In fact, the news had spread much faster than Zhao Fan expected.
He had barely returned to the main hall when several letters were sent out through the side gate of the Ninth Prince's Residence.
Of course, Zhao Fan had no idea.
In the eastern part of the Capital stood the lavish residence of Second Prince Zhao Lingyu.
Zhao Lingyu was drinking and chatting late into the night with several Advisors. When he heard about what had happened at the Ninth Prince's Residence, he froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
He set down his wine cup and dabbed at the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief. “Practicing martial arts? Eunuchs? Is Ninth Brother getting desperate?”
A Advisor with a goatee sitting nearby laughed as well:
“Your Highness may not know this, but none of the twenty-one eunuchs in his residence are known to be martial artists. They probably can't even hold a blade steady, can they?”
Another Advisor chimed in, “Well, it's the only option left to him. The Ninth Prince's maternal family has been wiped out, he has no standing at court, and he doesn't even have a decent Retainer at his side. If he can't make up the numbers with eunuchs, who else can he use? It's just that he's only thought of training them now. It's a bit too late.”
Zhao Lingyu lifted his wine cup and swirled it with a smile. “Don't say that. What if he manages to train an army of eunuchs?”
The whole hall erupted in laughter.
Also in the eastern part of the city was the Fourth Prince's Residence.
Fourth Prince Zhao Lingxiao was practicing calligraphy at his desk. After hearing his subordinate's report, he didn't stop writing; he merely said, “Understood.”
The Strategist standing beside him understood, and said quietly, “The Ninth Prince is desperate and grasping at straws. For eunuchs to practice martial arts, he must truly have no one else to rely on—that's why he's resorted to this.”
Zhao Lingxiao put down his brush and looked at the character he'd written. Unsatisfied, he casually crumpled it:
“Ninth Brother has always known his place. This time, Imperial Father's Imperial Edict has driven him into a corner. Leave him be. He can't make waves.”
At the Sixth Prince's Residence,
Sixth Prince Zhao Linghuan was practicing archery with several military generals. When he heard the news, he didn't say a word, only shook his head.
His expression plainly said three words: “He's beyond help.”
Things were livelier at the Seventh Princess's Residence.
Seventh Princess Zhao Lingxuan was drinking tea with several close friends when she heard about her Ninth Younger Brother's absurd antics. She covered her mouth and chuckled:
“Has Ninth Younger Brother gone mad dreaming about that throne? Poor thing—even eunuchs are being put to use now.”
Everyone had guessed correctly that Zhao Fan was indeed desperate. But they were wrong about why, and about the outcome.
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace.
In the Hall of Diligent Governance, Emperor Zhao Tianyan wasn't reviewing memorials. Under the well-established Grand Secretariat system, there weren't many memorials he needed to review.
He was cultivating with his eyes closed on the Dragon Throne.
During a break in his cultivation, Li Dequan entered quietly and whispered a few words in his ear.
Zhao Tianyan didn't open his eyes; only the corner of his mouth moved.
“Ninth Brother?”
At that moment, the faintest thought crossed the Emperor's mind: Have I really been too indifferent to Ninth Brother?
But he immediately stamped out the thought.
Not because he was heartless, but because the royal family had no need for concern.
Then the Emperor said,
“Leave him be. But keep watching him, too. Don't let him cause any trouble.”
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, before dawn had fully broken, Zhao Fan woke from cultivating the 《Nine Yang Manual》.
A foul stench immediately rose from his body. It was the impurities blocked in his meridians; he had forced quite a lot of them out overnight.
After washing up, he threw on his outer robe, crossed the second courtyard, and walked to the front courtyard gate.
Xiao Shunzi was still sitting on the threshold, but no longer in a blocking stance. When he saw Zhao Fan, he immediately stood, bowed, and moved aside.
Zhao Fan pushed open the door and entered.
A young eunuch suddenly dropped to his knees, his voice trembling. “Your Highness, this servant has succeeded in Qi Induction!”
