Let Go of that Eunuch! [Fantasy/Humor | COMPLETED]

6. He's a Vegetarian

A/N: The male lead is a true villain so don't expect any heroics or moral acts from him in this story. He's a through and through bad guy 😁

Side note- please let me know if you're reading this by voting and commenting, I can never tell 😳😳😳

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For the next month, I was trapped in a living hell. My head ached every time I heard the words "Xiao Jin Zi". They were used so often that I was now hearing them even when Director Lan was nowhere within vicinity.

"Xiao Jin Zi!"

I literally jump out of bed while still wearing my night robe and bow down respectfully towards the voice. A guffaw of laughter sounds out in the eunuch's quarters. Once I got my bearings, I look up sleepily at Eunuch Gui's jolly face.

Young Deng prods the older eunuch with his elbow, chiding disapprovingly. "Stop teasing him, Eunuch Gui."

Realizing I'd been pranked, I sit back onto the bed.

"It's not that funny guys!" I complain whilst rubbing my temples.

"But it is!" Gui snorts, patting me on the shoulder, "I've never seen someone react that quickly in my life! One second you're asleep in bed and the next second you're leaping out of it like a frog!"

I shoot Gui a dirty look, pulling on my long upper garment, pants and black boots. Finally, I adjusted my mesh hat so it was sitting over my top bun neatly.

The day had begun.

The palace was abuzz with activity and I was running around like a headless chicken trying to do ten things at once.

First it was, "Xiao Jin Zi, fetch my new cloak from the seamstress."

Then, "Xiao Jin Zi, I want to try one of those mandarins hanging from the tree."

And now, I was under the order of, "Xiao Jin Zi, wash my socks."

I mean seriously? He saved up all his dirty socks just for me?

I slave over the washboard, hitting the socks with a rock and imagining that I was hitting his smug face. The air around me suddenly grows colder. A shiver runs down my spine and sure enough, Director Lan's wispy voice sounds out behind me.

"Hmmm," Lan Shen Yu lifts a perfectly shaped eyebrow at me. "It appears I haven't given you enough work and you have too much energy to spare."

I immediately drop the large rock I was holding. "No, no," I wave my reddened palms. "I have enough work as it is."

"Really?" Lan deliberates. "But I seem to have heard you muttering something under your breath...?"

I laugh awkwardly (with the amount of practice I was getting, I was perfecting this laugh). "Yes, I was blessing you and thanking the heavens for providing me with such a wonderful, considerate and understanding Master."

Director Lan's eyes are like two crescent moons, concealing his mirth at my forced answer.

"Really?" He acts surprised. "What blessing?"

I think back to the Chinese dramas I had watched and novels I'd read over the years.

"I bless your good health and longevity. Director, my respect for you is like the continuous waves of a river, ebbing in an eternal flow that does not cease..."

Somehow, he manages to raise his eyebrow higher at my response.

"Hmmm, speaking of rivers, you suddenly remind me..."

I have a bad feeling about that this.

"My pet turtle needs feeding."

"..."

Yes, you heard right. The Director of Palace Affairs owns a pet turtle almost as obnoxious as the Director himself (er, maybe he was trying to make up for something ey? 😏)

Anyhow, the turtle was well known amongst the servants for biting. If turtles were speedy then there would definitely be a lot more servants around here with bite marks on their ankles.

"Uh..." I bring my forefingers together a few times. "What does it eat?"

"Meat."

"...What type of meat?" I ask, my lower lip quivering.

Director Lan smiles convincingly. "Human."

"Nuuu ;-;" I sniff, turning up the wattage of my puppy dog eyes.

"Just joking." Lan Shen Yu continues with a poker face. "He's recently turned vegetarian."

"......" 😑