It was almost noon, and the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius.
In the courtyard where the etiquette room was located, Lin Yi threw a handful of weeds to the ground and looked fiercely into the room.
"Damn it. Don't let me find an opportunity. Otherwise, I'll teach you a lesson!"
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished muttering, the door opened, and a tattered shoe flew out.
It landed squarely on Lin Yi's butt.
Not only that, but the old eunuch's voice also rang out at the same time:
"If this patch of grass isn't completely removed before noon, there will be no food!"
Revenge, it was definitely revenge!
Lin Yi was sure that this old man must have heard his mumbling, which was why he threw the stinky shoe!
He didn't know what kind of a person this old eunuch was. He was already so old, but why was his hearing still so good?
Not only that, but his skills were also impressive.
That was also the reason why Lin Yi would obediently pluck the weeds on such a hot day.
It couldn't be helped. The two shoe marks on his butt were left behind when he lay under the tree and slacked off.
"I can't live like this anymore! Not only did I have to 'serve' the empress, but she even made me do manual labor! I'm so mistreated!
"I must find an opportunity to slip out of the palace no matter what!
"Although the empress is beautiful, I can't wait around for a single woman!
"Before I slip out, it would be best if I can have some quality time with the young emperor.
"That way, I won't have come here for nothing."
Just as he was fantasizing about all those women, the door of the small courtyard was suddenly pushed open.
Immediately after, a few eunuchs filed in.
The two eunuchs from the Ceremony Directorate who looked down on him in the morning were leading the way.
And now, these two fellows were like pugs, leading the way for a grand eunuch in a plain purple robe.
The eunuch's attire had different grades.
For example, Lin Yi's coarse cloth blue robe was the lowest-grade eunuch's clothes.
Above this robe was a blue brocade robe. Above the blue robe was a purple robe, followed by a black robe.
There were also different grades of clothes in each color. There were one to three lines embroidered on the cuffs.
Three lines meant the highest grade of the same color.
For instance, the two eunuchs from the Ceremony Directorate who looked down on Lin Yi had two black lines embroidered on their blue brocade robes. They were similar to team leaders and could manage a team of about ten people.
And Lin Yi had only seen one eunuch in a black robe.
It was the old eunuch serving the young emperor. He was wearing a black robe embroidered with three yellow lines.
He was also the most powerful eunuch in the entire palace.
He could use the yellow color specially used by the emperor as embroidery. This was enough to show that at this level, he was favored by the emperor.
Of course, there was also an unwritten rule, which was that the one with embroidered pattern on the chest was one level higher than those without.
After all, the former was the emperor's personal eunuch.
Because of that, the two eunuchs from the Ceremony Directorate were as humble as two old dogs when facing the imperial eunuch with the purple robe.
"Sir, Little Lin is in this courtyard.
"The courtyard is in a mess. It's better for me to go and fetch him."
Once a eunuch rose to the level of a purple robe, they would be addressed as "sir" among the eunuchs.
That was how the system worked.
After saying that, the young eunuch prepared to run into the courtyard.
At the same time, the smile on his face instantly disappeared. What replaced it was arrogance and impatience.
"Little Lin, hurry up and get your ass out here!"
However, before Lin Yi could say anything, the purple-robed eunuch was furious.
He immediately scolded the young eunuch.
"Shut up! How dare you? Slap him for me!"
This shout gave everyone a shock.
Even the eunuch who was scolding Lin Yi shivered.
He thought, "I guess I was being too kind.
"The purple-robed eunuch actually wanted to beat up Little Lin. He must be showing off his strength.
"I guess I still have a lot to learn."
At the thought of this, his attitude became even more arrogant.
When the young eunuch looked at Little Lin in the courtyard looking at him with a dumbfounded expression, he really wanted to mock the latter.
Initially, he thought that this guy had some background since he was brought here by a female official in the palace.
By the looks of it, he wasn't all that well-connected.
However, after thinking about it, he understood.
After all, which eunuch who was favored by their master would be arranged to come to this godforsaken etiquette room?
Everyone knew that this was the most unpopular place in the entire palace.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even being a servant in the cold palace was more comfortable than being in this etiquette room.
Especially when he thought of the old weirdo in the etiquette room, the young eunuch couldn't help but shiver.
In the blink of an eye, the subordinates who followed the purple-robed eunuch finally reacted.
Then, without another word, they rushed toward the blue-robed eunuch who was leading the way.
In just a few seconds, they pinned the eunuch to the ground.
Just like that, the eunuch, who had yet to figure out the situation, was stunned.
What was going on? Why did these guys press him down???
He was still in a daze when those people started slapping him with all their might.
With a dull thud, he spat out a mouthful of blood and a few teeth.
This time, the young eunuch was even more stunned. He couldn't help but feel extremely wronged.
"I've been busy leading you here and helping you find that man. Why are you slapping me?"
The other young eunuch who had also led the way was already scared silly.
Looking at his companion who had been beaten until his mouth was full of blood, he really did not know what had happened.
Amidst the slapping sounds, the purple-robed eunuch snorted coldly and walked past him into the courtyard.
Not only that, but under everyone's stunned gazes, he walked straight to Lin Yi, who was holding a handful of weeds and wearing a rough blue robe.
The purple-robed eunuch's expression was the complete opposite of before. He smiled fawningly and cupped his hands at Lin Yi.
"Master Lin, you must be enjoying yourself. Look at how clean this courtyard is…"
Hearing this obviously insincere flattery, Lin Yi waved his hand.
"Whatever. If you're interested, I'll give this grass to you."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at the embroidered word on the eunuch's chest. Then, he asked…