In the pavilion, Chen Bui sat with half of his butt on the stool, looking in the direction where the prince was reading.
Although he was not in front of his master, his sitting posture was still very humble, and he was not at all domineering as a great eunuch should be.
Then, his ears twitched and he slowly turned his head.
He didn't have much money in front of him, and behind him was a slender boy of sixteen or seventeen years old with a fair face.
This young man is different at first glance. He is not as timid as other young eunuchs who have just entered the palace. He has solid steps and broad shoulders, which makes people feel at ease just by looking at him.
"Manager, we're here!" Qian Buduo whispered.
Chen Bui nodded slightly without looking away from the young eunuch, "How old are you?"
The little eunuch lowered his head and spoke in fluent Mandarin, neither humble nor arrogant, "In response to the words of the manager, I am actually seventeen years old this year, but I am fifteen years old!"
At this age, Chen Bu is very satisfied.
The eunuch is too young and unstable, but he is too old and likes to cheat and cheat.
"I heard that you used to be a scholar, and you were still a child..." Chen Bui's eyes narrowed slightly, "You are a fifteen-year-old child, but you have a bright future! You are one step away from becoming a scholar. Why don't you study anymore?"
Tongsheng has the lowest status among scholars, but the government will also provide certain subsidies.
"As far as I'm concerned, sir, my family is in Hebei!" The young eunuch continued to say calmly, "It can be considered a scholarly family. My father was a scholar in the twelfth year of Hongwu..."
"Ha!" Chen Bu suddenly sneered, "The scholars who lived in the twelfth year of Hongwu are still scholars today. They are old scholars who failed to pass the examination. The failed scholars are at most scholars. What kind of scholarly family is that?"
"The villain made a mistake, don't blame me, manager!" the young eunuch paused obviously and said.
"Keep talking!"
"Yes!" the little eunuch continued, "My father is a scholar, and I am a child student. I still have a few acres of thin farmland at home, and I can live a decent life just by guarding the land! I have been studying hard, and I hope that one day I can get a gold medal in high school.
When people are promoted, their ancestors will be honored and their lintel will be honored!"
As he spoke, a trace of pain suddenly appeared on his handsome face, "But..."
"Say!" Chen Bu stared at him.
The young eunuch hesitated for a moment, "Later, an imperial envoy, Mr. Li, went to Hebei to check out the tax-free fields under the gentry's name. My father...my father was punished for helping others to own the land in his name."
At this point, his voice became softer and softer, "Not only was he dismissed from his job title, but he was also fined the land tax he had earned over the years... This small man's family does not have much wealth, so he can only sell houses and land to earn money.
Minato. My father could not bear the blow and passed away due to an illness!"
Chen Bubu kept looking at him coldly and said nothing.
"My father is gone, but I still have my mother and younger siblings at home!" The young eunuch continued, "Moreover, because of my father's sins, I will also be implicated in the imperial examination in the future. I can no longer go to the county school. I want to study only
I can study privately, but my family's financial situation has declined, my parents are hungry, my younger siblings are crying for food, and I really don't have the money to continue studying!"
Chen Bu listened carefully and thought carefully in his mind.
What this little eunuch said is true. He is an internal minister, but because he served in the East Palace, I heard those great scholars said that Li Zhigang had killed many people in the northern provinces. Many scholars were punished and even thrown away for helping others to pay taxes.
Gaining fame and ruining everything.
"So, you are thinking of entering the palace?" Chen Bu said in a serious voice.
"Yes!" The little eunuch calmed down and said again, "I have been studying since I was a child, and I have no ability to tie a chicken. I really can't do anything else to make a living! But as the eldest son and having to support the family, I can only...
...." He said, with a bit of sobs, "This is the only last resort!"
"People have many choices in life, why do they have to be eunuchs?" Chen Bu asked again.
"In front of the steward, I don't dare to tell lies!" the little eunuch replied, "If I want to live, I can live no matter what. But I am unwilling to give in and live on with my last breath!"
