Deep Palace past events

Although Yang Fan had heard about the operation, but seeing such a scene with his own eyes, his expression changed in shock, he dared not look any further, he jumped off the ground lightly, and sat back on the kang.

He listened uneasy for a while, and finally heard the sound of several purifying masters leaving. The five Zhuang Ding seemed relieved and left the courtyard.

The children had just finished their operations, and they were all exhausted and passed out. Apart from the occasional bangs, there was no sound in Nuo Da's courtyard.

Although Yang Fan was very hungry, he didn't dare to say anything. He was worried about hunger and suffering from both.

After sitting on pins and needles for about an hour, the footsteps of several people suddenly sounded in the yard.

Although Yang Fan was so hungry that he was exhausted, his instinct for self-reliance stimulated the last bit of potential in his body. He jumped off the ground and sprinted behind the door like a civet cat. A wooden tray walked towards the clean room.

Seeing that there was only one rice bowl on each of the five wooden trays, Yang Fan thought to himself: "It seems that food is here for us, what should I do?"

Feeling nervous, a young man had already walked to the door of "cleaning room 41". Hearing the sound of the lock being unlocked, Yang Fan didn't have time to think, and hid behind the door. After he entered the room, he closed the door with his back and blocked the door with his back. He looked at each other coldly and didn't speak.

The young man glanced at him and said, "Master Wang is my master, and I will deliver food to you for the next twenty days." While talking, he motioned him to sit back on the kang with his eyes.

After hearing this, Yang Fan left the gate in doubt, and walked back to the kang with light steps.

The young man put a bowl of porridge on the side of the kang, and whispered to him: "Don't worry, Zhuang Ding thinks that you have all undergone surgery, so you have already given up half-heartedly, and will not come into the room to check. But you still have to Be careful, and try not to move around in the house at ordinary times, so as not to arouse others' suspicion. You can pretend that you have also been operated on, and sleep on the kang honestly. Five children will be sent in the afternoon, so Zhuang Ding They'll still be watching in the yard."

Although Yang Fan still had some doubts, but at this point, he could only trust the other party, so he sat on the kang.

The little guy said again: "My name is Yuan Chun. For the past three days, you have been unable to get off the ground and your hands and feet have been tied, so if you want to relieve yourself, just call my name, and I will naturally come into the house to help open and close the work on the door panel." Board." While talking, he winked at Yang Fan.

Yang Fan let out a "hmm", picked up the bowl of cold mung bean porridge, gobbled it up, and asked after finishing it, "It's too little, can I have another bowl?"

Yuan Chun said in a low voice: "You'd better bear with it, you just had an operation, and if you eat like this, others will be suspicious!"

Yang Fan smiled wryly after hearing this.

Sure enough, everything was as Yuan Chun said, and five more children were sent to the cleansing room in the afternoon.

In the next few days, Yuan Chun came to deliver meals for him.Although Yang Fan was worried that he would not be saved for a long time, but seeing Yuan Chun acted carefully, he was a little relieved and trusted him even more.

It's just a lot of inconvenience in life, because "can't go to the ground", not only need someone to carry excrement and urine, but also can't go out for activities, it feels like being in prison.During the day, I would sit on the kang and watch the pond and fields outside the window, and at night, I would raise my head and stare blankly at the night sky.

Time flies, twenty days passed suddenly.Early in the morning, Yang Fan heard the sound of movement in Zhang Xiaomao's room next door, he was startled, and asked: "Zhang Xiaomao, can you go to the ground now?"

Zhang Xiaomao replied with some excitement: "Yes, I actually tried to play the ground once last night. You all slept soundly, so I don't know."

Yang Fan let out a cry, and said, "Oh, then...then congratulations to you! You finally...'debuted successfully'!"

Zhang Xiaomao laughed a few times, and asked back: "Yes, I finally got through it! What about you? It's almost there, right?"

