finally understood where the bad premonition came from.
Hong Xing came in with a bag of charcoal and explained the whole story. Shi Qian felt like she couldn't breathe:
"I accepted the red radish charcoal from Xiao Wuzi, but what will he do at night? I don't know how much hard work he put in to get the red radish charcoal reward..."
At that time, Da Ying tightly grasped the mandarin duck embroidered handkerchief, her brows furrowed with worry.
Sometimes he kept muttering, “Give it back to him now,” and sometimes he kept muttering, “Give it back to him in the evening.”
Hong Xing knelt on the ground, lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, my lady. Xiao Wuzi's expression was so pitiful that I couldn't bear to reject him."
"Hey,...it's not your fault. You are just as easily confused as I am." Shi Qian recalled Xiao Wuzi's pretty eyes and eyebrows yesterday. She knew Hong Xing's character well. She could not stand beauty.
Thinking of this, Shi Qian felt somewhat helpless: "Forget it, when Xiao Wuzi comes to take over in the afternoon, you can give this to him."
She rummaged through the drawers and took out a small bag of silver, about half an ounce, and handed it to Hong Xing.
Hong Xing knew the approximate amount as soon as he touched it and thought it was feasible. Although Hong Luo carbon was precious, half an ounce of gold should be enough to buy three pounds.
After all, if it is too expensive, given the situation in the national treasury, it seems unlikely that it can supply so many concubines.
Hong Xing nodded: "My lady, I acted on my own initiative this time and made things difficult for you. I'm sorry."
"Don't say sorry, it's not a big deal." Shi Qian pulled Hong Xing up, gently wiped away the tears from her eyes, and comforted her: "I don't blame you, don't be afraid."
"Well, my lady is so nice." Hong Xing hugged Shi Qiang.
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