The emperor just doesn't treat everyone equally, and it's none of my business!

Gu Shijin sat on the only chair in the room, looked at the eunuch kneeling on the ground, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Your name is Gao Yi." Gao Yi knelt on the ground, his body trembling.

"Gao Yi." Gu Shijin repeated the name.

"Eunuch Gao seems to be very leisurely every day." There was tea, melon seeds and peanuts on the table.

Gao Yi's body trembled: "The servant is here, the servant..."

Gu Shijin's eyes were full of sarcasm. This kind of cowardly and bad person was really disgusting.

"I have run out of paper and ink in my palace. I don't know how to get new ones. Does Eunuch Gao know?"

"Your Excellency, I will get it for you right away." Gao Yi got up and wanted to get the thing.

"Stop!" Gu Shijin picked up a book and slammed it on the table. "Just now, my people went back and reported that Ningyu Pavilion's quota had been used up. I won't make things difficult for you. Tell me, what should I do when my quota is used up?"

"Slave...slave..."

"My share has been used up. I see that Eunuch Gao's share is quite a lot." Gu Shijin glanced at the table in front of him.

I saw a lot of papers on the table, in a mess, and it was obvious that they were unusable.

"I know my crime, I know my crime."

Although there were quotas for things like pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, after use, the concubines in the harem would just have to send someone to the Imperial Household Department to get them. This was what they had always done, and the emperor and empress had tacitly approved of it.

Such a big palace should not be unable to afford pens, ink and paper.

Gu Shijin ignored him and said directly: "If you can tell the truth today, I will forgive you, otherwise..."

Gu Shijin had been at the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a quarter of an hour when Deng Yuan finally arrived. He saw this scene as soon as he entered the room. Apart from paying his respects to Gu Shijin, he did nothing and said nothing else.

Gao Yi was a distant relative of Concubine De's chief maid, and had some connections in the palace. Deng Yuan didn't want to offend him, so he put him here to take care of pens, ink, paper and inkstone. He didn't expect that something like this would cause trouble.

He had roughly guessed what had happened when he heard the report from the young eunuch today, so he naturally delayed for a while before coming back.

Gu Shijin was so angry that he laughed at the group of people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is not wrong to protect oneself, but this matter itself is the fault of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It would not be good if Deng Yuan did not say a word.

"Ah……"

"Miss Jin." Deng Yuan knew he couldn't hide any longer when he heard the voice, so he said, "Miss Jin, I didn't know what Gao Yi did beforehand. Please rest assured, I will punish him severely."

Gu Shijin looked at Deng Yuan with a half-smile: "In that case, I'll trouble you, Eunuch Deng."

"Someone, drag Gao Yi away and give him 20 big sticks. Then he can clean the west wing."

The west wing was where the eunuchs of the Imperial Household Department lived, and Deng Yuan finally did not drive them to the Ministry of Punishment.

"I wonder if Miss Jin is satisfied?" Deng Yuan said with a smile.

Gu Shijin stood up and nodded: "Eunuch Deng is very thorough, I am naturally satisfied."

"Farewell, Miss Jin."

After Gu Shijin walked away, Deng Yuan straightened up with a sinister look on his face.

He had long wanted to deal with Gao Yi, but since he was Concubine De's man, Deng Yuan did not dare to go too far.

"Come here." Deng Yuan waved to Xiao Liuzi.

Xiao Liuzi walked up to Deng Yuan and said, "Master."

"Go tell the executioner..."

"Yes, Master."

Deng Yuan found his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, picked up his things and walked towards Ningyu Pavilion.

Just now, Concubine Jin forgot to take these things when she left.

There was nothing Lu Junze didn't know about the affairs of the harem, it just depended on whether he wanted to get involved. As soon as Gu Shijin left the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a young eunuch reported the matter to Su Deyuan.

Su Deyuan pushed open the door of the imperial study and walked in carefully. Seeing that the emperor was writing, he did not disturb him and stood by and waited obediently.

"What's the matter?" Lu Junze put down the brush and nodded with satisfaction at the words on the rice paper.

He had promised Jin'er to write a calligraphy for her, and he happened to be free today.

When Su Deyuan looked up and saw the paper on the rice paper, he reported it in more detail.

Lu Junze did not comment after listening. When Su Deyuan was wondering if he had guessed the emperor's thoughts wrong, Lu Junze spoke.

"Find someone to tell the Queen about this matter, and let the Queen handle the affairs of the harem."

He was also partly responsible for the fact that Ningyu Pavilion's paper and ink were used up so quickly.

It’s not that Lu Junze doesn’t want to get involved in this matter, but he doesn’t want to bring hatred to Gu Shijin. Coincidentally, he also wants to see how the queen handles the affairs of the harem.

This matter is not a big deal. To put it mildly, Gao Yi is abiding by the palace rules. To put it seriously, Gao Yi is committing treason and bullying concubines. It all depends on what the person in charge thinks.

In fact, Shangguan Yan knew the news at about the same time as Lu Junze. Gu Shijin had been so favored recently, it was expected that some people disliked her. However, she did not expect that the person who was looking for trouble was so incompetent as to make things difficult for her.

"Waste." Shangguan Yan said indifferently.

"Your Majesty, do you have any control over this matter?" Yunzhi asked.

Shangguan Yan casually ordered: "If the person is not dead, throw him to the Ministry of Punishment."

Although the emperor was not angry about Chen Changzai's incident last time, he did give Shangguan Yan a few side-notes. This time, Shangguan Yan couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

"Yes, ma'am."

Twenty sticks are not a lot. It depends on how the executioner hits. It can result in minor skin injuries or a life.

Gao Yi was unlucky. The executioner lost his balance and hit Gao Yi on the lumbar spine with a stick, and his lower body... was paralyzed.

When Gu Shijin heard the news, he couldn't help but sigh at Deng Yuan's ruthlessness. People only have one life, either live or die. Now that Gao Yi is paralyzed like this, it is simply a matter of life and death.

Because of the Queen's order, after the execution, the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department dragged Gao Yi to the Ministry of Punishment.

The manager of the Ministry of Punishment felt disgusted when he saw such a person, but thinking of Deng Yuan's words, he still found a storage room and threw him in.

Anyway, as long as he is not killed for the time being, it will be fine.

It is normal to have a missing eunuch in the palace. No one would care, except Concubine De in Yonghe Palace.

Gao Yi did a lot of things for her in the Imperial Household Department, but now that he is gone, it is not so convenient anymore.

"Gu Shijin!" Concubine De's tone was grim.

Gu Shijin had just sat down to drink a sip of tea when someone came to report that the chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had arrived.

"Let her in." Gu Shijin said.

As soon as Deng Yuan came in, he held the tray and bowed deeply: "Your servant Deng Yuan pays respects to Lady Jin."

"Please stand up, Eunuch Deng." Gu Shijin said with a smile.

"Thank you, young master." Deng Yuan handed the tray to Xiao Linzi standing next to him: "Young master, here are the pens, ink, paper and inkstone you requested. They are all top quality."

"Eunuch Deng is thoughtful."

"What are you talking about, young master? This is all my job."

Gu Shijin took off a hairpin from her head, which was the one Deng Yuan touched when he sent someone over last time, and took off a jade bracelet from her hand and gave both things to Deng Yuan.

These two items were brought by Gu Shijin from home. They are not the style of those in the palace, so there will be no problem if they are sold.

"Thank you, Eunuch Deng, for your help these two times."

Deng Yuan did not refuse. He understood that the concubines in the palace did not want to owe favors to others, and it would be best to settle the matter.