From street beggar to high-ranking official

After handing over his shift at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Lu Li went back to rest.

Unlike usual, Lu Li no longer needs to pay his respects to his godfather every day. His godfather's meaning is clear: instead of paying respects, he should do other things. Lu Li guesses that the other godchildren under Eunuch Chen's name are probably in a similar situation.

My task was to copy and send copies of the official gazette, once every ten days, which is about once every seven or eight days.

......

At noon, Lu Li finished getting ready and was about to go out when he opened the door and saw his five adopted sons waiting at the door, each carrying a food box. Xiao Chuanzi was the leader. The lacquered food boxes kept the food warm, so even if he waited another half an hour, the food would still be hot.

"Hehehe, what a filial son!" Lu Li couldn't help but laugh out loud. He didn't know which eunuch from the previous dynasty had started this laughter, but he was truly in a good mood and extremely happy when he laughed.

"There's no reason for us children to eat before our godfather," said the eldest godson, Koichi. "Please, godfather, have your meal!"

Unlike ordinary eunuchs who had to queue in the kitchen, eunuchs of the eighth rank had to be served four-rank dishes. Lu Li had five adopted sons, which meant there were exactly five dishes: one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, along with vegetable soup and white rice.

Before Lu Li was officially promoted, the only meals in the kitchen were communal meals cooked in a large pot, with staple foods being mixed grain rice, coarse wheat cakes, two plates of vegetarian dishes, and only a small amount of minced meat every ten days.

After becoming an official, the treatment and enjoyment were completely different from before, and this was especially true as one went higher. It is said that the old ancestor, Eunuch Lü, ate fine silver thread rice, white flour cakes, ghee pastries, and even some delicacies that Lu Li had never heard of before.

Lu Li savored his meal slowly, while his other adopted sons bowed and served him. It was a rule at the dining table not to speak while eating, but it was an exception for Eunuch Lu.

"Before we returned to the palace, were there any interesting things happening there?" Lu Li asked, taking a sip of soup.

"Replying to my godfather," Xiao Chuanzi stepped forward and bowed, "there are indeed a few strange things. A few months ago, Lingnan presented two exotic beasts as tribute: a pair of smiling tigers and two black horned sharks. The former went to the Imperial Household Department, and the latter to the Imperial Kitchen Department. A young eunuch from the Palace Guard took the opportunity to see them. Even though the smiling tigers were reduced to just a layer of tiger skin, their faces were still smiling!"

"If such a strange beast truly exists, then what exactly is the black horned shark?" Even Lu Li couldn't help but be surprised. He had only studied the "Shuowen Jiezi" (a dictionary of Chinese characters) and wondered how a fish living in rivers and seas could be compared to a mountain tiger.

"Qi-ren, godfather, that black shark isn't a fish that lives in rivers; it's a giant fish hunted by the Tanka people of Lingnan!"

As Ogawa spoke, he described the scene as if he could see himself as the eunuch in the black shark.

"Tsk tsk, a giant black-horned fish with a mouth full of sharp teeth, do the Tanka people of Lingnan have such abilities?" Lu Li exclaimed in amazement.

According to Xiaochuanzi's description, the black shark was even larger than a tiger. Fish are inherently difficult to catch in the water, and it is unknown how it was caught.

As Lu Li continued listening to Xiao Chuanzi's description, he learned that many of the concubines in the palace later tasted the fresh fish, including Consort Wu.

The conversation naturally turned to this newly appointed benefactor.

Since Consort Wu became pregnant with the emperor's child, she has changed completely. Lu Li's original impression of her was that she was cautious and even polite to the servants in the palace, but recently she has become increasingly irritable and will punish the servants if she is slightly displeased.

It is said that every few days, eunuchs and palace maids would be carried out of the palace by the eunuchs.

Lu Li had only heard rumors, but he never imagined that he would have to face Consort Wu in person later.

……

Ten days later, Lu, having finished paying his respects, clutched the envelope in his hand.

The quantity was greater than before, including not only those of Consort De, but also those of Consort Wu.

"I never expected that Consort Wu's letter would eventually reach my hands as well." Nowadays, Lu Li doesn't need to spend money to actively inquire about information. Before long, Xiao Wuzi brought him all the information related to Consort Wu.

The sources of information were not limited to the Imperial Palace Administration Office, but also included the Imperial Medical Academy, the Imperial Kitchen Administration, and the Imperial Supplies Administration...

It can be said that all the information that a junior eunuch could gather was placed before Lu Li's desk.

"Many eunuchs in the Palace Guard have been crippled?" Lu Li's eyes widened when he saw the top-level report.

This is the source of information from the Palace Attendant.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that one of the dead was also an eighth-rank eunuch.

Lu Li felt a chill run down his spine.

Unless designated by a powerful figure, ordinary eunuchs could only wait for an official position to become promoted.

Any lesson or rule may have been learned through blood and tears.

However, Lu Li would not pity those unfamiliar eunuchs. Without the eunuchs paving the way, where would our smooth road be?

He even thought to himself, should we send more eunuchs to Jingyang Palace to scout things out? Our family worked so hard to become officials, we can't just let them be beaten to death in the palace like this.

After all, Jingyang Palace still doesn't have a chief eunuch. There will always be some fearless eunuchs who will try their luck. We're not sending you to your death for nothing. We're handing you a chance to get promoted and make a fortune. If you can't seize it, who can we blame?

The longer one stays in the palace, the darker and more gloomy one's heart becomes.

Lu Li kept his godfather's teachings in mind and treated the little eunuch as a tool. It was an honor for him to pave the way for his family!

He carefully examined the remaining intelligence information. Apart from Consort Wu's arbitrary punishment of servants, there was a lot of information about the excessive supplies from the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen Department. It could be said that whatever Consort Wu wanted, she could ask for in the morning and it would be delivered to the palace gate in the afternoon.

This is the epitome of being arrogant because of favor!

The next day.

The letters to Yanxi Palace and several other palaces have all been delivered, leaving only Jingyang Palace. Standing in front of the palace gate, Eunuch Lu recalled the scene at Jingyang Palace back then. At that time, Jingyang Palace did not have much decoration, and there were more than just Consort Wu living in the palace.

Now, things have gotten really bad. With the emperor pregnant, all the other concubines and ladies-in-waiting in Jingyang Palace have moved out, and the entire palace has become the domain of Consort Wu.

After informing the gatekeeper, Lu Li was quickly allowed to enter. However, as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw a palace maid kneeling on the ground, her shoulders and knees pinned down by two eunuchs who were holding her down.

The eunuchs in charge of the punishment took turns slapping her on the left and right sides. The once beautiful woman's lips were now cracked and bleeding, her cheeks were swollen and bleeding, and even a few teeth with blood and saliva had fallen out in front of her.

The palace maid couldn't make a sound, probably because her acupoints had been pressed to silence her. Given the situation, Lu Li didn't dare to step forward, so he stood quietly in the corner waiting for the torture to end.

He didn't know how many times the palace maid had been slapped before he arrived. He only saw that when she came in, her body would twitch after being slapped, and she would be no different from a dead person after the punishment was over.

Even with timely treatment, such a terrible state would be difficult to restore. Even if he wasn't expelled from the palace, he would probably spend his entire life washing clothes in impoverished places like the laundry department.