Having finished his business, Ji Li finally went to eat in a restaurant that was close to the Trade Pavilion. There were many different shops that offered a large variety of things, but Ji Li had planned something and only wanted to eat fast, although he would still eat a lot.
Since arriving, he had done a lot of things, but what was truly important was to visit his elder brothers, pay them respect and report to them too. The ‘faction’ he was in actually wasn’t under himself at all, as that would be way too difficult.
To be honest, there were quite a few factions in the Eunuch Palace, but they were different than normal factions. They didn’t fight for benefit or power but for might and achievements. In all honesty, it seemed more like a friendly competition than anything else.
There were of course cases in the past where the Eunuch Palace wasn’t as unified as it was now, even when they were, very rarely was it as close as currently. The reason was simple, the current Grand Imperial Eunuch always talked about peace and made sure that the distribution of all resources was dependent on the achievements one made.
So, as the empire was large enough and the problems were many, all eunuchs always had many opportunities to earn merit and contribution. The current focus in the empire was the quality of very high-ranking people, and with the rank came the cultivation.
The Eunuch Palace had many servants, they didn’t have active participation in the army and also close to no participation in the imperial court, so they had all the time in the world to finish missions of several kinds and make leaps and bounds in several fields.
The secretive and calm Eunuch Palace was also called a den of sleeping snakes – they were idling and only eating on their own, spending time with fellow snakes and barely doing anything that would call for much attention – but the moment you stepped into the den, then you might as well just give up, as they will surround you and eat you slowly, keeping you alive the whole time, fully paralyzed.
…
The trio was wandering around the shops for a short time before they truly set off for the Eunuch Ceremonial Hall, which is one of the halls under the Main palace, so it’s significance is not much lower than a palace at all, besides that it’s smaller and it doesn’t really have responsibilities, which could either be seen as a demerit or a merit, depending on the spectator.
They arrived at the main entrance and stepped forward through the arch, entering the large hall once again. Ji Li was in front as he went with calm steps forward, keeping steady while looking around. He thought about all the halls he saw in his past life, and although there were some that were larger, the feeling he got from these pillars and the three made the whole hall very noble and cleansing, while also giving a mysterious vibe.
He asked himself what the pillars were made of, and why the Eunuch Ceremonial Hall was as important as it is, for if it was just a ceremonial building, why couldn’t those be held in the Main Palace or any other palace? He felt that there was a mysterious thing about it – but he wouldn’t know until he was much stronger, so he put the question to the back of his mind.
Soon he arrived just a few steps away from the emerald tree’s pond and knelt down as he started to pay his respect "May the Emerald Tree shine forever upon your blessed land, as you shine so shall we serve. I beseech the Nature's Spirit for a blessing, so I may serve you with an everlasting determination and sincerity."
That was the usual way one paid respects, and asking for a blessing came natural as the land where the roots of the emerald tree tore through is naturally its own land, so how could it deny a request for good health? It was as if someone said ‘Bless You’ when you just sneezed, a natural thing to do, a nice gesture, but also not really with any meaning.
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If someone was sick or just sneezed, then you shouldn’t just say bless you, but also offer some tissues and first and foremost take a lot of distance, as you don’t want to get inflicted by what they got. Even if you did, it wouldn’t be a good excuse if you want to *skip* certain things!
After some time to let the blessing sink into the ground, which was just a saying and a formality, Ji Li stood up and went to the left, where he found both Yu Wei and Yu Bao, not separated left and right like they usually were, but just the two of them with happy faces.
They were looking like they were in their early thirties, although Ji Li knew for a fact that both of them were approaching 100 years old. Truthfully, if they wanted, then they could go even younger with their age with some preservation fruits and such, but among the eunuchs, most would just let their cultivation naturally slow their age but not stop it fully.
So, those that were of very high ranking and with an old face, were the ones that were truly old, while the lower one’s rank was, the less your seniority mattered in the face of authority.
The two old man that looked too young for their age were smiling from ear to ear, much warmth in their eyes. They trusted Ji Li with the mission and made it a very rushed one to make the setting more enticing and difficult for Ji Li, but they still wanted to see him pass with flying colours.
He didn’t only pass with flying colours, but directly skipped the test and got a high grade for the whole semester, as a reference. They were very happy from the moment they heard of the news! Naturally they knew that Nature’s Gift had such effects, but that was different.
There were many awakening methods, and Rong Xi’s ancestors might now have accepted anything that was offered to them, even if it was much more than just the fruit. The Eunuch Palace and other places tried doing so, and one after another gave up.
The special situation wasn’t expected, for them to voluntarily accept such a proposal. Of course, there were factors such as Rong Xi’s personality and other things, but many people wouldn’t even have managed to pull off a whole competition like Ji Li.
Even if someone higher went there, they would only be treated like a guest and Rong Xi would let him do anything they wanted, but he would be very closed off towards such a person and see it as an offense. Due to all circumstances, Ji Li had brought in a clan with long history.
Now, the Servant Palace had finally expanded its number of non-human servants. There were already some, but barely any clans that fully joined, much less a dwarf clan such as Rong Xi’s, who wasn’t in any danger per se and would only become stronger faster.
For their faction to have such a young genius couldn’t be called anything besides a blessing. Yu Wei genuinely looked at Ji Li before going for a bear hug and patting him on his back as he said “You did so well, little jade. From now on, you will be a true member of our Eunuch Palace and be respected and honoured wherever you go, no matter the time or place.”
Then, it was Yu Bao’s turn, who did the same and nearly cried, feeling like it was just yesterday he held the small baby in his arms, and today it was already graduating high school. After they hugged Ji Li, they didn’t forget Shixuan and Qianyu.
Although the two were often invisible to anyone interacting with Ji Li, the two elder brothers knew just how smart they were and were just as proud. They had helped their big brother overcoming difficulties and stood loyal to him, while barely earning any praise.
So, to compensate, they hugged even longer and made some comments about them growing taller, which was impossible without anything special happening in the few days they were away. Still, monkey and stone felt very happy about the receive.
They were looking for it, although they never said it. The praise Ji Li had received was often much more than theirs, but they didn’t care about that. They always received training and praise from him, which naturally meant much more. It was just nice to get the same experience as Ji Li had, just as a comparison, which made the rare praise from Ji Li even worthier.
The five people talked some more, while no visitors came at all. Apparently the two High Eunuchs had arranged for the Ceremonial Hall to be closed for the day, as there would normally be visitors every day, even if there was no ceremony at all.
Those visitors usually wanted access to the emerald tree or just visited to look and pray, it wasn’t a bad thing and was even appreciated by the High Eunuchs, especially if the visitors were of higher rank and they talked with the eunuchs, releasing them of their boredom.
They truly enjoyed it when other High Eunuchs came to visit and talked with them about all day things from around the empire, as both Yu Wei and Yu Bao felt slightly enclosed inside the Eunuch Ceremonial Hall, which wasn’t truly to their liking.