Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 119: Eunuch Wei's Attack
It has snowed three times in the capital.

The snow came earlier this year than last year. In the evening of that day, the sky was a little gray, and a few snowflakes floated up intermittently. In less than half an hour, the snow fell heavier and heavier.

Wei Zhongxian had just returned from the Qianqing Palace. He was now the most powerful eunuch in the palace. He not only controlled the Silijian, but also the Dongchang, a secret agency. For a time, he was the most powerful eunuch.

But Wei Zhongxian knew that he had risen too quickly and his foundation in the palace was still not solid. Without mentioning other things, let’s just talk about the former chief eunuch Wang An. Although this old fellow was no longer the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, he had become an ordinary eunuch in the palace.

But Wang An has been in the palace for so long and is no pushover. He has many adopted sons and grandsons, and his strength should not be underestimated. Before Wei Zhongxian completely defeats Wang An, he cannot have the final say in the palace.

But this will happen soon. Some days ago, Wei Zhongxian had been thinking about how to drive Wang An out of the palace. If everything went well, Wang An, the eunuch, would not be able to stay in office for long. His future fate would be the same as that of his sworn brother Wei Chao. He would either be sent to Fengyang to guard the tomb or go to Tianshou Mountain to accompany the late emperor.

Once Wang An was removed, Wei Zhongxian would no longer have any rivals in the palace. But this was not enough. Wei Zhongxian knew very well how he got to where he was today, and he also understood why Emperor Tianqi wanted to use him.

Wei Zhongxian was born a gangster, and he knew some truths. If the emperor could give him wealth and honor, he could also easily take it away. Just like Wang An, Wang An was as powerful as himself in the palace, but what about Wang An now? In the final analysis, wasn't it because the emperor looked down on him? Did he replace Wang An with himself?
Just now in the Qianqing Palace, Wei Zhongxian accompanied Emperor Tianqi to do carpentry work. He, a eunuch who controlled the Silijian, actually ran around and did the work of a handyman. This seemed a little incredible to outsiders, but Wei Zhongxian enjoyed it. He knew that he could only gain the emperor's trust by doing this. Let alone doing these things, as long as the emperor wanted to do something, he could do anything as the emperor's slave.

Tianqi's mood today was not bad, but it was not good either. After working as a carpenter for two hours, Tianqi finally took a break.

During the break, Wei Zhongxian still served diligently and reported to the emperor the recent developments in the court. The emperor seemed absent-minded, but Wei Zhongxian knew that the young Tianqi emperor was not easy to fool, and the emperor remembered every word he said.

After the report, the emperor did not say anything, but just sighed and encouraged himself. The clever Wei Zhongxian carefully observed the emperor's expression and tone, and keenly realized that the emperor had many dissatisfactions in the court, but he could not change it.

As a slave, Wei Zhongxian knew that it was necessary to help his master solve problems. But there were some things he couldn't do now. He rose too fast. Although his current status was not low and he became the number one eunuch in the palace, his influence in the court and his voice outside the palace were not enough. He was also powerless in many things.

"Can't these Donglin Party members just be quiet? Wouldn't it be nice to let the Emperor have fewer worries?" On the way back, Wei Zhongxian pondered in his mind and couldn't help but curse those bastards of the Donglin Party.

These days, with the retirement of Prime Minister Fang Congzhe, the cabinet has been completely controlled by the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party has become even more arrogant. Not only do they make comments on important matters of the court, but they also make their own decisions in the appointment of some officials, without taking the emperor into consideration at all.

Not to mention Tianqi, even Wei Zhongxian couldn't help it if he encountered such a situation. The more Wei Zhongxian thought about it, the angrier he got. As the saying goes, if the emperor humiliates his subjects, they will die. Although he was a slave, he was absolutely loyal to the emperor. How could he bear to see the emperor being bullied by his subjects like this?
I returned to my residence and went into the house. There was a floor heating inside, which made it much warmer than outside.

A young eunuch hurried forward and helped Wei Zhongxian take off his outer cloak. When Wei Zhongxian walked to the chair and sat down, he brought over the freshly brewed tea, respectfully invited Wei Zhongxian to have some tea, and called him godfather.

It was common for eunuchs to adopt adopted sons and grandsons. Before, Wei Zhongxian had a low status in the palace, so there were no young eunuchs who would seek refuge with him. But now it was different. Eunuch Wei was now the most senior eunuch in the palace and was deeply favored by the emperor. These eunuchs, who were good at scheming, rushed to Wei Zhongxian like flies smelling a scent.

Faced with such a situation, Wei Zhongxian almost accepted everyone who came. He knew that his foundation was not strong, and Wang An had not been completely dealt with, so it was necessary to form factions in the palace, and this situation was also a normal operation for eunuchs.

In this way, in just over a month, Wei Zhongxian adopted many godsons and grandsons in the palace, and the young eunuch serving him now was one of them.

I picked up the tea and took a sip. The hot tea went down my throat, dispelling some of the coolness in my body and making me feel warm instantly.

"What's the matter today?" Wei Zhongxian asked, putting the teacup aside.

