Dugong

Chapter 115 The Death of the Imperial Envoy
Li Ping'an keenly sensed the woman's unusual behavior. He had seen this kind of look many times before, just like the palace maids in Ciqing Palace who were looking for their lovers.

Perhaps there is some reverence and affection, but more than anything, there is a desire for power.

The woman bit her lip lightly: "Husband..."

Li Ping'an pulled her into his arms and lifted her up in his arms. Then, the bed curtains swayed gently, the quilt rippled, and a warm fragrance filled the air.

The next day.

The sky is slightly bright.

As Li Ping'an was dressed by a woman, he asked, "What's your name?"

The woman replied, "My surname is Ji, and my given name is Huiyin."

Li Ping'an nodded and said, "That's right. The Book of Songs says, 'Da Si inherited the beautiful sound,' your father has high hopes for you."

Ji Huiyin looked surprised. She hadn't expected that the eunuch could actually read books and could recite the origin of a name in one breath. Clearly, he was quite well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics.

The two walked hand in hand to the front hall, just like a newlywed couple serving tea and kowtowing to their parents.

Looking at their "daughter-in-law's" inconvenient movements, Li Mancang and Zhang Guihua looked at their son with doubt, wondering if the hymen hadn't been cleaned properly.

Li Ping'an sipped his tea without offering any further explanation.

Having cultivated true qi to the level of Eunuch An, one can easily condense true qi into form, and one's skills on the bed are a hundred times better than those of ordinary men.

Following the established procedure, Zhang Guihua took off a bracelet from her wrist as a greeting gift.

Afterwards, Li Ping'an took Ji Huiyin to the ancestral hall to pay respects and have her name entered into the family genealogy, thus officially making her a member of the Li family.

We returned to the main hall and had breakfast.

Li Mancang tried his best to project the authority of a patriarch and instructed, "Xiao Anzi's branch of the family cannot be broken. Eldest brother, you have two sons in your family, so one of them should be adopted."

Li Pingyun nodded in agreement, as it was something they had already discussed.

Li Ping'an carefully examined his two nephews and asked with a smile, "What do you two think is the greatest thing in the world?"

Li Pingyun looked at his two sons nervously, fearing that his answer would displease his younger brother and cause him to lose the opportunity to be adopted.

Li Dunyi answered decisively: "Of course, the sky is the biggest, it can't be seen at a glance."

The older Li Dunmin pondered for a moment before replying, "The books say that Your Majesty is the greatest, and the entire world belongs to Your Majesty."

“They’re all good.”

Li Ping'an said, "The most important thing for me when serving His Majesty is loyalty, and I have a special connection with Dunmin."

Li Pingyun urged hurriedly, "Dunmin, why aren't you calling him 'Father' yet?"

Li Dunyi was still confused as to how his second uncle had become his father when Li Dunmin knelt down in front of Eunuch An and called out in a clear voice.

"Your son greets Father."

Looking at the child's sincere expression, Li Ping'an suddenly felt a surge of warmth: "Your father has to work in the palace, so you should study hard with your mother in your spare time."

"My child understands."

Li Dunmin agreed and kowtowed to Ji Huiyin again: "Your son greets Mother."

Ji Huiyin readily agreed. Originally, she had resigned herself to a life of loneliness and only hoped to clear her father's name. The result far exceeded her expectations.

The husband was powerful and skilled in martial arts, and they had a clever son.

evening.

The Li family threw another lavish banquet.

This time, Li Dunmin became the center of attention, with congratulatory, jealous, and sycophantic people all circling around him.

Li Dunyi was puzzled by his brother's sudden popularity and asked his father for the reason.

Li Pingyun patted his youngest son's head and said, "This is all fate. From now on, when you speak to your older brother, remember to be respectful."

Li Dunyi was confused. In the past, his grandparents and parents always made his older brother give in to him.

The banquet ended and everyone dispersed.

Li Ping'an returned to his room to handle official documents. Just as the old eunuch was about to grind ink and moisten his brush, Ji Huiyin took the initiative to step forward and take it from him.

"Let me come."

The old eunuch looked at Eunuch An, and only stepped aside after seeing him nod slightly.

Li Ping'an went through today's official documents one by one. The horses in the Imperial Horse Stable were sick again, the Inner Palace Office was going to build a new building, and there was another rebellion in the Palace Duty Office.

