There is no such thing as free steamed buns in the world!
Zhou Yi When he heard Ephemeral Bloom Manual, his first thought was what his father said, someone lets you eat steamed buns for nothing, either they are poisonous, or they make you work for your life.
"The moment of youthfulness!"
If you think about it carefully, there is a description in "Shuowen Jiezi" that it is like a beauty that ages quickly, like fireworks that fade away, like a finger that withers away...
Zhou Yi suddenly thought of something and raised his head to look at the gentleman who was talking eloquently.
Since arriving in the palace a year ago, there are two people who make Zhou Yi very close. Little Xi is like a brother and friend, and the husband is like a master, apprentice and parent, which brings warmth to the indifferent palace.
Today, Mr. Ephemeral Bloom Manual is following the instructions and does not mention the shortcomings of Ephemeral Bloom Manual at all. He only says that he will live a good life, practice hard, get promoted, and make a fortune, and his future is boundless.
"He's not really a master or a disciple after all!"
Zhou Yi sighed helplessly, there is no warmth in the inner garden of the palace.
The husband boasted about the benefits of the exercise, and most of the waiters became excited and began to dream of becoming Eunuch Hai or Eunuch Wei. They recited Ephemeral Bloom Manual word for word, much harder than when they were able to read.
A few eyes flicker, but whether you believe it or doubt it, you can't resist after all.
The wells in the palace are all smelly, so it doesn't matter if one more corpse is thrown in!
Ephemeral Bloom Manual has more than 3,000 words in total, followed by more than 2,000 words of tips on how to perform exercises, involving many meridians and acupuncture points, as well as mysterious Daoist concepts.
Zhou Yi can basically memorize it after reciting it for a day. Listen carefully to the teacher's explanation word for word.
What is true qi, where are the acupuncture points and meridians, and how to collect true qi into Dantian. The explanation is extremely detailed. From this aspect, he looks like a real teacher.
Late afternoon.
Zhou Yi returned to his residence and saw Little Xi lying on the bed.
He hummed, like a moan.
Looking closer, Little Xi's temples were gray, more than ten times older than a year ago, and his face had a strange purple-red color.
Zhou Yi quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Brother Xizi, what's wrong with you?"
"Little Yi..."
Little Xi's voice was weak and subtle, with only a few sounds of breathing out, and a smile appeared on his face, "A few days ago, our family met His Majesty, only a few feet away, and Your Majesty asked a question."
Zhou Yi caressed Little Xi's chest and said, "This is a good thing. Did Brother Xizi get the answer right?"
Little Xi's dream is to serve His Majesty and become a figure like Eunuch Hai, with top martial arts skills and a powerful figure in the world.
"We have been preparing for ten years, and of course we got the answer right!"
Little Xi coughed violently several times, with a proud blush on his face. "Your Majesty asked a question that no one else could understand, so I quoted from the classics and answered it. Your Majesty praised me for being smart and solid, hahaha..."
The laughter was as thin as a night owl, and the breath was short and intermittent.
Zhou Yi wondered, "Then what happened today?"
"Today Qian Yuan Hall has refined Longevity Golden Pill. Eunuch Bureau needs to test the medicine first."
Little Xi said, "Eunuch Xu of Directorate of Palace Attendants personally called our name and said that it was praised by His Majesty, so we should be tested for the medicine. Who would have thought that after taking the pill, we were poisoned!"
"Poisoned?"
Zhou Yi exclaimed in horror and asked, "Isn't that alchemy person trying to harm Your Majesty?"
Little Xi shook his head and said, "I heard that the immortality Pill Formula is not complete at all. Those who make the elixir have to re-prepare the medicine, but those of us who try the elixir can only wait to die."
Zhou Yi looked at Little Xi whose breath was weakening and didn't know how to save him.
I don't know what happened tonight. Little Zheng and Little Yuan haven't placed their orders yet. They have profound skills and may be able to help Little Xi with his energy and detoxification.
"I hate it!"