Yang Fan said: "I..." suddenly had an idea: "I can also pretend that I can go to the ground, so I don't have to worry all day long for fear of being heard!" Said: "I will try it too!" Turning over while speaking, he stood up , in order to pretend to be a little bit, deliberately let out a soft sigh.

Zhang Xiaomao said: "Do you still feel pain? If you want pain, don't force yourself. It's not too late to go to the ground after resting for a day or two."

Yang Fan said: "It's all right." While talking, he jumped off the ground lightly, and shouted excitedly on purpose: "Ah! I can go to the ground too! Haha! Really, I don't feel any pain at all!"

"Really? Then... I also want to say congratulations to you!"

"Ha ha!"

In the few days when Yang Fan was arrested by Daojiazhuang, because he was not familiar with everyone, he seldom paid attention to others, and just moved around the house cautiously all day long.

And Zhang Xiaomao and the others did not take the initiative to talk to him because they were not familiar with him, and because they had just been cleansed and were weak.

But after three days, everyone's spirits improved a bit. They were all half-grown children, and they couldn't bear the loneliness. In order to pass the boring time, the children in the adjacent clean room began to talk through a wall.

Now, although the two are not so intimate that they can call each other brothers, they can still be regarded as friends.

The two talked for a while through the wall, and the children in other clean rooms also made noises.After a while, Peng Xiaowan also excitedly announced the good news that he could go to the field, so everyone raised their voices to congratulate each other.

It turns out that the time limit required to go to the field is not an unshakeable date, and whether it will be sooner or later not only has a lot to do with the craftsmanship of the knife maker, but also is inseparable from the physical strength of the eunuch.

Among these children, Peng Xiaowan and Zhang Xiaomao are in better health, while Wei Zhi and Gao Zhaohui are slightly weaker.Although Yang Fan looks thin and small, his physique is not weak, so if he has undergone an operation, it is entirely possible that he will "make his debut" a day or two earlier than ordinary children.

After everyone chatted and laughed for a while, Master Chen's voice suddenly came from the courtyard: "Ah, I'm so happy, someone must be able to go down to the ground, right?"

Zhang Xiaomao said: "Master, I, Yang Fan, and Peng Xiaowan are ready to get off the kang!"

Master Chen smiled and said: "Congratulations to you three!" He asked a young man to open the door of the three people's rooms, and asked them to move their limbs in the courtyard.

He also told the boy: "Today is a good day for these three children to make their debuts. You have to celebrate. You go and ask the kitchen to bring them a bowl of stewed meat noodles. It's really embarrassing to drink porridge for 20 days." They're gone!"

The three of them all liked stewed pork noodles when they heard about it.Wei Zhi also said after hearing this, "Master Chen, can you also bring us a bowl of stewed pork noodles?"

Master Chen smiled and said: "Ah, I'm sorry, this stewed meat noodles is specially used to celebrate the good day of your debut. You haven't made your debut yet, so I can't break the rules!"

Peng Xiaowan laughed and said, "Who told you that your body is not up to the mark, and you can't get off the ground. If you want to eat noodles with stewed meat, wait for another two days!"

Wei Zhi spat: "I can eat it tomorrow, so what's the big deal if you eat it for a day first."

The three children were locked in the clean room for more than 20 days. When they were freed suddenly, they were naturally elated, jogging in the yard, or punching and kicking.Those children who can't go to the ground are very envious when they see it.

Although some children could not pronounce their names, they congratulated them aloud.At this time, all the cleansing rooms in the compound were full. Although everyone could not go to the ground, it was almost the same, so the mood was much more cheerful than when they first entered the cleansing room.

After the activity for a while, the little guy brought three bowls of stewed pork noodles on a wooden tray.

The three of them hadn't eaten meaty food for 20 days. When they saw the steaming stewed pork noodles, they all had green eyes. They were polite, and each grabbed a bowl of noodles and started to eat them.

