Dugong

Chapter 112 Busy with Affairs
In the hundred years since the founding of the Great Yong Dynasty, no eunuch mother has ever been granted an imperial title, yet there is no explicit legal provision prohibiting it.

According to previous practice, it was usually the father who was promoted.

For example, before his death, Chu Gonggong's father held the official rank of Xiaoqiwei, a fourth-rank official, and after his death, he was posthumously awarded the title of Guanglu Dafu, a first-rank official.

Seeing his mother's joyful expression, Li Ping'an didn't stop her, but pulled her along to express their gratitude to Empress Dowager Zhou.

After chatting for a while, seeing that the Empress Dowager looked tired, he bowed and took his leave.

As Zhang Guihua left the Cining Palace, her previously vulgar and smug expression turned cautious and timid.

They feared offending a powerful person and losing their wealth and status.

A few years ago, Zhang Guihua thought that having dozens of acres of land, hiring two farmhands, and eating coarse flour buns every day would be a dream come true.

Now, people who find coarse grains too harsh on their throats would rather hang themselves than go back to the countryside.

As I exited the palace through the Donghua Gate, the old eunuch on duty had been replaced. Upon seeing Eunuch An from afar, I immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

The old eunuch's tragic end was truly unbearable to witness.

Hai Gonggong wanted to save his own people, but was powerless to do so, which chilled the hearts of many eunuchs who were attached to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Li Ping'an dismissed those around him and whispered to his mother, "You did well today."

"Hey."

Zhang Guihua tentatively asked, "When will your brother be promoted?"

Li Ping'an said, "I've already made arrangements. Next month, I'll help the Imperial Horse Administration catch the unscrupulous merchants, and I'll be promoted to a ninth-rank city magistrate for my meritorious service."

This unscrupulous merchant is a horse trader who colludes with the small group. He dared to frame and corrupt our adopted son. We must retaliate severely to set an example for others.

This is called cooking a fish three times.

Zhang Guihua asked, "What kind of job does the mayor do? Is it easy to get promoted?"

Li Ping'an said, "The magistrate is in charge of collecting taxes. According to the law, he can be promoted if he collects five thousand taels of tax. I will arrange the follow-up."

Zhang Guihua immediately beamed with joy. Xiao Anzi held a high position and wielded great power, but ultimately, he was not as reliable as her eldest son, who was an official.

"One more thing."

Li Ping'an instructed, "In a few days, our family will go home to visit relatives and stay for three to five days. We will then go back and explain things to Father and my elder brother."

"I remember."

Zhang Guihua nodded repeatedly. She could clearly sense that her son was not close to his family, and she found it strange that he was acting out some kind of "filial piety, parental love, and brotherly affection" drama.

However, since the Li family's wealth and status depended on Li Ping'an, they dared not have any objections and obediently nodded and did as instructed.

……

Imperial Horse Stables.

The duty room has been demolished and rebuilt, and it is two sizes larger than before. The layout is modeled after the duty room of the Directorate of Ceremonial, which perfectly reflects the rumors in the palace about the "Junior Directorate of Ceremonial".

On the day of its completion, Hai Gonggong was seething with hatred, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

The Directorate of Palace Attendants knew exactly how to avoid "overstepping the bounds," and even the strictest censors would measure the new duty rooms with a ruler, which were all legal and compliant.

Li Ping'an flipped through today's official documents, one of which came from the Black Sand Gang.

Chief Du was originally a bandit, and his official documents were written in plain language, constantly flattering Eunuch An.

The truly useful information can be summarized in just two sentences: many barbarian tribes have emerged in the Northern Frontier Army, and soldiers who were originally dismissed to return home to farm have been re-enlisted.

"That guy in the north has quite the ambition!"

Thinking of the Zhang family members in the capital, Li Ping'an felt admiration for the Prince of Zhenbei, truly not caring if his entire family were to die.

After a moment's thought, he summoned Eunuch Fei and instructed him, "Little Fei, go to the north and verify the authenticity of the official document."

"My child obeys."

Eunuch Fei accepted the order and planned to travel day and night from north to south, both to investigate the true situation in the northern frontier and to complete a secret mission.

Only through such hard work can one gain the trust of their godfather.

Li Ping'an continued reviewing official documents and, upon seeing the content concerning Qiluan Palace, summoned Eunuch Peng for questioning.

"Has that been confirmed?"

