Chapter 7
Large dining room.
This place merged the Shangshi Palace and the Zhenshensi, and was responsible for the meals of almost the entire palace. Since the late emperor set the rule of three meals a day, it has become increasingly busy.
A huge palace is located in the center, with the words "Dashan" (Great God) or "Dashan" (Great Good) inscribed on it.
The windows were wide open at this time. In the cold winter weather, the aroma of steamed buns and white smoke surged out, mixed with the smell of various foods.
The palace maids and eunuchs from other palaces had already lined up in front of the window for distributing meals.
Some masters of high status can go directly through the main gate to receive their share of meals from the palace.
Logically speaking, according to ancestral rules, the twelve palaces in the east and west should have eleven main ladies in charge of the main palaces in addition to the queen. However, there are only seven in the current emperor's harem, and even one of them is in name only and is not favored.
The most prominent one was Imperial Concubine Lan, who had a gentle temperament to begin with and was favored by the Emperor. After giving birth to the Sixth Prince, her status rose even more, and even her maternal family benefited from the favor.
Eunuch Fu was still busy running around with the wound on his head caused by Concubine Lan.
"Everyone, be careful! This is an extra cake prepared for His Majesty the Sixth Prince. It contains a lot of delicious ingredients. If you spoil it, we will not forgive you!"
He was hit on the head by Concubine Lan, but instead of feeling resentment, he rushed to curry favor with her. He picked out a lot of good things from his own collection and racked his brains to please the Sixth Prince and make Concubine Lan calm down.
When Qu Dubian came in, he saw the wealthy eunuch with gauze wrapped around his head at first glance.
There's nothing I can do, I'm just too fat and it's really conspicuous.
He was carried into the hall by Ye Xiaoyuan. Many people in the hall knew Ye Xiaoyuan and vaguely guessed his identity. The palace servants in the hall looked at each other, somewhat hesitant, not knowing whether they should come up to pay their respects.
A little palace maid came forward and bowed hesitantly.
"But your Highness?"
Qu Watanabe nodded, "Yeah."
The little palace maid said: "Why did His Highness come to such a place? Eunuch Ye, why don't you carry His Highness out quickly?"
Eunuch Fu on the other side did not turn his head and did not notice them coming. He was still shouting, "What are you doing? Hurry up and move!"
Qu Duanbian glanced around and saw a basket of leftover hard buns. "Xiaochun, give me one."
Wen Xiaochun handed him the hard steamed bun.
Qu Dubian weighed the steamed bun, said sorry to it in his heart, then aimed at the back of Eunuch Fu's head and smashed it hard.
The bun kissed the back of Eunuch Fu's head accurately and affectionately.
"Ouch! Which blind bastard dares--" Eunuch Fu turned his head with red eyes, and his anger suddenly stopped when he saw the child in Ye Xiaoyuan's arms.
Wen Xiaochun's face suddenly darkened, the corners of his mouth straightened, and he stared at Eunuch Fu with a slightly sinister look.
Qu Watanabe came here today just to cause trouble and was not afraid at all.
He acted like a child and said angrily, "It was you who bullied the people in my palace and didn't even give me food to eat."
I'll hit you, so what? Hit me back if you dare!
"Seventh Prince?"
Eunuch Fu was furious. But no matter how prestigious he was in the kitchen, he was still a servant, and no matter how little attention Qu Duan received, he was still the master.
The hierarchy between master and servant was in public, so even if he was hit, he had to put on a smile and say that his head was ugly and he deserved to be beaten.
He walked over with a suppressed temper, without any greeting, and just coldly scolded Ye Xiaoyuan, "You bastard, you actually brought your master to a place like this, you deserve to be beaten to death."
Qu Duanbian slapped the hat off his head.
"Don't talk about Ye Banban."
He was held by Ye Xiaoyuan, who was half a head taller than Eunuch Fu. Under Eunuch Fu's astonished gaze, he grabbed the fat eunuch's hair and shook it left and right rhythmically.
