the enlightener says

After finishing speaking, Lao Guo beckoned and walked to another place. Qin Ke stood in the pile of firewood, looked at the firewood all around, and smiled helplessly. In fact, where was he dawdling?

With his cultivation base, he might be able to split a basketful of firewood in an instant, but that seems too abrupt.

After practicing for so long, if he wants to lower this speed back to the standard of ordinary people, he is really not used to it, and he can't grasp the speed well.

But more importantly because...he was thinking about another thing.

"So, who is...Qiqi?" Qin Ke held the axe, using only the strength of snapping fingers in his hand, and in an instant, a gap was split in the wood.

Jing Yu's arrangement can only be used as a reference. Jing Wu's spies in the palace have been disconnected from the outside world for a while, and everyone has entered hibernation like a summer cicada. No one can guarantee that there will be more in the future. What happened, even this person named "Qi Qi" might have already had something happened in the small-scale cleaning after the palace.

It's just that I can't stay in the imperial dining room and chop firewood all the time, otherwise how can I get to the file warehouse as soon as possible?However, Jing Yu only told him one word.

and so on.

He can only wait.

While in a trance, the royal chef's extremely courteous voice came from over there.

"Oh, Mr. Feng. What wind brought you here?"

The imperial dining room was rustling, and a group of eunuchs lowered their heads cautiously, but the one in the lead raised his head high. Looking at it from the front, the eunuch's official robe was exuded a lot of majesty by him, just because he had no beard, The smooth chin set off his smile a little yin and yang.

Eunuch Feng had obviously been to the imperial dining room many times, so those imperial cooks shouted very closely, while he closed his eyes with a smile, sniffed the smell in the kitchen carefully, opened his eyes after a while, and looked at the kitchen. Looking at the chef who scolded Qin Ke just now, he said, "It's your unique skill again, right? This taste is really like what the Lord said, 'Wine is not intoxicating, everyone gets drunk'. Just smelling it like this makes my mouth water It's over."

Since he is a cook, of course he is happy to be praised for his good cooking, but this is not the time for him to be self-confident. He stretched out a thumb and said, "It's my father-in-law who can remember so many kings." The witticisms and poems, a rough old man like me, can’t think of them even if I try my best. Eunuch, are you hungry? Or I’ll prepare some food and drink for you?”

In the palace, flattering is almost a must-have skill, and you won’t feel ashamed at all if you belittle yourself and elevate others. After all, all the father-in-laws in the palace have a deep relationship, and making friends with them is not just about being less in the future. It's as simple as making things difficult.

Eunuch Feng lowered his eyebrows and smiled, seemingly satisfied, and shook his head at the same time: "No need. The banquet will start in a while, and I came to the kitchen to see how the dishes are doing. Tonight is Concubine Yang's birthday, but Can't be neglected."

"That's that, that's that." The imperial chef smiled and cupped his hands, "We will do our best to satisfy the king and concubine, and to satisfy all the adults."

Eunuch Feng smiled slightly: "It's good if you have this kind of filial piety."

He took a step forward, looking at the dishes that were already on the plate and about to be delivered to the imperial dining room, pointing his fingers, sometimes nodding to express his satisfaction, and sometimes frowning.And every time he shook his head, the imperial chef who followed closely behind him would quickly remove the dish and put it on the special plate for the servants to eat.

And when Eunuch Feng finished watching all the dishes and finally came to the end, his eyes seemed to fall very "freely" on Qin Ke who was chopping firewood in the yard.

To be precise, it fell on the ornaments hanging on Qin Ke's waist.

It was a plain and inconspicuous woven fabric, and because of this, this ornament was not taken away when entering the palace gate or working with the helpers. After all, such a thing , the value only lies in the mind and craftsmanship, which cannot be exchanged for a few dollars.

But Eunuch Feng was slightly distracted, and then he retracted his eyes, as if everything was normal, turned around and said with a smile: "Okay, I'm just going to check it out routinely, it's okay, everyone, keep busy with your own work, don't make it seem like I don't care about you." Let you work hard."

Everyone flattered again, but they still had to listen to what they said and do things, otherwise it would inevitably embarrass Eunuch Feng.

But Eunuch Feng clapped his hands and said, "Put the food over first, and I'll look at it later. You have to be careful on the way."

