Lin Yi couldn't help but be startled, wondering why this little girl had not left and instead followed him in.
But unexpectedly, the moment she stepped in, the little eunuch, who was previously looking down on others with his nose in the air, suddenly changed his demeanor completely.
He obsequiously bowed to the girl, giggling as he said:
"This servant pays his respects to the Director of the Imperial Palace."
At these words, Lin Yi was immediately dumbfounded.
These two actually addressed this little girl as the Director of the Imperial Palace?
Even though he didn't know exactly what the position of Director of the Imperial Palace entailed, he could tell it was definitely not to be trifled with.
This was something he had never expected.
Not only did this girl have great ambitions, her identity was also significant.
No wonder her clothes were slightly different from those of the other palace maids.
It's just that Lin Yi, being new to the Imperial Palace, couldn't discern the rank of her clothes at all.
This made Lin Yi look at her with even more disbelief.
On the other hand, Xiao Xiao faced the two eunuchs' flattery without much expression.
She directly addressed the two eunuchs from the Rituals Office:
"This one has been personally assigned by His Majesty to learn makeup and dressing. Have your best Palace Maid come and teach him."
Upon hearing this, the two nodded respectfully without further underestimating Lin Yi, who was wearing the lowest-ranked eunuch court uniform.
After all, this was someone personally brought by the lady officer of the Imperial Palace.
With this status, she could well walk sideways in the Harem, metaphorically speaking.
However, they were very curious. Judging from the Director's words, this little eunuch should be highly favored by His Majesty, but why was he dressed so plainly?
Despite their curiosity, the two obediently led Lin Yi and Xiao Xiao toward the Rituals Office.
Along the way, every palace maid and eunuch they encountered would stop to greet Xiao Xiao.
This only heightened Lin Yi's curiosity about her true identity.
Judging by this girl's age, she couldn't be more than twenty or so, and yet she held such a high position?
Seeing the two leading eunuchs ahead, bowing their heads without looking back, Lin Yi moved closer to Xiao Xiao's side.
Then he nudged her with his shoulder, addressing the stern-faced girl:
"Hey, Miss Xiao Xiao, what exactly is your identity? Why does everyone seem to be so afraid of you?"
Hearing Lin Yi's deliberately hushed voice, and feeling the warmth from his chest behind her, a blush instantly crept onto Xiao Xiao's usually taut face.
Considering that people were passing by now and then, she did not speak loudly. Instead, she spoke in a serious, low voice to Lin Yi:
"Hehe, haven't you seen it all? I am the lady officer of the Imperial Palace.
How's that? You won't dare to mess around with me anymore, will you?"
After saying this, the girl even stealthily made a face at Lin Yi.
Her expression was utterly different from the one she showed in front of others.
This kind of charming contrast intrigued Lin Yi greatly.
"Ooh, I'm really scared now. It looks like I really won't dare to mess with you in the future. But we'll have to wait and see about that."
His comment managed to baffle Xiao Xiao completely, unclear about what he meant by 'the future'. All she knew was it sounded strange.
Especially when she saw Lin Yi's mischievous gaze, she felt that he definitely was not up to any good.
Upon this, he subconsciously shuffled a bit to the side.
One must say, Xiao Xiao was indeed very considerate towards Lin Yi.
She made sure everything was properly arranged for him before she left.
Because of Xiao Xiao's presence as a palace official, superficially, no one gave Lin Yi a hard time.
But to say that they were enthusiastic about him, that was naturally out of the question.
After all, Lin Yi was simply just a low-ranking eunuch.
The Rituals Office was neither too big nor too small to be overlooked.
Within the Rituals Office, there were small and large affiliated branches such as the Document Room, etiquette room, Inner Book Hall, Scripture Factory, and so on.
For instance, the Document Room was comparable to outer court institutions like the Hanlin Academy and Imperial College.
The etiquette room, on the other hand, specialized in the cultivation of court etiquette.
This was not merely about training Palace Maids and eunuchs, it also included grooming of Concubines, and even Princes and Princesses, all managed by the Rituals Office's etiquette room.
This alone was sufficient evidence of the Rituals Office's significance.
As soon as Xiao Xiao left, Lin Yi was taken to the etiquette room.
"You're called Little Lin, right? Go clear those weeds over there," said an elderly eunuch, who had already reached fifty years of age, glancing at Lin Yi as he lifted his eyelid.
With a flick of his orchid-petal hand in front of his mouth, he pointed to a large patch of weeds on one side of the garden, his voice tinged with a sinister tone.
Although the Rituals Office and the etiquette room were important, this particular courtyard designated for makeup training was unusually cold and desolate.
Logically, this place should be one of the busiest departments within the entire Rituals Office.
But now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was overgrown with wild weeds.
And of course, the reason for this was because the current Emperor had only married the Empress yesterday after such a long time since his ascension to the throne.
As for the rest of the Concubines, there wasn't even one.
This was the reason behind the sheer lack of interest here.
As for the young Emperor, he had always dressed as a young man, so his hair was always styled in a very simple fashion.
However, now that a little eunuch dressed in the lowest-ranking attire had been sent to learn, the Chief Eunuch of the place suddenly saw an opportunity—a chance to serve like those in charge of other important administrative offices.
Thinking of this, the old eunuch couldn't help but chuckle mischievously.
Lin Yi was taken aback, surveying the dilapidated courtyard; he really wanted to curse out loud.
Especially when he saw the old eunuch's sinister expression, he nearly couldn't help himself from giving the eunuch a kicking...
This sort of eunuch was supposed to teach makeup? That was utterly ridiculous!
"Uh, just to confirm with you, old timer, are you sure you can teach me how to do makeup?"
Although he very much wanted to turn around and leave, recalling the young Emperor's words about someone keeping an eye on him, he immediately dismissed the thought.
But facing the old man, he truly didn't believe in his heart.
"In half an hour, I will return. If those weeds are still there, hmm, just brace yourself for some hard times, kid."
Unexpectedly, faced with Lin Yi's doubt, the old eunuch simply stood up and walked inside the room.
But no one noticed, that in the moment when the old eunuch turned his back...
...End of chapter…