The servants' quarters where Jinzhong lived were shared with Jinbao.
Jinzhong lived on the left side, and Jinbao on the right.
Jinzhong's side, much like the man himself, was very neat and tidy. There was none of that flashy, unnecessary furniture—just a bed, a chest, a tea set, a table, and a chair.
Previously, he had never felt that such a minimalist lifestyle was lacking anything, but the moment he led Wei Yanwan through the door, he suddenly felt a bit awkward.
Seeing how Yanwan didn't know whether to sit or stand in a room with only one chair, looking completely at a loss, he thought to himself: *Oh no.*
*Crap, is Wanwan going to think I'm too poor and look down on me?*
Though he was panicking on the inside, Jinzhong showed no sign of it on the surface, maintaining his usual steady-as-a-rock composure.
Casually, he walked over to Jinbao's side, picked up the cushioned stool, and placed it beside Wei Yanwan, then poured her a cup of tea.
"Sit down. I'm on duty most of the time, and I only come back here to sleep, so I didn't spend money on furnishing the place. I hope you won't laugh at me."
With that, Jinzhong secretly puffed out his chest, proudly waiting for praise.
*See, Wanwan? I'm so good at managing a household.*
Yet Wei Yanwan completely missed the meaning behind his words. Her attention was entirely captured by Jinzhong himself.
The harsh sunlight filtered through the white paper window, casting its light upon Jinzhong's profile, making his features appear so sharply chiseled. A stray ray of sunlight playfully tried to slip down through the collar of Jinzhong's robe.
His tall, straight, and slender figure, draped beneath a deep blue python robe, radiated an overwhelming sense of aggression.
Right now, they were sitting so close that she could even clearly see Jinzhong's Adam's apple bobbing as he drank his tea.
*Thump.*
Wei Yanwan felt her face growing hotter and hotter, her heart beating faster and faster, even her nose beginning to itch. This was a feeling she had never experienced even when looking at great beauties.
"Wanwan, you're having a nosebleed! Pinch the bridge of your nose quickly!"
Jinzhong never imagined that just in the time it took to take a sip of water and set down his cup, he would look up and see a nosebleed streaming down Wanwan's face.
In a frantic panic, Jinzhong pulled out his handkerchief for Wei Yanwan to wipe her nose while he hurried out the door to fetch some water.
Wei Yanwan sat there in a daze as Jinzhong supported her chin with one hand and patted her forehead with a handkerchief soaked in cool water.
Because Jinzhong leaned in so close, Wei Yanwan could even smell his breath.
This caused yet another torrent of nosebleed to erupt.
"What's wrong? Is it the heat causing internal heat?"
Jinzhong asked anxiously while patting her.
The young Wei Yanwan couldn't figure out why she would start bleeding from the nose out of nowhere either. After a moment of thought, she figured it was possible and obediently nodded.
And thus, the two of them brilliantly missed their first opportunity to confess their mutual feelings. When Jinzhong later found out by chance that Wei Yanwan had actually gotten a nosebleed because of him, he recalled this scene and stamped his foot in deep regret.
Once everything was tidied up, Wei Yanwan finally remembered the purpose of her visit.
"Eunuch Jinzhong, it's hot, and that mung bean pastry won't keep for long. You should eat it soon."
"Still calling me Eunuch Jinzhong? Didn't I tell you to just call me by my name? If you really want to add a suffix to Jinzhong, then you can call me Brother Jinzhong."
Jinzhong said this purely as a lighthearted joke to close the distance between them. He never expected that Wei Yanwan would address him the way she called Ling Yunche—Brother Yunche.
Yet to his surprise, as soon as his voice trailed off, he heard Wei Yanwan's shy and timid voice:
"Brother Jinzhong..."
Before Jinzhong could even react, she covered her face and bolted out of the quarters. "Brother Jinzhong, don't see me off. I-I have to go back and take care of Imperial Concubine Jia."
Jinzhong felt as though today was truly a good day. Even the annoying chirping of the cicadas outside sounded like festive suona music.
When Jinbao came back from his shift, all he saw was Jinzhong sitting there, foolishly grinning at a plate of mung bean pastries.
Scratching his head in confusion, Jinbao stepped forward. "Master Brother, did someone turn the mung bean pastries into gold? What are you grinning at like that?"
With that, he reached out to take a piece.
With lightning speed, Jinzhong intercepted him with a slap to the hand, then pulled out a silver tael with a smug expression and tossed it to him.
