Dugong

Chapter 10 The Prince's Rebellion
The night is getting darker.

Li Ping'an practiced in the quiet room until three o'clock in the morning before returning to his residence.

Xiao Fangzi and the other man had finished their shift and were reading by lamplight at night. When they saw him push the door open, they put down their books and asked him.

"Xiao Anzi, how is your martial arts talent?"

"One and a half sticks of incense equals one full rotation of the heavens."

Li Pingan shook his head and sighed: "With such talent, if there is no adventure in the future, or a large amount of elixir that can increase the power, he can only reach the first-class level at best."

In the martial arts world, first-rate masters are the founders of their own sects, and the leaders of many small sects are only second-rate, but they are not considered powerful in the palace.

First, the Lotus Sutra is extremely exquisite and is a supreme magical skill.

Secondly, one must be a castrator to practice it. As the saying goes, the greater the sacrifice, the more one gains, and the efficiency of accumulating true qi far exceeds that of similar techniques.

Xiao Fangzi consoled him, "First-rate isn't bad at all. If you can find a powerful godfather, you might be able to be transferred to the Imperial Household Department to serve."

Xiao Yuanzi shook the book in his hand and said, "Martial arts alone are not enough. You must also be familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics."

The palace did not prohibit eunuchs from studying, but there was no special place for instruction, so they had to rely entirely on their own hard work and study.

However, laziness is human nature, and few people can persist in reading after practicing martial arts.

For eunuchs working in the Imperial Household Department, martial arts skills are just a stepping stone; they also have to study day and night and study hard.

Of course, you need a backer!

"We don't dare to have any extravagant hopes for the Imperial Household Department. We can only hope that Eunuch Fang and Eunuch Yuan will go there and we can rely on them."

After chatting for a while, Li Ping'an lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

Thinking carefully about what I just said, there shouldn't be any loopholes. It's a qualification that's better than being mediocre, inconspicuous but not looked down upon.

"We learn Xiao Fangzi's aloofness, Xiao Yuanzi's affability, and Xiao Rongzi's low-keyness..."

In a daze, Li Ping'an dreamed that his face became distorted and broken, and was made up of the facial features of several people.

Xiao Fangzi's face, Xiao Yuanzi's nose, Xiao Rongzi's mouth, and the most terrifying thing is that he has the sinister eyes of Eunuch Zhou.

These facial features were stitched together in a messy manner, but there was no trace of Li Ping'an himself.

Li Ping'an didn't care about this at all. If he wanted to live long in the palace and be able to return home to visit his parents in the future, he had to acquire all useful skills.

Maybe it's not a skill, but a dirty trick, as long as I can survive, it's fine.

Since then.

Li Ping'an practiced diligently from morning till night. As his meridians became more and more proficient, his practice efficiency also increased.

From each stick of incense, eight strands of true qi are accumulated and increased to twelve strands of true qi.

I usually ask Xiao Fangzi and Xiao Yuanzi for tips on practicing martial arts. It was helpful at the beginning, but later there was not much improvement.

Instead, he inquired about the taboos in the palace to avoid accidentally violating them.

"The Empress hates orchids, and is even more averse to the word 'old'."

"Empress Yuan has no children, and cannot bear to hear words like offspring or children!"

"The Ninth Prince is timid and easily frightened, so you must speak softly when answering..."

There are many taboos like this, and Eunuch Xu, who teaches the rules, will not tell them, so they are only circulated privately among the eunuchs.

Autumn passes and winter comes.

Three months passed in a blink of an eye, and Li Ping'an had been in the palace for half a year.

During this period, a major event occurred in the court. The eldest prince, who had been the crown prince for thirty years, suddenly rebelled and led his personal soldiers to attack the imperial city at night.

Half an hour later.

The rebellion failed and the prince was captured.

This was all the news Li Ping'an heard. The palace was calm as usual and there was no panic or chaos.

It didn't even disturb his sleep, as if it was just a gust of wind blowing past the window.

This day's kitchen.

Li Ping'an heard two new eunuchs whispering about the prince's rebellion.

One said, "Can the prince eat white flour buns every day?"

Another said, "Of course there is. I heard that the prince doesn't eat white flour buns and eats meat every day!"

