Chapter 15: The Hall of Servants

After arriving at the Medical Bureau, Hua Changxi prepared to enter through the main gate. Upon learning she was there to report to the Labor Hall, the gatekeeper informed her in a rather unpleasant tone that laborers were not permitted to use the main entrance and could only enter and exit through the side gate.

Hua Changxi was momentarily stunned. After asking for the location of the side gate, she had to take a massive detour before finally entering the Medical Bureau. It took her another half an hour of walking before she stood outside the doors of the Labor Hall.

This time, Hua Changxi did not see Eunuch Jia. As soon as she entered the Labor Hall, she was called over by Xiao Luzi, the eunuch who had escorted her away the previous day.

Xiao Luzi paid her little attention, instead summoning a young woman in her twenties.

"Xiangru, this is the new recruit. Put her wherever there is a shortage of hands."

Leng Xiangru sized Hua Changxi up before telling her to wait by the door.

Standing outside, Hua Changxi realized that perhaps due to her cultivation, her five senses had become much sharper; the constant whispers from inside the room drifted into her ears.

"Eunuch Lu, it isn't even the season for recruiting laborers. What is this one's background?"

"Heh, what background? She just happened to help my godfather with a small favor and had the audacity to ask for a job in the Labor Hall."

"Does that mean Hua Changxi has caught Eunuch Jia's eye?"

"Haha, what nonsense are you talking? Do you think it's that easy to get into my godfather's good graces?"

"Yes, yes, my apologies, Xiangru. Eunuch Jia is a man of the Palace; he has seen all sorts of important figures. How could he possibly take interest in a little girl?"

"That Hua Changxi is quite skilled at processing medicinal herbs. If she is assigned to difficult materials in the future, use her. If she weren't useful, I wouldn't have handed her over to you."

"I knew Eunuch Lu was looking out for me."

"Mm, go on then. We'll have a proper chat tonight."

"You're so teasing. I'll take her away then."

Leng Xiangru emerged from the room with a smile lingering on her face. Seeing Hua Changxi standing primly without looking around, she smiled. "She looks honest. Follow me."

Hua Changxi showed no emotion on her face, but her heart was far from calm.

The tone the two people in the room had used was far too intimate; it was obvious even to a casual listener that their relationship was unusual.

"Du Ruo, come here for a moment."

Leng Xiangru led Hua Changxi to a courtyard bearing the sign for the Sixth Bureau and beckoned over a woman in her thirties.

"Manager Leng."

Du Ruo was currently leading several subordinates in cleaning a batch of medicinal herbs. Hearing Leng Xiangru's call, she immediately dropped her work and jogged over.

Leng Xiangru pointed at Hua Changxi and said, "This is the new laborer. She will follow you from now on. You are responsible for her training."

Du Ruo immediately complied. "Rest assured, Manager Leng, I will train her well."

Leng Xiangru scanned the laborers working in the courtyard. Seeing that no one was idling, she turned and left.

As soon as she departed, the laborers who had been working hard a moment ago couldn't help but cast glances at Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi was also secretly observing everything in the courtyard.

The courtyard was as large as a football field, housing over a hundred female laborers. Behind every laborer sat at least two carts of medicinal herbs waiting to be cleaned.

"How old are you?"

Hua Changxi quickly withdrew her gaze and answered rapidly, "Thirteen."

Du Ruo took off her apron, asking as she did so, "Judging by your accent, you're a local from the capital, aren't you?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "Yes."

Du Ruo: "Is your family struggling?"

Hua Changxi let out an uncertain "Ah?"

Seeing her reaction, Du Ruo's expression turned strange. "If it's not that your family is struggling, then why would they let a young girl like you come out to be a laborer?"

Hua Changxi replied vaguely, "I want to learn medicine."

Du Ruo laughed. "Learn medicine? Then you've come to the wrong place. The Labor Hall doesn't teach medicine. You should have gone to the Apprentice Hall or the Disciple Hall."

Hua Changxi: "...I couldn't get in."

Du Ruo fell silent, having roughly gauged the newcomer's situation.

With a family background that was ordinary to low-tier, otherwise, one wouldn't think to run to the Labor Hall to learn medicine.

Noticing her subordinates were still constantly staring their way, Du Ruo barked, "What are you looking at? Do you not want to sleep tonight? Get back to work!"

Having said that, she looked at Hua Changxi. "Come, I'll take you to the Internal Affairs Bureau to collect your things."

Hua Changxi hurried to keep up.

As the two walked out of the courtyard, male laborers were pulling carts of medicinal herbs past them.

Seeing this, Du Ruo's expression soured. "I don't know how late we'll be working tonight." She glanced at Hua Changxi.

"You have bad luck; you joined the Labor Hall at the wrong time. September and October are the busiest months here."

"By the rules, for a newcomer's first three months, cleaning and processing two hundred herbs a day is considered completing your duties."

"But September and October are different. Even if you are a newcomer, you must clean and process 500 herbs a day."

Hua Changxi asked tentatively, "What if I can't finish them?"

Du Ruo gave her a half-smile. "You won't. Because if you don't finish, you aren't allowed to sleep."

Regardless of Hua Changxi's reaction, she continued walking and talking.

"People on the outside think the Medical Bureau is a government office, and that even coming here as a laborer is a matter of prestige."

"But a laborer is just a laborer. It's no different from anywhere else. In fact, because of the massive volume of herbs used in the Medical Bureau, the work is even more grueling than elsewhere."

"Whenever there is news of recruitment for the Apprentice or Disciple Halls, the whole capital keeps an eye out. But when the Labor Hall recruits, any family with even a bit of wealth won't even spare it a glance."

Du Ruo looked back at Hua Changxi and asked with a smile, "Do you still want to be in the Labor Hall?"

