From street beggar to high-ranking official

Xiao Chuanzi accompanied Lu Li to Jingyang Palace, but before the two could do anything, Emperor Yongxi's decree was delivered through the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"Eunuch Ji, what important matter brings you here today?" Lu asked the young man, who had announced his arrival into the palace.

"Please inform Her Majesty that I will convey His Majesty's decree." Xiao Jizi has been in the Directorate of Ceremonial for a year now, and his ninth-rank official robes have been changed to the same style and color as those of Li Lu.

He glanced at the gloomy-faced official Lu, and then at the little eunuch beside him.

After the death of the gatekeeper at Jingyang Palace, a new gatekeeper had not yet been chosen. Lu Li brought Xiao Chuanzi here for this very reason. The seemingly insignificant eunuchs who guarded the palace gates could actually keep track of who was coming in and out, and who was approaching. They could also keep track of the movements of the eunuchs and maids who cleared the way and entered the palace to clean.

Its importance is self-evident.

It can be said that for the nobleman's basic needs of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, the first hurdle was not the chief eunuch, but the gatekeeper of the palace.

"This little eunuch is..."

Without receiving a reply from Lu Li, Xiao Chuanzi bowed respectfully and said, "I dare not hide it from Eunuch Ji. My name is Xiao Chuanzi, and I am Eunuch Lu's adopted son."

At this time, one must not kneel down to pay respects. If one kneels down, Eunuch Ji may save face, but Xiao Chuanzi will be punished by his godfather later.

Seeing that Xiao Jizi's eyes were wandering, Lu Li smoothly grasped Xiao Jizi's soft palm: "Eunuch Ji, I wonder what you've been up to this time..."

Xiao Jizi understood immediately, and with a swift movement, the full-value silver note landed in his palm: "Ahem, Eunuch Lu, you can rest assured about this. As long as you are upright, you have nothing to fear. Nothing will happen."

"With Eunuch Ji's words, we can rest assured." Lu Li smiled broadly. It was a pity that it was not the right time to catch up, otherwise he would definitely take little Ji to enjoy some tea.

Xiao Jizi went in with Lu Li. He quietly looked around and carefully observed the eunuchs and palace maids on duty in Jingyang Palace.

There are quite a few more people and quite a few fewer people. Not to mention, the few spies planted by the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs have long since disappeared, but it seems that Little Lu has not yet fully taken control of Jingyang Palace. Ha! It seems that he is not as powerful as the outside world says.

Upon meeting Consort Wu, Xiao Jizi bowed first, saying, "This servant greets Consort Wu."

"Rise," Consort Wu said, sitting on a soft chair, while her maid, Jinlian, gently fanned her. "What decree has His Majesty sent?"

Xiao Jizi didn't say much. After bowing, his previously hunched back straightened instantly, and his voice rose and fell in unison: "His Majesty's decree!"

The eunuchs and palace maids in the hall immediately knelt down, and even Consort Wu rose slightly to pay her respects, showing that imperial authority was sacred and inviolable.

According to palace rules, if His Majesty's decree is to receive a concubine in person, no matter how favored she is, he must kneel to receive her. If it is not a matter of personal favor, he must stand up and maintain a dignified demeanor.

This rule is extremely strict, and there are even examples of past calamities where even the Empress Dowager had to stand up!

All the nobility's respect stemmed from the emperor himself. The empress dowager's nobility also stemmed from her being the emperor's mother. From the perspective of patriarchal clan system and ritual, the empress dowager was superior to the emperor, but in terms of rule and governance, the emperor was supreme!

As Lu Li listened to Xiao Jizi relay the imperial edict, he barely paid attention to the first few sentences, focusing only on the crucial ones in the middle: a Taoist priest was to be summoned to exorcise evil spirits, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was to investigate the crimes involved, requiring the arrest of a large number of eunuchs and palace maids...

After the imperial edict was read aloud, Xiao Jizi, who had been standing upright, suddenly hunched over again. His tone was respectful: "Your Majesty, His Majesty specifically instructed that we should not go out frequently these days, for the sake of the imperial heir!"

