From street beggar to high-ranking official

Chapter 60 A Heart Without Immortals

Inside the duty room of the palace, Lu Li sat upright in his mahogany chair, sipping tea. Xiao Chuanzi served him, but Lu Li was not in a good mood. On the contrary, his face was so dark that ink could drip from it.

Before him, his godson knelt down in small steps, kowtowing and trembling, his forehead covered in blood, a pool of blood already formed from the kowtow.

"Whoever did it, step forward voluntarily, and we'll spare your life and leave you with a whole corpse," Lu Li said in a low voice.

An ice bath was placed in the duty room to cool it down. Although the temperature was suitable, the eunuchs' bodies seemed to be shivering from the cold. All the eunuchs knelt on the ground, their posture and movements almost identical to taking small steps.

"Godfather, Godfather, you know me!" Xiao Buzi kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Our family may be a little greedy, but we would never accept money from outsiders and ruin Godfather's business!"

""

The other eunuchs followed suit and kowtowed. Apart from Xiao Chuanzi, who remained standing, the other three adopted sons kowtowed repeatedly. Although they were afraid of the murderous aura emanating from their godfather, they secretly mocked Xiao Buzi for acting too recklessly.

Consort Wu is more than seven months pregnant. There should be no killing or bloodshed in Jingyang Palace. Eunuch Lu went out to the Hidden Martial Pavilion. No sooner had he left than the gatekeeper of Jingyang Palace died. Anyone would think that it was Eunuch Lu.

But who could track down Eunuch Lu's whereabouts so quickly?

The gatekeeper eunuch wouldn't harm someone with his life, so Xiaobuzi is the most suspicious person left.

"Xiaobuzi, get up now." Lu Li put down his teacup with a thud.

"Godfather, godfather!"

With a small step of twenty-four, her knees rubbing against the ground as she hugged Lu Li's thigh: "I knew you trusted me, Godfather. Give me time. As long as you give me time, I will definitely find out who did the poisoning!"

'

Lu Li's pale eyes met the tear-streaked face, and he slightly parted his lips: "Little Bu, you know our family, perhaps what you're saying is truly sincere..."

'

A glimmer of hope flashed across Xiaobuzi's face.

"But we don't believe it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaobuzi's head flew off. Lu Li's hand was so fast that the crowd could hardly see it. They only saw a blood-red head fly over their shoulders and out of the guardhouse, leaving behind a headless corpse that sprayed blood high into the air.

The group of godfathers and eunuchs were all shocked by their godfather's ruthlessness and cruelty. There were eunuchs in the palace who dared to kill, but few were as bloodthirsty as Eunuch Lu. This was not even a direct execution, but a bloody means of suppression.

Xiao Chuanzi, the most perceptive among them, realized that his godfather's fierce exterior masked a deeper problem. The bloody killings were merely a means to an end, an emergency measure to suppress those with lingering motives. As long as the real culprit could not be found, the matter would only continue to escalate.

"All of you, stand back! Go and investigate! Find out who has been near Jingyang Palace and who has accepted bribes!" Lu Li shouted sternly.

All the eunuchs retreated in fear, and the four remaining adopted sons also took their leave. At this moment, no one dared to offend Eunuch Lu, fearing that they would be the next to be struck by a flying head.

Lu Li sat upright in the large chair, but his once upright posture suddenly slumped down, completely losing his composure. He stared at the bloodied corpse until the warm blood gradually soaked into his feet, and only then did the strong, sweet smell of blood gradually calm the murderous intent surging in Lu Li's heart.

At this point, he was too lazy to recite the "Inner Landscape of the Netherworld" mental cultivation method to calm his mind, since following one's own heart was not a bad thing.

"Little Steps, Little Steps," Lu Li said slowly, taking out the list and crossing out Little Steps' name.

He certainly believed Xiao Buzi's words. Xiao Buzi didn't have the guts to betray him. After all, the good days of rising to prominence were just around the corner. Betraying him now would be a sign of madness. But Xiao Buzi was bound to die in the future. Even without the current incident, Lu Li would find a pretext in the future, or allow Xiao Buzi to contact the eunuchs of the Imperial Horse Administration and then kill him directly.

After all, Xiao Buzi killed Qiu Rong for him. Even if outsiders couldn't find out about it, Lu Li would remember it. It was probably this incident that made Xiao Buzi hold a grudge. That's why Xiao Buzi was always very respectful and obedient to him.

Lu Li was almost more comfortable using him than Xiao Chuanzi.

Small steps can lead to death.

But it should definitely not be now.

What Lu Li is now pondering is how that eunuch from the Seal Bureau who was on duty at the front gate of Jingyang Palace died.

The Imperial Household Department sent an eunuch to close the case and return it to its proper place. Lu, the clerk, used his status as an eighth-rank eunuch and a large bag of silver to get the other party to make an exception. The body has been sent to the case office, and he believes he will receive the case report soon.

Did he suffer a qi deviation during practice and become possessed by evil spirits?

They're all cunning people; the excuse of "going into a trance" might fool others, but not a single eunuch in the palace would believe such nonsense.

After thinking for a long time, Lu Li couldn't come up with a good idea due to his chaotic thoughts. He looked up and called out, "Xiao Chuanzi."

Xiao Chuanzi, who had been waiting outside for a long time, immediately led a group of eunuchs in to collect the corpses and clean the floor. Only a few dark red bloodstains remained in the cracks of the floor that could not be removed.

"What are your orders, Godfather?" Xiao Chuanzi knelt and kowtowed.

"Jingyang Palace is short of a trusted confidant. You will come with me. You don't need to worry about the night patrols of the Palace Guard for the time being," said Lu Li.

Recently, Lu Li has rarely appeared at night. After all, Consort Wu is about to give birth, and even the most carefree servants will not relax at such a critical moment.

"What is Godfather thinking?" Xiao Chuanzi asked.

"We need to keep watch; maybe we can find out something," Lu Li insisted on his idea.

Xiao Chuanzi had been in the palace for much longer than Lu Li, and had heard of or witnessed some important events in the palace, such as the premature death of the imperial heir. After a moment's thought, he said, "Father, I think it is better to remain still than to take any action at this time."

A hint of surprise flashed in Lu Li's eyes. It is better to remain still than to act. Isn't this just giving away all the initiative? Are we just going to passively accept our fate and be framed in the end?

If he were caught doing it, Lu Li would know that he had been defeated, but if he were framed and dragged away to be beaten to death, that would be a real injustice.

Lu Li had once wondered whether, if the nobleman really intended to kill him, he should flee or obediently await his death.

Before entering the palace, my family probably only had one path left: to wait for death. Whether it was His Majesty or the Empress, they were both divinely ordained, their words carrying the weight of imperial authority, and we would never dare to resist in the slightest...

But Physician Zhang reminded us that day that with the story of Goujian in our past, our family will probably take a gamble now.

Lu Li's change in perception of the sacredness of imperial power did not stem from his own martial arts prowess, nor from his familiarity with the nobles he served day and night, nor from the disillusionment caused by the nobles' extravagant spending on delicacies or the officials' embezzlement of silver.

It is history.

There's Goujian enduring hardship and humiliation, Wu Zixu whipping the corpse of the King of Chu, the Duke of Zheng shooting the Zhou emperor with an arrow, and the former empress dowager ruling from behind the curtain, her favored ministers indulging in debauchery in the harem, and the illegitimate child Fei born from sleeping on the phoenix bed at night.

Having read a lot of history, even just a simple reading, it has left a deep impression on Lu Li.

The immortals are no longer immortals.