The chief eunuch Li Lianying stopped and looked at Tang Huan beside him with a complicated expression.
He was clearly only in his early twenties, yet he was already a regular at the palace.
Moreover, with this great achievement in resisting the Northern Region, he will surely rise rapidly in the future. Becoming the commander of the Imperial Guards is just the beginning.
This made the chief eunuch Li Lianying quite emotional. He had been in the palace since the time of the late emperor and had seen several people with amazing talents, but Tang Huan was the first one who had ever impressed people time and time again.
"Lord Tang, I may have done some things that were not very ethical before. I hope you will not take it to heart. Once you become the Grand Commander, you can ask me for anything. I will definitely not refuse and will do everything I can to get it done for you."
These words clearly revealed Li Lianying's thoughts; in the old eunuch's view, the position of Grand Commander of the Imperial Palace belonged to Tang Huan.
Tang Huan's face fell.
He forced a smile and waved to Li Lianying, "You're joking. Whether I can become the commander is still unknown. It all depends on His Majesty's arrangements."
As they spoke, Tang Huan handed the item in his hand to Li Lianying.
Li Lianying, who would have accepted the money without hesitation in the past, was startled when he saw the silver notes this time. He waved his hands repeatedly to avoid them, saying, "My lord, this is unacceptable. How could this servant dare to continue to ask you for benefits? It is I who should be showing my respect to you."
Tang Huan forcefully stuffed the silver notes into Li Lianying's arms, saying, "What are you saying, Eunuch? We're friends. You've been helping His Majesty in the palace all this time, and you don't even get much pay. You should keep them."
As the chief eunuch, Li Lianying held a higher position in the palace than many others, and even ministers had to take him seriously.
Under these circumstances, Li Lianying had quite a few ways to amass wealth, but Tang Huan did not expose him and still handed him silver.
Tang Huan wouldn't give up on winning people's hearts; it's just a small amount of money for him anyway, and it might bring him help in the future.
The two did not linger and headed straight for the Imperial Study.
The competition between the two countries has ended, and Empress Wu Lanxi has returned to her usual busy routine. When Tang Huan arrived at the Imperial Study, the Empress was receiving guests.
After waiting for a full quarter of an hour, Wang Tianze, the Minister of Revenue, finally came out from inside.
The other person was taken aback when they saw Tang Huan, then cupped their hands in congratulations and said a few words, their words full of affection for Tang Huan.
"Lord Tang, His Majesty is inside. Please go in quickly."
Tang Huan smiled at the other party, walked to the door of the Imperial Study, and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, Tang Huan from Qihuai County requests an audience."
"Come in……"
The empress's tone was different from usual; it didn't sound as cold.
It seems that winning against the Northern Region this time really made her very happy.
This made Tang Huan somewhat depressed. Perhaps the old eunuch was right after all. In her delight, the Empress sent him to the palace to serve as the commander.
"The position is high, but I can't be trapped in the palace by you..."
For Tang Huan, this was somewhat of a loss.
He entered the imperial study with a heavy heart and immediately saw Wu Lanxi looking at him with a smile.
"Didn't you say you were weak after the competition and needed to recuperate at home? Why are you in such a hurry to come to the palace to see me?"
Tang Huan's excuse was to recuperate. Although his fight with Gongshan Liqun seemed dangerous, it didn't have much of an impact.
"Your Majesty, today the delegation from the Northern Regions sent someone to my residence to ask for my help. After meeting with them, I went to Wanfu Temple and came to the palace specifically to inform them of this matter."
Without leaving any risk for themselves, since they had already met the Northern Region delegation, they should openly reveal this matter to the Empress.
To prevent anyone from gossiping about this to the Empress and using it as an excuse to cause trouble for him later.
"People from the Northern Regions are looking for you? Shouldn't they be seeking medical treatment for that general and A'da's injuries?"
Tang Huan said solemnly, "The people from the Northern Region came to me for this matter. They hope I can help heal Gongshan Liqun's gunshot wound."
"You agreed?"
"Gongyang Tingbai promised that as long as he helped the general heal his wounds, he would offer a generous reward afterward, and they would agree to any conditions proposed. I thought that the princess's words must be credible, so I went to make the trip."
He wasn't just greedy for money; he wanted to get something more from the Northern People for Daqing's sake.
Who can criticize me for doing this?
"How is it going?" Wu Lanxi asked curiously.
"When I arrived at Wanfu Temple, the bullet in Gongshan Liqun's arm had already been removed. The doctor they found in the capital did not dare to act rashly. In the end, the doctor guided the princess to do it herself."
Tang Huan gave a brief explanation of the details of the gunshot wound and the potential consequences of improper treatment.
Of course, he also explained the key points of the surgery to Wu Lanxi so that the Empress could understand.
Wu Lanxi looked shocked after hearing this. "You mean, Gongyang Tingbai personally removed the bullet from his arm?"
"That seems to be the case."
Wu Lanxi sighed, "The princess didn't do much during the Northern Region delegation's visit to the capital. Apart from her attractive appearance, she didn't do anything special. I didn't expect her to have such a strong mentality."
However, in Tang Huan's view, the reason for choosing Gongyang Tingbai to do it was not because only Gongyang Tingbai could do it.
More importantly, perhaps that general could only trust Gongyang Tingbai's interpretation.
Given the high risk of losing his life or causing serious consequences, Gongshan Liqun could not entrust everything to others.
Tang Huan didn't discuss this matter in detail with the Empress, but Wu Lanxi probably understood that as well.
After a moment of silence, Tang Huan asked curiously, "Your Majesty, I heard that Xiao Yuanshan is seriously injured and will need to recuperate for a long time?"
"Yes, he was seriously injured while participating in the competition in Daqing, and may have lingering health problems. I have already sent him back to his residence to rest and enjoy some leisure time."
"This is not bad news for Commander Xiao. He is only injured, but that A-Da is seriously wounded by gunshot and I'm afraid he won't last much longer."
Tang Huan heard this news from Gongyang Tingbai when he left Wanfuji. Gongyang Tingbai spoke of it calmly.
"Their people are dying right in front of them, and they can still calmly make a deal with you?"
“For them, there is only one Gongshan Liqun, but there can be many people to replace Ada.”
Wu Lanxi nodded, "I understand."
After speaking, the Empress looked at Tang Huan, her smile widening.
Winning the competition was already exciting news, but now that the Northern Region had to beg for mercy, Wu Lanxi was even happier.
Wu Lanxi was extremely satisfied with everything Tang Huan had done.
"Tang Huan, now that Xiao Yuanshan has rested, we need to replace him as the Grand Commander. What are your thoughts?"
"I do not know," Tang Huan said, bowing his head.
"I believe that, based on the martial arts skills you displayed in the competition, you are qualified to remain in the palace and command the imperial guards. Do you agree?"
Tang Huan answered without hesitation, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I refuse!"
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