Dugong

Chapter 22 The beginning of the new year
The next day.

It's still dark.

Li Ping'an had just slept for two hours, so he got up early, washed up, and went to the imperial kitchen to pay his respects to his godfather.

Fortunately, after being nourished by the rich true qi, my physique is much stronger than that of ordinary people, and I can take a nap and rest during the day. Otherwise, it would be more tiring than farming.

The body is tired, and the mind is even more tired.

The eunuchs checking at the door of the imperial kitchen were replaced by a new group. The leader was a middle-aged eunuch with unusually clear whites of eyes and pupils as black as lacquer.

When looking at people, the eyeballs turn first and the neck hardly moves, as if a hawk is staring at its prey.

Li Pingan's heart tightened. He actually sensed a dangerous aura from the middle-aged eunuch, which was even stronger than that of his godfather.

The middle-aged eunuch watched while several other young eunuchs searched the body carefully, turning it over and over several times, not even leaving out the corners of clothes or the soles of shoes.

After the search was over, Li Pingan bowed and said, "I haven't asked for your name yet, sir."

"Xiao Jinzi."

The middle-aged eunuch bowed and said, "Greetings, Eunuch An. Don't blame me for being harsh. This was the order from my godfather himself."

"Eunuch Jin is devoted to his duties, and this is what should be done."

Li Ping'an waved his sleeves, and a small gold ingot fell out, which attracted the eyes of several young eunuchs to light up.

Xiao Jinzi's lips curled up slightly: "Eunuch An, your gold fell."

"But it's not our gold."

Li Pingan picked up the gold ingot and pointed at the writing on it: "Look, Eunuch Jin, your name is written on it."

Xiao Jinzi looked at the crooked word "only" and instead of laughing, he looked at Li Ping'an again with a serious look in his eyes.

It doesn't matter if the handwriting is ugly, the difficult part is to carve it without leaving any traces, which requires strong and powerful energy.

"Eunuch An is right. This is the gold that fell from our house."

"Then return it to Eunuch Jin."

Li Ping'an handed the gold ingot out, and his heart couldn't help but twitch. This was more than 20 acres of land, and it was gone with a wave of his hand.

No wonder Xiao Fangzi said that the money earned in the palace should be spent in the palace, and once parted, he wanted to take it home.

Li Ping'an asked when he could bring him home, and Xiao Fangzi said that at least he could become an official and a "father-in-law" with real power.

However, the longer he stayed in the palace, the more he realized how rare it was to hold an official position.

Every possible vacancy has been watched by countless eunuchs. Some have high martial arts skills, some have deep backgrounds, and there will be all kinds of open and secret struggles before the appointment.

Li Ping'an was filial to his godfather because he hoped that his godfather would get promoted or pass on his official position to him before he died.

When we arrived at the main office, there were five figures standing outside. They were the godfather and his godsons.

Xiao Huizi was standing on duty at the door. When she saw Li Pingan coming, she hurriedly greeted him.

"I will never forget the kindness of Eunuch An in recommending me. If you need anything in the future, please feel free to ask for my help."

"Congratulations, Eunuch Hui!"

Li Pingan reminded him: "You must remember that all the kindness is bestowed by your godfather. I just mentioned it casually, it doesn't mean anything."

Xiao Junzi, who was waiting nearby, couldn't help but sneer, "Eunuch An's words are really nice, no wonder he can win the favor of godfather."

Li Pingan took a glance and guessed that Xiao Liangzi or Xiao Houzi had connections with this guy, otherwise they would not jump out.

The other godsons disliked him, and they would not make enemies for no reason unless they had the appropriate means.

"Eunuch Jun should mind his own business. The Vegetable Inspection Office is extremely important. If the Zhaoyang Palace takes it over, there will be no good consequences!"

"you……"

Xiao Junzi's face flushed red. His godfather called him over late last night and scolded him.

Gai Yinding was in charge right under his nose, but he was actually involved in an affair with the Zhaoyang Palace.

Fortunately, he had a bad premonition and brought the gold he had accumulated over the years with him and presented it to his godfather to beg for mercy, otherwise his neck would have been broken into several sections by now.

