The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Zhao Douan was momentarily stunned, transferring the oil paper-wrapped beef to his left hand and bending down to pick up the stack of official documents. He dusted them off and placed them back on the table with a chuckle,

"Is Sir in a bad mood today?"

The elderly eunuch, with white at his temples and deep-set eyes, sat irate behind the desk in the hall, looking down on him,

"I remember telling you not to come again."

Zhao Douan shamelessly retorted,

"What I was told last time was not to visit late at night, and the sun has only just set."

Sun Lianying scoffed,

"What's so great about this place? Isn't it more fun to frolic with those dandies?"

Really petty, it was just a few times skipping duty... Zhao Douan forced a laugh and made no argument.

He simply placed the wine and meat on the stone table in the backyard of the government office, saying,

"The government office food is too poor; you haven't had dinner yet, right? I brought your favorite osmanthus wine, Fengs' beef, tofu from Dongshi Workshop, and small pickles from Hans..."

It wasn't lavish, but it catered to one's taste.

Sun Lianying was momentarily lost in thought.

There was a time, long ago, when Zhao Douan would often come by with food and drink to see him.

But since he began his ascent from the Little Forbidden Army, these visits had ceased.

"Ha, you still remember my preferences," Sun Lianying was silent for a moment, then disdainfully said,

"Your wine is no good, there's better stuff inside."

Zhao Douan's eyes sparkled, and he hurried to fetch two jars of the old eunuch's private aged brew.

When he came back out, the old eunuch was already seated by the stone table, opening the oil paper package, and popping a piece of meat into his mouth, Zhao Douan quickly offered him a bowl of wine.

After he drank it, sighing contentedly and at length, the evening glow in the sky dimmed.

Lanterns were lit in the backyard.

On the early summer night, ancient-looking bamboo-woven lanterns fluttered with mosquitoes, the sky veiled with a light mist.

An old man and a young man sat facing each other eating and drinking, occasionally engaging in conversation that inevitably circled back to the recent tumult in the imperial court.

Zhao Douan feigned curiosity and learned many details, listening with relish.

They say the most effective way to please a man is to ask about his area of expertise.

And then, just by listening, he will go on and on, enjoying the pleasure of showing off.

"Did you come today just to probe for this information?"

Halfway into his wine, Sun Lianying, slightly drunk, asked.

"Can't I visit you if there's nothing else?" Zhao Douan held up the wine jar to top up the drinks,

"Sir has given me much guidance in the past; I hold it dearly in my heart."

He paused, then teasingly said,

"If I didn't confirm that there were no elders by the name of Sun in my family, I might mistakenly think that Sir and I were related."

He had come tonight for three reasons: to mend their relationship, to understand more about the state of affairs in the temple and court, and to figure out why the old eunuch was favorable toward his predecessor.

It couldn't just be that he was the eunuch's illegitimate son... that would be too sensational.

Sun Lianying, seated in the wicker chair, sniffed with a chuckle,

"My family certainly doesn't have such a dissolute youngster; as for our connection, there is indeed some."

Zhao Douan's eyes brightened, "I am all ears."

The old eunuch, already tipsy, seemed to be drawn into memories and was silent for a while before saying,

"I was brought into the Imperial Palace in the second year after the late Emperor ascended the throne.

That year, Great Yu was struck by a cold disaster; even breathing around the Capital could freeze a man to death. My family was already poor, and then the disaster hit; we couldn't survive. My parents had no choice but to consider sending me to the palace to seek a way to live, at least to keep the family alive.

But entering the palace isn't easy. It's not something you can do by just wielding a knife and castrating yourself.

You need connections, need to ingratiate yourself with eunuchs inside the palace, to agree to vouch for you so that a master-eunuch would perform the operation, and afterwards, you'd have to stay at the master's house for several days to recover, eating and wearing clothes all provided by the Tributor...

Without money or connections, even trying to sell yourself into servitude is impossible.

What to do? I had no choice but to seek help from distant connections, begging. In the end, with help from a member of the imperial guard, I managed it.

Not only that, but this soldier also reached into his own pocket to smooth things over, allowing me to enter the palace at last.

But once there, I discovered how difficult the lives of low-ranking eunuchs and palace maids were. It was tough enough not to catch the eye of the powerful, nor be bullied by other eunuchs.

The meager pay we received each month had to be sent out of the palace to support the family. Those days were hard to endure; it was only with aid from that soldier that I managed to survive."

Zhao Douan asked curiously,

"Isn't it said that once you enter the palace, there's a chance to be selected as a 'Tributor'? Didn't you try?"

Sun Lianying remarked with a sigh,

"Try? At that time, everyone who entered the palace aimed to become Tributors, fueled by rumors that once you became one and cultivated to a higher level, you could restore your incomplete body...

Heh, only later did I find out that even in the Heavenly Human Realm, one can only regenerate a limb briefly after bodily damage..."

He suddenly laughed,

"Back then, there was another eunuch younger than me also eyeing that position. You know him, it's Ma Yan."

"Lord Ma?" Zhao Douan said, "I heard he is a man of the Crown Prince."

"Yes," Sun Lianying nodded,

"Ma Yan had an even worse start. He was an orphan and almost beaten to death on the streets by beggars. Luckily, the Crown Prince was on a patrol that day and saved him. By then, his lower body had been smashed by the beggars, and so he entered the palace.

His talents were the best among all of us, and he was the only one chosen by Mr. Hai.

Afterward, during the Xuan Sect's coup, Ma Yan took thirty-one slashes to save the Crown Prince, thus repaying his debt. When the Emperor avenged the Crown Prince, Ma Yan devoted himself to the Emperor."

