Dugong

Chapter 27: Square is not as good as round
I hadn't seen Xiao Yuanzi for a few days. When we met again, he had taken off his old blue gown and put on a brand new green official robe.

The eighth-rank inspector eunuch was in charge of investigating eunuchs’ violations of discipline and dereliction of duty.

When Li Ping'an saw this, he immediately went over to pay his respects, bending his legs and about to kneel down, with a fawning look on his face.

"Greetings, Eunuch Yuan."

"Xiao Anzi, please get up quickly."

Eunuch Yuan reached out to support Li Ping'an, and said with a half-smile, "We've been sleeping together for over a year, and our relationship is closer than brothers. There's no need to worry about the formalities!"

Li Pingan was touched and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Yuan, for your respect. I must not be disrespectful."

After some pretense, Eunuch Yuan began to pack his bags.

After being promoted, eunuchs would have their own rooms. If they were promoted to the fourth rank or above, they would have their own courtyards. Each eunuch commander would be given a side hall.

Xiao Zhenzi wanted to go forward to help clean up, but Li Pingan reached out and held him back.

Eunuch Yuan packed his bags and looked around the house carefully before leaving, as if he was reluctant to leave. He took a last, longing look at Xiao Fangzi's bed, his expression flickering before he turned and strode away.

Li Ping'an watched Eunuch Yuan disappear into the night, and his heart finally settled down.

"Luckily, we stopped Eunuch Yuan from opening his mouth. Otherwise, this would have been a tough test today. I might have gotten myself into a lot of trouble!"

This incident made Li Ping'an understand that if you don't want to kill someone, you shouldn't offend them. Vice versa, if you offend someone, you must kill them.

Who can be sure that the little person who is easily bullied today will be in a high position of power in the future?
Xiao Zhenzi asked in confusion, "Why is Eunuch An stopping us?"

Li Pingan said, "You should be tactful when you flatter someone. Eunuch Yuan was packing up his personal belongings, and you saw him and took advantage of him. Aren't you courting death?"

Eunuch Yuan seems to be kind to others, but in fact he is more ruthless than Xiao Fangzi. Now that he has become the eunuch in charge of checking the rules, it is very easy for him to punish Xiao Zhenzi reasonably and legally.

Xiao Zhenzi suddenly realized and said, "Thank you, Eunuch An, for your advice. Let's go get you some water to wash your feet."

Li Ping'an glanced at Xiao Fangzi's cold, empty bed and didn't dare ask Eunuch Yuan about his whereabouts. He thought it was very likely that he was dead.

Maybe they tripped and fell to death, or fell into a well, or even choked to death while eating or drinking water. No matter how bizarre the way of death, no one cares.

Who would offend the eunuch Yuan, who holds an official position, for a dead person?

So many people die in the palace every year, and Xiao Fangzi is just one of them.

"We promised to help Xiao Fangzi prepare his remains, but now we can't even see the body, so we have no choice but to break our promise..."

……

Not a few days passed.

Two young eunuchs, about twelve or thirteen years old, came into the room. One was called Xiaochunzi and the other was called Xiaoliuzi.

The two are not as smart and hardworking as Xiao Zhenzi. They are similar to Li Pingan in the past, rustic and taciturn.

He was only focused on eating white flour buns and didn't care about anything else.

Most of the eunuchs in the palace looked muddle-headed. Most of the eunuchs in the imperial kitchen were old eunuchs in their thirties, who had been cooking and setting fires for more than ten years, living one day at a time, swaying from day to day.

These people allowed the palace to fight back and forth, but I remained unmoved. When I was bullied, I endured it and never thought of revenge.

Even if the noble man gets angry with them and beats them to death one day, they dare not resist or say anything. People like Xiao Zhuozi, Xiao Zhenzi and even Li Pingan are the minority.

"If it weren't for Eunuch Zhou forcing me, I would just want to work in the imperial kitchen, eat steamed buns, and eat them until I die..."

The resentment in Li Ping'an's heart never diminished, but grew deeper and deeper. Every day when he washed up and saw the face turning from square to round, his hatred would grow stronger.

June 23rd.

