Chapter 5: Storms in the Inner Palace

The next day, for some unknown reason, the Seventh Prince did not come.

In the library.

Su Chen felt a sense of relief.

He did not like trouble.

Nor did he like having people come to the library to disturb his life.

It was just as well that the Seventh Prince didn't show up.

After all, he was a eunuch; if a prince were to arrive, would he have to kneel and pay his respects or not?

"Master Su."

"The bluestone bricks of this library have cracked."

"The weather is so cold that even the stone bricks are freezing and cracking. The craftsmen responsible for maintaining the library are truly cutting corners. If Master Su were to catch a chill, just wait until Godfather has those craftsmen beheaded."

Xu Xiaohan was bustling about, directing two dark-clad eunuchs as they carried several bluestone bricks to replace the ones shattered the previous night by the peak third-rank Black-Clad Envoy.

They could never have imagined that the corpse of a peak third-rank expert had been lying right here just last night.

In an instant.

The first floor of the library was restored to a brand-new state, with no traces of the fight remaining.

Outside the library.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier.

Winter was getting colder by the day.

A few more days passed, and the library returned to its usual tranquility. It was too remote, and with the snow blocking the paths, no one would make a special trip to come here.

Except for Xu Xiaohan.

As the weather turned cold.

Su Chen stopped even the cleaning.

He spent his days wrapped in a quilt on a recliner, clutching a hand warmer, feeling drowsy.

Today.

December 27th.

For the first time in a long while, it wasn't snowing.

The weather had cleared up.

Su Chen lay lazily on his recliner, basking in the sun, waiting for Xiaohan-zi to bring him his meal. This landlord-like life truly made him feel at ease.

Aside from not being able to bully men or oppress women, it was practically the immortal life he had dreamed of in his previous existence.

"Hoo!"

Su Chen exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes.

The Longevity True Qi within his body, which had been growing slowly, had finally reached its limit and stopped increasing.

It wasn't the one hundred strands of Longevity True Qi he had anticipated.

Inside his body.

There were only sixty-eight strands.

"What's going on?"

"At my peak before, I clearly had seventy strands of Longevity True Qi."

"How could it have regressed instead..."

Su Chen was somewhat puzzled.

Just as Su Chen was lost in thought.

Xiaohan-zi returned, carrying a food box.

It was already past mealtime; this was the first time that had happened in a long while. However, Xiaohan-zi’s expression was clearly one of extreme excitement. Before he had even crossed the threshold of the library, he was already shouting.

"Master Su, it’s done."

"Godfather has succeeded."

"He has become the Deputy Superintendent of the Inner Palace."

Xiaohan-zi was incredibly excited.

Even knowing that the Noble Consort was strongly backing Zhang Gui, Su Chen still found it unbelievable that Zhang Gui had truly attained the rank of Deputy Superintendent of the Inner Palace.

Zhang Gui’s cultivation was a definite weakness.

Even if he had excellent talent and was approaching the level of a martial arts prodigy, a "fast-tracked" dual-peak fourth-rank, even with combat power approaching the third rank, was still only at the fourth-rank realm. A Deputy Superintendent of the Inner Palace required at least a third-rank official.

Not to mention, he had to compete for this position against several veteran eunuchs with third-rank cultivation...

"He became Superintendent Luo’s deputy?" Su Chen asked.

Xiaohan-zi shook his head, speaking excitedly.

"The Fifth Prince personally bestowed a secret medicine to help Godfather break through to the third-rank Marrow Cleansing Realm. He isn't competing for the position of deputy under Superintendent Luo—who has a title but no real power—but for the position of Deputy Superintendent in charge of the Martial Affairs Bureau."

Xiaohan-zi was exceptionally excited.

A position in the Martial Affairs Bureau, whether it was a Deputy Superintendent or a manager, was a cut above those of the same rank. This was truly a massive piece of good news.

This made Su Chen even more confused.

The positions of Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent in the Martial Affairs Bureau were all filled; where did a vacancy come from?

