In the 29th year of the Taiping Emperor's reign, Chen Desheng, the chief eunuch who had served the Emperor throughout his life, became old and critically ill. According to palace rules, any palace maid or eunuch found to be ill would be expelled from the palace.
Chen Desheng took the initiative to report his illness to the emperor and asked to leave the palace. Dugu Jie, remembering that he had followed him attentively all his life, allowed him to leave the palace and arranged for him to live in the private house on Chang'an Street.
Chen Desheng had no adopted sons, and his family had all died or grown old. Dugu Jie selected three or four attentive maids and eunuchs to care for him personally, allowing him to spend his final two months in that mansion.
On a hot afternoon, Chen Desheng's condition worsened.
The personal maid begged the guard to enter the palace to see His Majesty, hoping that His Majesty would come to see Chen Desheng one last time. The guard immediately entered the palace and met His Majesty smoothly. "Your Majesty, Eunuch Chen is dying. Do you want to see him one last time?"
Upon hearing that Chen Desheng was about to die, Dugu Jie immediately put down the work at hand and rode to the end of Chang'an Street.
Chen Desheng had someone dress him in clean clothes and placed him on a recliner under the pavilion, fearing that His Majesty would be disturbed by the smell of the patients in the room if he entered the ward.
Dugu Jie came to the pavilion and saw Chen Desheng breathing rapidly, obviously dying. He sat down and took his hand.
"Old man, I'm here."
When Chen Desheng heard His Majesty's voice, his cloudy eyes brightened slightly. "Your Majesty, are you here to see me?"
Dugu Jie looked at Chen Desheng's dying appearance, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad. After his mother's death, Dugu Jie was always bullied by other princes in the palace. At that time, it was always Chen Desheng who stood in front of him and endured the pain of those ruthless punches and kicks for him.
Later, Dugu Jie was poisoned and became terminally ill and almost died. It was Chen Desheng who secretly bribed people and secretly took him out of the palace and asked him to see Dr. Zhou.
If there was no Chen Desheng, there would be no Emperor Taiping today.
Although he is a eunuch, his determination to protect is stronger than gold!
Dugu Jie sighed somewhat melancholy and asked Chen Desheng, "Are you just waiting for me to come see you?"
Chen Desheng pursed his lips and smiled, "I knew that Your Majesty would come to see me off for the last time. I...I have something to say..."
If Chen Desheng didn't have something to say, he wouldn't dare to disturb His Majesty.
Dugu Jie thought Chen Desheng was entrusting him with the care of his family, so he said, "Desheng, tell me what your last wishes are, and I will see to it."
"Your Majesty, I, your Majesty, am so sorry!" Chen Desheng suddenly grabbed Emperor Taiping's hand and struggled to sit up.
Dugu Jie hurriedly held him down, "Lie down and talk!" Dugu Jie narrowed his eyes. He was about to die, and this old man was finally willing to confess his sins? "What stupid thing did you do?"
Two lines of turbid tears appeared at the corners of Chen Desheng's eyes. He seemed to see the young and handsome General Nangong standing in front of him, waiting for him to atone for his sins in the underworld.
Chen Desheng cried and said to Dugu Jie: "Old slave, old slave has concealed one thing!"
Dugu Jie frowned deeply, appearing somewhat dignified. "I'll give you a chance to confess!"
Chen Desheng said, "Eight years ago, before the old Prime Minister retired and returned home, he went to the palace to meet the Empress. It just so happened that on that day, the Western Regions had sent a batch of silk as tribute, and His Majesty asked me to deliver the silk to the Empress. I went, and I accidentally overheard a shocking secret..."
Dugu Jie felt uneasy and asked in a deep voice, "What did you hear?"
"Old Prime Minister, Old Prime Minister, tell your Majesty that the rumor about a strange beast in Shu was actually false. There have never been any strange beasts in this world. The so-called strange beasts are actually..."
The old eunuch widened his eyes and sighed, "Actually, it's a human!" After saying these four words, the old eunuch suddenly died.
He couldn't bear to tell His Majesty that the 'strange beast' was none other than General Nangong, whom His Majesty had loved all his life!
He was afraid that if he told His Majesty, His Majesty would lose interest in ruling the country, and then he would be a sinner!
Dugu Jie was so frightened by this information that he didn't even react when he saw Chen Desheng die.
On the side, the young eunuch reminded His Majesty: "Your Majesty, Eunuch Chen is gone."
Only then did Dugu Jie come to his senses.
He closed Chen Desheng's open eyes, then stood up and said, "Send someone to find Mr. Su and ask him to choose a Feng Shui treasured land for Desheng to be buried properly."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Dugu Jie returned to the palace and kept thinking about what Chen Desheng had said.
There are no strange beasts in this world, the strange beasts are humans.
So, who is this person?
Dugu Jie had a vague guess in his mind, but he didn't dare to verify it.
That afternoon, the new chief eunuch, Chen Degui, stood by the table preparing ink for His Majesty. Seeing His Majesty casually sketching a peony on paper, Chen Degui praised him, saying, "Your Majesty's painting skills are truly remarkable. This peony looks just like the real ones in the imperial garden."
This eunuch is good in every way except that he loves to flatter people too much.
Dugu Jie put down his brush and suddenly said, "Tonight, I want the Queen to sleep with me."
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Chen Degui was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.
Chen Degui used to learn how to do things from Chen Desheng. After being in the palace for many years, Chen Degui also knew that His Majesty never summoned the concubines to sleep with him.
Rumor has it that His Majesty has someone in his heart and he wants to remain a virgin for that person.
Hearing His Majesty's sudden words, Chen Degui thought he had misheard. Suspicion crossed his face, and he asked cautiously again, "Your Majesty, are you saying that you want the Empress to sleep with you?"
Dugu Jie nodded.
Chen Degui nodded quickly and went to the Queen's bedroom in person to read the imperial decree.
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