"Reporting to Godfather, Qiluan Palace is keeping it very secret and does not allow outsiders to pry into it, but there are always chores to be done, such as emptying chamber pots and boiling water." Eunuch Peng said, "Someone saw the imperial physician writing a prescription, and someone saw Consort Hui gagging. In short, all the signs indicate that it is true."

Li Ping'an remained silent for a while, then instructed, "Continue to investigate, but remember not to disturb Consort Hui."

"My child understands."

Upon hearing the words "Empress," Eunuch Peng immediately understood the meaning behind his godfather's words.

Li Ping'an then instructed Eunuch Xia: "Send someone on horseback to Jiangnan to catch up with the two members of the Xiaoban family and tell them not to provoke the Lu family business."

Your Majesty has been married for many years but has no children.

If Consort Hui were to give birth to a prince, and with the support of her maternal clan, the Lu family, her status would undoubtedly be unparalleled in the harem.

Moreover, His Majesty also comes from a noble family and bears a striking resemblance to this prince.

Eunuch Xia reminded him, "My lord, according to rumors in the palace, Consort Hui is closer to Eunuch Hai of the Directorate of Ceremonial."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Ping'an said, "Our family is not submitting to Qiluan Palace, but merely showing goodwill. There's still a long road ahead."

Consort Hui's pregnancy did not guarantee a smooth delivery, the birth of a prince, or even that the prince would survive to adulthood. According to the daily records, only about 10-20% of the princes born to consorts who became pregnant actually reached adulthood.

This is also why Consort Hui remained discreet and reserved even after becoming pregnant.

Li Ping'an continued to review official documents, dealing with matters ranging from nobles and princes to stables and night chamber pots, handling the affairs of the three supervisory offices with utmost care and diligence.

It took from noon until evening to finish processing the matter.

At this time.

The young servant guarding the door came in and announced, "Sir, Eunuch Meng requests an audience."

Xiao Yu, who had previously worked as a gatekeeper, performed his duties flawlessly and pleased Eunuch An. Before the new year, he was promoted to the position of Palace Attendant.

Li Ping'an said, "Quickly invite him in. From now on, there's no need to announce your arrival when Eunuch Meng comes."

soon.

As Eunuch Meng followed the young man into the room, he bent his knees and was about to slide down to his knees when Li Ping'an quickly stepped forward to help him up.

“Eunuch Meng, we’ve said it many times before, there’s no need for such formalities between us.”

"Our family is very grateful for Eunuch An's high regard, but we cannot break the rules."

Eunuch Meng was over fifty years old and had seen many ups and downs in the palace, so he knew the truth that people's hearts were treacherous.

We must never take advantage of the fact that we served Old Man An white flour buns, and then become arrogant and forget our place in society.

Li Ping'an invited Eunuch Meng to sit down and asked, "Is there something you need at this hour?"

“Eunuch An, we are here for the imperial tombs.”

Eunuch Meng said, "The imperial treasury approved 300,000 taels of silver for road construction, but less than 50,000 taels ended up in our hands."

The initial road construction went well, but if the mausoleum construction continues at this scale, something terrible is bound to happen!

Li Ping'an's lips curled slightly: "What major incident could possibly happen?"

Eunuch Meng said in a deep voice, "At best, it will delay the construction period; at worst, it will cause leaks and collapses."

Li Ping'an then asked, "Eunuch Meng, did you make money while building the imperial tomb?"

Eunuch Meng spoke frankly: "The late emperor made a lot of money, but now... with the amount of money given by the Ministry of Works, there's no way to make any extra money."

"If that's the case, what's there to worry about?"

Li Ping'an instructed, "Eunuch Meng, do your job well and keep a clear record of the tomb repair expenses. Don't embezzle a single penny. If anything happens to the imperial tomb, investigate whoever is responsible. I will ensure that Eunuch Meng is safe!"

Eunuch Meng suddenly realized that Eunuch An was going to target the Ministry of Works and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The four Grand Secretaries in the court were in charge of the Six Ministries. Among them, the Ministry of Works was mostly composed of Grand Secretary Zeng's cronies. It was said that this person had repeatedly impeached Eunuch An and cursed him in extremely harsh terms.

As for the conflict between the Imperial Horse Administration and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs, everyone in the palace knew about it.

Eunuch Meng asked in a low voice, "Should the imperial tomb be collapsed?"

"That depends on God!"

(End of this chapter)