Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Chapter 206: Such High Standards! Let Me See! (1 / 2)

[I really didn’t expect this…]

Xu Lang’s inner thoughts were filled with amazement.

[The rumors in unofficial histories that the ancestor of the Song family from Guangping was a eunuch are actually true?!]

Ah… It wasn’t one of the three infamous rumors they were thinking of.

The officials were deeply disappointed.

Although discovering that a historically renowned figure was actually a eunuch was surprising, it was nowhere near as entertaining as rumors about bladders bursting, purple energy descending from the East, skeletons, or a reincarnated emperor being imprisoned for infidelity.

Wait!

Other officials: “!!!!”

If the ancestor of the Song family from Guangping was a eunuch, then how did the Song family from Guangping even come to exist?!

An affair?

Or did their descendants falsely claim the ancestor?

If it’s this, now we’re intrigued!

Chief Compiler Song’s shock quickly turned into realization, and his face flushed a deep liver-red.

Nonsense!

Absolute nonsense!

Based on the family portraits passed down through generations, their lineage had always had round faces, high noses, and thick lips. The portraits even bore a 50-60% resemblance to one another. There’s no way their ancestor’s children were adopted!

[Becoming a eunuch during the end of a dynasty must have been tragic.]

[But if he was a eunuch, then where did the family come from? Could it be that inspections in the palace during the end of the dynasty were lax, and he wasn’t actually castrated?]

[That doesn’t make sense either! People during the end of the dynasty wouldn’t have known they were in a collapsing era. If anything, emperors at that time would have been even more obsessed with indulgence. Wouldn’t they pay extra attention to the eunuchs, who spent all day with their concubines? The inspections should have been stricter!]

[Also, how could a eunuch end up with such a large family?]

Chief Compiler Song’s eyes grew misty with emotion.

Exactly!

That’s it!

Anyone saying his ancestor was a eunuch must be jealous of the ancestor’s achievements! Unable to fabricate anything else, they could only slander him as a castrated man!

Xu Yanmao must have been mistaken!

His ancestor was a real man!

[Damn it! He really was castrated! This is confirmed! Set in stone!]

Outside, the Commander of the Jinyiwei suddenly widened his eyes.

Could this… be some sort of medical miracle?!

If doctors truly had such abilities, how could the Emperor ever trust eunuchs in the palace again?

But thinking about it from another angle—if something like that could be cut and then restored, and even still allow the person to have children—such advanced medical techniques might mean that the Crown Prince’s foot ailment could also be cured!

Chief Compiler Song, however, wasn’t thinking about medical possibilities. A different thought popped into his mind, filling him with a deep sense of dread.

Could it be… that the eunuch really adopted an heir?

But that doesn’t make sense!

First of all! His ancestor had a beard! Even though it was only a few sparse hairs, it was still there! It’s clearly depicted in the family portraits, and the historical records also noted it!

Secondly! Would the Khagan of the Uyghurs tolerate his son-in-law being a eunuch?!

Ridiculous! Completely ridiculous!

It’s absolutely impossible!

[Whoa! So this is possible?!]

Xu Yanmao, who had been sitting properly in his chair, suddenly straightened up even more.

[He healed himself!]

[He actually restored himself purely on his own! No medicine, no exercises, no acupoint stimulation—nothing!]

Chief Compiler Song’s body froze for a moment, then slowly relaxed. His lips moved slightly as he murmured, “Good… very good…”

It seemed his lineage truly was directly descended from their ancestor.

He made up his mind then and there—when he returned, he would craft a grand story about how his ancestor was a divine being descended to Earth or a reincarnation of a Vajra deity.

See? Even after being castrated, he could heal himself. This was definitely not a mere mortal!

—Regardless of the truth, today, he was making the decision to embellish the story for the sake of his ancestor.

Oh, and one more thing! The narrative must emphasize that his ancestor was a reincarnated star deity sent to assist the true dragon Emperor. Otherwise, if the story made his ancestor a deity higher than the Emperor, wouldn’t that overshadow the ruler?

