After another cup of tea, the door to the main hall finally opened.
A scribe came out. He was about forty years old, with a mustache and a smile on his face, but his eyes were rolling around. He didn't look like he was looking at someone, but like he was weighing something.
"Yao Qing Young Master." He cupped his hands, and his voice was neither too high nor too low, just the right tone, "Master Fu Cheng is hearing an important case, and I really can't get away. Let me come and talk to you."
Yao Qing looked at him. "I want to see Sun Zhonghe."
The smile on the clerk's face remained unchanged, but his tone became more business-like. "Sun Zhonghe is a criminal involved in the Guiyuan Hall case. According to the law, no visits are allowed until the case is investigated."
"I am Yao Family." Yao Qing handed Token over, "Guiyuan Hall is Yao Family's property, and I have the right to know the progress of the case."
The clerk took Token, looked at it over and over, and handed it back with the same smile, "Mr. Yao, it's not that I don't want to give you face, it's really... Mr. Fu Cheng said that this case involves the death of a court official and must be handled in accordance with the law. If Yao Family wants to be a guarantor, it must wait for the approval of the Ministry of Punishments."
"How long?"
"As little as half a month, as much as..." The scribe protracted the last sentence and did not finish the sentence.
Yao Qing stared at him. The scribe felt a little uncomfortable when he looked at him and took half a step back, but the smile still hung on his face.
"Take me to see Fu Cheng." Yao Qing said.
The clerk shook his head, and his tone was a little harder than before. "Master Fu Cheng has no time to spare today. Young Master, please come back another day."
If Yao Qing wanted to say anything else, Yang Zhenshan took a step forward and held down his arm.
He glanced at Yang Zhenshan, who shook his head slightly.
"In that case, let's come back another day." Yang Zhenshan cupped his hands towards the scribe and spoke in a calm tone.
The clerk smiled and returned the salute, then turned and returned to the main hall.
Yao Qing stood in the yard, looking at the closed door, motionless.
The sun shone on his face, making it dazzlingly white.
After a long time, he turned around and walked out.
Yang Zhenshan followed, and the two of them exited the gate of Shuntian Prefecture one after another.
The stone lion at the door still looks the same, with its mouth open and teeth exposed, as if smiling.
"Go to Liu Residence and have a look." Yao Qing said, his voice was so calm that it didn't look like his own.
He has lived for more than forty years, and this is the first time he has experienced such cowardice.
The other party is still such a small person.
Liu Residence is on another street in the east of the city, farther than Shuntian Prefecture, but not much further.
When the two arrived, the sun was already setting in the west.
The door was closed, and white flags hung on the lintel, rustling in the wind.
There were a few pieces of paper money scattered on the steps in front of the door, which had been stepped into the mud by passers-by.
Yao Qing came forward and knocked on the door.
Knocked three times, waited a while, and knocked three more times.
The door finally opened, opening a crack, revealing a face.
Liu An, Liu Residence's housekeeper.
"Mr. Yao," he said, his voice hoarse and a bit tired, "Why are you here?"
Yao Qing clasped his fists. "Steward Liu, I'm here to see Mrs. Liu, and by the way... explain about the elixir."
Liu An did not answer the call or open the door.
He just stood in the crack of the door, squinting at Yao Qing, and after looking at it for a while, he sighed, "Young Master is interested, but... Madam is so sad that she can't get out of bed these days. The doctor said she can't be stimulated anymore."
"I know Mr. Liu left suddenly, but the matter of the elixir-"
"Mr. Yao." Liu An interrupted him, his tone was still polite, but the meaning of his words changed, "When the master left, his face was blue. The imperial doctor said that the oil was exhausted, but the master was only in his early fifties, so why was the oil exhausted?"
He looked at Yao Qing, and suddenly there was a glimmer of light in his squinted eyes, like a knife. "You said about the elixir, what else is there to say about the elixir? Guiyuan Hall himself admitted that there was something wrong with the medicine, and now that he is gone, can you explain it?"
