Eunuch Chen? Chen Qi?
Shen Qingfeng was taken aback.
No wonder Xia Yonglin was able to arrange him into the Wenshu Pavilion so quickly. It turned out that he had obtained the quota from this eunuch party! However, the Queen of Qi and the eunuch party were originally like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. It was not surprising that these two factions cooperated.
Seeing Shen Qingfeng standing still, Xia Yonglin comforted him, "Qingfeng, you should have met the Chief Eunuch Chen."
Shen Qingfeng nodded, looking somewhat flattered. "Yes, I have."
"Your Highness the Second Prince, and Young Master Shen, please follow me." Xiaolin bowed to them and then led the two towards the inner palace.
This was the Jinghua Palace, where the eunuchs in the Bian Palace lived. But rather than saying it was for the eunuchs, it was more like the sleeping quarters of Chen Qi. Since it had to accommodate hundreds of eunuchs in the palace, the Jinghua Palace was extremely large. Its area was even comparable to that of the Shanhe Hall. But because of Chen Qi's great power, he occupied several large courtyards in the Jinghua Palace by himself. The other eunuchs had to squeeze twenty people into one courtyard, and their living conditions were not good.
Shen Qingfeng followed behind the two, squinting his eyes as he watched the eunuchs competing to fetch water by the well beside him.
The three passed through the corridor and arrived at a mansion. The maid named Xiaolin stepped forward to push open the door. After leading the two in, she left alone.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, the scenery around them changed.
The courtyard was not as crowded and narrow as other places. As soon as one entered, one could see a pool about three feet in diameter. There was a rockery in the pool, and koi swam around it leisurely. There were also several potted plants and stone tables neatly arranged on the side. A small round - stone path was paved under their feet, stretching all the way to the door of the sleeping quarters, showing an air of nobility and elegance.
Shen Qingfeng still remembered that in his previous life, after he led people to kill King Xia Jie and Chen Qi, he found four hundred taels of gold and eight hundred taels of silver in the courtyard where Chen Qi lived.
Such a huge sum of money, almost equivalent to the annual tax revenue of Li Xia, was actually hidden in this eunuch's bedroom. It showed how corrupt the political arena of King Xia Jie was at that time.
So that's why this eunuch was so eager to advise King Xia Jie to get rid of Shen Shiqiu. After all, in their eyes, being honest and upright were all nonsense. When people who had long lived in the mire looked up and saw someone who was not tainted by stains, most of them didn't feel envy or self - reproach. Instead, they wanted to pull that person into the mire too.
After all, there was nothing more pleasurable than watching those who were better than oneself become as dirty as they were. In this way, they could kill the reasonable gap in a distorted way.
They knew they were dirty and disgusting, but because of their desires, they couldn't let go. So they shamefully hoped that others would be as despicable as them. The so - called "everyone is the same" was just a means for them to deceive themselves.
This was not evil or morbid. In a way, it was the real human nature.
But Shen Shiqiu was unwilling to go along with the corrupt. So Chen Qi became the last straw that crushed the Shen family in the previous life.
In this life, he would never let the tragedy happen again.
Shen Qingfeng concealed the emotions in his eyes, slowly raised his head, and looked at Chen Qi, who was sitting in the main hall. Chen Qi was overweight, and his eyebrows showed an expression that made people feel uncomfortable all over.
When Chen Qi saw the people coming, the corners of his mouth twitched, and the wrinkles on his face were all bunched up. "Your Highness the Second Prince and Young Master Shen are here. Forgive this old servant for not greeting you from afar."
Xia Yonglin didn't seem to mind that Chen Qi didn't bow to him. Instead, he gave him an excuse. "Eunuch Chen, you're being too polite. Skip the etiquette."
"Thank you, Your Highness the Second Prince. Please sit down, both of you." Chen Qi said. His voice was shrill, which made Shen Qingfeng feel uncomfortable.
Shen Qingfeng thanked him and sat down with Xia Yonglin.
Since there were only three people in the room, after some polite greetings, Xia Yonglin got straight to the point. "Qingfeng, this king brought you here this time to let you meet Eunuch Chen. After all, that position in the Wenshu Pavilion is thanks to Eunuch Chen."
Shen Qingfeng had also guessed this. He quickly stood up and thanked him. "Thank you, Eunuch Chen. I really feel unworthy."