Little Xi's pupils began to blur. "I wish I couldn't be loyal to His Majesty, I hate..."
Before the second half of the sentence was uttered, he completely cut off his breath, his eyes widened and he refused to close his eyes.
Zhou Yi was so frightened that his limbs were numb and he was restless. He didn't know how to deal with the body. According to the rules of the village, the body should be laid to rest for three days, waiting for relatives and friends to express their condolences before being buried in the ancestral grave.
The eunuch cut off the incense of his ancestors, which was a great act of unfilial piety, and he was not qualified to be buried in his ancestors' graves.
Just when he was panicking and at a loss, Zhou Yi heard the sound of opening the door. He looked back and saw that it was Little Zheng and Little Yuan.
Little Zheng glanced at the corpse, sadness flashed in his eyes, and said, "Report Directorate of Palace Affairs tomorrow, and a servant will be sent to bury Little Xi in Eunuch Cemetery."
Little Yuan stared at Zhou Yi for a long time with a gloomy face, then silently returned to bed to rest.
Anger flashed in Zhou Yi's eyes. He had already understood that the two of them were waiting outside without entering, deliberately not helping Little Xi with his exercises to heal his injuries.
Such indifference makes Zhou Yi feel chilled!
Little Xi has a lively temperament and is willing to help others. He often helps his classmates with things, but in the end, he watched him die!
"What dad said is true, when people cross rivers and burn tea, they burn bridges..."
Zhou Yi lay in bed unable to sleep. He lost his teacher and friend in one day, and next to the cold corpse, he always felt that Little Xi's face was floating in front of his eyes.
He turned over and over with his eyes closed, wanting to question his two roommates, but he couldn't muster the courage.
The next morning.
Zhou Yi, who had already formed a habit, suddenly opened his eyes and quickly got up and dressed.
Little Zheng and Little Yuan walked in front, Zhou Yi lowered his head and followed behind. Unfortunately, there was no Little Xi who liked to talk, so it seemed very quiet along the way.
After passing through the palace gates and meeting the noble people passing by, the three of them knelt down and saluted from a distance.
He carefully waited for the noble man to go away before getting up and continuing to walk. He would rather go late and not have a meal than be disrespectful.
The eunuchs in the palace had a low status and were just servants of the emperor. If the nobles disliked them, they could be dragged out and beaten to death without any reason.
Near the kitchen.
Little Zheng suddenly said, "Little Xi shouldn't push forward. Your Majesty's question is not difficult. How come no one can answer it?"
Little Yuan continued, "I just don't dare. There are only so many seats in the palace, and every one is a carrot and a pit. You have been praised by His Majesty. Do you want to push someone down?"
Zhou Yi remained silent, but deep in his heart was a turbulent wave.
Perhaps influenced by Little Xi, or perhaps due to the desire in his heart, Zhou Yi also has the dream of power.
One day, if you take charge of a prison and go home in glory, you can be regarded as honoring your ancestors, right?
Listening to Little Zheng and Little Yuan talking now, it seems that Little Xi was praised by His Majesty, and Eunuch Xu deliberately let him test the medicine, and then died of the poison!
Little Zheng said in a deep voice, "The water in this palace is too deep. We don't ask for much power in the future. As long as we can save our lives and coax the nobles to get some rewards."
Little Yuan nodded and said, "When I get old and leave the palace in the future, I can also spend money to find a place to live, so as not to live on the streets and become a beggar."
Zhou Yi remained silent, but his face became a little gloomy and cold, with no emotion or joy, just like Little Zheng and Little Yuan who led the way.
After breakfast, I went to the study as usual.
The teacher continued to talk about Ephemeral Bloom Manual. He was more patient than teaching how to read. If the waiter had any doubts, he would explain it in detail.
Zhou Yi writes down all the questions in a booklet. This is the method Little Xi told him. It seems that a good memory is not as good as a bad writing.
The handwriting is crooked and can barely be read, and no one except Zhou Yi can recognize it.
Return to the room.
