Dugong

Chapter 56: Only Instrument and Name
Li Ping'an didn't understand what was going on, but he didn't dare to refute it, or perhaps he believed in his heart that what Eunuch Chu said must make sense.

He obediently copied the "Rites" and squatted at the door of the main hall.

After copying a few sentences, I looked up. His Majesty and my grandfather both said to take good care of the Queen, so I must not let anything go wrong.

Fortunately, the queen seemed to see through it, and she stopped making a fuss and focused on reciting scriptures.

evening.

Xiao Wuzi came to the cold palace carrying two food boxes, his face full of joy.

Li Pingan closed the book and asked curiously, "What good thing happened to you?"

"I can't hide it from Eunuch An. Let's take Eunuch Feng as our godfather. From now on, he will only be responsible for delivering meals to the cold palace and won't have to worry about other areas."

The eunuch Feng mentioned by Xiao Wuzi is the head of the imperial kitchen and the adopted son of eunuch Meng, the supervisor of the Imperial Kitchen.

Li Ping'an counted on his fingers and found that in terms of seniority, he was Xiao Wuzi's uncle, and in terms of inheritance, he was his grandfather, so they were much closer.

"Do your job well, good things are yet to come!"

Ever since Xiao Wuzi got involved in the "Imperial Edict", he has been motivated and pressured, and has become much smarter than before when he was just delivering meals in a daze. He guessed that his godfather was related to Eunuch Chu.

He was not qualified to talk to Eunuch Chu, but it would be just as useful to flatter Eunuch An. He immediately patted his chest and said, "Eunuch An, from now on, I will be your eyes. Report anything that happens outside in a timely manner!"

Seeing him on his way, Li Pingan reminded him, "I'll tell you another secret..."

Xiao Wuzi bent over, stuck out his butt, and pricked up his ears: "Please speak."

Li Pingan said, "The Queen's food box should only contain vegetarian dishes and no meat. If there is vegetarian food, that would be even better."

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

Xiao Wuzi bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude. Now that he was the head of the imperial kitchen, he had much more power, and it was not difficult for him to order the imperial chef to prepare a vegetarian meal.

After dinner.

Li Ping'an continued to copy the "Book of Rites". His grandfather did not specify the time, so he would not go to bed until he finished copying.

Without any self-awareness at all, you won’t last long in the palace!
If you just copy casually, the martial arts master writes very fast, but you have to think carefully to understand the deeper meaning of Grandpa Gan's words.

"This isn't just a punishment, it's also an assessment. If we don't pass, Grandpa Gan might not teach us wholeheartedly in the future, and we won't have the qualifications or the dignity to ask for advice!"

Li Ping'an would think carefully about every sentence he copied, trying his best to imitate the "Empress" in the hope of figuring out the meaning.

From noon to dusk, I didn't get the deep meaning after reading it three times.

He copied slower and slower until midnight. Seeing that he had copied it eight times, Li Ping'an scratched his head and was confused, and his mood became more and more irritable.

"Only the tool and the name can be used, not by others..."

Li Ping'an was copying for the ninth time. It was already past the hour of Chou, and he subconsciously looked up into the house.

"Because there is no attachment, there is no fear. Stay away from upside-down dreams and finally achieve Nirvana!" The queen stopped chanting and rubbed her numb legs, as if preparing to rest.

Li Pingan hurried forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I will help you change your clothes."

While helping the queen change her clothes and go to bed, Li Ping'an saw that her legs were twitching and difficult to straighten. He used his true energy to massage several acupoints on her waist and legs through his fingertips.

"My Lady, I have learned the Nine Yang Finger from the Medicine King Sect, which is very good at opening up the tendons and activating the meridians. If you feel any discomfort in the future, please feel free to give me instructions."

"You have a heart."

The Queen's voice was still kind and gentle as she sighed, "I have fallen to this state. I only have a reputation, but it is difficult for me to give you any reward."

"It is my duty as a servant to serve my master. I don't need any reward."

Li Ping'an massaged the queen carefully for a while, then stood by the bed and waited for the queen to fall asleep before continuing to copy the "Rites".