Hua Changxi quickly declared her resolve. "Of course. Manager Du, don't worry, I will work hard here."

Hearing this, Du Ruo raised an eyebrow, smiled, and continued walking, beginning to explain other matters regarding the Labor Hall.

"The Labor Hall is managed by Eunuchs Jia, Sun, and Zhao, who all came from the Palace. Each Eunuch manages one Bureau, and each Bureau is divided into ten Divisions, with about a hundred people per Division."

"We are in the Sixth Division under the Third Bureau, which is under Eunuch Jia's jurisdiction."

"The highest-ranking person in the Third Bureau is Eunuch Jia, followed by Eunuchs Fu, Lu, and Shou, who are the Great Managers of the Third Bureau."

"Of the ten Divisions in the Third Bureau, the first, second, and third belong to Eunuch Fu; the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh belong to Eunuch Lu; and the eighth, ninth, and tenth belong to Eunuch Shou."

"Each Division has a Second Manager, and under the Second Manager, there are ten Third Managers, each managing ten people."

"The Manager Leng who handed you over to me is a Second Manager under Eunuch Lu. And I am a Third Manager under Manager Leng."

"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to me. If I can't handle it, go to Manager Leng. Remember, whatever you do, don't go to the wrong person."

Seeing Hua Changxi's silence, Du Ruo smiled. "Did you understand?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "I understood. Manager Du, are the other Divisions as large as our Sixth Division?"

Du Ruo: "Some Divisions are even larger than ours."

Hua Changxi marveled, "Then the Labor Hall is truly massive."

With three Bureaus, ten Divisions each, and each Division being at least the size of a football field, it was no wonder they hadn't left the Labor Hall despite walking for so long.

Du Ruo laughed. "The Labor Hall's only advantage is its vast size. Even the Apprentice and Disciple Halls combined aren't as large as this."

Seeing that Du Ruo was easy to talk to, Hua Changxi dared to ask more questions. "Manager Du, besides cleaning herbs, do we perform other duties on a regular basis?"

Du Ruo countered, "Why, do you want to do other work?"

Hua Changxi gave a shy smile. "I was just asking."

Seeing her young age, Du Ruo didn't say much more. "Cleaning and processing herbs isn't the most exhausting or bitter work in the Labor Hall. You saw those people pulling the carts just now."

"The ones pulling carts, and the laborers who go to medicinal farms, mountains, and valleys to gather herbs, are the ones who have it hardest. That is heavy manual labor."

Hua Changxi asked again, "Will we be assigned to gather herbs?"

Du Ruo glanced at her. "Unless you make a mistake and are punished. Generally speaking, the heavy labor is done by male laborers; female laborers stay within the Labor Hall to process herbs."

As they spoke, they finally exited the Labor Hall. After walking for another fifteen minutes, they reached the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Upon reporting as a new laborer, Hua Changxi received a laborer's waist token, two sets of laborer's clothing, and a set of bedding.

Du Ruo: "The front of the Sixth Division is where the herbs are processed. The row of dormitories at the back is where you eat and sleep. Ten people per room."

Hua Changxi looked at the bedding. "Manager Du, must I live inside the Labor Hall?"

Du Ruo laughed. "You aren't thinking of going home to sleep, are you? You'd better prepare yourself; you might end up working until midnight every day."

Hua Changxi felt a sense of numbness as she clutched her belongings and followed Du Ruo back.

As they approached the entrance to the Sixth Division, Hua Changxi saw from a distance a woman dressed in manager's clothing, similar to Du Ruo, chatting and laughing with a middle-aged man. They seemed quite intimate in their conversation.

Soon, the two noticed the approaching Hua Changxi and Du Ruo and stopped their laughter.

"Manager Niu."

Du Ruo took the initiative to greet the middle-aged man.

The man was the Second Manager of the Fifth Division. Although Du Ruo was not his subordinate, she still showed courtesy when encountering someone of a higher rank.

Before the man could speak, the woman standing beside him spoke first. "Manager Leng is truly biased, handing a newcomer over to you, Sister Du, the moment they arrive."

Du Ruo glanced at her. "Ling Xiao, if you want a newcomer, you are more than welcome to ask Manager Leng. I only received her because I was truly short-handed."

Ling Xiao gave a mocking laugh and wanted to say something more biting, but seeing Manager Niu glance at her, she could only turn her head away in displeasure and fall silent.

Du Ruo looked at Manager Niu. "There is still much work left to do today. I'll get to it."

Hua Changxi hurried to follow Du Ruo. Even after walking several meters away, she could still hear Ling Xiao's cold snort from behind.

Du Ruo: "Manager Niu is the Second Manager of the Fifth Division. Ling Xiao is a Third Manager of the Sixth Division, just like me. She and I don't get along well. In the future, stay away from her."

Hua Changxi: "I will do as you say, Manager Du."

Soon, Du Ruo led Hua Changxi into a room.

"This is where you will live from now on. I manage everyone living in here. Make sure you get along with them."

Looking at the ten-person communal bunk, Hua Changxi, who valued privacy highly, felt a sense of internal collapse.

"Get settled first. Come find me once you're done. Since it's your first day, just cleaning and processing 200 herbs will suffice."

After Du Ruo left, Hua Changxi sat on the bed and let out a long breath.

She had previously oversimplified the Labor Hall. After Manager Du explained the structure and framework, she had a premonition that the interpersonal politics here would be anything but simple.

Sure enough, on her very first day, she had first discovered that Eunuch Xiao Luzi and Manager Leng had an unusual relationship, and then discovered that another Third Manager of the Sixth Division had a close connection with the Second Manager of the Fifth Division.

It was a complete mess!

She could only hope that these complex human affairs would not affect her.