......

Xiao Jizi took out the roster and began calling out names. One by one, the eunuchs and palace maids whose names were called bowed to the ground to beg for forgiveness. Only then did Lu Li realize what Xiao Jizi meant by "a clear conscience fears no accusation." He immediately reshuffled the staff in Jingyang Palace, not letting go of those with records or criminal records, and replaced them with a batch of maids with clean records.

Of course, no one could say for sure how many informants were among the new batch of slaves.

Lu Li also stood aside waiting. He had been completely despondent, but unexpectedly, when Xiao Jizi read out the entire list, his name was not among them.

As he was leaving, Lu Li grabbed Xiao Ji Zi and asked, "Eunuch Ji, what exactly happened?"

Another silver note entered the account. Xiao Ji thought to himself that Xiao Lu was indeed well-behaved and that he could get along with him more in the future. He did not hide anything: "The death of the eunuch on duty at Jingyang Palace has been investigated. It was indeed due to illness. Not only in the palace, but also in the capital recently, there have been similar symptoms."

"Was he really not murdered?"

"Really!" Xiao Jizi affirmed, "His Majesty has invited Zhang Tianshi from the Taoist temples in the capital. He will come to Jingyang Palace soon to exorcise evil spirits and pray for blessings. Eunuch Lu must not make the slightest mistake."

"A great plague?" Lu Li suddenly asked.

He had his own connections, and the contents of the official gazette included the major epidemic in Jinan Prefecture.

Xiao Jizi sighed helplessly: "Who could have imagined that a major epidemic would follow a severe drought? Now the court is filled with memorials about the drought and the epidemic, which have even overshadowed the impact of the驸马 (imperial son-in-law) case."

In previous years, a major flood was followed by a major epidemic, and a major drought was followed by a major famine. But now, both have come at the same time.

Lu Li nodded in agreement, while Xiao Chuanzi, standing to the side, felt sorry for his colleague. His godfather had truly misunderstood Xiao Bu!

However, the feeling of regret was only for a moment. Xiao Chuanzi was secretly delighted. Before, he had gained favor with his godfather by taking small steps in Jingyang Palace and had been showing off in front of us all day long. Now that you are dead, who can compete with us for favor?

"Xiao Chuanzi," Lu Li said after thinking it over.

"Godfather, please give your orders!" Xiao Chuanzi said immediately.

"First, guard the palace gates for us. We absolutely cannot let our own backyard catch fire this time. Also, we need to investigate how we contracted the disease."

There are only so many people coming and going from the palace; if you want to investigate, you can always find out.

......

In the following days, access to and from Jingyang Palace became extremely restricted. Lu Li did not receive any case reports from the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs regarding the coroner's work. Instead, Imperial Physician Zhang from the Imperial Hospital came as usual and brought Lu Li a message.

The coroner who performed the autopsy is dead!

"Did he die from the disease or was he murdered?" Lu Li asked again.

"I don't know," Imperial Physician Zhang shook his head. "Everyone in the palace is investigating right now. Several coroners have died, so we have to recruit people from outside the palace. And it's not just Jingyang Palace that's affected; Chuxiu Palace hasn't escaped the consequences either!"

Chuxiu Palace was the residence of the late emperor's concubines. After the late emperor's death, his concubines would not be moved out of the palace, but would be supported and managed in the palace. However, more than 20 years have passed, and only a few remain in the palace.

The incident at Chuxiu Palace occurred much earlier than at Jingyang Palace, but it went largely unnoticed. Moreover, the deaths of palace servants were commonplace, so it was temporarily concealed.

When the eunuch on duty at Jingyang Palace got into trouble, Lu Li specially asked the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial to have the coroner examine the body, and that's when they discovered the source of the plague.

Therefore, Lu Li was not only without fault in this matter, but also meritorious, which is the real reason why Lu Li was not directly expelled from Jingyang Palace.

It wasn't that spending money on Eunuch Ji had any effect, but rather that it objectively protected the safety of the imperial heir and even Consort Wu.