From street beggar to high-ranking official

The Double Seventh Festival (July 7th of the lunar calendar).

The Qixi Festival, also known as the Daughters' Festival or the Seven Sisters Festival, is a folk festival that embodies the idea of ​​the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting in harmony. It features activities such as embroidery, needlework, and star-wish prayers, and was also a grand ceremony in the inner palace.

The Imperial Household Department and the Palace Household Department began preparing for the Qixi Festival as early as the beginning of July. The former set up Qiqiao Pavilions in the Imperial Garden, Qianqing Palace, Kunning Palace, and the East and West Six Palaces, imitating the Milky Way and the Magpie Bridge; the latter laid out a large number of colorful clay sculptures and paper lanterns of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in the palace, and hung Qixi lanterns along the way.

All the eunuchs of the Palace Attendants' Office were mobilized today. Except for some palaces that required guards, the palace was bustling with activity.

The Empress's carriage went first, followed by the four consorts and nine concubines who also left the palace. They first went to Cining Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager, and then went to the Imperial Garden.

The palaces and halls are merely embellishments; the Imperial Garden is the main attraction.

The concubines and talented women competed in needlework, paper cutting, and flower making, as well as chess, flower appreciation, and poetry recitation. They were attended by palace maids and eunuchs, and the sounds of bells and drums filled the air. For a time, the scene of beautiful women was a unique spectacle in the harem.

Lu Li naturally couldn't see this scene. He was on duty at the outer perimeter of the palace, and even he himself couldn't get away for the time being.

In his spare time, he fantasized about when he could finally stand on the stage, feeling envious but never forgetting his own mission.

He thought about it for half the night and realized that there was absolutely no way he would show himself in front of such an important person, let alone have the opportunity to be alone in a room.

This is a taboo in the imperial harem, a consequence of past dynasties.

When Lu Li was serving his godfather, he heard his godfather talk about the old stories of the previous dynasty. It is said that the reason why the previous dynasty, the Great Zhou, was destroyed was not only because the Mandate of Heaven had been passed to Qian, but also because the Empress Dowager of the Great Zhou privately kept a favorite minister.

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Rumor has it that the favored minister had a large penis that could lift a cartwheel. He infiltrated the harem under the guise of a eunuch, and even consorted with the Empress Dowager, spending the night in her bed, having affairs with many concubines, and even having an affair with the Empress, thus wreaking havoc on the harem.

The concubines in the harem were afraid of losing their integrity and reputation. Moreover, the emperor of the Great Zhou was young and inexperienced, and the country was in turmoil due to the young emperor. The empress dowager's power was growing and she was intimidating the harem. She ruled from behind the curtain and actually covered for each other, doing things that violated human ethics.

The Zhou dynasty's rites and music had collapsed, and its destiny had come to an end. Therefore, the mandate of heaven returned to Qian (the heavenly realm), and the people welcomed the king's army with food and drink.

The founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty learned from the mistakes of the previous dynasty and made corrections, especially regarding the eunuchs in the castration room. They were quick and ruthless in their executions. Even if the young eunuchs who had been treated by them were given anesthesia and forgot most of their memories, they would still wake up in a cold sweat one night.

Lu Li also had nightmares.

Therefore, even though Lu Li, being a eunuch, posed no threat to the concubines' reputation, it would still be a scandal if word got out.

It should be noted that eunuchs were also male, and they had a habit of sharing meals with palace maids for mutual comfort.

"Since we can't meet the important people directly, we'll start with the people around us." In the end, Lu Li decided to contact the gatekeeper of Yanxi Palace.

The silver was used to pave the way to gather information, but when he realized he couldn't succeed in the Imperial Garden, Lu Li turned his attention to the inner palace.

Lu Li looked down on and distrusted the lowly eunuchs and maids who did odd jobs in the palace; the eunuchs accompanying Consort De, such as the chief eunuch Qian, were the supervisors of the Imperial Horse Administration. Although Lu Li could take advantage of the affairs of the Imperial Horse Administration, the power of the supervisor of the Imperial Horse Administration was still very influential to him. Even with his godfather's help, it was still difficult for him to get a meeting with him.

For Lu Li, the gatekeepers and messengers were the easiest targets to approach. Even if it wasn't Lu Li, other eunuchs with ulterior motives who wanted to get close to Consort De would have to get past this hurdle.

In front of Yanxi Palace.

The eunuch on duty, who was taking a nap, squinted his eyes. According to the usual custom for the Qixi Festival, Consort De would not return to the palace until the evening, so today was a rare day of rest.

A series of light footsteps approached, and the eunuch on duty opened his eyes to see that it was none other than Eunuch Lu, who had spoken to him earlier.

