One Coin

Consort Wan left, and only then did Ning Chen raise his head. His eyes narrowed slightly. She was the most terrifying person he had encountered since entering the palace—not merely because of her status, but because of that scheming mind that hid joy and anger without showing a trace. That woman was no ordinary person.

Danger lurked everywhere in the palace. One careless step could sweep him into an unknown whirlpool. Ning Chen felt that the road ahead was pitch-black. Unfortunately, the imperial palace was under strict lockdown now; even if he wanted to run, it was impossible.

"I wonder how that woman is doing. Has she obediently stayed put and not run around?"

Bored out of his mind, Ning Chen continued limping along the wall, baring his teeth with every step. Along the way, he ran into one or two youths who were just as bored as he was, grinned, and warmly greeted them.

Facts proved that the palace's wound medicine was no ordinary stuff. It worked far better than the medicated plasters of his former life.

Ning Chen was still somewhat worried. That woman seemed to be injured, and she could not show her face. Even if she kept hiding in the Eunuch's Quarters, she might still be discovered.

The Eunuch's Quarters lay in the most remote part of the palace. Guards rarely passed by, but that did not mean people could come and go as they pleased. The imperial palace had always been lax within and tight without. Places that looked deserted would reveal countless Imperial Guards the moment one tried to leave. Ning Chen firmly believed that if anyone dared sneak out at this time, the Imperial Guards outside would chop them to pieces and feed them to the dogs.

Ning Chen did not dare return to the Eunuch's Quarters to look for her. These days were a sensitive time. That foolish woman had entered the palace to assassinate the Great Xia Emperor and poked a hole in the heavens. Even the slightest suspicion would bring disaster down on his head.

As the saying went, happiness was being able to scratch an itch when it itched; unhappiness was having an itch but being unable to reach it. Ning Chen felt exceptionally unhappy right now. His heart was itching terribly, and he desperately wanted to take a look in the Eunuch's Quarters, yet he simply had no way to go.

"Heads, I'll go take a look. Tails, I'll go take a look. If it lands standing up, I'll go back and sleep."

Ning Chen fished out a copper coin and muttered to himself. With a flick of his hand, the coin flew high into the air, tracing a beautiful parabola before landing with a clang and rolling straight ahead.

Seeing the coin about to get away, Ning Chen panicked. This was his only possession.

If someone had asked Ning Chen at that moment whether money or life was more important, he believed he would have answered without hesitation: money.

Sure enough, in his panic, Ning Chen no longer cared about the injury between his legs. He chased after the copper coin, limping and baring his teeth with every step.

As the saying went, blessings never came in pairs, while misfortunes never came alone. Another saying went, when luck turned rotten, even drinking cold water could get your teeth stuck. Yet another said, if you did not court death, you would not die.

Ning Chen was exactly the sort who got his teeth stuck and courted death. He cared only about his money and did not even watch where he was going. He crashed headfirst into a warm, fragrant embrace, and only then did he inwardly cry out that things were bad.

He hurriedly looked up and saw a beautiful mature woman dressed in noble, resplendent phoenix robes. She appeared to be around thirty. A smile rested in her gentle eyes, making Ning Chen's heart race in panic.

"Whose servant are you? You are bold beyond measure! You startled the Empress Dowager's Phoenix Body. Even ten heads would not be enough for the chop!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Startled, Ning Chen hurriedly retreated two steps and apologized repeatedly. But the moment the words left his mouth, he wanted nothing more than to slap himself. He had said the wrong thing again.

Apologizing to the Empress Dowager? He was truly stupid beyond saving. It was all that foolish woman's fault. After spending too long around an idiot, his own brain had stopped working properly.

"Impudence!" The elderly eunuch steward beside the Empress's face darkened. This boy knew no rules at all.

"Why are you in such a panic? What has happened?"

Zhangsun Wuyou raised a hand, stopping the old eunuch from pressing the matter. Smiling at the bright-eyed, sturdy-looking youth before her, she asked softly.

Hearing Changsun question him, Ning Chen instinctively looked at the copper coin on the ground, which had stopped rolling. Regret filled him so thoroughly that he wanted to smash his head against the coin.

Did the ancients' saying about wanting money rather than life originate because of him?

Following Ning Chen's gaze, Zhangsun Wuyou looked at the copper coin on the ground, then bent down and picked it up.

Ning Chen watched helplessly as Zhangsun picked up the coin. He wanted to ask for it back, yet did not dare. Caught in his struggle, he even forgot that he had collided with the Empress.

In truth, Ning Chen could not be blamed for this. It was nearly impossible to make a modern person truly fear so-called imperial authority. Though Ning Chen constantly reminded himself to mind his status, the moment he let his guard down, the reverence he had deliberately put on would be tossed aside again.

Changsun carefully examined the copper coin in her hand and found nothing special about it. When she saw the conflicted expression on the young man's face—wanting it but not daring to ask for it—she could not help finding it amusing. It had been many years since she had encountered such an interesting little fellow.

"Be careful. The palace is not like outside. Remember to follow the rules." Zhangsun Wuyou offered him a kindly reminder, then took light lotus steps and continued onward.

"My copper coin..."

Ning Chen watched helplessly as the coin went farther and farther away again. His raised hand fell weakly. The dignified Empress of Great Xia had actually swindled a little eunuch out of his money. Truly, an official rank countless levels higher could crush a person to death.

"Empress, he is still staring after you," a lovely palace maid beside Changsun softly reminded her.

"He is probably still thinking about his One Coin. What an interesting little fellow. Since I took one coin from him, I will help him once. Send word to the Inner Palace Office and transfer him to duty at Weiyang Palace."

