Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Chapter 244: Shocking! The Castration Bureau Might Be About to Shine! (1 / 2)

“Truly wild,” Xu Yanmiao responded to Lian Hang’s earlier words with a sigh of amazement. “But I feel bad for the people living below him. Getting hurt—oh, I mean, who knows if anyone was hurt.”

Lian Hang let out an “ah,” his tone suggesting speculation. “Apparently someone did get hurt. Word is, while they were eating downstairs, they suddenly heard a man scream ‘Ahhh—’ in agony.”

—Both of them were pretending to be clueless while clearly knowing more than they let on, as though they were acting in some elaborate drama that could easily stretch to 180 episodes.

No one knew what exactly had happened at the time: How big was the hole? How did the people involved escape the scene…

Xu Yanmiao and Lian Hang exchanged a glance, and both saw the glint of curiosity in each other’s eyes.

“Ahem.” Lian Hang cleared his throat lightly. “Xu Lang, I feel a little hungry.”

Xu Yanmiao coughed lightly as well. “Let’s eat out. My treat. But where should we go?”

Lian Hang pretended to think. “How about Liu Keju? The braised green bean noodles there are delicious. They’re very generous with the sesame oil.”

Xu Yanmiao agreed immediately. “Great! Let’s go there!”

Liu Keju was none other than the infamous inn where the “guest’s wild antics broke through the floor, causing them to fall from the third floor to the second.”

The first-floor hall served as the dining area for patrons.

Lian Hang, clearly familiar with the place, ordered with ease. “Two bowls of braised green bean noodles, please. Make the green beans tender. For mine, add garlic but no scallions. Xu Lang, what about you?”

“No garlic for me.”

“How can you eat noodles without garlic?! Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Noodles without garlic lose half their flavor’?”

“Nonsense—I want chili sauce instead! Do you have chili sauce from Huguang? You do? Great! Add it to my portion!”

The last part was directed at the waiter.

Just as their noodles were served, they overheard a lively discussion from a nearby table about that day’s events.

“It was so sudden—just a loud crash. I thought it was thunder out of nowhere.”

“I heard it was because things got too intense on the bed. The third-floor floorboard collapsed, leaving a huge hole. People are still peeking down from the second floor to see it. If you ask me, the innkeeper should charge a copper coin per look. They’d make a fortune.”

“If they charged, no one would go.”

“Do you know who the unlucky guy was—the one who got his bed smashed and even injured?”

“I heard it was a juren! He was staying here to prepare for the spring exams, and his hand got injured in the incident. Luckily, there are still two months left, so he should have time to recover.”

“What bad luck.”

Xu Yanmiao poured himself some hot water from the copper kettle and sighed when he heard the injured party was a juren. “That’s really unfortunate. A disaster out of nowhere. I hope he can keep his spirits up; otherwise, it’ll definitely affect his spring exam performance.”

[I should see if I can arrange for an imperial physician to treat him.]

[This is just too tragic.]

Lian Hang chuckled, his words carrying a double meaning. “Xu Lang, you’re so kindhearted.”

Xu Yanmiao almost burst out laughing. “You’re praising me for just those two sentences?”

Lian Hang feigned seriousness. “Of course.”

“Pfft—” Xu Yanmiao tried to stifle his laughter. “Eat your noodles, eat your noodles. After we’re done, let’s go see the big hole!”

But after finishing their noodles, they decided to head to the restroom first.

Xu Yanmiao was the first to arrive, but someone pleaded with him to let them go ahead. The man confidently said, “Just give me the time it takes to finish a cup of tea.”

Xu Yanmiao allowed the man to go first.

Then… the man took longer than promised.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

Xu Yanmiao knocked on the wooden restroom door. “Excuse me, how much longer will you be?”

A voice came from inside. “I have an upset stomach. Just give me the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, and I’ll be done!”

“Alright.”

“Knock, knock, knock—”

“It’s been nearly two sticks of incense. Are you done yet?”

“Almost, almost! I’m tying my waistband now.”

And tying the waistband… somehow took almost the time it would take to drink another cup of tea (five minutes).

Xu Yanmiao sighed. “You…”

“Whoosh—”

The sound of flushing water echoed from inside.

“Click—”

The door’s latch opened, and the man stepped out. “Sorry, my hand’s injured—” He looked up and saw Xu Yanmiao. “God of Wealth?!”

—Earlier, when the man had rushed in with severe stomach pains, he’d been clutching his stomach so tightly that he hadn’t looked up to see Xu Yanmiao’s face.

Xu Yanmiao paused. “…Gao He?”

After a brief silence, his tone grew subtly curious. “What do you mean by ‘God of Wealth’?”

Gao He hesitated. “…”

This was the same person who had casually given him ten silver coins, allowing him to move from a temple to a proper inn where he could eat comfortably every day. If that wasn’t the God of Wealth, what was?

He quietly wished for more opportunities to stumble across such windfalls in the future.

Seeing Gao He remain silent, Xu Yanmiao more or less guessed what he meant and changed the topic. “What happened to your hand?”

Gao He replied with indignation. “Someone smashed it.”

Xu Yanmiao’s eyes widened. “You’re the one?!”

Gao He nodded. “That’s right. I’m the unlucky guy.”

Xu Yanmiao wasn’t sure whether he should comfort him. After all, Gao He’s eyes were practically shining with excitement as he talked about the incident.

Gao He coughed awkwardly. “God of Wealth, this innkeeper is unbelievably stingy. There’s no toilet paper in there. I’ve still got some left—do you want it?”

As he spoke, he held it out.

Xu Yanmiao looked closely and realized the toilet paper wasn’t intact sheets but halves.

Gao He explained with utter seriousness. “I’m only offering because it’s you. I always cut mine in half to make it last longer.”

Xu Yanmiao: “…”

He couldn’t help but wonder—was it really possible that Gao He and the old emperor weren’t related by blood?

In the distance, a voice broke the awkward atmosphere: “Xu Lang! Why are you taking so long?!”

Lian Hang arrived.