The First Lackey Under The Empress

Zhao Du'an was taken aback, shifted the oiled paper-wrapped beef to his left hand, bent down to pick up the official booklet, dusted it off, placed it back on the table, and said with a smile:

"Is Your Honor in a bad mood today?"

The old eunuch, with graying temples and sunken eyes, sat behind the desk in the main room, looking down at him with anger:

"I remember telling you not to come here again."

Zhao Du'an said shamelessly:

"Last time, you said I wasn't allowed to visit late at night. The sun hasn't even set yet."

Sun Lianying sneered:

"Is this place such a good destination? Isn't it more interesting to hang out and play with those good-for-nothing young masters?"

What a petty person. It was just a few instances of skipping work... Zhao Du'an chuckled dryly, not arguing.

He went straight to the stone table in the backyard courtyard and placed the wine and meat there, saying:

"The food in the yamen is too poor. Your Honor hasn't had dinner yet, right? I brought your favorite osmanthus wine, beef from Feng's, tofu from Dongshi Alley, paired with pickled vegetables from Han's..."

It wasn't lavish, but it suited his taste.

Sun Lianying was momentarily dazed.

A long time ago, there was a period when Zhao Du'an would often bring food and drink to see him.

But after rising through the ranks from the Imperial Guards, he became aloof and never did so again.

"Heh, you still remember what I like," Sun Lianying said after a moment of silence, disdainfully:

"Your wine is no good. There's better stuff in the inner room."

Zhao Du'an's eyes lit up, and he happily went to fetch two jars of the old eunuch's private vintage.

When he came out, the old eunuch was already sitting at the stone table, tearing open the oiled paper wrapping and putting a piece of meat in his mouth. Zhao Du'an quickly offered him a bowl of wine.

After he drank it and let out a comfortable, long breath, the remaining glow of the sky faded.

Lanterns were lit in the backyard.

On the early summer night, mosquitoes flew around the antique bamboo lanterns, and the sky was covered with a light veil.

An old man and a young man sat facing each other, eating and drinking, occasionally talking, the topic always revolving around the recent turmoil in the imperial court.

Zhao Du'an wore a curious expression, learning many details and listening with great interest.

It is said that the most effective way to please a man is to ask him about his area of expertise.

Next, as long as you listen, he will talk endlessly, gaining a refreshing experience of showing off.

"So, you came here today just to find out about these things?"

Half drunk, Sun Lianying asked.

"Can't I visit you if there's nothing else?" Zhao Du'an picked up the wine jar and refilled his cup:

"Your Honor has cultivated me in the past, and I remember it well."

After a pause, he jokingly said:

"If I wasn't sure that there were no Sun family elders in my family, I would almost mistakenly believe that Your Honor is related to me."

He came tonight, firstly to repair their relationship, secondly to understand the situation in the imperial court, and thirdly to figure out why the old eunuch treated the original owner so well.

It couldn't be the eunuch's illegitimate son... that would be too melodramatic.

Sun Lianying leaned back in the rattan chair and chuckled:

"This old one doesn't have such a dissolute junior like you. As for the connection, there really is one."

Zhao Du'an's eyes lit up: "I'm all ears."

The old eunuch, already drunk, seemed to be stirred by past events. After a long silence, he said:

"This old one entered the palace in the second year of the late Emperor's reign.

That year, the Great Yu suffered a severe cold disaster. People around the capital were freezing to death just by breathing. My family was already poor, and then we suffered a disaster. We couldn't survive. My parents had no choice but to send me to the palace to find a living, so that at least the family could survive.

But entering the palace wasn't easy. It wasn't something you could do just by wielding a knife and cutting off your roots.

You had to find someone, seek connections with the eunuchs inside. They had to be willing to vouch for you, and then a castration master would help you do it. You also had to live in the master's house for several days to recover from the injury, and you had to provide food and clothing...

Without money or connections, you couldn't even sell yourself into slavery.

What to do? I had to find a distant relative and beg for help. Finally, I begged a soldier serving in the Imperial Guards, and that's how I managed to get it done.

Not only that, but that soldier also took money out of his own pocket to help manage things. That's how I got into the palace.

But once I entered the palace, I realized that the low-level eunuchs and maids had a difficult life. Don't even think about catching the eye of a noble person. It was already difficult enough not to be bullied by other eunuchs.

The little money I got each month had to be sent out of the palace to support my family. Those days were really hard. I was also very grateful to that soldier for his relief, which helped me get through it."

Zhao Du'an asked curiously:

"Wasn't it said that after entering the palace, there was an opportunity to be selected as a 'tribute'? Didn't you try it?"

Sun Lianying said with emotion:

"How could I not try? At that time, everyone who entered the palace was thinking about becoming a tribute, and there was even a rumor that as long as you became a tribute and cultivated to a high level, you could restore your incomplete body...

Heh, later I learned that even at the Celestial Human Realm, you could only regenerate a severed limb for a short period of time after physical damage..."

He suddenly smiled:

"At that time, there was also a smaller eunuch than me who was also eyeing this. You know him, it's Ma Yan."

"Eunuch Ma?" Zhao Du'an said: "I heard that he is the Crown Prince's man."

"Yes," Sun Lianying nodded:

"Ma Yan came from an even more miserable background. His parents died, and he was almost beaten to death by beggars on the street. Fortunately, the Crown Prince was on patrol that day and saved him. At that time, his lower body had already been smashed by the beggars, so he entered the palace.

His talent was the best among our group, and he was the only one selected by Hai, the tribute.