Peng Xiaowan purposely walked outside Wei Zhi's room to eat, and asked with a smile while eating, "It smells so good! Do you want to have a bite?" Wei Zhi was annoyed and funny.

Master Chen smiled and looked at it for a while, then suddenly said: "All three of you come here, and listen to me say some things to pay attention to in the future while eating."

So the three of them walked up to him with noodles.Master Chen said: "Today is the big day for the three of you. For you, this day is as important as your birthday. You should remember this day for the rest of your life."

Sighing, he said again: "But I have to remind you again: After today, you should stop congratulating each other and say 'big congratulations', because it's unlucky."

Zhang Xiaomao asked in surprise, "It's unlucky? How can it be unlucky to say congratulations?"

Master Chen sighed: "Because this great joy is for you to finally make your debut. I don't think you want to be stabbed again? If someone congratulates you in the future, it will be like cursing you to be stabbed again!"

Zhang Xiaomao snorted and asked, "Then we can no longer say 'great joy' and 'congratulations' in this life? Then if we encounter other good things, can't we say congratulations to each other?"

"That's not true. It's just another way of saying it. You can't say 'Congratulations', but say: 'You are lucky, so-and-so'. Not only can you not say that between you, you can't say that to other eunuchs in the palace, otherwise you will offend others." Big taboo. You must pay attention to this."

Zhang Xiaomao gasped, "Oh, so that's how it is!"

"There are still many rules and taboos in the palace. You should pay attention to study after entering the palace. You will be mentors and apprentices. Of course, I hope that all of you will be promoted step by step after entering the palace!"

Peng Xiaowan and Zhang Xiaomao were all very happy when they heard this. Although Yang Fan smiled a little forcedly, he couldn't help but think to himself: "It turns out that not all the purifiers are heartless people."

Zhang Xiaomao asked: "Master, when can we enter the palace?"

Master Chen smiled and said, "Can't wait?"

Zhang Xiaomao smiled foolishly, "Anyway, sooner or later you have to enter the palace, so you can feel at ease if you enter the palace one day earlier."

Peng Xiaowan laughed and said: "It's not certain whether you can be selected into the palace, you have a good idea!"

Master Chen said in a low voice: "I heard Boss Hu said that the problem is not serious. Although it is impossible for all 89 of your children to be selected for the palace, at least they are around [-]. You just wait for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to 'check clean', and then You can enter the palace."

Although Peng Xiaowan had long heard that Daojiazhuang had connections in the capital, he was still agitated after hearing this, and hurriedly asked, "When will the day be 'clean'?"

Master Chen said: "The date of the 'cleanliness inspection' of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is generally not fixed, and there must be more than ten people registered to perform a cleanliness inspection. Maybe two or three days later, the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will send someone to notify you to go to the cleanliness inspection. I don't know."

Zhang Xiaomao asked: "Are all the people who 'inspected the cleanliness' eunuchs in the palace?"

"Not all, I haven't been a body purification master for a long time, so I don't know the situation of the 'cleanness inspection' very well. I heard that the 'cleanness inspection' in previous years was jointly inspected by the Accounting Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Department of Rites. Each of the divisions sent one officer to lead the subordinate officials and five or six eunuchs to be promoted to the hall for inspection..."

"What? Are you going to make us take off our pants in front of so many people?" Zhang Xiaomao asked in a startled voice, and exchanged glances with Peng Xiaowan, both of them looked embarrassed.

Although they had already cleansed themselves, they were still ashamed, and it was bearable to ask an eunuch to inspect it, but it was a bit embarrassing for so many people to watch.

Yang Fan was also thinking nervously: "What should I do? That mysterious person hasn't appeared for a long time, and I don't know if he is still trying to save me in secret? If he doesn't show up on the day of the cleansing inspection, then I..."

