The eunuch in the cold palace: You get the Nine Yang Divine Skill right from the start!

The old beggar didn't say anything. He used his broken sword to support himself as he got up and staggered away into the distance.

Shen Mo flashed forward and blocked his way.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the old beggar's eyes were lifeless, as if he had lost interest in everything, resembling a walking corpse.

"Um?"

Shen Mo pressed his palm against the man's shoulder and, after examining him, discovered that his blood and energy were declining.

There are only two possibilities in this situation.

Firstly, he was poisoned by some kind of strange poison.

Secondly, the old man's lifespan was coming to an end.

"If you want to find a job to make a living, come find me at the old Prince's Mansion outside Xi'an Gate tomorrow." After saying this, Shen Mo ignored the old beggar and left it at that. Everyone has their own destiny.

If he still wants to live, he will naturally come looking for him.

If you don't want to, you don't need to pay attention to it and let it fend for itself.

Shen Mo returned to the Eight Treasures Pavilion and found an empty private room to sleep. This was the first time he had spent the night outside the palace, and he dared not relax or be careless while sleeping, waking up at the slightest sound.

Nothing happened that night.

He went into the corridor and found Chu Juji standing silently at the top of the stairs. Upon seeing Shen Mo, Chu Juji nodded slightly and said, "The Grand Eunuch is awake?"

Shen Mo asked, "You didn't sleep all night?"

"I'm too scared to sleep." Chu Juji shook his head.

"There's no need to be so nervous, let's wake them all up."

Shen Mo said that, but in his heart he nodded in approval, quite satisfied with Chu Juji's cautious decision.

Last night, almost everyone got completely drunk, so if there had been a surprise attack from the enemy, the casualties would have been severe.

However, the saying "under the emperor's nose" is not just a figure of speech. The Bai Sha Sect thieves did not dare to linger. The last gathering was entirely for his sake, which was a desperate gamble.

"it is good."

After waking everyone up, Chu Juji made some quick rests and then followed Shen Mo to the camp.

The former royal palace!

The copper nails on the vermilion gate were long rusted, the door knocker had lost its gilding and was covered with a thick layer of grime, and the three-zhang-long bluestone slab in front of the steps was cracked with spider web patterns, and the gaps were overgrown with foxtail grass that was half a person tall.

Seeing this, Shen Mo couldn't help but exclaim, "What a desolate, godforsaken royal residence!"

As the group pushed open the door, they found the place overgrown with weeds and dilapidated in many places. Coupled with the gloomy weather, it really gave off a ghostly vibe.

However, he never believed in ghosts and gods, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to take on this mess.

"Immediately hire some skilled craftsmen to repair it, and from now on you will be in charge of the accounts."

Shen Mo handed over all the silver notes he had extorted from Cao Lingkun. The money should be managed by someone with a calm mind. If it were given to Zhou Kui, he would have squandered it all at the Bazhenlou restaurant in a few months.

"Your subordinate obeys!" Chu Juji was startled. The fact that the West Depot's financial power was entrusted to him was already a great trust.

The group toured the entire palace and worked together to do a quick clean-up. The rest had to be left to the people outside.

"Master! That old beggar is acting suspiciously at the door!"

The old beggar was brought before Shen Mo; he was the same one Shen Mo had rescued the night before, and he looked much better than he had the night before.

He said calmly, "Untie him. I sent him here. From now on, he can stay in the West Factory and do chores to earn a living."

The large old royal mansion needed dozens of servants to maintain its daily operations; one more or less wouldn't make a difference.

Consider it an act of kindness.

The old beggar smiled, revealing his gaping teeth, and just kept nodding.

Zhou Kui frowned and said, "You're supposed to be Chief Supervisor Xie, so what's the meaning of just nodding without saying anything?"

"Don't be rude!"

Shen Mo shook his head and said, "Although he will be doing some minor work in the future, he will still be considered a member of the Western Depot. We should be tolerant and respectful of each other."

"Master, he seems to be mute."

