Chapter 144: The First Surprise

The next day, Zhu Yu, having some free time once again, decided to follow through on his thoughts from yesterday. He summoned Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian, instructing them to gather the candidate eunuchs who were being considered to accompany him out of the palace so that he could personally make his selection.

Although Zhu Yu had been extremely busy the day before, that kind of frantic pace was not something he could maintain every day. Putting aside whether his physical body could handle it, his heart simply couldn't take the stress; after all, he was a man who valued his peace of mind and knew his limits.

Therefore, today, with a serious demeanor, Zhu Yu began making preparations to receive Wuyazi's vast internal energy.

Seated on the high throne, Zhu Yu glanced down at the sea of kneeling eunuchs and asked Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian, who were standing guard on either side, "Are these all the candidates? Are both those proficient in chess and those who know nothing about it here?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, all the men below are candidates who do not know how to play chess. As for finding someone proficient in chess, it is actually quite simple—we just needed to have them play against each other and select the winner. The ones skilled in chess have already been chosen, and what remains are these eunuchs who know nothing of the game," Cao Zhengchun spoke up swiftly, beating Yu Huatian to the punch.

"To find just a single eunuch who doesn't know how to play chess, did you need to gather so many people? I thought most of the people down there were evenly matched in chess skills."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant and Supervisor Cao had actually already selected a group and eliminated many. However, hearing that Your Majesty wished to make the personal selection, this servant took the liberty of also calling forward a few whose qualifications were somewhat uncertain. After all, this servant knows his judgment is inferior to Your Majesty's, so we still require Your Majesty to put in the effort. On the other hand, Supervisor Cao was full of absolute confidence, claiming he could casually pick any eunuch from the Eastern Depot who knew neither chess nor martial arts. If Your Majesty had not assigned a share of this task to this servant as well, I daresay Your Majesty would not even need to make a personal selection today."

Not long ago, Cao Zhengchun had accompanied the Emperor out of the palace, and upon their return, the influence of the Eastern Depot had soared, constantly locking horns with the Western Depot. With such a prime opportunity presented to him, Yu Huatian would hardly be worthy of his title as the Director of the Western Depot if he didn't trip up the Eastern Depot whenever he could.

"Your Majesty, this scoundrel Yu Huatian is spitting venom, Your Majesty! This servant is utterly loyal to you, I..."

"Enough, enough! Do the two of you find it amusing to bicker like this in my presence? Do not bring such trivial, petty matters before me. When you actually manage to secure some real dirt or a genuine leverage against each other, then you may come and speak to me."

Seeing that the running series of Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian's mutual antagonism was about to begin yet again, Zhu Yu frowned and impatiently cut them off.

Hearing Zhu Yu's words, both Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian stepped back half a step and fell silent.

"So, you have already found those proficient in chess, and everyone down here knows nothing of the game. You intend to pick one from this group, is that correct?"

After the interruption, Zhu Yu reiterated the question to make sure.

"Your Majesty is wise. Both Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian said in unison.

Zhu Yu rolled his eyes, too lazy to acknowledge their transparent flattery, and then raised his voice to address the eunuchs kneeling below. "Lift your heads and let me take a look."

Before Zhu Yu's voice had even faded, the neatly kneeling eunuchs lifted their heads in unison. Though it was likely a coincidence, Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Looking over the crowd, most of the eunuchs selected by Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian were fair-skinned, delicate, and refined youths who were quite pleasing to the eye.

Of course, saying this carried no other connotation; most of the eunuchs below looked as though they had not yet fully matured, being only fifteen or sixteen years old, making the description of delicate and refined quite apt.

The rest were around twenty years old—not only at the prime of their youth, but also... well, to put it simply, if one were to place these faces in his previous life, every single one of them would look like a celebrity, or at the very least, an internet influencer.

Although the Zhu Yu of this lifetime was also quite handsome, deep down his subconscious still identified with his appearance from his past life. Suddenly seeing so many handsome men, Zhu Yu couldn't help but feel a mixture of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

Wait, why was there an ugly one hidden among this group of handsome youths?

Well, he couldn't strictly be called ugly; his features were average to above average, and taken on his own, he looked decent enough. But when he was standing among such a group of attractive youths, his "ugliness" stood out far too clearly.

Not only was he less attractive, but this man also looked quite aged. Judging by his appearance, he looked to be in his thirties, and anyone would believe it if you said he was forty.

Standing among this sea of eunuchs, he was truly like a single patch of green amid a blooming garden—glaringly conspicuous. As he stared longer, Zhu Yu suddenly felt that this man looked terribly familiar.

Having sat for a long time, Zhu Yu simply stood up, walked right up to the man, and asked, "You there, eunuch, you look awfully familiar to me. Have I seen you somewhere before?"

The eunuch had not expected the Emperor to walk straight toward him. Amidst a wave of panic mingled with irrepressible surprise, he tried his best to compose himself and replied, "Replying to Your Majesty, after one of your trips out of the palace, this servant specially brought you some of your favorite pastries. I wonder if Your Majesty might remember?"

"Ah, I remember now! You're that eunuch with the exceptionally sweet voice, aren't you?"

"Thank Your Majesty for the praise. That must be this servant."

"Tsk, yes, exactly that tone. You two listen carefully, this is what you call genuine flattery! What on earth are the things the two of you say on ordinary days? They practically burn my ears to listen to."

Zhu Yu first offered a word of affirmation, then turned his gaze back to scold Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian.

At these words, Cao Zhengchun and Yu Huatian offered awkward, apologetic smiles.

Flattery? When it came to that skill, if the two of them dared to claim second place in the entire imperial palace, no one would dare claim first. Did they really think their positions as directors were obtained solely through martial arts and ruthless methods?

It was simply a matter of knowing how to flatter appropriately depending on the situation. In previous dynasties, so many notorious eunuchs had existed—where did their foul reputations come from if not from failing to know their place?

The two of them were completely oblivious to the fact that their own current reputations had long since surpassed those of their predecessors.

Turning his gaze back to the kneeling eunuch, Zhu Yu found that no matter how much the man stood out awkwardly in this crowd of eunuchs, for some reason, the more he looked at him, the more pleasing to the eye he became.

"Alright, no need to choose anymore. It'll be you."

The eunuch was struck dumb by this sudden news. Although a sliver of such hope had flickered in his heart from the moment Zhu Yu walked toward him, when hope actually transformed into reality, he was too overwhelmed to speak, and could only bang his head against the ground in prostration.

All the rehearsed words of gratitude he had prepared in his mind vanished completely.

"Alright, keep kowtowing and you'll end up dead right here. By the way, you look quite aged. How old are you?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, this servant is thirty-four this year."

"Thirty-four? Well, that's not just looking aged; you really are getting a bit old."

Seeing the nervous expression on the eunuch's face, Zhu Yu reined in his joking manner and said solemnly, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. My imperial word is set and will not be casually changed. What is your name?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant's name is Wei Zhongxian."

"Oh, Wei Zhongxian, a fine name... Wait a minute! What did you say your name is? Tell me clearly—which 'Wei'? Which 'Zhong'? Which 'Xian'?"