After the court assembly ended, Gao Quan’s usual spirit had clearly returned.

He was no longer anxious, and the blister at the corner of his mouth seemed to have stopped hurting.

Yet his expression remained as indifferent as ever.

Although Emperor Liang had criticized him for being rigid and lacking flexibility in handling matters, Gao Quan had not become the greatest of eunuchs through loyalty alone. Without a certain degree of cunning, how could he have made those scheming little eunuchs submit to him in fear?

It was he who had passed all the information to Wen Yue, triggering today’s dramatic shift in the court’s proceedings, yet he had never revealed a single hint of it.

Even right before the assembly, he still bore seven parts concentration, mixed with three parts unease and fearful hesitation.

What he feared was not anyone else but Emperor Liang.

And what made him hesitant was that, even if a mere junior eunuch dared to step on his head, he hadn’t the courage to raise his voice in protest.

Now, it was no different. Nothing much had changed.

Yet the Chief Supervisor of the Internal Rectitude Office, who walked alongside Emperor Liang, wore a subtly different expression, seeming somewhat absent-minded.

Emperor Liang had been observing them both, and their expressions were not far from what he had expected.

At first, the emperor suspected it was Gao Quan who had leaked the news of Jing’an Marquis being appointed as the vanguard. He had even suspected the three Grand Councilors.

But observing their reactions now, none of them bore the look of someone who had known beforehand.

“Great Attendent.”

“It’s nearing autumn. Put on an extra layer.”

Gao Quan paused mid-step, and tears welled up and streamed down his cheeks in an instant.

He dared not sob aloud. Quickly wiping them away, he answered, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s concern. This servant shall remember well.”

Unlike Gao Quan, Zheng Zhong’s face was twisted with jealousy. His eyes bore into Gao Quan with venomous intensity.

He already held two of the Internal Rectitude Office’s major powers.

Only the Chief Seal remained tightly in Gao Quan’s grasp, yet Gao still found a way to stage a comeback.

Who could have foreseen this?

All because the heir of the Jing’an Marquis had recovered and even stepped into the Organ Refining Realm.

The alliance of cripples between Jing’an Marquis and the maimed Annan Marquis had unexpectedly shaken Zheng Zhong’s grand plan.

He had intended to first eliminate Gao Quan, and then deal with the noble officials who had once aligned with him.

Who could have predicted that a fool unafraid of death would leap out today?

Very well, then!

If Jing’an Marquis wished to gamble his life, then let him have his wish!

The distortion on Zheng Zhong’s face vanished in a blink, replaced once more by the loyal expression of old, respectfully trailing behind Emperor Liang.

Just like a eunuch pouring tea and serving water.

He no longer resembled the domineering Grand Eunuch who held sway over two directorates and could suppress even the Chief Seal holder Gao Quan.

“Keep pretending. I’ll see how long you can keep it up.”

Gao Quan gave a cold snort.

If Jing’an Marquis was gambling, then weren’t they all gambling with their lives?

Whoever lost would fall from the center of power, exiled to guard the imperial mausoleum.

The fortunate ones might perish from illness on the road.

Some, whose enemies didn’t wish them a swift death, would be left to suffer endlessly while alive.

After three to five years of such torment, even the strongest soul would wither.

Gao Quan had no desire to end up like that. So he had to seize every opportunity to destroy Zheng Zhong.

At the very least, he must make their power equal.

Surely, Zheng Zhong must be thinking the same right now.

Emperor Liang stood before the koi pond in the imperial garden.

Scooping a handful of feed from a jade box, he scattered it into the pond.

In an instant, the golden fish swam frantically to his feet, competing for the food.

Whenever he saw this scene, Emperor Liang always felt a deep satisfaction.

A faint smile crept unbidden to his lips.

The two grand eunuchs at his side looked more like lowly attendants than powerful court figures, while the rest of the entourage stood five or six paces away.

At this distance, they would not disturb the emperor.

But would still be close enough to respond promptly to any command.

Emperor Liang stood silently by the pond, gazing into the distant sky.

To say he felt no concern or hope for the northern territories would be a lie.

He was still young. Naturally, he did not wish to be merely a caretaker of his inheritance. He longed to expand the empire, to reclaim the lands that once belonged to Great Liang.

