Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

"I'm glad you're willing." Su Mu nodded in satisfaction, then took out a Spirit Essence Pill and a Solid Pill from his storage space and handed them to Zheng He, saying gently, "These two pills are a gift from your godfather. Keep them; they will greatly benefit your future cultivation."

"Huh?" Zheng He looked up at the two pills in Su Mu's hand, completely dumbfounded. His eyes widened, his face filled with shock and disbelief. In the palace, it was always the adopted son who was filial to his adoptive father. How could an adoptive father give pills as a gift as soon as he accepted an adopted son?

Seeing this, Xiao Anran was slightly taken aback and wondered why Elder Su, who was always meticulous, was so generous today. He had just taken in a son and was already giving away such a precious pill, and even personally giving him instructions.

"What are you standing there for? Take the pills, go down and familiarize yourself with the library, and make some dinner while you're at it." Su Mu waved his hand lightly, his tone tinged with impatience, but he was secretly making plans in his mind. The system's reward for taking Zheng He as his adopted son this time wasn't very generous, even less than when he took in Cao You and the others.

In truth, he had long recognized Zheng He's potential and knew he would eventually adopt him as his son. Rather than waiting for Zheng He to come begging, he decided to take him under his wing now and begin training him as soon as possible. Moreover, his possession of abundant cultivation resources was no secret in the palace, so there was no need to deliberately conceal it. With his current strength and status, no one would dare to say anything if he legitimately cultivated his adopted son.

"Thank you, Godfather! Thank you, Godfather!" Zheng He quickly recovered from his shock, respectfully accepted the pill with both hands, carefully held it in his hands, and kowtowed to Su Mu again and again before standing up and respectfully retreating, his face full of excitement and gratitude.

"Zheng He, take the Solidification Pill tonight to stabilize your body, and take the Spirit Essence Pill tomorrow to guide your Qi into your body. Remember not to rush things," Su Mu reminded him.

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Godfather!" Zheng He quickly stopped, bowed, and then hurried away.

Night gradually enveloped the entire imperial city, and the library was quiet. Following Su Mu's instructions, Zheng He sat cross-legged in the room and carefully took out the Spirit Nourishing Pill (correction here: Su Mu gave him Spirit Essence Pill and Solidification Pill earlier, but considering the context later, it should be Spirit Nourishing Pill, a typo). After taking it, he began to circulate the basic cultivation method taught by Su Mu, focusing all his efforts on refining the pill's effects.

This Spirit Nourishing Pill contains abundant spiritual energy and is gentle in nature, making it suitable for beginners with no cultivation. Zheng He has never been involved in cultivation and has no spiritual energy in his body, making it impossible for him to store too much energy. The spiritual energy in the Spirit Nourishing Pill can not only nourish his physical body but also help him quickly adapt to the presence of spiritual energy, making it easier for him to refine and absorb the medicinal effects of the pill and suffer less from the pain of refining pills.

Xiao Anran stood aside, watching Zheng He intently refining the pills, then looked at Su Mu, and couldn't help but sigh softly, "Elder Su, your generosity today is truly remarkable."

Xiao Anran gazed in the direction Zheng He had left, her voice tinged with an undisguised bitterness, her tone filled with envy and helplessness: "Elder Su, I'm not afraid to admit it, but even a princess like myself, born into royalty, never had the chance to touch such a precious pill as a Spirit Essence Pill before first consuming it and guiding my Qi into my body. You've truly spoiled these adopted sons far too much."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu shrugged lightly, his expression indifferent, his tone casual as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "If you can avoid suffering, then try not to. They already have pitiful backgrounds, and entering the palace as officials was already beyond their control. Now that they have become my adopted sons, I don't want them to suffer too much."

"But the path of cultivation is inherently fraught with thorns and hardships!" Xiao Anran immediately retorted, her brows furrowed, her tone firm and tinged with urgency. "Hardship and trials are compulsory courses for cultivators; they must grit their teeth and endure them to achieve anything. Does Elder Su intend to make them lower their guard and mistakenly believe that cultivation is an easy matter? If so, they will surely find it difficult to achieve great things in the future!"

Su Mu's lips curled into a faint smile, his expression remaining calm, as if he had already seen through everything. He said in a gentle tone, "The fact that they have the opportunity to embark on the path of cultivation and escape the fate of being a servant and bullied for their entire lives is already an immense stroke of luck. As for whether they will amount to anything in the future, or whether they can achieve the Great Dao, I think they probably don't care too much about it themselves. I never had much hope for their future anyway."

"What exactly do you want to do?" Xiao Anran was completely confused by Su Mu's words. Her brows furrowed, and her face was full of bewilderment and confusion. "Even if you have a lot of cultivation resources, you can't squander them like this! If it were anyone else, wasting precious pills like this would be considered madness. But judging from Elder Su's appearance, he is definitely not a madman. This is really something I can't understand."

The smile on Su Mu's face gradually faded, and his expression became unusually serious. He looked earnestly at Xiao Anran and slowly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible melancholy: "Your Highness, you are not a eunuch, so you won't understand our suffering. We eunuchs will never have our own children in this life, never experience the joy of parenthood. This is our eternal regret. Which eunuch doesn't long for a few 'children' to dote on? Even just being a godfather, watching them grow up and have someone to rely on, can make up for some of the regret in our hearts."

He paused, then continued, his tone becoming increasingly solemn: "Regardless of the background of these adopted sons or how much suffering they have endured, since I have taken them in, I will do everything in my power to help them and ensure they have a better life in the future, so they can gain a foothold in this deep palace. This is probably what is meant by parental love. When you have your own children in the future, perhaps you will understand this feeling."

"Well……"

Upon hearing Su Mu's explanation, Xiao Anran was slightly taken aback at first, then slowly nodded in deep agreement—although she couldn't fully comprehend the regret of a eunuch, she could understand the desire to make up for that deficiency. But upon further reflection, she felt something was amiss; a strange feeling lingered in her mind, refusing to dissipate, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. She could only frown and ponder it to herself.