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Chapter 2558 Ruthless Person

Ever since Qi Shu entered the palace under the alias Su Wanqing, Gongsun Jin has never had a good night's sleep.

Now he hides in a post station outside the city, tossing and turning every night, unable to sleep, his mind filled with Qi Shu's image.

Thinking that Qi Shu was all alone in the palace, without any help or anyone to take care of her, and that if something happened to her, there would be no one to inform her.

Although Qi Shu was clever, she was, after all, a weak woman with no strength to even kill a chicken. How could she possibly assassinate the emperor with just a bottle of poison?

Moreover, Qi Shu is using a fake identity. What if someone finds out?

Gongsun Jin thought about it more and more and felt that it was unreliable, and that Qi Shu was sending herself to her death.

Gongsun Jin wanted to find Qi Shu and go to the palace to help her.

But the palace isn't a marketplace; not just anyone can walk in.

First of all, Gongsun Jin was a normal man, and he couldn't infiltrate the selection process for imperial concubines like a woman.

I thought about it for a long time and tried many methods, but none of them worked.

Finally, Gongsun Jin came up with a solution.

This method was so crazy that even he himself found it unbelievable.

But he had no other choice.

Every day Qi Shu stayed in the palace meant another day of danger, so he couldn't wait any longer.

……

That day, Gongsun Jin went to see a wandering doctor.

This doctor does shady business; he'll do anything for money.

Gongsun Jin threw a bag of silver on the table. The doctor glanced at it, then looked at Gongsun Jin's face, and asked, "Have you thought it through?"

Gongsun Jin nodded.

The doctor sighed, turned around and took out a sharp knife from the cabinet, along with some medicinal powder and strips of cloth.

First, he heated the knife over a fire, then looked at Gongsun Jin and asked again, "Is it still not too late to back out now?"

Gongsun Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do it."

The doctor didn't say anything more, but made him lie down and covered his eyes.

Gongsun Jin felt the pain of the knife cutting through his flesh, which made him tremble all over, but he still gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

In my mind, Qi Shu's face came to mind again, as did her back as she left without looking back that day, and as she said, "I owe you in this life, and I'll repay you in the next."

Gongsun Jin's tears flowed from under the blindfold, and at this moment it was impossible to tell whether they were from pain or sadness.

……

After the castration surgery, Gongsun Jin lay in bed for seven days.

For seven days, he had a high fever, talked incoherently, and almost died several times.

The doctor diligently stayed by Gongsun Jin's bedside, administering medicine and changing his bandages, managing to snatch his life back from the jaws of death.

On the eighth day, Gongsun Jin was able to get out of bed.

His legs were still shaking when he stood up, but he still managed to stand up.

I looked in the mirror, and the person in the mirror was pale, with no color in their lips and sunken eyes, looking exactly like a ghost.

But he laughed, and tears streamed down his face.

……

After recovering, Gongsun Jin, using the alias Sun Gongjin, pulled many strings and spent a lot of money to get himself into the list of newly recruited eunuchs.

No one knew who Gongsun Jin was, no one knew what he did before. Everyone thought he was a desperate scholar who had become a eunuch to save his life.

Gongsun Jin was assigned to work in the Imperial Garden, where he was responsible for pruning the flowers and plants.

He works with his head down every day, never saying a word to anyone, quiet and still, like a plant that can't speak.

His eyes, however, were constantly scanning the layout of the palace, the changing of the guards, and the easiest places to hide.

He silently memorized everything, preparing for the future.

More importantly, Gongsun Jin wanted to see Qi Shu, even if it was just a glimpse from afar.

But he didn't have that opportunity.

Because he was just a low-ranking eunuch, he couldn't even enter the palace gates, let alone see the emperor's concubines.

They could only work in the Imperial Garden, waiting for an opportunity that might never come.

……

That day, Su Ning was reviewing memorials in the imperial study.

When the secret report was presented by the Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies, Su Ning didn't pay much attention to it at first.

After reading the secret report, he was completely stunned.

I thought I had misread it, so I looked at it again. It was true, written clearly in black and white.

Gongsun Jin, the headmaster of Hejian Academy, castrated himself in order to sneak into the palace. He is now a eunuch working in the Imperial Garden.

Su Ning put down the secret report, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the roof beam for a long while.

"A ruthless person," Su Ning muttered to himself.

Actually, Su Ning had seen ruthless people before, but he had never seen anyone like Gongsun Jin.

The reason why Yue Buqun castrated himself in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" was for the sake of the world's most powerful martial arts and for the grudges and affections of Mount Hua.

But this Gongsun Jin castrated himself, all for a woman?

For a woman who is filled with hatred and has no regard for him?

