Chapter Nineteen: Xu Genshuo’s Eunuch Diary (1)
Early the next morning...
After washing up, Xu Boqing was summoned by an old eunuch who knocked at his door and relayed a message: Chief Huang wanted to see him in the study.
He tidied himself up and followed the old eunuch outside. Last night, when he arrived, dusk had already fallen and he hadn’t had the chance to look around. Only now did he realize how magnificent and opulent the Palace of Compassion and Peace truly was.
Jade chambers and gold pavilions; fragrant halls and orchid palaces...
Within, elevated walkways connected the main hall, while covered corridors flanked the east and west sides of the courtyard, turning south to intersect with the Gate of Compassion and Peace. The main hall bore plaques inscribed with “Treasures of Joy” and “Celebrated Longevity,” while the couplets read, “Spring radiance gathers in the orchid palace; auspicious air fills the courtyard, linking it to the immortal mountain.”
In the garden, rocks were artfully piled, serving as a scenic barrier—“opening the door to see the mountain.” Flowers and trees flourished, stones were stacked, ponds were built. In the southern part of the garden, a long, narrow rectangular pool stretched east to west, spanned by a white jade bridge, atop which stood a pavilion...
Magnificent, indeed...
Xu Boqing clicked his tongue in quiet awe, but had no time to linger; soon they reached the study.
The door stood open. The old eunuch bowed and withdrew, leaving Xu Boqing at the threshold. He saw Chief Huang practicing calligraphy and remained silent, quietly standing at the doorway.
Not long afterward, Chief Huang set aside his brush with a relaxed sigh, glanced at him, and said, “Come in.”
“Yes.”
Xu Boqing answered and moved from the door to the desk.
Seeing his slight nervousness, Chief Huang smiled, “There are many rules in the palace. Before you have any real ability, a little caution isn’t bad. At least it might help you live longer.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Chief Huang.”
“You’re literate, which saves me a lot of trouble.” Chief Huang gestured to a stack of books and ledgers piled on the desk. “These are all about the rules of the imperial palace, as well as some simple introductions to place names, official titles, and especially the Palace of Compassion and Peace. Take them and study them thoroughly.”
“There are many nobles in the imperial palace. You must learn to recognize people by their attire. If you accidentally offend someone, or call them by the wrong title...
If their temper’s good, they might not mind. But if you run into someone with a bad temper, you could very well lose your life.”
He sipped his tea, moistening his throat, and continued, “Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“Good. Take them and study.”
Chief Huang set down his teacup, his tone serious as he added, “Stay in your room and don’t wander. Don’t try to slack off. Every day you must memorize one volume. Come to the study at dusk—I'll test you.”
“Yes!”
“Go on, then...”
---
Xu Boqing left the study, carrying the stack of books. On his way back to his room, he passed several old eunuchs, but since he didn’t know them, he didn’t greet anyone.
He locked his door.
Placing the books on his desk, he examined them carefully. Though each book had only a few chapters, there were sixteen in total.
At one book per day, it would take half a month. And there’d be daily tests... Oh...
Hadn’t he traveled through time? Why did he feel just like his previous life at school, facing “full text recitation”—with the teacher requiring it before letting class out!?
Xu Boqing grimaced internally, but didn’t dwell on it.
He began leafing through the volumes, searching for useful information that might help him deduce the broader context of his current situation.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened. In the book introducing the Palace of Compassion and Peace, he found the identity of its mistress—not a concubine, nor an unmarried princess—
But the empress, conferred by Emperor Shengyuan!
And presently, it was the reign of Emperor Yonghe, which meant...
The Empress Dowager!
...
Xu Boqing’s breath caught; cold sweat broke out along his back. After the shock, his eyes lit up with exhilaration!
He, a healthy man, was in the imperial palace’s inner quarters!
He searched for more clues, but the rest were just palace rules and descriptions of nobles and the architecture of the Palace of Compassion and Peace.
Whatever he was thinking, the excitement in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by secret contemplation.
He casually picked up a volume and began to study.
By dusk, he had memorized the first volume, went to the study for Chief Huang’s examination, and, once confirmed, returned to his room.
His “homework” done, he lay on his bed with nothing to do, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Then, noticing that his desk was equipped with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone...
He got up, ground the ink, picked up the brush, and wrote in Chinese!
“Sixteenth year of Yonghe, eighteenth day of the seventh month, clear.”
“My name is Xu Boqing, courtesy name Genshuo, also called Chunyangzi. This is my first day in the Palace of Compassion and Peace. I miss home, so I write these scattered thoughts to amuse myself...”
“Today, after learning that the Palace of Compassion and Peace is the residence of the Empress Dowager, I began to speculate, but dare not be certain. Tossing and turning, unable to sleep—for I, a healthy man, am in the imperial palace’s inner quarters, and it makes me anxious and nervous.”
---
“Chief Huang saved me, probably because of my name, ‘Genshuo,’ and since this palace belongs to the Empress Dowager, its significance is profound and intriguing...”
“Thinking of the gossip about Empress Wu in my previous life, words like ‘three thousand male favorites’ and ‘countless boy toys’ naturally surface in my mind. I’m starting to panic...”
“The Empress Dowager of the Palace of Compassion and Peace is, nominally, the mother of the current Emperor Yonghe. His father, Emperor Shengyuan, died at forty-three—over ten years ago now...”
“So how old must the Empress Dowager be? Is she some wrinkled old lady with sagging skin?”
“This...this...a hawk preying on a chick?”
“To be honest, I’m a bit scared now...”
Xu Boqing finished writing and let out a long, soothing breath, his mind cleared. He tossed the diary containing his little secrets back onto the bookshelf and returned to bed.
Chinese characters differ from the native script of the Liang dynasty, so writing in Chinese was like having a built-in password—he had no fear of anyone discovering his secrets.
Even if someone saw it...
They’d just think it was a jumble of incomprehensible scribbles.
The next day.
Xu Boqing first paid his respects to Chief Huang, then returned to his room and continued to study the booklets, awaiting dusk for the daily test in the study.
When night fell...
He ground his ink, picked up his brush!
“Sixteenth year of Yonghe, nineteenth day of the seventh month, overcast.”
“My name is Xu Genshuo. This is my second day in the Palace of Compassion and Peace. I miss home. Today’s weather matches my mood.”
“In the morning, I used the pretext of paying respects to visit Chief Huang again. He thinks I’m polite, but really I just wanted to see what the Empress Dowager looks like...”
“The Palace of Compassion and Peace is vast, but I can only go to my own room and Chief Huang’s study, so naturally I haven’t caught a glimpse of the Empress Dowager.”
“But after careful observation, I’ve found that most of the eunuchs here are elderly. In these two days, I’ve only seen one young eunuch, handsome and well-built, which makes me even more uneasy.”
“Perhaps the Empress Dowager truly is a wrinkled old lady with sagging skin, who perversely favors young men...”
“What should I do?”
“So nervous...”