Li Gao also experienced a major change in his life when he was fifteen years old. His family was so poor that they had nothing to eat, so his parents sold him into the palace to become a eunuch.
No matter how much he begged, he would do anything, just not become a eunuch.
But my parents valued money more, so since they were going to sell it, they naturally chose the one with the highest price.
Selling someone to become a eunuch would fetch the most money, up to ten taels of silver.
That's enough for their family of five to live on for many years.
And so, Li Gao became a eunuch amidst his tears.
Being a eunuch was an extremely dangerous profession. He watched as the other eunuchs who entered the palace with him either died or were beaten. He was timid and cautious every day, working diligently for fear of making a mistake.
But what you fear most is what comes to pass.
One day, Ning Xuan, who had just entered the palace, praised him, and this was noticed and remembered by someone with ulterior motives.
They then devised a plan to send him to deliver clothes to the angry empress.
This dress is the color least favored in the palace; it was His Majesty's way of deliberately putting the Empress in a bad light.
The palace couldn't blame the emperor, but taking it out on a mere eunuch was a trivial matter.
He was punished by being forced to kneel at the entrance of Yikun Palace, where he remained kneeling for an entire day.
The sun was blazing, but he had to keep going even though he had heatstroke.
In the end, it was one of the eunuchs who was with him who went to Ning Xuan and pleaded for his life.
Ning Xuan took him into the Prince's mansion, and from then on, he gradually became more like a human being.
This little eunuch was unlucky; before he could even get a foothold, he was already thrown out of the palace with his eyes closed.
The palace is a place that devours people; that is absolutely true.
That night, Ning Xuan deliberately did not inform Sheng Ping, and secretly led Li Gao and his three bodyguards out of the palace through the East Corner Gate.
The world is vast, and he didn't want to die in the palace.
Sheng Ping had received the news, but she only paused briefly before continuing to review the memorials.
Having emotions over something that has already been decided is futile.
Su Yan ran quickly. If this weren't the palace, and if he weren't still being impeached, he would have liked to use his lightness skill to fly out.
When they arrived at the Meridian Gate, his carriage was parked there. He said urgently, "Da Hong, go to Ziling Manor, and be quick."
Zhou Dahong wanted to speak, but Su Yan had already lifted the curtain and jumped into the carriage.
"Why go to Ziling Manor?"
A familiar female voice came from inside, and he froze.
He didn't even look closely inside the carriage!
Ye Panjiu looked at the man with a smile, but she was so anxious that she lost her usual composure.
Su Yan immediately turned around, his starry eyes fixed on her, and hugged her tightly, exclaiming, "You actually came!"
He held her tightly, as if he had received some precious treasure.
Ye Panjiu raised her hand and stroked his black hair. "Didn't I say I would come after the provincial examination tomorrow?"
His hair was very soft and smooth.
Su Yan inhaled deeply the scent emanating from her. "But you didn't mention this at all in your letter."
Ye Panjiu lowered her head and gently tapped his ear. "When I wrote the letter, I didn't know if tomorrow would even be here."
Su Yan's ears turned bright red, as could be seen with the naked eye.
"My lord, are we still going to Ziling Manor?" Zhou Dahong asked from outside the carriage.
Su Yan coughed lightly. How could he be so reckless?
He quickly stepped back and sat down properly.
Ye Panjiu replied, "Uncle Zhou, let's not go. Let's go to Jingmanlou and have dinner together."
She invited even the embroiderers and cooks from the Su residence, since there weren't many people from the Ye family, and the group ate together in a lively atmosphere.
Su Yan glanced at her sideways, his fingers involuntarily taking her hand in his.
Ye Panjiu grasped his hand in return, and placed one hand on the carriage curtain. "Lord Su, would it be convenient for us to enjoy the scenery?"
She always loved sitting in the car and looking at the scenery, feeling as if other people's lives were unfolding before her eyes like a movie.
Without hesitation, Su Yan lifted the carriage curtain for her. "I have never lifted a carriage curtain in the past twenty years."
"It's alright. Today, it's me who's being shown. Lord Su is hiding behind me." Ye Panjiu thoughtfully shifted her body to shield him.
Su Yan obediently hid behind her, not looking outside, only at her.
"Is it pretty?"
"That's nice. Minister Lin's carriage just passed by. He nodded. Has Lin Menghuai returned to the capital?"
Su Yan played with her fingers. "Not yet. The Liao Dynasty is becoming increasingly provocative. A major war may break out at any moment."
"Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the people on the border are going to suffer." Ye Panjiu sighed as she looked at the people outside the car.
Living in the capital, one inevitably faces various troubles every day, but if war breaks out, the capital will certainly not be affected too much.
But the situation is different at the border; how many more families will be torn apart, how many more people will be displaced…
“Last year, the Liao Dynasty sought a marriage alliance with the Western Xia, and many people were already relocated from the border. We’ll try to alleviate the burden as much as possible,” Su Yan replied.
In the end, the princess of Western Xia was not able to marry him because she was killed by assassins sent by the Liao Dynasty.
That's how the Liao Dynasty was; if it couldn't have it, it wouldn't let it fall into the hands of others.
The Western Xia was seething with anger, but because of its weakness, it had no choice but to kowtow and submit to the Great Liang.
This was an unexpected gain that Su Yan hadn't anticipated.
What followed was intermarriage and Sinicization, starting from the Western Xia imperial palace, with continuous assimilation.
This is cultural expansion.
"Ning Xuan is truly a good monarch. I hope that after he leaves the palace, he can meet Sheng Ping again."
The two chatted idly, and the carriage soon arrived at Jingmanlou.
Jingmanlou has been open for nearly a century, since the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty, and was started by a civil official who was also a meritorious minister.
After that, they quietly inherited and passed down their legacy.
This civil official was very clever. He knew when to delegate power and was also greedy, but he was greedy in a way that did not cross the emperor's red line. To a certain extent, he could be considered restrained.
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