"Yes, father-in-law." The eunuchs responded, and the kitchen was a little chaotic, but Eunuch Feng seemed a little bored with his hands behind his back. He walked two steps in the yard, pointed at Qin Ke, and said, "You, come here." , rub your shoulders for me, it looks like you should have a lot of strength, and your appearance... also looks upright."

Hearing the last sentence, everyone looked at each other in private, and there was a bit of a weird smile on their faces. The matter in the court... everyone also knew it. A heart representing their desire to have a good time will also be taken away in the cleaning room, and there are many father-in-laws in the palace who like boys, and no one is surprised.

Eunuch Feng is probably also a person in this way, and he took a fancy to Qin Ke's beauty at a glance, and he must have moved his mind on this aspect.

Everyone was gloating, thinking that Qin Ke might be forced to do something shameful later, but Lao Guo was a little anxious, and hurriedly pushed everyone away and walked to the front, saying: "Eunuch Feng, I'll come Let me rub it for you, I have great strength, this kid can't do it, look at him thin..."

Eunuch Feng stared coldly: "You? What are you? Are you worthy?"

Old Guo's legs became weak from those eyes staring at him. He knew that this person could determine his life and death with a single word. As long as he moved his mouth, someone in the imperial dining room would trip him up in order to curry favor with him.

But... this is the eldest nephew of my cousin's family...

He gritted his teeth, and was about to continue to say something, but someone stopped him and said, "Old Guo, have you drunk too much? It's his blessing that the father-in-law asks someone to rub it. Even if you want to show your filial piety, you shouldn't." Hurry to do it, come on, let's keep working, keep working."

And Qin Ke had already lowered his head at this moment, and followed Eunuch Feng into a wing room, the door was slammed shut, shaking Lao Guo's whole body, and he was speechless for a while.

Chapter 256 Secret Code

"Who are you? Who sent you in?" At the moment when the door of the wing room closed, Eunuch Feng did not show any obscenity as everyone expected, but lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Which idiot is it? Regardless of the overall situation? Don’t you know it’s not safe to contact now?”

Qin Ke looked at Eunuch Feng, thinking of his performance in front of everyone just now, and his current appearance, he felt a little weird.But he still remembered that Gao Yishui warned him to be more careful in everything, so he whispered: "Eunuch, what are you talking about? Why can't I understand? If you have any orders from Eunuch, you can..."

Eunuch Feng looked at Qin Ke and snorted softly: "Don't pretend, you don't sow seeds in the vernal equinox, you don't open umbrellas in the yellow plum blossoms, the wind blows in your pants in winter, and the cattail fan flies in the sky in summer nights! I am Qiqi, the thing on your waist is now Only I can recognize it!"

Qin Ke was taken aback, and looked at this eunuch who was about the same height as him in disbelief.But just now he clearly heard the person in front of him say the code for the connection, and he even finished the part of the code that he should answer.

He immediately confirmed Eunuch Feng's identity, nodded, and while rolling up his sleeves, there was a private seal imprinted on his upper arm near the armpit, which was the word "Yujing".

Seeing these two words, Eunuch Feng sighed: "It turned out that Mr. Jing let you in... the old shopkeeper?"

"The old shopkeeper has been transferred, and I don't know his current situation." Qin Ke said, "But he should be safe."

Eunuch Feng nodded slightly: "If you want to come to Ding'an City, no one has the ability to catch the shopkeeper. Tell me, what are you going to do here? It must not be an extremely important matter, and Mr. Jing will not take the risk to let you You come in."

"It's like this..." If possible, Qin Ke doesn't want to enter such a dangerous place as the palace, but now he has no choice, so he naturally hopes to meet the person code-named "Qiqi" in front of him as quickly as possible. The person explained clearly, and get his approval and help.

Eunuch Feng, or in other words, Qiqi does meet the qualities that a spy should have. First of all, the speed of accepting many things is far faster than ordinary people. It can even be said that all his dormancy is waiting for a new instructions.

When he roughly understood Qin Ke's needs, he frowned and said: "It is not a simple matter to enter the file library, and it is such a sensitive season, such actions are likely to cause serious problems. s consequence."

"Of course I know it's not easy, that's why Mr. Jing Yu asked me to contact the people in the palace." Qin Ke said, "Then will you help me?"

