From street beggar to high-ranking official

The matter of the Seventh Prince's reward can be either a big deal or a small one.

The great favor of the prince and the nobility meant that if the glass ornaments could be sold publicly, Lu Li could earn more money than he ever dared to dream of in his life.

It's common for minor acts of urination to be bestowed by noble people; in the palace, such acts might only elicit a few words of conversation before becoming commonplace.

But Lu Li didn't think so.

He kept the unfamiliar glass animal sculpture close to his body, so that even if outsiders couldn't see it, he would appear more imposing as he walked among the eunuchs.

Even the steward, Eunuch Zhao, praised him, saying that Lu Li was extremely diligent and not only did he not make any mistakes during the Qixi Festival, but he also won the prince's favor.

For a time, Lu Li was very popular among Eunuch Zhao's four adopted sons, except for Xiao Luozi, who was repeatedly hostile and even exchanged sarcastic remarks every day.

Lu Li, naturally, wouldn't tolerate it and immediately retorted with insults, causing the rift between them to widen until they seemed destined to never speak to each other again.

......

Inside the main room, Lu Li stopped his cultivation for the day.

"The Five Senses and Five Methods states that to quickly master the cultivation of the five senses, one must enter the path by giving up sight, giving up sight in exchange for hearing, giving up the nose in exchange for the tongue, and so on in a continuous cycle, sacrificing the small for the great, until finally all five senses are in harmony to achieve a minor success. But I was born with exceptional hearing, so how is this possible?"

Lu Li did practice, but he didn't follow the proper techniques at all. He practiced by following quick-learning tips and was able to push the Listening Wave Ear Technique to the first level without taking much time.

He certainly didn't intend to learn all five methods; he only wanted to quickly master the Listening to Waves Ear Method and the Face-Changing Method.

The former used his own talents, while the latter won the favor of influential people.

"It's time to deliver the official gazette again today." After finishing his cultivation, Lu Li touched the envelope in his sleeve.

Arriving at Yanxi Palace familiarly, he was greeted by the same gatekeeper as before, but this time, upon seeing him, the gatekeeper asked Lu Li to wait a moment.

"This eunuch, why is he different this time?" Lu Li asked, tugging at the other's sleeve and leaning closer, while slipping a shiny white object into his hand.

The gatekeeper eunuch greeted him with a smile: "I've seen the official gazette; it's true. Even Consort De was pleased after reading it and has ordered that from now on, if we see you, Little Lu, we can simply announce your arrival."

"Father-in-law, I want to know, did you see Consort De...?" Lu Li asked again.

"Don't look directly at them, and be respectful in your words and actions." The gatekeeper eunuch repeated the same thing over and over, rubbing his fingers together, implying... he'd have to pay more.

As Lu Li lowered his head to take out money, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Even though it was customary to give money first when asking for favors or inquiries, giving money didn't stop him from holding a grudge against Lu Li.

Once I become an official in the palace, I'll have to take back all the money I was given.

"Your Highness, Consort De cherishes memories of the past in Jiangnan, but please do not mention the word 'family'," the eunuch on duty instructed carefully.

At first, Lu Li was puzzled. If she was so attached to things in Jiangnan, why couldn't she mention her family? Did Consort De miss her hometown but not her family?

Lost in thought, Lu Li suddenly realized the key point.

In a few days, it will be the Ghost Festival.

Seeing these objects evokes memories of loved ones; Consort De's feelings go beyond just missing home!

The eunuch who had delivered the message came out and led Lu Li inside. After passing through many corridors, artificial hills and water features, they finally arrived at the inner palace.

He didn't even see Consort De's face; only a eunuch in blue robes came forward.

Lu immediately knelt down and took out the envelope.

The wax seal was intact, with no signs of tampering.

"Young Master Lu is very thoughtful," the eunuch in blue praised, then presented the envelope to the unseen Consort De.

Lu Li remained kneeling.

Since my father-in-law didn't say he wanted to get up, we'll just keep kneeling.

If you don't have this much self-awareness in the palace, you'll be exploited and sold off sooner or later.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the eunuch in blue came out again and said, "Get up, Little Lu. Her Majesty is very satisfied. From now on, when you come to Yanxi Palace, you only need to announce your arrival to enter."

