The Directorate of Palace Attendants stood south of Ye Ting, overseeing the six bureaus of Ye Ting, palace affairs, palace service, internal servants, internal stores, and internal workshops. It held authority over the palace's countless servants, separated from Ye Ting by only two low walls and matching its width from east to west, like a short extension attached beneath it.
Eunuchs in different-colored robes came and went. Those stationed in the directorate always carried themselves more haughtily than those coming to pay their respects, while those arriving on business always held their heads higher than the servants doing manual labor. Here, Pei Ye found the bustle of greetings and farewells typical of government offices outside the palace, a rare sight for him.
Amid all the hurried calls and laughter, Pei Ye wore a gray robe, carried a bucket of clean water, and shouldered a mop, following his map straight inside through a side gate.
Yu Sicheng's private residence occupied the entire southeastern corner of the Directorate of Palace Attendants, and few people indeed ventured near it. It was far more extravagant than Pei Ye had imagined. Within this proper government office, the man had taken over an entire corner and turned it into a private mansion of carved beams and painted rafters. The moment Pei Ye passed the screen wall, he saw a painstakingly constructed mountain of unusual rocks, surrounded at its foot by mirrorlike pools and winding streams. It was even more exquisite than the palace gardens.
Pei Ye recalled the Taiping Transport Gang they had conspired with. Roughly a third of its enormous silver revenues had indeed flowed into this Grand Eunuch's pockets, and that was clearly not his main source of income. After more than twenty years holding the reins of power, his accumulated wealth could surely