The Demonic World I designed
Chapter 204 - 204 197 Seeing a Ghost

204: Chapter 197: Seeing a Ghost?

204: Chapter 197: Seeing a Ghost?

Capital City…

more peaceful than I had imagined…

This was Wang Ye’s thought after returning to the capital.

Without Mr.

Origami, the Emperor had lost his eyes, and the city no longer had those black and white guards, which allowed Wang Ye to feel like taking his time to roam and observe.

But something felt very wrong!

“Shopkeeper…” Having found a teahouse, Wang Ye picked a relatively quiet spot near a corner, but to say it was absolutely quiet wouldn’t be accurate, as the Capital City seemed livelier than ever.

Even small teahouses like this one were bustling with excellent business and voices filled the air everywhere.

“Eh, esteemed guest, what can I do for you?” The shopkeeper, seeing Wang Ye dressed in a long robe, hurried over to serve tea courteously.

“How has the Capital City become so bustling in these few months?” Wang Ye asked curiously.

“Isn’t it all because of the war turmoil?” The shopkeeper sighed in response.

“War turmoil?” Wang Ye’s eyes narrowed, “You mean the turmoil in Jiangnan?”

“What kind of turmoil could Jiangnan have?” the shopkeeper chuckled.

“With the personal involvement of Duke of Qin, who would worry about that place?”

Wang Ye nodded at these words; the Duke of Qin was highly regarded, and the citizens, especially those in the Capital City, held unwavering trust in him.

Moreover, Jiangnan was completely sealed off, so even if there were refugees, they couldn’t get out.

The bustle in the Capital City shouldn’t have been caused by Jiangnan.

“Then what is it?”

“You don’t know?

There’s a rebellion in the north!”

“The north?” Wang Ye choked on a sip of tea, set down his cup, and asked, “When did this happen?”

“You really don’t know?” The shopkeeper hurriedly whispered, “It’s been all over the news; Duke of Wei has allied with the countries in the north, claiming our Your Majesty has been bewitched by a demon, calling for a restoration of the rightful way.

All the Dukes in the Capital City have been drafted to suppress the rebellion in the north, they’ve set out for almost a month now…”

“A month?” Wang Ye was stunned; a month ago…

wasn’t that when Princess Chang led the troops to Jiangnan?

He had thought it strange that, given the Emperor’s cautious nature, to balance the power of Duke of Qin, why was Princess Chang assigned to the task when the Hong Family and the Weichi Clan were the most loyal and suitable candidates.

The sudden assignment of a military command to the long-idle Princess Chang was very suspicious.

So what exactly did Princess Chang do in the Capital City to take command of the Golden Dragon Guard?

What is the current situation in the Capital City now?

What is the Emperor’s current stance?

Why does everyone around seem oblivious to the situation in Jiangnan?

“So these people, are they all refugees from the north who’ve come to the Capital City?” Wang Ye probed.

“Yes, indeed,” the shopkeeper nodded.

“Most of them are wealthy merchants or those with relatives around the Capital City.

Oh, my, they’ve turned the city topsy-turvy, you don’t know…

Those country bumpkins, used to drinking large bowls of tea in the north, come here and keep saying we’re ripping them off.

Haven’t we been conducting business like this for years?

These rubes…

do they think the tea here can compare with their northern soil tea?”

While he was still chattering away, he turned around to find that Wang Ye had vanished at some point, which gave the shopkeeper a start.

Then, seeing the coins left on the table, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Scholars do have their proprieties…

On the street, Wang Ye walked towards the Weichi Residence with a grave expression!

All along the way, it seemed that the ordinary folks had no concern about the situation in Jiangnan.

Was it because the Imperial Court had covered it up too well, or had the news simply not reached here?

Princess Chang committing treason, the loss of nearly three hundred thousand Golden Dragon Guards, the total defeat of Duke of Qin—such significant events, surely the Imperial Court’s civil and military officials weren’t all waiting for him to report, were they?

Could it be…

that everyone in the Capital City, including the Emperor, was completely unaware of the current situation in Jiangnan?

Wang Ye found the idea absurd; didn’t the Emperor and the major noble families have their own informants?

Could the Princess Royale have handled things so cleanly that, despite his own rush from Jiangnan, there was still not a whisper of news?

What exactly is the state of the Imperial Court now?

Wang Ye felt that before reporting to the palace, he needed to gather more information, and in the entire Capital City, if there was someone he could still trust, that person would be Weichi Peng.

————————

“Minister Shaoting has arrived at an inconvenient time, just as the Old Master and Young Master Peng are on shift.

Please wait a moment,”

The one who came to receive him was the old Steward, whom Wang Ye was very familiar with.

This was the servant who had been with the Weichi Clan since the days of the old Family Head, reputedly over a hundred years old.

When Old Madam Weichi had trouble, this was the personal Steward.

“I appreciate your troubles,” Wang Ye said politely.

The old Steward merely smiled, but as he was pouring tea, he asked, “Minister Shaoting…”

“Yes?”

“That demon who harmed Old Madam, is it truly dead?”

Wang Ye was taken aback, looking at him with some confusion.

Discussing the life or death of the Thousand-Faced Fox was taboo, as the case involved too many sensitive issues.

Not only had Old Madam Wei Chi been implicated, but so had the Empress.

Logically speaking, not to mention an old steward of the Weichi family, even the old family head should not be inquiring into these matters.

