From street beggar to high-ranking official

Under Eunuch Chen's care, Lu Li returned to his room to recuperate as usual. At this moment, he was applying the wound medicine that Eunuch Chen had given him.

A tingling, cool sensation ran through his thigh, and Lu Li began to review his previous performance.

Choose what is good and follow it, and correct what is not good. The person you are comparing yourself to may very well be yourself.

"Our plan was indeed correct. We deliberately slipped the silver into Xiao Shunzi's hands to frame him. Dead men tell no tales. If Eunuch Sun accepts it, then it will be considered our share. If Eunuch Sun doesn't accept it, we'll have the opportunity to give it to someone else, like... Eunuch Chen."

It was a pleasant surprise to have Eunuch Chen become my godfather.

Using his true energy to kowtow and exhaust his own true energy was a trick that Lu Li came up with on the spot. If he did not exhaust his true energy, he might be considered to have committed intentional murder. Even if it did not affect his duty, Xiao Jizi would definitely interfere.

As Lu Li pondered this, he rubbed the silver, his fingertips constantly rubbing against the gleaming white coin.

More than 150 taels.

Back in our hometown, even in good years, our family might not have had enough for food, clothing, daily necessities, firewood, oil, and salt for the whole year.

"What if we could find a way to leave the palace, go home, buy land, and build a house?" This thought flashed through Lu Li's mind again.

If Dad had owned his own land, he wouldn't have needed to rent it. In the end, a severe drought resulted in a complete crop failure, and he couldn't even pay the rent.

That way, my father and I wouldn't have to wander, and my mother wouldn't have to remarry.

With so much money, you can definitely buy a lot of land and collect rent like a landlord. How could you end up homeless on the streets?

Lu Li couldn't help but fantasize like this, but he was quickly defeated by more realistic reasons.

What use is someone whose father is missing outside the palace?

What's the point of buying land and building a house back in my hometown if I don't have eggs?

What's the use of having a family if we can't find a wife?

Besides, we've already recognized Eunuch Chen as our godfather, and our future is bright. Wouldn't staying in the palace be much more comfortable than leaving?

With this in mind, Lu Li had no desire to leave the palace. On the contrary, if anyone tried to stop him from advancing, Lu Li would immediately fight them to the death.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with his thoughts being aligned with Xiao Shunzi's. In the palace, it was difficult for the weak and foolish to survive. Lu Li should learn from Xiao Fengzi's flattery, Xiao Yuzi's humility, and even more so from Xiao Shunzi's avoidance of being too flamboyant and causing trouble.

With this thought in mind, Lu Li counted the silver in his hand again. Even though he already knew the amount, he was happy to count it over and over again, fantasizing about the day he would find out where his father was, that he would be an official in the palace, and that his father would be living a good life outside the palace.

......

As before, the deaths of Xiao Fengzi and Xiao Shunzi did not cause any stir in the palace. Xiao Yuzi returned as usual, greeting everyone as before, without asking about Xiao Fengzi and Xiao Shunzi, as if the two had never existed.

Lu Li remembered Xiao Yuzi's performance in the martial arts test; it was probably above average. She was neither deliberately targeted nor bullied.

The two eunuchs, each with their own thoughts, remained silent until it was time to go to the kitchen for dinner at Shenshi (3-5 PM). Then, Xiaoyuzi tossed something to Lu Li.

Lu Li took it casually, and the familiar color and texture made his eyes light up: "What is Xiao Yuzi trying to do?"

Money doesn't come from thin air, so Xiaoyuzi must have something to ask of me for this.

"Little Lu, you are stronger than me. You may go further and live longer in the future. Most eunuchs in the palace do not have a good end. Consider this ten taels of silver as money for my coffin after I die."

After a eunuch dies, the Inner Palace Office is responsible for transporting the body to the Imperial Cemetery for disposal. The body is either wrapped in a blanket and buried directly, or buried in a thin coffin. It all depends on whether you are willing to spend money.

Lu Li narrowed his eyes slightly: "What if you, Xiao Yuzi, don't die soon?"

"Then consider this money as a congratulatory gift to Eunuch Lu on his future promotion. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to step into Eunuch Lu's doorstep then," Xiaoyuzi said.

"I didn't expect that Xiaoyuzi, who is usually so low-key, would have such a silver tongue. Alright! We'll remember this money, Xiaoyuzi," said Lu Li.

Xiaoyu felt relieved by what she said, using the matter of life and death to build a relationship with Lu Li, and even entrusting him with future congratulatory money.

Spend one dollar to achieve two goals.

It's similar to how he secretly harmed Xiao Douzi back then, but it's much more sophisticated.

For the next two days, Xiaoyuzi remained low-key as usual, but Lu Li was different. He had gained a group of supporters who rivaled Xiao Jizi.

