Late at night.
Not far outside the Imperial Palace, a fair-faced, beardless middle-aged man sat within a grand, secluded residence.
From the outside, it looked like the home of a wealthy man. Its quiet seclusion might even make one think of some noble keeping a beauty hidden away in a golden house. In truth, however, it was also one of the Imperial City Office's strongholds—an even deeper stronghold controlled by Eunuch Zhao.
The intelligence gathered here included not only information screened and sent from the various Capital City outposts, but also reports screened and delivered from every province across the country.
Outsiders might have believed that a chief eunuch only needed the emperor's trust and to serve him well. Yet although Zheng Taizu had established the rule that eunuchs must not meddle in government, because of their particular nature, many organizations that could not see the light of day and had to remain firmly in the emperor's grasp were still handled by eunuchs.
They were useful, and they could also be discarded and erased at any time without causing any trouble.
Even high-ranking eunuchs did not need to have crimes pinned on them with reasons, as ministers did. At a single thought from the emperor, their life or death could be decided.
To secure their positions, even the several leading eunuchs had to conduct themselves cautiously at all times. Eunuch Zhao enjoyed considerable imperial favor and held control over the Imperial City Office, but if anything went wrong there, he could not bear the blame either.
No one understood the emperor's character better than he did.
Tonight was not his shift to keep watch, yet he still did not dare sleep early. Instead, he had left the Imperial City and come to this largest Imperial City Office stronghold to review