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

All are in charge of the supervision.

The Director of the Imperial Household Department was in charge of imperial edicts and seals, and was one of the most confidential departments in the inner court. He had tried several times to place people in it, but his attempts were always thwarted.

While massaging Sun Desheng's legs, he casually mentioned that he had encountered several setbacks in the staffing review at the Capital Judicial Office, lamenting his lack of seniority and the absence of any elders who could pave the way for him.

Sun Desheng closed his eyes and tapped his fingers lightly on the quilt for a while before suddenly saying a name: "Feng Bao, the Chief Supervisor, was someone I personally trained back then."

He said that Feng Bao owed him a life. When Feng Bao was young, he offended the former chief supervisor and was almost beaten to death. It was Feng Bao who went to plead for him overnight and used his own official hat as collateral to save him.

In recent years, he felt that his days were numbered and wanted to see his old friends one last time. However, his illness made it difficult for him to move around, and he was afraid that asking them to come would seem too deliberate.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive. He simply said softly, "Eunuch Sun, if Chief Inspector Feng knew your intentions, he would certainly come. Leave this matter to me."

A few days later, Feng Bao, the head of the Imperial Household Department, went to the North Fifth Detention Center alone after his shift ended.

When he left, he only said that he was going to the Imperial Household Department to check the files, and he did not bring any attendants with him.

No one knew where he went except Wei Zhongxian.

In the small courtyard of the North Fifth Institute, Sun Desheng had four small dishes, a pot of warm yellow wine, and two gleaming wine glasses on his table.

When Feng Bao entered, he saw the table of food and wine, paused for a moment, then quickly walked to Sun Desheng, knelt on one knee, and grasped his withered hands.

No one knows what Sun Desheng and Feng Bao said that night.

However, a few days later, the Duzhijian's attitude towards the staffing review changed from indifference to active cooperation.

Feng Bao personally sent someone to deliver the list of officials in charge of the Imperial Household Department to the Personnel Department, along with an official letter. The tone of the letter was so polite that it surprised the entire Imperial Household Department.

Some time later, on Sun Desheng's sixty-fourth birthday, which was also the last birthday of his life, Wei Zhongxian formally recognized Sun Desheng as his godfather.

The news quickly spread throughout the inner court. Some people said that Wei Zhongxian was foolish; what use would it be to have a dying old man as a godfather?

Some people understood the trick: the birthday gift Feng Bao sent to Sun Desheng was a Duan inkstone and a pass token for the Director of the Imperial Academy.

In the days that followed, Wei Zhongxian's steps toward becoming a godfather became more frequent, and his network of connections grew wider and wider.

Ma Bao was the former head of the Imperial Seal Bureau, having managed the emperor's seals for over a decade. After retiring, his household fell into obscurity.

Wei Zhongxian learned that he loved listening to opera, so he asked someone to bring him several volumes of lost Southern opera scripts from outside the palace, and he copied a copy by hand and sent it to him.

A few months later, Ma Bao recognized this son as his godson, and Wei Zhongxian was able to enter and leave the Imperial Seal Office at any time.

The current head of the Imperial Seal Bureau has remained silent on this matter because Ma Bao is his mentor.

Zhao Daquan was the old head of the Imperial Household Department. He was eccentric and taciturn, and had no other hobbies except for growing orchids.

Wei Zhongxian went to great lengths to learn the secrets of orchid cultivation from the gardeners in the Imperial Garden, and also had Heshengyuan purchase a pot of top-quality plain-heart orchids from Jiangnan.

It was delivered to Zhao Daquan's courtyard under the pretense of being a gift from a high-ranking monk in the temple.

Zhao Daquan was captivated by the orchid and, after hearing about his story with Sun Desheng, soon adopted him as his godson.

The Director of the Palace Administration was in charge of overseeing the maintenance of the palace buildings. From then on, Wei Zhongxian knew exactly which palace buildings were being repaired, when they were being repaired, the budget, and who was in charge.

Tian happy was the head of the wine, vinegar and noodle shop. Although he was not among the Twelve Directors, he was in charge of the supply of wine and vinegar in the palace, which was very lucrative.

His weakness was his excessive drinking; he had been disciplined by the Imperial Household Department for making mistakes due to alcoholism, and almost lost his job.

Wei Zhongxian did not take action against him during the census. Instead, he spoke on his behalf to Chen Ju and had Gao Lishi, in the name of the Imperial Kitchen, approve several more jars of imperial wine for him.

Tian Xi was deeply grateful and soon became a disciple of Wei Zhongxian.

From then on, the bills for the supply of wine and vinegar from the four departments and eight bureaus would be placed in the office of the Personnel Department before being sent to the Imperial Household Department.

In just a few months, Wei Zhongxian had recognized more than a dozen godfathers in the inner court.

Some were elderly people who had retired during the reign of the late emperor, some were current mid-level officials in charge of various departments, and some were inconspicuous but key leaders in the four departments and eight bureaus who controlled crucial supply links.

Individually, none of these people wield top-tier power; in terms of official rank and cultivation, none of them are at the level of a chief steward.

But they all had one thing in common: they had spent decades in the inner court, knew all the past affairs of various bureaus and departments, and had students and old friends all over the country.

With a simple flick of the wrist, countless unseen threads can be activated.

And all these connections are now in Wei Zhongxian's hands.

His promise to see each of his adoptive fathers to their final moments was sincere.

He would indeed take care of them in their old age, and he would burn paper money and kowtow for them after they died, even better than his own son.

But beyond these genuine sentiments, he did indeed receive the reward he desired: a vast network of personal connections covering most of the middle-level positions in the twelve directorates, four departments, and eight bureaus of the inner court.

The task of compiling and investigating the data was successfully completed.

At the summary meeting, Chen Ju publicly praised Wei Zhongxian, saying that he was prudent in handling affairs and good at coordination.

Wei Zhongxian smiled modestly and repeatedly cupped his hands, saying, "It's all thanks to Chief Steward Chen's guidance," but his gaze met Zhao Gao, who was sitting below Chen Ju.

Zhao held the teacup, his lips twitching slightly. When he put the teacup down, he gently tapped the rim of the cup with the lid, making a very light and crisp sound.

The sound was indistinguishable to others, but Wei Zhongxian recognized it as Zhao Gao's distinctive greeting, devoid of any malice and even carrying a hint of appreciation.

Wei Zhongxian picked up his teacup and tapped the rim of the cup with the lid. The two sounds, one light and one crisp, silently completed a tacit dialogue between the two powerful eunuchs who had been in power for thousands of years in the noisy duty room.

After the meeting, Wei Zhongxian walked out of his duty room and stood under the corridor, watching the palace lanterns gradually light up at the end of the passageway.

The night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers from the Imperial Garden. He took a deep breath and smiled silently.

Zhao Gao had Chen Ju, a godfather, and a path to heaven.

He had more than a dozen godfathers, each a path leading to different government offices, different people, and different sources of information.

His cultivation level is also steadily improving. Although he is not as monstrous as Zhao Gao, he has recently broken through to the peak of the second rank and is on the verge of reaching the third rank.

In this life, he will still be the Ninth Prince.

He was not a usurper of imperial power, but rather someone who, within the power jungle of the inner court, became someone everyone needed, owed favors to, and could not bypass.