Master Chen laughed and said, "Don't be too nervous, kid. If you want to take off your pants in the lobby, the imperial court will not let you be so presumptuous! The officials sitting in the lobby only 'inspect for deficiency' and not 'inspect for cleanliness'." 'The place is generally arranged in a small room behind the lobby, where there is only one old eunuch, and this old eunuch is the eunuch for cleaning, and he is responsible for checking your cleanliness."

Zhang Xiaomao let out a sigh of relief, and asked again: "What's the meaning of 'checking deficiency'?"

"It just depends on how you look, whether you stutter or not, and whether you walk with a limp. If you fail this test, then you don't need to go to the test."

After hearing this, Peng Xiaowan couldn't help but think to himself: "It seems that the people in Ma'an Village didn't even pass the first test, so it's no wonder no one told me about these rules."

After Yang Fan heard it, he suddenly thought: "I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think that as long as I can't pass these two tests, I won't enter the palace to be a eunuch! Hmph, although they Daojiazhuang bought these officials and eunuchs with money , I can also make myself unable to pass the test! Pretending to be stuttering is easy to be seen through, and there is probably no problem with my appearance, I can only pretend to be walking-I pretended to be like a cripple on purpose, so they can't want me!"

Thinking of this, I felt relieved for a moment, as if I saw the blue sky after pulling out the clouds and mist, and sighed secretly: "It's really hard to find a place after stepping on the iron shoes, and it doesn't take much effort to get it!"

Master Chen told the three of them some things to pay attention to after entering the palace, and then left.The three children were naturally sent back to their clean rooms by Zhuang Ding and locked up.

Because Yang Fan came up with a way to save himself, he felt relieved.No longer frowning and worrying about yourself.I thought to myself: "The ancients said it well, relying on others is worse than relying on yourself. Finally, God has eyes and let me think of this clever plan at the last moment!"

In the next few days, several children "debuted and became calamities" every day. Although Wei Zhi and Gao Zhaohui were weak in physique, they were among them because they were the first to undergo surgery.Every day in the cleansing workshop, there are laughter and congratulations to each other.

On the day and night when Wei Zhi went to the field, after dinner, everyone was sitting in their respective rooms and talking at night by the partition wall, when suddenly Mrs. Tian and Tang Biao came to the yard.

The children hadn't seen Mrs. Tian since they left the boat, and when they saw her coming suddenly, they were a little bit surprised and afraid.They all speculated: "Is it going to be tested soon?"

After Mrs. Tian entered the yard, she had a low-pitched conversation with Hu Yunzhi, and then ordered several Zhuang Ding to call out the eighteen children who were already able to go to the ground, and stand in a row in the courtyard to listen to her talk.

I don't know if it's because she is a woman or because of other reasons, she didn't congratulate everyone on their "debut and success", and straight to the point, she said: "You may have already guessed, I am here tonight to tell you something, tomorrow will be you It's the day of the cleansing test, so you must rest well tonight, and don't go to the cleansing test in disgrace. Otherwise, the hardships you have suffered for so many days will be in vain. Whether you can enter the palace or not is related to your life I think you all should be aware of this important matter of luck, so I don’t want to say anything more. Some of you may not want to enter the palace. Maybe you are still thinking about it, thinking that I don’t want to enter anyway. Gong, deliberately refused to be selected..."

Yang Fan was slightly startled, and thought to himself: "Is she insinuating about me?"

After contemplating for a while, I came back to my senses and heard Mrs. Tian say: "...Because tomorrow's cleanliness inspection is a major event that affects your life's fortune, we specially bought a new outfit for each of you, and you can wear it tomorrow. Afterwards, I seem to be much more energetic. Of course, this outfit is spent on you, and each of you is paid two taels of silver. This will be added to your loan agreement..."

After hearing this, the children couldn't help but secretly complained: "This woman is really good at calculating, and she has earned us two taels of silver!"

But at this point, everyone has already made progress, even though they know they have been robbed of money, they can only admit it.