Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 486 Sneaking Up to a Powerful Backer in Advance

In any era, eunuchs have always been looked down upon. Even though Cao Cao, the Emperor Wu of Wei, swept across the land, unified the north, and established great achievements, many people still bring up his father Cao Teng's background as an adopted son of a eunuch.

Firstly, in this era that emphasizes filial piety, people believe that their bodies and hair are given to them by their parents, and they dare not damage them; this is the beginning of filial piety. Moreover, of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no descendants. No matter what, eunuchs are still crippled individuals who cannot continue the family line for their parents and ancestors. This greatly conflicts with the prevailing concept and is therefore unacceptable to the world.

Of course, the core issue is that eunuchs, as the emperor's servants, were closest to imperial power and served as his henchmen in the struggle for power and profit between the emperor and the bureaucratic class. To put it bluntly, they were the emperor's white gloves, dogs kept by the emperor to compete with the bureaucratic class for resources. The pie was only so big; if some took a bigger slice, others took a smaller one. Since the bureaucratic class couldn't directly vent their resentment on the emperor, they naturally disliked these eunuchs.

Tong Guan entered the palace at a young age and served the current emperor from childhood. In other times, this would naturally be a rare and promising job. However, with the Empress Dowager in power in this dynasty, even the emperor himself has lived in fear and trembling since he can remember. What can a lowly eunuch like Tong Guan, who has to be observant of others, do?
Tong Guan had to endure the humiliation of his colleagues who served the Empress Dowager, as well as the contempt of a group of officials. The emperor would also take his anger out on him when he was in a bad mood. He was humiliated from three sides, and everyone gave him the cold shoulder. His life was extremely difficult.

Now that he had met Murong Fu, a generous and magnanimous young master from Jiangnan, who was not only approachable but also incredibly generous and spoke pleasantly, Tong Guan only regretted that he had not met such a person sooner and had knelt down to his sworn brother earlier.

Murong Fu laughed heartily: "I had never met Eunuch Tong before, yet we hit it off immediately, feeling as if we had known each other for a long time. Is this what people often call a predestined affinity from a past life?"

"Since it's our first meeting, I didn't prepare anything special. These little trinkets from friends are for Eunuch Tong to keep as gifts!"

As he spoke, Murong Fu gently pushed a small silk bag in front of Tong Guan.

Tong Guan said repeatedly, "How could I possibly accept this?" and subtly opened the bag a crack.

He only glanced at it, but the blinding light made him squint involuntarily, and the next moment Tong Guan almost stopped breathing.

The small bag, about the size of a palm, was filled with more than a dozen lustrous, high-quality pearls. The smallest was the size of a little finger, while the largest was the same size as the one Murong Fu had given him earlier.

This small bag of pearls alone is worth at least tens of thousands of strings of cash.

Tong Guan unconsciously swallowed, feeling his palms tremble slightly.

"Brother, this is far too valuable!"

Tong Guan felt his voice was about to break into a sob.

"Brother, this is too valuable. I can't accept it!"

Tong Guan grabbed the bag tightly and pushed it towards Murong Fu.

Murong Fu frowned: "What do you mean by this, my worthy brother? Do you look down on this humble gift from your foolish brother? If you don't accept it, does that mean you don't respect your sworn brother?"

Murong Fu was deliberately putting on an act.

Tong Guan was deeply moved.

How can there be such a good person in the world?

He immediately wiped away his tears and knelt down, saying, "From now on, whatever my sworn brother commands, I, Tong Guan, will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire, wind and rain, without ever flinching!"

Murong Fu quickly waved his hand and said, "Oh, my good brother, what you say is true. We've shared both wealth and hardship. It would be best if we looked after each other in the future."

"Are you kidding? This is the most powerful figure in the future Song Dynasty military. To be able to buy his favor for a mere tens of thousands of strings of cash at this time is incredibly worthwhile. Besides, in Murong Fu's view, the so-called value of jewels and gold is all empty talk. For an ambitious person with the ambition to rule the world, only real food, weapons, cloth, and warhorses are truly valuable."

During the Jingkang era, when Kaifeng was besieged, even a single rat could fetch over a hundred taels of silver, and the demand still exceeded the supply. What use was money then?

Tong Guan downed a cup of wine in one gulp: "Let's not delay any longer, elder brother. Let's go to the palace to see the Emperor. He's eager to see you."

As he spoke, Tong Guan ordered his men to tie up the eunuch Sun who had come to deliver the imperial decree, and scolded him, "Tie this fellow up tightly and leave him for the Emperor to deal with!"

All Eunuch Sun could do was silently shed tears.

Tong Guan whispered to Murong Fu, "Brother, don't worry. I have some connections in the Imperial City Guard. I'll make sure this guy is dealt with without anyone knowing and won't be allowed to gossip!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Tong Guan's eyes.

Murong Fu smiled and said softly, "Then I'll have to rely on you, my brother, to make the decision for me!"

Tong Guan laughed and said, "We're brothers, why are you talking nonsense!"

Just as the two were about to leave, a lavishly decorated carriage stopped in front of them.

Two elegantly dressed women disembarked from the carriage one after the other.

The leading woman, dressed in green, with tears welling in her beautiful eyes, threw herself into Murong Fu's arms without uttering a word.

Another beautiful woman dressed in crimson palace attire said, "Young master, I heard you struck the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree. Are these people here to arrest you?"

The newcomers were none other than the two beauties, Azhu and Abi.

In a bustling place like Fanlou, such sensational news as the beating of a eunuch naturally spread quickly. Moreover, the Murong family was already well-connected in the capital.

So when they heard that Murong Fu had beaten the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, the two girls immediately packed their things and prepared to run back to Suzhou with Murong Fu.

Murong Fu laughed and said, "It was just a small matter, and it's already resolved. Thanks to Eunuch Tong's righteousness. This little thing is nothing. Now, I'll go to the palace with Eunuch Tong to meet the Emperor."

Murong Fu smiled and said to Tong Guan, "I'm sorry to have troubled you, my brother. These two are my wives. They came to the capital with me this time."

Tong Guan saw that although A Zhu and A Bi were not considered peerless beauties, they were still very charming and rare beauties. After hearing Murong Fu's introduction, a hint of envy flashed in his eyes. He smiled and said, "So you are my two sisters-in-law. Brother, you are truly blessed. I am Tong Guan, serving the Emperor in the palace. I pay my respects to my two sisters-in-law."

A fleeting look of surprise crossed the faces of the two maidens, Azhu and Abi. They thought to themselves, "Young Master is truly an extraordinary person, doing extraordinary things. He can actually become sworn brothers with a eunuch he just met."

However, he gave a neat and efficient curtsy and said, "Greetings to my uncle."

Tong Guan smiled even more broadly, feeling that he was being respected like never before.