Dugong

Chapter 96 Breaking the promise

early morning.

A misty rain fell.

For a day and a night, Eunuch Deng knelt outside the gate of the Directorate of Ceremonial. His bright red official robe was soaked through, his hair was disheveled and stuck to his neck, and water droplets dripped down.

The young servant on duty at the gate spoke for the third time: "Eunuch Deng, our ancestor said that even if you kneel until you become a stele, he will not see you."

"Cough cough cough..."

Deng Gonggong's face was stiff and ashen, and he pressed his ten fingers hard, digging them deep into the bricks and stones.

"Master Zhu, please tell my godfather that while our family may make money, we would never dare to cut corners!"

Xiao Zhuzi said helplessly, "Doesn't Eunuch Deng understand? Nobody cares how the building collapsed; someone wants you dead."

Deng Gonggong understood perfectly well, but he truly couldn't find a way out and never imagined that someone would act so cruelly as to secretly demolish the Imperial Hunting Garden.

"We only ask to see our godfather once, not to clear our names, but to save the lives of our people!"

"Our ancestors said they would not see him."

Xiao Zhu waved his hand and left decisively. He sympathized with Eunuch Deng's despair, but he would never bother the ancestor for the sake of a dead man.

Even if Eunuch Deng had given him a lot of money on a regular basis, once he died, they would be even!
I knelt until noon, as the rain grew heavier.

Standing in the rain, Deng Gonggong looked at the blurry Directorate of Ceremonial and realized that his godfather had completely abandoned him.

"Our family has given up many adopted sons, and today it's finally our turn..."

Eunuch Deng slowly rose, circulating his inner energy to his legs to soothe his stiff meridians and joints. He glanced one last time at the Directorate of Ceremonial, then resolutely turned and left.

at this time.

Standing by the window, Leng Gonggong looked at Deng Gonggong's back through the crack in the window frame. Of all his godsons, this one was the most filial and capable.

The eunuch Lai, the supervisor of the Imperial Seal Office, who was serving nearby, whispered, "Godfather, it's obvious that someone is framing us. Aren't you going to investigate?"

"How to check?"

The eunuch said quietly, "Isn't His Majesty's order for the Imperial Horse Administration to investigate the case clear enough? He wants us to stay out of it."

The investigation of cases by the Inner Palace Attendants is usually led by the Directorate of Ceremonial, but this is not explicitly stipulated in the laws of the dynasty. Therefore, His Majesty can appoint any eunuch to investigate cases, even if he is just a junior eunuch who has only recently started his service.

A shadow crossed Eunuch Lai's eyes. He had vaguely heard recently that His Majesty disliked Eunuch Leng. On the surface, Eunuch Lai remained respectful, but in reality, he was already considering switching allegiances.

"Godfather, should we use our undercover agents to shut up Eunuch Deng?"

Looking at the sudden wind and rain, Eunuch Leng muttered to himself.

"Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace!"

……

The Directorate of Palace Attendants.

Duty room.

Not long after Eunuch Deng sat down, a noisy commotion came from outside the door, and then the nanmu door burst open with a loud "bang".

Xiaoyuezi, the godchild, flew in backwards and crashed to the ground, howling in pain.

Two teams of eunuchs then filed in, bowing and standing at attention on either side. Li Ping'an, wearing cloud-patterned boots, swaggered in.

"Grandpa Deng, it's been a long time!"

This is a quote from Deng Xiaoping, which led to Li Ping'an being confined to the Cold Palace for several years. He remembered it clearly in his notebook and is returning it to Li Ping'an today.

Deng Gonggong couldn't help but regret that he hadn't killed An Gonggong back then. He hadn't nipped the weed in the bud, which led to his current predicament.

"Eunuch An, could you please spare our family members out of consideration for our friendship as classmates?"

"of course can."

Li Ping'an bowed towards the Imperial Study and said, "The national treasury and the imperial funds are currently empty. If Eunuch Deng can relieve His Majesty's worries, a little bit of embezzlement is nothing."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Eunuch Deng's lifeless eyes, like a drowning man grasping at a straw, and he suddenly stood up and said.