Alas, fate had played him a cruel joke.

After missing a single crucial opportunity, the fortunes of Great Liang seemed to have peaked and began to decline.

“Fate… is truly an elusive and illusory thing,” Emperor Liang murmured.

His voice was so soft that even Gao Quan and Zheng Zhong, standing three steps away, could barely hear him.

“I am weary.”

“The Internal Rectitude Office has much to attend to. You are both dismissed.”

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the two grand eunuchs who stood beside him.

Neither dared protest. After respectfully bidding the emperor well, they backed away from his side.

Not until they had reached the gate of the imperial garden did they finally straighten up.

Meeting each other’s eyes, their expressions seemed calm and composed.

“Eunuch Gao holds such weight in His Majesty’s heart, it’s truly enviable,” Zheng Zhong spoke with his signature raspy tone. Even the smile plastered on his face felt unnatural.

Gao Quan’s expression remained unchanged, though his heart chilled with contempt: Flattery meant to kill? I've crushed more ambitious insects than you with such tricks. You think this move will work on me?

His face softened, and with a warm smile he replied, “Not as enviable as Eunuch Zheng, now commanding both the Directorate of Horses and the Directorate of Ceremonies. That is true glory, the envy of all.”

“I wouldn’t dare hold you up any longer.”

With that, Gao Quan strode off proudly.

Zheng Zhong stared at Gao Quan’s back, his face twitching involuntarily.

What does a eunuch desire most?

Respect, of course.

Even if it was fear, it would suffice.

The mutilation of their bodies often left their hearts twisted.

Having chosen the path of a eunuch, one must aim to stand just beneath the emperor, above all others.

Zheng Zhong believed this with all his heart. Otherwise, why would he have cut off his path of return?

Hands folded behind him, he returned to the Internal Rectitude Office with a darkened expression.

The directorate was already sixty to seventy percent under his control. With Wen Yue’s downfall, Zheng Zhong had also been accepted as the new head of the Southern Embroidered Guard.

Gao Quan now retained only thirty to forty percent of his former power.

Though he bore the title of Chief Seal Grand Eunuch, nominally the highest eunuch in the palace, in truth, he was nothing more than a hollow shell curled up in retreat.

Zheng Zhong sat at his desk.

The fire of rage bloated within his chest like an overinflated balloon, finally bursting and rushing to his skull.

With a slap, he overturned his writing table.

Through clenched teeth, he hissed, “Gao Quan, don’t think you’ve won yet.”

“You really think a cripple who just recovered can bring you back to power?”

“If that cripple is your only hope, then I’ll crush it completely, so thoroughly you’ll never rise again!”

Zheng Zhong shot to his feet.

In order to bring down Gao Quan, he had spent his efforts drawing in power, undermining Gao Quan’s foundations.

He had assumed that cripple was already as good as dead. Who would’ve thought the Jing’an Marquis’s second household would be so utterly incompetent?

Not only had they failed to eliminate the cripple, they even got themselves killed by a rogue martial grandmaster.

Thankfully, that martial grandmaster had been a fool, after avenging his old debt to Wen Yue, he committed suicide in the marquis’s residence.

All to repay a favor from years past.

Truly a first-rate idiot.

Had that grandmaster lived, he would have posed a real threat.

But now that he was dead, even if Wen Yue had stepped into the Organ Refining Realm, he was still just a mortal.

Zheng Zhong picked up a brush and quickly wrote a secret letter.

Sealing it into a wax pellet, he called out, “Someone come!”

A young eunuch rushed in from outside, dropping to his knees with reverence. “Godfather!”

He raised his hands high, as though ready to receive the pellet.

Zheng Zhong placed the pellet in his palms, clasping them shut. He looked down with an imposing glare and said, “Deliver this letter to that man in Qing’an Ward.”

“It is of great importance.”

“If you mess this up, I’ll have your head.”

The young eunuch trembled instinctively, but still vowed earnestly:

“Rest assured, Godfather. Your child will deliver this letter into his hands without fail.”

Truthfully, his nervousness wasn’t because of the threat to his life but because every time he visited that gentleman in the ward market, he felt deeply unsettled.

(Chapter End)