His words were like a match tossed into a barrel of oil; the courtyard erupted in an instant.
“This servant has too!”
“Your Highness, this servant practiced along last night, and now I can feel qi too!”
“This servant can feel it too!”
Zhao Fan didn't hurry to interrupt them. He let them shout for more than ten seconds before raising a hand and pressing it down.
The courtyard gradually quieted.
“You can all feel qi now?”
Nineteen men nodded in unison.
Only one eunuch, who looked to be in his forties and was huddled in a corner, didn't nod—but not because he had failed.
He was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed, his face alternating between red and pale. He was clearly still circulating his energy.
Zhao Fan didn't disturb him. He turned to Wang Demao. “Steward Wang, what about you?”
Wang Demao opened his mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed, but in the end, he nodded.
Zhao Fan said “Mm” expressionlessly, but inwardly, a storm was raging.
All twenty-one had succeeded in Qi Induction overnight.
He wasn't surprised that Xiao Shunzi had mastered the basics in less than half an hour.
But these nineteen men were of all ages, and Wang Demao, the oldest, was at least in his forties.
Their physical constitutions varied widely. In theory, their cultivation speeds should have been worlds apart.
But the fact was that every one of them had succeeded.
This meant two things.
First, the 《Sunflower Manual》 produced by the System was truly a heaven-defying cultivation technique, with an absurdly low barrier to entry.
It was designed specifically for eunuchs and was extremely efficient.
Second, quite a few of these men probably already had a foundation.
At the very least, they could all read and understood the body's meridians. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?
But Zhao Fan said no more. He simply said, “Congratulations. Starting today, you're all martial artists.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, thump.
The first person dropped to his knees.
It wasn't Xiao Shunzi. It was a young eunuch whose name Zhao Fan couldn't recall, with an unremarkable round face, the sort of face that would be impossible to pick out in a crowd.
He slammed both knees onto the ground and pressed his forehead to the floor. His voice was quiet.
“Your Highness, this servant is guilty.”
The courtyard fell utterly silent.
Zhao Fan looked down at him without speaking.
“This servant's real name is Zhao Si. Before entering the palace, he served for three years as a menial servant at the Second Prince's Residence. After entering the palace, he was assigned to the Imperial Household Department. Half a year ago, he was sent to the prince's residence. Before he left, a steward from the Second Prince's Residence found him and told him to… keep an eye on Your Highness.”
After Zhao Fan heard him out, he was just about to speak—
Thump, thump, thump.
Three dull impacts sounded in quick succession as three people almost simultaneously dropped to their knees.
One of the older eunuchs kowtowed. “Your Highness, this servant belongs to the Fourth Prince. This servant deserves a thousand deaths.”
Another young eunuch's voice trembled. “Your Highness, this servant is… is from Consort De's palace. Consort De told this servant to watch Your Highness and report anything unusual at once.”
The third eunuch also bowed his head and said, “This servant's backer is the Chancellor's Residence. This servant doesn't know which master in the Chancellor's Residence it is, though. Every month, this servant writes down Your Highness's circumstances on a slip of paper and leaves it under the incense burner at the City God's Temple in the south of the city.”
As Zhao Fan listened, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Well, well. The Second Prince, the Fourth Prince, Consort De, the Chancellor's Residence.
So many people had already infiltrated his residence until it was like a sieve.
“Who else? Tell me everything at once, and I'll forgive you.”
A few seconds of silence passed.
Then more people began to kneel.
One after another.
“This servant belongs to the Eighth Prince—”
“This servant… this servant is backed by Steward Zhao of the Eldest Prince's Residence!”
“This servant doesn't know who's behind it, but someone comes to collect information every month!”
“This servant is backed by people from the Ministry of War!”
“This servant has no master behind him. This servant was just greedy for money. Shopkeeper Liu from the silk shop in East Market paid this servant to keep an eye on who comes and goes from the prince's residence!”