Imperial City

The boys hadn't eaten for a day, and they didn't even get any water. They were already starving. Their stomachs were empty, so they couldn't resist the severe cold, so they could only huddle together under the blankets to keep each other warm.

The other five people were afraid to get close to Wei Qi, but now seeing him curled up in a corner, without the unusual charm before, it was a little pitiful.

Among them, the oldest boy is called Wu Jiacai, he is fourteen this year.He invited Wei Qi: "Wei Qi, would you like to come with us?"

Wei Qi hasn't spoken to them since he reported his name yesterday. It's not because he is domineering and looks down on children from poor families, but because he has never dealt with such children, and he doesn't know how to blend in with them. .

Wei Qi was shivering alone under the quilt, but now he heard someone calling him, so he turned his head.

Wu Jiacai and the others formed a group, and the five quilts were covered with two layers, which looked very warm, at least warmer than his place.

Wei Qi hesitated for a while, thanked him, and dragged his own quilt to sneak in silently.

"Wei Qi, you are so interesting, you still say thank you for your labor, like a son from a family."

Wu Jiacai laughed at him, everyone couldn't help laughing out loud after hearing this.

Wei Qi didn't know what he said was wrong, seeing their jokes, he just kept silent.

Several people chatted a little more in a low voice, and they were having fun when they suddenly heard the sound of hunger, which seemed to come from Wei Qi's end, and several people looked at him.

Wei Qi blushed and lowered his head in embarrassment.

He originally wanted to hold back, but after all he hadn't eaten in the past day, how could he hold it back.

Everyone was silent for a while, then laughed again.

"I also said that you are a fairy, and you are just like us rough people. You are so hungry that your stomach growls." The boy who lived with him called Chen Agou laughed at him.

But who knew that before he finished speaking, his own stomach rebelled, and there was a gurgling sound, which was louder than Wei Qi's movement.

At this moment, no one can tell who is who. The boys thought it was funny, but everyone stopped laughing after giggling.

They all remembered that the hunger they were suffering at this moment was just the beginning, and they felt uncomfortable for a while, so they all fell silent.

Wu Jiacai sighed: "Sleep."

Several people responded, and Wei Qi also fell asleep with his eyes closed next to Wu Jiacai who was close to his hands and feet.

In the evening of that day, the thirty or so boys who had just entered the palace had an early rest, after all there was still a tribulation waiting for them tomorrow.

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In the early morning of the second day, just after dawn, there was a little yellow door shouting at the door to tell them to get up.

Several children woke up in a daze from their dreams. After looking at each other for a few times, they finally remembered where they were now. When they were awake for a while, they all saw fear in the eyes of others.

A few people dawdled and walked out of the house dejectedly to the courtyard. The youngest child was Wang Anping, who was only six years old, and now he was crying out of fear.

Xiao Huangmen who was standing in the courtyard saw him and hurriedly scolded him, saying that he would have to cry later, but now he cried earlier.

Several young eunuchs led Wei Qi and others through the white jade arch in front of the side room, and came to another row of side rooms.

Several bidet masters had already cleaned their knives and waited there.

What Wei Qi and the others are waiting for is total castration, which is also bad luck. Before the Ming Emperor, because young children were easy to die, if a man is still young when he enters the palace, he only needs to cut off the spheres on both sides. , without cutting them all.

Unexpectedly, because of this, those eunuchs in the previous dynasty who only received half of the palace punishment were able to promiscuously mess with the harem, and had private affairs with many court ladies and concubines.

In order to prevent such incidents from happening again, Emperor Ming issued an order that all servants who entered the palace from then on, regardless of their age, should be subjected to full castration.

Full cutting means that the lower part of the body has to be cut like a woman, and it is much more painful than the former.

There are several benches in the clean room, and the Eight Immortals table on the side is covered with utensils such as eggs, pig gall, and ropes.

After the boys saw these things, they dared not take a step forward.

However, the eunuchs will not soften their hearts because of this. The chief eunuch in charge took out the roster from his arms and handed it to the little Huangmen standing behind him.

Xiao Huangmen took it respectfully, and began to roll the names in the order above.

Some of the children who were named had weak legs and knelt on the ground directly, while others did the exact opposite and wanted to flee outside the door.

But no matter which category they were in, they were finally restrained by the eunuchs guarding both sides, and they were bound hands and feet like pigs and trapped on the bench.

The rest of the children waited and watched tremblingly. This is the boundary of the imperial palace, and it is just a daydream to think that they can escape.

The tied-up people tied their eyes with black cloth, were fed a bowl of hemp water, took off their pants and opened them.

Cannabis water can stop bleeding and relieve pain. After drinking it for a short time, people will feel dizzy and numb.

The cleansing master saw that it was almost time, and signaled Xiao Huangmen to come forward and clean the place.

At this moment, the bound child was terrified, his nose and tears covered his face, his face was as pale as a ghost, and his spread legs were trembling unceasingly.

If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't drink water or food the day before, he might be incontinent at this moment.

The cleansing master approached with a sharp knife, and the little yellow door in the room looked indifferent, as if it was commonplace.

The children held their breath nervously, the timid ones wanted to look but did not dare to look, and the bold ones stared blankly.

