A Soft, Warm Cage

She was born lowly, scraping by in the dark palace.

Every day, she diligently served tea to her master and handed over knives. Her only mistake was abandoning a powerful patron-to-be.

At last, he rose to the highest position, beyond anyone's reach.

He held all the power in the realm, with oceans stretching as far as the eye could see.

He tolerated no flaws, no betrayal, and nothing he disliked.

A disheveled little girl appeared from nowhere and tugged pitifully at his sleeve. "D-do you still want me?" He picked her up with an expression of distaste, strode back inside, and shut the door.

The people below bowed their heads, unable to bear watching. What happened to him being mute? What happened to tolerating no betrayal?

He had once fallen into a boundless hell with no way back. Then he met her, and from that moment on, he returned from half a lifetime away, still a young man.

[Little Scene]

Ruanruan's greatest pleasure in life was tending a little brazier and burning paper money for her unfortunate mother.

But walk the night road too often, and sooner or later you'll run into a ghost. That day, she was caught red-handed by Chief Eunuch Lu, who was making his rounds in person.

She steeled herself, tossed the last two paper bills into the brazier to destroy the evidence, then looked up with an obedient smile.

Chief Eunuch Lu half-closed his foxlike eyes, watching her face glow red in the firelight. "One for you, one for me?"

Ruanruan shook her head in terror.

Chief Eunuch Lu furrowed his brow slightly. "You don't want to see me off when I die?" Ruanruan nodded frantically. Of course, Your Excellency, may you live a hundred years.

With a gust of wind from his palm, Chief Eunuch Lu snuffed out the fire, then leaned down beside her ear. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll see you off."

Ruanruan trembled. "S-see me off."

The little eunuch standing nearby listened in terror. Good grief, Chief Eunuch Lu had scared even a mute into speaking!

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