Why then did he suddenly bring it up?

“This old servant is merely curious, Minister Wang, please don’t take offense…” The old steward smiled as he refilled Wang Ye’s cup with hot tea, then said, “Then I shall take my leave, Minister Wang.

Should you have any instructions, just send a servant to find me, and once Young Master Peng returns, I will have him come to see you at the earliest opportunity.”

“Thank you for the trouble.” A sense of strangeness arose in Wang Ye’s heart as he stood to see him out.

“No need for thanks, sir.”

After the other party left, Wang Ye suddenly felt it was odd—the place from which the other party departed seemed to be the courtyard where the Old Madam once lived.

But to the best of his knowledge, hadn’t the old family head closed off that courtyard due to grief after the Old Madam’s death?

Before he knew it, time had passed, and Wang Ye smelled the fragrance of food.

That prompted him to rise in confusion and check the time of day.

As a magician, he had strong abilities to focus his energy.

Even in a semi-meditative state, several hours could pass by quickly for him.

However, for a Weichi family expected to host him, this did not seem normal.

It was already evening.

No matter what, Weichi Peng should have returned by now, shouldn’t he?

With this thought in mind, Wang Ye walked outside and immediately saw a group of servants continuously carrying platters of food towards the central courtyard, all laden with large pieces of meat, the aroma wafting through the air.

“Eh?

Minister Wang?” A middle-aged steward, who was directing the servants with the dishes, suddenly noticed Wang Ye and quickly approached, “When did you arrive, sir?”

Wang Ye looked at him bewildered.

Hadn’t he arrived at noon?

And hadn’t this steward just greeted him earlier?

Was this…deliberate neglect?

This was actually not entirely unreasonable.

After all, the death of Old Madam Wei Chi was indeed related to him.

If the Thousand-Faced Fox had not aimed to deceive him, it wouldn’t have chosen to take action against the Old Madam.

Strictly speaking, to say the Old Madam was killed by him seemed not far-fetched.

Even though Old Madam was a mortal, she was highly respected in the Weichi family.

It was actually normal for him to be unwelcomed.

Thinking of this, Wang Ye suddenly felt somewhat presumptuous.

When the Weichi family was mourning the Old Madam, he had been under investigation and hadn’t managed to offer Weichi Peng his condolences.

Later on, as more matters arose, he had not visited, yet now that an issue had come up, he sought Weichi Peng’s aid.

This did not seem like the normal conduct of a decent person.

Eh?

Why did he think like that?

“Good heavens, which accursed servant failed to properly attend to Minister Wang upon his arrival?

If Young Master learns of this, he would scold us to death,” the steward quickly said, “Please wait a moment, Minister; I will go and inform the young master right away.”

Wang Ye glanced at the scale of the food preparations and asked, “Is there a gathering at the Weichi Residence today?”

“Eh, today is Young Master Peng’s birthday.

Minister Wang, you must have come to give your best wishes too, right?” The steward hastily replied with a smile.

Wang Ye fell silent.

A birthday, huh…

It seemed he had forgotten.

“Never mind, this official has just recalled another matter and must take leave now.

Please extend my regards to Brother Peng for me.”

“Eh, eh, eh, Minister Wang, please don’t leave like this; we lower servants cannot afford to explain this away,” the steward hurriedly tried to prevent him.

Wang Ye frowned and gave him a look.

The expression of the other party did not seem to mock him; rather, he seemed genuinely anxious.

Could it be that he truly forgot that he had seen him at noon?

While he was contemplating this, a familiar voice called out to him.

“Huh, is that Minister Wang?”

Looking over, Wang Ye recognized the tall, dark-skinned young man speaking as one of Weichi family’s sons by concubines, Yu Feizhan.

He remembered him as a very pragmatic fellow, neither as aggressive and arrogant as Weichi Feihong nor as indulged and flamboyant as Weichi Feihu—a rather inconspicuous figure.

However, he remembered that Yu Feizhan was supposed to be on assignment in the north.

With chaos breaking out up there, why had he returned instead?

“When did you arrive, Minister Wang?” The young general came forward to greet him; his manners were thorough, and his smile was sincere, bearing some resemblance to Weichi Peng.

Wang Ye nodded, “At noon.”

“How come no servant informed us?

These slaves!” Anger flashed across the young man’s face, but then he quickly said, “Minister, please join me at the table.

My brother will be very pleased to know that you’ve come to celebrate his birthday.”

After some hesitation, Wang Ye eventually nodded.

In the end, gathering information was a priority.

It seemed that Weichi Peng would later be in charge of the Imperial Army alongside the old family head.

Inquiring from him how Princess Chang managed to gain control of the troops was most appropriate.

After all, a large part of the control over the Golden Dragon Guard was managed by the Weichi family!

“Who received Minister Wang at noon?

We will certainly discipline them well later!”

Wang Ye smiled and shook his head, “That’s not necessary.

Uncle He is old; it’s normal for him to forget me for a moment.”

He wasn’t worried that the old steward would be reprimanded since his seniority spoke for itself.

“Uncle He?” As soon as Wang Ye spoke those words, the young man’s face stiffened.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Ye asked curiously, as he suddenly noticed strange expressions on the faces of those around them upon hearing the name Uncle He.

“Minister should not jest,” Yu Feizhan frowned, “Uncle He…

passed away a month ago due to the grief of missing the Old Madam.”

Wang Ye: “….”