"What conditions?" Zhou Mo blurted out, then regretted asking. Seeing Hu Xiaotian as he was now, it should not have been hard to guess what Quan Dean's conditions had been.
Hu Xiaotian said, "I had to undergo Castration and Palace Service to atone for my father's crimes."
Although Zhou Mo had already understood what had happened, hearing Hu Xiaotian say it himself still filled him with righteous fury. He clenched his fist and slammed it onto the table, making all the cups and dishes jump and spilling a good deal of wine. "That old turtle actually repaid kindness with treachery and set my brother up! I'll never let him get away with this!"
Xiao Tianmu showed no such fierce reaction. He said softly, "Making you undergo Castration and Palace Service doesn't seem to offer Quan Dean much benefit."
Hu Xiaotian said, "At first, I didn't understand why he wanted me to enter the palace as a eunuch either. But now I'm beginning to understand. He wants me to help him deal with someone."
"Who?" Zhou Mo asked.
"Ji Feihua, superintendent of the Directorate of Internal Affairs!"
Xiao Tianmu's swordlike brows drew tightly together. "The Ji Feihua who currently enjoys the new sovereign's greatest favor?"
Hu Xiaotian nodded. "Yes, that's him!"
Xiao Tianmu said, "A son usurps his father's throne, eunuchs struggle for power, internal unrest erupts on every side, and powerful nations circle like predators. It seems Great Kang's allotted fortune truly is running out."
Zhou Mo said, "Whatever happens to Great Kang has nothing to do with us. New emperor or Old Emperor, not one of them gives a thought to ordinary folk. Third Brother, now that we're here, we'll make sure we get you out of the palace. Once you're ready, the three of us will leave the