"No." Eunuch Feng's indifferent voice made Qin Ke's heart tremble, but then he said: "But I will obey you. You represent the organization now, and represent the hidden power of the entire Jingwu in the Tang Kingdom. I can disagree with this action, but I must implement it."

Qin Ke swallowed his saliva and didn't know what to say for a moment. What Eunuch Feng showed was a kind of iron will, which made his original eunuch aura recede in an instant. At this moment, he is really a man who has been lurking for many years. , a loyal man for the country, even what Qin Ke didn't know was that he was still a strong man back then, in order to hibernate and enter the palace, he did not hesitate to give up the things that men are most unwilling to give up, which is really admirable.

Eunuch Feng didn't say much, just said: "Follow me for a while, and I will take you to a similar position, and someone will take over the rest of the matter."

Qin Ke nodded, and replied: "Okay."

So Eunuch Feng leaned against the door, poked through the paper window with his hands, and watched carefully for a while from the small hole. After that, he opened the door, and Qin Ke followed him with his head down.

"This kid is not bad." Eunuch Feng smiled at the chef as he walked, "It happens that there is a lot of work tonight, and I don't have anyone at my place. I'll take him to my place first, and send him back tomorrow morning."

Short of people?As a eunuch of the palace, although Eunuch Feng's status is only a mid-lower consul, there are also many small eunuchs under his command, so why is there a shortage of people?Besides, it was always taboo in the palace to bring men along without permission. Such a move might violate the ancestral system of the Tang Dynasty.

But everyone knew that Eunuch Feng definitely didn't want Qin Ke to do some work for him, and he would send it back tomorrow morning, so who knows what will happen this night?

Of course, Lao Guo's face was flushed with anxiety, he wanted to say it but he didn't dare to say it, and the imperial cooks couldn't say it on the bright side. It wasn't him who found him, and he and Qin Ke were not related, so why should he go? Give others a head start?

Therefore, Eunuch Feng took Qin Ke out of the imperial kitchen unimpeded and headed for his residence.

The palace of the Tang Kingdom is far bigger and more magnificent than the Jingwu Palace. In order to avoid any flaws, the two of them walked like a stroll in a garden, which naturally took longer. Eunuch Feng did not look back, and walked in front and said softly: "This copybook Ku has always been guarded by the Li family's relatives, so it is impossible to sneak in under their noses. But today is Yang Taizhen's birthday, and there will be a lot fewer guards in the palace, so maybe there is an opportunity to take advantage of it."

"At the birthday banquet, will the guards of the archives also leave?" Qin Ke whispered.

"No." Eunuch Feng smiled slightly, "But we can find a way to lure them away."

"In short, what you have to do is to take advantage of the situation and enter the document library after our people lure them away. This time is very short. You'd better find what you want as soon as possible."

He didn't ask much about what that thing was, as he said, he just had to obey in everything.

Qin Ke nodded. At this time, a pair of eunuchs came to meet him. The leader and Eunuch Feng looked at each other. They each smiled and nodded, but when they saw Qin Ke, they looked a little weird. Qin Ke looked down. Nodding his head, he followed Eunuch Feng all the way forward, and after walking for a while, he arrived at Eunuch Feng's residence.

"Put it on." Eunuch Feng found an eunuch's clothes and threw them to Qin Ke, his movements were crisp and neat, "In half an hour, when the banquet starts, I have to go about my business, so as not to arouse suspicion, you have to do it yourself." Be careful all the way to the document library, don't attract too much attention."

"Then how do I know when I can go in?" Qin Ke asked.

"You have too many questions." Eunuch Feng said indifferently, "When you arrive, you will naturally understand, and I will contact them. The rules of the organization are all single-line. You should not touch things that you shouldn't touch, and you shouldn't know them. Don’t know people who are in the palace, there are many eyes and ears in the palace, the fewer people who know their identities, the better.”

As he said that, he opened the door and walked out alone, leaving only Qin Ke holding the eunuch's clothes in a daze for a while, but soon, he began to take off his clothes.

Maybe it's because Qin Ke's figure is very standard, or maybe it's because Eunuch Feng has already judged Qin Ke's body size at a glance. This set of eunuch's clothes fits very well, as if it was specially prepared for him. Qin Ke After changing his clothes, he touched the delicate fabric of the eunuch's clothes. Although it was also autumn clothes, compared to his own clothes, this material was simply superior.

"Even the eunuchs are dressed so well." Qin Ke couldn't help feeling, "Tang is really rich."