The thing the palace has the most is capable people. There are plenty of people who are eager to do the jobs you are not good at!
When Eunuch Sun arrived, Li Pingan was the first to enter and greet him. The other five followed silently behind. Even though Xiao Junzi looked resentful, he had to admit that his godfather now trusted and relied on Li Pingan the most.

"I, your son, wish you a happy new year, godfather. I wish you a long and prosperous life, and may you continue to rise to great heights..."

"No need to be polite."

Eunuch Sun waved his hand, his eyes red and bloodshot. He hadn't slept the whole night and was scolded by Admiral Liu, so he was in a very bad mood.

The news that Concubine Shu was suspected of colluding with Concubine Yuan had a profound impact on the Queen's line.

Fortunately, the ancestor was the pillar of support. After hearing the news, he said, "Don't worry, just do your job well," and reassured everyone.

Eunuch Sun ordered: "Do your job well these days and don't cause any trouble!"

The fewer words, the more important the matter.

Normally, in order to demonstrate his authority and power, Eunuch Sun would order many miscellaneous tasks. It didn't matter if they were not completed, at most he would be reprimanded.

Now, just ten or so simple words will tell you that it must be implemented.

The godsons naturally understood the meaning and obeyed the order in unison, temporarily suppressing their thoughts of harming others and settling the matter after the storm.

Eunuch Sun said, "There's no need to be too nervous. The ancestors are there, and the advantage is with us."

Everyone agreed again. Seeing that the atmosphere had become relaxed, Li Pingan asked curiously.

"Godfather, what is the origin of Jin, who is standing at the door of the imperial kitchen?"

"Xiao Jinzi is the adopted son of Eunuch Xu, the Palace Supervisor. He has a great talent for martial arts and is always meticulous in his work. We're borrowing him for some time."

Eunuch Sun said, "Don't let this happen again, or someone will catch you. You should be careful every day!"

The Imperial Kitchen holds a special status in the palace. The lucrative income is secondary. A lot can be learned from the food consumed by His Majesty and the concubines. If Eunuch Sun falls, the position of head will fall into the hands of Zhaoyang Palace, and the consequences will be disastrous.

Li Ping'an and others bowed their heads and accepted the order, then left the main office.

Eunuch Sun looked at the backs of his godsons, his gaze wandering back and forth, with a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

"Who on earth stole the Jade Divine Spirit? If it wasn't Xiao Junzi or Xiao Anzi, who among the other three dared to cause trouble without telling us?"

Eunuch Sun didn't care about the lack of jade essence, but he didn't like the feeling of the imperial kitchen being out of control. He would suppress any instability in advance.

I originally suspected Li Ping'an, after all, Xiao Liangzi said the most bad things about him.

I saw the banknotes Li Ping'an left behind last night. This kind of useless and foolish kindness should not be used to harm others.

……

The beginning of the new year.

Everything is new.

After the New Year's Eve banquet, Li Ping'an's life returned to normal.

Paying respects to godfather in the dark in the morning has become a routine. Even if several godsons discuss it together, they dare not say to restore the previous time.

Afterwards, we found a place to catch up on our sleep and had a big stew of tribute at noon.

Most of the meals were served in the Qinzheng Hall in the evening, and a few times in the Zhaoyang Palace or Kunning Palace.

After many years, His Majesty has become close to the Queen again, which is a good thing for many people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Eunuch Sun has become much nicer to his godsons.

In Li Ping'an's eyes, the amiable Queen was far superior to the "foxy" Princess Yuan.

The word "fox charmer" was heard from two young eunuchs. As the true energy in his dantian became more and more powerful, his ears became more and more sensitive, and he could hear whispers from two or three meters away.

"I heard the tone of the voice suggests that he is one of our own. It would be difficult to report him to the Imperial Household Department to claim the reward..."

Li Ping'an felt it was a pity. With the way these two guys kept talking, it would be only a matter of time before someone could find a way to use them to exchange for money.

Even when he was standing opposite Princess Yuan, even though he cursed her countless times in his heart and wished that Princess Yuan would die suddenly, Li Ping'an never said anything disrespectful.

Occasionally, when they met in the palace, they would kneel down and kowtow quickly and heavily.

(End of this chapter)