Pet official

In fact, it is not considered a sale. According to Xiao Er's parents, they found a way for Xiao Er to survive, so that he no longer has to suffer with them.

Entering the palace to be a eunuch, Xiaoer didn't know what to do, the implication, how much pain and humiliation he had to endure, all he couldn't understand and understand now.

Xiao Er only knows now that he doesn't want to leave home, he doesn't want to enter the palace.

For a long time, Xiaoer just stared at his father's mouth blankly with wide eyes.Xiao Er couldn't speak, his mind was in a mess, like a mess, the blow of being abandoned by his relatives made Xiao Er unable to recover, his father's voice gradually drifted away, he couldn't hear a word, he could only hear from his father. With the snot and tears on the face, I felt a little sad and flustered.

"I, I don't want to go...I won't go."

As soon as Xiaoer's words came out, Mrs. Xu couldn't sit still.She leaned on the kang table to prop up her upper body, and slapped her over, making Xiao Er stagger.

"It's up to you whether you want to go or not! You don't know good and bad things! What's wrong with entering the palace? Ruan, the scarlet in our village, used to be poor. His life was not as good as ours, but since his eldest son entered the palace, It's only been a decade or so, tile-roofed houses have been built, and maids have taken over. The life in those days has changed drastically. Why don't you go? Staying at home is just a free time, so it's better to be like his son. As soon as you enter the palace, you will have one or two taels of monthly money and three buckets of rice every month, which are just used to supplement the family. You can earn so much silver in a few lifetimes if you are idle at home!"

Xiao Er covered her red and swollen cheeks, and bit her lip firmly.He wants to say that he is not idle, he is working hard every day, and the work at home is not easy. There are five people in a big family, just washing and rinsing can break people's waists, and this is not counting his cooking , sewing, digging wild vegetables in the mountains, and taking care of his younger brother. The combination of internal and external work keeps Xiaoer idle for a moment. He has worked for more than four years and has never complained.

Xiaoer raised her head and begged her parents, "Mother, I won't go, I can eat less, don't let me enter the palace..."

This was the first time Xiao Er spoke out loud.

Parents don't like him, and Xiaoer lives in this impoverished family very hard. He has seen too many cold faces of his parents.He seldom speaks, because he knows that no one cares about his feelings. In the eyes of his parents, the elder brother who can do farm work and the younger brother who is lively and lovable are their sons, while the thin and silent Xiaoer is just a cute Nothing but dispensable things.

Just like now, when encountering a time of famine, Xiao Er, a dispensable thing, becomes the first victim in the family to be abandoned.

Xiaoer doesn't want to be abandoned, no matter how poor and miserable this family is, it is his only home.

"Mom, I beg you..."

Xiao Er grabbed his mother's arm and begged bitterly. Before he finished speaking, he was slapped on the face again.

After being slapped three times, Xiao Er finally understood that his parents just didn't want to support him anymore.

Early the next morning, Mrs. Xu packed her bags, borrowed a catty of noodles from the village, and brought back a few thick noodle cakes and a dozen or so copper coins for her husband. Send the father and son out of the gate.

Xiao Er had just washed the dishes, his hands were still wet, Ruan Xing told him to go out, Xiao Er stood numbly at the door, froze for a while, then rubbed his hands on the lapel of his clothes, followed silently.

Xu also followed silently, holding her five-year-old brother by her hand.

The younger brother grew up with Xiao Er, and he was very attached to him, knowing that Xiao Er was going out, he had a night of trouble last night, and wanted to go with him.

"Brother, come back early."

Xiao Er wanted to laugh, and pulled the corners of his mouth reluctantly, but only showed a strange look of crying or not.He bent down, put his arms around his younger brother, nodded, and responded softly, "Yeah."

Xiaoer has no idea what his future destiny will be like. Imperial palace, eunuch, these terms are all distant and unfamiliar to him. The mother is also not sure.

Looking at the disheveled younger brother, Xiaoer took out the piece of sweet potato that Mrs. Xu gave him yesterday from his arms, and stuffed it into his younger brother's hand, "Brother Ming, keep it for eating, brother doesn't have to go hungry anymore."

The sweet potato was wrapped in a piece of white cloth, three layers inside and three layers outside, it was very precious.The younger brother took it, peeled off the white cloth, and hurriedly stuffed the sweet potato into his mouth.

Xu looked at her two sons and then saw the piece of sweet potato, and her heart ached.She hugged Xiao Er and couldn't stop crying, "Don't blame my mother for being cruel, if there is a way out for the family, my mother will not think of such a way. You enter the palace, listen to the master's words, If you want to be able to make a good appearance in the future, don't worry about your parents, just remember to help your brother."

Xiao Er was still listening blankly, without nodding or shaking his head. He heard his mother crying and mourning, and his heart was sore, his throat was blocked, and he wanted to cry, but he couldn't shed tears no matter what.

Following his father on the main road, Xiaoer looked back at the village for the last time. It was just beginning of spring and the trees hadn't turned green yet. Everything was dusty and lifeless.The small village is hidden among the mountains, and if you are far away, you can only see a gray shadow.

Xiao Er couldn't tell which one was the thatched cottage he lived in. After looking at it for a while, he was dragged away by his father, and those gray shadows became his only impression of his hometown.

The village where Xiaoer lives is not far from the capital city, only a hundred miles away, the father and son walked quickly, and they arrived in the capital within two or three days.

