"You bastard, if I don't keep an eye on you, you will be lazy!" An official on duty saw Leng Zi coming out. Xu Boyi saw him and hurriedly saluted, "Master!"
Every eunuch had to be guided by a master when they entered the palace. There were many rules in the palace. Without a master to guide them, it was difficult for them to understand so many rules. Usually, a master had more than ten apprentices. Among them, the master would choose the handsome, eloquent, and young ones as his godson and cultivate them with all his strength. Once the godson was successful, he would be successful.
As for being ungrateful, there was basically no need to think about it. It was unknown whether it was because eunuchs had cut off the roots of their descendants and paid more attention to kinship than ordinary people, or because of the rules passed down in the palace. "Deceiving one's master and destroying one's ancestors" would be hated by everyone.
As long as a young eunuch was successful, whether it was sincere or not, he had to be filial to his godfather. Not only when he was alive, but also when he died, he had to have a grand funeral. On the anniversary of his death, he had to prepare some incense and candles to offer sacrifices. It was because everyone insisted on doing so that they could also benefit from it. No godson dared to violate this moral and ethical concept.
Xu Boyi was already over 30 years old, and his master was only in his early 30s. Of course, it was more suitable to take a young eunuch to foster a relationship than a godson of the same age. Therefore, Xu Boyi had always been disliked in front of him.
"Master, it's not like that. I just …"
"You still dare to talk back!"
His master sneered, "Kneel down and slap yourself!"
Xu Boyi gritted his teeth, knelt in front of him, and slapped his own mouth.
His master looked at him with narrowed eyes, "You are so weak. What, I don't want you to eat? Slap harder! "
Xu Boyi made up his mind, increased his strength, and slapped himself hard.
"People can have no balls, but they can't have no ambition! As husbands, we have to be quick to act. Only then can we have a bright future. Back then … "
His master was about to repeat the story of how he was obedient and sensible, how he served his master well, and how he was accepted as a godson when a faint voice said, "You are so powerful. Those who don't know would think that you are in charge of the palace!"
His master was furious and raised his eyebrows. He wanted to see who was challenging his authority, but when he looked up, he was shocked. Although his position was not high, he had seen the person in front a few times and recognized his identity.
The person in front of him was dressed in a green robe. He had sword-like eyebrows, starry eyes, and a handsome face. He was the current Third Imperial Uncle, the youngest brother that the Empress Dowager doted on the most. His master's knees softened and immediately knelt down, and said humbly, "Master! Imperial Uncle, this servant was teaching a disciple here and didn't expect to disturb you. This servant is guilty, guilty! "
Li Xuancheng watched as he casually slapped himself as if he was swatting a fly. He said in disgust, "Get lost, I get annoyed when I see you!
"Get lost!"
The master was relieved and quickly got up with an apologetic smile, nodding and bowing as he ran away.
When Xu Boyi saw Imperial Uncle Li, he was terrified and quickly lowered his head. When he saw his master run away, he also stood up with his head down, wanting to escape. Li Xuancheng said, "Wait!"
Xu Boyi was shocked and quickly stopped. He lowered his head and said, "Does Imperial Uncle have any other instructions?"
Li Xuancheng took out a snow-white handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it over, saying gently, "Wipe it!"
Xu Boyi had slapped himself so hard that blood was seeping out from the corner of his mouth. He lowered his head and took the handkerchief, thanking Li Xuancheng before gently wiping the corner of his swollen mouth.
Li Xuancheng couldn't help but feel a sense of pity when he saw his cautious appearance.
Actually, Li Xuancheng had a high status, so why would he care about the life and death of a eunuch? However, after returning from a trip to Gourd County, he had contracted a strange illness. His lower body was extremely itchy, tormenting him so much that he couldn't sleep at night. In the beginning, he looked for many doctors, including those who specialized in treating strange and complicated diseases. He did not know how many orthodox and folk prescriptions he had used, but there was no effect at all.
Later on, his lower body began to fester due to the extreme itchiness. At this time, Li Guojiu did not dare to ask anyone to take a look. He only applied some medicine that could reduce the itchiness to himself and pretended to be cured to the outside world.
However, about a year later, his lower body had completely rotted away. Now, it was even cleaner than a eunuch. His' illness' was cured, and the treatment was actually the legendary method of 'cutting off the head for a headache, cutting off the feet for a sore foot' that was used to mock quacks.
Although he was still the high and mighty Imperial Uncle, deep down, he was already a eunuch that he despised in the past. His mentality had also changed. Today, seeing this low-ranking eunuch being bullied, Li Xuancheng actually felt pity and came to his rescue.
Xu Boyi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and didn't dare to raise his head. He only bowed deeply to Li Xuancheng and said respectfully, "Thank you, Imperial Uncle. This servant will leave now!"
"Oh? Stop! "
Seeing Xu Boyi dodge again and again, unwilling to face him directly, Li Xuancheng finally grew suspicious. He immediately called out to him and used the bamboo fan in his hand to gently lift up Xu Boyi's smooth chin, which was devoid of hair.
"It's you?"
Li Xuancheng, who had been received by Xu Boyi in Gourd County, recognized him. Xu Boyi was terrified and knelt on the ground, begging, "Imperial Uncle, spare me! Imperial Uncle, spare me! I have already become a cripple. I was once a Juzi and an official, but now I'm in such a miserable state. I only want to drag out my life. Imperial Uncle, please have mercy … "
Xu Boyi was terrified. He didn't know that Li Xuancheng had deliberately diverted the guards to create an opportunity for him to escape and allow him to assassinate Ye Xiaotian. He only knew that since the Imperial Uncle recognized him, he knew that he was a criminal and kept kowtowing and begging for mercy.
