"Huh?"
Liang Chuchu felt like she was half-awake, completely lost and unable to understand Eunuch Yin's words.
"the Eunuch, what exactly are you talking about?"
"You, you still dare to talk back!" Eunuch Yin angrily pointed at Liang Chuchu, his chest heaving with rage.
"Don't you know that your nonsense will implicate the entire Liang family?"
Liang Chuchu immediately shrugged and spread her hands, smiling disbelievingly, "How is that possible?"
She recalled Eunuch Yin's earlier reaction, then cupped her hand over her mouth, breathed into it, and sniffed.
Even with her own scent, Liang Chuchu felt a momentary daze, frowning slightly with a look of disgust.
But then she giggled, "Isn't it just not brushing my teeth after secretly eating something?"
"What's the big deal? the Eunuch, you're making a mountain out of a molehill!"
Liang Chuchu had a look that said, "Making a fuss, haven't you seen anything like this before?"
Eunuch Yin was so taken aback by her righteous attitude that he began to doubt himself, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him, and unconsciously let out a sound:
"Huh?"
But after Eunuch Yin confirmed that he hadn't misheard, he almost vomited a pint of blood in anger, pointing at Liang Chuchu and scolding her with a look of disappointment, "You, who come from a scholarly family, can shamelessly say such things. How exactly did your father discipline you!?"
"Oh, the Eunuch, I know I was wrong, isn't that enough?"
"Why are you bringing my father into this? My father naturally taught me to brush my teeth afterward, but I was just feeling lazy."
It would have been better if Liang Chuchu hadn't spoken; the more she spoke, the more Eunuch Yin's worldview shattered into pieces.
"Ah???"
"You said, your father taught you…"
Even Eunuch Yin, who had spent his entire life in the palace and prided himself on his vast experience, couldn't continue speaking.
"The outside world says Liang Zhao is a humble gentleman, but what kind of outrageous things has he been teaching his daughter in private?"
Amidst his shock, Eunuch Yin pointed at Liang Chuchu and kept saying "You" for a long time, unable to finish his sentence.
Even he, a eunuch, felt that it was an insult to scholarly dignity!
Although Eunuch Yin wanted to stop this insane conversation, Liang Chuchu wouldn't allow it.
"Speaking of which, it's all because that thing yesterday was too delicious; the more I tasted it, the more fragrant it became."
"I really couldn't resist and ate a few more sticks before going to bed. I fell asleep while eating, and that's how I ended up with a mouthful of flavor…"
"Shut up, shut up!"
"Don't say another word!!!"
Eunuch Yin pounced forward and desperately covered Liang Chuchu's endlessly chattering mouth, shouting like a madman.
If Liang Chuchu continued to speak, Eunuch Yin felt he would be possessed.
Outside the door, two eunuchs guarding the area heard the commotion inside and exchanged worried glances.
They had felt something was off when they escorted Liang Chuchu yesterday, and now even Eunuch Yin was starting to act abnormally.
"It really is eerie," both thought with a shiver.
...
Bang!
"If you secretly ate snacks, then you secretly ate snacks!"
"Why say it so ambiguously, it only leads to misunderstanding."
Eunuch Yin's face was flushed red as he slammed the table and angrily rebuked her.
Liang Chuchu looked innocent, sitting with her knees hugged, whispering aggrievedly, "What's ambiguous about it? And what is there to misunderstand?"
Eunuch Yin awkwardly cleared his throat, not wanting to dwell on the topic.
"Stop talking nonsense. Bring me the dried squid you mentioned so I can see it."
"Oh—"
Liang Chuchu reluctantly agreed and went to get the item, but only brought back a piece of cloth.
"Huh?"
"I remember there was a lot left yesterday. I saved it to continue eating today, so why is it all gone?"
"Did I keep eating while I was asleep?"
"How strange."
Upon hearing this, Li Xuan, who was watching the commotion by the window, couldn't help but chew his mouth a couple of times as if chewing gum, silently agreeing in his heart, "How strange."
