Chapter 246: Eunuch Cai (Extra)

I am over 70 years old and was placed by Emperor Huai in a royal private residence outside the palace.

I have no worries about food and drink here, and there are young eunuchs serving me, but I can't help but think of the time when Emperor Ping was still there.

I am also an old man who has experienced three dynasties in the palace, but the one I have the most affection for is Emperor Ping.

Others get more confused as they get older, but I get more sober as I get older.

An extremely ordinary object in life will remind me of the bits and pieces of accompanying Emperor Ping.

I still remember the first time I met Emperor Ping, when Madam Fuyao was still favored.

Madam Fuyao is not a good person, nor a bad person, but a concubine in the harem who does whatever it takes to win favor. Although she doesn't like Emperor Ping and King Zhaoyang, she doesn't dare to really take their lives because of her status. So, she can only send her palace people to find trouble with Emperor Ping and King Zhaoyang every now and then.

His meeting with the young Emperor Ping took place in this context.

At that time, he was not the most trusted eunuch beside Emperor Ping, but just an ordinary eunuch with a little power in the harem.

But after being framed by Madam Fuyao for cheating and caned, Emperor Ping was placed in Luoyan Palace with Prince Zhaoyang to recuperate. He had the courage to let this eunuch, who didn't know the details, bring him medicine.

He didn't know what he was thinking at the time, but he secretly brought them the medicine without the knowledge of the chief eunuch.

Now he thinks that he should have been moved by the determination in Emperor Ping's eyes.

Emperor Shun doted on Madam Fuyao, and the harem was in name only. Madam Fuyao gradually developed some sincerity towards Emperor Shun. Because she had no children, she no longer deliberately targeted Emperor Ping and Prince Zhaoyang. When

Prince Zhaoyang was ten years old, his mother died. His grandmother, Old Lady Gao, personally went to the palace and knelt down to beg Emperor Shun to let him leave the palace and raise him personally.

Emperor Shun was furious at first, but changed his mind after hearing Lady Fuyao's soft words. Perhaps to show the majesty of the emperor, he specially granted Wei Zhao the title of king and the title of "Zhaoyang".

Only Emperor Ping was left in the palace. But Emperor Ping behaved as usual, neither extraordinary nor mediocre, just ordinary. At the same time, Prince Zhaoyang, who was taken out of the palace by Old Lady Gao, became famous. Everyone in the folks praised him for his ability to govern the country. Following the crowd, he also felt that Prince Zhaoyang was really promising. He thought that Emperor Shun might let Prince Zhaoyang be the crown prince.

Lady Fuyao, who had been favored for many years but had no children, became pregnant at the age of forty. Emperor Shun was overjoyed and pardoned the world to pray for his unborn prince. On that day, he saw Emperor Ping from a distance. He was wearing the prince's robe and hiding among the palace people, and his face did not change at all. He felt that he might not be as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Sure enough, people will never be satisfied. The first thing that pregnant Fuyao Lady did was to let Shundi establish the position of the crown prince. Of course, Fuyao Lady wanted her own son to be the crown prince. But the fetus in her belly has not been born yet, and it is difficult to determine the gender. The ministers in the court who have been struggling to decide whether to establish Emperor Ping or King Zhaoyang as the crown prince have united collectively and advised Shundi with the country and the people, and they would not give in at all.

Over time, Shundi was also tired. Perhaps in order to deliberately humiliate the ministers who supported King Zhaoyang, he deliberately established the mediocre Emperor Ping as the crown prince, but no one in the court took the initiative to stand up to be the crown prince's tutor. It was not until Mi Shishu, who had been studying abroad for many years and was famous for his erudition, returned to the court and asked to assist Emperor Ping as the crown prince's tutor. When

the fetus in Fuyao Lady's belly was just five months old, Shundi's health was not good. It was a pity that he closed his eyes on an ordinary day before he had time to see his long-awaited child.

Later, Emperor Ping ascended the throne with the strong support of Mi Daxueshi and others.

Lady Fuyao seemed to have disappeared from everyone's sight after Emperor Shun's death. It was said that she was pregnant and seemed to be crazy. The ministers of the previous dynasty did not like her style of being favored. No one cared about her life or death. Many people hoped that she would die.

After Emperor Ping ascended the throne, he was more diligent than Emperor Shun, but he did not seem to be very keen on women.

Every time he went to the concubines, he just sat there, drank tea, and listened to the concubines talk about trivial matters. After a long time, he, the eunuch next to him, felt a little embarrassed.

Until a concubine named Gao Shiyi entered the palace.

It was the first time he saw that playful expression on Emperor Ping's face.

He always thought that Concubine Yan during the time of Emperor Shun, the dazzling beauty like a raging fire, was unparalleled in the world, and her beauty was gorgeous, but when he saw her in the Yunfang Palace, he knew what it meant to be slender and beautiful, to be the most beautiful woman in the world. He knew that with her beauty, she would definitely be favored by Emperor Ping. He wanted to make friends with her, so he was willing to speak well of her in front of Emperor Ping.

This beauty was soon moved to the Summer Palace by Emperor Ping, but the plaque of the palace was replaced by Emperor Ping, who personally wrote the three words "Wei Rui Palace". As a result, everyone in the harem only remembered Wei Rui Palace, and no longer the Summer Palace.

Wang Shuyi was soon replaced by Gao Guiji, who was soon promoted to Gao Shurong by eleven levels, and Gao Shurong soon became the Imperial Noble Consort. It was

difficult for a woman in the harem to get a high position in her lifetime, but this beauty, who had no children or noble family background, achieved it in a short time.

This beauty was beautiful, but he felt that her mind was not on Emperor Ping at all. Emperor Ping seemed to know this, and seemed to be very distressed, but he never showed any of it in front of the Imperial Noble Consort.

Until the summer of the year when Emperor Ping was infected with a serious disease, the Imperial Noble Consort personally selected the poisoned wine, drank it on the spot, and walked in front of Emperor Ping. He then realized that he might be wrong.

"Eunuch, this painting of the previous emperor is a little damp, and I don't know what to do with it." The eunuch knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Give it to me." He took the painting handed over by the eunuch and carefully unfolded it. Inside was a peerless beauty half leaning on the table and sleeping lazily.

He remembered the author of the painting, who deliberately asked himself to keep the painting and pass it on before his death.

He also remembered that he had asked the author of the painting why the Summer Palace was changed to the Wei Rui Palace.

The author of the painting asked him what "Wei Rui" meant.

He shook his head vigorously at that time.

The author of the painting smiled and wrote on the rice paper "The beautiful bamboo is parasitic on the river pool. It is lush and dew-proof above, and the wind is cool below." He was in a particularly good mood and explained for him. The vernacular interpretation of the sentence is, it is a pity that the beautiful bamboo can only be alone by the river. There are lush branches and leaves above to protect against dew, and cool breezes below to drive away the scorching heat. The meaning of "luxuriant" he chose is just the ordinary word "beautiful".

Note: "The beautiful bamboo grows on the river bank. It is luxuriant on the top and protected from dew, while the wind blows from the bottom." From "Seven Admonitions: First Release" by Dongfang Shuo of the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)