Hu Xiaotian inwardly cursed the Old Eunuch for his hypocrisy. The old fellow might have lost a leg, but his martial prowess was greater than anything Hu Xiaotian had ever seen. Half believing him, he asked, "You mean you aren't the one in charge of the palace?"
Quan Dean said, "Since I have the will but lack the strength, I might as well yield to someone capable. You'll enter the palace with Fu Gui. Altogether, 2,238 eunuchs will be entering with you this time, and they'll be assigned to twenty-four different offices. Of course, some will be assigned to attend the imperial consorts and His Majesty." He glanced at Hu Xiaotian. "With your current qualifications, you certainly won't have that opportunity."
Hu Xiaotian kept feeling that Quan Dean had some enormous scheme behind sending him into the palace, but with the Old Eunuch refusing to explain, he had no way to find out. "You've put so much effort into me, even going so far as to impart your martial arts. Was all that just to send me into the palace as a lowly Little Eunuch?"
Quan Dean said, "When the time comes, I'll naturally tell you. Don't forget what I told you before: speak less, do more, listen more, and watch more!"
Hu Xiaotian asked, "Just how many eunuchs and palace maids are there in the palace?"
Quan Dean said, "Before His Majesty's enthronement, we checked the Inner Palace registers. This time, we removed 15,782 entries for the old, weak, disabled, and those listed by name but no longer present, leaving an actual total of 13,628. Never mind the rest-the Directorate of Ceremonial alone has 1,932 eunuchs."
Hu Xiaotian was dumbfounded. He had never imagined the palace's ranks of eunuchs could be so vast. No wonder they were bringing in