"Why would you rebel if you eat meat every day?"

"Who knows? I just can't figure it out..."

Li Ping'an looked up and saw two rustic little eunuchs who looked exactly like himself back then. It was obvious that they also came from poor rural backgrounds.

At this time, four older eunuchs walked into the kitchen in a domineering manner, took a quick glance and came to the two young eunuchs.

"Get out of the way, this is Grandpa's seat!"

The young eunuch stiffened his neck and said, "Your name isn't written on the seat, so why should I move aside?"

"How dare you be so stubborn!"

As he said this, he surrounded the two young eunuchs, pinned them to the ground and beat them up.

The eunuchs nearby either watched coldly or cheered. In this boring palace, bullying the weak was a rare pastime.

Li Ping'an frowned slightly, and the true energy surged at his fingertips. With just a light flick, he knocked down several eunuchs.

It can help the two young eunuchs out of trouble without anyone noticing.

"Forget it, this is the only way to get to the palace..."

Li Ping'an did not take action in the end. Minding one's own business was one of the rules of survival in the palace. He went to the quiet room to practice martial arts with a few white flour buns in his arms.

Now that the rules have been learned, you can practice all day long.

Return to residence in the evening.

A young boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, was lying on Xiao Zhongzi's bed. He was pale and groaned in pain from time to time.

Li Pingan asked, "New here? What's your name?"

"Wang Zhen."

"From now on, you'll be called Xiao Zhenzi. Do you want to eat white flour steamed buns?"

……

The new year is approaching.

Li Ping'an came to the duty room of the Internal Affairs Department and mixed in with a large group of eunuchs, standing neither in the front nor in the back and being inconspicuous.

Looking around, I saw many familiar faces, Xiaozhuo, Xiao Dengzi, Xiao Yunzi, Xiao Yuzi, etc.

Today is the day when eunuchs enter the palace in summer and are assigned their tasks.

Li Pingan muttered to himself, "Xiao Yunzi actually survived. I wonder if he can still use the toilet. And where did Xiao Rongzi go?"

I haven't seen Xiao Rongzi for a few months and I miss her quite a bit.

While he was thinking about it, the eunuch guarding the door reported in a sharp voice.

"The ancestor is here!"

All the eunuchs in the room knelt down and waited for the old ancestor to walk to the front and sit down, then they shouted in unison.

"Meet the ancestors."

"Good good."

The old man smiled and said, "Stand up, we are all family, no need to be polite."

Li Ping'an stood up with the crowd and secretly looked at the old eunuch in front of him. He had a white face and no beard, and was extremely fat. He seemed to have squeezed into the armchair forcibly.

This is the ancestor of the eunuchs in the palace, Eunuch Chu.

He was the personal eunuch of His Majesty when he was in the palace, and served as the chief commander of the twelve supervisors of the Internal Affairs Department. His power ranked among the top ten in the palace.

Ordinary concubines and princesses had to show respect when they met Eunuch Chu.

Next to Eunuch Chu stood a young eunuch with a handsome face, thin lips and white teeth. He was feminine yet with a bit of heroism. He was wearing a green official uniform embroidered with an oriole.

"Xiao Rongzi, an eighth-rank official..."

A strange look flashed in Li Ping'an's eyes. He never thought that Xiao Rongzi would have such an adventure and caught the attention of the eunuch ancestor.

Eunuch Chu said some polite words, mostly about asking everyone to help each other, coming to him if they have any difficulties, and that everyone has a bright future.

Then he ordered people to bring a copper pillar, half a person's height and as thick as two people's arms could hold.

The eunuchs lined up in a long queue, and took turns to circulate their true energy and hit the copper pillars, judging the strength of their skills by the depth of the palm prints.

Someone will take notes and assign tasks based on this information later.

"Xiao Chuanzi, the palm print is one point and three cents."

"Xiao Guzi, the palm print is eight centimeters."

"Small table, palm print 2.5 cents..."

Li Ping'an looked at the small table in surprise. This guy flatters people all day long, like a lapdog and a yes-man, but his skills are so profound.

The palm print is two and a half centimeters deep, ranking among the top five among all eunuchs.

(End of this chapter)