Ma Yan was also an Imperial City Tributor?

Zhao Douan was surprised; this was information he had not known.

His eyes blinked rapidly, "Do you know about Mr. Hai?"

Sun Lianying glanced at him and said,

"Stop beating around the bush with me. What kind of person is Mr. Hai? You just need to remember that his loyalty is only to the Emperor."

Loyal to the "Emperor".

So, after the Old Emperor passed away and the Crown Prince had not yet ascended to the throne, the new Emperor not yet emerged, the Imperial Family's Tributors did not participate in the coup?

Take no sides?

Or did they make a move, but were stopped by some force?

The original owner of these memories had not seen the figure of Eunuch Hai on the day of the coup.

Zhao Douan took a deep breath, did not continue to delve into the topic, but instead said,

"But you still rose to power."

Sun Lianying grunted affirmatively and smiled,

"That would be the second 'patron' I encountered. During the reign of the late Emperor, there emerged a highly favored figure in the palace who, at just eighteen years old, ascended to the position of Chief Eunuch, a rarity mentioned in history books.

Because I had known him in my youth, once he rose to power, he supported me and sent me to serve at the Third Imperial Princess's side, who is now Your Majesty, thereby providing me the opportunity to advance."

"An eighteen-year-old Chief Eunuch?" Zhao Douan exclaimed in surprise,

"I seem to recall my father mentioning him, but the memory is vague."

Logically, a eunuch of such overwhelming power should be very well known, unless he died young.

Sun Lianying lamented,

"At that time he was full of pride, respected and feared by all officials, military and civil alike. Due to his youthful arrogance and offending many, he even meddled in court affairs... During a trip out of the palace to the south, he met with an unexpected death."

If this wasn't murder, I'll write my name backwards... Zhao Douan thought to himself.

This could explain why his knowledge of it was so vague.

The man died too soon, and no one spoke of it anymore.

Sun Lianying said,

"His death taught me the most important lesson: from that time on, I always remembered that while working in the palace, one must be careful and cautious, avoiding arrogance. It's permissible to accumulate wealth, but only to be greedy for wealth and never for 'power'.

After that, the palace was calm for a while. As I grew older, thanks to my skillful hairdressing, I earned the Third Imperial Princess's favor, who granted me access to attend royal school lectures. You know the rest."

The Third Imperial Princess ascended to the throne, and everyone in her favor rose with her... Zhao Douan automatically completed the thought. He fell silent for a moment, then said,

"So, that member of the imperial guard who once helped you..."

Sun Lianying nodded affirmatively, "Was your grandfather."

"..." Zhao Douan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The issue that had troubled him for so long turned out to be just that.

In earlier years, Sun Lianying had received timely help from the Zhao family during difficult times, and after the Empress ascended to the throne, he returned the favor by recommending and supporting Zhao Douan, allowing him to enter Xu Zhenguan's line of sight.

He sighed,

"So, the reason you repeatedly admonish me to avoid pride and impatience is also because..."

Sun Lianying sighed, "The past serves as a lesson for the future."

The case is closed!

It was precisely because of the "eighteen-year-old Chief Eunuch" who once supported him, a living example, that the old eunuch cautioned Zhao Douan.

Fearing that he would make the same mistakes and meet with an "unexpected death."

Sun Lianying's drunkenness deepened, he stared at him, earnestly advised,

"I know you don't want to listen, when you're young, you always resent and resist an old man's counsel.

Teaching by words is futile, but teaching by events, sinks into the heart once.

I thought, after the Zhuang Xiaocheng case, you had an epiphany, but unexpectedly, you're fraternizing with wastrels like Qin Qiu again..."

The old eunuch's voice grew lower and lower, until he was drunkenly slumped over, sound asleep.

The night was peaceful; Zhao Douan looked up at the sky.

The dense clouds that had shrouded the Capital for several days parted, revealing a high-hanging full moon.

He rose, escorted the old eunuch inside, covered him with a blanket, tidied up the leftover food and drink, and left.

This evening's conversation had provided him with much valuable information.

...

The next day, at dawn's early light,

Zhao Douan got up, dressed in his Lord's official robe in front of the copper mirror, and took out a porcelain bottle, treasuring it in the inner pocket.

He had concocted this "Rose Dew" during his spare time in recent days.

That is, mixing roses with water and distilling them to produce a crude version of perfume.

"The craftsmanship is a bit rough, but it's still a novelty in Great Yu."

Zhao Douan muttered, "I wonder if Zhenguan will like it."

He tried it out; not bad, the scent was light and fragrant, much more pleasant to the smell than the incense sachets primarily used for repelling insects in the Great Yu Dynasty.

The morning court meeting started very early, often ending as daylight broke.

He surmised that it should all have settled by now.

As he was contemplating, the voice of You Jinhua came from outside, "Eldest son, someone is looking for you."

Zhao Douan hurried outside.

In the faint morning light, the attendant who accompanied Yuan Li, standing next to the carriage, smiled and said,

"Mr. Yuan has sent me to invite Lord Zhao to the palace to receive a reward."

Pei Kaizhi has fallen?!

Zhao Douan's spirits lifted; with the end of the war, it was time for rewards.

...

At the palace gate,

When Zhao Douan arrived, he unexpectedly saw a familiar figure, he paused, smiling and calling out,

"Senior brother!"

Tall and thin, austere and beardless, with prominent brow bones and slightly graying eyebrows that struck fear into all the officials, the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Court had just arrived and was startled by the call.

Ma Yan frowned, "Lord Zhao, what did you call me?"

Then, he realized that Zhao Douan had emerged from Yuan Li's carriage, his pupils suddenly narrowing.