Dugong

Chapter 52: Unclear Likes and Dislikes
a few days later.

Xiao Wuzi put two books in his lunch box.

"Thousand Character Classic" and "Shuowen Jiezi" are the mainstream primers of Dayong. When Li Ping'an opened them, he could only recognize one-tenth or twelve of the characters.

Eunuch Chu lay in the rocking chair, reciting softly.

"The sky and the earth are dark and yellow, the universe is primitive..."

Li Ping'an hurriedly followed and recited. Fortunately, he had some education experience and quickly adapted to Eunuch Chu's teaching method.

In half a day, I recited the Thousand Character Classic about ten times.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s smarter after practicing martial arts, or because he’s been exposed to literature in the palace for many years, but his speed of recognizing words is much faster than when he first entered the palace.

By the evening, Li Ping'an was able to recite the entire text haltingly.

If there are any words you don't understand, you can ask Eunuch Chu and get an explanation. He is much more competent than Eunuch Zhou of Neiwu Hall.

Seeing his complacency, Eunuch Chu poured cold water on him, saying, "This is just a primer. If you want to be a supervisor, you must at least be a Juren."

Li Pingan asked curiously, "How knowledgeable are you, ancestor?"

Eunuch Chu said, "I once wrote a paper for the Spring Examination. After covering my name, I handed it to the chief examiner for review. I got the seventh place in the second class."

"The ancestors are mighty!"

Li Ping'an couldn't help but admire that passing the imperial examination was extraordinary. Wouldn't it mean being a county magistrate? If he did well, he might be able to be included in the imperial court.

There are four cabinet ministers at present, two of whom are from the second-class class.

Eunuch Chu lay on the bed, enjoying Xiao Anzi's shoulder and leg massage, muttering to himself in his sleep.

"Our family shouldn't have participated in that Spring Examination. Who could have imagined that Zeng Tietou would appear and cause so much trouble for no reason, almost capsizing the boat..."

Li Ping'an kept moving his hands and listened attentively to the secrets of the court.

Zeng Tietou was the nickname of the Second Assistant Minister of the Cabinet. He was known for his upright character and was well-known inside and outside the palace. He submitted memorials to impeach Eunuch Chu several times, saying that the eunuch party was harming the country.

Another thing that made Zeng Ge Lao famous was that he was a Jinshi graduate and ranked among the top three in the cabinet, which was unprecedented in the founding dynasty.

"Rumor has it that Elder Zeng ranked first among the top three. If we follow what our ancestors said, he should have ranked second..."

Li Ping'an was not sure how big the difference was between the second and third class, but seeing that Zeng Ge Lao had made several memorials, it was obvious that he had a deep-rooted hatred.

……

The days in the cold palace passed very quickly.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Ping'an read two volumes of elementary education books carefully and practiced writing on the ground using a tree branch as a pen.

The bones, muscles and tendons tempered by the true qi were much more sensitive than those of ordinary people. In a short period of time, he went from being a chicken pecking and a dog crawling to being a decent person.

The general level is that the handwriting can be recognized by outsiders.

After elementary education, students began to study the basic Confucian works, "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean".

Li Ping'an reviewed old books, recited and copied them in the morning, and learned new books from Eunuch Chu in the afternoon. Unlike elementary school books, he had to consult word by word.

The rest of the time, he served Eunuch Chu wholeheartedly.

"We are so good at serving people, and we have to thank Xiao Zhenzi for serving us first. I haven't seen him for a long time, and I wonder what job he is doing?"

Li Ping'an missed the old days very much. Thinking back to when he entered the palace, he just started to live a happy and easy life.

Later, let the world push him, he originally just wanted to eat white flour buns, but later he wanted to become an official and make money.

Snapped!
The bamboo stick in Eunuch Chu's hand fell on the back of Li Ping'an's hand, and the piercing pain interrupted his thoughts: "Did you remember what I just said?"

"Ancestor, you said that in the three sayings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, 'to manifest the bright virtue,' 'self-knowledge leads to enlightenment,' and 'to understand the mind and see the nature,' the word 'Ming' has the same meaning. However, the three schools have extended it to different realms to achieve sages and true people..."

Li Ping'an was distracted just now, so his narration was halting.