This looked like a child throwing a tantrum. Others thought that the child had little strength and that it would pass if they just endured it. However, only Qu Dubian himself knew how much strength he had used.
The half hard steamed bun and pickled vegetables I had in the morning were all eaten here.
Eunuch Fu screamed and began to struggle subconsciously.
"Your Highness!" Ye Xiaoyuan hurriedly hugged him tightly, "Your Highness, don't be angry. Be good and don't move. What if you fall?"
Wen Xiaochun was also very nervous and stretched out his arms to stop them.
Qu Dubian was determined to make the matter as big as possible, the bigger the better.
He leaned out half of his body, tugged off the bandage on Eunuch Fu's forehead with malicious intent, and 'accidentally' poked the wound. He poked again! Poked again! Poked again! Poked, poked, poked!
Eunuch Fu felt pain and swung his whisk violently, and the wooden arm of the whisk hit the back of Qu Dubian's hand.
Eunuch Fu: "Damn it, let go!!"
Okay, let’s get started, right?
Qu Dubian's eyelashes were filled with tears and he was about to burst into tears, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a eunuch in a purple dragon robe, almost becoming a shadow, rushing past him.
He paused, and swallowed the loud cry that was about to attract more people to watch.
Eunuch Yu came in compliance with the imperial order, and just as he arrived at the door of the kitchen, he heard the Seventh Prince making a fuss inside.
He immediately ran all the way and saw that a fight had already broken out in the hall. His heart skipped a beat and he was about to open his mouth to stop it when he saw the servant hit the Seventh Prince on the back of his hand.
A sharp explosion came from his heart, and he ran in wildly, kicking Eunuch Fu away.
"You are the one who deserves to die! Who do you think you are hitting, you lowly slave?!"
Eunuch Yu turned his head nervously and looked at the Seventh Prince who was being held in the arms, "Your Highness, are you okay?" Oh my God, the first step of the task assigned by His Majesty is so exciting.
The child was still in a daze, seemingly frightened, and there was a red mark on the back of his hand.
Judging from the clothes he’s wearing, they should be the chief eunuch’s clothes. Is he my cheap dad’s man?
Qu Dubian blinked, and his eyes immediately turned red silently, with tears about to fall but unable to.
He turned his head and hid in Ye Xiaoyuan's arms, grabbing the clothes on Ye Xiaoyuan's chest to wipe his tears.
The cry was soft and a little choked with grievance.
"…I was just hungry, so I came here to find something to eat. Why did he hit me?"
Someone is in charge. Crying loudly is not as effective as crying softly.
Qu Watanabe really inherited good looks from his parents.
At least Eunuch Yu's heart was trembling with cuteness. This was actually the first time he saw the Seventh Prince's appearance, but he recognized him at the first glance.
It is true that the Seventh Prince looks like both his mother and his father.
His eyes and eyebrows are particularly similar to those of Concubine Yun. If Your Majesty could see the Seventh Prince in person, I'm afraid he would be more tolerant and loving.
Eunuch Yu: "It's the fault of this lowly servant. He frightened His Highness."
Ye Xiaoyuan rubbed the back of Qu Watanabe's hand where he had been hit with a look of heartache.
The little prince's tears were like a catalyst, directly triggering the pent-up emotions in his heart to explode instantly.
Ye Xiaoyuan put Qu Dubian down and bowed to Eunuch Yu. "The Ju'an Palace is cold and lonely. The kitchen is taking advantage of the situation and cutting your meal. Your Highness is still growing up, and he has never had milk all year round. Today, there is not even any porridge. They asked a young child to eat hard buns. Even the common people with some money would not do this! I beg you to punish this servant who bullies his master!"
Eunuch Yu was shocked. He didn't expect that the situation in Ju'an Hall was like this now. It was even worse than he thought.
"you!"
Eunuch Fu didn't expect that the foot-licking dog, who was usually so gentle and docile, would bite him today, and his face became even more ferocious.
