Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

If you were to ask Gao Lishi if he regretted sending Jiang Caiping to the palace, the answer would be yes. Otherwise, the relationship between him and Jiang Caiping wouldn't be so strained, with no common ground and only business to discuss, devoid of any affection.

However, if she hadn't been sent to the palace, and if she hadn't been favored at the time and whispered in the emperor's ear, I, as a eunuch, wouldn't have been able to become the head of the Tianji Pavilion and help her accomplish so many things.

How could a eunuch like himself possibly hope that the woman he loved would be by his side?

Ugh……

Gao Lishi looked at Jiang Caiping, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

It wasn't until Jiang Caiping asked him, "Did you hear everything I just said? How do you plan to help my sister?"

Gao Lishi then came to his senses and said, "This matter is not difficult. For us, the biggest obstacle is His Majesty. It's not that we're afraid His Majesty is stingy and unwilling to grant Miss Caiyue an identity, but rather, how do we explain to His Majesty that you and Miss Caiyue have met?"

Consort Mei met Jiang Caiyue through Gao Lishi's arrangement, and this matter must not be known to the Emperor.

“That’s easy,” Consort Mei said frankly. “Tomorrow morning I will go to the Daming Palace and cry to His Majesty. I will tell him that I ran into my long-lost sister when I went out to see the lanterns today, and then I learned that my sister was actually the female instructor who taught Princess Ya Ru to dance the Dance of the Flying Swan. I will need your help to deal with Prince Shou and the others. Just make sure you don’t let it slip in front of His Majesty.”

Gao Lishi then asked, "You know His Majesty's temperament; he has always had designs on beautiful girls. Caiyue is beautiful and a rare and extraordinary woman. It's not impossible that His Majesty might suddenly have the idea to take both of you sisters into his possession."

As the chief eunuch who knew Li Longji best, Gao Lishi's thoughts were entirely accurate; Li Longji was indeed that kind of person.

“I’ve thought about that too,” Consort Mei suddenly smiled and said, “This is even simpler. My sister said that she and Li Guangbi, the deputy commander of the Shuofang Army, are mutually attracted to each other. You go and make things clear to Prince Shou and the others, and arrange for the two of them to be engaged. If His Majesty really has such thoughts, just tell him directly that my sister has already been engaged. At the same time, you find a girl that His Majesty likes to alleviate his longing for beautiful women. Surely His Majesty wouldn’t want to take away the love of even the soldiers in the army?”

"That's really hard to say," Gao Lishi thought to himself.

But he didn't want to disappoint Jiang Caiping, so he agreed to it.

That night, Jiang Caiping stayed in Tianji Pavilion. Next to Gao Lishi's study was a bedroom specially prepared for her, which was exquisitely and beautifully decorated, a replica of her Meixiang Palace.

In fact, Jiang Caiping had another unknown identity: the deputy head of the Tianji Pavilion. This identity was unknown even to Li Longji, except to Gao Lishi.

Like her younger sister, Jiang Caiping was an extraordinary woman, possessing both strong learning abilities and unwavering perseverance. She and Gao Lishi traveled from Guangzhou to Chang'an, learning many espionage skills along the way, including light-footed night travel and launching hidden weapons. Later, she established the Tianji Pavilion, and Gao Lishi gave her a token, appointing her as the deputy pavilion master.

She was also responsible for helping Gao Lishi gather intelligence within the palace, but in recent years she had fallen out of favor, and the information she could obtain was pitifully scarce. Fortunately, Gao Lishi remembered their past friendship and did not "dismiss" her.

Lying in bed, Jiang Caiping tossed and turned.

Thinking of my sister's shy expression when she mentioned her lover, I felt both gratified and bittersweet.

If I can't be with the one I love, then let my sister fulfill this dream for me.

The next morning, Gao Lishi escorted Jiang Caiping, dressed as a eunuch, back to the palace.

The two worked together seamlessly, and no one knew that Consort Mei had stayed out all night and then sneaked back to the palace disguised as a eunuch the next day.

It just so happens that Gao Lishi also has something to discuss with Li Longji.

The emperor did not hold court today. As soon as Gao Lishi arrived at the door of the Imperial Study, a young eunuch bowed and said, "Godfather, His Majesty did not hold court today. He is in the Imperial Study reviewing memorials. I will go and inform him right away."

As the most senior eunuch in the Tang Dynasty palace, Gao Lishi had many adopted sons among the younger eunuchs. Gao Lishi was a kind and generous man who never hesitated to help capable juniors and never discriminated against or suppressed those who were less capable. Instead, he would arrange comfortable jobs for them, ensuring they had no worries about food and clothing.

Therefore, Gao Lishi was highly respected among the eunuchs and was basically the only one who could have the final say.

At that time, Li Longji was sitting in the Imperial Study.

He didn't approve the memorials; instead, he frowned, seemingly lost in thought.

A young eunuch announced, "Your Majesty, Gao Lishi, the master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, is requesting an audience outside the gate."

Upon hearing the name Gao Lishi, Li Longji's brows immediately relaxed considerably.

He immediately said to the young eunuch, "Quickly, please invite him in!"

This Gao Lishi was truly a guiding light in his life. Whenever he encountered a problem he couldn't solve, Gao Lishi would appear in time to offer him some assistance. In any case, Gao Lishi was a eunuch and seemed quite content with his position as the head of the Tianji Pavilion, having nothing to fear.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Longji trusted Gao Lishi.

A moment later, Gao Lishi stood in front of Li Longji.

Li Longji offered him a seat, and then said, "I have something that has been troubling me lately. It's good that you've come, Gao Ban, so please help me resolve this problem..."

As he spoke, Li Longji shamelessly revealed his desire for Wusun Yaru. Although Wusun Yaru was currently one of the Crown Prince's future concubines, their relationship was not yet open, and if he wanted this woman, it wouldn't violate any moral principles.

It was for this reason that he had not yet responded to the Crown Prince's request to appoint a concubine. The reason given before was to choose an auspicious day, but now several days had passed, and the auspicious day should have been chosen by now, yet he still refused to agree.

If this continues, the Crown Prince will become unhappy.

But if Li Longji were to give up on the beauty just like that, he wouldn't feel at ease. So he pondered for several days, even losing sleep over it, but still couldn't come up with a good solution.

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi immediately felt as if he had been helped by heaven.

—If he could help the Emperor obtain the beauty Wusun Yaru, the Emperor would maintain his interest for a long time. And since the Emperor had just taken his son's woman, he certainly wouldn't covet the soldiers' daughters for a while, so Jiang Caiyue could safely gain a legitimate status and become Jiang Caiping's maternal relative.

All of this could be achieved by sacrificing the Crown Prince and Wusun Yaru.

Having made up his mind, Gao Lishi immediately said, "A woman whom His Majesty has taken a fancy to will naturally be His Majesty's possession."