Chen Qi said, "It's just arranging a job for you. It's nothing. But this old servant heard that you wanted to find a job because you had a recent dispute with His Highness the Crown Prince?"
Shen Qingfeng lowered his eyes. "… Yes."
"Sigh... Young Master Shen should talk to His Highness the Crown Prince. Maybe there's some misunderstanding." Chen Qi said, "When His Highness the Second Prince asked this old servant yesterday, this old servant didn't believe it. After all, His Highness the Crown Prince wouldn't be so heartless. Am I right?"
Shen Qingfeng said, "… Yes." Damn it. This old fox had only said such a sentence, but he was indirectly scolding Xia Chuli for being heartless and praising Xia Yonglin for being considerate. He really deserved to be an old guy who had been in the palace for decades. Shen Qingfeng was slightly surprised, but he didn't dare to think too much and could only respond calmly.
"His Highness the Second Prince should have told you that although the job in the Wenshu Pavilion is not difficult, it requires carefulness. This old servant has also heard the rumors about Young Master Shen in Lige City. I'm sure Young Master Shen will be able to handle it with ease." Chen Qi said, "But Young Master Shen is just starting out in the court. There's still a lot to learn. His Highness the Second Prince is helping you this time because he values your talent. Don't let His Highness the Second Prince down."
Shen Qingfeng clasped his fists. "Qingfeng understands. Thank you, Your Highness the Second Prince and Eunuch Chen."
Everyone had their own ulterior motives. Xia Yonglin and Chen Qi obviously wanted to win over Shen Qingfeng. But since Shen Qingfeng's attitude was still unclear, Chen Qi didn't say it directly. He just hinted. Shen Qingfeng naturally understood what he meant. But it would be too absurd to just tell the other party that he was willing to join. So he pretended to be stupid and returned the favor.
Chen Qi didn't go further. After that, he never brought the topic back to this aspect. After they chatted a few more words, Xia Yonglin asked someone to take Shen Qingfeng to the Wenshu Pavilion to get the waist token and said that he would wait for Shen Qingfeng in the imperial garden.
The current steward of the Wenshu Pavilion was the First - Rank Assistant Minister Shi Hanqiu. Shi Hanqiu didn't know that His Highness the Second Prince had arranged Shen Qingfeng to come in. After all, this quota was approved directly by the king. He got the transfer order in the imperial study. When he saw the name on the transfer order, he was stunned for a long time before he reacted. After returning to the Wenshu Pavilion, he didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly asked someone to send a message to his teacher Shen Shiqiu and also asked someone to speed up the production of the waist token.
Just as the waist token was given to Shi Hanqiu, Shen Qingfeng came to get it.
Shi Hanqiu gave him the waist token. He wanted to ask something but finally held back. After all, the will of the emperor was unpredictable. Knowing too much might not be a good thing.
Shen Qingfeng took the waist token. After simply registering, he rushed to the imperial garden in a hurry.
Xia Yonglin was sitting in the pavilion, drinking warm wine. When he saw Shen Qingfeng coming, he pulled him to sit down and asked how things had gone and whether Shi Hanqiu had any objections. Shen Qingfeng answered them one by one.
"Shi Hanqiu entered the court after passing the highest imperial examination and becoming the top scholar." Xia Yonglin said, "After entering the court, he became a disciple of your father. Now he's a member of the cabinet. But this king has never liked top scholars. They're all bookworms."
Shen Qingfeng nodded but didn't say a word.
Xia Yonglin seemed to be in high spirits. He turned to look at Shen Qingfeng and asked, "Qingfeng also participated in the imperial examination. What rank did you get?"
Shen Qingfeng said, "Reporting to Your Highness, I was the third - place winner in the highest imperial examination."
Xia Yonglin laughed. "The third - place winner is great. No wonder this king can talk to you so well!"
"Your Highness is overpraising me." Shen Qingfeng deliberately pretended not to understand the deeper meaning of Xia Yonglin's words and picked up the warm wine to drink.
Just then, some chatting sounds suddenly came from the side. The two of them looked up and saw a man and a woman slowly walking out from the corner of the corridor in the imperial garden not far away. They were walking and laughing, seemingly having a very pleasant conversation.
Shen Qingfeng immediately widened his eyes, and his hand suddenly trembled, spilling some warm wine.
The two people coming were none other than Xia Chuli and... Qi Mengmeng!