Dugong

Chapter 19: Advance, No Retreat
"Hehehe, what a good job!"

Eunuch Sun clapped his hands and laughed strangely, looking at Li Ping'an with a look of satisfaction.

Does he need these two gold bars?

Of course there is no shortage!

Eunuch Sun was in charge of the imperial kitchen, and any little bit he made was worth a few gold bars. For example, the eggs His Majesty ate were worth five taels of silver each.

It is really a chicken egg worth half an acre of good farmland.

So what Eunuch Sun lacks the least is money. What he lacks is fun. Something that can make him happy is much more valuable than two gold bars.

Eunuch Sun encouraged him, "Xiao Anzi, from now on you will be in charge of the kitchen. You can use whoever you want or not, but remember not to make any mistakes."

"Thank you for your cultivation, Godfather. I will always remember it!"

Li Ping'an kowtowed and expressed his gratitude, his heart finally at ease. It was worth it for all his hard work and innovation in studying other people's gift-giving methods to come up with this idea.

If your father does not approve of your "abusing power", you may be punished.

"Go down, and remember to prepare the New Year's Eve banquet."

Eunuch Sun waved his hand to let Gan'er retreat, picked up two gold bars engraved with words and looked at them carefully, with wrinkles on his face and a smile rippling across his face.

"He's indeed a filial child. I'll take him to meet his godfather later!"

Eunuch Sun thought of this and looked at the gold bars again. He laughed out loud when he saw them, and his godfather would be happy too when he saw them.

"When you give gold to your godfather at the end of the month, we'll do the same..."

……

Return to the kitchen.

Li Ping'an received the official order. Unlike the previous coaxing and threatening methods, he sat down on the armchair with his legs spread wide and ordered Xiao Huizi to call everyone over.

"After a few days of visits and investigations, our family has drawn up the first rotation list. Xiao Huizi, please read it out."

Xiao Huizi bowed and accepted the order: "Xiao Chenzi will take turns with Xiao Hongzi, the seventeenth stove worker. Xiao Yuzi will take turns with Xiao Yongzi, the kitchen worker..."

There are more than 30 people in the kitchen, and 15 of them were replaced in this round.

Most of them came from the stove. Cooks and firemen were the lowest-level workers in the imperial kitchen. Their work was hard, hot, smoky and hot, and they had no chance to see the emperor.

Li Ping'an promoted them, both out of gratitude and as a supporter.

Among them, there were eunuchs who had never used the dining room. According to his godfather's understanding, the room must be full of people with little background, and it would be inconvenient and unreliable to rotate them around.

Li Pingan comforted the eunuchs who were sent to the fire: "You don't have to be sad. There will be rotations in a while. Everyone will have a chance."

Everyone had seen Eunuch An's methods and dared not complain. They could only blame themselves for not flattering him enough.

After a while.

The new eunuchs who came to the kitchen were all in high spirits. Some of them had been working as firemen in the palace for five or six years and had never even seen His Majesty.

Now that I have the opportunity to soar to the sky, the money is well spent.

Li Pingan ordered: "Please learn the rules of serving food carefully and remember to do your job well. If you make any mistakes, don't blame us for turning our backs on you."

Everyone agreed in unison. They were all old employees of the imperial kitchen. They could live a peaceful life and naturally knew the importance of rules.

"You all go out, Xiao Huizi stay."

Li Ping'an imitated his godfather's waving gesture and felt inexplicably comfortable. Perhaps this is what it feels like to be a superior person.

"Eunuch An, what do you want?"

Xiao Huizi usually calls Master Sun "grandfather" out of respect, but after witnessing Li Ping'an's efficient methods, she became more sincere.

Li Pingan said, "In the kitchen, you are the one we trust the most. I need you to do something right now."

Xiao Huizi's face was filled with emotion: "Just give your instructions, Eunuch An. We will definitely see to it."

"You have to keep an eye on Xiao Luzi these days. Write down who he meets and what he says..." Li Ping'an did not report Xiao Luzi to his godfather immediately. Firstly, there was not enough evidence, and secondly, his contribution was too small.

