Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 598: Door Covered with Gray Hair
The other side paused for a while before sending another message: "Did they find out about Yu Sicheng?"

"Yes. Qu Chang was the one who took full responsibility for the case. If we had found this person, we would have understood many things, but Yu Sicheng killed him." Pei Ye briefly described the events of Yuxian Garden. "As a result, I can only use some fragments of the manuscripts and look for some old people who don't know the inside story to find clues... I don't think this is going to be effective. Since Yu Sicheng is still there, it's better to start with him directly."

"Good idea. I think he will be able to lead the Crane Clan in the future."

"...Don't interfere. I'm asking you seriously." Pei Ye flipped through the materials in his hand, trying to find a few more names from them.

"It's not a mess. It's better to be straight than to be crooked. It's better to fight than to investigate. It's quite good." Xu Chuo's calm voice seemed to echo in his heart. "It's just that it's really difficult and dangerous for you to investigate Yu Sicheng in the palace."

"what for?"

"Yu Sicheng lived for more than fifty years, and he spent forty of those years in the palace. He never left Chengtian Gate, and his reputation as a vicious person had already made the court fear him. Now you have come to his lair, and what are you talking about?" Xu Chuo said at length, "He has a private residence in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, south of the Ye Ting. No one in the court has such status. He has almost everything under his control in the Daming Palace. You went to the northern border to investigate the Prince of Yan, and that's probably the case."

"Forty years? Tell me about this person?"

"Yu Sicheng has no family or relatives, and is a lone minister that people are quite afraid of. Because of this, people have few ways to get to know him, and most court officials often have the impression that he is ruthless, cruel, and moody. He entered the palace when he was thirteen years old, and the one in power at that time was not the saint we have today. He stayed in the palace of the previous emperor for more than ten years. Ten years later, he took advantage of the succession of the throne and became the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Since then, he has been the most powerful eunuch in our dynasty. After that, his power has only increased, and he has led the imperial guards and inspected the three palaces... To this day, no one knows how far his hands have stretched."

"So, if someone wants to do something in the palace, they can't avoid him?"

"At least in my memory, that's what I can say."

Pei Ye nodded and flipped through a few pages of drawings. After a while, he also ticked off a few names, but they were either occasionally mentioned as hard laborers or as casual notes like "paid so much silver to the cook who delivered meals". He flipped through the pages carefully, trying to find another title like supervisor or Xiguanling.

"Yu Sicheng's house is in the northern corner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, adjacent to the South Pond, and he is also in the palace. But if you really want to do something to him, it's better to take a roundabout way and use another person as a bridge to gain strength."

"Who?"

"Yu Ziliang."

Pei Ye seemed to be thinking about something.

"Yu Ziliang is often in the palace. Yu Sicheng loves this adopted son very much, but he is a rare and precious fool." Xu Chuo said, "You can see a lot of things about Yu Sicheng from him. Normally, no one dares to attack him for fear of retaliation, but since you are planning to attack Yu Sicheng himself, you don't have to care."

"So that's it." Pei Ye thought to himself, "Does this person have any whereabouts?"

"He usually likes to follow Li Yujin. I've asked someone to collect the specific information and send it to you today. You can handle it yourself." Xu Chuo was probably not idle either. After he finished speaking, he didn't say goodbye. The blue bird on his left folded its wings and dimmed.

"Okay." Pei Ye regained his composure, looked down at the last page in his hand, picked up the pen and slowly ticked the last name.

There was nothing special about the name, but the location was a little strange. It only appeared once in the entire set of materials, at the end, under "Inspection and Acceptance: Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household Qu Chang", with a line of sloppy additions.

The pen and ink used were different, and it seemed that after a period of time, it was written: "Review: Guo You, the chief historian of the Shenwu Army."

Pei Ye closed the case file in his hand and repeated the name twice.

"Don't say anything." Pei Ye stood up from his seat, tilted his head and smiled at the kitten, "With this [Knowing Meaning], it's really much easier to talk."

The black cat had no expression on his face. He glanced at him and said, "You guys can talk anytime, but you're just avoiding me now."

"..."

…It seems that in the past, cats were indeed used to convey messages.

Pei Ye wisely did not respond, gathered up the materials and strolled towards the street. Although it was called the Ye Ting, and it seemed to have the miserable meaning of a criminal girl being kept in the cold palace, it was actually much more popular than the Daming Palace, and it was much less solemn and cold.