"really?"

"really!"

Li Ping'an said, "Your Majesty needs a lot of silver. If it's only 100,000 or 200,000, that's fine. We can get it by killing a few corrupt officials." Eunuch Deng stared intently at Li Ping'an, trying to figure out how much truth was in his words. He himself didn't ask for much; he just wanted his family's lives spared.

"Is 500,000 taels enough?"

Li Ping'an shook his head and said coldly, "It seems that Eunuch Deng is not sincere. Don't blame us for not showing any brotherhood!"

"At most one million taels."

Grandpa Deng gritted his teeth and said, "Our family has sold all our possessions and we only have a little over 100,000 taels left. We can only raise that much by adding all our adopted sons."

Li Ping'an stepped aside: "Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Deng."

"Thank you for sparing my life, Eunuch An."

Eunuch Deng wished he could kill Eunuch An, but he couldn't bear to part with this lifeline, so he ordered Xiaoyuezi to summon all the godsons.

My godfather has summoned me, and I dare not delay.

A dozen or so men quickly arrived at the Inner Palace Office. Some of them held positions in other palaces, where they were in charge of lucrative jobs.

Eunuch Deng asked, "Have you heard about what happened at the Imperial Hunting Grounds?"

The godsons exchanged glances, then looked at the eunuch An, who was resting with his eyes closed. Intimidated by their godfather's fierce demeanor, they gave hesitant answers.

"heard."

"It must be because the laborers are not doing their jobs well."

"Godfather, I believe you are innocent..."

Eunuch Deng waved his hand to signal for quiet: "Eunuch An is our classmate. He's left a way out for us. He'll offer His Majesty one million taels of silver."

When the officials heard that they had to pay money, they immediately objected. Such a large sum of money meant they had served as officials for several years for nothing.

Deng Gonggong coldly swept his gaze over all his godsons and threatened, "Godfather and godsons share the same fate, one rises and the other falls. If our family goes to jail, do you think you'll all be alright?"

The adopted sons understood the reasoning behind it and reluctantly agreed to contribute silver. Each of them contributed tens of thousands of taels, and soon the amount reached a million.

Li Ping'an reminded him, "Please trouble Eunuch Deng to write a note, and our family will collect the money from each household one by one."

People have to bow their heads under the roof.

Eunuch Deng instructed everyone to write a note and put their fingerprint on it: "Eunuch An, what do you think?"

"very good."

Li Ping'an tucked the note into his sleeve, his smiling face instantly turning gloomy and ruthless: "Eunuch Deng, together with his godson, embezzled one million taels of silver. The evidence is conclusive!"

Deng Gonggong was slightly taken aback; his deepest fears had indeed come true.

"Eunuch An, you're not keeping your word!"

"Jie Jie Jie..."

Li Ping'an chuckled a few times and said sarcastically, "Whether our family keeps its word or not, didn't Little Deng already know that?"

Back then, when Xiao Dengzi saw that Li Ping'an had gained power by becoming his godfather, he secretly gave him money to ask for favors. However, Li Ping'an took the money but did nothing.

Xiao Dengzi harbored resentment and immediately retaliated after gaining power.

Deng Gonggong still argued, "A man's word is his bond..."

Li Ping'an interrupted, "Is Eunuch Deng confused? We are eunuchs, not men. Our words are like farts."

"Take them all back and interrogate them thoroughly!"

Upon hearing this, the godchild immediately realized they had fallen into a pit. Little Yuezi reacted the fastest, kneeling down with a thud and kowtowing repeatedly.

“Eunuch An, this servant is willing to abandon darkness and embrace light, and point out the evidence of my godfather’s crimes.”

The other godsons were about to follow suit when they saw Li Ping'an slap Xiao Yuezi on the head, and her head shattered with a bang.

Red and white splattered all over everyone.

Li Ping'an said coldly, "We can't stand our godson betraying us, Eunuch Deng. We'll clean house for you!"

The eunuchs from the Imperial Horse Administration who accompanied the entourage bowed even lower, not daring to show the slightest disrespect to the Admiral.

(End of this chapter)