Chapter 484 – Third Eunuch
Zhao Hai’s previous carriage wasn’t that large, it was a vehicle that was used by common n.o.bles. The one he was using right now was something that a Great Clan’s Patriarch would use, it was beautiful and elegant.
Randolph gave Zhao Hai this carriage because Zhao Hai’s status was now different. Zhao Hai was now qualified to sit in this kind of carriage, he was now treated the same as the Patriarchs of millenium-old clans.
When Zhao Hai boarded the carriage, he asked the driver about why the Emperor was looking for him, but naturally, the servant had no idea. This made Zhao Hai very confused.
When the carriage entered Carson City, all of the people who saw the vehicle immediately gave way. All residents of Carson City was well aware that someone who rode such a carriage didn’t have a simple status. These were people that they cannot offend, so they backed away immediately.
Before long, the carriage arrived outside the Imperial Palace. Rosen Empire’s Imperial Palace was extraordinary. Its outside fence was several feel high, in front of the gates were two rows of Warriors, numbering 40. All of them wore full-body armor, the material that it was made from looked very uncommon either.
Outside the palace was a moat, with a bridge connecting the two sides. Zhao Hai’s carriage stopped in front of the bridge, the servant went down from the carriage and informed Zhao Hai, “Young Master Zhao Hai, the carriage has reached its destination. You need to walk to the bridge and have your name registered, after that, people would lead you to see His Majesty.”
Zhao Hai nodded, then he went down the vehicle and walked towards the bridge and crossed it. When he reached the other side, he was blocked by two of the Warriors. Looking at Zhao Hai’s carriage, these Warriors naturally didn’t look down on Zhao Hai as one of them said, “Mister, please head inside and have your name registered.” Then he gave a gesture.
Zhao Hai followed the direction he was pointed to and arrived in a place with small rooms, it seems like these were used for registration. Zhao Hai nodded and walked into the room he was led to.
He opened the door and walked in. The room wasn’t very big, but it was warm. The inside of the room was quite simple, it has one table and four chairs. Sitting on one side of the table were two men, both of them looked approximately 30 years old, they were very white and flawless. They wore a patterned dress that looked beautiful.
Seeing Zhao Hai come inside, the two men immediately stood up and gave him a bow before saying, “We have seen mister, may we ask mister’s name?” Their voices were a bit thin. When he heard their voices, Zhao Hai immediately knew that these two men were eunuchs.
Although Zhao Hai didn’t have much liking towards eunuchs, he was still very polite. In the history of China, there were a lot of incidents were eunuchs were the princ.i.p.al cause. Who knows what these people could do, so Zhao Hai became polite and returned the bow before answering, “I am Buda Clan’s Patriarch, Zhao Hai Buda. I came here to answer His Majesty’s summons.”
As soon as the two eunuchs heard the name of Zhao Hai, they immediately became even more respectful, they quickly nodded and said, “We’ll take care of mister’s registration before Mister can go, another eunuch will be waiting for you inside.”
Zhao Hai nodded, after the two eunuchs registered his name, they gave him a golden token. One the eunuchs said, “Mister can take this and head inside. Someone will be leading you to His Majesty.”
Zhao Hai nodded and received the token, then he turned around to leave the room and walked towards the Imperial Palace. The guards inspected the token in Zhao Hai’s hand before allowing him pa.s.sage.
When Zhao Hai entered the gate of the Imperial Palace, he saw that a eunuch was already waiting for him there. The eunuch wasn’t young, he looked over 50 years old. However, Zhao Hai didn’t dare underestimate the eunuch. The eunuch had an imposing manner, a kind of att.i.tude that someone of a high position would have. Moreover, he also had a very heavy killing aura around him.
Upon seeing this eunuch, Zhao Hai immediately knew that he wasn’t simple. He reckoned that this man should be an a.s.sa.s.sin, an advanced level a.s.sa.s.sin.
When the eunuch saw Zhao Hai, he immediately went forwards and gave him a bow before asking, “Patriarch Zhao Hai?”
Zhao Hai didn’t dare neglect the gesture as he returned a bow and said, “Mister is too polite, this one is Zhao Hai.”
The eunuch immediately replied, “Mister Count, please come with me. His Majesty is already waiting for you.” Then he walked towards the interior of the palace, Zhao Hai followed him behind. While walking, the eunuch gave Zhao Hai instructions about how he should give courtesy to the Emperor.
Giving respects to a monarch in the Ark Continent was not quite the same as in Earth. On Earth, when you see an Emperor, you would need to perform a kneeling ritual, if you meet for the first time, a kowtow would be needed. However, in Ark Continent, as long as one held a n.o.ble t.i.tle, they won’t need to kneel in front of the Emperor, a bow would suffice.
Bowing naturally had its own rules, it was different between n.o.ble ranks. Lowest n.o.bles would need to bow 90 degrees, the scale lessens as the rank increases. All of these were introduced to Zhao Hai.
