574 Entering the Palace to Find Someone
Sun Wen did not think Ping An was daydreaming. This was the child he had raised since he was a child, and no one knew the magical qualities of Ping An better than he and the eldest son.
But this matter is extremely mysterious and has no factual basis, so he can only be careful when entering the palace.
He was only a fifth-rank official, and no one would look for him, but he still followed Ping An in setting up a trap and a concealment array in the remaining rooms in his backyard. It would not hurt to be cautious.
When Ping An returned home, Xu Song had already called over Da Wu, Xiao Wu, Er Qiang and Tong Lin.
Ping An only told Da Wu about his concerns and asked him to help him protect the home. Xiao Wu and Lin Feng sent him into the palace. When they arrived at the palace gate, he would ask them to come back first and pick him up at the palace gate in the evening.
"Master, don't worry. I will take good care of the house. The manor has also given instructions that the door will not be opened unless someone calls us."
Although Da Wu was not sure what kind of troubles the eldest son would encounter when he went to the palace for treatment, he knew how smart the young master was. The young master would not make groundless assumptions. In this case, he would definitely protect this family well.
At the beginning of the evening, Mei Niang and A Wu saw Ping An off with a smile. They imagined the dishes for the palace banquet, and even Ping Xuan, who was standing beside them, was drooling.
Wan Changsheng and Erqiang laughed loudly.
It was normal for Dawu, Erqiang and others to come over. There were many things to do during the New Year, and Ping'an had to visit people to wish them a happy new year.
Only Sun Hongyu had more thoughts.
The palace banquet begins at the hour of Shen. Generally, those who attend the banquet arrive at the palace at the end of the hour of Wei. After they are seated and talk to their acquaintances, the time is almost up. The banquet starts at the hour of Shen and ends at the hour of You, which is exactly one hour. By the time they return home, it is already night.
Ping'an arrived a little early because he was worried about his master, and was one of the first people to enter the palace.
Seeing that there was nothing but guards at the palace gate and an empty space, it was true that no one really wanted to come to such a banquet. He had heard that the dishes at the palace banquet looked delicious, but tasted just so-so and cold when eaten.
Wang Chufeng had said this to him. Chufeng was the eldest son of the Duke's Mansion, so he should have come today as well.
Chu Feng is now serving in the Kyoto Camp, which is divided into five parts: east, south, west, north and center. His father is the commander-in-chief of the Kyoto Camp, and Hao Ting is also there.
I hope it's just his imagination tonight.
He thought he would not be able to sleep last night, but he fell asleep very quickly and had no dreams all night. Neither the Taoist priest nor the abbot appeared in his dreams.
"Lin Feng, Xiao Wu, you don't have to wait at the door after I go in. If you have nothing to do, you can come pick me up in the evening."
Lin Feng and Xiao Wu both nodded in agreement.
But the young master's abnormal behavior in the past two days made them uneasy. They had already decided to hide not far from the palace gate and wait. It was always more reassuring to be able to see the palace wall than to stay at home.
The guard came forward and checked him up and down, but this kind of inspection was far inferior to the imperial examination, where people really had to strip naked and their clothes would be pinched bit by bit.
This kind of palace banquet is different. There is no need to take off clothes because the guests are all wealthy nobles from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Who would bring any dangerous items?
Ping An certainly wouldn't bring weapons like a crossbow or a dagger, but before going out, he carefully hid medicines all over his body that he might need.
"You may go in now. Once you enter this door, someone will take you to the banquet hall."
"Thank you." Ping An flew and stuffed a red envelope into each of the two people's hands. It wasn't much, just one or two taels. He had brought some such red envelopes with him, and these things were allowed to be brought.
Don't underestimate these guards. They are basically children of officials. After all, only a minority of them can enter officialdom through imperial examinations. Most of them will still use their connections to find a position in the capital. If they do well, they will climb up step by step in the future and will not necessarily do worse than the Jinshi.
As soon as Ping An entered the palace gate, a young eunuch came in to greet him.
Ping An stuffed a small red envelope into his hand and said, "Eunuch, I am the Earl of Ping An. Yesterday afternoon, my master, the Earl of Jing An, Sun Sicheng, was brought into the palace to see a noble. Can you help me find the Eunuch Xiao Zhuo? He was the one who went to pick him up yesterday."
The young eunuch said in embarrassment: "Master, I really don't know. We can't contact Eunuch Zhuo. I will take you to the banquet hall first. There are many people there. Maybe someone knows how to help you find someone."
"Okay." Ping'an stopped making things difficult for him. It was still early, and the master had brought him in to see a patient, so he probably wouldn't object to him seeing the master. After all, he was also a well-known little medical saint.
The young eunuch led him to the right path and said, "Master, the banquet hall is this way. Please come in."
Ping'an looked to the left and saw pavilions and towers in the distance. Needless to say, it was the inner courtyard of the imperial palace. The East Palace was also in that direction.
In some dynasties, princes would be sent to the prince's residence outside the palace when they turned fifteen, and would ask to go to their own fiefdoms when they turned twenty. Unless it was a very important matter, they would not be allowed to return to the capital, and they were not even allowed to leave their fiefdoms.
Except for the crown prince and his family who lived in the East Palace, the other three princes of the Zhou Dynasty all lived in the capital, and all of them were in good locations. Even for this reason, Ping An still felt that the emperor was too carefree, or too trusting of his son.
Turning left and right, Ping An secretly memorized the road.
A quarter of an hour later.
"Master, it's the hall in front. The banquet is held here every year."
Ping An nodded: "Thank you."
He walked slowly, but up to this point, he really hadn't seen any guests. Many palace maids and eunuchs were coming and going in a hurry, busy with the upcoming banquet.
Everything looks peaceful.
Although Ping An was still nervous, he also breathed a sigh of relief.
After a while, he arrived at the hall, a very large hall with small round tables and fruit plates on them.
A eunuch came over and said, "Sir, are you here to attend the banquet?"
"Yes, I'm early. Is this the place?" He stuffed a small red envelope into the hands of the visitor. A red envelope is better than anything else.
Sure enough, the eunuch's smile deepened: "Sir, this is the male guest, the female guests are in the next yard."
The young eunuch thought about it and whispered, "Sir, the toilet is behind the hall."
"Thank you. I want to ask you if you know Eunuch Xiao Zhuo. He brought the eldest son into the palace yesterday evening. He is my master."
The young eunuch's eyes sparkled: "Are you this year's number one scholar?"
Ping An smiled. This little eunuch was only thirteen or fourteen years old and very cute. What a pity.
"Yes, I'm Wan Ping'an. Can you help me find the eldest son or Eunuch Zhuo, or Manager Hu?"
"I see. I'll go ask for you. Butler Hu and his men are not people that a eunuch like me can talk to."
Ping An didn't dare to go far, so he just wandered around. After a while, the eunuch came running over and said, "I'm sorry, I asked many people, but they don't know."
"Forget it, I'll go find it myself."
"My Lord, you can only move around in this area. You must not enter the inner palace without permission." The young eunuch quietly pointed to a path.
"I understand. I won't walk around aimlessly. Go on with your work."
The eunuch trotted away.
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