CHAPTER 375: CHAPTER 375: WHEN IN ROME

Even Duke Chong was repeatedly humbled by Marquis Dongxiang.

The two young eunuchs couldn’t afford to offend Duke Chong, let alone Marquis Dongxiang.

They followed Su Yang’s arrangement and took the two little beggars out of the palace.

He went to the Ninth Prince’s sleeping quarters.

Before going, the two young eunuchs gave him lots of instructions.

He absolutely mustn’t tell anyone that he wasn’t a real little eunuch and that he was fake.

If anyone asked if he was castrated, he should say he was.

"What is castration?" Young Master Su asked in confusion.

"It’s the pain we eunuchs would rather not mention," one little eunuch choked up.

Seeing their painful expressions, Young Master Su didn’t ask further.

"Did Young Master Su remember everything we said?" asked the little eunuch.

"I remembered it all," Young Master Su replied.

"That’s good then."

The little eunuch led Su Yang, dressed as a little eunuch, forward.

Su Yang looked around as he walked, and the little eunuch seized the moment to say, "You can’t be looking around while walking, you’ll get punished if you bump into someone important."

"Important people?"

"How important are they?" Young Master Su asked.

"...".

The two young eunuchs were left speechless.

In this Imperial Palace, not many things are more valuable than the Jade Pendant in Young Master Su’s boot.

The Jade Pendant which the Emperor had worn for over a decade was just tucked away in his boot, the little eunuch thought it was incredibly bold.

This was a great disrespect to the Emperor, deserving at least fifty strokes of the cane as punishment.

Yet, it was because Young Master Su had hidden the Jade Pendant in his boot that it wasn’t stolen, avoiding a great mishap on their part.

"Young Master’s status is noble, of course different from us servants," the little eunuch said.

"But since you’re pretending to be a eunuch in the palace for a few days, you must follow the palace rules and not offend the nobles, or the Emperor will send you out of the palace."

"Alright then," Young Master Su relented.

"What does offending mean, beating them up?" Young Master Su asked.

Little eunuch, "..."

Really.

Talking with the young master from Dongxiang Marquis Mansion made his heart tremble violently.

Thinking of beating up the nobles in the palace, how could he even think of that?

That wasn’t just offending them, that was asking for death.

The little eunuch quickly gave Young Master Su a crash course on palace rules.

Such a young person, who knows how much sink in.

Young Master Su listened and rolled his eyes, "So many rules in the Imperial Palace, my servant dares to hit me at home."

Little eunuch, "..."

They really wanted to work at Dongxiang Marquis Mansion after hearing that.

The whole way there, the little eunuch felt Young Master Su should have remembered some things.

But upon arriving at the Ninth Prince’s sleeping quarters, he realized his advice was entirely ignored by Young Master Su.

When they arrived, they happened to catch the Ninth Prince taking medicine.

The Ninth Prince refused to drink it, claiming it was bitter.

The attending eunuch couldn’t persuade him, and the Ninth Prince threw a tantrum. Then Young Master Su said, "If you don’t drink the medicine, a beating will fix it."

Mhm.

Despite countless reminders not to offend the nobles.

Young Master Su came in and immediately created chaos for the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince was dumbfounded.

No one had ever spoken to him like that, not even his father.

"You dare to hit me?" the Ninth Prince asked.

Young Master Su, tired from walking, sat right on the Ninth Prince’s bed and said, "As someone who’s been through this, I’ll tell you, if you have to take the medicine, you can’t avoid it. Sooner or later, you’ll have to drink it."

"Your servants still persuade you, but if I get sick and don’t take my medicine, my dad just puts it there, and if I don’t drink, I get hit."

"After getting hit a couple of times, you naturally behave," he continued.

The Ninth Prince, "..."

The little eunuch, "..."

The little eunuch quietly handed the medicine to the Ninth Prince.

The Ninth Prince still refused to drink it.