In the last three years in the imperial palace.

The only recent vacancy was when an Inner Palace Superintendent was imprisoned and died, and a Deputy Superintendent was promoted to the second rank, automatically filling the gap...

Wait.

Su Chen’s eyes widened. He subconsciously looked toward the medicinal field where the Black-Clad Envoy’s corpse was buried, and touched the rough, corroded black iron token at his waist.

Could it be?

Was this token actually a Deputy Superintendent of the Inner Palace token?!

Holy crap!

A third-rank hard-qigong expert as a Deputy Superintendent eunuch?

Sure enough.

Xiaohan-zi began to recount the story excitedly.

"That Eunuch Xu, the Deputy Superintendent of the Martial Affairs Bureau who belonged to the Second Prince’s faction, went out of the palace on imperial orders twenty days ago. After he returned, he didn't report to the Martial Affairs Bureau where he was supposed to be on duty; he simply vanished into thin air."

"They searched the entire palace and found no trace of him. That position couldn't remain vacant for more than seven days. Over ten days ago, the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince started fighting over it, both openly and covertly."

"And now, Godfather has succeeded."

Twenty days ago—that was the very night Su Chen’s "sleeper agent" was activated by the Black-Clad Envoy.

The timing matched.

Su Chen asked a couple more questions.

Sure enough.

This missing Eunuch Xu was a peak third-rank Marrow Cleansing expert, and his hard-qigong "Golden Body" was famous even among third-rank experts.

While Xiaohan-zi wasn't looking, Su Chen secretly took out the token and rubbed it. Sure enough, he could faintly make out that it was made of Cold Moon Iron, a material specifically used for the waist tokens of third-rank palace practitioners.

Furthermore, he could faintly make out the character "Xu"...

Case closed.

This Black-Clad Envoy was actually part of the eunuch hierarchy, at the Deputy Superintendent level.

Even if it was unintentional.

Su Chen had still been dragged into the struggle, bolstering the power of the Fifth Prince’s faction.

After all.

In the current palace, the death of an Inner Palace Superintendent had left the other Superintendents terrified, and they didn't dare have any contact with any of the princes. A Deputy Superintendent was the highest-ranking eunuch a prince could hope to win over.

However, none of this had anything to do with Su Chen.

He didn't want to participate in it anymore.

He just wanted to live his little life in peace in this library.

Soon.

The food boxes were opened one by one. This time, it wasn't just white wine and roast chicken; it was clearly food made by chefs from outside the palace. At the bottom of the food box, the low-year medicinal herbs Su Chen had asked Xiaohan-zi to get were revealed.

"Master Su, although I don't know what misunderstanding you and Godfather had, Godfather hasn't come to the library these past few days."

"But during this time, Godfather has always had Master Su in his heart."

"Last night, while passing by the library, Godfather stood in front of the door for a long time. He didn't come in because he was afraid of disturbing your rest. The very next day, he had me go out of the palace to get this table of all your favorite dishes for you."

"Godfather also said that today is your birthday, so you should eat something good."

The meal was very sumptuous, with roast chicken, braised goose, and red-braised pork. Some of the cooking methods weren't from this world, but were things Su Chen had loved in his previous life. He had mentioned them once, and he hadn't expected Zhang Gui to remember.

As for the birthday, it was likely the original owner's birthday. Su Chen didn't actually remember when that was, but he hadn't expected it to be today.

Su Chen took a bite; there was no poison.

He began to eat heartily.

Even if there were poison, he wouldn't be afraid. A few days ago, he had accidentally gotten some ground medicinal herb powder on his hands. Just as he was frantically looking for an antidote, he discovered that as the Longevity True Qi circulated through his body, the toxicity had long since dissipated.

He wasn't just a longevity monster; he was a longevity monster immune to all poisons.

This made Su Chen feel much more at ease.

After all.

Before his hard-qigong external skills were fully developed, he would inevitably have to deal with poisons. If he accidentally poisoned himself to death, that would truly be the biggest joke in the world.

(End of chapter)