It was the 50th birthday of Grandfather Liu, the Godfather, and Eunuch Sun took Li Ping'an to celebrate.

The birthday celebration took place in the Shangshenjian's office, and those who came to congratulate him were Admiral Liu's adopted sons and his adopted grandsons who had seen the world. Admiral Liu sat at the head of the table, with twelve adopted sons sitting on either side.

Grandchildren like Li Ping'an were not qualified to sit down. They stood behind their godfathers, served food and wine, and listened to the fathers-in-law chatting.

A father-in-law said, "There were floods in the south, and the price of rice has increased by 30%."

Another person chimed in, "That has nothing to do with us. If the price goes up by 30%, we can't lose out on the money we earn."

"Thirty percent isn't enough, let's increase it to sixty percent. Opportunities like this don't come around every year. Your Majesty will understand our hard work!"

"Jie Jie Jie..."

A large group of people laughed strangely like night owls, and it was obvious that everyone agreed with Liu Cheng.

They are all Admiral Liu's adopted sons. They may have conflicts with each other, and even fight to the death in private, but on the surface they are a community of interests.

Admiral Liu took the lion's share of the money earned by the Imperial Kitchen, and the rest was shared among the other members.

Li Ping'an listened to the eunuchs making money, which in a few words amounted to thousands or even tens of thousands of taels, which was equivalent to what he had saved for ten years.

"You still have to be an official. The lower classes can only earn hard-earned money..."

He carefully wrote down the ways the eunuchs made money, such as acquiring businesses to supply rice and flour to the palace, selling supply notes and having eunuchs purchase goods based on the notes, falsely reporting exorbitant prices for ingredients, and using hidden purchasing contracts, etc.

Li Ping'an was amazed. He thought he might be able to use it in the future. It was much more professional than directly accepting bribes and money.

As soon as the evening comes.

All the godchildren and godgrandchildren kowtowed and wished Admiral Liu a happy birthday: "The children respectfully wish godfather a long life and a life as long as the Southern Mountains..."

Admiral Liu sat upright on the armchair, looking at his godsons and godsons kneeling together, and recalled that he was just a street beggar in the past, and his heart was filled with emotion.

"Our family has come this far, so we can definitely make further progress. Godfather is old now, and he can't just occupy the position forever!"

Of course, this was just what I thought in my heart, and I didn't dare show it on my face.

If I say it directly, the children and grandchildren kneeling in front of me will probably scatter on the spot, and the rest will turn against me.

"Hehehe, get up, it's not a big deal for us to have a birthday, it would be better if the children come along to have some fun."

Everyone stood up and sat down, presenting birthday gifts one by one according to their status and power.

The old eunuch who spoke first had white hair and wrinkles all over his face. He was much older than Admiral Liu, and he called him "godfather" in a smooth and silky voice.

"Godfather, this string of pearls all came from the Imperial Household Department. I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea."

Admiral Liu stroked Dongzhu gently, his eyes shining: "Little Jinzi, you are so thoughtful. I mentioned you to my godfather a few days ago and praised you very much."

The old eunuch fell to his knees and kowtowed: "Thank you, godfather, for your support."

The other fathers-in-law were envious and jealous, and hurried to offer gifts. One gave a foot-high coral, and another invited a jade Buddha from the previous dynasty.

When it was Eunuch Sun's turn to speak, he carried a box about a foot square, brought it to his godfather and opened it.

It was bright and dazzling, golden and dazzling, and it turned out to be a box of gold bars.

Gold bars are not bad in terms of value alone, but birthday gifts should be thoughtful and rarity, so gold bars seem too vulgar.

Admiral Liu raised his eyelids, reached out and picked up a gold bar, and saw the words engraved on it, and couldn't help laughing.

"Interesting, interesting. You've always been so rigid. Where did you learn these flattering skills?"

When Eunuch Sun heard the three words "you kid", he immediately knew that he had given the right gift. His godfather liked gold, and the gift was thoughtful and interesting, so it was far better than pearls and Buddha statues that were only good-looking but useless.

"Godfather, please be kind. We have a godson who is smart and clever..."

(End of this chapter)