"Old Shan, you're familiar with Lingxu City?"
"Very familiar. I've been in Lingxu City for over twenty years. In my earlier years, I served as a steward for two or three households up there." Old Shan gestured toward the sky with a finger. "Later on, I did business and worked as a fixer and facilitator. Large as Lingxu City is, I know it inside and out."
"Mm..." With so many urgent matters pressing on him right now, He Lingchuan had no leisure to listen to past life stories. Fortunately, Old Shan was not one to babble needlessly; he had a sharp eye for people. "Then let me ask you: among the retired officials in Lingxu City, is there anyone with the compound surname Zaifu?"
"Zaifu?" Old Shan blinked twice. "Yes, there is. You must be referring to Lord Zaifu Kua. He rose to the rank of Junior Director of the Directorate for the Palace Buildings. Back when I was a steward for my first master, he lived half a street away, practically diagonally across from us."
"The Directorate for the Palace Buildings?"
Knowing He Lingchuan was unfamiliar with the bureaucratic system of Lingxu, Old Shan explained, "The Directorate for the Palace Buildings oversees the construction of imperial palaces, the crafting of exquisite items for royal use, the tailoring of court silks and embroideries, and the like. Lord Zaifu excelled at overseeing the construction of palaces, temples, and courtyards. When massive construction projects were carried out on the Floating Isles and Mount Xu back then, he was involved in all of them."
No wonder Xiang Yan knew him; they truly were old colleagues who had worked on the same projects.
He Lingchuan nodded. "Is Lord Zaifu in good health these days?"
"He's been retired at home for less than two years, in fine health, full of vitality, and often out and about," Old Shan answered quickly. "Even now, visitors constantly throng the Zaifu residence."
"He's just an old retired official. Why are so many people still calling on him?" When tea goes cold once the guest leaves—that was usually the way of the world.
"Lord Zaifu was an official for decades, spending twelve or thirteen years in the Directorate for the Palace Buildings alone. Think about what kind of post that was. All those merchants of rare goods in Beijia, all those lake and river shipping contractors, all those building material suppliers... heh, whose goods to use and whose to reject, aside from the ones handpicked by the Emperor, wasn't it all up to the Directorate? Lord Zaifu knew the ropes inside out and made friends far and wide. Even after retirement, his old acquaintances span the royal court, and his words still carry weight with many high officials."
He Lingchuan chuckled. "An old fox of officialdom, then."
Old Shan chuckled along. "You could certainly put it that way."
"Lord Zaifu is living so comfortably. That's very good."
Old Shan continued, "Next month is his sixty-fifth birthday. His Lordship has already received an invitation from his household."
"Next month?" He Lingchuan raised a brow. "Can you get hold of his Eight Characters of birth?"
Old Shan thought for a moment and nodded. "I hear Lord Zaifu had his fortune told in his younger years, and it was said he would face a great calamity at sixty-four. Now that sixty-five is drawing near, he wants to host a banquet to celebrate safely passing that year."
He paused, then added, "On the Floating Isles, households frequently host banquets, finding any excuse for a celebration. If timing lines up and you go from house to house, you could feast for a month and a half without repeating a single dish."
"A few banquets, even with mountain delicacies and seafood, are chump change to them."
Old Shan shook his head. "Actually, social courtesies and keeping up appearances are the most expensive of all. The expenses flow like water; without mountains of gold and mines of silver, no one can sustain it. Many officials cannot bear such expenses after retiring and are forced to leave the Floating Isles to live down in the lower city."
That meant plummeting from the clouds into the mortal dust.
"For ordinary folk, the lower city is expensive too, but it's nothing compared to the Floating Isles."
He Lingchuan thought of General Jinjiao's Dun Garden. A sprawling, luxurious estate that occupied an entire mountain—who knew what kind of fortune that would be worth up on the Floating Isles?
Oh right, money alone wasn't enough to get up there. He had nearly forgotten.
"We've strayed from the point. Is Zaifu Kua in the upper city or the lower city?"
"The upper city, Tianxiang Isle," Old Shan added. "Retired officials who don't move to the lower city tend to gather on Tianxiang Isle."
"Does he ever come to the lower city?"
"Occasionally." Old Shan considered it. "He's fond of pomp and ceremony."
He Lingchuan nodded. "Then look into whether he plans to visit the lower city anytime soon."
"Understood."
Just then, a servant delivered breakfast outside the courtyard.
The page boy watching the gate reached out to take it, but the servant pulled back and said loudly, "The Eldest Young Master ordered me to bring it in myself."
Ever since Panshan Residence had come into He Lingchuan's possession, the servants here addressed him as Eldest Young Master.
The page glared. "I've been here since morning. When did the Eldest Young Master ever order you that?"
"Last night." His voice grew even louder.
"..."
Hearing the argument outside, He Lingchuan yawned. "Both of you come in. Stop squabbling!"
Both the page boy and the servant entered, the latter carrying the breakfast tray.
Before He Lingchuan could ask anything, the servant set the tray on the table. "Eat while it's hot."
This sounded more like a personal admonition than a servant's fawning.
Not only did the page boy find it bizarre and Old Shan glance sideways, but He Lingchuan also scrutinized him for an extra moment.
Under the gazes of three pairs of eyes, the servant continued, "It's been half a month since we last met. Once you finish eating, let's have a good chat."
He Lingchuan's gaze gradually turned grave. "Who are you?"
"I warned you: if you value your life, stay away from Lingxu City." The servant sighed. "You didn't listen to me."
His expression was stiff, his movements clumsy, like a puppet on strings. Even his speech seemed spoken through him against his will.
Hearing this, He Lingchuan told the other two, "You two, step outside."
Old Shan whispered, "Eldest Young Master, what about you...?"
