From street beggar to high-ranking official

The Qixi Festival is drawing to a close, and Emperor Yongxi personally visited the Imperial Garden, where the elegant music of silk and bamboo instruments and bells became solemn and dignified.

For once, Lu Li did not cultivate after finishing his shift. Instead, he stood in front of the palace wall and looked towards the Imperial Garden.

Until 9 PM, several pillars of fire lit up the sky, and yellow, orange, blue and green fireworks bloomed into dazzling flowers in the night sky, reflecting the brilliant Milky Way. On both sides of the Milky Way, the stars of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl gazed at each other from afar.

The dazzling and magnificent scene was reflected in his gray eyes. Lu Li seemed to be looking at the night sky, or perhaps something else entirely.

The events in the Imperial Garden spread throughout the palace in less than a day. Some said the Empress Dowager bestowed a gold hairpin upon the Empress, others said the Emperor paused to admire Consort De's painting, "Dwelling in the Mountains of Huashan," and still others said the Crown Prince's line, "A starry bridge spans the Milky Way, its light melting into the night; the phoenix carriage weaves through the flowers, laughter and chatter filling the air," drew cheers from all sides...

Lu Li paused for a moment, just about to return to his quarters, when he heard a child's voice:

"I don't want to stay in the Imperial Garden. Father Emperor is always testing my studies. I want to go out and play!"

Upon hearing this from afar, Lu Li immediately realized that he should retreat. The voice came from two or three palace walls away, and his timely retreat would save him a lot of trouble.

After learning the true meaning of the official gazette, Lu Li subconsciously avoided the noble ladies of the inner palace, especially princes.

Just as he was about to move, he heard a series of footsteps that were getting closer. They came very quickly and appeared on the path where Lu Li was in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer was a middle-aged eunuch with a fair complexion and no beard, dressed in a blue robe. His collar and sleeves were decorated with dark cloud and auspicious symbols.

"Young Master Lu greets Your Excellency." Without a second thought, Lu bowed deeply.

"Come on after the Seventh Prince arrives." The blue-robed eunuch said this and then disappeared. Lu Li, who was kneeling and kowtowing, could only hear the footsteps getting farther and farther away.

He dared not stand up, but listened as the Seventh Prince's muttering grew closer.

The seventh prince walked past without riding in a carriage or even glancing at Lu Li. A eunuch then pulled Lu Li up and followed behind.

Lu Li did not dare to look directly at the prince. He lowered his head, hunched his shoulders, and placed his hands in front of him. He only dared to glance at the seventh prince, who was wearing a crimson python robe, out of the corner of his eye for a moment.

Lu Li looked around. He was accompanied by eunuchs from other regions, and he even saw Zhao Gonggong's two godsons. It seemed that he was not the only one who had been brought along.

The seventh prince jogged ahead without feeling tired, while the accompanying eunuchs hurriedly cleared a path, fearing that the prince might get hurt or bump into something.

The team then marched in large numbers, growing increasingly imposing.

"Seventh Prince, please take it easy." The attending eunuch spoke softly, not daring to interfere further. He was the same blue-robed eunuch that Lu Li had encountered earlier.

"Do you think that if I lead a large group of people into the Imperial Garden, will my presence be more imposing than the group around Father Emperor?" the Seventh Prince asked, making a startling remark.

The attending eunuch hesitated, unsure whether to speak or remain silent, and only said, "What kind of imposing manner do a bunch of servants have? Your Highness alone can command the obedience of thousands of servants."

"That makes sense." The Seventh Prince was quite satisfied with this answer, and continued in his childish voice, "So you're my lackeys and henchmen?"

As the dragon prince turned his head, the servant girl had already knelt down.

Looking at the sea of ​​kneeling eunuchs in front of him, the Seventh Prince chuckled. The eunuch beside him was almost bent over, even though he was burly, he was still much taller than the prince.

"I heard the call of a falcon from afar during the autumn hunt last year, but the hounds all had their muzzles tightly closed, so I didn't really hear it."

A hint of interest flashed in the Seventh Prince's eyes: "Has any of you ever heard a hunting dog bark in the wild? Why don't you try to imitate it and hear it?"

Upon hearing this, the attending eunuch relayed the order: "His Highness the Seventh Prince has decreed that he desires to hear the elegant sound of dogs barking. You must all do your utmost to comply and not be negligent."

