From street beggar to high-ranking official

"Little Lu, can you write?" Eunuch Chen asked casually.

Lu Li was puzzled as to why his godfather would ask about this, but he told the truth: "My calligraphy lacks spirit; in my godfather's words, it is not worthy of being presented in a refined setting."

Eunuch Chen nodded slightly, not asking any further questions about Lu Li's calligraphy skills: "Good godfather, I have some instructions for you."

Unlike before, this time Eunuch Chen gave Lu some different instructions.

"Godfather, please speak. Your son promises to fulfill your request." Lu Li was about to kowtow when Eunuch Chen stopped him and stuffed several sealed envelopes into his hand.

"Godfather, what's this?" Lu Li asked, looking puzzled.

"Tomorrow is the Qixi Festival in the palace. Little Lu, be quick-witted and send these envelopes out." As he spoke, Eunuch Chen named several imperial concubines.

Lu Li trembled with excitement. Palace secrets had always been a popular topic of conversation among the common people and the martial arts world. He never imagined that one day he would be able to participate in them.

Even though minor characters like messengers never actually appear in the storybook, Lu Li felt a sense of mission and participation.

"Young Lu, you must be very careful and make no mistakes whatsoever," Eunuch Chen instructed again. "If you handle this matter well, you will be richly rewarded."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li immediately snapped out of his euphoric elation, replaced by a gradually honed composure: "How could I, your son, ask for reward or reward for doing things for you, godfather?"

"For me, the greatest favor is that my godfather is willing to give me instructions!"

His tone remained respectful.

But Lu Li gradually came to understand the consequences of what had happened.

If it were an ordinary letter, the imperial concubines could have easily sent it through the palace's official channels; why would they need to send a lowly eunuch like themselves?

The Great Qian Law detailed every aspect of the control over the inner palace. Lu Li was unaware of the specific punishments and their contents, but it was certainly not something a lowly eunuch like himself could bear.

After paying his respects, Lu Li kept the four letters close to his body, but on his way back to the palace, he was thinking about other things.

My godfather's sudden question about my calligraphy skills was definitely not unintentional; the fact that he asked about calligraphy first and then gave me the envelope seems to be a logical consequence.

Thinking of this, Lu Li suddenly realized that he seemed to have lost the opportunity to advance further under his godfather's tutelage. Even though he could not have grasped this opportunity in the first place, Lu Li still felt secretly regretful.

Cultivating internal energy can only protect oneself. If we want to go further, our family not only needs to practice martial arts and cultivation, but also needs to read and write!

For example, before he took up his post, Xiao Jizi had boasted that the Grand Eunuch Wei of the Directorate of Ceremonial was from a scholarly family and had been studying the Four Books and Five Classics since he was five years old. After entering the palace, he could recite the entire "Great Qian Law" and was the top eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Lu Li couldn't fathom how much boasting Xiao Jizi had in his words, but that didn't stop him from setting it as his own goal.

Back in his assigned patrol area, Lu Li conducted random checks as he had the day before. Checking each person individually would be time-consuming and laborious, so random checks would make it harder for the eunuchs under his command to guess his intentions.

Yanxi Palace was the residence of Consort De.

In front of the temple gate, there are multi-tiered Qiqiao pavilions made of white wax, yellow wax, colorful silk, sorghum stalks, melons and fruits, which can be described as a continuous celebration.

Looking at the Yanxi Palace, Lu Li thought it was already so solemn and magnificent that it was beyond words. However, compared with the Jingren Palace, which was built on the inner side and closer to the Qianqing Palace, it still lacked a bit of beauty.

The Qianqing Palace was the residence of emperors, where Emperor Yongxi lived and conducted state affairs; its importance needs no further explanation.

He secretly speculated that the hierarchy in the harem was indeed strictly defined, with the palaces closer to the Qianqing Palace being the most luxurious and the concubines residing there being the most favored. Not only were there distinctions between inside and outside, but there were also distinctions of rank between those on the left and those on the right.