"I'm perfectly safe." He Lingchuan waved a hand. "Leave us."
The two swiftly retreated from the courtyard, not forgetting to shut the door behind them.
He Lingchuan glanced at the tray on the table.
Breakfast was hearty: a steaming bamboo steamer of glutinous rice shaomai; two fragrant pan-fried shredded-potato-and-radish pancakes; a large bowl of scallion-oil noodles tossed with shredded vegetables; and the smoked pork shank and stuffed stomach roll He Lingchuan had specifically requested the previous night—their skins glistening reddish and glossy, sliced thin and delicate. Dipped in the specialty sauce and eaten plain or wrapped in the potato pancakes, they were absolute perfection.
Oh, and a big bowl of sweet fermented rice wine.
Yet now that he knew who stood before him, how could he dare take a bite?
Damn it all, what a waste of good food!
"You have quite the nerve, wandering around inside Lingxu City." He sighed and sat down. "Mai Xuewen... or should I call you Xi Yunhe?"
The servant remained expressionless, not a ripple of emotion in his tone. "National Preceptor Qingyang told you, didn't she?"
That was an admission. He Lingchuan crossed his legs. "Did you come here to cause trouble for me?"
Xi Yunhe had already displayed this trick back in Baishaqu, controlling the mind of an inn attendant to act as his messenger puppet—in other words, his mouthpiece.
Yet He Lingchuan knew such arts had their minor drawbacks; for instance, Xi Yunhe himself could not be too far from his puppet.
Panshan Residence was not a grand palace, but it was far larger than the inn he had stayed at in Baishaqu. That meant Xi Yunhe was likely lurking just outside the perimeter walls.
Naturally, the fellow dared appear before him only because he had nothing to fear.
"Why would you say that?"
"All of Lingxu City is hunting you, and Duyun Emissary Bai Ziqi wants to capture you personally. At a time like this, you come out into the open, and right to my doorstep?" He Lingchuan scowled. "Are you trying to drag me down with you?"
"My actual body hasn't stepped into your residence, nor have any of your servants seen me. What's there to fear?" Xi Yunhe's voice sounded somewhat breezy. "Besides, Bai Ziqi's master is eager to crack the elixir of immortality case. His primary focus isn't on me, but on whoever assassinated Wu Kai and wiped out Qingfu Temple."
"My actions actually gave him a hand. He cannot fail to realize that."
He Lingchuan said blandly, "Gave him a hand? Does the Emperor truly not know that someone is illicitly selling the elixir of immortality in Lingxu City?"
It was through Shi Kai's introduction that Zhongsun Mou had gone to Qingfu Temple to buy the elixir of immortality.
He had dared to buy it, and that old fellow Zhongsun Chi had dared to consume it without suspecting it was some other sinister concoction. That showed the rumor that "the elixir of immortality can be bought" had already circulated among Lingxu City's upper crust.
If the court officials all knew about it, could the Emperor truly be kept entirely in the dark?
It wasn't impossible, but...
"Does the Emperor truly want to deal with it?"
"You'd have to ask the Emperor himself." Xi Yunhe chuckled. "How could I know what His Majesty thinks?"
Had this matter not been dragged out into the open, right under the noses of the deities, would Beijia really exert such great effort to investigate it thoroughly?
He Lingchuan was an outsider; he couldn't say for sure.
"What did you really come to see me for?"
"I warned you that you'd better stay far away from these muddy waters. The waters in Lingxu City are vastly deeper than in Baishaqu; once caught in the whirlpool, you'll lose your life." Xi Yunhe gave a light chuckle. "You wouldn't listen to me, so now you'll just have to be dragged in."
He Lingchuan shifted into a more comfortable posture. "Does it have to do with the elixir of immortality case?"
"Smart."
"You went to great lengths to deliver leads to Lingxu City"—and used such radical methods at that—"only for all of them to be cut off. Wu Kai is dead. Though the actor who liaised with him confessed, the higher-up he named is dead too. Qingfu Temple was razed completely to the ground, its people and the temple reduced to ashes together. If things keep going like this, the Emperor might just close the case using Cen Boqing as a scapegoat."
"Exactly. We cannot allow the true culprit to remain at large." Xi Yunhe took a step forward. "Help me deliver another lead to Bai Ziqi."
"Hey, I went to great pains to extricate myself from this mess. Right now, I'm just here in Lingxu City to watch the show." He Lingchuan looked thoroughly reluctant. "Why should I get tangled up in it again?"
"Aren't the four or five vassal demon kingdoms like Chiyan and the Jeweled Tree Kingdom the victims here? Doesn't Fu Shanyue want the truth brought to light and the mastermind properly punished?"
Viewed from that angle, Chiyan and the other vassal demon kings indeed hoped the truth would be exposed to the world, using a righteous pretext to stir up storms in the imperial capital. In that case, as an envoy of Chiyan, what reason did He Lingchuan have to refuse the task?
Yet He Lingchuan remained unruffled. "Then go talk to Fu Shanyue."
Trying to pressure him with duty? Heh, he didn't even hold an official post in Chiyan, so where would any duty come from? To him, moral righteousness was no different from thin air.
Want his help? Bring something tangible to the table.
At this thought, He Lingchuan's mind stirred. Why not...?
"If Bai Ziqi fails to catch the true culprit, once the heat dies down, do you think the culprit will let you off?" Xi Yunhe said coolly. "When that time comes, their retaliation will be fierce."
"Whatever. By then, I might not even be in Lingxu City." He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. "I'm just a nobody. The world is vast—where couldn't I go?"
"By then?" Xi Yunhe laughed aloud. "Even among the established nobility of Lingxu City, not a single family would want to offend the Azure Palace, the Minister of Agriculture, the Zhongsun clan, and the Tongxin Guards all at once."
Chapter 584