Dugong

Chapter 25 No Heart for Immortality
Eunuch An has a good temper and never gets angry when someone offends him. He will just write it down in a small notebook in his mind and settle accounts one by one in the future.

"On the twenty-second day of the fifth month of the forty-third year of Wude, little Lu Zi showed disrespect for his superiors and inferiors once again!"

Li Ping'an has nine hundred kinds of sinister tricks in his mind, but he always has a smile on his face and speaks to any eunuch in a friendly and amiable manner.

My godfather taught me privately that I should make friends with the people below me.

First, it will not threaten your own status and you will get a good reputation for nothing. Second, you can casually give out some benefits, even just a few words that cost nothing, which will bring you excess returns in the future.

Even if the other person falls to the bottom of society for the rest of his life, Li Ping'an will not lose anything.

"Godfather taught me everything he said and did. If I ever get into trouble in the future, I will definitely help, like secretly giving him a few white flour buns..."

After preparing the imperial meal in the evening, Li Ping'an carried a red gauze lantern and walked quickly through the palace gardens.

Regardless of whether he met a noble person on the road or not, he would always keep his shoulders slumped, his waist bent, his hands crossed in front of him, ready to kowtow and kneel at any time.

Otherwise, you might meet a noble person who is angry and sees you walking in a swagger from afar and takes the opportunity to vent his anger.

A slap in the face is a small matter, but dragging him away and beating him to death is the real injustice.

Li Ping'an once thought about whether he should fight back or surrender if the noble man really wanted to kill him.

"Before entering the palace, I will obediently accept death. Your Majesty and Your Majesty are both gods in heaven, speaking the law of heaven. I dare not resist in the slightest!
Now, I will probably give it a try..."

Li Ping'an's change in attitude towards imperial power did not come from his martial arts strength, but from the fact that he burned imperial meals worth twenty acres of land every day.

If you burn too much, even a god will no longer be a god.

Back to the residence.

Xiao Fangzi and Xiao Yuanzi were already off duty. It was a rare sight that they were not studying late into the night. Instead, they were chatting away discussing things.

Xiao Zhenzi stood respectfully aside, his face full of envy.

After listening to a few sentences, Li Pingan roughly understood what the two were arguing about.

The three court departments thoroughly investigated the prince's rebellion case and somehow found out that it was Admiral Yang, the Chief Supervisor, who was arrested along with his godson and grandson.

Xiao Yuanzi thought this was a good opportunity and wanted to give the gold and silver he had saved over the years to the new governor, Eunuch Qiao.

Xiao Fangzi was calm and composed. "We've heard about Eunuch Qiao. He was extremely greedy and had an unpredictable temper when he was an official at the Seal and Ribbon Bureau. It's very likely that our money has been wasted."

Xiao Yuanzi asked back, "If we don't even dare to take the slightest risk, are we going to be eunuchs at the bottom of society for the rest of our lives, washing clothes and cleaning vases?"

"That's not bad."

Xiao Fangzi said, "We don't ask for wealth and splendor in the future. As long as we can live in peace until we grow old and save enough money to buy a place to live after leaving the palace, we will be better off than 99% of the common people."

Xiao Yuanzi said: "I don't believe it. Don't you want to give your parents..."

Xiao Fangzi's cold face suddenly turned gloomy, and a cold and sinister aura emanated from his body, interrupting Xiao Yuanzi's second half of the words.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Li Ping'an quickly changed the subject to smooth things over.

"Eunuch Fang, Eunuch Yuan, I'm just curious. It's been over half a year since the treason case was filed, why are they still investigating?"

Xiao Yuanzi was secretly shocked by Xiao Fangzi's skills, which were far higher than he expected, even higher than the dead Xiao Zhongzi. He turned around and answered.

"Let alone half a year, we'll have to investigate in two or three years. That's no ordinary prince. He's been firmly in the Eastern Palace for over thirty years, serving as regent three times. I wonder how many people he's managed to win over, both within and without the court!"

Li Ping'an suddenly realized that the deposed prince was not a person, but a faction or a mountain.

Their roots were too deep and their influence too great. Even though the crown prince had been demoted to a commoner, the remaining officials and eunuchs still had enormous power.