On the other hand, all matters in the palace are handled by the people here. Things that cannot be found in the Daming Palace may often have some news here.

Pei Ye thought about it seriously and decided to go west first. The map given by Xianrentai said "to the west of Ye Ting, where palace ladies live together", which was exactly the place he liked.

After walking a short distance, they saw a large area of ​​crowded alleys - not every palace official had a clear division of labor, and not every department could accommodate everyone. Moreover, there were pharmacists who treated illnesses, elderly palace maids, concubines who had been convicted, and many people who were not suitable for distribution lived in these dozen or so criss-crossing alleys.

But the appearance here is not as bright and tidy as the outside. Under the influence of long-term residents, wind and rain, the stone slabs have cracked and sunk into the soil. The eaves and courtyards are of different ages and sizes, all tightly arranged. The alleys are narrow and deep, the eaves are old and black, and some of them have bright red spring couplets posted on them, which have a charm that has been brewed over time.

What was called Yongxiang in the Han Dynasty was probably something like this.

Pei Ye was walking slowly, and suddenly his eyes stopped and fell on a large courtyard across the alley, which was the embroidery workshop he had just mentioned.

What the female official said was true. There were indeed ten ox carts lined up in front of the courtyard gate, and each of them was piled with small mountains of cloth.

The palace maids in the courtyard were unloading their clothes one by one with worried faces. A slender embroiderer rolled up her sleeves and picked up two horses from the cart. She turned around and panted slightly, calling out, "Qiu Yi, come and pick me up!"

A voice came from the yard: "If you can't hold it, just hold one first."

"Oh, trust me, it's faster for two people to carry two horses than for one person to carry one horse!"

"..."

A dozen palace maids kept coming and going, and the total number of people on the carriage slowly decreased. Jianniu looked at them quietly with his deep eyes.

Pei Ye thought for a while, then walked to the ox cart and said with a smile, "Excuse me, do you need help?"

Several palace maids were stunned at the same time, their eyes first looked at his face, then swept across his attire from top to bottom, and then paused briefly on the sword at his waist... Then their gazes were suddenly pulled back upwards, all fixed on the cute jade-black kitten on his shoulder.

"...Which department are you from?" The slender embroiderer held the two pieces of cloth in her arms and turned her gaze back to look at him.

"I'm a guard from the Ming Palace, and I just happened to come here to do some business," Pei Ye smiled and stepped forward, easily carrying more than ten horses, "Let me lend a hand."

The embroiderer opened her mouth in shock: "...Thank you very much!"

The palace maids were extremely surprised, and stared at him as he picked up five or six pieces of cloth with his other hand and strode into the courtyard with his chest puffed out.

With the addition of this heaven-sent guard, the speed more than doubled. He carried a lot and walked fast. Gradually, the palace maids consciously blocked his steps. Some were stacking and preparing things beside the ox cart, while others were sorting the incoming goods in the cloth warehouse. It took less than two hours to unload all ten carts of cloth.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Pei! Thank you so much!" "It's just a piece of cake." Pei Ye sat cross-legged in the courtyard and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. Although the embroiderers didn't move much, their arms were already sore and tired. At this time, they were walking around in the courtyard, busy finishing the work.

"Master Pei is worthy of being a guard of the Ming Palace. He must be very skilled in martial arts." The older embroiderer smiled and said, "If it weren't for your help, these would really be difficult for us."

"Yes, this is also the first time I have seen the guards from Ming Palace. What is Lord Pei doing here?"

"Master Pei, you are such a bull!"

"Ah, Master Pei must be so happy to be praised by you like this."

Pei Ye smiled and drank his tea: "Some chores. Do you often have so much cargo to load and unload?"

"It doesn't happen often, but whenever something big happens, the embroidery shop has to be busy."

"Busy New Year's clothes?"

"No, I was just busy. Now I have to prepare the wedding gifts for my masters."

"Marry?"

"Yes, there will be a grand wedding in the palace after the New Year. All kinds of ceremonial clothes and red gauze curtains need to be prepared a month in advance."

"Who wants to get married?"

"Eh? Lord Pei is from the Ming Palace. Do you still need to ask us questions?"

"I have not heard of it."

"...Actually, I don't know either. I just did the job after receiving it."

