The capital city was calmer than I had imagined.
This is Wang Ye's thought after returning to Beijing.
Without the Mr. Origami, the emperor lost his eyes, and the city was no longer filled with those black and white guards, which gave Wang Ye the idea to take a leisurely stroll and explore.
But something feels really wrong!
"Manager." After finding a teahouse, Wang Ye found a relatively quiet spot in a corner. But it wasn't exactly quiet; the capital city seemed much more bustling, and these small teahouses were doing excellent business, with people thronging around.
"Oh, sir, is there anything you need?" The innkeeper, seeing Wang Ye dressed in a long robe, hurriedly and politely served him tea.
"How did the capital become so lively in just a few months?" Wang Ye asked curiously.
"Isn't it all because of the war?" the shopkeeper sighed.
"Due to war?" Wang Ye narrowed his eyes. "War in Jiangnan?"
"What kind of war is that in Jiangnan?" the shopkeeper chuckled. "With the Duke of Duke of Qin personally leading the charge, who would worry about that place?"
Wang Ye nodded upon hearing this. The Duke of Qin had a great reputation, and the people, especially those in the capital, trusted him implicitly. Moreover, Jiangnan was completely sealed off, so even if there were refugees, they couldn't get out. The commotion in the capital shouldn't have originated from Jiangnan.
"That is?"
"You don't know? There's been a rebellion up north!"
"The North?" Wang Ye choked on his tea and put down his cup. "When did this happen?"
"Sir, you really didn't know?" The innkeeper quickly whispered, "It's all over the place. The Duke of Wei, in alliance with the northern states, is saying that our Emperor has been bewitched by a demon and must be purged of the throne. All the dukes in the capital have been taken to suppress the northern forces; they've been gone for a month now."
"A month?" Wang Ye was taken aback. A month? Wasn't that when the Eldest Princess led her entourage to Jiangnan?
He said that with the emperor's petty mind, why would he send the eldest princess to check and balance the Duke of Qin? The Hong Household and the Yuchi Household were clearly the most loyal and suitable.
The fact that the eldest princess, who had been living in seclusion for many years, suddenly led troops was highly unusual.
So what exactly did the Eldest Princess do in the capital to gain command of the Golden Dragon Guard?
What is the current situation in Beijing?
What is His Majesty's attitude now?
Why do people around seem completely unaware of the situation in Jiangnan?
"So all these people came to the capital from the north to escape the chaos?" Wang Ye asked tentatively.
"Isn't that right?" The shopkeeper nodded. "Most of them are wealthy merchants, or people with relatives around the capital. Oh dear, they've made a mess of the capital. You wouldn't believe it, those country bumpkins, used to drinking tea from big bowls up north, come here and immediately accuse us of ripping people off. We've been doing business like this for years, haven't we? These bumpkins. Do they think our tea can compare to their northern tea?"
As she was rambling on and on, she turned around and was startled to find that Wang Ye had disappeared sometime earlier. Then she saw the copper coins on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.
Scholars are truly particular.
On the street, Wang Ye walked solemnly towards the Yuchi Residence!
Along the way, it seems that the common people are not worried about the situation in Jiangnan. Is it because the imperial court has concealed the truth so well, or has the news simply not reached us?
The eldest princess betrayed the country, the 300,000 Golden Dragon Guard were wiped out, and the Duke of Qin's entire army was annihilated. With such a major event, surely the court officials wouldn't all be waiting for me to report it?
Could it be that everyone in the capital, including the emperor, is completely unaware of the current situation in Jiangnan?
Wang Ye found it somewhat absurd; the emperor and the major aristocratic families had absolutely no spies or informants?
The eldest princess handled things so cleanly, and her own people even rushed over from Jiangnan, yet there's still not a single piece of news?
What exactly is going on with the imperial court these days?
Wang Ye felt that he should investigate further before going to the palace to report, and in the entire capital, the only person he could trust was Yuchi Peng.
--
"Your timing is unfortunate, Lord Shaoqing. It's just the time when Master and Young Master Peng are changing shifts. Please wait a moment."
The person who came to greet them was the former steward. Wang Ye was very familiar with this Yuchi Household. It was said that this was an old man who had served the Yuchi Household since the time when the previous head of the family was still alive. He was over a hundred years old. When the old lady of the Yuchi Household had an accident, this was the personal steward.
"Thank you for your trouble," Wang Ye said politely.
The old steward simply smiled, but while pouring tea, he still asked, "Lord Shaoqing."
"Um?"
"Is the demon that harmed the old lady really dead?"
Wang Ye was taken aback and looked at the other party with some doubt. The life or death of the Thousand-Faced Fox was forbidden to be discussed. After all, the case involved too many things. Not only did the old lady of the Yuchi Household have an accident, but even the Empress had an accident.
Logically speaking, let alone an old steward of the Yuchi Household, even the former patriarch shouldn't be inquiring about such matters. Why would he suddenly bring it up?
