The maids and eunuchs in the Eastern Palace went about their duties in silence today, fearful of making even the slightest mistake. Shunzi, the head eunuch, wore a grim expression all day long. While he dared not vent his temper on Zhu Zhuo, he found it easy enough to discipline a lowly maid or eunuch; thus, no one dared to cross him.
The root of Shunzi’s miserly, money-grubbing nature lay in the bitter hardship he had endured for over a decade. Back then, as a eunuch serving the Crown Prince, he had been routinely looked down upon and trampled underfoot. Those snobs would not part with a single coin, no matter how much he begged or pleaded. Even when he kowtowed until his forehead bled, they remained indifferent. Sometimes, in his desperation to secure medicine, he would humble himself before everyone he knew. It was then that he silently swore that one day he would utterly crush those who relied on their masters' influence to bully others.
The tides would turn, he told himself. One day, he would make those people realize they were no longer worthy of his attention.
Chapter 552