King Yan, dressed in scarlet brocade robes, sat alone in front of a spacious pear-wood round table that could accommodate a dozen people.

Behind him, there were five or six more guards at some point. These guards were only on the surface, and there were at least dozens of guards secretly accompanying King Yan to protect him.

The table was covered with dishes, and at a glance, there were at least twenty dishes.

King Yan was very picky about what he ate. He usually only tasted one bite of each dish. If he was willing to take a second bite, it was enough to prove that the dish was very delicious.

After King Yan finished his lunch, the dishes on the table looked almost untouched.

The door was pushed open.

Eunuch Xi walked in with an attentive smile, nodded, and reported: “Your Highness, I have sent His Highness’s name card to Ninth Miss Ling.”

King Yan raised his eyebrows: “Oh? Then what was her reaction?”

Disdainful!

Abandoned it like a piece of shit!

She even ridiculed the slave mercilessly! If it hadn’t been for someone else’s help in picking up the invitation in the end, I wouldn’t be able to come here alive today!

Eunuch Xi was filled with bitterness, blood, and tears, but he did not dare to say a single word. He smiled exaggeratedly and said: “Ninth Miss Ling was flattered and almost burst into tears with joy. She respectfully accepted the invitation, said a lot of words of gratitude, and said she had to come in person to thank you…”

“Then why didn’t she come?” King Yan interrupted Eunuch Xi with a half-smile.

Eunuch Xi’s smile froze, then returned to normal, and continued to bend down to apologize: “I dared to decide on behalf of Your Highness, and did not let Ninth Miss Ling come over. I made my own decision, so please forgive me!”

King Yan glanced sideways at Eunuch Xi, his tone was lazy, and there was no hint of happiness or anger: “Xiao Xizi, you have been with me for two years, right?”

Eunuch Xi couldn’t figure out the intention of King Yan’s question for a while, and he answered “yes” tremblingly.

“I have always known that you are arrogant and domineering.” His Highness King Yan’s light words made Eunuch Xi’s expression change, and he knelt with a plop: “I don’t dare, Your Highness, spare my life!”

King Yan sarcastically raised a corner of his lips. His voice also became colder: “It’s okay for you to go around showing off your power based on my majesty. After all, you are this king’s person. Going out also represents my face, and it is your ability to make people afraid. I won’t be angry with you for this. However, you should never fool me by treating me like a fool!”

“In front of me just now, Ninth Miss Ling didn’t even grovel, she was sharp-tongued, and she didn’t fall behind in the slightest. You a mere servant, with her proud character, how could she put you in her eyes?”

“The things you feel flattered about, and the things that bring tears to your eyes are all just made up by you to deceive me!”

The last sentence was accompanied by a cry. He sneered, showing a bit of anger.

Eunuch Xi was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and he kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy: “Your Highness is naturally wise, and his eyes are as bright as a torch. This servant was so ambitious that he dared to lie to His Highness. I have served His Highness for two years, and I have worked hard without any credit. Please have mercy, Your Highness, spare the humble life of this slave…”

He cried bitterly while kowtowing. Every time he kowtowed, he hit the solid floor. Soon, his forehead became red and swollen.

He looked embarrassed and pitiful.

King Yan was unmoved.

These eunuchs were all from the palace, and they were all human beings. They used their power to bully others and deceive others. They were good at hiding things. If the master did not have some sharp and ruthless skills, not only would he not be able to control them, but he would be deceived by the slave.

He was usually too lazy to think about it, and if he really wanted to punish them, it was just a matter of words.

...

Eunuch Xi’s forehead was bloody and painful. But this pain was insignificant and nothing compared with the chill that kept rising in his heart.

It was over!

His moment of frivolity and carelessness had left a bad impression of being domineering and arrogant in King Yan’s mind. The errand was not done well, and he was caught in the act of lying and cheating… any one of them was a capital crime.

The palace eunuchs were all slaves of the Emperor. Sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to serve in the houses of princes and princesses, they could only live by relying on their master. The master would not easily punish the guards. Even if the guards made mistakes, most of them would be spared their lives. But the eunuchs were different. They were beaten to death with a stick and thrown into a mass grave wrapped in a straw mat. They didn’t even get a grave.^[1]a very sad scenario. Guards were not slaves but employed by the Royal family and most often came from well-connected families. But eunuchs were mostly sold to the palace by their families.

When the scenery was high, everyone admired and flattered them, but if they made the master unhappy, overnight they fell from the clouds into the quagmire.

Eunuch Xi had served King Yan for two years and was considered a useful person around King Yan. Recently, he had been a little carefree, acting and speaking a little more boldly, but he didn’t expect that he had already made King Yan unhappy…

What happened today was just the beginning.

Having figured out these things, Eunuch Xi was filled with a sense of dread bordering on despair.

King Yan had always presented himself as a dissolute playboy. He often went in and out of the outer city. He walked around Nanshi for half a day with a birdcage in his hand. He had a private room in Dingxiang Tower and he always came here once or twice a month. King Yan could be seen in the most famous teahouses, theaters, and brothels.

He could be called the most noble dandy in the capital.

Empress Xu doted on her young son, and the Emperor also favored him, turning a blind eye to these ridiculous behaviors. Occasionally, if it went too far, all he got was just a painless scolding.

King Yan became more and more unscrupulous.

Only those who served closely could get a glimpse of King Yan’s true face.

His Highness, King Yan, may seem to be acting absurdly, but in reality, he had deep thoughts. No one could figure out what was going on in his mind. He usually had a good temper and was not harsh at all. But once he turned against someone, he was resolute and cold-blooded.

Eunuch Xi kowtowed hard, and the blood on his forehead flowed down, mixed with tears and a runny nose, and he no longer looked arrogant at all.

King Yan finally spoke: “Don’t kowtow and beg for mercy. Tell me exactly what happened just now. If there is even a half-word that is false, just wait for someone to collect your body.”

Where can Eunuch Xi still be if he dares to lie again? He told the story of what happened before in the fastest and most eloquent way in his life.

To be reused by the King of Yan, Eunuch Xi certainly had some merits. He was smooth-talking and good at imitating people’s manners and speech. He perfectly imitated Ling Jingshu’s indifferent tone with a hint of disdain.

“…I never meant to deceive His Highness intentionally. It was just that His Highness’s kind words, Ninth Miss Ling didn’t appreciate it. I felt sorry for His Highness. In the end, it was Eigth Miss Ling who accepted the invitation. Otherwise, I might not be able to handle the errands assigned by His Highness today.”

“This servant was afraid that speaking the truth directly would displease His Highness. Hence, I took the liberty of telling a few lies. This servant only hopes that His Highness’s mood will be more relaxed. There was absolutely no intention to deceive His Highness…”

Eunuch Xi burst into tears and was very emotional.

King Yan listened indifferently and looked out through the window.

(To be continued.)