Li Xuancheng was shocked to see that the former county magistrate of Gourd County was now a eunuch in the palace. He couldn't imagine what strange situation County Magistrate Xu had encountered to appear here and become a eunuch in the blink of an eye.
However, he knew how much Xu Boyi hated Ye Xiaotian. Now that Ye Xiaotian was going to the capital to meet the Emperor and receive the title of Chieftain, some high-ranking officials already knew about it. Among the nobles, there were even more people who knew.
This was because their official positions and salaries were hereditary. For people like them who had golden rice bowls, they wouldn't have another family in decades or centuries. Of course, they wanted to know more about a legendary figure like Ye Xiaotian, who was blessed by providence.
Ever since Li Xuancheng became a eunuch, he had completely given up on the idea of possessing Yingying. However, this kind of despair only came from a major physiological change. Psychologically, his stubborn desire to possess her did not decrease. Instead, it became even crazier. Because of the conflict between him and Ye Xiaotian, this kind of stubbornness became especially strong.
But now, Ye Xiaotian was getting better and better and was about to become a Chieftain. This was even more exciting than his life as the Imperial Uncle. It could be predicted that when he became a powerful Chieftain, it would be a good time for him and Yingying to be like fish in water. One could imagine what kind of mood Li Xuancheng was in.
Just now, it was the empress dowager who had summoned him to the Palace for a chat. Li Xuancheng really had no interest in it. After a hasty response, he took his leave. Now that he saw Xu Boyi, the hatred in Li Xuancheng's heart suddenly became even stronger. Seeing Xu Boyi kowtow like he was pounding garlic, Li Xuancheng stared at him and suddenly asked, "Do you hate Ye Xiaotian to the core?"
Xu Boyi was stunned. His hands fell to the ground and he raised his head to look at him in shock.
Li Xuancheng stared at him with a sharp gaze and continued, "Do you know that Ye Xiaotian, because of fate, actually went from being a lowly official to being loved and respected by the people of the Five Caves? He will soon be made a Chieftain by the Emperor. From now on, you will be able to enjoy wealth and riches forever, and your fortune will even surpass my own! "
A look of extreme jealousy and hatred flashed through Xu Boyi's eyes. He nodded and said, "This servant … knows!"
Li Xuancheng smiled slightly and said, "If a eunuch wants to be successful, he has to serve his master from a young age. If he makes his master happy, he will have the chance to be recommended to study in the Inner Hall of Learning. As for the Department of Rites, it is the noblest of all the eunuch yamens. People say that it doesn't have the title of Prime Minister, but it does have the power of a Prime Minister. The people in the Department of Rites almost all come from the Inner Study.
I don't want to know how you went from being a criminal who was on the run to a eunuch. I only know that you are well-versed in poetry and are no less talented than those who come from the Inner Study. Most of these low-ranking eunuchs are illiterate. It's really a mess for you to be among them. "
Xu Boyi wasn't an idiot. He had already heard something from Imperial Uncle Li's words. Thinking back to the previous question, 'Do you hate Ye Xiaotian?', Xu Boyi was enlightened. He kowtowed heavily and said with a trembling voice, "Please grant me my wish, Imperial Uncle. This servant … is willing to die for Imperial Uncle without any regrets!"
Li Xuancheng smiled slightly and said, "I don't like Ye Xiaotian as a person! If you help me scheme against him, I will recommend you to the Department of Rites. Although you can only be a small eunuch who serves tea and drinks, you will have the chance to come into contact with all the senior eunuchs in the Department of Rites. How much good fortune you have will depend on your own luck. What do you think? "
When Xu Boyi heard this, he was pleasantly surprised. Even if he wasn't given any benefits, he was willing to do everything he could to kill Ye Xiaotian. Moreover, Li Xuancheng had drawn such a large pie for him. Xu Boyi was so happy that he repeatedly kowtowed. His forehead was already bruised from knocking on the brick floor, but he didn't feel it.
… …
The news of Ye Xiaotian's return to the capital had already spread among the upper echelons, but Ye Xiaotian's family still didn't know. Ye Xiaotian, who had rushed all the way here, wanted to give his family a surprise, so he didn't send anyone to tell his family about his glorious return.
But through the previous correspondence, the Ye family already knew that their son had become an official in Guizhou. To Old Ye, this was an important matter that brought honor to his ancestors. His neighbors and even his old colleagues in the Imperial Prison had all heard him talk about it with a beaming smile.
People who lived at the foot of the Emperor had a natural sense of superiority toward outsiders, especially in a place as far away as Guizhou. In their minds, it was a desolate land, so the commoners didn't care much about it. Even hearing that the Ye family's second son had become an official didn't have much of a shock to them.
But his old colleagues in the Imperial Prison still knew that no matter where one became an official, an official would always be an official. They would always live more comfortably than the commoners, especially the local officials. The further they were from the capital, the more carefree they were. Thus, they all strongly urged Old Ye to seek shelter with his son and enjoy his old age.
After listening for a long time, Old Ye was also somewhat moved. One day, he mentioned this plan to his wife, but he didn't know that his second son had already stepped through the heavy snow and returned to Beijing!
