However, precisely because Pei Han was close to the emperor, he soon noticed something amiss in the palace after taking up his post.
The current emperor ascended the throne at the tender age of twelve. At the beginning of his reign, he knew absolutely nothing, and the empress dowager strictly adhered to the rule that the inner palace should not interfere in politics, never inquiring about matters of the court.
The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were all middle-aged or elderly, and their words were mostly educational and admonitory; they clearly did not have much appeal to the young emperor.
Therefore, the emperor was actually closest to a few eunuchs who had grown up and played with him since childhood. Over time, the imperial eunuchs almost became the emperor's spokespeople.
Among the eunuchs serving the emperor, Jia Ren was the most despicable.
Jia Ren, whose original name was Jia Dazhu, had several sons named Erzhu, Sanzhu, Sizhu, and Wuzhu. With so many sons, the family couldn't possibly support them all. When he was eight years old, someone came to their area to recruit eunuchs. His parents made a tough decision and sent their eldest son, Jia Ren, to the job.
Jia Dazhu was indeed lucky. After surviving the castration punishment, because of his decent appearance and suitable age, he was assigned to serve the four-year-old prince, who is now the emperor.
When the young prince began to read, Jia Dazhu would stand by and serve him, carrying his little book box.
Over the years, through constant exposure, Jia Dazhu also learned a few characters and read a few primers. He began to feel that his name was too common, so he changed his name to Jia Ren.
The character “仁” is indeed a good character, with a good meaning and profound connotation, but when paired with his surname, it is easy to create ambiguity, which later became a source of ridicule for him.
Of course, if it weren't for his later outrageous and heinous acts, the name itself would be perfectly fine and wouldn't be a point of discussion.
When the young prince ascended the throne and became emperor, Jia Ren initially felt that his status had risen considerably and no eunuch dared to give him a hard time anymore. He gradually abandoned his past cautiousness and became arrogant.
What actually triggered Jia Ren's change of heart was a silver note.
The incident began when a fifth-rank official in the capital wanted a promotion. This man had quite a few connections in the capital and was very shrewd. He keenly observed the situation in the palace and accurately found Jia Ren, who was the most influential person in front of the emperor.
Through a few cronies, he made contact with a eunuch in the palace and had a junior eunuch slip Jia Ren a silver note with a face value of 20,000 taels.
When Jia Ren first saw this banknote, he was shocked.
For him, it was a simple matter: just pass a message to the Emperor. Given the Emperor's level of trust in him and his silver tongue, the matter was guaranteed to succeed, and the 22,000 taels would be his in no time. Moreover, this fool said there would be a reward if it went well.
Jia Ren finally discovered the perks of being a Grand Eunuch in the Imperial Court.
Once this happens, it happens again. After that, Jia Ren became bolder and bolder, and his standards rose higher and higher. In less than half a year, he no longer cared about silver notes worth less than 50,000 taels.
His scope of business has also expanded, from promotions to overturning cases, arresting people, framing others, and so on.
Soon, a group of his lackeys appeared in the court. These people, having received his help, reciprocated by constantly flattering him and boasting to him every day.
You can't brag too rigidly; if you brag the same thing every day, your ears will get tired of listening.
This cowhide was forced to be refurbished every day, striving to be better each day.
The way Jia Ren was addressed also went through several changes. The more honest ones called him "Eunuch Jia", "Grand Eunuch Jia", or "Grand Steward Jia", while the more intimate ones called him "Brother Jia" or "Brother Jia".
The latest and most popular version is called "Jia Qiansui".
"Your Excellency Jia, if you ask me, you are truly the hardest-working person in the world. If it weren't for you serving His Majesty day after day and making him comfortable, how could we people have such a good life now!"
"Henchman Number 1 said with a fawning smile."
"Your Majesty, without you, the court would come to a standstill. Besides you, who else can see His Majesty all the time? The people in the cabinet are all benefiting from your influence."
This is henchman number 2. While massaging Jia Ren's shoulders, he was blowing saliva everywhere, which landed on the back of Jia Ren's head, narrowly missing his face.
The second lackey looked away guiltily and continued punching on the other side.
"Your Excellency Jia, since ancient times, many meritorious officials who have made contributions to the country have had shrines built in their honor. You have made great contributions, how can you fall behind others?"
Lackey Number 3 is clearly a lapdog with ambition. His flattery skills have reached their peak, and he has opened up a whole new track in the world of sycophancy.
As soon as Number 3 said this, the other lackeys naturally couldn't be left behind and all expressed their intention to build a shrine for Lord Jia in their hometown and worship him for a long time to come.
The lackeys were very efficient, and before long, news spread that construction was underway in various places to build shrines for the powerful eunuch.
Scholars throughout the court and the country were stunned, and then immediately flew into a rage.
"A eunuch who only knows how to accept bribes and cannot distinguish right from wrong actually dares to dream of building a shrine in his honor. It is utterly ridiculous!"
The censors had long disapproved of Jia Ren's actions, but the eunuch faction was powerful, and Jia Ren, relying on the emperor's trust, had managed to deceive the emperor with his own power, so they could only swallow their anger.
Not only did their memorials never reach the emperor, but they would also be retaliated against by Jia Ren afterward. At best, they would be flogged dozens of times and their fate would be in the hands of fate; at worst, they would be dismissed from their posts, imprisoned, severely tortured, accused of other crimes, and their entire families would be implicated.
This time, the censors finally couldn't hold back any longer. They disregarded their own lives and wrote memorials, denouncing the shameless behavior of Jia Ren and his eunuch faction, and bringing up all his previous crimes.
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