Outside the Forbidden City in the Ming Dynasty, there was a bustling street called Zhugan Lane.
It used to be bustling with traffic, but since a young eunuch named Cao Tan frequented it, it has become unusually deserted.
Cao Tan, a little eunuch who was born in a mixed hall and was in charge of bathing, although his position was low, he became impossible to underestimate because of his tough backstage.
This Cao Tan was born in Heisong Fort, a small village located 200 miles east of the Forbidden City. When he was 16 years old, he had a bad heart for a beautiful woman, which led to the woman's suicide in shame.
When he was arrested by the village chief, Cao Tan actually cut off his life, went to Beijing in a grand manner, and became a eunuch under Liu Jin. Liu Jin, an important official of the celebrant supervisor, is powerful.
Time flies, and Cao Tan gradually mixes up in the Forbidden City. He not only bullied the market outside, but also specialized in snatching beautiful women and giving them to Liu Jin as a reward. Liu Jin's downfall, although closely related to him, is not mentioned for the time being.
Anyway, on this day, Cao Tan came to Zhugan Lane again. His eyes were drawn to a newly opened bath shop, whose plaque read "Drunken Fragrance Pool" in three glittering golden letters. Cao Tan asked curiously, but the beautiful girl in the store just smiled and said nothing, which made him even more curious.
The owner of this bath shop is an old man, and his granddaughter Chun'er is the beautiful girl. Chun'er introduced Cao Tan to the various fragrant soup baths in the store, including morning dew bath, orchid bath, wolfberry fragrant bath, etc.
Cao Tan became interested in these fragrant baths, especially when he heard that morning dew baths can relax the muscles and invigorate the muscles, and wolfberry fragrant baths can prolong life, so he decided to experience them himself.
Chun'er skillfully concocted the medicinal bath, and Cao Tan excitedly threw himself into it, feeling unprecedented comfort. After soaking in the bath, he felt refreshed and his eyes seemed to be brighter. When he left, he generously gave the old man some broken silver and promised to come back the next day.
The next day, Cao Tan arrived as promised, and he made an unreasonable request to Chun'er to take a mandarin duck bath together. Chun'er wittily rejected him on the grounds of the effect of the incense bath, and instead proposed to prepare an ecstasy bath for him next time. Under the skillful guidance of Chun'er, Cao Tan also tried the store's special delicacy - tile urn boy chicken.
This dish is made in a unique way that the chicken is soaked in herbs, then pickled, buried, and steamed for a long time before it can be eaten. Cao Tan was so full of praise for this dish that he didn't even leave a drop of soup.
On the third day, Cao Tan came to the bath shop full of anticipation, ready to experience the legendary ecstasy bath. This herbal bath, called the "Ecstasy Bath," is said to "remove all the dirt and cleanse it." Chun'er began to mix the medicinal soup, and Cao Tan entered the bathtub.
Cao Tan's whole body was covered with herbs, and he felt extremely comfortable. Just as Chun'er was massaging his shoulders and neck, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation and transparency, but soon found that his limbs were weak and his whole body could not move.
At this time, he saw an old man, who poured him a bucket of black medicinal juice, and said that he would "remove the internal organs and marinate him in a clay urn" to make a "clay urn boy chicken".
The old man smiled strangely, "Seal it with yellow mud and bury it in the ground, store it for a spring and autumn season, and make another tile urn boy chicken." This urn boy chicken is the favorite delicacy of the villagers of Black Pine Castle. ”
It turned out that all this was a trap designed by Chun'er and the old man to avenge Cao Tan's harm to their villagers. They took advantage of Cao Tan's greed and debauchery to make him suffer the consequences.
Cao Tan realized in fear and despair that the evil he had done over the years would eventually be retributed. In the Forbidden City, it turned out that most of the little eunuchs who disappeared mysteriously were designed to take revenge by Chun'er and her grandfather. Cao Tan finally realized his end, but it was too late.
Evil is rewarded for evil, not that it is not repaid, the time has not yet come. Cao Tan's ending is the evil fruit he planted, and Chun'er and her grandfather are just the executors of fate. Throughout history, such stories, while brutal, are also a reminder that everyone is responsible for their actions.