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Chapter 425 Eunuch Liu's Lament

"Go, go." Zhu Houzhao waved his hand when he saw Liu Jin swaying and about to collapse. "Go back and find a doctor to take a look and prescribe some medicine. Don't use those quacks from the Imperial Hospital."

"Yes, this old servant remembers. This old servant takes his leave..." After kowtowing, Liu Jin got up and left with the help of Gu Dayong and Xiao Huozhe.

After leaving the inner chamber, Gu Dayong heard Liu Jin say in a sinister tone, "Third brother, you dare to scheme against me?"

"Brother, you know me, I wouldn't have such a ulterior motive!" Gu Dayong felt as if his wrist was being tightly gripped by Liu Jin's cold, withered hand, his body going numb instantly. He quickly whispered his protest:
"My second brother said he was leaving a white Chow Chow as a parting gift for the master. I thought it was quite ugly, so I didn't refuse. Wei Qi, the gatekeeper, also saw it. Those two little turtles with their beady green eyes, who could like them?"

He said helplessly, "Who would have thought that my second brother, that scoundrel, would put powder on it? Once the powder was wiped off, it turned into such an unparalleled treasure!"

"Come on, don't treat me like a fool. If you were truly on my side, you wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess..." Liu Jin snorted, gripping Gu Dayong's wrist tightly, his strength showing no sign of weakness.

Gu Dayong struggled but couldn't break free. Then he heard Liu Jin threaten him in the ear, "Quickly say 'I was wrong,' or this matter is over..."

Before they could finish speaking, the two felt a sharp whooshing sound behind them, and the next instant, Liu Gonggong was kicked hard in the buttocks!
Liu Jin cried out and was kicked away, landing face-first on the ground...

"Liu Jin, I'll fuck your grandma's leg! We haven't settled our score yet!" Zhang Yong shouted, standing on one leg, still in the kicking stance.

"You..." Liu Jin turned around, rubbing her lower back with one hand and pointing at Zhang Yong with the other, saying incredulously, "How dare you!"

"You're trying to kill me, why should I be polite to you?" Zhang Yong pounced on Liu Jin, sat on his waist, and started punching him on the head with both hands.

"I'll beat you to death, you ungrateful bastard! Who was it that got you out of death row?!" Zhang Yong shouted as he beat him.

"What oath did we eight brothers make when we swore our brotherhood? You're just spouting nonsense. If God doesn't punish you, I will!"

"Stop hitting! Stop hitting!" Gu Dayong shouted from the side but refused to step forward.

Several of the young fire-bringers wanted to take the opportunity to save Eunuch Liu, but they were blocked by Zhang Sheng and Zhang Lin and couldn't get close at all.

Zhang Yong was highly skilled in martial arts and proficient in riding and archery. He was the one who accompanied Zhu Houzhao in martial arts training. Otherwise, the young emperor would not have put him in charge of the Imperial Guards after he ascended the throne.

Liu Jin also had some basic martial arts skills, but he was no match for Zhang Yong. He was thoroughly beaten and left dazed and bleeding from his nose.

"Alright, alright, stop fighting." Seeing the vast difference in skill between the two, the young emperor lost interest in watching the spectacle and stopped Zhang Yong, saying, "That's enough venting your anger. Why are you really beating him to death?"

"Yes." Zhang Yong gave Liu Jin a resounding slap before getting up and stepping aside.

Liu Jin then scrambled to his feet, covering his nose and crying, "Waaah, Your Majesty, please do justice for this old servant..."

"Alright, you deserved it this time." Zhu Houzhao said calmly, stroking the sleeping panda in his arms. "I only trust the eight of you. Qiu Ju has already been taken away, and now you're taking away Zhang Yong too. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Liu Jin immediately stopped crying and kowtowed vigorously, saying, "This old servant will never dare to do it again."

"Learn a lesson," Zhu Houzhao snorted, then said to Zhang Yong, "You've hit him and vented your anger, but you're not allowed to retaliate against your husband again."

"Yes." Zhang Yong nodded obediently and said, "I'm just afraid he won't be able to swallow this insult and will find a way to take revenge on this old servant."

"No, no, brother, I was wrong." Liu Jin was so frustrated. He got beaten up and still had to apologize. What a waste of his position as the Chancellor...

What frustrated him even more was that he couldn't retaliate against Zhang Yong anytime soon. If anyone else wanted to deal with him, he would have to stop them, otherwise the blame would fall on him.

"That's right. Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external humiliation." Zhu Houzhao nodded and said to Gu Dayong, "Dayong, set up a feast for me and let your elder brothers reconcile. There's no grudge that can't be resolved with a drink; if there is, then have two!"

"As you command," Gu Dayong replied respectfully.

~~
After Liu Jin left, Zhu Houzhao asked Su Youjin again, "You haven't finished yet, how do you raise this panda?"

"Your Majesty," Su Youjin replied respectfully, "this panda cub is delicate and fragile, requiring meticulous care to grow up healthy."
"After taking care of it for over a month, I've figured out a few key points. First, keep it warm. This little guy is afraid of the cold, so we need to prepare a warm room with thick blankets, avoid open flames to prevent burns, and change the bedding frequently to keep it clean."

"Secondly, feeding. Feed fresh goat milk five times a day, heat it in a double boiler but not too hot, no more than half a bowl each time, and don't feed it too quickly so it won't choke. Also, this animal is vegetarian and cannot be fed meat."

"Thirdly, check its stool daily; soft, brownish-brown stool is ideal..."

"Stop, stop." Zhu Houzhao was exasperated and waved his hand, saying, "Don't bother two masters with one thing. It's better to do what you know well than what you don't know. You can continue feeding me."

