Changsheng: Peak at the Beginning

Chapter 1232 Zhen Huan Enlarged to 156

Emperor Qianlong suddenly came to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, and Gao Wuyong hurriedly led his men to kneel down and kowtow to greet him.

Qianlong was also very familiar with the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. When he passed by Gao Wuyong, he stopped and called out. Gao Wuyong heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and stood up and hurried to greet him. Only then did he see that the person following Qianlong was not Wang Qin, the chief eunuch of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, but a handsome young eunuch serving him.

Without having time to think more, Gao Wuyong was only worried about Wang Qin in his heart and then quickly arranged tea and snacks for Qianlong. After all, the Hall of Mental Cultivation was where the late emperor worked and lived, and the facilities were there. With Gao Wuyong, the chief steward who was taken care of by Jiang Xinxin, there to keep things in check, the housekeeper also felt at ease to stay.

Tea and snacks were served according to Qianlong's preferences. Although Gao Wuyong was full of doubts, he did not rush to ask before Qianlong took the initiative to speak. Instead, he recalled the past while drinking tea and snacks.

Qianlong was very impressed with Gao Wuyong, otherwise he would not have come to visit him today. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Gao Wuyong, Qianlong explained his purpose of coming: "General Manager Gao has been with the Emperor for many years, and he has done things without omissions. This shows his character and means. It would be great if I could have someone as capable as General Manager Gao by my side."

Gao Wuyong was startled, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He said modestly, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? I just did my duty as a servant. I don't deserve such praise from your Majesty."

No matter what Qianlong wanted to do here today, since he could say such words to the eunuch who was the confidant of the previous emperor, it was obvious that he could no longer tolerate his dissatisfaction with Wang Qin. No wonder it was not Wang Qin who followed him today, but the little eunuch under Wang Qin.

Gao Wuyong had never seen Li Yu, and he had never asked about anyone around Emperor Qianlong except Wang Qin and his apprentices Jinzhong and Jinbao. But today, since Li Yu was brought out by Emperor Qianlong, as the saying goes, everyone can lift a sedan chair, Gao Wuyong took the opportunity to praise him: "Besides, the emperor has many people around him, and this unfamiliar eunuch has a handsome appearance. I'm afraid this is a very good thing that cannot be shown off."

Li Yu had only heard of the great name of Gao Wuyong, the chief steward of the Yangxin Palace, before, and had never had the opportunity to meet Gao Wuyong. Now that he heard Gao Wuyong's high praise, he was also very timid and said modestly: "General Steward Gao, you are too kind. The emperor is naturally not short of capable people around him. I am very lucky to be able to serve the emperor today."

Gao Wuyong had been keeping an eye on Qianlong's movements. Seeing that Qianlong was not dissatisfied but rather seemed quite satisfied, he quickly continued to talk nonsense: "May I ask the young eunuch's name? In front of the emperor, I, an old man, will just act like a big shot and say a few more words to the young eunuch."

Li Yu became nervous when he heard this. He said his name was Li Yu, but looked directly at Qianlong, asking for Qianlong's opinion.

Qianlong did not comment, so Gao Wuyong bowed his hands and thanked Qianlong for his trust. "This is serving in front of the emperor. The most important thing is to keep your mouth shut, be deaf and blind. You should not see or hear anything that you should not see or hear. You must not leak even a single word."

"Another important point is to know your own identity."

"This Imperial Chamberlain, everyone says that he represents the emperor's reputation when he goes out, but in fact, no one can represent the emperor's reputation. A servant is a servant!"

These words really touched Qianlong's heart. He did not think there was anything wrong with Wang Qin taking advantage of the power of others, but he could not tolerate Wang Qin gradually regarding his power and majesty as his own ability.

Seeing that Qianlong was satisfied, Gao Wuyong and Li Yu looked at each other. Now they were completely certain that Qianlong was dissatisfied with Wang Qin and had even begun looking for someone to replace Wang Qin.

Gao Wuyong knew that as the late emperor's confidant, the current emperor would definitely not use him. Besides, he was also happy to serve Jiang Xinxin, so he just pretended to know nothing.

Although Li Yu envied Wang Qin's status and position, he knew his own business and some things could not be done just by saying so. Just guessing the emperor's intentions was not something he could be sure of now. What's more, the chief steward of the Qianqing Palace had to do more than just follow Qianlong and obey his orders.

There are many people eyeing the position of the Imperial Chief Eunuch. If you take the position, others will be defeated. The defeated party will be trampled upon and may even lose their lives.

In the beginning, Su Peisheng became the number one person in front of the emperor by stepping on Zhang Qilin's merits and life. Although Gao Wuyong did not directly step on Su Peisheng to get to the top, it was Su Peisheng who brought his own death. However, he got to the top only after Su Peisheng's death.

Now Qianlong has grown displeased with Wang Qin, and he even went to the Yangxin Palace today. News has spread that Wang Qin's death is a matter of time.

The young Li Yu in front of him has already taken the lead. Now, as long as he can work well for Qianlong and demonstrate his abilities, it won’t take him long to replace Wang Qin.

Seeing Li Yu's determined eyes, Qianlong recalled the late emperor with Gao Wuyong again, and then left the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. As expected, Qianlong had just returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity when the news that he was dissatisfied with Wang Qin spread throughout the Palace of Heavenly Purity. After Wang Qin came back, Li Yu, who had gone out with Qianlong, was of course directly targeted by Wang Qin.

Li Yu is no pushover either. In the past, he was not very conspicuous and never stepped forward because he did not see any hope. In this situation, it is better to stay still than to move. Doing his own job well and secretly winning over people of lower status is the best strategy.

But now Wang Qin is directly targeting him. If he cannot counterattack perfectly or even kill him, he will be the only one to die.

Li Yu even won over Wang Qin's apprentices Jinzhong and Jinbao.

Jinbao's personality was similar to Li Yu's, and he had a good relationship with Li Yu before. Now that Li Yu was trying to win him over, he also knew that his master had no future, so he obeyed Li Yu without any psychological burden. Moreover, Li Yu didn't want to step on him to get to the top, and he himself had no idea about the position of the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace for the time being.

Jinzhong is different. He is an ambitious man, but his weaknesses are also very obvious. Li Yu noticed that something was wrong with him early on, and with a little trick he made Jinzhong surrender.

Li Yu was also a smart man. He did not try to win Jinzhong's heart by doing so. Instead, he wanted to compete fairly with Jinzhong: "For now, we just need to cooperate and bring down Chief Steward Wang. Everything else will depend on our own abilities. Anyway, this is what the emperor wants to see the most."

Jinzhong was very ambitious, and his only weakness was discovered by Li Yu. As a result, Li Yu only wanted to join forces with him to bring down Wang Qin, and had no intention of asking him to be submissive. He felt a lot more relieved.

In view of Li Yu's usual behavior, he never thought that Li Yu was trying to avoid the situation from escalating so that he could escape punishment one day when his weakness was exposed. In his heart, he sneered at Li Yu's soft-heartedness.