Chapter 15 A Huge 'Surprise': Yu Lang followed Ling Pu's attendant out of the mansion and all the way to the palace gate before he saw the Empress Dowager of Yuqing Palace...
Yu Lang followed Ling Pu's attendant out of the mansion and walked all the way to the palace gate, where he saw eunuchs from Yuqing Palace waiting there.
"This is?"
"Congratulations to Master Yu! The Crown Prince has specifically requested to see you. This servant wishes you great success in advance."
"Thank you for making this trip. Take this and get a pot of wine."
Even a seventh-rank official is treated similarly before the prime minister's gate; the same applies to Ling Pu's personal attendant. Since he proactively mentioned the reason for summoning him to the palace today, Yu Lang naturally wouldn't be stingy with his gifts.
"Thank you for your generous reward, Master Xie Yu. If there's another good job like this next time, I'll definitely be eager to do it again."
The attendant squeezed the purse Yu Lang had given him and smiled even more eagerly. These Manchu men, regardless of their family background, were good men as long as they were generous.
The attendant could not enter the palace without being summoned, so after he left, Yu Lang followed the eunuchs from Yuqing Palace and continued walking into the palace. Since everyone should receive something, Yu Lang handed over a purse, which naturally compelled the attendant to accept it.
"Lord Yu, you are too kind. This servant has nothing to say."
"Father-in-law, you flatter me. I just got married a few days ago, and my wife prepared a few extra purses for me as a small token of our joy. I hope you don't mind."
"Then this servant will not stand on ceremony."
As a eunuch in charge of delivering messages, guiding people, and guarding the gates of Yuqing Palace, Gao Laixi received more tips in a month than he earned in three to five years, but this was the first time he had ever experienced the joy that Yu Lang spoke of.
"Why didn't you go to the Imperial Guard back then, Lord Yu? You are the late Empress's cousin. If you wanted to go to the Imperial Guard, it would be a simple matter of a word."
“My second uncle works in the Imperial Guard. We see each other all the time. If I go there and do anything, I’ll be nagged. It’s so boring. Besides, the future of my family depends on my own efforts. Asking for favors won’t help. Don’t you think that makes sense, Father-in-law?”
Only a few of my guards knew about the encounter with the Crown Prince at the palace gate a few days ago, and as for owing the Crown Prince a jar of wedding wine, no one mentioned it.
Firstly, he didn't think the Crown Prince would remember such a casual remark, and secondly, he hoped the Crown Prince would remember him.
Don't assume that being born into the Hesheli clan makes you a noble and prominent family. By the time Xifu's branch reached Yulang, the generation of the same generation as Empress Yuan's branch could only be considered as cousins. If you wanted to establish a relationship or claim kinship, it was really not your turn.
Yu Lang knew, of course, that the eunuch in front of him was not asking him anything, but that Gao Laixi was gathering information about himself for the Crown Prince.
At this time, one should not be too obsequious, as that would appear too flattering. Masters need the loyalty of their servants and subjects, but they also hope that their servants will ideally possess both loyalty and integrity.
Arrogance is useless, and loyalty is not just about words; at the very least, Yulang needs to present himself as valuable as possible. A Hesheli man with some Manchu spoiled airs, yet also clever and principled, would be just right.
"Lord Yu is young and promising, how dare this servant make such a casual comment? I am flattered that you would say such things to me. In the future, if I see Lord Yu all the time, I will definitely find it very interesting. Please don't bother me then."
Those who could be sent to Yuqing Palace to become eunuchs were all shrewd and capable. Even though Yu Lang knew that Gao Laixi was flattering him, he still felt warm inside. Even after entering Jide Hall of Yuqing Palace, the smile on his face had not completely disappeared.
Gao Laixi, the eunuch who guards the gate of Yuqing Palace, has a special skill: if the master asks him to sound out someone's intentions, and he thinks the person is alright, the Crown Prince will definitely be smiling when he sees that person.
If he thinks this person is not very good, he will be extremely timid and fearful in front of the Crown Prince, as if he wants to scare himself to death.
For this, Yinreng scolded him for his unruly behavior, but never seriously punished him, continuing to make him guard the gate of Yuqing Palace. Gao Laixi understood the meaning behind this. This was his job; he shouldn't worry about what others said, as long as his master was satisfied.
