Chapter 325

Hu Xiaotian nodded.

"What did he have you do?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Can Commander Ji keep me safe?"

Ji Feihua's expression showed a hint of surprise; Hu Xiaotian was still the first little eunuch daring to put forward a condition in his presence: "As long as you are loyal to me, Zajia will naturally keep you safe."

Hu Xiaotian said, "What I want is not just this promise."

Overreaching! Ji Feihua looked at Hu Xiaotian before him, feeling that this kid was getting more and more interesting: "What do you want?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I want wealth and honor, I want the Hu family to regain its former glory."

Ji Feihua chuckled: "Kid, don't you think you're being greedy? What ability do you have that would make Zajia help you like this?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I can help Eunuch Ji solve many troubles."

Ji Feihua said disdainfully, "Zajia doesn't lack loyal and devoted subordinates."

"Even if they are loyal, they are merely subordinates; most of them only obey orders, having forgotten to use their own minds to consider problems. Commander, please forgive my frankness: what you lack is not subordinates, but an aide who can devise plans for you."

Ji Feihua's eyes suddenly brightened, yet he said, "Zajia doesn't feel that you are any different from them."

Hu Xiaotian said, "It was Quan De'an who sent me into the palace!" This was no secret to Ji Feihua; he had long ago investigated Hu Xiaotian's background thoroughly.

Ji Feihua said calmly, "Did you tell him about Zajia's business with you?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "I told him!" Even Quan De'an would not have expected Hu Xiaotian to lay everything bare before Ji Feihua. Hu Xiaotian was not selling out Quan De'an to gain Ji Feihua's trust. Liu Yuzhang's death strengthened his resolve: in the palace, no one can be relied upon; to survive, he must rely on his own wits to carve out a path for himself, seeking to survive in the crack between Quan De'an and Ji Feihua's struggle.

Ji Feihua said, "What did he say?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "He had me promise the Commander to tell the Commander the secret of the wine cellar tunnel, in order to gain the Commander's trust."

Ji Feihua let out a grim laugh. Returning to face Hu Xiaotian, his smile vanished instantly, his eyes like blades, he pressed forward aggressively: "Aren't you afraid Zajia will kill you?"

An invisible, powerful pressure came upon him, like Mount Tai pressing down, enveloping Hu Xiaotian's whole body; he felt his body being gradually lowered under that immense pressure, and as he desperately resisted, his bones creaked all over. Uttering each word became extremely difficult: "Not afraid… because he forcibly poured his internal true qi into my body… I… can at most live… three years…"

As soon as his words fell, his body suddenly felt relaxed. The powerful pressure completely withdrew; this alternating pressure left Hu Xiaotian unsteady, he staggered back two steps before steadying himself. Ji Feihua, like a ghost, followed closely, reaching out to grasp Hu Xiaotian's wrist, his icy, slick fingers resting on his pulse point.

Hu Xiaotian secretly shuddered. With Ji Feihua's astonishing cultivation, could he see through the fact that I am a false eunuch? I had indeed been careless. In the midst of his anxiety, Ji Feihua had already released his wrist and sighed softly: "That old scoundrel is truly ruthless."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I once saved him and the little princess on my way to Xichuan. This time, when the Hu family suffered disaster, I had no choice but to seek his help. Although he agreed to help me preserve my family's lives, he also imposed the harsh condition of sending me into the palace as a eunuch to atone for my father's sins." In front of Ji Feihua, one must speak more truthfully; Hu Xiaotian's words are eighty or ninety percent true. Of course, he also mixes in some falsehoods, which makes his statements quite credible.

Ji Feihua knew some things, didn't know others; hearing Hu Xiaotian say this, he couldn't help but laugh: "Xiaotian, you are clearly being deceived by that old scoundrel. Even if you didn't enter the palace, the Emperor would not kill your parents; this was already decided before the Emperor ascended the throne."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I only recently understood this, but the grave mistake has already been made; now it's too late to regret."

Ji Feihua lightly patted his shoulder and said, "To know one's mistake and turn back is never too late. If you are loyal to me, Zajia will surely grant you endless wealth and honor."

Hu Xiaotian respectfully clasped his fists and said, "Xiaotian is willing to serve Eunuch Ji, to go through fire and water, and shrink from nothing!"

Ji Feihua said, "Go back first; there's no need to make a fuss about tonight's events. If Quan De'an asks you anything, just say what you saw."

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Liu Yuzhang's corpse on the ground, and a surge of grief filled his chest. Liu Yuzhang had shown him such care and kindness; such a great favor must be repaid. When the opportunity arises, he will surely kill Ji Feihua and offer his head as a sacrifice to Liu Yuzhang's spirit.

Ji Feihua said, "I will handle Eunuch Liu's affairs myself. In any case, since Zajia promised you that he would be properly buried, we will certainly do so."

Hu Xiaotian bowed deeply to Ji Feihua, approached Liu Yuzhang, knelt before his corpse and kowtowed three times, then rose and left without looking back.

After Hu Xiaotian left, Li Yan then came to Ji Feihua's side and whispered, "Commander, is this person trustworthy?"

