Dugong

Chapter 48: Eunuch in the Cold Palace
Cold palace.

Located in the northwest corner of the imperial palace, the palace is not called the Cold Palace, but an idle and deserted palace.

Emperors of all dynasties used this to imprison and punish concubines who committed crimes. They could not lock them up in prisons outside the palace, as this would damage the reputation of the royal family.

at this time.

Li Ping'an was guarding the cold palace obediently. In the end, he did not make a big fuss in the Imperial Household Department, nor did he kill Eunuch Deng, who was behind the bad deeds.

Probably just a moment of anger.

"Our family is still not strong enough..."

Although Li Ping'an is powerful, he is no match for the old eunuchs in the palace and can only choose to bow his head. After all, it is better to live a miserable life than to die.

"So we can only wait for a chance to turn things around!"

There were many eunuchs in the palace who made a comeback. For example, Eunuch Zhang, who was in charge of the Internal Affairs Department during the reign of the previous emperor, had more power than his ancestors. However, he failed in a palace fight and fell from power for several years.

Although guarding the cold palace is boring, it is much better than sleeping at night.

"The poorest thing is begging. Two years ago, our family really had to beg all the way. If we don't die, we will eventually get ahead. When the time comes, we will ask Xiao Dengzi to pour night incense!"

Li Ping'an sat on the weed-covered stone steps, basking in the sun, dozing off and having sweet dreams.

When the sun was setting, he still didn't get up, but moved towards the west wall.

Now he was the only one in the cold palace. The eunuch who was on duty before ran away happily, saying that he would rather make fire or wash clothes than be imprisoned in the cold palace. So no one cared whether Li Ping'an was lying down or lying down.

"Serving in the cold palace isn't bad either. There's no hard work, no intrigue, and I can practice my Qi all day long!"

Li Ping'an comforted himself and changed into a comfortable position leaning against the pillar.

As one becomes more proficient in practicing the Lotus Sutra, one is no longer restricted to sitting cross-legged in meditation. As long as no one disturbs one, one can practice while standing or sitting.

When he can practice martial arts while lying down, Li Ping'an puts a lounge chair in the yard and basks in the sun to increase his energy.

It's approaching evening.

Xiao Wuzi from the kitchen walked into the cold palace and left a food box as usual. Seeing that Li Ping'an had his eyes slightly closed as if he was dozing off, he tiptoed to the lower area.

There are many unavoidable chores in the palace, such as guarding the gate, serving dignitaries, etc., and someone needs to be sent to deliver meals.

"Wait a minute..."

Li Pingan suddenly opened his eyes and called out to the young eunuch, "What happened in the Heavenly Palace?"

Xiao Wuzi's face looked bitter. Facing Eunuch An, who was much younger than him, he did not dare to hide anything.

"To answer your question, the Heavenly Palace has been peaceful these days. The only major event is the Emperor's decree to adopt the Thirteenth Prince to Empress Yuan."

Li Pingan said, "There's always trouble in the palace. Don't just think about making money. Be smart, or you might end up dying in a daze one day."

Xiao Wuzi nodded repeatedly: "Eunuch An is right."

"Go away, go away, don't disturb our practice."

Li Ping'an cursed and waved his hand. It was his first day working in the cold palace. Seeing that he was young and had lost his power, this guy actually extorted money with food.

He said if I didn’t pay, I would have to eat slop every day.

Li Ping'an was very angry at that time. He slapped Xiao Wuzi in the air, smashing the stone bench behind him into pieces.

The guy was so scared that he knelt down on the spot, and then he delivered the meal on time.

"You take a rest. I'll take my leave."

Xiao Wuzi lowered his head and bent his waist, and hurriedly escaped from the cold palace.

Even though he knew that Eunuch An was unfathomable, he did not dare to get involved in the slightest. More than a month later, the Pacification Division and the Internal Affairs Division were still arresting eunuchs suspected of the Dragon Heir case.