He didn't notice that the squid tentacles peeking out from the corner of his mouth had already betrayed him.
Liang Chuchu then handed the cloth that had originally contained the dried squid to Eunuch Yin.
Eunuch Yin sniffed the cloth and indeed detected a special seafood smell.
Now, upon careful distinction, he also noticed the difference.
This seafood smell was identical to the smell in Liang Chuchu's mouth, but compared to the smell he had anticipated, it actually lacked a very important special aroma.
Understanding this, Eunuch Yin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Just a moment ago, he had even thought of the auspicious day for his execution at the Meridian Gate.
Now it seemed completely unnecessary.
He had originally come with a raging fury.
But after all this commotion, Eunuch Yin no longer had the energy to continue being angry.
After several encounters, he found that Liang Chuchu was truly his bane.
"No, I must send her away quickly; keeping her here is just a disaster!"
Eunuch Yin sighed deeply and weakly, then remembered the main issue.
"Right, I just asked you, what exactly did you see that night?"
"Now tell me in detail."
"Oh, that night…"
Liang Chuchu honestly began to recall, trying her best to recreate the scene from that night.
"That night, because I hadn't eaten enough for several days, I woke up hungry in the middle of the night…"
"Get to the point!"
Eunuch Yin interrupted mercilessly.
Liang Chuchu pouted aggrievedly, thinking indignantly, "Why isn't my hunger important?"
She had also wanted to take this opportunity to complain about Sù Yuè, but her little scheme was mercilessly cut short before she could even begin.
Actually, Liang Chuchu hadn't seen anything specific, only a blurry shadow sneaking past the window late at night.
But at that time, it was late and quiet, the entire Yan Qu Hall was silent, and suddenly a shadow flashed past her window, which was indeed a bit frightening.
Not to mention Liang Chuchu's courage was never great to begin with.
The next morning, she mentioned the matter to those around her, and it even led to an unexpected gain.
Everyone was eating breakfast that morning, but her plate was always clean.
Liang Chuchu, holding an empty plate, chatted with people about what happened last night, and found an opportunity to sponge off a lot of other people's breakfast.
Since they wanted to hear her ghost story, they naturally couldn't say anything, so they broke off some steamed buns and shared some pickled vegetables with her.
Liang Chuchu then got a taste for it and repeated the trick, sponging off breakfast from no less than ten people in one morning, and the story became more and more exaggerated.
Because she discovered that if she didn't make the story longer, people would finish listening and then turn on her, taking back even the unfinished pickled vegetables.
This forced Liang Chuchu to accomplish the feat of spreading the ghost story throughout Yan Qu Hall in just one morning.
"You, you…"
After hearing the whole story, Eunuch Yin's heart ached as if he had been kicked a dozen times, and his face turned greener than a cucumber with anger.
"Oh, the Eunuch, what's wrong with you?"
Liang Chuchu, the instigator, came forward to express concern without any self-awareness, making Eunuch Yin's angina even worse by three points.
Eunuch Yin flung his hand and pointed at Liang Chuchu, saying, "You, listen to me carefully."
"When you first entered the palace, your father entrusted me to take good care of you. But now, I can barely protect myself, so you'll have to look out for yourself."
"the Eunuch, don't be afraid." Liang Chuchu didn't care at all, patting her unremarkable chest and confidently stating, "With my father here, nothing will happen."
Eunuch Yin let out a cold laugh, realizing that Liang Chuchu was too well-protected by her father and too naive.
"I'm telling you clearly, things have escalated now."
"Just pray you don't bring disaster upon yourself."
Eunuch Yin took a moment to compose himself, then leaned on the table and stood up, not arguing further with Liang Chuchu.
As he left, he turned back and left a final remark.
"A child like you entering the palace will not have a good end."
"I don't know what your father was thinking back then."
Eunuch Yin sighed faintly and slowly shook his head.
"But now that you've entered the palace, just accept your fate."
Finally, Eunuch Yin's gaze towards Liang Chuchu contained a rare softness.
Liang Chuchu stood rooted to the spot, at a loss