The shift ended.
Zhou Yi returned to his quarters and found two additional young boys there.
The older one around twelve or thirteen, the younger merely eight or nine, both lay weakly on the bed, whimpering softly.
The eunuch from the Castration Chamber urged the two boys to mind their diet to prevent their wounds from festering. Amidst their profuse words of gratitude, he left with his medicine chest, nodding slightly to Zhou Yi before stepping out.
"Thank you, Elder Gugu."
Zhou Yi deftly slipped him a silver note, neither too large nor too small, fifty taels.
Too large a sum would not fit the identity of "Little Mountain", too small would be embarrassing to offer, making future requests for favors more difficult.
Elder Gugu expressed his satisfaction, "If only Little Mountain had been as sensible earlier, he wouldn't have ended up guarding the gates."
"The lesson is well taken, Gugu."