Although Yanxi Palace was built outside the Eastern Six Palaces, it was the palace closest to Qianqing Palace among the three outer palaces.

Lu Li, the eunuch on duty in front of Yanxi Palace, did not recognize him, but the other party recognized him and gave him a look as he passed by.

The guarding of the six palace gates in the east and west was not the responsibility of the Director of the Palace Guard, but was managed by eunuchs and palace maids who were subordinate to nobles within the palace.

The twelve officials in charge of palace duties would be assigned by the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, or they could be appointed by the concubines to serve as servants to noble ladies, and their daily duties would be limited to palace tasks.

This job has its good and bad aspects. The bad ones still involve doing odd jobs, holding lamps, locking keys, and serving others at all times; the good ones involve relaying messages, standing guard, serving by one's side, and accompanying one on trips.

Their immediate superiors were the palace stewards, who were mostly confidants of nobles and were called chief eunuchs. They usually also held important positions in the twelve directorates.

For example, the current Grand Eunuch Lü, who is also the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Chief Supervisor of the Twelve Directorates of the Inner Palace, and the ancestor of all eunuchs, is His Majesty's confidant, the Grand Attendant of the Prince's Residence, and also serves as the Chief Steward of the Qianqing Palace.

There are only a handful of chief eunuchs in the palace, and sometimes the competition is even fiercer than for official positions within the Twelve Directorates.

"Perhaps we can just send the envelope directly?" This thought flashed through Lu Li's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

He was only responsible for the palace walls, walkways, pavilions, and towers. The eunuchs in charge of cleaning the palace were not under his jurisdiction. He knew nothing about the situation of the eunuchs and maids in the palace. Since he knew nothing, he would do as his godfather said.

Even a day has its limits.

After handing over his shift, Lu Li returned to his room to cultivate. He was already familiar with the method of refining true qi in the "Nei Jing Jue" and did not need to check the manual one by one. At the same time, he began to sort out what he had learned that day.

Four letters, four concubines. Even though the lowest-ranking one was only a concubine, Lu Li still spent money to be on the safe side.

Money paves the way to a smooth road, but you won't know until you ask. And once you do, you'll find that there are so many hidden rules in the palace.

For example, Consort De enjoyed calligraphy and painting, traditional incense ceremony, vegetarian food and tea, and landscape poetry; she disliked rude warriors and the violent atmosphere of swords and killing.

Consort Xian loved planting flowers, playing chess and gazing at the mountains; she especially hated ugliness, and all the palace maids and eunuchs who accompanied her had red lips and white teeth, and beautiful faces.

The Empress is widely praised and is usually very kind to her servants...

There are some things you must know about this palace. These are not the rules and etiquette on the surface, but the likes and dislikes of the nobles.

"Our family spent over a hundred taels of silver. If we don't get anything in return, all those eunuchs will become our enemies." Lu Li recalled that day, and he hesitated every time he handed over the silver.

Although reluctant, with his godfather's guidance, Lu Li knew that he had to spend the money.

These palace taboos concerning nobles must have cost countless eunuchs and palace maids their lives before being recorded and passed down orally by the survivors. To be able to inquire about them one by one with money would be a great fortune.

But while reluctant to part with him, Lu Li was also wary of Xiao Qizi.

Although we've only lived together for three days, they didn't tell us such important matters of the palace for free. It's obvious they have ill intentions and don't treat us like brothers.

Lu Li had long disbelieved that there could be true brotherhood among eunuchs. Even a godchild could betray his godfather, so what did it matter if they were just sworn brothers? Their relationship was all based on self-interest, and past favors were nothing more than a bond of interest. But that didn't stop Lu Li from using it as an excuse. If Xiao Qizi ever lost the favor of Eunuch Zhao, he could take the opportunity to kick him while he was down and vent his anger.

It's all Xiao Qi's fault! He made our family lose over two hundred taels of silver for nothing!

The cunning and fickle nature of eunuchs' minds is no better than this!