Yao Qing's face darkened. "Steward Liu, the cause of Mr. Liu's death has not been determined yet--"
"The imperial doctor said, it's not poison." Liu An's voice suddenly became louder, and pedestrians passing by the door looked here, "But it's not a disease either. What is that? Mr. Yao, tell me, what is that?"
Yao Qing was blocked by these words.
Liu An looked at him, suddenly stopped talking, took a half step back, and turned back into the polite butler. "Mr. Yao, I'm rude, please come back. Madam doesn't want to see you."
The door is closed.
Yao Qing stood at the door, looking at the closed door, at the white flags fluttering on the lintel, and at the paper money that had been stepped into the mud on the steps. There were faint cries in the yard, intermittent, but not really clear.
Yang Zhenshan stood behind him, neither urging nor speaking.
After a long time, Yao Qing turned around and walked down the steps.
"Let's go."
The third house is Hanlin Academy's door, Li Family.
The concierge of Li Shidao's family recognized Yao Qing and smiled when he saw him, but the smile was uglier than crying, "Mr. Yao, what a coincidence, my son went out to visit friends. He left early in the morning and I don't know when he will come back."
Yao Qing glanced at the door.
There is an old locust tree in the yard. There is a person standing behind the tree, and his back looks very familiar.
When the man heard the noise, he shrank back from the tree, revealing half of his clothes, which were green and embroidered with bamboo patterns.
Yao Qing recognizes that dress.
He looked away, nodded towards the concierge, turned and left.
The fourth home is the home of Imperial College's classmate Zhou Mian.
Zhou Mian's father is Imperial Academy jijiu and Subordinate Fourth Rank. Their family status is not high, but Zhou Mian and Yao Qing sat on the same bench in Imperial College, so their friendship is not shallow.
The year Yao Qing was assigned Lin'an, Zhou Mian also wrote a letter with only eight words: "A gentleman lives in Yiyi, waiting for destiny."
No one was allowed in today.
The concierge went in to report, but when he came out he looked unhappy and said that the young master was not at home.
Yao Qing asked where he was, and the concierge said he didn't know.
Yao Qing asked the lady again if she was there. The concierge said that the lady was unwell and would not see guests.
He stood for a moment, then turned and left.
The fifth house, the sixth house, the seventh house...
Every family is similar.
Some said they weren't here, some said it was "inconvenient to meet", and some simply pretended not to hear the knock on the door.
One house was even more amazing. The concierge heard the voice of Yao Qing through the door. He didn't even open the door. He just said inside, "The master is sick and will not see any outsiders." Then there was no sound.
Yao Qing barely maintained etiquette from the beginning, but later just handed over his name card and stood at the door waiting.
All the waits come with the same result: missing.
The sun has set to the west, and the shadow is stretched very long.
Yao Qing stood in an alley, in front of the last store he visited today.
The door has been closed, and the patina on the door knocker glows dimly in the setting sun.
He stood for a while, then turned and walked back.
The silence along the way.
When we returned to the other courtyard, it was already dark.
Yao Qing was sitting in the hall, Yang Zhenshan poured two cups of tea and pushed one over.
"I am here at Yongjing, and these are the only friends I have." The two were silent for a long time, and then Yao Qing's words came.
"But today it seems like nothing."
Yao Qing sneered, picked up the tea cup and drank it all in one gulp.
After another long silence, Yang Zhenshan spoke, "This Yao Ke, Yongjing City does have some tricks."
Yao Qing curled his lips and smiled bitterly when he heard this, "Not only Yao Ke's ability, but also his father's attitude can also explain a lot of problems."
"I'm just a second son who is not welcomed by Chancellor."
"Who would offend Chancellor's eldest son for me?"
Yang Zhenshan thought of something, raised his head and said, "How about Zhou Qi please come forward and give it a try?"
"He... has been in seclusion to break Foundation Establishment Late Stage." Yao Qing looked hesitant, "I don't know if he succeeded."