After reviewing documents until late into the night, Ji Huiyin helped her change and go to bed. After a passionate night together, Ji Huiyin leaned against Eunuch An and asked, "Why didn't I see Min-ge'er's birth mother today?"

Li Ping'an said, "My sister-in-law died of postpartum hemorrhage when she gave birth to Min Ge'er, and she has not had a happy life at home these years."

"I will take good care of Min-ge'er."

Ji Huiyin suddenly realized that no matter how her two nephews answered, it was ultimately Min-ge'er's adoption, and there would always be a suitable explanation.

Li Ping'an instructed, "We will invite a tutor to teach Min'er to read. You must supervise him carefully, so that he may pass the imperial examination in the future."

"I understand."

Ji Huiyin was very supportive of studying, believing that if he passed the imperial examination and became an official, eventually reaching the fifth rank, he could request an imperial decree for his mother.

……

The next day.

At noon.

Li Ping'an bid a reluctant farewell to his parents, holding hands and gazing at each other with tearful eyes.

"Father, Mother, we are already grateful for His Majesty's grace in granting us three days of leave to visit our family. We must return today to handle official business."

"Serve His Majesty well. Of all the celestial beings, Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents, and Teacher, His Majesty is closer than one's own parents!"

Li Mancang spoke haltingly, and his literary words sounded stiff no matter how you looked at them.

"Xiao Anzi, please take good care of Her Majesty. I'll visit you when I have time."

Zhang Guihua spoke fluently, perhaps because she felt a sense of crisis seeing her husband repeatedly taking concubines, each of whom was quite beautiful.

So he kept Eunuch An's instructions in mind, diligently studied the rules, and dared not make the slightest mistake.

The family arrived at the door, and Li Ping'an kowtowed to bid them farewell.

Just as he was about to board the sedan chair to return to the palace, he saw a silver-topped, red-curtained official sedan chair approaching from the street corner. According to the laws and regulations, it should be used by a second-rank official.

As the official sedan chair approached, the side curtain was lifted, revealing Minister Lu of the Ministry of Revenue sitting inside, who greeted them with a smile.

"Is Eunuch An heading back to the palace?"

Li Ping'an raised an eyebrow, cupped his hands, and said, "Greetings, Lord Lu. You've finished court early today?"

"His Majesty, out of pity for my old age and frail health, has granted me permission to leave court early."

Minister Lu stroked his beard and said, "It's a pity we didn't arrive at the right time. I'll pay you another visit next time Eunuch An comes to visit his family."

"No problem, no problem, I'll definitely do it next time."

Li Ping'an chatted idly with Minister Lu for a few minutes, then smiled and bowed goodbye before spitting on the ground.

"Little Yu, you should hurry back to the palace and order all the adopted sons and eunuchs to wait for you in the duty room."

The old fox surnamed Lu, who always looked down on eunuchs because of his noble family background, has taken the initiative to speak to me today, which must mean that something big happened at the morning court.

About half an hour.

Li Ping'an entered the Imperial Horse Stable's duty room, where dozens of eunuchs, young and old, lined up on both sides and kowtowed in unison.

"Greetings, Godfather, Admiral."

"Get up."

After Li Ping'an sat down, he asked, "Little Pengzi, have you found out what happened at the morning court?"

There were many eunuchs on duty in the Hall of Diligent Governance, such as the eunuch in charge of administering punishments by beating with a board. His superior was Eunuch Peng.

"Godfather, we've found out."

Eunuch Peng bowed and replied, "His Majesty sent Lord Shen to Jiangnan to investigate the case of Prince Qi, but he unexpectedly died of poisoning. It is reported that he was instructed by salt merchants."

"The imperial envoy died of poisoning?!"

Li Ping'an was slightly taken aback, subconsciously thinking that salt merchants wouldn't be so bold, and then asked, "How are Xiao Banzi and Xiao Huizi?"

Eunuch Xia replied, "This morning, Eunuch Hui sent back a secret message that Eunuch Ban was ambushed by the Salt Gang and died from his injuries."

The death of a eunuch is not worth discussing in the morning court session; he is not even qualified to submit a memorial to the throne.

Li Ping'an was furious. He smashed the desk to pieces with a single blow, the sharp sound icy and piercing.

"Good, good, good! There's no law anymore! A mere salt merchant dares to kill my adopted son!"

(End of this chapter)