I don’t know what day it is today. Not long after Zhu Ping’an received the imperial edict, when it was almost time to leave the office, Wu Yilu received another imperial edict.
"The imperial edict has arrived... ... Sizhi of Wuyi Palace and Zuo Shuzi of Youchunfang of Zhanshifu received the edict..."
A shrill voice, like the highest note of an erhu, resounded in Wuyi. Then a eunuch in his fifties appeared in the sight of everyone in Wuyi, holding an imperial edict.
Most of the people in Wuyi had seen this old eunuch. His surname was Wei and his given name was Muyun, a neutral name. Everyone called him Eunuch Wei. He was a senior eunuch, much more experienced than the eunuch who just announced the decree to Zhu Ping'an. Eunuch Wei had been in the palace for more than 30 years, and his official title in the inner court was also higher than that eunuch by a little bit.
Of course, Zhu Ping'an had been in Wuyi for a short time and had not yet met this old eunuch.
When Zhu Ping'an heard others call him Eunuch Wei, his first reaction was that this person couldn't be Wei Zhongxian.
However, he immediately denied it. Wei Zhongxian was a traitor during the time of Emperor Xizong, who would not be born for more than half a century. Not to mention him, even his father Emperor Guangzong of the Ming Dynasty would not be born for more than 30 years.
As for the claim that Wei Zhongxian was the descendant of Eunuch Wei, Zhu Ping'an himself laughed. What kind of descendants could a eunuch have
Continuing the family line
In addition to adopting a godson, the eunuch also wanted to continue the family line? !
etc.
Godson
No, the time is wrong too. Wei Zhongxian lived during the reign of Emperor Xizong, which is two generations away from now. He could be more like a grandson.
Zhu Pingan laughed at himself in his heart and rejected this idea. It was too unrealistic to have a grandson. They just had the same surname. He was thinking too much. There were probably hundreds of thousands of people with the surname Wei. I believe there was more than one eunuch with the surname Wei in the palace.
Eunuch Wei is an old and experienced eunuch in the palace. If you look into his official position in the inner court, he is a third-rank eunuch.
The person to whom this imperial edict was proclaimed was only a fifth-rank official.
Where is the identity gap
Therefore, after Eunuch Wei entered Wuyi Palace holding the imperial edict, he did not go to Zhu Ping'an's room to announce the edict like the eunuch who announced the edict to Zhu Ping'an. Eunuch Wei just waved his whisk, called out "Xu Pu, the Sizhi of Wuyi Palace and the Zuo Shuzi of Youchunfang of Zhanshi Palace, please accept the edict", and then waited in the hall.
A third-rank eunuch came to announce the imperial decree to a fifth-rank official. This in itself represented the emperor's attitude of importance, which was honorable enough.
Both in public and in private, he had to maintain his airs. After Eunuch Wei entered Wuyi Palace holding the imperial edict, he began to act in a pretentious manner.
"Meet Eunuch Wei."
Officials in the Wuyi Palace came forward one after another to greet Eunuch Wei. The people who could not be offended the most in the palace were the eunuchs. Even if they looked down on the disabled eunuchs in their hearts, they had to treat them with courtesy and respect on the surface.
Eunuch Wei was also an accomplished old fox, like Maitreya in front of Buddha, smiling and dealing with the officials of Wuyi Palace. Eunuch Wei had a good memory, and he could call out the surnames and official titles of everyone he had met, making the officials of Wuyi Palace feel as if they were in the spring breeze.
"Meet Eunuch Wei."
Zhu Pingan practiced calligraphy for an entire afternoon, and the rice paper on the table was almost used up. Before leaving get off work, Zhu Pingan went to the supply and demand department of the main hall to get another stack of rice paper. When he was getting the rice paper, Eunuch Wei happened to enter the Wuyi Hall. At this moment, everyone was trying to get in touch with Eunuch Wei. Zhu Pingan didn't want to be too unique and show off his noble character, so he followed the crowd and went to Eunuch Wei to show his face.
"Well, you must be Zhu Ping'an, right? I heard the kids down there talking about you, and seeing you today, you are indeed a promising young man."
Zhu Ping'an simply brushed his face, but he didn't expect that Eunuch Wei would actually say something to him with a smile.
"Ping An is not worthy of the four words 'young and promising' that father-in-law calls him. In front of father-in-law, I am just a junior student."
Zhu Ping'an shook his head with a simple and honest look on his face.
"Hehe..." Eunuch Wei glanced at Zhu Ping'an with a smile and said nothing else. But that look made Zhu Ping'an's anus tighten. The old fox's eyes were so bright. After he looked into his eyes, Zhu Ping'an felt as if he had seen through her.
It seems that none of the old eunuchs in the palace are simple. Indeed, to live safely to this age in such a deep palace where people are eaten without leaving any bones, if they don’t have some skills and extraordinary abilities, how could they have survived to this day.
Zhu Ping'an had a simple and honest smile on his face, but he had made up his mind in his heart that he would be extremely careful whenever he came into contact with any old eunuchs in the palace.
Because Eunuch Wei had just called out almost everyone's surnames and official titles, no one was surprised when he called out Zhu Ping'an's name.
However, when many people heard Eunuch Wei say that Zhu Ping'an was young and promising, they laughed in their hearts.
hehe
Zhu Ping'an was certainly young and promising. He became a lecturer in Prince Yu's palace at a young age. How could he not be promising? Haha, but this young and promising only stopped there. Entering Prince Yu's palace was like boarding a broken ship that was destined to sink. After Prince Jing ascended the throne, Prince Yu, who was competing with him for the throne, could still have a good ending. Prince Yu could not have a good ending, let alone Zhu Ping'an and other old ministers of Prince Yu.
It's probably just about a minute.
Everyone heard a burst of hurried footsteps, and the person involved, Xu Pu, the Sizhi of Wuyi Palace and the Zuo Shuzi of Youchunfang of Zhanshi Palace, walked quickly from the inner room.
Xu Pu was a Jinshi in the 18th year of Jiajing, and he was ranked second in the imperial examination that year. He was assigned to the Hanlin Academy as soon as he entered the office. Xu Pu was born into an aristocratic family, with more than ten members of his family serving as officials. He had deep connections in the court, and his uncle had a close relationship with Yan Shifan. In addition, Xu Pu had good interpersonal skills and strong personal abilities, so his official position was steadily promoted step by step, from the Hanlin Academy to the Honglu Temple and then to the Youchunfang. This year, Xu Pu, who was over 40 years old, was already a fifth-rank official.
As early as six years ago, Xu Pu was already the Sizhi of Wuyi Palace, and his relationship with Zhu Pingan was hundreds of times stronger than that of Wuyi Palace. Now, Xu Pu is already the head of the education department of Wuyi Palace, connecting with the Imperial Academy, and is considered a department director.
"I would be honored to trouble Eunuch Wei to come and announce the decree."
After Xu Pu arrived, he bowed and greeted Eunuch Wei. His voice was a little breathless, which was due to the fatigue from walking quickly to receive the imperial edict. However, his face was flushed, and he was obviously excited.
Xu Pu was not completely ignorant of today's imperial edict.
He received the letter this afternoon, but he was not very sure at that time. It was not until Zhu Ping'an received the imperial edict to be transferred to the position of lecturer in Prince Yu's Palace that Xu Pu was sure that what he had been seeking for a long time had been accomplished.