CHAPTER 532: 275. EUNUCH? IMPERIAL BODYGUARDS?

Eunuch Hai had adopted sons from his clan, not just Cao Xing. There were nine in total, and Cao Xing was the seventh, known in the residence as the Seventh Young Master.

"Enter the palace"... This isn’t a threat; it’s a genuine order to enter the palace.

Xu Xing’s mouth twitched.

"Quick, bring the lecture notes from the academy! I must accomplish something before Godfather returns..." he instructed his maid, Yue Gui.

This body was frail; so far, he had only solidified the Red Fate [Wenchang], and his strength was comparable to that of an ordinary adult male among mortals.

The only way to resolve the crisis of entering the palace was to follow Cao Hai’s instructions and distinguish himself among the nine adopted sons.

"No need!"

Just as Yue Gui was about to retrieve the lecture notes from the bookshelf, a sharp, hoarse voice came from outside the door.

Hearing this voice, Yue Gui’s delicate figure trembled. She quickly stood at attention and greeted Eunuch Hai, who pushed the door open and entered, "Greetings, Old Master."

"Godfather."

Xu Xing also rose from the round stool and respectfully bowed to the portly, fair-faced, and beardless old man before him, not daring to overstep.

Eunuch Hai coldly glanced at Xu Xing, sat down at the round table, and poured himself a cup of tea before speaking, "You and my other adopted sons are all the same—cursed with poor fates. If I hadn’t brought you to the Capital City, you would have starved to death just like those lowly commoners who scrape a living from the fields.

"Otherwise, where would you have gotten the chance to engage in frivolities like cockfighting and dog racing in the Capital City, or to stroll around carrying birdcages?"

He continued, "There’s a good position available in the palace now. I’ve been thinking, you’re a clever one, so why don’t you enter the palace?

"Anyway, for all your womanizing, you haven’t produced any children. That ’root of vexation’ is useless to you anyway; you might as well enter the palace with me," he said with a sinister smile.

"Godfather, this..."

Xu Xing’s expression changed slightly.

Eunuchs adopted sons not only to care for them in their old age and see to their burials but also hoping their adopted sons would enter the palace, take over their power, and thus ensure their own enduring peace and security. Adopted sons raised within the palace could never compare to those adopted from one’s own clan.

"If you’re unwilling, I’ll go find Old Fifth. He’s always been willing," Eunuch Hai said, glancing at Xu Xing.

"Godfather, your son is willing, of course. There’s nothing wrong with entering the palace. I can serve the Emperor and be close to the Heavenly Family..." Xu Xing nodded quickly.

Having lived for so long, if I couldn’t even discern Eunuch Hai’s hidden meaning, I might as well be dead. For an ordinary person, losing their ’root of vexation’ would be a lifelong affliction, difficult to recover from. For him, however, it wasn’t so difficult. All it would take was to solidify a Destiny of an Innate Physique. Entering the palace was also the quickest way for him to engage with this world at present.

"Forget it, I won’t scare you anymore. His Majesty is in need of an Imperial Bodyguard."

"This is an opportunity I have worked hard to secure for you. Serve His Majesty well, and you will want for nothing."

Eunuch Hai stood up and, after uttering these words, left the room.

"Imperial Bodyguard?"

Xu Xing pondered for a moment. What trick does Eunuch Hai have up his sleeve? The Cao Xing whose body I inhabit, in this lifetime, was never a model citizen capable of being an Imperial Bodyguard; he was just a hedonistic young master. If I were to offend the Emperor or any nobles while on duty in the palace, it wouldn’t benefit Eunuch Hai and could even cost me my life.

Since it has come to this, I shall accept it, Xu Xing mused.

After condensing the Immortal Fate of the Yin Emperor, he was in no hurry to explore the Decaying Axe World.

「Next.」

A few days later, Cao Xing was appointed by the Imperial Court as a Third Rank Imperial Bodyguard and assigned to duty at Jinghe Palace.

Jinghe Palace had once been the residence of Empress Dowager Liu. But after Empress Dowager Liu’s death, the palace had stood vacant until Concubine Jian moved in a few days ago.

"Concubine Jian was the Empress Dowager’s lady attendant and is more than ten years older than His Majesty. She raised His Majesty from childhood..."

"His Majesty, using the pretext of releasing palace maids from the palace to be married off, had Concubine Jian transferred from Kunning Palace. Soon after, she was moved into Jinghe Palace..."

At the entrance of Jinghe Palace, Third Rank Guard Shen He, who was on duty with Cao Xing, watched Concubine Jian leave in her ornate carriage. He then nudged Cao Xing’s shoulder and started to share gossip about Concubine Jian and the current Emperor.

"Could this be true?" Cao Xing exclaimed, his curiosity piqued. "The Empress Dowager controls the harem. By doing this, isn’t His Majesty essentially ’hiding a beauty in a golden house’?"

Palace secrets were not to be spoken of outside. But within the palace, such things were plain to see. Although he and Shen He were Third Rank Guards, their status was not insignificant, so they didn’t need to be overly discreet about such matters among themselves.

"Hehe..." Shen He chuckled quietly. "Who’s to say it isn’t? I heard that Concubine Jian was married before entering the palace and is a widow."

Their watch duty lasted until the first quarter of Shen Hour. Then, the two exchanged duties with another group of Imperial Bodyguards and proceeded to the Martial Arts Room in the Imperial Palace to begin learning secret martial arts techniques.

These secret martial arts were not circulated publicly. In any of the various Jianghu Sects, they would be considered ultimate, foundational techniques.

In the Martial Arts Room, there were not only Imperial Bodyguards but also some junior eunuchs, favored by high-ranking eunuchs, learning martial arts.

"Being an Imperial Bodyguard sounds prestigious, but the ones who truly protect His Majesty up close are these eunuchs. Only they are permitted to be near His Majesty..." a few Imperial Bodyguards complained.

Never mind that their official ranks were much higher than those of the junior eunuchs in the Martial Arts Room—the Grand Ancestor had decreed that eunuch ranks could not exceed the Fifth Rank, while Third Rank Guards, upon appointment, immediately held a Principal Sixth Rank position. However, everyone knew that power in the Imperial Court was not determined by official rank. Instead, it depended on who was closest to the Emperor.

"’The Heartless Sect Bloodline Fist is ranked among the top ten Boxing techniques. You must all practice diligently and not disappoint His Majesty’s profound grace...’"