It was Zhao Hai’s first meeting with this eunuch, it wasn’t good for him if he were to ask too much. He just quietly walked at his side and listened to the eunuch, but Zhao Hai wanted to try gaining his favor.
When they arrived in a hallway, Zhao Hai looked around to make sure that there were n.o.body else before he turned his hand and retrieved an item that he had looted from the Robert Family. This was a piece of magic crystal, an alchemy product. He didn’t know how the alchemists made this but he can see that there was a formation engraved in it. The formation was very beautiful, all of it was inlaid with gold along with some other materials. The formation seemed to sparkle, and along with how the formation itself, the crystal became even more beautiful.
The crystal wasn’t very big, only the size of one’s palm. It might look small, but its function was very nice, it can help in regulating a person’s temperature, eliminate fatigue, as well as remove any strange odors in one’s body. It was a rare plaything.
Zhao Hai gently handed the crystal over to the eunuch and said, “This is the first time that I had met eunuch, so I was not prepared. I would like sir eunuch to accept this small plaything as a gift from me.”
The eunuch looked at the crystal in Zhao Hai’s hand. He was a person who was keen on noticing an item’s worth and he saw how extraordinary Zhao Hai’s crystal was. He immediately said, “The Count is too kind. I’m just a eunuch, it wouldn’t be proper for me to accept such a gift.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, “Sir eunuch is too polite. For His Majesty to trust you meant that you are absolutely worthy of this small gift. The current weather is very cold, this little thing can keep Sir eunuch’s body temperature at a comfortable level. Sir eunuch would also be by his Majesty’s side all the time, this thing can also relieve fatigue. Additionally, this one can eliminate any odors in one’s body, even if it didn’t have much use, it should still be able to take care of the small nuances in Sir eunuch’s day to day living.”
The eunuch looked at Zhao Hai, the first two points wasn’t much of a problem for him. Just as Zhao Hai has suspected, the man was indeed an a.s.sa.s.sin, an 8th rank a.s.sa.s.sin. With his strength, the cold and heat wasn’t a problem, he doesn’t get tired easily as well. However, the last point of eliminating odors attracted him.
Eunuchs have this problem, because of their function, they didn’t have the advantages that a normal man might have, there were things that they can’t do. Moreover, they are easily p.r.o.ne to odors. Because of this, they rarely eat in the morning, they rarely drink water as well. Their tasks were stressful. One should know that if the King notices a strange smell in them, there was a high possibility of them being executed. If not, they would fall out of favor, and for them, falling out of favor was much worse than death.
Therefore, this issue of body odors was a very important issue to these eunuchs. Besides eating and drinking a little, they would also constantly change clothes. They would also sprinkle powders along with other methods in order to mask the smell of their bodies.
With Zhao Hai’s crystal, all of these issues would be solved. The eunuch became elated when he heard Zhao Hai point out the uses of the crystal.
Seeing the eunuch’s expression, Zhao Hai immediately handed the crystal over and said, “I ask Sir eunuch to receive it and give me face. Right, I’ve been very disrespectful, I still don’t know Sir eunuch’s name.”
The eunuch didn’t decline this time, he received Zhao Hai’s crystal and placed it near his chest. He immediately felt the benefits of the crustal, in his usually cold body, the temperature began to rise. The eunuch smiled and then turned to smile at Zhao Hai, “The Count is too kind, we don’t have any names. But in my generation, I’m number three. Later on, people began to call me Third Eunuch.”
Zhao Hai quickly said, “This count has met Third Eunuch. If mister has any needs in the future, please don’t hesitate to inform me.”
Third Eunuch laughed and said, “Very well, I will do so.”
Zhao Hai didn’t believe that this gift would completely buy Third Eunuch. He just wanted to earn his good favor, it might make things more convenient in the future.
Actually, with his current strength, he didn’t have to earn Third Eunuch’s favor. But Zhao Hai still did it in order to establish relations. He knew that he still couldn’t offend a lot of people. After all, n.o.bles still held control of the matters in the continent. People who didn’t have any good relations.h.i.+ps in this world wouldn’t be able to survive.
At this time, they have arrived outside the Imperial Palace great hall. This was the place where the Emperor handles his day to day politics. The place didn’t have an elegant name, it was just called Hall of Administration. Like the rest of the continent, it’s naming was a practical one.
The Hall of Administration had a few dozen steps in it. Third Eunuch asked Zhao Hai to wait at the bottom of the steps while he goes in and reports his arrival. Before long, Zhao Hai heard a voice announcing his presence, “Mister Zhao Hai has arrived!”
Zhao Hai patted his clothes to make them proper before ascending the steps. He was going to see the Emperor of the continent’s most powerful nation. If he said that he wasn’t anxious, then he would be lying.