The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

It was late autumn in the eighteenth year of the Yonghe reign of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The Imperial Household Department recently recruited a new batch of miscellaneous eunuchs, totaling about twenty people, ranging in age from eight or nine to their early twenties. They were crammed together in the shared dormitory room in the west courtyard, a mixed bag of people.

The air was filled with a smell of mildew and cheap soap. The straw mat on the dormitory bed was thin and stiff, and had been slept on by countless people, with its edges worn rough.

The head eunuch, surnamed Liu, was in his forties, with a fair complexion and no beard. He spoke in a high-pitched voice, and when he stood at the door, his triangular eyes swept over everyone, causing them to unconsciously shrink back.

"Listen up, everyone! Once you enter the palace, you belong to the palace and must abide by its rules. The servants' quarters are under my jurisdiction, and my word is law. Understand?"

A chorus of obsequious responses followed.

Eunuch Liu nodded in satisfaction and began assigning tasks.

Sweeping the yard, emptying the chamber pot, chopping wood and carrying water—the hardest and most tiring work all fell to the newcomers.

He called out names one by one, and whoever was called responded and was then led to their corresponding bunk.

"Zhao Gao."

A tall, thin boy in the crowd looked up.

He looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old, with fair skin, slender eyebrows and eyes, and a slightly pursed mouth, exuding a calmness that belied his age.

He stepped forward, bowed slightly, his movements neither hurried nor slow, not particularly respectful, but impeccable.

Eunuch Liu glanced at him again, feeling that this young man had an inexplicable air about him, unlike those cowards who would tremble with fear as soon as they entered the palace.

Without thinking much, he casually pointed to the bunk closest to the corner: "You sleep there."

Zhao Gao responded and carried his meager belongings to sit down.

He sat cross-legged on the straw mat, his back straight, his gaze sweeping calmly across the entire dormitory, taking in everyone's position, expression, and movements.

His expression was calm, but his heart was far from as undisturbed as it appeared.

Zhao Gao remembered the time of his death.

The great fire at Xianyang Palace, the sword of Prince Ziying of Qin, and myself, nailed to the pillar of shame in history books.

The prime minister who called a deer a horse, the gravedigger of the Qin Empire.

Those memories were clearly stored in his mind, along with his experience of serving Qin Shi Huang for half his life, his methods of scheming against Li Si, and his cunning in manipulating the court.

Then he opened his eyes and found himself transformed into a twelve-year-old boy, dressed in coarse cloth and lying in the crowd waiting to be chosen outside the palace gates.

Zhao Gao accepted reality in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

In his previous life, he rose from a minor official to a position of immense power by virtue of his ability to remain calm and composed in any environment.

Having been reborn, he started as a lowly eunuch and didn't think it was a big deal.

This is much better than when he first entered the palace in his previous life. At least in this life, he has the shrewd heart of a fifty-year-old in his twelve-year-old body.

He sat on his bunk, tapping his knees lightly with his fingers, silently calculating in his mind.

Judging from the behavior of the head eunuch, the rules of this Imperial Household Department are similar to those of the Qin Palace, where superiors oppress subordinates and senior officials bully newcomers.

The first step is to establish a foothold in the servants' quarters and make the head eunuch feel that he is useful and easy to work with.

Only then can one plot for an opportunity to climb the ranks.

As he was thinking, the head eunuch called out another name.

Wei Zhongxian.

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old emerged from the crowd. He was dark-skinned and thin, but his tongue was quick and sharp. He spoke with a hint of a smile: "Eunuch Liu, I'm here. I've often heard people say that the eunuchs in the palace are the most considerate of their servants. Seeing this today, I can see that it's true. If I do anything wrong in the future, please feel free to discipline me. I will definitely learn from it and never cause you any trouble."

He spoke so warmly and naturally, as if he had known Eunuch Liu for half his life.

Eunuch Liu felt very comfortable after being flattered, and a rare smile appeared on his face: "Alright, you know how to talk, you can sleep in the bunk next to Zhao Gao."

