Dragging out every single step, Kesi had absolutely no intentions of asking Mu Luming for help. But yet, there she was, holding out the letter with a grossly sweet smile on her face.
In the corner, A'Hong shuffled uncomfortably.
"My dearest Crown Prince, will you take a look at this? It seems that my eyes are too old for this sort of readings nowadays."
It wasn't entirely a lie either, and all she saw in front of her were jumbled symbols that all blended into one another.
"Oh Nanny Rong, why didn't you think of that when you smacked me in the face earlier this morning?" Leaning in to whisper, he made sure that A'Hong was out of airshot.
"My dearest Crown Prince, you didn't have to talk to me that closely. My ears aren't that bad yet." Squinting her eyes to make the smile seem genuine, she wanted to wipe that smirk off Mu Luming's face. "And I'm sure A'Hong would be delighted to find out that Your Highness would simply loveeee to read his letter for him."
Half-rolling his eyes at Kesi, Mu Luming cleared his throat and gestured towards A'Hong.
"I would be pleased to have the honors and trust to read your personal letters."
A'Hong immediately dropped to the ground on all fours, his trademark position. "Your Humble Servant is so pleased that Your Highness is willing to take the time out of your busy day to read such a humble letter!"
Making three solid thumps against the floor with his head, he looked up with earnest eyes.
To be honest, Kesi wasn't sure how he hadn't gotten a concussion yet with the amount of head-banging. Or perhaps, his head was so accustomed to such rituals that it developed a thick callus or something along those lines.
"Please get up! How many times do I have to say this. Please get up from the ground!" Frantically waving his arms in the air, Mu Luming looked just as flustered as A'Hong. "I'm not from the palace, and quite honestly, these formalities are all too disturbing."
"Or perhaps Your Highness could just omit these rules altogether when we are within the bounds of the Eastern Palace?" Kesi suggested.
Partially, she never knelt in front of Mu Luming. And on the other side, if she had truly misjudged, and A'Hong was also the Empress's spy, she could make sure that the Empress would receive some pleasant news about how she was teaching the Crown Prince the wrong things.
"Nanny Rong!" A small gasp escaped from A'Hong's lips, but he soon realized that he had spoken out wrongly again. "That's not right!"
Almost on cue, he dropped to the ground once more.
"Please, A'Hong! At this rate that you're kowtowing to me, we won't get to the letter until sunset!" Finally, even the usually patient Mu Luming let out an exasperated groan.
A bit guilt, A'Hong peeled himself off the floor, brushing off a little cloud of dust from his sleeves as he made a mental note to sweep the room afterwards.
Kesi settled onto the bed next to Mu Luming as A'Hong stood by them.
Clearing his throat, Mu Luming began reading the letter:
"I hope you do well in palace. Where is the money for this month? Send as soon as possible, at least ten more coins than last month. Elder Brother in need of money for new wife."
There was a collective silence.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Your Humble Servant is sorry for making you read something as lowly as this letter." A'Hong motioned to kowtow again, but he caught himself and instead only bowed. "Your Humble Servant will take his leave now."
Exchanging glances with one another, Kesi and Mu Luming simultaneously decided to not press the issue any further.
—-
The entire day, A'Hong worked tirelessly and emotionlessly, combing through and polishing every last corner of the yard until it no longer seemed like a deserted haunted house.
As he worked, his face was blank, and only his eyes betrayed a tinge of sadness and anxiety.
It wasn't until later that night that Kesi got the opportunity to talk to him again. His figure blended into the dark bushes that he hid by, and it took a double take for Kesi to make sure that the figure was not merely her eyes playing tricks on her.
His face suspiciously rosy and a lopsided smile hanging off his face, he reeked of alcohol.
Seeing Kesi approach, he tried to hide the giant jug of leftover alcohol from the night before, but he only managed to fool himself.
"Nannnnn…. Nannnnnny Rong." He burped out.
Wordlessly, Kesi leaned him against the wall, afraid that he could topple over at any given moment.
"What's so special about first sons?"
He had a goofy smile on his face, but his gaze was distant.
"Why do they… deserve all the goodness in the world?"
Kesi was silent.
"A full meal… New clothes… Education… And…"
He began to pry his fingers on his right hand up one by one.
"One… Threee…"
And with his left hand, he made a fist.
"Why on earth would he need another wife?" He rocked his head from side by side. "When I have and will always have none?"
Only then did Kesi recall what it meant to be an eunuch. Never would this man in front of her have any offspring of his own, if they were still considered to be complete men by people in society of this time anyway. And correspondingly, which woman would marry someone who was missing such an important part of "his" body?
"Nanny Rong, why does everyone think me to be some sort of low animal or object? Just something to be cast aside?" The jar of alcohol shattered as it fell to the floor.
"I just want to be human."