As soon as he had settled the Empress comfortably on the couch in the alcove, Qiu Yao rushed in hurriedly with several maidservants.
Qiu Yao said to Ding Wei, "All right, you're not needed here, go back!"
Speechless, Ding Wei picked up his outer garment from beneath the towel and put it on, preparing to leave.
"Stop right there!" said the Empress.
Great. Was she going to slaughter the donkey the moment it finished grinding the corn?
If she really meant to kill the donkey, he would drag her down with him. Although a dragon had its reverse scales and a wolf its hidden thorns—to peer at them was to invite wrath, and to touch them meant death—he had stayed underwater, pretending not to have heard a single word of their secrets.
Heart in his throat, Ding Wei cast a nervous glance at the Empress.
The Empress seemed deep in thought; looking resentful yet wearing a complicated expression, she shot Qiu Yao a sidelong glance, then her lips twitched slightly.
"Give a pouch of silver to Little Ding."
After Ding Wei left, the Empress lifted her plump, long legs and complained to Qiu Yao with a resentful, aggrieved air, "My legs ache and cramp. Come and massage them."
A dark line crossed Qiu Yao's face. "..."
***
Breaking out in a cold sweat upon returning to his quarters and washing up, Eunuch Li was sipping wine at a small table in the small room.
Feigning ignorance, Ding Wei asked, "Master, you're back so early?"
"The Emperor called a truce tonight." With that, he poured Ding Wei a cup of wine.
Once seated, Ding Wei handed the reward silver to Eunuch Li.
"Master, this is for you."
Eunuch Li's eyes lit up. Taking the silver, he eagerly began to inspect it.
"So much!" he exclaimed, pulling out a portion of the silver and handing it back to Ding Wei.
Ding Wei waved his hand.
"It's all a tribute to you."
"Are you sure you don't want any?"
"I don't, but you have to answer a few questions for me."
"You brat, what questions?"
After a brief moment of thought, Ding Wei decided that for his own safety, some things were better left unasked.
"Master, do you know of the Yihua Palace?"
Eunuch Li's face froze unnaturally, his hand stopped rummaging through the silver, and slowly, he placed the silver back on the table.
"Yihua Palace?"
"Yes, what about it?" Ding Wei countered.
"What Yihua Palace?"
Ding Wei scratched his head and fabricated a lie.
"There isn't one? How come I've heard other eunuchs discussing it?"
"That's not called Yihua Palace, it's Lihua Palace."
*Damn it*, so that was it! He only had himself to blame for being too nervous at the time, mistaking it for the noble and aloof Yihua Palace of Rusty Jade Valley.
"Then Master, what is the Lihua Palace like?"
Eunuch Li gave Ding Wei a sideways look.
"You've never heard of it?"
Ding Wei had inherited no memories from the original owner of his body. He thought for a moment and said, "Master, my head was caught in a door before I entered the palace, and I can't remember anything from the past. You can just tell me like a story!"
Eunuch Li cleared his throat.
"How many people haven't heard of the world-shaking Lihua Palace?"
World-shaking?
"Master, what is the background of Lihua Palace?"
Eunuch Li's sparse eyebrows shot up.
"Lihua Palace serves the country and the people. Its members uphold chivalry and justice, aid the distressed and the weak, sacrifice themselves for others, and truly achieve righteousness at the cost of their lives."
"You say it's world-shaking—does that mean Lihua Palace is the strongest of all?"
"Not entirely."
"Could there be something even more formidable than Lihua Palace?"
Falling into contemplation, Eunuch Li said slowly, "While there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts, the Ancient Divine Art of the previous dynasty was truly invincible under heaven."
"Ancient Divine Art? Master, go on!"
"During the previous dynasty, there was a martial arts prodigy with extraordinary talent who castrated himself to create the Ancient Divine Art. He was never defeated, and his martial arts surpassed the martial world's understanding."
"And then?"
"Then it was lost to history."
Ding Wei burst into loud laughter and joked, "Master, I get it. Did you castrate yourself and enter the palace just to learn the Ancient Divine Art?"
"Nonsense! Tens of thousands of people castrated themselves—did they all want to learn the Ancient Divine Art? To castrate oneself without even seeing a shadow of the Ancient Divine Art? That would make someone a lunatic."
"Hahaha, I'm just joking with you. So who is the strongest now? Is it still not Lihua Palace?"
"There are plenty of gifted and unusual people in the world. If you're talking about the highest reputation and greatest strength currently, it's still Xiao Bayu."
"Xiao Bayu? What a strange name! Is he very young? Is this one person, eight people, or eight pieces of wood?"
Eunuch Li glanced at him sideways.
"'Xiao' is a way of lowering one's status and not acting arrogantly. 'Bayu' means the person rarely speaks, remaining as calm and expressionless as a piece of wood. As for why 'Ba' was chosen, no one knows. Bayu is his nickname and alias, so people in the pugilistic world call him Xiao Bayu."
Ding Wei asked, "Does Xiao Bayu uphold chivalry and justice?"
"I don't know that. I don't know martial arts and I don't walk the pugilistic world; I've only heard tell."
"So there are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people. I actually thought Lihua Palace was the strongest!"
"Who knows? They've never fought each other."
***
Exhausted from the day, Ding Wei drifted off to sleep at night.
In his dream, his two brothers were arguing fiercely.
"Big brother, when is it my turn to eat meat?"
Pointing to his own head, the older brother replied with dissatisfaction, "I haven't even eaten meat myself, when would it be your turn?"
The younger brother protested, "Big Brother, you're lying, you just ate some."
The older brother argued, "That was an accident, all right!"
"An accident still means you ate. Next time it's my turn."
Furious, the older brother snapped, "Have you no shame?"
The younger brother fired back, "I never had any face to begin with, what do I need it for? If you don't let me eat, I won't cooperate with you in practicing that damn Turtle Speed Divine Art. Make me mad and I'll torment you whenever I like."
"Don't cooperate then, torment me all you want."
"You said it. When the real fight starts and you have to command me, I'll shrink back and refuse to cooperate. Let's see what you do."
"Damn it all, I must have had eight lifetimes of bad luck to be tied up with you. Fine, I'll let you eat your fill in the future, until your turtle-son self swells up like an eggplant."
"Fine, from now on I eat meat, and you only get to drink soup."
"Look at you, so narrow-minded, why take it so seriously? Could you even finish today's meat?"
"Why couldn't I?"
"Oh, go on with you, I give up. You have to argue with me about everything. I'm ignoring you, I'm going to sleep."
"Ignore me then. Is our little boat connected by tendons going to capsize just like that?"
"Let it capsize, who cares? You're just making a fuss before things have even started."
"You're one to talk. Have the guts to fight it out?"
"You're the younger brother and I'm the older one, you think you're a match for me?"
"I don't care, you have to look out for me first, otherwise I won't let this go..."
"You're so impatient, can't you hold back a bit? Take it step by step, only carefulness steers the boat for ten thousand years."
"All right then, I'll take the vanguard if I get the chance."