Zhou Kui muttered to himself. Shen Mo had already figured it out. The old beggar hadn't said a word yesterday, and he hadn't begged for mercy when he was being beaten.

He was already a beggar, and a mute one at that... He would starve to death even if he begged.

Shen Mo shook his head, ignoring him, and turned to the crowd, saying, "From this day forward, this will be our Western Depot's headquarters. Once everything is settled, we will move in on an auspicious day, and at the same time, officially announce the establishment of our Western Depot to the world!"

Everything needs to be rebuilt!

Let's start by repairing the Prince's Palace.

Shen Mo then gave Chu Juji some more tasks before riding away on his little yellow horse to attend to another matter.

This matter should have been done a long time ago, but it has been delayed due to various things.

........

Liu Mansion.

The Liu family, one of the wealthiest families in Kyoto, resides here.

It was midday, but the gates of the Liu residence were tightly shut.

The main hall of the Liu residence.

Liu Pei'an, the head of the Liu family, had a solemn expression. The guest seats were filled with members of the Xie family, including Xie Baiwan, the head of the Xie family.

Xie Baiwan blew on the tea in his cup and said calmly, "Brother Liu, what's your decision? Five million taels for your Drunken Beauty formula is already quite a lot!"

Yes, five million is an astronomical price for a typical wine recipe!

But for the "Drunken Beauty" wine, a wine that has already become famous throughout the entire Daqian Dynasty and is even starting to spread to surrounding countries, it is too little!

Conservative estimates suggest that Zui Hongyan can generate at least ten million taels of silver in profit annually, and this profit figure could double as its reputation grows in other countries.

Liu Pei'an frowned and said, "Brother Xie, you should know that the value of Drunken Beauty is definitely more than five million taels of silver, and our Liu family has no intention of selling the formula."

boom--

Xie Baiwan slammed his teacup on the table and said coldly, "Liu Pei'an, don't be so stubborn. Do you still think the Liu family is the same as it was in its heyday? Haven't you heard the saying, 'A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime'?"

Liu Pei'an was so angry that his face turned red, but he couldn't retaliate.

Money and power are always linked.

The Liu family used to be rich and powerful, but their fortunes plummeted after Liu Ruyan was banished to the cold palace. They had just started to recover thanks to the Drunken Beauty, but now countless wolves and tigers are eyeing this piece of meat.

The others were easy to deal with, but the Xie family was different. As one of the major families, the Xie family's eldest daughter was highly favored by the emperor in the palace.

Not long ago, the Jiang family handed over all of their businesses to the Xie family to manage, which gave Xie Baiwan the confidence to forcefully buy the formula.

"Liu Pei'an, if you know what's good for you, hand over the formula obediently, and I might even have my daughter help your daughter in the palace. If you don't hand it over... hmph!" Xie Baiwan had completely lost his patience and put his words on the table.

These words were extremely humiliating for Liu Pei'an, the head of the family!

He couldn't help but point at Xie Baiwan and say, "You, surnamed Xie, don't go too far! Steward Shen is my daughter's good friend!"

The second half of the sentence, though forceful in tone, lacked conviction.

In her previous letters, Liu Ruyan only stated that the two were friends. He didn't know Shen Mo's true attitude towards the Liu family, so his confidence naturally seemed somewhat lacking.

The shrewd Xie Baiwan saw through it at a glance and sneered, "Come on, stop pretending to be powerful! I know what's going on in the palace. When Eunuch Shen was working in the Cold Palace, he was taken care of by your daughter, but since he became the chief steward, he rarely goes to the Cold Palace and doesn't even know your daughter's name anymore."

Don't forget, the harem is the most ruthless place!

Liu Pei'an's heart sank. In fact, that was what he thought too. How could a high-ranking eunuch care about the life or death of a concubine who had been banished to the cold palace?

The past friendship is just that—the past.

Neither of them knew that Shen Mo went to the Cold Palace almost every night, but instead of going through the main gate, he would climb over the wall.

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Which scoundrel is speaking ill of me?"