Then, during the Xuanmen coup, Ma Yan suffered thirty-one knife wounds to save the Crown Prince, which was considered repaying his kindness. After His Majesty avenged the Crown Prince, Ma Yan became loyal to His Majesty."

Ma Yan is also an Imperial City tribute?

Zhao Du'an was surprised. This was an inside story he didn't know.

He blinked his eyes: "Do you know anything about Hai, the tribute?"

Sun Lianying glanced at him and said:

"Stop probing me here. What kind of person is Hai, the tribute? You only need to remember that he is only loyal to the Emperor."

Loyal to the "Emperor."

So, after the old Emperor died, the Crown Prince had not yet ascended the throne, and the new Emperor had not yet appeared, the Imperial Family tribute did not participate in the coup?

Neither side helped?

Or did he take action, but was stopped by some force?

In the original owner's memory, he did not see Hai Gonggong's figure on the day of the coup.

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath, did not continue to dig into the topic, and instead said:

"But you still rose to power."

Sun Lianying "En" said, and smiled:

"That was the second 'noble person' I met. During the late Emperor's reign, a popular figure who became the 'Chief Eunuch' at the young age of eighteen appeared in the palace. It was rare in history books.

Because I knew him when I was young, he promoted me after he gained power and sent me to work for the Third Princess, who is our current Majesty. That's how I got the chance to advance."

"An eighteen-year-old Chief Eunuch?" Zhao Du'an was taken aback:

"I seem to have heard my father mention it, but I don't have a deep impression."

Logically speaking, such a powerful eunuch should have a great reputation, unless he died young.

Sun Lianying sighed:

"He was proud and complacent at that time, and all the civil and military officials were in awe. Because he was young and frivolous, he offended many people and even interfered in the court... He died unexpectedly during a trip out of the palace to the south."

If this wasn't murder, I'll write my name backwards... Zhao Du'an slandered in his heart.

This can explain why he didn't know the details.

The person died too early, no one mentioned it.

Sun Lianying said:

"His death taught me the most important lesson. From then on, I remembered that when working in the palace, I must be cautious and avoid frivolity. I can accumulate wealth, but I can only be greedy for money, not for 'power'.

After that, the palace was calm for a while. As I grew older, I gained the appreciation of the Third Princess with my good hairdressing skills, and she allowed me to audit classes in the palace school. You know the rest."

The Third Princess ascended the throne, and everyone rose with her... Zhao Du'an automatically completed the follow-up. He was silent for a moment, and said:

"So, that Imperial Guard who helped you..."

Sun Lianying nodded: "Is your grandfather."

"..." Zhao Du'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The reason that had troubled him for so long was just this.

Sun Lianying received charcoal in the snow from the Zhao family in his early years. After the female Emperor ascended the throne, he returned the favor and recommended Zhao Du'an, allowing him to enter Xu Zhenguan's vision.

He sighed:

"So, you repeatedly warned me to guard against arrogance and impetuosity, also because..."

Sun Lianying sighed: "Learn from the past to avoid future mistakes."

Case closed!

It was because of that living example of the "eighteen-year-old Chief Eunuch" who had promoted him that the old eunuch beat Zhao Du'an.

He was afraid that he would repeat the same mistakes and end up "dying unexpectedly."

Sun Lianying was deeply drunk, staring at him and earnestly persuading him:

"I know you don't want to listen. When people are young, they always dislike and resist the advice of the elderly.

Teaching people with words is useless, teaching people with events goes straight to the heart.

I thought that you had awakened after the Zhuang Xiaocheng case, but I didn't expect you to hang out with playboys like Qin Qiu again..."

The old eunuch's voice became lower and lower, and he fell asleep in a drunken stupor.

The night was quiet, Zhao Du'an raised his head and looked at the sky.

The dense clouds that had been pressing down on the capital for several days had dispersed, and a round moon hung high.

He got up, sent the old eunuch into the house, covered him with a blanket, cleaned up the leftovers, and turned to leave.

He gained a lot of information from tonight's conversation.

...

The next day, when the sky was still dim.

Zhao Du'an got up and put on his envoy's official robe in front of the bronze mirror, and took out a porcelain bottle, which he carefully hid in his inner pocket.

This was the "Rose Dew" he had tinkered with in his spare time these days.

That is: a crude version of perfume obtained by mixing rose flowers with water and using the distillation method.

"The craftsmanship is a bit rough, but it's still a novelty in the Great Yu."

Zhao Du'an muttered, "I wonder if Zhenguan will like it."

He tried it, and it was not bad. The fragrance was light and elegant, much better than the sachets used in the Great Yu Dynasty, which were mainly used to repel insects.

The early court meeting was held very early, and it often ended when it was dawn.

He estimated that the dust should have settled.

While he was thinking, You Jinhua's voice came from outside: "D郎, someone is looking for you outside."

Zhao Du'an rushed to the door.

In the faint morning light, the attendant next to Yuan Li leaned against the carriage and smiled:

"Lord Yuan ordered this humble one to invite the Envoy to the palace to receive a reward."

Pei Kai has fallen?!

Zhao Du'an's spirits lifted. The war was over, and it was time to reward meritorious deeds.

...

Palace gate.

When Zhao Du'an arrived, he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure. He was stunned and greeted with a smile:

"Senior Brother!"

The burly, thin, and stern Zhao Yamen Supervisor, whom all officials feared, had just arrived, and was stunned when he heard the call.

Ma Yan frowned: "Envoy Zhao, what did you call me?"

Immediately, he noticed that Zhao Du'an had actually walked out of Yuan Li's carriage, and his pupils suddenly narrowed.