Zhou Yi went through the questions I had written down from the beginning. Sure enough, I had forgotten most of what the teacher said in class.
Read it over and over again and gain a little bit.
He has a general understanding of the acupoints, meridians, and the movement of Qi, but Zhou Yi has not tried to practice.
After all, according to speculation, this is a technique that consumes life span!
The sun rises and the moon sets.
One month has passed in the blink of an eye.
After the teacher finished explaining the Ephemeral Bloom Manual trick, his pupils, more white than black, swept across all the waiters.
"Okay, no need to come to class anymore, just go practice!"
Not far from the south of the study, there is a row of rehearsal rooms. From then on, the chamberlains began to practice martial arts, and after one year they would be assigned to areas of duty based on their martial arts strength.
Classwork is over.
The servants left the study in small groups and discussed which practice room they should go to so that they would not be bullied by the old people in groups.
Zhou Yi wrote down all the questions in four thick volumes in a thick stack. After all the servants left, he came to the gentleman with the book in his arms and kowtowed three times.
"Thank you sir."
"Jiejiejie..."
The gentleman's laughter was like that of a night owl. He looked Zhou Yi up and down and said, "You are quite sensible. You are making a living in this palace. The more you kowtow, the longer you can live!"
When Zhou Yi met his eyes, he felt cold and greasy all over his body, as if a poisonous snake was crawling around, which made people shudder.
"Thank you sir for your teaching."
He quickly stood up and left as if running away.
The next day.
Zhou Yi followed Little Zheng and Little Yuan to the Jiaqi practice room.
The five- to six-foot-long practice room is divided into small single rooms with wooden boards. There are soft mattresses, futons, and incense burners inside. There are messy writings on the wooden boards, which seem to be the martial arts insights left by the predecessors.
"There is no one in the room next to it. Little Yi Leave a mark on the door so that no one will occupy it in the future."
Little Yuan pointed to his single room. There was a square inside a circle on the door. "Remember, you can only rely on yourself in this palace. If someone really competes with you, we won't care!"
"Thank you, Brother Yuanzi."
Zhou Yi bowed slightly, then bowed to Little Zheng next to him. "Thank you, Brother Zhengzi."
He drew a mark, entered the private room, and sat cross-legged on the futon.
After a moment, his mind calmed down, Zhou Yi recalled the opening chapter of Ephemeral Bloom Manual, concentrated and calmed his breath for twelve breaths, and the breath circulated in the meridians, and finally fell into Dantian.
After practicing for a week, Zhou Yi slowly opened his eyes and felt the true energy in Dantian.
"Sir, he said that to achieve success, those with excellent qualifications will receive ten strands of true energy, those with average qualifications will receive five strands of true energy, and our three strands of true energy belong to the lower qualifications..."
"Ephemeral Bloom Manual If we lose our longevity, we have to lose three times to be able to compete with a well-qualified chamberlain!"
Zhou Yi looked troubled, there were two paths before him.
One is to live a short life, practice hard, and be assigned a good job. The second is that he lives a long life and has little skill, so he can only patrol the palace walls.
After thinking for a long time, Zhou Yi started practicing again.
"You can't make money by patrolling, and you can't leave the palace. You'll never see your parents again!"
According to the law, eunuchs are prohibited from leaving the palace, but some powerful eunuchs can sneak out during their free time. I heard from Little Xi that many eunuchs have yards in the capital and raise their wives and sons they bought.
Zhou Yi doesn't care about his wife, he just wants to bring his parents to the capital so that he no longer has to endure hunger.
"Even if your longevity is exhausted, it's not bad for your parents to live a good life!"
With this in mind, Zhou Yi has been practicing all day long, and Dantian has accumulated more than thirty rays of true energy.
I went back to my room in the evening and read the book that recorded the questions over and over again, recalling the practice tips my husband had taught me, and tried my best to speed up the efficiency of the exercises.
Originally two quarters of an hour per day, half a month later it only lasted a quarter of an hour, and half a year later it was halved again.
This day.
Get up early in the morning.
