Chapter 15 Bullying
Because of her straightforward personality—she only knew how to work and not how to flatter—she could only take on rough jobs that others didn't want when she was in the Imperial Household Department.
She also got to know many lowly palace servants and learned some inside information.
Yinzhu told Shuixian that every day at 3:45 PM, the Imperial Pharmacy would send a eunuch to carry medicinal herbs and other miscellaneous items, always passing by a secluded side of the Imperial Garden.
If you want to secretly observe Xiao Chuanzi's character, you might as well wait in the Imperial Garden at 3:45 PM every day, pretending to stroll around and enjoy the scenery, and you can take the opportunity to observe him.
Shui Xian, using the excuse of someone dying in Changxin Palace, pretended to be timid and went out for some fresh air around 5 PM every day.
Sometimes she was a quarter of an hour earlier, sometimes a quarter of an hour later. Her timing was flexible, and her whereabouts were unpredictable. To outsiders, they thought she was really frightened by Song Changzai's sudden death and was depressed all day long.
Sometimes, Narcissus and Silver Pearl would hide behind the rockery, and sometimes they would sit in a pavilion a little further away, their gaze passing through the sparse, withered branches as they observed the path leading to the inner pharmacy from a distance.
Around 3:45 PM, you could always see several young eunuchs, either pushing a cart or carrying heavy objects on their shoulders or in their hands, walking by with faltering steps.
At the very end of the line, there was always Xiaochuanzi.
He often carried the heaviest boxes of medicinal herbs, walking with great difficulty. His extremely thin frame made even the narcissus fear that the boxes would break him.
After observing for several days, Shui Xian gradually formed a general impression of Xiao Chuanzi.
This is a person who is so silent as to be almost speechless.
He walked with his head down, pursed his lips while working, and even when reprimanded by the supervisor, he would only lower his head further and remain silent. Occasionally, you could see him with his head down, muttering something to himself.
Once, Shui Xian gestured to Yin Zhu to walk quietly, and the two of them quietly approached each other, hiding in a corner where Xiao Chuanzi couldn't see them. Finally, they heard Xiao Chuanzi's low murmur.
He's reciting a prescription!
Narcissus felt a slight tremor in her heart.
She recited the prescription even during breaks from work. Such persistence and willpower confirmed the memories of her past life... This person was no ordinary person.
Aside from medicine, Ogawa seems indifferent to everything in the world.
He ignored the occasional slacking and joking among the other eunuchs; when a head eunuch passed by, everyone fawned over him, but he kept his head down, focused only on the medicinal herbs in his hands.
On one occasion, a strong and burly bully, clearly the leader of the group of eunuchs, deliberately tripped him, causing him to almost drop the medicine box in his arms and stumble and fall to the ground.
Although the medicine box was not overturned, several medicinal herbs were scattered on the snow.
The bully, hands on his hips, sneered, "Hey, little Chuanzi, can't you watch where you're going? If you get these precious medicinal herbs dirty, the manager will skin you alive!"
Xiao Chuanzi silently got up, ignoring the pain in her knees, and immediately went to pick up the medicinal herbs in the snow. She carefully brushed off the snowflakes with her sleeve and gently put them back in the box.
He didn't even lift an eyelid to the bully's provocation and insults, as if the other party were just a wisp of air.
Seeing that he didn't resist, the bully felt bored and left cursing.
Xiao Chuanzi simply stood there for a while, holding the medicine box, her lips trembling silently as if she were memorizing the types and properties of the scattered herbs, before she started walking again to catch up with the group.
This dedication to medicine reminded Shui Xian of what she had heard in her past life about Xiao Chuanzi's fate.
If things had unfolded as they did in the previous life, two years later, Xiao Chuanzi would have turned the tide in a terrible epidemic sweeping through the capital city with the help of an ancient prescription from an obscure medical book.
A lowly eunuch has presented a crucial prescription for curing an epidemic?!
During that period, Xiao Chuanzi became famous far and wide, and the Imperial Medical Academy made an exception and admitted him to the hospital.
Then, she heard the news of Ogawa's death.
Everyone in the capital was discussing the tragedy. No one expected that Xiao Chuanzi, who had saved so many people, would suddenly die so tragically. It was truly a case of heaven being jealous of a talented person.
About six months later, Narcissus, who had by then fallen into the Red Night Pavilion, overheard a drunken guest at the next table complaining that there were other hidden stories behind Xiaochuanzi's death.
The man said that after Xiao Chuanzi joined the Imperial Medical Academy, he was taken in as a student by a highly respected physician. That physician tricked Xiao Chuanzi into compiling a self-made book containing thousands of unorthodox prescriptions, and then found an opportunity to kill Xiao Chuanzi.
The highly respected imperial physician later became the head of the Imperial Medical Academy because of this incident, while the drunken customer who complained about it was another student of this physician.
He said Xiaochuanzi was a good person, and he felt sorry for Xiaochuanzi, and also felt that if Xiaochuanzi were gone, he would be in danger.
Aside from her, no one else took this person's drunken ramblings seriously.
They all thought the head of the Imperial Medical Academy was such a miraculous healer, how could he possibly covet the talents of a few lowly eunuchs? Besides, a person of such high talent and learning must surely be upright and virtuous.
People often misunderstand this, always assuming that those who are highly learned are also morally upright.
Only Narcissus knew that those superior people were the most despicable, merely adept at donning a mask of hypocrisy.
She remembered Xiaochuanzi's name, not for any other reason than their shared plight—both had been completely betrayed by their trusted masters (teachers), used and then discarded like worn-out shoes.
As Narcissus was immersed in memories of her past life, a piercing noise suddenly came from ahead.
Today's shipment appears to be a batch of extremely valuable pills, and everyone is moving with even greater care than usual, for fear of making the slightest mistake.