As new confessions came out, the case became more and more extensive. Two eunuchs, both governors, had already been imprisoned, and as for minor officials such as the chief clerk and the purchasing officer, a large number of them had been replaced.

After leaving the house, Xiao Wuzi secretly cursed that one day Eunuch An would go to the imperial prison.

Li Ping'an narrowed his eyes and looked at Xiao Wuzi's back. He knew without guessing that this guy was cursing him. He had done the same thing himself.

In the past, even if they didn't kill him on the spot, they would have sought an opportunity to murder him afterwards.

Or he could poison the food box and use other eunuchs to eliminate Xiao Wuzi, or he could make up some rumors, saying that Xiao Wuzi was passing information on behalf of Eunuch Sun, and attract an investigation from the Internal Affairs Bureau.

As long as you check, there will always be guilt.

Life in the cold palace is comfortable and peaceful, away from the turmoil of fighting.

In just one month, Li Ping'an quickly degenerated from the scheming and ruthless eunuch An to a gatekeeper eunuch.

"Our family has become kindhearted. This is not a good thing. Should we use Xiao Wuzi as a training ground so that we don't forget how to harm others?"

Li Ping'an pondered for a moment, then put the matter aside and continued to practice his true qi.

……

Night falls.

The cold palace became increasingly desolate and quiet, filled with an eerie atmosphere.

The palace gate with mottled vermilion paint was half-open, and the dim moonlight shone through the crack into the weed-covered yard. Occasionally, a mouse ran by, and its shadow was stretched out.

Eunuchs patrolling at night would avoid the cold palace, which was one of the taboos in the palace.

It is rumored that the cold palace is filled with negative energy, and the concubines who died there are all holding deep resentment. People with insufficient yang energy are likely to be haunted by wronged spirits and evil ghosts if they pass by there at night.

Once, a palace maid passed by at night and heard a woman singing in the cold palace. The voice was melodious and sad, but it was obvious that there was only a eunuch guarding the palace.

During the first few days after Li Ping'an arrived at the cold palace, he had to sleep with one eye open, with his true energy surrounding his body at all times, for fear that he would be possessed by ghosts and spirits.

More than a month passed and no ghost was seen.

The chirping of insects outside the window at night seemed to bring Li Ping'an back to his hometown, and he slept soundly.

"I am also a cheapskate. Living in the palace, I actually miss that shabby thatched cottage. The toilets in the palace are more magnificent than this one."

Li Ping'an stopped practicing and opened the lunch box, which contained only a few coarse flour steamed buns.

"The eunuchs in the kitchen have become increasingly greedy. Not only did they replace the white flour with coarse flour, they even withheld our porridge."

Make a note of it and settle the accounts one by one in the future.

The coarse flour steamed bun was a little rough on the teeth and scratched the throat. It was far less soft than the silver-thread white flour bun, and it didn't have the sweetness I remembered.

It is true that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

"We want to eat white flour buns. Anyone who stands in our way will die!"

Li Ping'an's eyes flashed with ferocity as he ate all the steamed buns, carefully memorizing the rough and hard-to-swallow taste to motivate himself to climb up.

After eating, I continued to practice and went back to the room to sleep after midnight.

The bed in the side hall of the cold palace was covered with yellowed bedding made of coarse linen, which made Li Ping'an, who was used to sleeping in silk bedding, feel uncomfortable. He felt some friction on his skin, even though his skin had been tempered by true qi and was as tough as cowhide.

"Damn little Dengzi, he didn't even let us take our bedding."

Li Ping'an is no longer the poor boy who had to ride a horse for half a day for half a coarse flour bun. He wants to eat white flour buns and sleep on silk bedding.

Human desires are endless.

One day when you eat white flour and wear silk, new desires will arise. Even if you wear a dragon robe and sit on the dragon throne, you will still want to live forever.

Li Ping'an listened to the chirping of insects outside the window and soon fell into a sound sleep, cursing from time to time in his dream.

"Damn little Dengzi, in the future we will make you eat hay and sleep in the stable!"

(End of this chapter)