Eunuch's professionalism

During the Qianping period, there was a severe drought in Gaozhou in the northwest. There was no rain in May, and hunger and famine were recommended.

The scorching sun was directly above the head, and the heat wave was rolling in. Looking around, the large piece of scorched gray-black land was cracked into lumps, and the soil on the surface was rolled up.

Fu Chen walked for several hours, the blisters under his feet forced him to slow down.Not far away, a farmer curled up on the ground with his back on his back, his bony body seemed to be broken, his reddish-brown skin was like old bark, and his pair of thin claws that seemed to have dried up were digging the ground, trying to find some trees. The root fills hunger, and the blood and soil are mixed together, which is a bit shocking.

This kind of situation is not uncommon, Fu Chen has no more sympathy, his situation is not much better than that of a farmer, compared to hunger, the lack of water is the main cause of his loss of vitality.

Somehow tripped his legs, and he fell to the ground crookedly, and he didn't get up again because he was exhausted.

He was gasping for air like a dried up fish. Desperation and exhaustion wore down his persistence and endurance little by little. It would be great if there could be rain at this time.

Tick, tick.

The touch of the liquid dripping on the face is very real. Could it be that prayers have worked?

He was filled with the most sincere gratitude. If the lacrimal glands hadn't been dead and unable to secrete water, he would have burst into tears!

At this time, nothing makes him more ecstatic than rain, which is the best gift from God!He tore open his eyelids with difficulty, but what he got was a rake. The person holding the rake was the old man who was digging the ground just now. He didn't realize that he was already awake. The old man seemed to be looking for a position to kill him with one blow. .

And the rain he thought was the blood from the old man's skinny claw wound.

Veins appeared on the old man's forehead, shaking violently, and his Adam's apple protruded and rolled, especially on his shriveled neck, indicating that he was waiting for the food that was about to arrive.

In the blink of an eye, Fu Chen thought, cannibalism!He is the food in the eyes of the old man!

The shadow of death brought about by hunger makes the last bit of humanity crumbling.

He quickly kicked the rake away, squeezed out the last strength in his body under the threat of his life, rolled to the side to avoid the fatal blow, stood up and ran wildly without even turning his head.

His eyelids were throbbing all the way, his heart felt like it was about to explode, and his throat was burning and hurting, but he didn't dare to stop.

It can be considered that he was lucky, he came across a pile of wormwood on the road, and his experience in his previous life told him that this plant has high medicinal value, mainly treating malaria, heat stroke, etc., and the most important thing is that it is edible, and he ate it regardless of his image After several handfuls, I finally relieved my thirst. I took off all the rest and put them in my pockets, ready to give them to my brothers and sisters at home.

When he went back, he saw a bullock cart that he had never seen before leaving on the yellow land outside his house. The bullock cart was a rare thing in the barren Gaozhou, and his elder sister was sitting in the cart. Malnutrition made her look eleven or twelve years old. She was so thin that a gust of wind could blow her down. Her sunken eye sockets made her big and lifeless eyes. Open your voice, like a speaker with air leakage: "Go back, Xiaochen, stop chasing... We... We have something to eat!"

The blood on Fu Chen's face mixed with the mud flowed down, his upper and lower teeth were chattering, and he opened his eyes to see the eldest sister walking further and further away.

This was the last thing the eldest sister said to him. The eldest sister was sold to a lame man who lost his wife in Zhaoxi Village, Fu County, Yuzhou. Yuzhou was rich and not affected by the drought. There are still many bad habits, how could it be a good home?The depression in his chest lingered for a long time, he hated himself for being helpless, his eyes became sour when he saw the bag of millet in the corner of the earthen house, the grain had cost his sister's life.

A few months passed, the food that the eldest sister exchanged was still almost eaten, and Fu Chen got up before dawn, ready to go out to find something to eat.

But he could vaguely hear his mother's sobs and intermittent conversations outside the door.

"Second brother agrees..."

"...tomorrow he will be sent to the palace..."

"No matter how poor you are...you can't sell your child!"

The mother was so sad that she seemed to be suffocating, and the sound of exhaling and inhaling could no longer be controlled, and beside her was the long sigh of the father.

"I'll go instead of Second Brother." Hearing what he said, Fu Chen walked in front of his parents without any hesitation, facing his mother who was out of breath from crying, he slowly knelt down on the ground.

"Youngest, what are you talking about!! You are still young, you don't understand... You will not even be a man in the future..." After crying, mother Zhao looked at Fu Chen who was only eight years old in disbelief.

"Mother, I'm smarter than the second brother, and the second brother is too old, they don't need it!"

"Silly boy, the palace is a place to eat people. When I went to the town a few years ago, I heard that the old Zhang's family sold their third son in. After a few years, they rolled up a mat and threw them in a mass grave outside the city. I couldn't even find the bones. Until..." My father's eyes were also red, and he covered his eyes with withered hands, unable to continue. If a family is willing to sell their children if they have the ability, they will starve to death by themselves, but they can't kill several children together.