"Where did you just copy? Only the tool and the name, no fake people... Only the tool and the name, the name!"

Li Ping'an muttered to himself, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came into his mind. He suddenly understood everything clearly, kowtowed to the sleeping queen, and circulated his true energy to copy quickly.

At three quarters past three in the morning, Li Ping'an, holding a thick stack of yellow paper covered with words, tiptoed to the side hall and peered through the crack in the door.

"Come in now." Eunuch Chu's voice came from the darkness.

Li Pingan hurried in, slid to his knees in front of Grandpa Gan's bed, raised the yellow paper high above his head, and said respectfully: "Grandson has copied the "Ritual System" ten times. I have finished it."

Eunuch Chu took the yellow paper and threw it aside without even looking at it: "Do you understand what?"

Li Pingan replied, "Only the title and the position can be delegated to others. Your Highness still holds the title of 'Empress' and is still the head of the harem. You can regain power at any time."

Eunuch Chu nodded and said, "He's a little slow in thinking, but he still has some understanding."

Li Ping'an finally let go of his worries. Fortunately, the Queen reminded him. Otherwise, without the guidance of his grandfather, his future achievements would probably be limited.

He secretly cursed himself for being only a bookworm. He had written "器与名" (instrument and name) no less than a hundred times, but had not grasped the meaning of the words at all.

Eunuch Chu waved his hand and said, "Alright, go and look after the Empress."

Li Pingan bowed and said, "Grandpa Gan, there is something I can't figure out. I hope you can give me some advice."

Eunuch Chu was lying on the bed, his head resting on his hand. "Tell me about it."

Li Pingan said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, do you really want to make Concubine Yuan's son the Crown Prince?"

"The power of heaven is unpredictable, no one can guess it."

Eunuch Chu calculated carefully and said, "In our opinion, the Second Prince is most likely to ascend the throne, followed by the Ninth Prince, and the Crown Prince is third."

Li Pingan used this as the answer to infer the reason. The second prince was the heir, and the crown prince had the title of eldest son. Only the ninth prince was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate son, and at most he was closer to Concubine Yuan.

"Grandpa Gan, I've met the Ninth Prince a few times. He's a weak and timid person. I heard he's even afraid of thunder. Isn't that unsuitable?"

"Being timid can also be considered gentle, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps this is the kind of personality the court needs."

……

Qinzheng Hall.

The lights were still bright at midnight.

Emperor Wu De frowned as he read the secret report sent by the Jiangnan spy, with murderous intent in his eyes.

After pondering for a long time, he put it into his sleeve.

People all say that the emperor holds the power of heaven and can decide life and death at will. However, once one sits on the throne, one realizes that this is not the case.

Emperor Wu De really wanted to start a massacre in Jiangnan, but it was just a thought.

The continuous wars in the northern border have cost a huge amount of money. The national treasury and the internal revenue are so empty that rats can starve to death. Officials in the south of the Yangtze River have to collect taxes and make money to make up for the court's expenses.

Emperor Wu De suppressed his murderous intent and anger, drank a sip of ginseng tea and asked, "How has your companion been these days?"

Eunuch Leng, the governor of the Imperial Household Department, was very perceptive and knew what His Majesty was asking.

"Eunuch Chu has been feeling unwell lately, having caught a cold. He didn't see the Empress today, and hasn't spoken to her since."

Emperor Wu De laughed and scolded, "This old dog has become even more timid since he retired to live out his days."

Eunuch Leng lowered his head, jealousy flashed in his eyes. No matter how hard he served, His Majesty could not forget Eunuch Chu.

Emperor Wu De then asked with concern, "How has Otomo been these days?"

Eunuch Leng did not dare to hide anything and reported the truth: "Eunuch Chu has lost a lot of weight, weighing less than half his previous weight. It is said that this is due to a loss of appetite."

"Otomo has lost weight, ah..."

Emperor Wu De sighed. In his impression, Otomo had always been a plump and blessed figure since he was in the palace. Decades had passed in the blink of an eye, and both the monarch and his minister had grown old and thin.

"Send the imperial physician to the cold palace to properly treat my dear companion!"

(End of this chapter)