"Fuck your uncle!" He Xuduobu slammed the darkroom door shut with a bang, then turned to glare at him, his narrow eyes stretched into long, flattened ovals.
"I've never wronged you. Why are you trying to get me killed?" He Xuduobu rasped furiously. "Get out! We're done investigating!"
Pei Ye caught his forearm and smiled at him. "That's where you're mistaken, Eunuch He. If you tell me, it's just a few words of idle conversation. You neither knew what I came to investigate nor ever thought I'd coaxed any information out of you. But if you refuse, that makes you someone involved in the case. Then I can't know what you actually know... perhaps you even hold evidence of Empress Li harming someone-"
He Xuduobu clapped a hand over his lips with a smack, hard enough to all but slap him across the mouth.
Neither annoyed nor angry, Pei Ye pulled his hand away and revealed a bright, warm smile.
"And I wondered why everyone in the Immortal Platform was named after sparrows," He Xuduobu snapped. "You really are a fucking flock of bird-brained bastards!"
Pei Ye said nothing and took out a little notebook.
He Xuduobu drew a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped outside to look both ways. Coming back in, he carefully shut the door and looked at him. "I'll tell you the truth. I really know nothing about this canal or this empress case. It's all ancient history. But you came into the palace specifically to ask about it, so I suspected there might be more to it. Then finding Qu Chang's name gave me a fright. I believe there really is something behind what you're investigating, which is why I don't want to get mixed up in it. Take these things with you when