Chapter 652: Eunuchs in the Imperial Palace

In a pavilion of the Imperial City,

Gu Zhan sat alone, quietly lifting his head to gaze at the firmament. Only after a long while did he slowly lower his gaze, glancing at the system interface:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Immortal King Realm (0/100000)

Title: Martial Arts Pioneer

Origin Value: 16552

…

“It’s time to pick up the pace!”

Gu Zhan muttered softly.

When he had just broken through to the Immortal King Realm, he had already attracted the deliberate attention of the Celestial Dao. That gaze lingered over the Human World for quite some time. Fortunately, Gu Zhan’s breakthroughs had always come naturally, and he always reached the peak of the realm directly, thus he could control the surge of cultivation well and managed to suppress the Immortal King Realm’s fluctuations just in time to barely avoid the Celestial Dao’s investigation.

However, he still felt a certain sense of urgency,

By soul-searching several of the Human World’s top Great Powers, he had already learned many truths about this world. Though it was hard to tell reality from illusion, some facts could be confirmed—it was clear that the Celestial Dao coveted it.

Even more importantly, it could now be confirmed there was a Confucian Saint still hidden in the Human World, whose depth and purpose were both unclear. With one Confucian Saint’s return, who could guarantee that no other ancient figures remained hidden as well? These people’s cultivations would certainly be formidable, and whether they would bring unpredictable consequences was impossible to tell.

“There are still quite a few Nascent Soul Cultivators remaining in the Human World. In that case… let cultivation be cut off entirely!”

Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly, stepped forward, and arrived outside a palace in the harem.

“Greetings, Your Majesty!”

A few palace maids standing guard hurriedly knelt in welcome. The lead maid said, “Your servant did not know His Majesty was coming, and failed to prepare in advance. I beg Your Majesty’s pardon, this servant will go report to Lady Xianfei now!”

Gu Zhan nodded slightly. That palace maid immediately rose and entered the palace.

Soon after,

a woman with exquisite bearing and stunning beauty, dressed in imperial attire, escorted several palace maids out to greet him. Joy was evident on her face, and from afar, she quickened her steps, calling out, “Your Majesty, when did you return? Why didn’t you tell me in advance so I could welcome you properly?”

This woman was none other than Kou Baimen, now Worthy Consort, one of the Four Noble Consorts of the Wu Dynasty. She had originally been the Alliance Leader of the Yunzhou Martial Arts Alliance. After Gu Zhan ascended the throne, she was conferred as a consort into the harem, and held the greatest influence among his consorts.

Gu Zhan had not crowned an empress, only a selection of consorts and concubines,

Among whom only the Four Noble Consorts were the most powerful.

Consort Hui was the foremost female expert in the Wu Dynasty, Qin Hongyi. Qin Hongyi had joined Gu Zhan’s side relatively late, not enjoying the deep roots of Kou Baimen’s power. To become one of the Four Noble Consorts, she relied entirely on her martial arts talent and her standing in the Cultivation Realm.

Pure Consort, Gai Qingcheng, relied on the Gu Family, and was from the earliest major power to submit to Gu Zhan. The current patriarch, Gu Chuan, was a sworn brother to Gu Zhan, making her the most widely recognized candidate for empress.

The weakest in power was Consort De, Bai Jiu’Er.

Bai Jiu’Er became a Noble Consort solely by Gu Zhan’s decree.

Back when he was in Yunxi, after joining Beidou Bang, still a rising star, he and Bai Jiu’Er had shared some stories. Yet at that time, his heart was set on martial arts, and when Bai Jiu’Er left, he did not keep her. Years passed without them ever meeting again.

It was not until just before Gu Zhan’s ascension, when he returned to Linjiang City to pay respects to Yang Yuzhi, that he reunited with Bai Jiu’Er, stirring myriad emotions within him.

Bai Jiu’Er originally thought, “Meet again in the martial world, a smile and be done with it, each to their own path.” But Gu Zhan merely curled his lip, uninterested in romance, and simply brought Bai Jiu’Er straight into the palace as a consort. Thus, Bai Jiu’Er had the shallowest roots of the Four Noble Consorts.

Nevertheless, back then, Yunxi’s Righteous Dao—represented by the Mo Family with Mo Beiyan at its head, as well as Beidou Bang and the Gu Family from which Gu Zhan hailed—all chose to support Bai Jiu’Er.

So, overall,

The Four Noble Consorts were evenly matched in power.

As for the other concubines, most entered the harem due to their looks; only a handful relied on their families’ influence to secure a place.

Kou Baimen affectionately clung to Gu Zhan’s arm, intimately inviting him inside with gentle, soft words.

As they reached the inner courtyard,

Gu Zhan suddenly noticed an old eunuch with white hair at the door, and for a moment, his heart was inexplicably stirred with a trace of unease.

Kou Baimen explained from the side, “This is Eunuch Ji, in charge of the Imperial City’s Library Pavilion. I’ve been reading some martial arts miscellany recently, so I had him deliver books daily.”

Gu Zhan frowned, glanced at Eunuch Ji, and asked, “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

Eunuch Ji bowed, trembling with fear, “Your Majesty, when you used to visit the Library Pavilion, this servant had the fortune to catch a distant glimpse of your imperial visage!”

“No,” Gu Zhan shook his head, “I keep feeling a sense of familiarity about you.”

“This… I do not know either,” Eunuch Ji replied.

Kou Baimen added, “Your Majesty, perhaps you really have seen Eunuch Ji before. Back in the Qingli Period, when you first arrived in Yunxi, were you not serving as Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand Households in Pingyang Prefecture? At that time, Eunuch Ji was serving as the Prefect of Pingyang…”

Gu Zhan’s brow arched in surprise,

He remembered that back when he was still an Innate Martial Artist, upon heading to Pingyang Prefecture, he heard that there was a deeply unfortunate Prefect there, whose family had been destroyed by local powers.

Later, after he flattened Pingyang Prefecture, that Prefect had left alone, but Gu Zhan himself had never actually met him.

“Your name… is Ji Hanzheng, isn’t it?” Gu Zhan asked.

Eunuch Ji bowed low, “Your servant is overwhelmed that such a lowly name could be remembered by Your Majesty.”

Gu Zhan scrutinized Ji Hanzheng, intending to ask how he ended up like this, but thinking again, realized such a question would only reopen old wounds and salt them further, so he chose not to inquire. He only gently patted Ji Hanzheng on the shoulder before proceeding into the palace hall.

Kou Baimen followed into the palace, whispering, “Is Your Majesty curious how Ji Hanzheng became a eunuch in the palace?”

Gu Zhan nodded slightly.

Kou Baimen explained, “He did it for revenge. In the previous dynasty, Ji Hanzheng’s prospects were bright, but because he offended Prince Jing’an of Qingzhou, his family was ruined and lost everything.

Later, after leaving Yunxi, he went to great lengths to enter the palace, slowly gained the trust of the late Emperor Xia, and, in the chaotic final years of the Qingli Period, found an opportunity to use royal power to completely eradicate Prince Jing’an’s line. Afterward, he remained in the palace ever since.

Later, when Emperor Xia abdicated and Your Majesty ascended, many of the old palace staff were retained, and Ji Hanzheng chose to stay as well, diligently managing the Library Pavilion to this day.”

Gu Zhan nodded thoughtfully, “So that’s how it is…” He paused and then asked, “Did Ji Hanzheng ever practice cultivation?”

“No,” Kou Baimen replied, “He never studied martial arts or cultivation. This… Your Majesty, shouldn’t you be able to tell?”

Gu Zhan frowned faintly, “I can’t see any traces of cultivation, but I still feel there’s something about him!”