"This old servant was merely curious, please forgive me, Young Master." The old steward smiled and poured Wang Ye another cup of hot tea, then said, "Then this old servant will take his leave. If you have any instructions, Young Master, please have a servant come to find me. I will have Young Master Peng come to see you as soon as he returns."
"Thank you for your trouble." A strange feeling arose in Wang Ye, and he stood up to see him off.
"You're too kind, sir."
After the other person left, Wang Ye suddenly felt something was strange. The place the other person went to seemed to be the courtyard where the old matriarch used to live, but as far as he knew, after the old matriarch passed away, the old head of the Yuchi family was so grief-stricken that he seemed to have sealed off that courtyard, right?
After some time, Wang Ye smelled a faint aroma of food and got up in confusion to look at the sky.
As a sorcerer, he was very skilled at calming his mind; even in a semi-meditative state, several hours could pass quickly for him. But this seemed rather unusual for the Yuchi Household, who were supposed to be receiving him.
It's already evening; surely Yuchi Peng should be back by now?
Thinking of this, Wang Ye moved outside and immediately saw a group of servants carrying plates of large chunks of meat towards the central courtyard, the aroma of which was irresistible.
"Eh? Lord Shaoqing?" A middle-aged steward, who was in charge of directing the servants to serve the dishes, suddenly saw Wang Ye and hurriedly stepped forward. "When did you arrive?"
Wang Ye stared blankly at the other person. Didn't he arrive at noon? Wasn't this butler just greeting him earlier?
Is this a deliberate attempt to neglect me?
This is actually quite plausible. After all, the death of Grand Matriarch Yuchi was indeed related to him. If the fox demon hadn't been trying to deceive him, he wouldn't have chosen to attack the old lady. Strictly speaking, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he killed the old lady.
Although the old lady was just a mortal, she was highly respected in the Yuchi Household, so it was normal that he was not well received.
Thinking of this, Wang Ye suddenly felt a bit presumptuous. When the Yuchi Household was holding a funeral, he was under investigation and hadn't been able to offer Yuchi Peng a few words of comfort. Later, as things got busier, he still hadn't visited him. Now that something had happened, he suddenly thought of him. This didn't seem like the normal way for a person to conduct themselves.
Huh?
Why did I say that?
"Oh dear, which damned servant did this? They didn't even treat you properly when you arrived, Vice Minister Wang! If the young master finds out, he'll scold us to death!" The steward hurriedly said, "Young Master, please wait a moment, I'll go and inform the young master right away."
Wang Ye glanced at the scale of the dishes being served and asked, "Is today a family gathering at the Yuchi Household?"
"Oh, today is Young Master Peng's birthday. Lord Shaoqing, you've come to congratulate him too, haven't you?" the butler said with a smile.
Wang Ye remained silent. (Birthday greeting)
I seem to have forgotten.
"Well then, I just remembered something I need to attend to, so I'll take my leave now. Please give my regards to Brother Peng."
"Hey, hey, Lord Shaoqing, please don't do this. We servants can't possibly explain ourselves if you do this," the steward quickly stopped him.
Wang Ye frowned and glanced at him. The other man's expression didn't seem mocking; he seemed genuinely anxious. Had he really forgotten that he had seen him at noon?
Just then, a familiar voice called out to me.
"Oh, is that Vice Minister Wang?"
Wang Ye looked over and saw that the speaker was a tall, dark-skinned boy. Wang Ye recognized him as one of the illegitimate sons of the Yuchi Household, Yuchi Feizhan. He remembered him as a very pragmatic young man. His personality was neither as violent and arrogant as Yuchi Feihong, nor as pampered and flamboyant as Yuchi Feihu. He was an unremarkable fellow.
However, he remembered that the other party was supposed to be serving in the north. With war raging there, why had he returned?
"What is this, Lord Shaoqing?" The young general stepped forward and bowed respectfully, his smile sincere, somewhat resembling Yuchi Peng.
Wang Ye nodded. "They arrived at noon."
"Why wasn't anyone notified? These lackeys!" Anger flashed across the young man's face, but he quickly added, "Lord Shaoqing, please join me at the table. My elder brother would be very pleased to know that you could attend his birthday celebration."
Wang Ye hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. Gathering intelligence was still the most important thing. It seemed that Yuchi Peng had taken charge of the Imperial Guard with the old patriarch, so it would be most appropriate to find out from him how the Eldest Princess obtained military power.
After all, the control of the Golden Dragon Guard was largely managed by the Yuchi Household!
"Who was it that received Vice Minister Wang at noon? I'll definitely teach them a lesson later!"
Wang Ye smiled and shook his head, "No need. Uncle He is getting old, it's normal for him to forget about me for a while."
He wasn't worried that the old butler would be reprimanded, given his seniority.
" Uncle He?" The boy's face stiffened as soon as Wang Ye said that.
"What's wrong?" Wang Ye asked curiously. He suddenly noticed that the people around him also had strange expressions when they heard the name Uncle He.
"Young Master, please don't joke." Yuchi Feizhan frowned. " Uncle He passed away a month ago because he missed the Old Madam too much."
Wang Ye: "."