"When your family has failed, you must cheer up, otherwise you will be sorry for your ancestors. To revitalize the family business, it is not enough to just work hard to farm the land or write for people to settle accounts. The villain's younger brother is more talented in reading than the villain
.”
"The villain has been thinking about it for a long time. Only by becoming a eunuch in the palace can he have enough time to study. I think that one day, he can help the family feel proud!"
Chen Bu was very satisfied with this answer.
Although eunuchs have a bad reputation, after entering the palace, they will have good clothes and good food, which is a good life that ordinary people can't look forward to.
And the most important thing is that the eunuch gets cash every month.
Xiaoli, the lowest level, has almost two silver coins a month. During festivals or doing errands well, he will also be rewarded by his master. The hard-working people may not be able to get two silver coins after working hard for a year.
Most of the eunuchs also sent money back home to help their families build houses and buy land. The eunuchs who had some respect in the palace had brothers who were also landlords in their hometown.
Being a eunuch is a clear way to make money without suffering hardship, and it is also a shortcut in life.
However, other eunuchs were given by their parents or bought, but this little eunuch purified himself...
"Ruthless enough!" Chen Bu said to himself.
In fact, there are many people who are so ruthless. People in the world are constantly criticizing eunuchs, but every year, countless people are recommended to eunuchs by the Shenxing Division, but only a handful of them can be selected into the palace.
The little eunuch saw that Chen was silent and continued to speak, "The little man has thought about it a lot. He has to support his elders and raise his younger brothers and sisters. In the future, his younger brother will go to school and his younger sister will get married. The little man himself is still young and has many things to do.
It’s really not enough to have a lot of heart and energy!”
"So the villain had a sudden change of heart and castrated himself to go to the Sentence Division." He paused as he said that, "Because the villain has read books and can read. So the adults of the Sentence Division took a high look and said
I thought the villain was pretty decent, so I sent him to the palace..."
"Ha!" Chen Bu suddenly sneered, "Did you spend money? How much?"
The young eunuch paused and said, "I dare not hide this from the manager! I didn't use the money!"
"If you don't use the money, you also promised that your annual salary for the first three years will be given to the person who sent you to the palace, right?" Chen Bu sneered again.
Poof, the little eunuch suddenly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.
Chen Bu was originally a eunuch who was the foreman of the royal affairs room. He knew the dirty tricks in the palace better than anyone else.
Being a eunuch is a shortcut, but if everyone can take it, it is no longer a shortcut! Shortcuts come with a price!
It has long been no secret that the Chief of Shenxing sent people to the palace and then scoured the eunuchs who were sent in, and it has become an unspoken rule that no one can break.
"Your fate is not good. You are a good scholar, but you want to take this path!" Chen Bui snorted, "But your fate is also good. The person who sent you to the palace was dealt with by the prince-in-law. Your fate
The annual salary can all fall into your own pocket!"
As he said that, he looked at the small amount of money again and said, "Has it been tested?"
Qian Buduo knew what the chief manager was talking about, so he quickly whispered, "I've seen it myself, and it's clean, with no hair left on it!"
"Yeah!" Chen Bu nodded.
Although Emperor Taizu Gao had an ironclad rule that eunuchs in the palace were not allowed to read and write. But that meant that they were not allowed to learn to read and write in the palace, not that all eunuchs in the palace must be blind.
And as a eunuch, it is better to be a eunuch who can read and write than one who cannot read and write. Being an errand in the palace, especially in various private treasuries, is required to keep accounts.
"You are so cruel, tsk tsk, how could you do this?" Suddenly, there was a rare smile on Chen Bubu's face.
"The little man drank a pound of wine before taking action!" The little eunuch knelt down and said, "I didn't dare to do it at first, but I thought about the scene before my father died of illness and the relatives at home...
.Start violently!"
"Do you regret it?" Chen Bu said again.
"Regret!" The little eunuch looked up with tears on his face, "But it's too late to regret!"
"What happens next?" Chen Bu asked again.
