am-books Chapter 523 - 383: Human Nature is Greedy
Chapter 523 - 383: Human Nature is Greedy
Chapter 523: Chapter 383: Human Nature is Greedy
“Zheng Ge’er, how did Grand Eunuch Chu lose his power?”
Zhou Yi never really believed that Grand Eunuch Chu grew weary of power and voluntarily retired to guard the Imperial Mausoleum.
Eunuchs, gelded and therefore childless, are known to be extremely greedy for wealth and power and are loath to let go until death.
Xiao Zhengzi said, “Rumors are related to the Deposed Crown Prince!”
Deposing the Crown Prince is one of the great taboos of the Great Qing Dynasty.
The current Emperor is well-versed in the Taoist arts of health-preserving. Ascending the throne at the age of ten, he has now sat on the dragon throne for a full sixty years. Judging by his light and fit appearance, he could sit for another ten years.
“How could there be a Crown Prince for forty years in this world!”@@@@
This was the slogan chanted by the Deposed Crown Prince ten years ago. On the Emperor’s sixtieth birthday, he hid five hundred ax-wielding assassins.
Breaking the cup was the signal!
Before the five hundred ax-wielding assassins could surge out, they were completely wiped out by the Imperial Guard. Right then and there, the Emperor stripped the Crown Prince of his title and confined him to Si’en Hall in the southeast corner of the Palace.
Since then, the Great Qing has been without a Crown Prince.
Ministers in the court repeatedly petitioned, urging an early establishment of the heir apparent, but Emperor Hongwu rejected them with various excuses.
The second, third, and fourth princes fought for a decade, and today, new contenders joined the fray. It’s uncertain who will have the last laugh.
Zhou Yi naturally supported the second prince. Even though rumors in the palace suggested that the second prince had a cruel nature, prone to anger and killing, once he acknowledged Eunuch Xu as his godfather, there was no other choice!
Should the second prince ascend the throne in the future, Zhou Yi could also ride the coattails of success, being promoted to a ranked eunuch, rightfully becoming “Eunuch Zhou.”
As for whether the new ruler would be lecherous and indulgent, or whether he would rule with tyranny and oppression, that would be no concern of “Eunuch Zhou.”
“Eunuch Zhou” would bring his parents to the Capital, find a minor official role at court, and from then on, he would become a respected master, no longer a lowly peasant to be bullied!
Zhou Yi wondered, “The case of the Deposed Crown Prince is ten years old. How come it’s still being pursued?”
Xiao Yuanzi said, “That’s no ordinary Deposition of the Crown Prince. He was in the Eastern Palace for forty years, repeatedly supervising the state affairs, with countless supporters both within and outside the inner court.”
Xiao Zhengzi switched to Secret Voice Transmission and said, “Last night, there was chaos in Yangxin Hall, many dead. Rumors say the Deposed Crown Prince conspired with Grand Eunuch Chu, plotting a palace coup!”
Hiss!
Zhou Yi gasped in shock. Xiao Zhengzi and Xiao Yuanzi both served in the Qianqing Palace, not far from Yangxin Hall. To speak of it as a rumor, it was likely already a confirmed fact.
The attendants of the Hall on Duty didn’t care, their responsibility was the emperor’s safety, and they had to eradicate any potential danger!
“What if Eunuch Xu rebelled one day, would I also be left with no way out? Or say, the second prince’s ascension to the throne fails, and I manage to survive by luck, would I be demoted to attend to the midnight fragrance...”
Zhou Yi, who had felt secure for the past two years, was once again filled with grave doubts.
At this moment.
He was no longer the ignorant youth he had once been, having seen and heard numerous secrets within the palace, he had rapidly grown into a qualified eunuch.
Therefore, Zhou Yi understood that once you entered the palace to become a eunuch, the only choice was to climb upwards, to the highest position possible, to have a chance at relative safety.
“Or perhaps, there is another path for me...”
Zhou Yi thought of two unique individuals in the palace, Eunuch Hai and Eunuch Wei, who, it was said, had reached the pinnacle of martial cultivation and were invincible fighters in the world.
Both hailed from the Hall on Duty yet held no official position, serving only as personal guards to protect the emperor’s safety.
They appeared to have no rank or title, yet even Eunuch Chu at the height of his power had to refer to them respectfully as ancestors.
“My talent may be limited, but I do not fear lifespan loss, and I can cultivate the Epiphyllum Treasure Tome without limits. If others die after twenty years of cultivation, and I practice for two hundred years, could I not rival Eunuch Hai?”
After some thought, Zhou Yi decided to choose the path of martial cultivation.
Eunuch Chu’s situation was a warning, having climbed to the highest peaks, one misstep had sent him to guard the Imperial Mausoleum.
“Relying on a patron can fail when the patron falls, relying on His Majesty is uncertain, as even His Majesty will age. Only by relying on my own fists will I have nothing to fear...”
“The fist, is the power!”
Zhou Yi stood beside the pavilion of Jiangxuexuan, clenching his fists tightly, a wild thought suddenly emerging in his heart.
If one day he becomes unrivaled under the heavens, with every action capable of slaughtering the palace court, could he manipulate the succession of the throne, no longer a servant of His Majesty, but the hidden hand controlling the emperor!
Clap clap clap!
Zhou Yi, frightened by his own thoughts, immediately slapped himself, silently reciting the Three Bonds and Five Constants, loyalty to the monarch, pledging to devote himself unto death...
This terrifying thought, however, was like a weed that could not be completely cut out or extinguished.
Human greed is boundless!
Zhou Yi once only dreamed of earning silver to send home for his parents to buy steamed buns. Later, he hoped to bring his parents to the Capital; when money was no longer an issue, he began to crave power.
He was no longer the being who ate when hungry, drank from the river when thirsty, and slept when tired—the creature that resembled a human.