"Eunuch Lu, you're here again today?" The gatekeeper eunuch smiled broadly. The young man in front of him was generous, so he had to be on good terms with him.

"I can hardly be called a eunuch," Lu Li said modestly and tactfully. "Even if I became an official and a eunuch, wouldn't I still be a loyal servant of a nobleman?"

"Haha, what Little Lu says is absolutely right." The gatekeeper eunuch didn't notice Lu Li's sudden change in expression. When he looked at Lu Li, the other party was still smiling.

"I won't reminisce with you today," Lu Li said, changing the subject abruptly. "I've come here today on important business."

"Is there anything important you want to tell us?"

"It concerns Consort De..." Lu Li explained in a few words. The eunuch on duty at the gate initially didn't take it seriously, but then his face turned serious, and he grabbed Lu Li's sleeve: "Little Lu, don't joke around. If someone reports us, we'll both be in trouble."

"If you don't give it to them, you'll get a beating today." Lu Li pulled back his sleeve without changing his expression. He was already getting a little dissatisfied with this eunuch. After a few words of flattery, he didn't even call him "Grandpa" anymore. Do we know each other that well?

He believed that the eunuchs on duty at the gate had their own connections within Yanxi Palace, and that it wouldn't be difficult for them to get in touch with Consort De, at least much easier than for him.

Lu Li believed that his godfather would not send him to his death for no reason, but the gatekeeper eunuch did not trust Lu Li and hesitated for a moment.

Seeing the eunuch on duty hesitate, Lu Li cursed inwardly that the fellow had lost his mind from accepting bribes, his head filled with nothing but money and unable to think straight. Just as he was about to say something more, the eunuch said:

Just in case, we'd like to verify its authenticity.

Lu Li narrowed his eyes slightly, reached out and took out an envelope from his body. There were no words on the surface of the envelope, and only by rubbing the surface of the envelope could one know that it contained the character "德" (de).

"If you open the seal, and the Consort De blames you, don't blame us for not warning you."

"Then this is our family's business," the gatekeeper replied.

As usual, Lu Li continued delivering letters. Unlike those at Yanxi Palace, the guards at the other side halls were much more accommodating, readily agreeing to anything upon delivery. This puzzled Lu Li, prompting him to ask, "Aren't you afraid we're plotting something?"

The guard at the side hall said respectfully, "I have been in the palace for decades and have seen similar letters before. I know their contents are important."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li exclaimed in disbelief, "So you're a seasoned veteran! My apologies for not respecting you. I wonder what's so important about this letter?"

The gatekeeper of the side hall hesitated for a moment, and Lu Li immediately understood and took out five taels of silver.

"The outside world often wants to know about the secrets of the inner chambers, and the palace also wants to know about the strange and wonderful things happening outside." After saying this, the gatekeeper of the side hall sighed and said, "The longer you stay in this palace, the less human you become, which is why most eunuchs have short lifespans."

Lu Li didn't dare ask whether the eunuchs died young because they died in power struggles or because they were punished and killed by nobles. He was just glad that he finally understood what kind of job his godfather had given him.

Seeing that the middle-aged eunuch was easy to talk to, and wanting to find out more, Lu Li slipped another five taels of silver into the envelope: "I wonder what was inside this envelope?"

The middle-aged eunuch on duty in the side hall looked at Lu Li in surprise, only then realizing that the other party really didn't know.

When Lu Li saw the surprised look in the other person's eyes, he used his extraordinary hearing to tell that the other person's breathing had suddenly slowed down and even his heartbeat had quickened.

There must be something unclear or unclear about it!

With a determined look, Lu Li pulled out a red envelope and handed it to the other party without counting the contents, hoping to get the full picture.

Touching the full amount of silver in his hand, the eunuch felt a pang of pity and only added one more point: "Was it Eunuch Chen who copied and sent the official gazette?"

......

Lu Li bid farewell to the middle-aged eunuch and went to a secluded spot.

Only when he got here did he realize that his heartbeat was so loud that it kept echoing in his ears.

The official gazette was the mouthpiece of the government, uniformly controlled, copied, and published by the imperial court. It was transmitted from the capital to the provinces, and then down to the prefectures, counties, and various levels of government offices. Its audience consisted mostly of officials and gentry, and had almost nothing to do with ordinary people.

The middle-aged eunuch's first long statement was almost entirely a lie; only his last question was true.

Lu Li thought he had become involved in the undercurrents of the inner palace, only to find that he was in a deeper predicament than he had imagined, and that he might drown at any moment.

This isn't some palace concubine wanting to know about outside gossip; this is palace politics!