Xiao Jizi was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He had wanted to plot against Lu Li for a long time, but he learned that Lu Li had become Chen Gonggong's adopted son.

This puzzled Xiao Jizi. With Eunuch Chen being so strict, what was it about Xiao Luzi that caught Eunuch Chen's eye?

Lu Li, however, was enjoying the adoration of the other eunuchs. "Our family was low-key before becoming godfathers, and we're still low-key after becoming godfathers. Isn't it a waste of our godfather status?"

The other eunuchs waited for their daily assignments, while Lu Li frequented his godfather, Eunuch Chen. Although he had gained Eunuch Chen's favor, Eunuch Chen naturally had more than just Lu Li as his godchild. If he didn't take the initiative to greet him and show his face regularly, this relationship would eventually fade away.

However, when it comes to whether the godfather or the biological father is closer, Lu Li's biological father's position in his heart is unshakable.

His father had sent him to the palace so he could live a good life, and Lu Li had not forgotten that.

"Godfather, where do you think the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will assign me?" Lu Li asked, fanning himself from the side.

Eunuch Chen sat in his armchair, staring intently at the official gazette in his hand. When Lu asked him a question, he casually replied, "I don't handle matters of the Directorate of Ceremonial, but judging from your performance, I should be able to push things down a bit."

"I am foolish, Godfather, what do you mean by that?" Lu asked respectfully. Could it be that there are eunuchs in the Directorate of Ceremonial who are at odds with Eunuch Chen?

After much thought, it's not impossible. All the eunuchs who entered the palace had been trained by Eunuch Chen. If any eunuch gained power and harbored resentment towards Eunuch Chen for teaching them manners and making them kowtow, it would be quite reasonable for him to seek revenge one day.

"Being caught committing murder is always a bad deed, not a sign of skill. Even if there were reasons for it and the fault wasn't yours, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will still take it into consideration."

This means that killing is acceptable, but the real skill lies in not being discovered.

The palace did not particularly care whether palace maids and eunuchs died or not. It was common for nobles to torture and kill people when they were in a bad mood. Unless someone held an official position, as long as the cause and effect seemed to have a beginning and an end, the matter was considered closed.

Whether you drown, die of fright, fall to your death, die from exhaustion, die from overeating, die from illness, or suffer irreversible damage from a qi deviation.

Who cares how the vases and bowls are smashed and destroyed?

Besides, we can't investigate everything, can we? What if we find something wrong?

Upon hearing this, Lu Li immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Please enlighten me, Godfather!"

"Forget about the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs or the Directorate of Imperial Kitchen. In my opinion, perhaps the Directorate of Palace Attendants would be a better fit..."

Two days later.

The eunuch who was supposed to be in charge of the summons found Lu Li: "From now on, you will be on duty in the Palace Guard. With this token, you may move freely."

After receiving his new identity token, Lu Li casually gave the messenger eunuch sixty taels of silver.

Upon hearing this, the messenger beamed with delight: "As expected of Eunuch Chen's godson, you're quite the right person. Don't worry, although you're going to the Palace Guard, with Eunuch Chen backing you up, you won't be assigned any dirty or strenuous work. The specific arrangements will be handled by the eunuch in charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"Also, you can't stay here anymore. Pack your bedding and be arranged to live in the area where the eunuchs on duty in the Twelve Bureaus reside."

......

Lu Li bid farewell to the messenger eunuch and fumbled for the bronze identity badge in his hand. The badge was covered with cloud patterns, and the back was engraved with: "Under the Inner Palace Attendants Department, under the Palace Attendants Bureau"; the front was a square groove.

Upon inspection, Lu Li inserted the wooden plaque engraved with his name into it, and it fit perfectly.

"Just as my godfather said, we really have been sent to the Palace Guard. Could this have been arranged by my godfather? And what he said about killing someone... was he referring to us?"

"Perhaps we handled Xiao Douzi's matter too roughly. We may not have solid evidence, but Xiao Douzi will definitely implicate us."

Lu Li suddenly realized that his godfather, Eunuch Chen, was unfathomable. The eunuchs he had mentored and brought into the palace had offended so many people, even if they followed the royal rules, yet they remained safe and sound in the palace. On the surface, his godfather could not interfere with the work of the Directorate of Ceremonial, but he had to give some face to the eunuch Sun who was being assessed. He had even accurately predicted that he would be assigned to the Directorate of Palace Attendants.

The eunuch Ji from the martial arts academy was quite remarkable; his son, Ji, became his godfather and was able to directly take up a post in the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Stopping his thoughts on this absurd matter, Lu Li quickly packed his bedding and headed towards the territory of the Palace Guard.