As Chief Compiler Song meticulously crafted his plan, outside the room, the Jinyiwei Commander was drenched in cold sweat. He had mentally filled in countless horrifying details about eunuchs restoring themselves, sending chills down his spine.

If eunuchs could naturally heal after castration, what if one or two of them didn’t merely sneak food or favors with the palace maids but instead had affairs with imperial consorts?

The Emperor might tolerate the green hat placed on him by a disloyal consort because the perpetrator was his own cherished grandson. But if it were a eunuch?

What would that even mean?!

Xu Lang, oh Xu Lang, you don’t realize that by saying this, you’ve likely doomed all eunuchs to daily inspections in the future!

And if even the faintest evidence arises—true or false—the Emperor might order a complete purge of the eunuchs in the palace.

The next second, Xu Lang marveled: [Throughout history, there might be only one such case!]

The Jinyiwei Commander: “…”

Oh, no need to worry after all.

It turns out the ancestor of the Song family simply had extraordinary talent. Other eunuchs wouldn’t have such an ability.

“That doesn’t make sense!” A historian responsible for compiling the biography of the Song family ancestor lowered his voice to discuss with those around him. “If he entered the palace, how did he later appear in the Uyghur Khaganate?”

For a eunuch, escaping the palace wouldn’t be so simple, would it?

[Whoa! This guy had guts! After realizing he had regained functionality, he actually went straight to tell the Emperor! Wasn’t he afraid the Emperor would suspect him of cuckolding him and have him executed on the spot?]

Xu Yanmao was in absolute awe.

He admitted that if it were him, he wouldn’t have dared to confess to the Emperor. After all, most people wouldn’t be so perverse as to check what’s under a eunuch’s trousers. He’d just try to get by for as long as he could.

Chief Compiler Song: “…”

His stomach… his stomach hurt…

He clutched his stomach, his face twisted in discomfort.

So close… so very close, and he might never have been born into this world.

His ancestor had gone directly to the Emperor!

Dear Ancestor! The Emperor is the kind of person who would rather kill by mistake than let someone off!

[Damn it! After hearing him out, the Emperor had the imperial physicians check him over, then released him from the palace! Not only that, but he rewarded his honesty, giving him a robe and a hundred bolts of cloth! Back then, cloth was used as currency.]

[What a kind-hearted man.]

The other officials echoed his sentiment: Yes, that Emperor was truly kind-hearted.

A historian specializing in imperial chronicles mentally noted this event, planning to add it to the annals of Emperor Shen of Chu (the last Emperor of Chu).

He even laughed with a colleague: “I used to worry that Emperor Shen’s chronicles might be too thin. He accomplished nothing in his life, indulging in romance, poetry, and music, but he never committed any major crimes either. Still, Chu was already rotten to the core by then, and his incompetence was his failing—there wasn’t much worth recording. Thankfully, along comes Xu Yanmao with this story.”

Another colleague hesitantly added, “But this event isn’t included in The True Records of Emperor Shen, The Chronicles of Emperor Shen, or The Later Chu History. If it appears in our dynasty’s Comprehensive History, won’t future generations suspect we fabricated it?”

This was indeed a concern.

The first historian smirked mischievously. “You’re too rigid. We can include it in the Comprehensive History with a note citing it as a private account recorded by the Song family of Guangping. I don’t believe they wouldn’t want to brag about such a ‘bizarre and extraordinary’ tale involving their ancestor.”

[Ah! No wonder this isn’t widely known. What a shame, what a shame. This can’t be included in official histories. The ancestor clearly didn’t want to reveal his past as a eunuch, so he changed his identity, even his name, and fled to the Uyghurs. That’s how he ended up catching the Khagan’s attention and became his son-in-law.]

[He changed his identity so thoroughly that I don’t even have proof this isn’t just a rumor!]