Page 461

Xiao Jizi didn’t understand what the commotion was about, but since the simpleton was always happy to see him, he didn’t think too much about it.

As he passed Xiao Linzi, he patted him on the shoulder and dropped a line, "Any roasted chicken left?"

Without stopping in his tracks, he nodded towards Da Zhuang as if to say hello.

"There’s still..." Before the word could leave his mouth, Xiao Linzi realized and immediately clamped his mouth shut, shaking his head. He couldn’t say it.

While running, Xiao Jizi found a moment to look back and saw the situation—even asking this simpleton was useless!

Knowing that his master and Nanny Qi, along with the roasted chicken, were at the pavilion, he ran straight there.

When he got to the pavilion, he was dumbfounded. There was not a soul on the pavilion, and it was spotlessly clean, not a chicken bone in sight, as if there had never been any roasted chicken at all!

He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully. There really was nothing, absolutely nothing!

He felt the world spinning and his vision began to darken. It was hunger, coupled with a huge letdown. This morning he had only eaten half a meal, just so he could save room for the roasted chicken!

After running errands three times, and being delayed by Concubine Fang Pin and the Chief Steward of the Imperial Kitchen, the little breakfast he had was long digested in his belly.

The strong belief in his master and desire for the roasted chicken had kept him running back. But now that the perfectly roasted chicken had flown away, half of his support was gone...

He felt exceedingly heavy with every step as he stumbled towards the Side Hall, barely registering the sight of the scurrying Xiao Qing and Pang Ya with their sneaky expressions; they could not lift his spirits or pique his interest.

Entering the Side Hall, Xiao Jizi saw a figure sitting at the table and immediately bowed, "Greetings to Your Majesty, your servant... has returned," he said weakly.

All his energy had been drained by Concubine Fang Pin and Fatty Gao; he needed roasted chicken to replenish...

Listlessly bowing, he then took out a letter from his bosom and presented it, "Your Majesty, this is the letter Concubine Fang Pin entrusted your servant to bring back."

Even though the roasted chicken was gone, his mind was still on his duties. His master’s affairs were of utmost importance, even more so than his roasted chicken.

Lian Hua fought to hold back her laughter. Ah, Xiao Jizi, this sly Young Eunuch is really driven by his stomach. Couldn’t she see he seemed drained of all energy?

Xiao Qing and Pang Ya had been sent out by her, specifically to keep an eye on him, to watch him. As soon as they saw him walking back towards the Side Hall, they hurried back.

Everything Xiao Jizi did and how he looked were already known to her. When he first came back, he ran at breakneck speed to the pavilion to look for the roasted chicken. When he couldn’t find it, his whole demeanor dropped, and he slumped back to the Side Hall.

She had heard that Xiao Jizi had planned for this meal of roasted chicken since she mentioned it, eating much less for breakfast and making quite a sacrifice.

He probably didn’t know his clothes had come back, did he? She had instructed everyone not to speak of it yet; she wanted to give him a little scare later!

When they finished lunch, she and Nanny Qi were admiring the view in the pavilion, watching everyone below enjoying themselves to their hearts’ content. Suddenly, she felt something was off—as if someone was missing.

But she was in high spirits today, and so was everyone else. The celebration of the roasted chicken feast and Xiao Jizi’s promotion was a double joy; there was no need to fuss over the small details.

She felt that life was so wonderful. Seeing the Eunuch Manager Uniform set aside, she couldn’t help but touch it again.

Feeling delighted, she asked Xiao Qing to take it down so that everyone could have a feel.

With grandeur and generosity, she told them all, "My fellows, as long as you do your jobs well, there will be great rewards, and promotions will come swiftly. Don’t you worry; today is Brother Ji’s promotion, and soon, it will be your turn."

The eunuch from the Bureau of Palace Attendants, Eunuch Liu, upon hearing this, dropped a piece of meat from his mouth, his face filled with sheer horror.

Nanny Qi quickly coughed to remind her.

Noticing the eager eyes of the young eunuchs from the Star Palace, she realized she had been careless and quickly corrected herself, "Ah, just now I was speaking to the servants of Canglan Court. As for the servants of Star Palace, I’ll take care of your food and drink, but nothing beyond that, you still need to listen to Steward Zhang and His Majesty—yet the principle of doing your duties well applies just the same. "

The young eunuchs of Star Palace seemed to be momentarily disappointed.

Seeing this, she encouraged them again with gusto, reigniting the enthusiasm of the young eunuchs of Star Palace, their blood boiling with excitement.

Finally, she addressed Xiao Linzi and Xiao Qing with deep emotion, "Xiao Linzi, Xiao Qing, you must learn more from your Brother Xiao Ji, to absorb his strengths and make up for your shortcomings, and you will surely have your own fortunes in the future."

Xiao Linzi vigorously nodded, his oily lips parting to reveal two little tiger teeth in a smile. Brother Xiao Ji had always been his role model, and his promotion filled Xiao Linzi with excitement.

Xiao Qing also nodded along, looking very pleased.

She felt a bit smug and thought, why not have Xiao Jizi make a speech to sum up and motivate everyone?

But as she looked around, she couldn’t find him, and it dawned on her—no wonder something felt off. Oh... Xiao Jizi was missing; it seemed like it had been a long time since she saw him.

She felt like something was missing despite everyone being there, but with Xiao Jizi, the main character, absent, wasn’t it just lacking the sight of Xiao Jizi trying on the Eunuch Manager Uniform?

Xiao Qing reminded her that Xiao Jizi had gone out to deliver a message.

She blushed with embarrassment, ah, she had completely forgotten about that—quite embarrassing indeed. Estimating the time, it seemed he had been gone for quite a while.

With the main character absent, it didn’t seem right to continue, so she decided to wait, to wait for his return to give his speech.

She propped her head with one hand and tapped the stone table with the other, bored out of her wits.

Below, aside from Xiao Linzi who had hidden a roasted chicken, everyone else had almost finished eating. The booth was not yet cleared away. The reserved roasted chicken was still kept warm on top of the charcoal fire, high enough not to burn, yet not to turn cold.

She asked Nanny Qi if she had eaten her fill and if she wanted to eat more.

Nanny Qi said she was full and didn’t need any more, finding the cool breeze in the pavilion quite comfortable and saying she would rest a bit before returning.

She nodded and asked Xiao Qing to roll up the bamboo curtain a bit, to let Nanny Qi enjoy the breeze.

As she watched Xiao Qing roll up the bamboo curtain, an idea suddenly popped into her head—since they were all waiting for Xiao Jizi anyway, why not play a prank on the young eunuch?

Heh, wasn’t it perfect since he wasn’t around?

If he knew the Eunuch Manager Uniform had come back, he would surely be over the moon.

Although she had told him the night before, he might not know when it would be officially recorded.

No matter what was said, nothing beats personal experience—once he donned that uniform, his status would be different, and his position solidified!

Thinking this way, she became excited and called everyone to wipe their mouths quickly and tidy up the booth, aiming to finish before Xiao Jizi returned—she planned to scare him, to surprise him!

The first scare was to shock Xiao Jizi into thinking there was no roasted chicken left, which would surely make the young eunuch want to cry.

The second surprise was to present him with the Eunuch Manager Uniform and reward him with ten taels of silver, which would surely move the young eunuch to tears.