The gold bar that Xiao Luzi bit to death did not come from Zhaoyang Palace, but was a reward from other nobles. It would be useless to kill him on the spot.

It would be better to keep an eye on it secretly, get solid evidence, and then find out who bribed Xiao Luzi. That would be a great achievement.

Xiao Huizi said solemnly, "Don't worry, Eunuch An. My true Qi may not be top-notch, but I have mastered a superior Qinggong, which is perfect for tracking and stalking."

Li Pingan asked, "What kind of Qinggong is this?"

Xiao Huizi replied, "Phantom Ghost Step, according to the records, was once a secret light skill of the Ghost King Sect. It was acquired by the Cangwu Pavilion after the Great Ancestor led his troops into the martial arts world."

The Martial Arts Pavilion is one of the most important palaces in the palace. It contains countless magical skills and techniques. Every time a eunuch completes a year on duty, he can go in and choose a skill to practice.

Li Pingan asked curiously, "I heard that most people choose unique martial arts moves, why did you choose Qinggong?"

"The moves require the coordination of true Qi to unleash their powerful power. Our true Qi cultivation is neither good nor bad. Even if we become stronger, we can't beat others."

Xiao Huizi shrugged helplessly and said, "Why don't we just focus on practicing Qinggong? As long as we can run fast enough, we can live longer. Who knows, we might even get a job as an official someday!"

Li Ping'an nodded slightly. This was indeed a safe way.

"Can you show us your Phantom Ghost Steps?"

"It's impossible."

Xiao Huizi circulated her true energy to her legs, and with mysterious footwork, she landed silently several feet away. Although her figure was extremely fast, she did not make any sound at all.

"How mysterious."

Li Ping'an secretly estimated in his heart that he could achieve such a speed by using all his strength to circulate his true energy and rely on pure force to propel himself.

"I'll leave Xiao Luzi's matter to you. It's a matter of great importance. If you handle it well, our family will personally commend you to our godfather!"

"Thank you, Eunuch An, for your support."

Xiao Huizi bowed and saw that Eunuch An had his eyes closed in deep thought. She tactfully stepped out and gently closed the door.

And stood at the door in case anyone disturbed him.

Li Ping'an sat in the armchair. As he was still young, he looked like a child pretending to be an adult. He did not have the majesty of Eunuch Sun and Eunuch Niu.

"After we investigated Little Luzi, we were completely involved in the palace fight."

"If the Zhaoyang Palace gains power in the future, everyone from our ancestors to our godfathers and godfathers will suffer, and we won't suffer either..."

Li Ping'an's face was gloomy. He had asked Xiao Fangzi last night what happened to the famous eunuchs in the current dynasty and the previous dynasty.

Sudden death, torture and execution, confiscation of property and extermination of families... it can be said that no one was spared.

Among them were many eunuchs who were even more powerful than our ancestors, but they all had a miserable ending. Their bodies were left exposed in the wilderness after death, and they couldn't even become wandering ghosts.

"Can our ancestors be an exception?"

Li Ping'an took out a white flour steamed bun from his arms. It was not the silver tribute flour from the imperial kitchen, but the ordinary white flour from the kitchen.

It tastes a bit rough and not as sweet as it was half a year ago.

"However, the struggle in the palace is always going forward, and there is no retreat. On the day we worshipped our godfather, we gained power and stood opposite the nobles of Zhaoyang Palace."

"If you dare to say the word 'back off' now, Godfather will break your neck..."

Li Ping'an is a lowly figure in the palace, who can only go with the flow and has no autonomy at all.

After eating the steamed bun, he slowly stood up.

"Since our family has no choice, we might as well stick to this path. After all, the Queen has given birth to three legitimate sons. Even if the eldest prince has been demoted to a commoner, she still has more princes than the Zhaoyang Palace!"

"Two against one, the advantage is ours!"

(End of this chapter)