He then got up and was led out by the eunuch in blue. But after taking only one step, the eunuch said, "Little Lu, you dropped something."

Upon hearing the sound, Lu Li looked down at the ground and saw an envelope lying right where he had just been kneeling.

"Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch." Lu immediately bowed and picked up the letter, putting it away carefully.

After leaving the palace, Lu Li came to a secluded courtyard. After confirming that no one was around, he opened the envelope.

Inside were exactly one hundred taels of silver notes, with an even smaller letter tucked inside. The letter was simple, yet it carried the fragrance of orchids.

"Our family has become a messenger for the palace," Lu Li muttered as he put away the silver notes.

A few more days passed.

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Festival).

Emperor Yongxi, together with his civil and military officials, fasted and offered sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and then went to the Fengxian Hall in the inner palace to perform family sacrifices in remembrance of their ancestors.

The Directorate of Palace Guards and the Directorate of the Divine Palace cooperated with each other, and on this day, Lu Li also met Zhao Gonggong's godfather, who was also the Director of the Directorate of Palace Guards, Eunuch Xie.

Lu Li carefully considered the seniority. Eunuch Xie seemed to have no relation to him, yet he could insist that Xie was his godfather.

It all depends on whether Eunuch Zhao acknowledges our godfather, Eunuch Chen, as his brother.

Inside the Imperial Palace Administration Office, Commander Xie arrived in person, his gloomy eyes sweeping over the crowd, his tone devoid of any kindness: "Today is His Majesty's sacrificial ceremony. We can't interfere with matters at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but if anything goes wrong in the Fengxian Hall, if even a speck of dust gets on you, no matter the reason, I'll personally tear your face off and use it as a rag!"

His voice was cold and stern, causing all the eunuchs in charge of the duty room to lower their heads, and many of the junior eunuchs were so frightened that they knelt down.

Especially Xiao Luozi, who was in charge of the Fengxian Hall and the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, kowtowed and promised, "Grandpa, rest assured, your grandson has not dared to slack off in the past few days and has been patrolling every corner every day."

Xiao Luozi was very respectful, his forehead was bleeding from kowtowing, and his dark circles under his eyes showed his loyalty and dedication.

Lu Li saw this and secretly cursed in his heart, hoping that Xiao Luozi would kowtow a few more times, bleed more, and suffer more.

Regarding Xiao Luozi's mockery and targeting, Lu Li learned from a casual conversation with Xiao Fuzi yesterday that before he arrived, Xiao Luozi's territory included the Eastern Six Palaces.

Therefore, he naturally harbored a grudge against Xiao Luozi, a grudge that could not be resolved by simply offering money.

Upon receiving news from Xiao Fuzi, Lu Li was alarmed. Fortunately, he had dealings with Xiao Fuzi; otherwise, he probably would have known about this much later.

His own men were all former subordinates of Xiao Luozi!

Upon learning of this, Lu Li immediately pulled out Xiao Chi from the Jingxiang Division, along with several other classmates.

He had no intention of winning over the other eunuchs. After all, he was not an official, and no matter how much he spoke well of Xiao Luozi's former subordinates, it would not be as good as promoting his former classmates.

This is a real act of kindness, much more substantial than empty words of praise. Our family doesn't want to be completely sidelined by the eunuchs below.

After dealing with his subordinates' affairs, Lu Li began to speculate on the thoughts of the steward, Eunuch Zhao.

Perhaps Eunuch Zhao arranged for Lu Li to be placed here to balance his adopted son, or perhaps he was doing Eunuch Chen a favor by choosing Xiao Luo Zi. But in Xiao Luo Zi's eyes, this was a sign of being out of favor, so he would naturally be even more sarcastic and even try to harm Lu Li in hopes of regaining his adopted father's favor.

As Lu Li thought to himself, the eunuch Xie, the supervisor of the Imperial Palace, had already arranged the important matters. The eunuchs bowed and saw Xie off from the Imperial Palace office.

It should be known that the Director of the Imperial Guard is very busy and cannot spend his days in the duty room showing off his power to his godsons and grandsons.