"Huh? I took leave to come here..." Su Youjin was dumbfounded. I just came to deliver a panda. Why did you leave it for me?
Moreover, what he was most worried about was that he had heard that the emperor could not have a complete man by his side, so would he also be castrated?
"You don't need to go back. I'm promoting you to Commander of a Thousand Households!" Zhu Houzhao said without allowing Su Youjin any room for discussion. "You will stay in the Leopard House to raise and care for the pandas."

"Commander Su, why don't you quickly express your gratitude?" Zhang Yong smiled and gestured for Su Youjin to agree. "Congratulations, from now on we're colleagues."

"..." Su Youjin was even more frightened now, and finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Is this commander also a eunuch?" "Hahaha!" The emperor laughed so hard he almost fell over, finding this guy very amusing. "The commander is an outside official, but if you really want to be a eunuch, I can grant your wish and give you the position of deputy chief steward of the Leopard Chamber."

“I think it’s a good idea,” Zhang Yong joked. “Anyway, at your age, those two things are pretty much useless.”

"No need, no need!" Su Youjin shook his head vigorously, chuckling sheepishly, "I'm perfectly content being a commander of a thousand men. Whether he's useful or not, I want to keep him around; it makes me feel at ease to touch him now and then..."

"Hahaha!" Zhu Houzhao burst into laughter, but his stomach rumbled loudly.

"Your Majesty should have your meal. You haven't eaten properly for over a day," Gu Dayong said softly.

"Mmm." Zhu Houzhao finally felt like eating.

He went into the inner chamber first, placed the panda cub on the inside of the dragon bed, and put a large pillow on the outside to prevent it from falling off. He then instructed Su Youjin to take good care of his precious panda before following Gu Dayong to the warm pavilion for his meal.

Zhang Yong also stayed in the inner chambers; he needed to figure out how to improve the emperor's living conditions.

Once everyone else was gone, Su Youjin hurriedly and respectfully said to Zhang Yong, "Thank you for saving us, Father-in-law. Our Su family will never forget your kindness, Father-in-law, for all eternity."

"Oh, it's us who should thank you." Zhang Yong smiled, not getting carried away by regaining favor, and still said humbly, "If you hadn't sent this little darling all the way here, we would already be in Tongzhou."

"In short, we help each other out." He patted Su Youjin on the shoulder and said, "Let's get along well in the future and support each other so that we can last."

"Yes, we'll listen to you, Father-in-law. It would be an honor for our family," Su Youjin said softly.

"Ah, it's my honor." Zhang Yong shook his head, took out the scroll from his sleeve, and handed it to Su Youjin, saying, "This is not needed, you can take it back first."

"Ah, it wasn't given to the Emperor?" Su Youjin was taken aback.

"Why add unnecessary complications when a panda can solve the problem?" Zhang Yong said calmly.
"Moreover, bringing it out today will definitely backfire."

"Oh, oh." Su Youjin nodded quickly, though he didn't quite understand.

“There are some situations that you outsiders don’t understand, so it’s inevitable that you’ll make assumptions,” Zhang Yong gently advised him. “From now on, when you’re by the Emperor’s side, you must remember this: don’t judge things by common sense, but see for yourself. If you really don’t understand something, ask me. That way you won’t fall into a trap.”

"Yes, thank you, Brother Zhang. I'll need your guidance in the future." Su Youjin was clever and immediately seized the opportunity. Since he would inevitably have to stay by the emperor's side for a while, he naturally needed a powerful backer.

This is based on his years of experience as an official...

"Hehe." Zhang Yong laughed, "Alright, since you don't mind, then I'll accept you as my younger brother!"

"Big brother!" Su Youjin called out emotionally.

"Hey, brother!" Zhang Yong responded, and the two clasped hands tightly.

Since the relationship had changed, Zhang Yong stopped hiding things from Su Youjin and told him that the Emperor and Empress Dowager had become more distant, and that a fierce conflict had broken out at the birthday banquet, with the Emperor even overturning the table.

"Presenting the 'Difficulty of Lust' at this time may seem like a remedy, but it's actually putting poison on the Emperor's mind, brother..."

"It really is true." Su Youjin immediately broke out in a cold sweat, feeling extremely fortunate. "Luckily, my brother was there to oversee things."

“It’s normal. How could you officials outside the capital possibly understand the affairs of the imperial family?” Zhang Yong said with a smile. “Actually, even I, your brother, didn’t expect it to escalate to this extent. I only found out that the Emperor was truly hurt when I saw that he planned to stay at the Leopard Chamber for an extended period.”

“Then I’ll return this invitation to the Princess immediately,” Su Youjin said.

"Don't be like that. I said we can't give it to the Emperor now, not that we can't give it to him forever." Zhang Yong shook his head and said, "Once the Emperor calms down, he and his mother will have to find a way to back down. Can we just leave things like this forever?"

"Understood." Su Youjin quickly handed the scroll back to Zhang Yong and said, "Then let's present it to the Emperor when my elder brother feels the time is right."

"Very well." Zhang Yong then put the scroll back into his sleeve and said with a smile, "Don't worry about your nephew. In a few days, the Imperial Guards around him will be gone."

"Brother, you beat up Eunuch Liu today. Do you think he'll swallow this insult?" Since his nephew's safety was at stake, Su Youjin had to get to the bottom of it.

"Haha, what did I just say? Things in the palace can't be judged by ordinary standards—I beat him up in front of the Emperor, and that's how we're all safe, including your nephew!" Zhang Yong said with a wicked smile.

"Don't worry, little brother, I know how to do things properly."

P.S.: In real history, Zhang Yong beat Liu Jin in front of the emperor.

The next chapter will return to the protagonist's perspective. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)