The voice rose and fell in cadence, ending with a long, clean syllable – a skill well taught by Eunuch Chen.

This was a blatant opportunity for favor. At this moment, the eunuchs brought by the Seventh Prince were all low-ranking eunuchs on duty in various places. Now, the chance to rise to prominence was right in front of them, and for a time, all kinds of barking could be heard.

Everyone had heard the sound of dogs barking, and it was easy to imitate them. Some people imitated the barking of hunting dogs, some imitated the sound of dogs guarding the house, and some imitated the whimpering of puppies. The originally quiet palace was suddenly turned into a dog playground where dogs barked happily.

The seventh prince found it amusing, thinking that this was what a hunting dog's bark sounded like, but then he heard several completely different whimpers.

"etc."

With a single word from the Seventh Prince, the once lively dog ​​farm instantly transformed back into the solemn palace.

All the eunuchs fell silent, wondering what the Seventh Prince was thinking.

"I just heard a few whimpers, which were not like ordinary dog ​​barks at all. Who imitated them?" the Seventh Prince asked curiously.

Lu Li wanted to step forward, but was glared at by the eunuch attending the Seventh Prince and stopped him.

The accompanying head eunuch slightly raised his eyelids, his gaze as cold as nails fixed on Lu Li. He took half a step forward, bowing even deeper, but his voice, clear and steady, reached the prince's ear:

"Your Highness," he said in a flat tone, as if he were stating a flaw in a tool, "I heard it was the third one on the left, that eunuch named Xiao Luzi. His voice just now... the tone was drawn out, and the end of the sound trembled, somewhat like a lame dog that had been starving for a long time in the countryside outside the capital. It sounded somewhat 'different'."

Lu Li was startled, not because he was directly pointed out, but because he was shocked that the eunuchs had gone to such lengths to win the prince's favor. Even though that eunuch did not imitate a dog's bark to amuse the prince, he still managed to find an opportunity to answer the prince's questions.

The Seventh Prince chuckled, his tone even tinged with curiosity: "Oh? A mangy dog ​​that's been starving for a long time? That's novel. Little Lu, tell me, why are you imitating that voice?"

Lu Li knelt and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, this is what I heard with my own ears. It was the whimpering of a vicious dog begging for its life."

"How strange! My dog ​​can even have such a voice." The Seventh Prince immediately satisfied his curiosity, regardless of whether what Lu Li said was true or false. In the prince's eyes, a mere servant would never dare to deceive his master.

"Little Lu, is it? That whimpering sound is quite unusual. I'll reward you with something unusual in return." The Seventh Prince said, taking off the glass ornament hanging from his waist and throwing it over.

Lu Li still dared not raise his head, but upon hearing the sound of something being thrown beside him, he caught it precisely. He raised both hands above his head to receive the gift, daring not to let the prince's reward fall to the ground.

A crowd of envious eyes turned to Lu Li.

"This is a gift for you." The Seventh Prince said, showing some weariness as he added, "The running around just now had indeed taken its toll. Let's return to the palace."

"Prepare the carriage to return to the palace!" the attending eunuch announced.

"Respectfully seeing off His Highness the Seventh Prince." The remaining eunuchs all knelt and kowtowed, respectfully seeing off the prince's carriage.

After the prince's carriage had gone far away, the eunuchs who had been kneeling all gathered around Lu Li.

"Congratulations on Eunuch Lu's favor with the prince!"

"Eunuch Lu, this is a small red envelope. Please do me a favor in the future."

"Eunuch Lu has only been in the palace for a short time and has already received a reward from the prince. In a few more years, won't he be a close attendant of a nobleman?!"

"Eunuch Lu, I'm Xiao Shanzi from the Imperial Kitchen. Please come visit me sometime."

A chorus of cheers and applause immediately erupted around Lu Li, even surpassing the previous wave of respect for the prince.

Lu Li greeted everyone with a smile and accepted their requests one by one, especially giving extra smiles to those who gave him silver. Only after the crowd had dispersed did he begin to fumble for the glass pendant bestowed upon him by the prince.

The Seventh Prince showed him leniency because he had gained experience outside the palace, but it's best to leave such experience at that point.

In fact, the cries of an adult man begging for mercy and help when he is dying are no different from the whimpers of a dog.