Scheming Emperor X Hunting Eunuch - Chapter 3.2

“Hmm?” The shrill voice stretched long, clearly having received an unexpected answer. “Look at me when you speak.”

Pei Yanci raised his eyes. The person across from him had skin paler than ordinary people, somewhat deep eye bags, and not a trace of facial hair could be seen.

“Others haven’t mentioned it either—why did you go out?”

“Wuli told me that yesterday I risked danger to go to Xiangqing Tavern to buy food for my roommate.”

“Your roommate?”

“His name is Wu Luo.” When mentioning this name, Pei Yanci’s face appropriately showed some bashfulness.

Memory might be gone, but feelings wouldn’t be. Facing someone he liked, he would still be moved emotionally.

Zhang Huairu understood immediately upon seeing this.

“You’re quite the devoted romantic.”

“Chief Steward, spare my life.” Pei Yanci prostrated himself on the ground again. “Wu Luo still doesn’t know of my feelings.”

“We’re not the type to break up lovebirds.” Zhang Huairu deeply detested such romantic affairs, his interest waning. He warned, “Within the mansion, you must not do anything improper, otherwise, even before His Highness, I cannot protect both your lives.”

“Yes, thank you Chief Steward. This lowly one will remember.”

“Go to the accounting office to collect five taels of silver. During this period, buy something good to nourish your body. I’ll speak with Steward Zhao shortly—have the tea house assign you less work recently so you don’t overexert yourself.”

“Thank you for Chief Steward’s consideration.”

Zhang Huairu’s narrow eyes darted back and forth a couple of times. He picked up his cup to blow on the tea, too lazy to look at him again. “Alright, you may go.”

As soon as Pei Yanci left the pavilion, he heard the person inside calling Steward Zhao back in.

He waited by the lake for a moment before Steward Zhao also emerged, walking back with him.

“I’m allowing you to recover from your injuries for half a month first. Unfortunately, the tea house has many comings and goings with complex affairs—it can’t be without a steward. Your appointment will be postponed for now.”

Pei Yanci smiled.

Chief Steward Zhang had spent decades navigating palace intrigue—this was the simplest method of managing people.

Steward Zhao was his direct subordinate; Pei Yanci was not. With no direct stake involved, giving rewards and promising to speak well of him before Steward Zhao made people grateful. Who wouldn’t praise his benevolence behind his back? But when it came to giving the steward position to someone else, he had Steward Zhao deliver this message, making him the bad guy.

If he pointed out that Chief Steward Zhang had only said to reduce his workload, not strip him of his position, that would be questioning his direct superior Steward Zhao’s decision. What Steward Zhao conveyed was Chief Steward Zhang’s meaning—how could there be room for compromise?

Having the promised position snatched away, who wouldn’t resent the person who delivered the news?

When a subordinate embarrassed you and defied your decisions, undermining your authority, who wouldn’t want to eliminate such a troublemaker?

Once conflict arose, animosity between the two would emerge.

This way, the low-level servants and stewards weren’t united with the chief steward, but would certainly remember Chief Steward Zhang’s kindness. It divided the people below while increasing his own prestige—with just a few words, why wouldn’t he do it?

“I was actually going to discuss this with you—whether the steward position could be temporarily filled by someone else,” Pei Yanci proactively suggested.

Saying “temporarily filled by someone else” was just a polite way of putting it—it meant the position was beyond his reach.

“Really?” Steward Zhao hadn’t expected him to be so sensible. Though it seemed somewhat hypocritical, he still explained. “As you know, head injuries can be serious or minor, and you’ve also lost your memory. With such a major condition, you must rest and recover properly for a period. The mansion’s affairs are all small matters—taking care of your health is more important.”

“I understand.”

Pei Yanci’s reasonable attitude made Steward Zhao uncomfortable. He said, “If you suffer any grievances in daily life, you can always speak up about them.”

“They all seem kind to me, and you treat me extremely well. What grievances could I have?”

Steward Zhao smiled. “Everyone working together in the mansion for many years are like family. Even if there are occasional small frictions, it’s not serious. At least people’s intentions are good. After a quarrel, it passes. If you hold grudges in your heart, always wanting to get even, back and forth, conflicts accumulate deeper and deeper. Finally, if His Highness learns of it, that’s just causing trouble for yourself.”

“I understand—there’s only one master in the mansion.” This was a warning that even if he and Wu Luo had conflicts, they shouldn’t let them get out of hand.

No matter how unpleasant things were between them privately, they couldn’t bring it before their master and embarrass him.

“I knew you understood propriety.” Steward Zhao smiled even more happily. “Since you’ve lost your memory, I won’t press you to immediately repay the ten taels of silver you owe me. I don’t need it urgently anyway—focus on recovering your health first, then repay slowly.”

“There’s such a matter?” Pei Yanci raised an eyebrow. “Is there a promissory note?”

“There was one before, but when they helped pack your belongings today, it probably got lost. You definitely won’t find it now if you look. No matter—I trust you. We’ll just write up a new promissory note later.”

Pei Yanci’s mouth twitched.

Last night he had searched through everything, scraping together all valuables—if there had been a promissory note, he would have found it.

Wasn’t this just taking advantage of his memory loss to fabricate facts out of thin air and embezzle his silver?

Just as he was about to say there wasn’t one, a flash of insight suddenly struck him. He changed what he was about to say, “Though I can’t remember, debts that should be repaid must still be repaid. Give me a few months’ grace—once I receive my monthly wages, I’ll repay you immediately.”

“Fine, I won’t charge you interest this month,” Steward Zhao’s mood became even more pleasant. “Starting next month, you must repay.”

After that, Pei Yanci spoke less during the journey, and Steward Zhao didn’t say much either.

After escorting Pei Yanci back to his room, Steward Zhao went to report back to Chief Steward Zhang.

“Confirmed without doubt—Pei Yanci has indeed lost his memory.”

Chief Steward Zhang raised an eyebrow.

“Zhang Huairu, where do you think this chess piece should be placed?”

A clear, melodious voice suddenly came from behind the curtains in the room.

A refined and handsome man had his hair half-bound behind his head, with loose strands hanging before his eyes, unable to hide the cold, sharp killing intent in his pupils.

Zhang Huairu bowed with an ingratiating smile. “This old servant lacks Your Highness’s wisdom.”

Slender fingers picked up a black stone and placed it on the crisscrossing chessboard.