Ning Chen still did not know that with a single sentence, Changsun had decided his future. Of course, had he learned of it a little sooner, he would certainly have refused even unto death. He would have cried, made a scene, and threatened to hang himself until Changsun withdrew her favor. He was someone planning to run away. Once he went to Weiyang Palace, running away would probably be nothing but a dream for the rest of his life.

With his copper coin gone, Ning Chen's mood became terrible. His face stretched long, wearing an expression that said, I'm in a foul mood. Strangers, keep away. Thinking back carefully, the coin had actually landed standing upright before rolling such a long distance.

Foolish woman, you have doomed me.

After being frightened again and again, Ning Chen thoroughly confirmed that there were too many monsters in the palace. It was not a place where humans ought to live. Running away was the only way out.

The Xia Emperor's assassination attempt was a matter that shocked the world. The imperial palace was the eye of the storm. In merely two encounters, Ning Chen had glimpsed the shape of the world: an Imperial Consort in the prime of her life, and an Empress who served as mother to the realm. The two most noble women in the world had emerged from the inner palace; they surely were not merely putting on a show.

Though Ning Chen's face remained calm, waves crashed through his heart. The imperial palace was now the most dangerous place—not only for that woman, but for him as well.

The Imperial Consort and the Empress: one was dazzlingly sharp, the other restrained and gentle. After their brief encounters, Ning Chen had already formed a rough impression. Their equally beautiful faces concealed completely different styles, but without question, neither was a simple woman.

Though merely a consort, the Imperial Consort had not been suppressed by the Empress's status, showing just how razor-sharp her edge was. Yet the one Ning Chen could not see through was the Empress. Standing above such an overwhelmingly powerful Imperial Consort and still remaining unshaken for so long, she was truly extraordinary.

The Imperial Consort's sharpness came from within, and the Empress's gentleness was not an act either. Their pointed clash could actually maintain a temporary balance. The tangled currents beneath it were no longer something Ning Chen could fathom.

Thinking carefully, Ning Chen realized that since arriving in this unfamiliar world, the people he could speak to were either women or neither man nor woman. Moreover, not a single one of them was easy to deal with. One careless move, and he would set himself on fire.

He could not go to the Eunuch's Quarters. Otherwise, there was no telling whom he might run into again. Before he found a chance to flee, he had better behave himself.

Ning Chen limped back to the "dormitory." Looking at the group of rosy-lipped, white-toothed "youths" in full bloom, his mood worsened. He pulled the covers over his head and fell fast asleep.

Perhaps he had lost too much blood from the slash that woman had given him, and had not recovered from it the night before. Ning Chen slept straight through until nightfall, and then—dawn.

Early the next morning, the doors opened wide. People from every palace came to collect recruits. After nearly two days of recuperation, most of the youths could barely get out of bed and take a few steps. Those who recovered quickly no longer needed support. Once they followed the guides from each palace away, they officially began their lifelong careers as eunuchs.

Ning Chen was also led away. His guide was a pretty palace maid with a graceful figure. Walking in front of him with swaying lotus steps, she was alluring beyond measure.

Unfortunately, Ning Chen's troublesome mouth always opened at the worst possible time.

"Big sister, walk slower."

The palace maid was named Qing Ling. Upon hearing Ning Chen's form of address, black lines immediately crossed her lovely face. She wanted nothing more than to kick this brat to death.

"Big sister, where are we going?"

"Big sister, my injury hasn't healed. Slow down."

"Big sister, how much farther is it?"

"Big sister..."

All along the way, Ning Chen's chattering voice echoed endlessly by Qing Ling's ears. Her hands clenched, loosened, clenched again, then loosened again. Just as she could no longer endure it and was about to explode, they arrived at Weiyang Palace.

This was Changsun's domain. Though Ning Chen was ignorant and poorly informed, even he knew this fact that everyone knew. His heart leaped into his throat at once. Could it be that she was taking revenge in the name of public duty because he had bumped into her yesterday?

Ning Chen felt deeply indignant. She was an adult—why was she bickering with a child like him?

"What? You are dissatisfied?"

Just then, a familiar voice sounded beside Ning Chen's ear.

"How could I be?"

Ning Chen's expression changed in an instant. His resentful face immediately bloomed brighter than a flower, and he answered respectfully, with a hint of guilt.

"It is good that you are satisfied. From now on, you will serve at Weiyang Palace. There are fewer rules here, so it should suit you best."

Zhangsun Wuyou did not fuss over Ning Chen's chaotic etiquette. A gentle smile remained on her beautiful, mild face throughout, making her seem very approachable.

"Qing Ling has followed me since childhood and knows all matters, great and small, at Weiyang Palace. If there is anything you do not understand, simply ask Qing Ling. Very well, I still have matters to attend to, so I will leave first."

When her words fell, Zhangsun departed with two palace maids, leaving only Qing Ling and Ning Chen standing there, staring wide-eyed at one another.

The moment Zhangsun left, Ning Chen felt terrible all over, while Qing Ling felt wonderful all over. After enduring for so long, she could finally repay his earlier "kindness" openly and properly.

"Killing intent."

Ning Chen read those two words in Qing Ling's eyes—naked and undisguised.

"Leave a line in all things, so we can meet again in the future." Ning Chen immediately took a step back and surrendered.

"Your attitude is not bad. Unfortunately, it is too late."

Qing Ling reached out with her slender hand. Her lotus steps flashed, and she grabbed at the "enemy" before her. She was so fast that Ning Chen did not even have a chance to run...