He crawled on his knees to Eunuch Yu, "Eunuch Yu! I didn't do it! I didn't do it! I have been in the kitchen for so many years, and I have always been loyal to my duties. How could I embarrass His Highness the Seventh Prince? It must be this Ye Xiaoyuan who deducted His Highness's food and put the blame on me."
"Please look carefully!"
Qu Duanbian took a step back timidly, not showing the aggressive look he had just shown. "He's so fierce..."
Except for Eunuch Fu, no one at the scene thought anything was wrong. How old was the little prince? Two and a half years old! It was the nature of most children to have mood swings.
Wen Xiaochun walked to Qu Dubian, bent down and gently protected him.
"Your Highness, don't be afraid."
Qu Dubian hid behind him, poked his head out from behind his calf and said to Eunuch Fu, "You liar, it's obviously you who is fat, and Ye Banban is so thin." Who is so greedy?
Eunuch Fu was extremely angry.
Damn that sickly little guy, why didn’t he die from the high fever last time!
"I'm not senile yet," Eunuch Yu glanced at Eunuch Pang on the ground and thought to himself that he was really useless. If His Majesty knew about the Seventh Prince's situation, he would be angry. This man is walking on the edge of a knife.
He squatted down and said gently, "Your Highness, how do you think this servant should be punished?"
The young prince hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said viciously: "Punish him, punish him by starving him!"
Eunuch Yu smiled inwardly, his eyes becoming gentler. This was probably the biggest revenge a child who had lived in a remote place for a long time could think of, but the matter certainly could not be covered up so easily.
He just nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll punish him by starving him."
He waved his hand, and immediately two young eunuchs dragged away Eunuch Fu, who was lying on the ground in a heap. They also blocked his mouth so as not to scare the child. This was very considerate.
Eunuch Yu took out a clean handkerchief and wrapped it around the back of Qu Dubian's hand.
"Call an imperial physician for His Highness the Seventh Prince later, to avoid bruises."
He was following the emperor's will to be nice to the young prince, but he didn't expect that as soon as he tied the handkerchief, Eunuch Yu, who was squatting on the ground, received a big and warm hug.
The soft and sweet scent of a child filled my arms.
Eunuch Yu was stunned.
Qu Watanabe's eyes sparkled, and he did not hesitate to release his enthusiasm, as if in worship: "Thank you, father-in-law, you are so kind, and you punished the big bad guy, you are so powerful!"
Eunuch Yu subconsciously wanted to say that this was the emperor's intention, but when he remembered the emperor's order, he swallowed the words and accepted the admiration against his will.
He smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, Your Highness."
"Can I get today's food now?" Qu Dubian looked at the other palace servants in the main kitchen.
The others said quickly.
"certainly!"
"Your Highness, please feel free to do as you please."
But after searching for a long time, they still couldn't find the lunch that belonged to Ju'an Hall. The reason was that Ju'an Hall was not given much attention, and the big kitchen stopped making lunch separately from some time ago. Every day, they only allocated some lunch from other places to Ju'an Hall.
It was fine at first, but then it became more and more perfunctory.
But even if he was no longer in the spotlight, the Seventh Prince was still His Majesty's child, and to have been treated like this was much worse than he had imagined.
Eunuch Yu had a grim expression on his face.
He glanced at the palace servants who were lowering their heads around him, and felt that it was not only Eunuch Fu in the kitchen who didn't want to live anymore, but the entire office felt that they had lived too long.
"Your Highness, please choose for yourself. Take whatever you like from all the food in the dining room today," he said.
The child nodded ignorantly.
He happily pulled the sleeve of the eunuch beside him and selected various steamed buns, porridge and eggs. After a long time of selection, they were all very simple foods.
Eunuch Yu couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, why don't you choose something else? Like roast chicken, roast duck, or milk?"
When the little prince heard about roast chicken, his eyes lit up and he obviously wanted to eat it, but he hesitated and said, "But these are the most delicious ones I usually eat. The others...some people say that my father doesn't like me and won't let me eat them."
He looked up innocently again and began stabbing with the knife.
"Eunuch, if I don't eat these things, will my father like me?"
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