Chapter 8 Nosebleed Grandpa An, you're bleeding from your nose...
The candle lamp next to Zhao Liangxu was covered by a yellow paper shade, which provided her with a suitable light that protected her eyes. As she read, her fingers unconsciously stroked the pages. Occasionally, when she got tired of sitting in one position, she would shift her body and find a more comfortable position to continue reading.
As time passed, the candlelight flickered on the pages of the book, and Zhao Liangxu gradually grew sleepy.
She didn't read much, since she could only guess at the meaning of the words and sentences. Rather than reading a story, it was more like she was dreaming of going back to high school and studying Chinese. With the added effect of the night, it was understandable that she became more and more sleepy.
Zhao Liangxu yawned, rubbed her teary eyes, and looked towards Anhe.
He was looking down at something in the candlelight beside the table, but the occasional turning of the pages and the soft rustling of his fingers proved that he was not asleep.
Zhao Liangxu was somewhat surprised when she first met An He. After all, the powerful eunuch "Nine Thousand Years" was such a prestigious title that the first image that came to Zhao Liangxu's mind was that of a sinister, cunning, and effeminate old eunuch, perhaps with a hint of malice.
But Anhe looked so young, with clean and fair skin that made him look very handsome. If you ignored his Sichuan opera-like facial expressions, he looked like a young man with red lips and white teeth.
In his memory, Anhe, who had not yet become the Grand Eunuch, was being punished by the original owner of the body, and all that could be seen was his thin, frail back.
Thinking about it carefully, Anhe is indeed young, seemingly only around twenty years old. How could someone so young become the Grand Eunuch? I wonder how he did it.
Zhao Liangxu unconsciously began to observe and analyze An He.
But after glancing at him a few times, Anhe remained focused on what he was doing and didn't make any other moves.
Feeling bored, Zhao Liangxu picked up the book again. This time, she was so tired that she accidentally fell asleep.
After finishing her work, Anhe rubbed her temples to dispel her weariness.
He had intended to make a few sarcastic remarks and then generously let Zhao Liangxu go back, but when he turned around, he saw Zhao Liangxu sleeping against the wall.
It seemed to be a bit cold; she grabbed one arm with the other, huddled up, and hugged herself tightly, trying to ward off the chill. The book in her hands lay haphazardly on the floor; it was impossible to tell how much she had actually read.
She had been rubbing against the wall, her hair was a little disheveled, and a few strands of her hair hung down beside her ears, making her completely unguarded.
Isn't she afraid at all?
An He considers himself to be second only to the emperor, and the rumors about his ruthlessness and cruelty are largely true.
Not to mention teenage girls who are afraid of him, even military officers in their prime would respectfully address him as "Lord Nine Thousand Years" and would be cautious in their interactions with him, for fear of making a mistake.
Unlike Zhao Liangxu, who seemed afraid of him and respected him, and maintained a certain distance in their interactions.
But he guessed that the extent of her respect was another matter.
Anhe walked up to Zhao Liangxu and called out to her from above, "Zhao Liangxu, you're sleeping so soundly."
Zhao Liangxu remained motionless.
Anhe frowned. What kind of place is this? How dare they sleep so soundly?
He squatted down and shook Zhao Liangxu's shoulder: "Princess Zhao, it's time to wake up."
Zhao Liangxu subconsciously slapped An He's hand away, muttering a few words under her breath.
She still hasn't woken up.
"Zhao Liangxu!!"
An He shouted her name loudly, "Is she fast asleep?"
Zhao Liangxu woke up with a start and suddenly sat up and leaned forward. Unfortunately, her forehead bumped into An He's nose.
"hiss!"
"Grass."
An He and Zhao Liangxu each cried out in pain and cursed. An He covered his nose and took a deep breath, glaring fiercely at the culprit in front of him.
The culprit was still clutching his forehead and whimpering in pain.
"Zhao Liangxu, I'm going to kill you."
An said in a sinister tone, making no attempt to hide his anger.
Zhao Liangxu hadn't figured out what was going on. She had just been fast asleep when An He woke her up with a start, and she hadn't even said anything yet.
She rubbed her forehead and replied without backing down, "Do you know how much harm it does to suddenly wake someone who is fast asleep?"
Zhao Liangxu exaggerated the description of Chao Anhe.
"You bumped your nose because you called my name so loudly. Couldn't you have just woken me up properly?"
Anhe found it absurd.
This person actually turned the tables and accused me?
Anhe's fingertips trembled slightly as he said angrily:
"Look around you! Is this your study? You can't even wake me up by shaking you, and you're still clinging to me."
As Anhe spoke, he covered his nose. A warm stream of blood trickled from under his nose as he spoke. He wiped it away, looked at the blood on his hand, and paused.
It's a nosebleed.
When Zhao Liangxu saw that she had bumped into An He and made his nose bleed, she was annoyed at being woken up, but also somewhat embarrassed.
Anhe took out a handkerchief and rubbed his face hard twice, but only made himself look even more repulsive.
Anhe was unaware that his face was covered in blood, and he didn't care anymore.
Quickly, someone drag that idiot Zhao Liangxu out.
Zhao Liangxu could tell from An He's expression that he was about to get angry and call for help, so she snatched the handkerchief and quickly said, "Hey, Eunuch An, calm down. There's still blood on your face. It might not be good to call someone in like this."
An He was indeed stopped by Zhao Liangxu. He didn't know what was wrong with his face, but if there was blood on it, wouldn't the servants laugh at him?