When Yinreng saw Yulang kneeling upright, with a relaxed expression and a smile in his eyes, kowtowing and paying his respects, he knew that he had not made a mistake in choosing this person.
"Get up. Do you know why I called you here?"
"This servant was in a hurry to leave today and didn't have time to bring the wedding wine that His Highness owes."
After Yu Lang got up, he stood properly and glanced at Wang Yan and Ling Pu in the room. He could roughly guess why he had been summoned to the palace today.
The palace is a place full of secrets, yet no secret can be hidden anywhere. The guards and the military camp always have their own channels to know about the big and small things happening in the palace.
Just like the guards who were dismissed from Yuqing Palace a few days ago and the guards who were replaced, there are still three positions missing. Many people are eyeing this position, and it is likely that it will belong to them.
“Since you already owe it, there’s no rush to pay it back.” Some people are just naturally pleasing to the ear, and at least Yu Lang’s words made Yinreng quite happy at this moment.
“Your father is Erhe. I met your father back in the Qianqing Palace. In terms of seniority, you are my uncle.”
"Your Highness, when I was a child, I heard my father say that he served His Majesty and the Crown Prince in the Qianqing Palace."
Yu Lang dared not acknowledge his uncle as a relative, and to act like an elder in front of the Crown Prince was a fool. He was not Suo Zhongtang. He must be tired of living.
"If I wanted to bring you from the Imperial Guard to serve at Yuqing Palace, would you be willing?"
"Are you willing or not?" Yu Lang couldn't help but grin. It wasn't his place to decide whether he was willing or not.
The Crown Prince is the heir apparent and the foundation of the nation, while he himself is merely a minor officer in the Plain Yellow Banner. The difference in their status is worlds apart. Furthermore, Yu Lang couldn't understand why he should refuse, and immediately knelt down again to kowtow and express his gratitude.
Yu Lang didn't even go home after leaving Yuqing Palace. He went to the Imperial Guard Office, took the waist token given to him by the Crown Prince, and found the on-duty reclusive minister, Kaiyinbu, to exchange his waist token from the Guard Camp for the Imperial Guard Office's token. That afternoon, he became a second-class guard in Yuqing Palace.
In the morning, Yu Lang was selected as a second-class guard in Yuqing Palace. In the afternoon, Suo Zhongtang's residence sent a lot of things to Hesheli's family, including leather, silk, tea, two Mongolian waist knives and a pair of jade thumb rings.
His Majesty's wariness of maternal relatives is not a recent development. Even though Songgotu is now a Grand Secretary of the Hall of Preserving Harmony and the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard, apart from his own son Gerfen and Algishan, he doesn't have many truly trusted confidants placed around the Crown Prince.
After all, the eyes of the whole world are on the Eastern Palace. Even if there is an extra dog in the Eastern Palace, people will ask around for a long time to see if there is anything going on, let alone sending their own people to the Crown Prince one by one.
This time, His Majesty allowed him to choose three guards. Geng'e was the Emperor's man, Eshan had no real power base and was brought in by the Crown Prince as a gesture of goodwill. Only Yulang could be considered half a member of the Hesheli clan.
Erhe and Soetu were of the same generation, sharing the same great-grandfather and thus considered cousins. When Erhe passed away, Soetu sent family members to attend the funeral, but afterwards, the two families had little contact except for exchanging gifts during festivals.
The situation is different now. It is precisely because of Yu Lang, a nephew who is already beyond the fifth degree of kinship, that the Crown Prince chose him to go to Yuqing Palace, so that His Majesty would not feel that the Hesheli family was behind this.
Besides, there really isn't any. Suo'etu has already found out how Yulang caught the Crown Prince's eye. If Suo'etu knows something, His Majesty couldn't possibly not know it.
But family is family, and those with the same surname are always better off than those with different surnames. It doesn't matter if we've grown distant before; there's nothing wrong with getting closer from now on.
Such a huge "surprise" left Shen Wanqing feeling dizzy. When the nanny from Tongjia's courtyard invited her to the main courtyard, her steps were unsteady. Everyone thought the eldest mistress was overjoyed, but only Shen Wanqing knew that at this moment she truly wanted to cry but had no tears.
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