Wei Zhongxian agreed with a smile, took three steps at a time, walked to the corner of the wall, and sat down on the straw mat next to Zhao Gao.

He turned his head and met Zhao Gao's gaze.

Just for a fleeting moment.

Wei Zhongxian's smile remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

The moment they "woke up," the other person's identity was already in their minds.

He was accompanied by three other people.

Zhao Gao, Gao Lishi, and Zheng He.

The system clearly inserted everyone's past life identity into his mind.

Zhao Gao. Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty. The Zhao Gao who called a deer a horse.

Wei Zhongxian was born into a commoner family and had little formal education, but he had spent many years in the palace and heard a lot of unofficial histories and anecdotes.

Even if he was illiterate, he had heard of the name Zhao Gao.

That person was a "founding father" of the eunuch world, nearly two thousand years older than him, who was nine thousand years old.

In terms of cunning, methods, and ruthlessness, I, a street thug, may not be able to compare to him.

But Wei Zhongxian thought about it again and laughed.

What happened in the past life is what happened in the past life. In this life, everyone is on the same starting line, all are servants and eunuchs, and all live in the same dilapidated dormitory.

Wei Zhongxian was able to climb from a street thug with a mountain of gambling debts to the position of the Ninth Prince by being good at judging people, cultivating relationships, and getting people to work for him.

This skill would work in any dynasty.

He grinned at Zhao Gao, revealing a set of slightly crooked teeth: "Brother Zhao, right? From now on, we'll be next-bedmates, so let's look out for each other."

Zhao Gao glanced at him, nodded slightly, and said in a calm voice, "No problem."

Just two words, no more, no less.

Wei Zhongxian chuckled inwardly. This man was not easy to approach; just as rumored, he was a gloomy fellow.

However, he didn't care. He had seen plenty of difficult people. As long as he found the right approach, there was no door he couldn't open.

The head eunuch continued calling roll.

When the name "Gao Lishi" was called, a handsome young man quietly walked out.

He looked to be about the same age as Zhao Gao, around twelve or thirteen, and wore the same coarse cloth shorts, but his gait was different from others.

He walked at a moderate pace, his back ramrod straight. When he reached Eunuch Liu, he bowed respectfully without being servile or arrogant, and then stood quietly to the side.

Not high-profile, not obsequious, but never humble.

Gao Lishi walked to the edge of the communal sleeping area and sat down on the other side of Zhao Gao.

The three of them sat in a row, and the atmosphere was extremely awkward.

Gao Lishi was even calmer than Zhao Gao.

In his previous life, he served Emperor Xuanzong of Tang for nearly half a century, following him since Li Longji was still the Prince of Linzi. He experienced the Kaiyuan era of prosperity and the An Lushan Rebellion, watching the once glorious Tang Dynasty decline before his eyes.

His greatest skill in life was not vying for power and profit, although he was capable of it, but rather enjoying serving people.

He knew when to speak and when to keep quiet, how to please people without making a sound, and how to make his master feel uncomfortable without him.

When Gao Lishi learned the identities of the three people traveling with him, he simply sighed inwardly.

Zhao Gao and Wei Zhongxian were both ruthless and cunning, each employing increasingly vicious methods.

In his previous life, he despised Zhao Gao's methods of controlling the government and bringing disaster to the country and the people. As for Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch party leader who called himself the "Nine Thousand Years Old," he was simply the negative example of their profession as eunuchs.

But now they've inexplicably become "colleagues," or even people in the same boat, and he can only accept reality.

At least, there was Zheng He.

The eunuch Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, showcasing the power of the Ming Dynasty to people thousands of miles away.

Gao Lishi recognized this person's character and vision.

Just then, the head eunuch called out the last name.

"Zheng He".

A boy who was taller than his peers stood up.

He was about fourteen or fifteen years old, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, slightly dark skin, and broad shoulders—he looked like a strong, capable man.

He walked up to Eunuch Liu, bowed slightly, and said in a steady and powerful voice, "Your humble servant is here."