There are many sons of the emperor in the palace, as well as many relatives. It is normal for some of them to get married. Pei Ye finished drinking his tea and said, "Hey, let me ask you about some of them. Zhao Wuliang, Xu Si, and Wei Qi. The first two used to work as laborers in the Xiguan Bureau, and the last one was a cook. Does anyone know them?"

The embroiderers all looked at each other in confusion.

"I want to ask them something."

Since Master Pei had a request, the embroiderers called each other to ask questions. However, after a round of questioning, they all shook their heads. Especially the oldest one who was the leader, said, "I have been working here for more than 20 years, and I often travel around. I should know a lot about the affairs in the palace. I have never heard of these names. When was it?"

"Twenty-four years ago."

"Ah... I'm afraid it's hard to find them. Even if there is no birth, old age, sickness or death, Her Majesty the Queen pardoned the palace maids when she ascended the throne. The old people are hard to find now."

"I see." Pei Ye nodded. He didn't hold out much hope. "Then you probably haven't heard of this other person. He was said to be the chief officer of the Shenwu Army. His name was Guo You."

"..."

Most of the embroiderers were still confused, but the older one was stunned and said, "If Master Pei wants to find this person... he is still in the workshop."

"Well?"

……

He sat in front of the door and tasted the lunch from the Embroidery Clothes Workshop, then sat idly for more than an hour. When he saw the sun setting, Pei Ye stood up, raised his sword and said goodbye.

"But you have to go to the Music Academy." The female official said this when talking about Guo You.

She wanted to send a palace maid to lead the way, but Pei Ye saw that they were in a hurry and refused. He walked out of the courtyard gate, and the black cat that was standing on the wall to avoid everyone jumped onto his shoulder again.

In fact, Jiaofang was also adjacent to this mixed settlement, but it was far to the north. If the Yiting was divided into different levels, Jiaofang was considered to be at the upper level. The people here were not only of noble status, but also came from famous families. They were also well-versed in poetry, books, rituals and music. They performed the duties of dancing and music in various ceremonies and sacrifices, and were not involved in labor.

As Pei Ye walked towards this side, the ground gradually became clean, and magnificent pavilions began to appear on both sides. There was a special canal in front of the door for the singing girls to wash and make up, and the shiny grease floated on the water. Some women workers in the laundry shop were driving donkey carts, pulling two large buckets of washed clothes and handing them over in front of the door. She knelt on the edge of the cart and handed them down one by one, and two singing girls held a large bamboo basket to receive them.

Then he really saw a head of gray hair that looked out of place.

With a thin and hunched figure and tattered clothes that had not been washed for some time, he was outside the wall, stepping on two stacked stones, climbing up the edge of the wall and struggling to stick his head inside, like an old turtle with its neck stretched out.

The women in front of the door seemed to have seen nothing. Pei Ye stood and watched for a while, and saw that he did not try to climb in. After watching for a while, he fell down again in despair.

Then he propped himself up and stood up shakily from the ground, stretched his head and neck to look at the girls in front of the door, stared at them and said hoarsely: "Two girls, this is... Jingshan?"

"No, you go that way." The charming singing girl pointed casually and continued to talk to the female worker on the car about how to wash different materials.

"Could it be...could it be...I haven't crossed Yique yet..." the old man murmured in confusion.

He looked up at the sky in the west, but suddenly he burst into tears. He fell to the ground and began to cry: "But the sun has set! I will never...never see the Goddess of Luo River again!"

The crying was so mournful and melodious. Pei Ye watched quietly for a while, and saw him crying and beating the ground. After a while, he staggered to his feet and ran eastward along the canal: "No, no, the sun hasn't set yet... I must still make it!"

Pei Ye followed him silently until he ran to the end of the canal. He sat down there breathless and in tears, staring at Qingpu in the north and muttered, "Are you Henggao or Zhitian..."

Pei Ye squatted down beside him: "Are you okay?"

The old man suddenly turned his head and stared at him. It was a face that looked too haggard, with messy dirty hair, cheeks so thin that the facial bones were exposed, and deep eye sockets... in which were a pair of insane yet clear eyes.

"You..." He said hoarsely, grasped Pei Ye's arm, and then started crying again, "Are you my driver? Driver, I can't see Luoshen, please point it out to me, where is she..."

Pei Ye did not avoid him, but looked at him seriously and said, "Guo You, what are you looking for?"

(End of this chapter)