"From now on..." the little eunuch thought about it, "I'll settle down now that I'm here, and work well in the palace. I'll be a down-to-earth person, do my duty, work diligently and bear no complaints." As he spoke, he choked and said, "This is my life.
Now, the only hope is to take good care of my younger siblings and live up to my father’s trust!”
"Be a down-to-earth person and do things according to your duties!" Chen Bui repeated his words, chewing on them over and over again, "After all, he is a scholar, and others cannot say this!"
As he said that, he looked at the little eunuch and said, "Don't worry about anything! We are eunuchs to purify ourselves, but we are also human beings! Don't be too arrogant and disheartened!"
"yes!"
Qian Jiduo, who was next to him, listened and wondered, "The sun is out in the west. Manager Chen will actually say nice things to the people below?"
In fact, he didn't know that Chen Bu was because the young eunuch remembered his own life experience.
Chen Bu was also born into a family of officials back then. Because his father and brother committed crimes, he was imprisoned in the palace and became a eunuch.
The easiest thing for people to resonate with each other is that they share common experiences and encounters.
"What if, what the Zajia said..." Chen Bui said thoughtfully, "You have the opportunity to go up and serve the master up close, what should you do?"
Qian Buduo's eyes widened suddenly, looking at the little eunuch with envy.
"Be loyal to the master!" The young eunuch said without hesitation, "But he will never be a flatterer!"
"What if what the master told me is not in accordance with etiquette and law?" Chen Bubu asked again.
“Etiquette comes first!”
"What the master wants to do is ridiculous!"
"Discourage with all my heart!"
"What if the master doesn't listen?"
"The master doesn't have to listen, but the villain must persuade and stop him. That's his duty!"
"What if your life is in danger?" Chen Bubu asked again, "If you try to persuade me, you may die, but if you help the master with mischief, you can get the master's favor?"
"Even if you lose your life, you must persuade me!" The little eunuch said without hesitation, "You also said that eunuchs are also human beings, and they have things to do and things not to do. When serving the master, you must have a good heart, and you must not have flattery, let alone flattery.
Doing what a villain does!”
"Yeah!" Chen Bu nodded with satisfaction, but said, "Everyone can say good things!"
The little eunuch seemed to feel that a great opportunity was just around the corner, and said hurriedly, "A traitor can hide for a while, but not for a lifetime. Besides, there are people like you, Mr. Chen, watching from above. There are rules in the palace, but
It’s governed by ancestral family law!”
"Ha!" Chen Bui smiled for the first time, "Let's get going!"
"In front of the manager, a villain would not dare!"
"Get up if I ask you to!" Chen Bu said with a face, "The East Palace Clothing Bureau is short of a eunuch, are you willing to go?"
"I am willing!" The little eunuch suddenly trembled with excitement.
The East Palace serves the prince.
The Bureau of Customs and Clothing is in charge of the prince's clothes and other items.
For him, this is like reaching the sky in one step.
"The ugly talk is ahead!" Chen Bubu said again, "Servants of the East Palace have a heavy responsibility. But what is greater than the responsibility is the character!" After saying that, he paused, "If you don't rub dirt in the eyes of the Za family, if you don't rub dirt in your eyes in the future,
Whatever you do, even if it goes against what you said today, the Zajia family will tell you that you will never get ahead in this life!"
"If the villain behaves badly and fails to live up to the promotion given by the steward!" As he said that, the little eunuch kowtowed, "The villain swears by the spirit of his father in heaven that he will live forever as an ox and a horse and fall into the eighteenth level of hell...
.”
"Yeah!" Chen Bui's expression softened.
All the eunuchs believe this. Moreover, this little eunuch still swears by his late father.
"What's your name?" Chen Bu asked.
The little eunuch raised his head and said, "Villain Wang Zhen!"
"Wang Zhen..." Chen Bu shook his head, "This is a bad name!"
"Please give me your name, Lord Steward!"
"From now on, you can call Wang Buzhen!" Chen Bu said, "Remember, we eunuchs are the master's cattle and horses!"
This chapter has been completed!