Ji Feihua smiled: "Liu Yuzhang merely used a few trivial gains to win such deep affection from him; could the benefits Zajia gives him possibly be less than those of this old fogey?"

Li Yan pressed his lips, hesitated a moment, then mustered courage and said, "From your humble servant's perspective, Hu Xiaotian is sinister and deceitful, two-faced and three-edged, and thus untrustworthy."

Ji Feihua coldly replied, "Are you doubting Zajia's judgment or intellect?"

Li Yan was frightened and involuntarily shivered; before Ji Feihua he bowed ninety degrees: "Your humble servant was wrong… Commander, your wisdom and martial prowess are beyond what your humble servant could guess."

Ji Feihua snorted coldly: "Good to know. In this world, everyone has his value and his strengths."

By then, Li Yan's back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Ji Feihua took two steps: "As for the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, Zajia intends to recommend Hu Xiaotian to take charge."

Li Yan felt deeply puzzled, full of bewilderment: "Commander, he is merely a little eunuch who has only been in the palace a few months; putting him in charge of the Bureau of Imperial Gardens, how could he convince everyone?"

Ji Feihua chuckled: "Even sitting in this position, Zajia has those who are dissatisfied; to make others submit, one must have the means to make them submit."

Li Yan said: "How should we dispose of Liu Yuzhang's corpse?"

Ji Feihua said: "Just say he died suddenly of illness, and bury him!"

Li Yan felt somewhat uneasy and said: "What if someone takes the opportunity to cause trouble?"

Ji Feihua laughed and said: "What evidence do you have that the Zajia harmed him? Even if everyone understands it in their hearts, what can you do to me? The Zajia will see who dares to say I'm wrong this time!"

People die like lamps going out; Hu Xiaotian sat in the pitch‑black room, immersed in pain and anger. Faced with Liu Yuzhang's death, he could only watch helplessly, unable to save him. Several months of pleasant time almost made him forget that he was in the palace, the most dangerous place in the world. Liu Yuzhang's death made him realize anew the cruelty and bloodshed here. He suddenly recalled what Quan De'an had once said: 'Enduring suffering without end means never dying; longevity is the great calamity of the endless hell.' The endless hell is the most painful of the eight great hells, and also the lowest layer of the eighteen hells. Whoever is cast into the endless hell has no hope of liberation, must endure five kinds of endless torment: first, time without end—there is no moment when one is not suffering; second, space without end—every part from head to foot suffers; third, instruments of punishment without end—all torture devices are employed; fourth, equality without end—punishment shows no regard for gender; fifth, life and death without end—birth and death repeat endlessly, dying countless times, and punishment continues without cease.

He felt as if he were falling into the endless hell; Hu Xiaotian's eyes suddenly met Murong Feiyan's expectant gaze, and soon Long Xi Yue's dimmed, lost pretty face flashed in his mind. He could not let himself sink like this; even if he were already in the endless hell, he would rely on his own wisdom to carve a bloody path, wander through the endless hell, seek a way to survive between Ji Feihua and Quan De'an, gain the greatest benefit, and Hu Xiaotian's goal became clearer than ever.

Liu Yuzhang's death did not cause much of a stir in the court; the whole palace was like a pool of dead water, and the news of his death was merely a ripple on that dead water, soon returning to calm. His death was not a secret; almost everyone knew that Liu Yuzhang had suddenly fallen ill and died while going to the Internal Supervision Bureau, no one investigated the cause of death, and naturally no one pursued responsibility.

Ji Feihua kept her promise, finding a spot with excellent feng shui in the Eunuchs' Graveyard to bury Liu Yuzhang. On the seventh day after Liu Yuzhang's death, Hu Xiaotian took the opportunity of going out to shop and came to the Eunuchs' Graveyard; accompanying him were Shi Xuedong and Xiao Zhuozi.

The Eunuchs' Graveyard is where the eunuchs of successive generations of Dakang are buried; cypress trees surround it, and from the outside one cannot see any tombs. Entering through the gap in the south side where the cypress trees form a square, one sees thousands of eunuch tombs standing silently there; many tombs are accompanied by stone figures, stone horses, stone tables, and stone chairs. Some tombs of higher‑rank eunuchs also have gate towers, ornamental pillars, civil and military stone statues, the Gate of the Hanging Star, stele pavilions, offering halls, stone offerings, the Longevity Boundary Gate, and underground palaces.

Liu Yuzhang's new grave lay in the southwest of the cemetery; the mound was not large, being a new grave, and unlike the older tombs it had not become overgrown with weeds from long neglect. Hu Xiaotian and the others placed the offerings they had brought before the grave and lit paper money. Liu Yuzhang was gentle and kind; he had treated the little eunuchs of the Bureau of Gardens very well, so everyone remembered his goodness. Xiao Zhuozi kowtowed and burst into tears, and Shi Xuedong's eyes also reddened.

Hu Xiaotian did not weep—not because he felt nothing for the old man, but because he understood that tears would avail nothing; he silently thought to himself: 'Lord Liu, rest assured, one day I will personally slay Ji Feihua and bring his head to offer as sacrifice to you.' (To be continued~^~)