He thought of the many passers-by wearing silk clothes on the street, and it was no wonder that more than half of the caravan he followed to Tang country were transported luxury goods like silk.

Looking at the clothes he had changed, he thought for a while, then turned his head to look at the charcoal brazier in the corner. Although he was a little bit reluctant, he still threw the clothes in and lit them with a torch.The fire light quickly lit up from the charcoal brazier. Qin Ke watched the flame gradually lick the clothes, and carefully turned them over until the whole clothes were burned to the point that they could hardly be used as "evidence". He extinguished the brazier, opened the The door went out.

He had memorized the topography of the Tang Palace by heart, but facing such a huge group of palaces that covered the sky and the sun, it was not so easy to identify with just a structural diagram.

"Guanghua Hall...Rongguang Hall..." Qin Ke lowered his head, shrunk his body slightly, imitating the cautious appearance of those eunuchs, walking on the road, while walking, he checked the surrounding situation from the corner of his eyes On the way, he passed a team of maids and two teams of imperial guards who were changing defenses. He turned a corner at a corner and headed towards the file warehouse.

There should be a lot of distance from here to the archives. Qin Ke looked at one palace after another that was almost connected to the mountains. The whole palace became extremely silent in the darkness. At that time, I could also hear the faint cries and applause of the maid.

Without someone like Eunuch Feng to guide him, just letting him face such a strange palace alone, he still felt a little worried.

What bothers him the most now is that this royal palace under the night is too unfamiliar to him, the surrounding darkness makes it even more difficult for him to recognize the road, the plaques of those palaces are hung very high, and they are even more blurred in the shadows , although Qin Ke can see things more clearly than others in the dark, it is also difficult to figure out where he is and where he is going in such complicated road conditions.

However, after roughly calculating the direction, he continued to turn a corner, but when he looked at the name of the hall in front of him again, he was slightly taken aback.

"Guanghua Palace." Qin Ke's headache started to ache, and he finally had to admit a very frustrating fact, that is, he lost his way at such a critical moment.

Just what can he do at this time?Looking for someone to ask directions?However, he looked around, Yang Taizhen's birthday party had already started, and almost all the servants in the palace were busy, where could he find other idlers on this road?Looking for those imperial guards guarding the palace?

"Don't be stupid, Ake." Qin Ke lowered his head and whispered to himself, "Isn't looking for them the same as sending my neck to the knife?"

Chapter 257 The Gardener

Having said that, it was not easy for him to find his way in the huge palace by himself. He walked all the way and detoured, constantly restoring the route of the entire palace according to his memory, trying to reach the file library as soon as possible, just such a seemingly simple thing But I couldn't do it.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Qin Ke finally walked along the courtyard wall and walked into a place full of beautiful flowers. Although it was midnight, the flowers were still blooming vigorously, except for those plants that could not bloom in autumn and were silent in the dark , the most is the chrysanthemum, all kinds of colors, red like a beating flame, yellow like a morning sun, obviously after careful care and cultivation.

But what Qin Ke is looking for is naturally not here. What he wants to see most now is not these flowers, but a case library full of the smell of scroll ink.

"Damn it, Li Qiuhuang is not afraid of getting lost in such a big place?" Qin Ke muttered, reached out and flicked a chrysanthemum that was not peacefully extending towards the road with his index finger, and the petals scattered.

"Of course, if you walk a lot, you won't get lost easily."

Just as the petals played by Qin Ke fell one after another, a faint voice suddenly sounded in the darkness.

Qin Ke's heart jumped violently, and he was about to squat down and pull out the dagger in his boots almost immediately, but he quickly lowered his head, pretending to be humble enough, secretly turned his head sideways, and looked towards the source of the sound.

It was a figure with his back facing him. Under the bright and cold moonlight, he was wearing a linen shirt covered with mud. He lifted the hem of the robe high and tied it at the waist. Although it was night, But this person was still wearing a bamboo hat on his head. While bending down, he held a pair of scissors in his hand and aimed at a pot of half-dead chrysanthemums. With a little force, he cut off the broken branches of the chrysanthemum. He threw it into the mud.

However, he took a few steps back, looked left and right at the chrysanthemum, shook his head, and sighed: "It still doesn't work." This big potted flower was already in a dying state, the leaves and petals were wilted together, as if it had been under some kind of heavy pressure or trauma, but he didn't seem to care, and was still working on it.