Your Majesty must eradicate it completely to avoid affecting the inheritance of the country.

Li Pingan asked, "Why did the deposed crown prince rebel?"

Xiao Fangzi said in a deep voice, "It's rumored that the deposed Crown Prince is suffering from respiratory disease and is becoming increasingly weak. It's estimated that he won't survive Your Majesty, so he has no choice but to rebel to seize the throne..."

Li Pingan frowned slightly. When the deposed Crown Prince was plotting a rebellion, did he ever think about his own people, such as Admiral Yang? Most likely not, or perhaps he simply didn't care.

"If my godfather or grandfather is suspected of treason one day, as his godson, even if I survive, will I be punished to guard the imperial tomb and burn night incense..."

Li Ping'an couldn't help but grin. He was used to eating delicious food from the imperial kitchen, but he didn't want to smell feces and urine every day or eat tributes at the grave.

Xiao Yuanzi suddenly asked, "Eunuch An, do you think we should give money to Admiral Qiao?"

"Of course."

Li Pingan said decisively: "This is different from Xiao Zhongzi risking his life. Even if Admiral Qiao turns his face and refuses to admit it, at most we will lose some money. We are still young and can save it up in the future.

If I can seize this opportunity to get a job, I can get my money back quickly!"

Of course, this is just a superficial excuse. The real reason is that after the two of them spent money to buy official positions, Li Ping'an can benefit from it.

Xiao Fangzi was still hesitant, and Xiao Yuanzi kept encouraging and instigating him.

Even Xiao Zhenzi beside him said with a smile: "When Eunuch Fang and Eunuch Yuan become officials, we will become their subordinates and serve them attentively and attentively."

Li Pingan took a glance and thought, no wonder this guy didn’t get any foot washing water tonight.

It's not surprising. Everyone in the palace flatters others. If Xiao Zhenzi becomes powerful one day, it wouldn't be a bad idea to wash his feet myself.

As long as you don't step down on others casually, you are a good person!

……

June came in a flash.

Li Ping'an has been in the palace for a whole year and can go to the Cangwu Pavilion to choose a martial arts technique.

At dawn, I go to the main office to greet my godfather good morning, and exchange some sarcastic words with a few godsons. This has become a daily routine.

The ancestor has said that we should do our job well these days and internal fighting is not allowed.

That's why they trash-talk each other, or try every possible means to frame others, and those who have nothing to do will complain.

It's past noon.

Li Ping'an walked out of the imperial kitchen and headed north, passing through many palaces, and came to the Cangwu Pavilion next to the outer wall of the imperial palace.

When I asked about the location earlier, I was surprised that such an important palace was located in a marginal position. Aren’t they afraid that outside martial arts masters would come and steal it?

Xiao Fangzi said, "Taizu just wants people to steal!"

When the Cangwu Pavilion was first established, there were indeed masters who relied on their powerful martial arts skills to climb over the palace wall to peek at the secret skills.

As a result, as many people came in as disappeared, and later no one dared to come and steal.

Li Ping'an showed his badge, and the old eunuch on duty at the Cangwu Pavilion sent someone to the Internal Affairs Department to verify it. He was only allowed to enter after confirming that it had been a year.

"You can choose two quarters of an hour. If you miss that time, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Don't worry, sir. We will abide by the rules."

Li Pingan took out a few gold leaves from his sleeve and said, "Eunuch, you have been working hard on this mission. This is just a small token of my respect."

The old eunuch took the gold leaf skillfully and said, "You know the rules, boy. Just ask whatever you want to ask."

"Excuse me, sir, is there any secret technique in the Hidden Martial Pavilion that is extremely powerful but consumes a lot of Qi?"

Li Ping'an has a strong internal energy in his dantian and is not afraid of consumption, which makes him suitable for practicing this kind of skills.

It is too troublesome to search through them one by one by myself. There are more than thousands of books on martial arts in the Cangwu Pavilion, and it will take more than two quarters of an hour to even finish reading the titles.

What's more, most old eunuchs have strange minds. They might show ordinary skills on the surface and hide magical skills in the corner, deliberately making people unlucky for fun.

(End of this chapter)