Su Ning shook his head, unsure whether to call him infatuated or foolish.

The term "sycophant" is insufficient to describe Gongsun Jin, since a "sycophant" would never go so far as to castrate himself.

Regardless of the circumstances, Gongsun Jin's feelings for Qi Shu were genuine.

It wasn't for wealth and status, nor for power and position; it was simply to be closer to that woman, even if it meant becoming a eunuch.

Such people are becoming increasingly rare in this world.

Su Ning thought for a moment and then smiled.

They could have immediately had Gongsun Jin arrested and beheaded, thus ending the matter once and for all.

But suddenly I don't want to do it anymore.

Things are getting more and more interesting. He wants to see what tricks these two can pull.

Qi Shu pretended to be docile in the palace, but secretly kept poison under her pillow and was preoccupied with revenge.

Gongsun Jin castrated himself outside the palace to sneak into the palace as a eunuch, all to help Qi Shu.

These two people are both incredibly crazy and obsessed.

Su Ning put the secret report into the drawer and said to the spy, "Keep an eye on Gongsun Jin. Write down who he meets, what he says, and where he goes every day. Don't alert him and let him think he's hiding well."

"Yes, sir!" The spy acknowledged the order and quietly withdrew.

……

The weather was fine that day, and Qi Shu, who had been promoted to Consort Su, was taking a walk in the Imperial Garden with her maids.

Since Qi Shu became pregnant, the imperial physician advised her to move around more, saying that it would be good for the fetus.

So Qi Shu would go for a walk every afternoon, walking along the garden path from east to west and back again.

She had walked this road countless times, and she knew every tree and every flower.

Gongsun Jin was squatting behind the flower bushes pruning the branches when he heard footsteps. He looked up and immediately saw Qi Shu.

He noticed that Qi Shu was thinner than before, with a pointed chin, and her complexion was not good; she was rather pale.

Qi Shu was still so beautiful, standing in the middle of the flowers, like the most beautiful flower in bloom.

Her belly was slightly protruding, and it was already clear that she was pregnant.

Gongsun Jin's hand trembled, and the scissors almost fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, he lowered his head, pretending to be focused on his work, and dared not look again.

However, his heart was pounding, like someone was drumming on his chest.

Gongsun Jin wanted to call out to Qi Shu, to call her, to rush up and hug her.

But he can't.

Because his current status is that of a low-ranking eunuch, while Qi Shu is the emperor's concubine.

The distance between them is farther than the sky.

As Qi Shu walked past Gongsun Jin, she paused. She looked down in surprise at the eunuch crouching behind the flower bushes.

The eunuch was dressed in gray clothes, and his head was down, so his face could not be seen.

But the eunuch's figure, shoulders, and the hand holding the scissors all looked familiar to her.

Qi Shu took another look, and her heart skipped a beat.

Gongsun Jin.

Qi Shu still recognized Gongsun Jin.

Although Gongsun Jin did not look up, and although his face was hidden in the shadows, Qi Shu knew that he was Gongsun Jin.

Qi Shu clenched the handkerchief tightly, her nails digging into her palms involuntarily, causing her to gasp in pain.

At this moment, she wanted to squat down and ask Gongsun Jin why he was here and how he got in.

But she can't.

The palace maids and eunuchs were right behind her, and countless eyes were watching her from the shadows.

Just one more word or one more small action could undo all the previous efforts.

Qi Shu took a deep breath, looked away, and continued walking forward.

Her steps were steady, exactly the same as before, neither hurried nor slow.

But her hands were trembling, and her heart was bleeding.

……

Gongsun Jin crouched behind the flower bushes, listening to Qi Shu's footsteps gradually fade away. He slowly raised his head and watched her figure disappear around the corner of the garden.

Qi Shu's back view was still so beautiful, her back was straight, and she walked like a proud crane.

Gongsun Jin lowered his head and continued working.

His eyes were red, but he didn't cry.

Because he knew that from now on, there was only one path between him and Qi Shu.

He was in the shadows, while Qi Shu was in the light.

He was determined to protect Qi Shu and help her avenge herself.

Regardless of the outcome, Gongsun Jin will not regret it.

……

After returning to her palace, Qi Shu dismissed all the maids, saying that she needed to rest.

After closing the door, I leaned against it, trembling all over, tears streaming down my face.

I recall what Gongsun Jin used to be like.

He was the headmaster of Hejian Academy, always dressed in a long gown and carrying a folding fan. Wherever he went, people would respectfully call him "Master Gongsun".

He was good-looking, knowledgeable, and had a good temper; all the students in the academy liked him.

At that time, Gongsun Jin stood on the podium, full of vigor and his eyes shone.