Seeing An He pause, Zhao Liangxu pressed her advantage: "Eunuch An, Your Majesty, how about I clean it up for you as my apology?"
Just as Zhao Liangxu's hand holding the handkerchief was about to touch An He's face, An He grabbed her wrist.
He covered his face with his sleeve while tightly restraining Zhao Liangxu's movements, saying through gritted teeth:
"Zhao Liangxu, are you looking for death?"
An He released the hand that was gripping Zhao Liangxu's wrist, stood up, flicked his sleeve, and his other hand, hidden by the wide cuff, still covered half of his face.
"For your overstepping of authority, our family could have sentenced you to death a hundred times over."
"Do you really think you can save your life with what you've said? Your life is in my hands."
An He frowned. He had only met Zhao Liangxu a few times, just a few days ago, but he felt that his emotions had fluctuated more than in the past year.
Zhao Liangxu seemed to contradict herself. She said she cherished her life and was terrified, but the things she did were increasingly reckless and disregarded the consequences.
If she were truly as afraid of death as she claims, she should act with extreme caution, not pretend to be frightened like she is now.
Zhao Liangxu leaned against the corner of the wall, shivering and wrapping her arms around herself, revealing an expression that seemed to be one of fear.
It's very realistic, but if she could transition from her indifferent expression to her current one more smoothly, Anhe might actually believe it.
An He stared at her for a long time, and Zhao Liangxu also put on a scared expression for a long time.
Just as the two were locked in a stalemate, and Zhao Liangxu was about to remind An He that the blood on his face was almost dry, An He laughed and then said three words in a hoarse voice.
"Get out."
Well, as expected of the Ninth Prince, he is patient and capable of great things.
Zhao Liangxu suppressed her fear, quickly got up and left, thoughtfully closing the study door behind her.
The study was well soundproofed. Zhang Sheng and the others were diligently guarding outside the study. When they saw Zhao Liangxu come out unharmed, they exchanged glances.
Zhao Liangxu felt that communicating with someone like An He was a bit exhausting, and she needed to rest.
She yawned and said to Zhang Sheng, "It's so late, I feel bad making you take me home. I'd rather walk back myself; I already know the way."
"Princess Zhao, it is Lord An's order to send you back." Of course, her godfather was worried about Zhao Liangxu wandering around the An residence alone, so someone needed to keep an eye on her.
"Oh, okay."
Zhao Liangxu didn't insist. She figured she could just go along with it; she wouldn't do anything bad.
She was so sleepy that she was about to rub her eyes when she realized that she was still clutching Anhe's handkerchief in her hand.
It's a bit unlucky.
Zhao Liangxu handed the handkerchief to Zhang Sheng and casually said, "I accidentally took out Eunuch An's handkerchief. Could you return it to him for me?"
Zhang Sheng took it with some surprise, and then accidentally noticed the unusually obvious bloodstains on the handkerchief.
Zhang Sheng: "......"
I can hardly imagine what Princess Zhao and her godfather did in the study.
Who is injured?
If her godfather was injured, how could Zhao Liangxu be completely unharmed?
Zhang Sheng was somewhat surprised and uncertain.
Zhao Liangxu noticed that Zhang Sheng suddenly paused. She turned her head in confusion and found that the little eunuch's gaze was fixed on the dark red bloodstain.
She had a vague idea of what Zhang Sheng was struggling with, but she didn't want to tell him.
That handkerchief has your godfather's nosebleed on it.
I'm afraid if I tell him, Anhe will become angry and embarrassed, and then implicate Zhang Sheng, and take his anger out on Zhang Sheng.
Sometimes, misunderstandings are more beautiful than the truth.
So Zhao Liangxu ignored the strange scenarios Zhang Sheng was imagining and gently brought him back from his reverie: "Eunuch Zhang?"
Zhang Sheng snapped out of his daze, gave a simple apologetic bow, and escorted Zhao Liangxu back as he had come.
His mind was racing the whole way.
This handkerchief...
Zhang Sheng was still pondering this even after returning to his study to report. He had initially thought that Lord An kept Zhao Liangxu around because of her identity, or perhaps to use her to gain leverage over Zhou Feng.
But seeing this handkerchief now made him feel a little uneasy.
"Zhang Sheng, what are you trying to say?"
Anhe seemed to have something more to say after seeing Zhang Sheng's report.
"Godfather, this is a handkerchief that Princess Zhao asked me to give to you." Zhang Sheng respectfully presented the handkerchief.
An He frowned upon seeing the handkerchief. He felt that Zhao Liangxu's actions were quite provocative.
"Get out, burn it." It's infuriating to see.
Zhang Sheng looked up and carefully observed An He's expression. There was a hint of displeasure between his brows, and he wondered what An He was thinking.
Zhang Sheng felt that An He's expression was not much different from usual, as gloomy and unpredictable as ever.
It seems that Anhe has not been infatuated with beautiful women.
His decision not to take action against Zhao Liangxu must have been based on his own considerations.
It's not surprising that he thought that way.
People like him and Anhe, who are physically disabled, often go to extremes. They either avoid any involvement with the women in the palace except for their duties, or they become excessively extreme due to their physical deformities and often take pleasure in torturing women.
Zhang Sheng had followed An He the longest, and he knew that An He was the former. However, outsiders often steered the conversation toward provocative and unspeakable topics. Whichever version of the story attracted the most attention and piqued people's curiosity would become the most popular.
He thought to himself that the handkerchief was just a misunderstanding on his part, but the fact that Princess Zhao walked out of the study unharmed showed that she was indeed quite capable.
A note from the author:
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