13: Hong Zhu becomes Zhao Gao's apprentice! Xiren and Qingwen!

Chapter 13: Hong Zhu Becomes Zhao Gao's Disciple! Xiren and Qingwen!

After Eunuch Hou left, Liu Shuyan began to assign the eunuchs and palace maids.

At this moment, Li Chang'an said, "Mother, let this King choose first!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuyan twisted Li Chang'an's ear.

"You've just been made a King, and it's already 'this King, this King'!

"What are you showing off for in front of your mother?"

Li Chang'an chuckled, "I'm just afraid Mother is even more pleased than this King!"

Liu Shuyan covered her mouth and chuckled, then stroked her son's cheek.

"My son is amazing, he knows everything."

"If you want to pick, go ahead and pick first."

Under Li Chang'an's Clairvoyant Eyes, the talents and abilities of the palace maids and eunuchs were clear at a glance.

The two most beautiful twin sisters actually had very high martial arts talent!

Name: Qi Yun

Age: 8 years old

Realm: None

Talent: Sword Dao (Grade Nine), Poetry and Music (Grade Six)

Ability: Singing (Grade Five)

Affection: 50

Good heavens! A singer!

This little girl, she couldn't have been sold to a Brothel and forced to learn performing arts, could she?

Her affection value was originally 20, but after Li Chang'an stared at her for a while, it rose by 30.

If she hadn't been bought out by Emperor Qing's people, she would have been trained as a virtuous courtesan.

Her twin sister had similar talents, with her Sword Dao talent reaching the highest level.

Name: Qi Ping

Age: 8 years old

Realm: None

Talent: Sword Dao (Grade Nine), Vocal Music (Grade Six)

Ability: Playing the Flute (Grade Five)

Affection: 50

The two little girls were so cute that Liu Shuyan couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Li Chang'an sat on a chair, looking like a little adult.

"You two, come here!"

Although the two girls were young, their demeanor was very dignified.

Li Chang'an said, "This King has a fated connection with you two, so I shall bestow names upon you."

Their reactions differed; one showed joy, while the other was slightly shy.

Li Chang'an said, "The shy Young Miss will be called Xiren."

"The one grinning foolishly will be called Qingwen."

The more lively girl immediately restrained her smile upon hearing this.

These two clearly hadn't undergone strict palace maid training and were relatively casual.

Qingwen's smile further confirmed Li Chang'an's guess.

This was Emperor Qing's honey trap!

Qingwen asked, "Your Highness, may this servant ask if these two names have an origin?"

Li Chang'an casually replied, "The flower's scent assails one, knowing the sudden warmth; the magpie's cry pierces the trees, delighting in the new clear sky."

The two little girls, both possessing artistic talent, had studied poetry and prose.

The poem Li Chang'an casually recited left the two maids pondering and marveling for a long time.

"Such beautiful poetry..."

"Your Highness is indeed exceptionally talented!"

He chose these two names, of course, to create the persona of Jia Baoyu.

The personal head maids of the super-profligate good-for-nothing Jia Baoyu were Xiren and Qingwen.

Li Chang'an's Xiren and Qingwen would also be able to practice martial arts in the future.

When they were a bit older, Li Chang'an would be able to copy the dream of the red chamber.

When this divine book was published, Emperor Qing would surely think it was Li Chang'an's autobiography.

Otherwise, the names in the book would be the same as the maids around him.

Thinking of this, Li Chang'an decided to make the act a bit more authentic.

He then walked among the palace maids for a long time, finding several with negative affection values.

These were likely spies sent by other concubines or Emperor Qing.

Li Chang'an selected ten more people from the normal palace maids.

These girls were all eleven or twelve years old.

This was the normal age for palace maids to enter the palace!

However, their talents were ordinary; none possessed the talents of Xiren and Qingwen.

Li Chang'an named them Daiyu, Baochai, Tanchun, and so on.

"You twelve, from now on, will be the maids in this King's chambers, collectively known as the Twelve Golden Hairpins!"