Mrs. Zhao, who was reluctant to send her child to be a eunuch in the palace, burst into tears when she heard this, and hugged Fu Chen into the child out of breath, "No, you and the second child are not going, let's go again Don't sell the child anymore! Let's get your eldest sister back and stop marrying! Our family will be together all the time!"

In ancient times, it was very taboo to say the word "death", but the meaning of Zhao's words was obvious, but she wanted to keep these children at the risk of her life.

The hot tears fell on Fu Chen's face, and even his heart seemed to be scalded. Fu Chen reached out and hugged his thin mother, stroking the lines on his back. She never thought of harming the child, but the mother yelled without any psychological barriers.

When Fu Chen came to this era a few years ago, he carefully played the role of this young child. In this age of belief in ghosts and gods, any outrageous behavior may be burned to death. He did not do anything beyond this age and era. gradually into it.He once saw a woman from Lao Hua's family at the entrance of the village muttering a few words, and she was considered to be possessed by a devil. According to local customs, she had to disembowel her belly to purify her soul.

For a long time, he has been out of tune with this era and this family, and has been living as a bystander, but unknowingly, he has regarded this family as a real family, and this heavy family affection has been poured into his heart. Sometimes, even hard-hearted people will be touched.

"I'll go! Father, mother, believe me, I'm just the right age, and I'll get a good price." He knew that most dynasties had age restrictions for selecting eunuchs, and the Jin Dynasty, which did not exist in his memory, was the same. It is best for children to be at an age when their gender is still vague, and it is better to be ignorant.Moreover, the palace also has simple requirements for children selected into the palace, such as appearance and speech. Compared with the dull second brother, he believes that his price will be higher, but he never expected that he would also calculate how much he can sell. money day.

Most importantly, he might be able to avoid Na Lao Shizi's knife.

"Take this silver to redeem the eldest sister, and we all have to live."

Only by living can there be hope.

……

…………

"Chenzi, Chenzi, wake up!"

The body was pushed and shoved. When Fu Chen woke up from the bunk, he was in a cold sweat. The person who pushed him was Chen Goudan, but because the eunuch in charge thought the name was not good, he changed his name to Chen Zuoren, who was in charge of inspecting the candles. Being younger, his personality is a bit out of character, which complements Fu Chen's temperament, and the relationship between the two is quite good.

"What's wrong?" Fu Chen's voice was still hoarse, obviously not awake.

Outside the prison yard, there was a sound of "Boom—Boom, Boom, Boom," which meant that it was one o'clock in the morning.

The outer shirt was sticky and uncomfortable, and it was impossible to take a bath. As a gradeless little eunuch who sweeps the floor, the share of bathing that can be allocated is pitifully small.

"I just came back from inspection, and I saw that you were not sleeping well, and you kept mumbling something, did you get caught by a nightmare?" Chen Zuoren didn't say that when he just came in, he saw Fu Chen trembling all over, his face was pale, and he looked innocent. people.

"I don't really remember..." Fu Chen hadn't had a dream before entering the palace for a long time. Three years later, those vivid faces were still clearly recognizable.He glanced at the little eunuchs who were sleeping on the left and right sides of the bunk, but they were not awakened by their movements, and the continuous snoring was particularly loud in this small room.

"As long as you're fine, what happened just now was really scary." Chen Zuoren patted his chest in fear.

"It's also thanks to you calling me, otherwise I wouldn't have been caught." Fu Chen also responded kindly.

"Who are you and who, why are you being polite!" Chen Zuoren was about to undress and go to bed when he heard some movement outside.

The two looked at each other and had a quick exchange. In the court, most of them are caring, and those who are not caring probably don't live long.

Not long after, hurried footsteps came from outside the door, which was not difficult to hear in the dead of night, and before Fu Chen got dressed and got off the bunk, there was a slight knock on the door.

Fu Chen stopped Chen Zuoren, and took a few seconds to analyze the situation. Judging from the frequency of footsteps just now, it was an urgent matter, but he didn't want to make a big move. It should be that they need manpower.

Fu Chen and the others opened the door, and they saw Li Xiangying standing outside, the eunuch in charge of the third rank of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, followed by several young eunuchs from the Li faction, this Li Xiangying is a shrewd master, he is ruthless He is famous for being hot, and the little eunuchs and little maids who were killed by him can be counted as a dozen and thrown out every few months. It must not be a bright thing to come here so low-key at the moment.

Fu Chen raised a careless smile, which complemented his age and brought out the effect that one plus one is greater than two.Although he is small and thin, he smiles a little bit when he meets everyone, and his eyes are black and clear, making it difficult for people to hate him.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Master Li, what's the matter?"

Li Xiangying had a little impression of this handsome little eunuch, he was honest and hardworking, she bent slightly, "Find some tight-spoken ones, come out quickly, don't disturb too many people."