Qin Ke calmed down, thinking that this was probably the gardener in the garden, but for some reason, he stayed here alone at this late hour to trim the flowers and plants.

But fortunately, he didn't overreact to calling the lord "Li Qiuhuang" by his name. Could it be that... He was punished for something, so he continued to do it on the beautiful night of the imperial concubine's birthday. Doing the rough work of pruning flowers and plants?

Maybe he also has resentment towards Li Qiuhuang?

But no matter what the reason is, at least I have met an excellent passer-by now. Seeing that his movements are slow and somewhat powerless, I think he should be quite old, but this is like a treasure to Qin Ke—— Doesn't the older he gets, the longer he stays in the palace?

God bless.

Thinking of this, he slowly leaned forward and said, "This old man."

"Old man?" The gardener seemed a little surprised by this address, and turned around.

The bright light of the obscuring moon illuminated his face, which looked like he was only in his thirties.

He has a beard, but he doesn't look old, and his smooth skin and exposed muscular arms can tell that he is actually in his prime.

There is a bit of youthful innocence in his eyes, but also a kind of indifference that looks down on the world. What neutralizes the two is a kind of unrestrained chic, with a straight nose and eyebrows like wings, as if he is about to spread his wings in an instant. .

He smiled slightly, as if he found it very interesting. While looking at Qin Ke, he played with the scissors in his hand, letting it rotate back and forth on his fingertips.

Qin Ke stood there for a while, knowing that he had called the wrong name, scratched his head, and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought you..." Maybe it was because of the person who was in charge of pruning flowers and plants that I met in Jingwu , are all old relationships?For example, the butler in Gao Changgong's mansion...

But a gardener, so handsome, really surprised him.

The Tang Dynasty is extravagant and grand, shouldn't it be necessary to have a heart of "seeking beauty" when selecting gardeners?

"Who are you?" The gardener looked at Qin Ke, sized up the eunuch's clothes on Qin Ke, and said with a slight smile, "This is the imperial garden, you can't come in casually."

Qin Ke nodded quickly, and said in a low voice: "I know, I know, I just came to the palace, so I don't know my way around, and the master is busy at the banquet of the imperial concubine and empress, I am really alone... Then I walked and walked and walked away." Here it is."

I hope such a reason can help him pass this level, Qin Ke thought with his head down.

The gardener didn't mind too much. It seemed that nothing was important except for the multicolored hydrangea beside him. He continued to turn around, used his scissors, and continued to trim. The breeze blew his light smile : "It seems that your master is not competent at all. Didn't he teach you how to walk carefully in the palace?"

"Maybe." Qin Ke laughed dryly.

His master is not a eunuch.

Seeing the gardener continue to prune the dying hydrangea again, Qin Ke felt a little strange, and muttered to himself: "This flower is dead, what's the use of repairing it?"

The gardener's hand suffocated slightly, and his wing-like brows also frowned. Qin Ke's voice was murmured as thin as a mosquito. He heard it in his ears, but he felt it was extremely sharp, but he didn't get angry, and didn't let Qin Ke Seeing his expression at the moment, he just stretched out his hand and stroked the plant that he had trimmed several times. He was a little lost in thought. After a while, he sighed and said, "Yes. Since it's dead, what's the use of trimming?" ?”

Qin Ke was startled. Hearing the words of the gardener, he was obviously responding to his words, and secretly blamed himself for not being able to get rid of his bad habit of talking too much.

It's just that the gardener's hearing is too good.

The gardener stood up straight at this moment, and at this moment, he finally began to look at Qin Ke carefully. It was only after he stood up completely that Qin Ke realized that this person was actually a head taller than himself, but the loose clothes made him feel uncomfortable. He looked lazy, not stalwart.

He squinted his eyes and smiled, and said: "It's better to hit the sun than to choose a date. Since we meet each other by fate, why don't we find a place to have a drink?"

"No, no, no." Qin Ke didn't know why the gardener suddenly became interested in drinking, but now he had important things to do that he couldn't neglect, so he waved his hands repeatedly and said, "I, I have to do things quickly, I don't know what you...why?" call?"

"Name?" The gardener seemed to find this question very interesting. He pondered for a moment, looked at the moon in the sky, and said with a smile, "My name is Guan Shanyue. How about you?"