The burly, bullying eunuch leading the group suddenly stumbled!
"Ouch!" the bully cried out, as a heavy wooden box he was carrying on his shoulder flew out of his hand and crashed heavily onto the bluestone path covered with a thin layer of snow!
"Crack!"
The lid of the box swung open, and the rows of small white porcelain bottles inside poured out instantly! The porcelain bottles hit the hard ground and shattered!
Brown pills, mixed with shards of porcelain and snow, rolled all over the ground in a mess!
The air froze instantly.
The other eunuchs were all terrified, frozen in place, their faces ashen, not daring to utter a sound.
The tyrannical eunuch was stunned. Looking at the mess on the ground, his face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his undergarments.
These pills are said to be worth a thousand gold pieces! This whole box... even if he chopped them up and sold them, he couldn't afford to lose money!
He suddenly looked up, his fierce eyes sweeping across the faces of the terrified eunuchs before finally fixing on Xiao Chuanzi at the back of the line!
"You little bastard!" The bullying eunuch rushed over and grabbed Xiao Chuanzi by the collar!
He was incredibly strong, lifting the skinny Xiao Chuanzi up as easily as lifting a chick!
"It was you! You bumped into me just now! That's why I lost my balance!" the bullying eunuch roared, slapping Xiao Chuanzi's sallow cheek with his other hand. The force wasn't heavy, but it was extremely insulting!
"You little bastard, did you hear me? You knocked over this box of medicine! You bumped into me! When the foreman asks later, do you know what to say? Huh?!"
Ogawa was struggling to breathe despite being choked, but a stubborn light shone in her clear eyes!
He stared intently at the狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face opposite him, and squeezed out a hoarse but unusually clear voice through clenched teeth: "You fell down yourself! I... didn't hit you! You can kill me... I won't admit it!"
"You've gone too far!" Enraged by his defiance, the bullying eunuch slammed Xiao Chuanzi to the ground!
Ogawa was thrown heavily to the ground. He curled up in pain, but stubbornly gritted his teeth to prevent himself from groaning.
The bullying eunuch was still not satisfied, so he raised his foot and kicked Xiao Chuanzi, who was curled up on the ground, hard!
"I'll make you admit it! I'll make you admit it!"
Amidst the kicking and punching, Xiao Chuanzi remained silent, only protecting his head with his hands.
At that moment, due to the violent movement, a book carefully wrapped in oiled paper, with badly worn edges, slipped from Xiaochuanzi's arms. The book landed on the snow, revealing a corner of yellowed paper.
The bully caught a glimpse of the book out of the corner of his eye, as if he had found a new bargaining chip!
He suddenly bent down and snatched the book wrapped in oil paper into his hand!
"You little bastard! You've hidden some good stuff!" The bully grinned maliciously, making a move to tear the fragile oil paper.
"What is this? A stolen medical book? Good! You dare to steal! I'll tear it up right now and see what you'll use to compensate the manager!" He knew that Xiao Chuanzi treasured these tattered books and scraps of paper the most.
This was like igniting gunpowder!
Xiao Chuanzi, who had been enduring the pain as if he were numb to it, suddenly turned bloodshot the moment he saw the bully grab the oil-paper-wrapped book and make a move to tear it up!
"Give it back to me!"
Like a young beast that had been completely enraged, Ogawa charged recklessly at the bully who was several times stronger than him! He used all his strength to ram into the bully's waist!
Caught off guard, the bully stumbled and nearly dropped the book. Enraged, he instinctively raised his fist to strike!
But Ogawa ignored the incoming fist; his only target was the book!
His thin, bony fingers, like iron clamps, gripped the bully's wrist, which was clutching the book, his nails digging deep into the flesh! At the same time, he desperately wrapped his body around the bully, lowering his head to bite the back of the bully's hand hard!
"Ah!" The bully screamed in pain, the intense agony causing him to instinctively loosen his grip!
The book fell!
Ogawa quickly hugged the book tightly to his chest, not even caring that his back was exposed to the raging bully's eyes!
"You little beast! You dare bite me! I'll beat you to death!"
The bully went completely mad, raised his foot, and kicked Xiaochuanzi hard in the back, who was desperately protecting the book!
That kick was incredibly powerful, accompanied by a whistling sound! If it landed, with Xiao Chuanzi's frail physique, he would be seriously injured if not killed!
"stop!"
A cold, sharp voice rang out from behind. The bully instinctively turned around and saw Narcissus dressed in a plain white dress.
The silver bead beside her shot out with lightning speed and grabbed the bully's ankle with perfect precision!
The bully felt an irresistible force coming from his ankle, instantly neutralizing the force of his kick! Then, the force twisted and pushed away!
"Crack!"
A sickeningly loud cracking sound as bone cracked!
"Ah!!!" The bully let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered. He clutched his twisted ankle, writhing on the ground in pain, tears streaming down his face!
Yinzhu withdrew her hand expressionlessly and silently retreated half a step behind Shuixian.
The bully roared, "Do you even know who I am! Ahhh! I, Li San, have powerful backers. Even if you are my masters, you can't bully me without a word!"
Narcissus raised an eyebrow as if she had heard something extremely interesting: "Someone? Heh... Tell me about it? I want to see who gave you the audacity to frame someone and beat up a palace servant in broad daylight?"
Her tone was so contemptuous that Li San blurted out, "You'd be terrified if I told you! Changxin Palace! Consort Yi! I've done errands for Consort Yi's palace before! If you know what's good for you, get out of here! Otherwise..."
He thought he would scare away this unknown concubine, but to his surprise, the smile on her lips suddenly deepened, revealing a chilling smile.
"You are... one of Consort Yi's people?"
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