Although Qu Yue is not as prosperous and wealthy as the Great Song Dynasty, the imperial palace in Hualu is equally splendid and magnificent. Under the golden sunlight, the jewels are reflected everywhere, revealing the nobility of the royal family.

In comparison, the inner courtyard in the harem, which is made of gray bricks and green tiles, looks somewhat shabby. In the boxy courtyard, it was very noisy at this time, and the eunuchs in the courtyard were busy inside and out under the command of the chief administrator. Some of them were cleaning the yard, some were working as overseers, and some were constantly running to the imperial kitchen, serving wine and cloth to the royal family, and they all looked expressionless, as if they had long been accustomed to such busy days.

Everyone deeply understands one thing, since the day they entered the palace, they have come to serve the Ding family, and having something to do is already the greatest favor of the heavens for them, once there is really nothing to do one day, life will come to an end.

"Huh, ......" a young eunuch in his twenties, holding a broom in his hand, was sweeping the floor with his head down, sweat dripping down his forehead and falling on the ground made of gray bricks. He didn't know how long he had been sweeping, but he felt that his back was sore and painful, and his arms were completely out of strength.

He peeked at the swaggering chief manager, and seeing that he hadn't noticed him, he hurriedly took the opportunity to straighten up, intending to stretch his waist and move his muscles. But his arm was only halfway stretched out, and the chief manager's majestic gaze swept over and reprimanded loudly: "Du Shi! The manager will let you sweep the floor, you have been sweeping slowly for so long, and you are embarrassed to be lazy! ”

The little eunuch was drunk by the chief steward, and immediately shrank in the corner of the wall in fright, and explained tremblingly: "Chief Administrator, I have already swept the ground, but there are people in and out of the courtyard, and the ground that I have swept is dirty again, so I have to start again." ”

The chief manager snorted coldly, walked up to Du Shi angrily, and slapped him in the face, "Du Shi, you don't have to make excuses!" Tell me for yourself, which time the manager gave you something, you didn't mess it up! Are you deliberately going against the boss? Last time, I sent you to deliver pastries to Ruan Guiren, and you ate most of them halfway through, which caused me to be reprimanded by Ruan Guiren. Yesterday, I asked you to go to Concubine Li and ask her what she wanted to eat for dinner, but you stubbornly remembered the names of the dishes, and Concubine Li was still complaining about the official until this morning. I just asked you to sweep the floor, you haven't finished sweeping for two hours, what else do you say you can do? It's just a waste of a food station! ”

Du Shi touched his cheeks and said timidly: "Boss, Ruan Guiren's pastries were not eaten by me, they were snatched by Wu Pre, he ran faster than me, and the little one didn't catch up with him." Last night, I had a little headache and a mess in my head, so I misremembered the dish that Concubine Li ordered. ”

The chief manager didn't wait for Du Shi to finish speaking, and slapped him again, "Du Shi, you haven't seen anything else, but you have learned to talk back to me!" If you have the strength to talk back, you will have the strength to work, and all the chores in the inner class courtyard have been handed over to you today, who dares to help you punish the chief even with him! ”

Everyone was happy to be idle, and when they heard this, they put down their hands one after another, and looked at the chief steward with a flattering smile, who had been standing in the courtyard for a long time, and did not bother to look at these people again, so he turned around and went back to his room to rest. Du Shi looked at the countless jobs in the inner courtyard, his eyes were red and he almost cried, but he still held back. He knew that even if he cried, he would only waste his strength in vain, and it would not help at all.

He slowed down, picked up the broom again, and carefully swept the inner courtyard inside and out. Then he went to the imperial kitchen to serve wine and cloth dishes for the emperor and concubines. He may have done more work in this half day than many sons and brothers have done in their lives.

Late at night, the moonlight was hazy.

Du Shi dragged his tired body, staggered back to the inner courtyard, and walked into his room. The other eunuchs in the room were already lying on the couch staggeringly, sleeping soundly, and some people snored from time to time.

"Alas......" Du Shi let out a long sigh, gently took off his shoes and coat, and found a spare place to lie down on the side of the couch. He didn't even have time to cover the quilt, he felt his eyelids sink and fell asleep soundly.

In the dream, Du Shi was in a wilderness, there was not even a person around, only the evening breeze blowing slowly, and the vast galaxy overhead, he felt as if he was one with heaven and earth. Du Shi has been purified since he was a child and sent to the palace to serve the royal family, and he has never been in such an environment alone.

At first he felt a slight fear in his heart, but then he found that it was very safe, and a longing for freedom arose in his heart. He ran merrily in the wilderness, laughing merrily, and the cool evening breeze blew lightly on him, making him feel pleasure like never before.

He didn't know how long he had been running, and he was sweating profusely, so he stopped, lay on the dense grass, and quietly looked up at the starry sky. He used to stand in the inner courtyard to look at the stars, even when the night sky was washing, he could only see a dozen at most, but the stars in his dream were endless, and the dream was so refreshing.

Du Shi pointed to the stars and counted them one by one: "One, two, three...... Three hundred...... "He counted for a long, long time, and did not count all the stars in the sky, and when he was about to give up, he suddenly saw a dazzling star in the dreamy galaxy, which fell straight to the earth with brilliant light and smashed in his direction.

"Ahh Du Shi exclaimed, and as soon as he put his hands on the ground, he wanted to hide into the distance. But he was still slow after all, and the meteor fell straight into his belly at the moment he exclaimed. Du Shi looked at his stomach in astonishment, and exclaimed again in disbelief.

Soon, Du Shi woke up from his dream, and when he woke up, he found that his mouth was really open, and his clothes were soaked. He saw that the sky was already faintly bright, and the eunuchs around him had not yet woken up, so he quietly put on his clothes and went out of the room.

He walked aimlessly through the alleys crisscrossed the palace, looking to the east and the west. In the early morning, there were few people walking around the palace, and occasionally a few patrolling guards would pass by, and when they met Du Shi, they also ignored him.

Unconsciously, Du Shi was getting closer and closer to the emperor's bedroom. He had been here for a few days before, but he didn't feel much panic, and he still kept his head down and walked slowly. Suddenly, he saw an old man in a robe, hurrying towards the emperor's bedchamber.

Du Shi recognized that the person was Deng Xuanguang, the eunuch of Si Tian, and he couldn't help but pause, and then he rushed over. He bowed deeply and said, "The miscellaneous family has seen Lord Deng. ”

Deng Xuanguang returned the salute and said, "This father-in-law, are you on an errand in the dormitory today?" I have something important to report to Your Majesty, and I have to thank you for it. ”

(End of chapter)