"Go on, buy some yourself if you want to eat them."
Jinbao rolled his eyes. "Am I the kind of person who cares about a single tael of silver?" Despite saying that, Jinbao happily tucked the silver into his pocket.
*Alright, fine, I am!*
Mung bean pastry, from today on you are my lucky charm.
Meanwhile, after leaving Jinzhong's quarters, Wei Yanwan hurried back with her face covered.
As she turned a corner, she accidentally bumped into a palace maid.
The maid staggered from the impact, and the oil-paper package in her arms fell to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
Wei Yanwan apologized repeatedly, squatting down to help the maid pick up the paper package.
However, the maid snatched it up first, stuffing it back into her embrace.
Curiously, Wei Yanwan looked up. "Older Sister Aruo?"
Aruo raised her head in a panic. She never expected that the person who had just bumped into her would be Wei Yanwan from the Qixiang Palace.
The reason for her panic was that the paper package in her arms contained the cinnabar meant to harm Baili Ji.
She hated Baili Ji, and she hated Ruyi.
Just yesterday, Baili Ji and Ruyi had a verbal altercation. She had stepped forward to stick up for Ruyi, only to be punished once again by being made to kneel in the Imperial Garden for two hours.
This was already the second time Ruyi had failed to speak up for her or plead on her behalf.
The last time, it was Gao Xiyue who had her punished with kneeling, and this time it was Baili Ji.
Aruo had originally been Ruyi's personal maid, utterly loyal to her. Because Ruyi was too spineless, Aruo willingly acted as her tongue to keep her mistress from being bullied.
When outside, Aruo was never afraid of offending people, always saying the things Ruyi found difficult to say and doing the things Ruyi found inconvenient to do.
If Ruyi truly disliked Aruo's methods, she could have put a stop to it early on.
Yet Ruyi chose to enjoy the benefits Aruo seized for her while pushing all the blame onto Aruo whenever she offended someone, accusing her of having a sharp tongue and claiming the punishments were self-inflicted.
How could this not chill Aruo to the bone? How could it not fill her with resentment?
So when she learned this morning that Baili Ji was pregnant, she immediately thought of a brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone.
She had encountered a discarded concubine when she was a child.
According to that woman, she had been cast out because she gave birth to a deformed child after prolonged use of lip rouge containing cinnabar.
She had heard that person mention back then that cinnabar poisoning could not be detected through pulse-taking.
Because the woman's situation back then had been so tragic, Aruo had never been able to forget it.
She never expected that now she would have a means to harm someone.
And so, she had someone buy a package of cinnabar from outside the palace. But just as she got her hands on it and before she even figured out how to make Baili Ji come into contact with it, she had run right into someone.
After hastily gathering up the dropped cinnabar, she heard the person who bumped into her enthusiastically call her "Older Sister Aruo."
Aruo looked up and saw that it was none other than Wei Yanwan, the infatuated little maid from Imperial Concubine Jia's residence.
"Older Sister Aruo, my name is Wei Yanwan. I'm a maid at Imperial Concubine Jia's palace. I didn't expect to run into you here."
Aruo had no desire to entangle herself with her, giving a perfunctory nod as she tried to hurry away.
Yet the paths back to Qixiang Palace and Yanxi Palace happened to overlap for a stretch.
With no other choice, Aruo had to endure Wei Yanwan's ceaseless chattering.
"Older Sister Aruo, I noticed you a long time ago."
"Older Sister Aruo, your hair is so dark and glossy, and your waist is so slim."
"Older Sister Aruo..."
"Stop!" Aruo finally had enough of Wei Yanwan's noise and irritably interrupted her. "Girl, did you borrow that mouth of yours? Are you in a rush to return it? Why do you have so many words?"
Wei Yanwan always had patience for beauties. She wasn't angry at Aruo's impatience; she only looked a little crestfallen.
Looking wronged, she twiddled her fingers. "This maid just—just thinks Older Sister Aruo is the most beautiful head maid I've ever seen, so I couldn't help wanting to get closer to you, Sister."
Aruo wasn't a truly malicious person by nature; the reason she harmed others was simply because she had been suppressed for far too long.
Now, seeing Wei Yanwan's pitiful little expression and hearing her praise her beauty, more than half of her anger instantly dissipated.
"Alright, you girl. I already knew your mouth was sweet. Save that honey in your belly to flatter your mistresses instead."