The young eunuch told Wei Zhongxian that there was nothing to do today and everything was fine. In addition, the young eunuch reported that the matter of his nephew Wei Liangqing, who had been entrusted by the eunuch, had been arranged. He had bought a house for him outside the palace, sent servants, and left some silver.

When Wei Zhongxian heard about his nephew Wei Liangqing, he immediately perked up. Wei Liangqing had come to the capital not long ago. He didn't know how he knew that he had become rich, and he rushed all the way from his hometown to the capital to join him.

Wei Zhongxian is no longer the same person he used to be. The wealthy Wei eunuch has become a superior person. In the past, Wei Zhongxian was just an ordinary eunuch in the palace, with no rank or power, and could not help his family at all. But now it is different. Wei Zhongxian has become powerful and naturally has to take care of his family.

What's more, Wei Zhongxian was a eunuch and had no children. Wei Liangqing was his nephew and could be said to be his closest blood relative.

Since his nephew came to him, how could Wei Zhongxian sit back and do nothing? Naturally, he had to make good arrangements. So after meeting Wei Liangqing, Wei Zhongxian handed the matter over to his godson. Unexpectedly, it took only a few days for the matter to be handled properly, which made Wei Zhongxian very happy.

"Yeah, well done."

"This is what I should do. It's not worthy of praise from my godfather." The young eunuch was immediately delighted and said modestly.

"You've done a good job, and godfather is not a stingy person. By the way, the Shangshenjian is still short of a manager, so I'll give you this job."

"Thank you, godfather! Thank you, godfather!" The young eunuch was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Wei Zhongxian.

The Supervisor of Imperial Kitchen was also the Chief Eunuch. This position was of the fifth rank, and was considered a middle-level eunuch in the palace. Before Wei Zhongxian became the Chief Eunuch of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, this position belonged to Wei Zhongxian. Later, Wei Zhongxian rose from Chief Eunuch to Chief Eunuch, and then entered the Imperial Household Department to replace Wang An. Because the changes were so fast, the Supervisor of Imperial Kitchen had not yet made any adjustments.

Since his godson worked hard and was loyal to him, it was fine to give him this position. After all, he was just a fifth-rank eunuch, which was nothing.

"Get up." Seeing the young eunuch's loyal appearance, Wei Zhongxian's vanity was greatly satisfied, and he raised his hand with a smile.

The young eunuch kowtowed to Wei Zhongxian again before standing up. When he stood up, his forehead was red, tears were in his eyes, and he looked extremely grateful, which made Wei Zhongxian even more satisfied.

"By the way, how is the matter that our family asked you to investigate going?" Wei Zhongxian suddenly asked.

The young eunuch said quickly, "In reply to godfather, I have already had someone check it out. This person is roughly the same as what my nephew said. He is from Pingshun, Shanxi Province, and is currently the postmaster of Pingshun Post Station. He does have a part-time job as a Jinyiwei..."

The young eunuch did not dare to hide anything and immediately told Wei Zhongxian all the information he had found out.

Wei Zhongxian closed his eyes slightly and pricked up his ears to listen to the young eunuch's report. This report took quite a while. After half an hour, the young eunuch finally finished his report.

"that's it?"

"This is what we have found out now. As time is tight, the people sent to Shanxi have not returned yet. We need to wait for some time before they come back so that my son can report back to his godfather?" The young eunuch replied carefully.

"Hmm..." Wei Zhongxian responded without comment, then waved at him. The young eunuch immediately retreated and even helped to close the door when he left.

After the young eunuch left, Wei Zhongxian slowly opened his eyes after a while. He looked at the closed door with a thoughtful expression. He suddenly burst out laughing and scolded: "This little monkey is quite clever. He actually knew how to use this method to get in our way? Haha, not bad, not bad, he is a smart man!"

Wei Liangqing suddenly came to the capital, got in touch with someone in the palace through channels, and then contacted himself. When Wei Zhongxian learned about this, he was a little surprised, but at the same time he was very happy.

After all, he was a eunuch and it was impossible for him to have descendants. His nephew was his closest relative by blood. Of course, he was happy that his nephew came to him for refuge. But Wei Zhongxian was not stupid. How long had it been since he jumped from an ordinary eunuch to the top eunuch in the palace? Not to mention his illiterate nephew who was farming in his hometown, even the local officials didn't know much about it.

So when Wei Zhongxian learned that Wei Liangqing had come to the capital, he began to think about this matter. If Wei Liangqing got the news and came to him on purpose, Wei Zhongxian would not believe it even if he was beaten to death. In Wei Zhongxian's opinion, there must be someone who gave Wei Liangqing advice behind his back, and what was the purpose of doing so? Wei Zhongxian had to be on guard.

For this reason, Wei Zhongxian arranged for Wei Liangqing to stay in the capital first, and asked his godson to help find a house for him while he secretly investigated the ins and outs of the matter.

How could Wei Zhongxian feel at ease if he didn't understand? He was really worried that someone might have ulterior motives in doing this, or use his nephew to deal with him? Let's not talk about other things, just talk about his mortal enemy Wang An. What if this was the work of Wang An? If so, if he didn't handle it properly, Wang An might find evidence against him.

(End of this chapter)