The tall city gate stands in front of him, Ruan Xing feels terrified in his heart.He held Xiaoer's hand tightly, walked cautiously, and entered the city gate all the way.

There is a bustling scene in central Beijing, there are many shops along the street, and the noise of hawking can be heard endlessly. Xiaoer's eyes are dazzled by looking at it, and many things he has never seen before pop out all of a sudden, and everything he sees is new.

It was the first time for Ruan Xing to enter the capital, and he became confused when he entered the city gate. He looked east and west, and when he could clearly distinguish the north from the south, he immediately dragged Xiao Er into an alley, looking for someone to ask for directions.

Ruan Xing asked for a long time before he found Gulou West Street. He was not familiar with the place where he lived. From a distance, he could see a row of green brick and tile houses. Two stone lions guard the gate.

Ruan Xing looked around, asked someone again, and after confirming that it was correct, he dared to call the door.

The door knocker rang three times, and someone inside responded, "Who is it?"

"Yes, is it at Master Ruan's house?" Ruan Xing's voice trembled. He couldn't believe that such a good house was actually lived in by relatives from the same township and family who used to plan food on the same land. .

Surprisingly, Ruan Xing also felt a little active in his heart, and even had a little more ambition and excitement.Originally sending Xiaoer into the palace was to save a ration for the family, and without a mouth to eat, and with a little pension money for sending the child as a eunuch, the family's life would be able to live on.But now when he saw Ruan Baosheng's house in Beijing, Ruan Xing's thoughts changed. If his family's mistress can get along to this level, then their family will turn around completely.

Obediently, this house cannot be bought without hundreds of taels of silver.

Ruan Xing sighed here, and there was a sound of opening the door. With a sound of "squeak", the door was half opened, revealing a person inside.

The person who came was an old domestic servant, about forty years old, wearing a blue cloth trousers and jacket that was old and not old, looking clean and neat.

"Are you also here for the purpose of entering the palace?" The servant was talking to Ruan Xing, but his eyes were fixed on Xiao Er. After hearing Ruan Xing's answer "yes", he shook his head and muttered "doing evil", Lead Xiaoer and his son in.

The servant went in to report, and after a while Ruan Baosheng greeted him, "Fifth Uncle, I calculated that you should be here, I wanted to pick you up, but unexpectedly there are many things going on these days, so I forgot about it. Please come in."

Ruan Xing hurriedly laughed: "You are busy with affairs, no wonder you. We are close relatives, and we have not made five clothes. We are all members of the same family, so there is no need to talk about those empty tricks."

He pulled Xiaoer who was standing beside him again, "Give your brother a quick salute."

Xiao Er doesn't like this person.Ruan Baosheng smiled at everyone, but the smile was fake and made people uncomfortable, Xiao Er frowned, and still bowed to Ruan Baosheng.

Ruan Baosheng saw it, but still had a smile on his face. He led the younger father and son into the house, ordered the maid to bring tea and fruits, asked about the recent situation of the family, and wentssip for a while before turning to the main topic superior.

"A few days ago, my family sent me a letter, saying that Uncle Wu wanted to send Xiaoer into the palace and asked me to be a guarantor. I refuted it at that time, and wrote back to scold my father. Our Ruanjiazhuang sent me One eunuch is enough, and now I need to add another one, you don’t think it’s shabby, but I’m ashamed of it!”

When Ruan Xing heard that the words were wrong, and that this was different from the original agreement, he couldn't help feeling a little anxious, jumped up from the bench, and said anxiously: "Baosheng, that's not what you said..."

Ruan Baosheng was eloquent, and before Ruan Xing finished speaking, he stopped him, "The palace is so messy! Fifth Uncle, don't think my life is easy now. You only see thieves eating meat, but you don't see thieves. I was beaten. I won’t mention the pain I suffered during the cleansing. Who made my family poor? There is nothing I can do. Once I entered the palace, my life would be even more difficult. I lost it, and I don’t know how to die.”

Speaking of this, Ruan Baosheng suddenly lowered his voice, there was no one else in the room except Xiaoer and his son, but he still looked around for a while before coming up to Ruan Xing and whispering: "No, the prince was there a few days ago The East Palace was poisoned and assassinated, and there was another bloodbath in the palace. The queen was furious and ordered people to arrest the real culprit. All the maids in the palace who had anything to do with this incident were arrested and tortured. , I don’t know how many people have died, and the number of those who died unjustly can’t be counted. This is our life as a slave. If the master is happy, you will be rewarded with thousands of graces. If the master is not happy, your head is not your own. Five Uncle, I said so much just to make you think again, entering the palace is easy, but I can't guarantee whether you can come out alive after entering the palace."

Ruan Xing felt chills all over his body, and the back of his neck felt cold. He hesitated for a while, held his head in thought, and finally gritted his teeth, and said, "Come in!"

What if I don't enter?I have come all the way, but I haven't got a penny, can I still take the child back?Besides, even if you take it back, how will you live your life? What can you do if you don’t have the next meal, and the family has no food to cook.

Ruan Baosheng nodded. He also came from Ruanjiazhuang. He knew that the land in their place was barren and there were no commercial crops. God opened his eyes. When the weather is good, life can barely pass, but once there is a drought and locust plague, there is no choice but to sell it. There is a way out for sons and daughters.

"Success. You can do it if you think about it. Come with me, sign the paperwork, and leave the child behind."