But the Gongsun Jin that Qi Shu saw today was dressed in gray eunuch clothes, squatting behind the flower bushes like a rat that couldn't be seen in the light.

How could Gongsun Jin become a eunuch? He is Gongsun Jin!

He is the headmaster of Hejian Academy! He is a top strategist of the previous dynasty!

How could he... how could he debase himself like this?

Qi Shu squatted down, hugged her knees, and cried, her whole body trembling.

She knew Gongsun Jin was good to her, but she didn't know it would be to this extent.

He castrated himself, abandoning his dignity as a man, his identity, and everything else, just to enter the palace and be with her.

Qi Shu could never repay this kindness in her lifetime. "Gongsun Jin, are you stupid? Are you stupid?"

Qi Shu cried for a while before slowly standing up, walking to the mirror, and wiping away her tears.

The person in the mirror had red eyes and a red nose, looking quite disheveled.

I took a few deep breaths, patted my face, and tried to look normal.

You absolutely must not let anyone know that you have cried.

She is Su Wanqing, not Qi Shu.

She was a concubine carrying the emperor's child, not a princess from the previous dynasty.

She had to smile, be docile, and be flawless.

……

However, what Qi Shu didn't know was that her "chance encounter" with Gongsun Jin was written into a secret report by a spy that very night and sent to Emperor Minxing, Su Ning's desk.

The secret report clearly stated: At a certain time, Su Wanqing was strolling in the Imperial Garden. When she passed a certain flower bush, she slowed down, glanced down at the eunuch Gongsun Jin who was pruning the flowers, lingered for about three breaths, and then left.

After he left, Gongsun Jin looked up at his back and stared for about five breaths. His eyes reddened, and then he continued working.

After reading the secret report, Su Ning chuckled and threw the paper into the brazier to burn.

The next day, Su Ning issued an imperial decree.

It wasn't directed at Qi Shu, but at Gongsun Jin: "The Imperial Garden eunuch, Sun Gongjin, is diligent in his work. He is hereby transferred to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs for further study."

When the imperial decree reached the Imperial Garden, Gongsun Jin was watering the flowers.

He froze for a moment, almost dropping the kettle in his hand.

The Directorate of Ceremonial was the place eunuchs most wanted to go, as it managed the palace's documents and memorials, and was the place with the best chance of getting close to the center of power.

How could a newcomer who had only been in the palace for a few days be transferred to such a place?

Gongsun Jin dared not ask any more questions, kowtowed to express his gratitude, and followed the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree.

What Gongsun Jin didn't know was that this decree was personally issued by Su Ning.

Su Ning didn't want Gongsun Jin to stay in the Imperial Garden because it was too close to Qi Shu's palace.

Although Gongsun Jin has lost his testicles, it doesn't mean he can't do other things.

If Gongsun Jin were to go mad one day and do something he shouldn't, that wouldn't look good.

Gongsun Jin was transferred to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, far away from Qi Shu, so that he would be out of sight and out of mind.

Besides, places like the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs are full of Suning's spies.

Gongsun Jin's every move there would be clearly seen, and even his sleep talking at night would be heard.

After Gongsun Jin arrived at the Directorate of Ceremonial, he behaved very obediently.

I get up early every day, finish my work and study, and never say a word to anyone.

I never inquire about things I shouldn't inquire about, never look at things I shouldn't look at, and never go to places I shouldn't go.

Gongsun Jin was like a drop of water that merged into the ocean, leaving no room for doubt.

But Gongsun Jin knew that this was just the beginning.

He needs time and patience.

He needs to establish himself here, gain the trust of those above him, and gradually move closer to the center of power.

Only in this way can he help Qi Shu at crucial moments.

What Gongsun Jin didn't know was that no matter what he did, he couldn't escape Su Ning's eyes.

Every word spoken and every action taken at the Directorate of Ceremonial was recorded and delivered to Su Ning's desk that very evening.

Su Ning read these secret reports with great interest, as if he were reading a serialized novel.

Gongsun Jin thought he had hidden it well.

But he didn't know that from the very beginning, he was already standing under Suning's thumb.

Not only can they not get over this mountain, they can't escape it either.

Gongsun Jin thought he was playing a grand game, but in reality, he was just a pawn on Suning's chessboard.

Qi Shu waited in the inner palace, and Gongsun Jin waited in the Directorate of Ceremonial. They were both waiting for an opportunity that would never come.

Meanwhile, Su Ning sat in the imperial study, reading the secret reports, waiting to see what new tricks they would come up with next.

The thought of a ruthless person capable of self-castration, coupled with a madman constantly seeking revenge, is incredibly exciting.

...(End of this chapter)