"Although Xiren and Qingwen are young, this King likes them, so they shall be the head maids."

The advantage of having the System was being able to see the changes in these people's favorability.

There was no need for roundabout probing; it was easy to see through their character.

After Li Chang'an finished speaking, Xiren and Qingwen thanked him in unison, their affection rising to 70.

Poor children, they were too easily bought.

For these unfortunate little girls, suddenly becoming a King's maid was like a pie falling from the sky.

At this moment, the affection values of Xifeng, Xichun, Keqing, and Miaoyu instantly plummeted!

The affection value of the girl named Xifeng even dropped to a negative number!

They were unhappy that the younger sisters became head maids!

Heh heh!

Women, as expected, are petty!

Although Li Chang'an could make them all loyal through suppression and appeasement.

However, there was no need for that; women should not be indulged.

Moreover, their talents were ordinary.

Their dispositions were not pure either; it was better to simply discard them.

He would observe a few gentle and kind ones in the coming days and replace these four.

Anyway, all Li Chang'an wanted was the title of the Twelve Golden Hairpins.

After choosing the maids, Li Chang'an proceeded to choose the Inner Court attendants.

With a glance, Li Chang'an made an astonishing discovery!

Name: Hong Zhu (Chen Zhu)

Age: 8 years old

Realm: None

Talent: Stratagem (Grade Nine), Management (Grade Eight)

Ability: Stratagem (Grade Three), Management (Grade Three)

Affection: 30

The Genius young eunuch Hong Zhu had actually come under his command.

Hong Zhu's original surname was Chen; his Family's property was seized by a magistrate.

Two scholars from his Family traveled over mountains and rivers to the capital to file a lawsuit.

In his panic, the magistrate colluded with mountain bandits and annihilated the Chen clan.

He escaped disaster because he was out playing.

Later, he entered the palace as a eunuch, and because he shooed flies for the Great Eunuch Hong Sixiang, he was bestowed the surname Hong.

Because he was surnamed Hong, his situation in the palace gradually improved.

Serving in Li Chang'an's courtyard was a good thing, so he must have been sent over by someone who looked out for him.

The young fellow was extremely shrewd and quick-witted, a Master of infiltration.

"You, follow Zhao Gao from now on."

"Learn whatever he teaches you, and be sharp!"

Zhao Gao was Li Chang'an's personal eunuch, so Hong Zhu was essentially being heavily favored by Li Chang'an.

The other young eunuchs cast envious glances at Hong Zhu!

Hong Zhu respectfully kowtowed to Li Chang'an.

"This humble servant Hong Zhu thanks Your Highness."

Then he ran to kowtow to Zhao Gao, and, seizing the opportunity, called him Master.

Li Chang'an chuckled inwardly.

Zhao Gao teaching Hong Zhu!

The old schemer teaching the young sly one.

In a few years, they could produce a godfather of the eunuch world!

The talents of the other young eunuchs were unremarkable.

What Li Chang'an needed was at least Grade Three talent!

Only with strong enough talent could they achieve something in a dozen years.

Currently, the only talents Li Chang'an had were Zhao Gao, Hong Zhu, Xiren, and Qingwen.

Too few!

There were still several years until he could establish his own residence and staff.

In these five years, besides practicing martial arts and cultivating abilities,

Li Chang'an's most important task was to discover talents in the imperial palace.

In the Great Qing imperial palace, there were tens of thousands of servants!

By then, he just needed to tell Zhao Gao and Hong Zhu about the talents he favored.

The two of them would surely find a way to transfer those people to Shuning Palace.

The imperial palace had Emperor Qing the Great Grandmaster, and experts like Hong Sixiang, Yan Xiao Yi, and Gong Dian.

There was also Emperor Qing's own secret force, the Inner Court Department, so Li Chang'an felt it was still necessary to be cautious.

In these five years, he wouldn't seek to expand the Net.

He would only seek to cultivate the core members, preparing for his rise after leaving the palace.