The children who were tied up had already fainted from fright.

The master cut two holes under the child's body, cut off the tendons inside, and squeezed out the contents skillfully.

All of a sudden, there were screams one after another in the room, and all the children who fainted woke up from the severe pain.

Everyone got goosebumps, and even the most daring children dared not look at the bloody mass this time.

The little eunuch hurriedly took a boiled egg from the Eight Immortals table and stuffed it into the screaming child's mouth.Now no one could scream anymore.

The cleansing master took bitter pig gall and pasted the wound to reduce swelling and stop bleeding.

This is not over yet, the next step is to start castration.

I saw that the cleansing master took up the knife without hesitation, and cut off the unfinished thing with just one knife.Later, I went to burn the wound with the hot tongs.

The tortured person passed out from the pain again.The smell of burning and the sound of scorching meat filled the room.

As calm as Wei Qi, he finally couldn't restrain himself, his legs went limp.The children who lived with him hugged him and cried together.

The body cleansing master tidied up for a while, and called Xiao Huangmen to come and carry him.Those children were unconscious and were carried back to their residence by the little eunuch.

The bathing master took the cut objects and put them in a basin mixed with lime powder.

Then he wrapped the previously signed contract with oiled paper and put it into the basin together, and then wrapped the basin with a big red cloth.

Tie the rope and hang it to the Zhongzhi beam. This is the meaning of the red cloth's promotion, which means that the person will be smooth sailing and will be promoted step by step.

The little Huangmen brought clean water to wash a few benches, and the little eunuch who called the roll ordered a few more children to come forward.

The smell of blood in the room gradually became thicker, and the stench made people nauseated, but the stomach was empty, and they couldn't vomit anything, just howling.

After an hour and a half, there were fewer and fewer people left, and finally there were only six people in Wei Qi's room.

At this moment, Wei Qi's heart was ashamed, and he hung his head as if he had accepted his fate.

He remembered that he was a son of a famous family born with a golden key in his mouth, he hugged each other before going out, stretched out his hands to eat and opened his mouth when he was out of clothes, and a few months ago he was discussing with his master in the school about the eunuchs of the previous dynasty who harmed the court.

At that time, how he looked down on these eunuchs, with disgust on his face, as if he would dirty his mouth by mentioning it.Now he has to become this despised thing.

It is not until now that I am in it that I understand what it means to be involuntary.But they are all royal servants, a bunch of poor people.

He was taught by his parents since he was a child, to be in awe and loyal to his superiors.It has never been questioned whether the person sitting on the supreme dragon chair is a Mingjun.

I have never doubted whether the royal family is really so sacred like a god.

In this vast Forbidden Palace, more than [-] eunuchs were trapped, and tens of thousands of young girls were trapped.But just to support that one person, it can be said that it is the power of the world.

Severe pain came from below, and Wei Qi let out a roar and fell into the darkness.

When I woke up again, it was the morning of the second day.Wei Qi and the other six were all changed into black linen jackets, and there was a set of blue-gray eunuch palace clothes and a pair of blue short boots beside the pillow.

In the palace, only the chief eunuchs in front of the imperial court or high-ranking father-in-laws can wear boots.This set is the costume of the little eunuch.

Wei Qi woke up leisurely, with severe pain coming from his lower body, and now he couldn't feel that something was missing.He tried to touch it with trembling hands, but finally let it go.

Getting rid of the potential does not mean that you have been liberated.The key is to put it in the next few days, if there is a slight mistake, you will lose your life.

In order to prevent Chu Gong from infecting the wound, the eunuchs who have gone to Wanshi are not allowed to eat now, and it will take a day before they can eat some liquid food.

Wei Qi now has a cornbone stuck under his body. The cornbone has been peeled soft and smooth beforehand, and there is some water in it.

Insert it into the urethra, and come out of the cornbone if you can't help but want to come out.

If it wasn't the case, I don't know how much pain the newly scalded wound would have been stimulated by urine.

Another day passed in such a daze, and early the next morning, a young eunuch brought a bowl of gruel to him.Wei Qi and the others hadn't eaten rice for two days.

At this moment, they finally smelled the fragrance of rice. Although their bodies were still hurting, they got up and gulped down the porridge in one go.

The little eunuch placed two broken boxes in the cave, and told Wei Qi and the others not to get out of bed and walk around, but to send out the boxes if necessary.

Everyone responded with little strength, and then lay down to rest again.

At this moment, no one feels sorry for what he lacks, cries and regrets, and only thinks that it is serious to survive in such a vicious hell.

However, that night, Wang Anping, the youngest, started to have a fever.He was young, so he was naturally not as strong as the older ones. In addition, he cried all night yesterday, sweating and exhausted from crying.

It was freezing cold, and no one came to change clothes. After a while, the sweat was cold, so I had to stick it to my body coolly, so I couldn't get a fever.

Wu Jiacai heard Wang Anping raving next to him, and saw that his face was flushed and he was in a bad mood.Just touching his forehead with his hand, he knew that he had a high fever. .

He woke up the other children in the room and told everyone that Wang Anping had a high fever, and everyone began to use their strength to call the eunuch outside the room together.