Zhou Yi followed the two of them, silently thinking about the secret of how to move Qi.
Little Zheng suddenly stopped and Zhou Yi almost bumped into him without noticing. He only heard him say, "Little Yi, are you not concentrating on your practice?"
Zhou Yi was slightly startled, not knowing why.
Little Yuan said, "Ephemeral Bloom Manual loses longevity. The harder you practice, the faster you will age!"
Zhou Yi said in surprise, "You two know?"
"Who doesn't know something so obvious?"
Little Zheng said coldly, "If the palace had not controlled our food and drink, we would have starved to death several times. Now that we are full and full, we should work hard for His Majesty!"
Little Yuan said, "Those chamberlains who guard the palace walls have to work hard all their lives and be bullied, and they will never leave the palace until they die. It is better to be more skilled, get a good job, and take care of relatives at home."
"Thank you two brothers for your guidance!"
Zhou Yi frowned slightly, vaguely feeling that something was wrong. He had tried his best to practice.
If it were the time when he first entered the palace, Zhou Yi would definitely express his doubts, but now he is more cautious and plans to see the changes in his classmates after practicing.
Arrived at the kitchen.
Zhou Yi looked around and saw several classmates.
In just the past six months, the faces of those who were still teenagers have become older, and their hair has turned from black to gray. Some even have wrinkles on their faces, gray hair, and cloudy eyes.
"No wonder you suspect that we haven't practiced Kung Fu!"
Zhou Yi There was a turmoil in my heart. I was confused, surprised, and at a loss.
"Why don't we age? Is it because of our special constitution or because we live longer? What will be the consequences if someone discovers the abnormality? If we report it to His Majesty, will we get a reward..."
In the eyes of the common people, the emperor is the supreme god.
Zhou Yi was slightly moved, and soon thought of Little Xi who died after taking the pill. In order to refine Longevity Golden Pill, His Majesty asked many servants to test the medicine.
"Your Majesty knows that I will never grow old, will you make a pill and eat it?"
The more I think about it, the more it becomes like this. Zhou Yi respects the emperor, but he doesn't want to be burned or cooked. He suppresses the fear in his heart and thinks about how to cover up the fact that he will never grow old.
"The best way is to disguise yourself and look older!"
"The second thing is to have less contact with people. At least for the next six months, go out early and come back late to avoid people finding out!"
"Secondly, if you go on duty in a place with few people, your flaws will be exposed after long contact!"
"It's just... where can I find the art of disguise?"
Zhou Yi was lost in thought until he heard a sound in his ear. He turned around and saw it was Little Yuan, with an impatient look on his face.
"What are you thinking about? You yelled a few times but didn't answer. Are you full?"
"Okay, okay."
Zhou Yi How can you think about eating? If you don't solve the problem of aging, sooner or later you will be arrested for making elixirs.
On the way to the Jia Qi practice room, Zhou Yi carefully considered his words and asked in a low voice.
"Brother Yuanzi, do you know the art of disguise?"
Little Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Why, you want to hide your face and pretend to practice hard?"
Zhou Yi said with a mournful face, "There is a drought at home, and my parents, brothers and sisters have all starved to death. There is no family left. We just want to live longer and pray for our parents!"
Little Zheng said quietly, "It looks like this, it's not as real as an actor acting."
"There is great terror between life and death. If you want to live a long time, you don't need a reason!"
Little Yuan said, "There are many servants in the palace who are unwilling to practice Ephemeral Bloom Manual. They have ways to pretend to be old, but they need to spend money to buy ointments."
Zhou Yi was secretly happy in his heart, but looked sad on his face. He didn't have a penny inside or outside.
Little Yuan looked at Little Zheng and asked what he meant.
Little Zheng nodded slightly. "We can lend you the money, and you will repay it with regular silver in the future, and you will have to do things for us."
"Thank you, Brother Zhengzi."
Zhou Yi repeatedly bowed and agreed to make his face older first, so as not to be arrested for making elixirs. The future will be discussed later.