Eunuch Chu snorted coldly, "How many people in this world have begged us for guidance, even if they kowtowed to us, they still had no chance. You, a fool, don't even care! You are truly foolish!"

Li Ping'an fell to his knees and kowtowed.

"I know I'm wrong, please forgive me, ancestor."

Eunuch Chu took a glance and saw blood oozing from Li Ping'an's forehead. He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, forget it. It's just the two of us in this cold palace. If I don't teach you, who else will I teach?"

Li Pingan heaved a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, "I will study hard and not let down our ancestors' teachings." "I'll stop today and continue tomorrow."

Eunuch Chu lay in the rocking chair with his eyes slightly closed. Perhaps he felt comfortable in the autumn sun, and soon he began to snore softly.

Li Ping'an knelt beside him and didn't dare to get up without permission.

During dinner in the evening.

Eunuch Chu glanced at the lychee paste and snowflake crisps with disgust: "Xiao Anzi, we want to eat something else."

Li Pingan said, "Grandpa, if you give me instructions, let's talk to Xiao Wuzi."

Eunuch Chu said, "We taught you not to let others know what you like to eat. For example, we don't like honey, but we have been eating sweets for years."

Li Pingan asked in confusion, "Is the ancestor doing this to prevent the villain from poisoning you?"

Eunuch Chu shook his head and said, "If one's likes and dislikes are not expressed on the surface, then his authority is unfathomable. The specifics of what one eats are merely superficial."

"Thank you for the advice, ancestor."

Li Pingan bowed and said, "What would you like to eat, ancestor? I will go to the imperial kitchen and get it."

Eunuch Chu's face trembled up and down, and his voice was shrill.

"Yudaigo!"

……

Imperial Room.

The person in charge has changed, but the arrangement remains the same.

Li Ping'an used the technique of standing upright without a shadow, and his whole body turned into a faint shadow, quickly moving along the shadow at the base of the wall, easily passing the eunuch on duty at the door.

The true energy passed through the gap in the window frame, pushed the wooden pin inside, opened the gap and drilled in.

The position of the jade decoction remained unchanged, and the porcelain bottle in which it was placed was sealed with wax and had the seal of the imperial kitchen on it.

If an outsider steals the Jade Divine Soul, the seal will inevitably be destroyed.

Li Ping'an had worked in the imperial kitchen and already knew the secrets reserved by the chef. He gently turned the porcelain bottle and found a dark pattern.

After careful exploration with true Qi, he indeed found a tiny hole.

The small hole is smaller than an ant and is difficult to detect without magnification several times. It is sealed with porcelain glaze of the same color and can be opened with a slight poke.

"After decades, the chef's method of stealing oil has not changed. It seems that he allows acquaintances to steal!"

Li Ping'an poured his true energy into the porcelain bottle, forcing the jade essence to drill out from the small hole and fall into the soup bowl that had been prepared long ago.

He took most of the bowl, blocked the small hole with porcelain glaze again, and disappeared as a shadow.

After a while, he returned to the cold palace.

Eunuch Chu finished the jade essence in two or three mouthfuls, his face full of enjoyment and aftertaste: "Xiao Anzi, now that you know our family's preferences, please don't spread it out."

"Don't worry, ancestor. Our family will keep this a secret."

Li Ping'an looked solemn. He couldn't figure out what his father-in-law was thinking. Was he interested in Yudihu or was he referring to himself?

After half a month of instruction, Li Ping'an had truly developed a sense of master-disciple friendship with Eunuch Chu, but now all of that had vanished into thin air.

There is no true friendship in the palace, or maybe this is just a way of teaching.

Eunuch Chu said, "From now on, don't call me ancestor anymore. I'd like to raise your generation. Do you dare or are you willing?"

Li Pingan was very smart and immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times.

"Meet Grandpa Gan."

Eunuch Chu laughed strangely a few times: "Not bad, not bad, you know how to advance and retreat. From now on, we will be grandfather and grandson..."

Seeing that Eunuch Chu was in good spirits, Li Ping'an bravely asked.

"Grandpa Gan, are you originally like this?"

Eunuch Chu lowered his eyes and looked at Li Ping'an's round face.

"My family was originally as thin as a bamboo pole, but the Queen... well, she was still the Princess at that time. She said that being fatter would make you look festive, so my family ate frosted fat every day!"

(End of this chapter)