Young Master Su’s short temper flared, "If you don’t take the medicine, it’ll be hard to get better. A small illness might turn into a big one, and you’ll end up needing more medicine, which might not even cure you at the end."

"Ninth Prince, please take the medicine, it’s going to get cold," the little eunuch persuaded.

No matter how they persuaded him, the Ninth Prince just wouldn’t take it.

"If my father comes, I’ll take the medicine without needing a beating," the Ninth Prince choked up.

Young Master Su looked at him, "How long has it been since you last saw your dad?"

"I saw him the day I fell into the water," the Ninth Prince said.

Young Master Su was speechless.

How would he know which day he fell into the water?

This was as good as not answering at all.

Young Master Su looked at the Ninth Prince, asking, "Does your dad have a lot of sons?"

"Yes," the Ninth Prince replied.

"Well, there’s nothing you can do then. Rarity brings value. The more sons he has, the less precious they are," Young Master Su said wistfully.

"Like my dad only has two sons. I’m not cherished, let alone with as many as your family has," he continued.

The little eunuch was beside himself inside.

On the topic of feeling neglected, the Ninth Prince and Young Master Su hit it off quite well.

The Ninth Prince always felt forlorn, lacking paternal and maternal affection.

But it was still better than Young Master Su getting beaten every day; without comparison, there’s no contentment.

After a few exchanges, Young Master Su asked, "Are you going to take the medicine or not?"

"Bring it over," the Ninth Prince said.

The little eunuch brought the medicine over, with some candied fruits on the side.

The Ninth Prince pinched his nose and downed the medicine, then took some candied fruit to quash the bitterness.

After the Ninth Prince put down the bowl, the other palace maids questioned the little eunuch, "How did you send over such a bold little eunuch? Is the Ninth Prince’s bed something he can sit on?"

The little eunuch glanced at Young Master Su, then called the eunuch and maids to the side and said, "This little eunuch has someone important backing him up. As long as the Ninth Prince doesn’t mind, you all should just turn a blind eye and avoid causing yourself trouble."

"Who’s backing him?" a palace maid asked.

"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. In short, someone whom neither you nor I can afford to offend," the little eunuch vaguely replied.

"Just think about it, knowing he is the Ninth Prince, how could someone who dared to say they would beat him be an ordinary person?"

The eunuch and the palace maids looked back at Young Master Su, who was rolling on the Ninth Prince’s bed, and quietly nodded.

The little eunuch left, looking back every three steps.

Young Master Su lay sprawled on the Ninth Prince’s bed, leaving no room for the Ninth Prince.

The palace maid couldn’t stand to see Young Master Su behave so brazenly, but she couldn’t ignore the little eunuch’s words either.

Seeing that Young Master Su was young, she decided to fish for information.

The palace maid walked over and asked, "What’s your name, little eunuch?"

"Before I came, I chose a fitting name for myself — Little Su," Young Master Su responded.

"..."

"Do you know anyone here in the palace?" the palace maid asked.

"I only know the Emperor and Eunuch Fu," Young Master Su casually replied.

His attention was still on the hook.

He had noticed it was gold.

He leaned in to take a bite.

Palace maid, "...!!!"

Eunuch, "...!!!"

He actually knows Eunuch Fu?!

He even knows the Emperor!

Bragging!

He must be bragging!

"How could you possibly know my father?" the Ninth Prince doubted.

"I’m not lying. I really know your dad."

"This bed is so soft. After sleeping on straw for days, I want to sleep on this bed tonight," Young Master Su declared dominantly.

"..."

"You sleep on straw?" The Ninth Prince was surprised.

"The beggar’s den only has straw, sleeping on it gave me lice," Young Master Su scratched his back.

The Ninth Prince, "...!!!"

The palace maid and the eunuch exchanged glances.

It seemed this little eunuch was a lunatic.

Yet, everything Young Master Su said was true.

Even the lice were real.

And through the Ninth Prince, one louse was passed to the Emperor.

The Emperor, "..."