Rebirth: The Two-Faced Cook Meets the Cold-Faced King Qin

In the morning, in the hall of the general's mansion, Generals Gu Yuan and Gu Peng were already waiting in the hall, ready to enjoy a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, they could get down to business as soon as possible.

At this time, Su Qianqian walked into the hall with sleepy eyes.

When they saw Su Qianqian come in, they both felt a little uncomfortable.

Su Qianqian sat down immediately, yawned and said, "Are you guys in the general's mansion up so early? Last time I was here, you didn't wake anyone up so early!"

Gu Yuan smiled and said, "You came here because you were injured last time, so I didn't call you!"

Su Qianqian raised her head and half-opened her eyes: "Come on, let me drink some porridge. I want to go back and catch up on some sleep. Even if it's a big deal, I have to eat and sleep well before I can do it!"

Gu Yuan had already prepared the porridge and handed it to her.

Su Qianqian took the porridge and said, "Thank you! You guys should eat quickly too, don't look at me like that, I feel embarrassed!" As she spoke, she took the spoon to put the porridge into her mouth, but accidentally dropped the spoon into the bowl, splashing a piece of porridge, which then spread all over Su Qianqian's face. Su Qianqian was stunned for a moment, while Gu Yuan couldn't help laughing. Gu Peng wanted to hold back his laughter, but he was so amused by Su Qianqian that he also laughed!

Su Qianqian's face turned red like a ripe apple. She smiled awkwardly and muttered softly, "Well... I'm full, you guys eat slowly... It seems that today is really not suitable for me...!"

Gu Yuan rode his horse from the General's Mansion to the Imperial Palace. He walked slowly along the winding corridors, taking every step carefully, fearing that he would miss any clues. Finally, in a remote corner, he saw a busy eunuch with his head down.

Gu Yuan stepped forward and asked softly, "Eunuch, may I ask if you have seen the maidservant beside Concubine Yao? Did she ask someone to bring out a letter?"

The eunuch raised his head with a puzzled look. He looked Gu Yuan up and down, as if assessing his identity and purpose. "Sixth Prince." Gu Yuan tried his best to make his voice sound calm and sincere: "Eunuch, this matter is of great importance, and I am not speaking nonsense. If you really know anything, please tell me something."

The eunuch was silent for a moment, as if he was weighing the pros and cons. Finally, he sighed and whispered, "To answer the Sixth Prince, I already know your intention. Indeed, a few days ago, a maid secretly asked me to take a letter out of the palace. I did not read the contents of the letter, but just acted according to her instructions."

Gu Yuan was delighted and asked immediately, "Sir, do you know where the maid is now?" The eunuch shook his head and said, "The maid has never appeared since then.

After the eunuch finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Gu Yuan and turned to leave, seeming to be hesitant. Gu Yuan's heart tightened, and he was about to ask again, but the eunuch turned around again, with a flash of realization in his eyes: "Oh, that day, I saw Xiaoru, the maidservant beside Concubine Jia, seemed to say hello to that maidservant. They met at the corner of the corridor, Xiaoru whispered a few words to her, and then the two left. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now thinking back, this may be a clue."

Gu Yuan was immediately excited when he heard this. He quickly asked, "Eunuch, are you sure you didn't see it wrong? It's Xiaoru, the maidservant next to Concubine Jia?" The eunuch nodded and said, "I won't make a mistake. I see Xiaoru often."

Although this was just a tiny clue, it was like seeing the light of day for Gu Yuan. He bowed deeply to his father-in-law, his gratitude overflowing with words: "Thank you for your reminder, father-in-law."

Then, Gu Yuan turned and left in a hurry. He knew that the next thing to do was to find Xiaoru, the maidservant beside Concubine Jia, as soon as possible, perhaps he could get more clues from her.

As for Gu Peng, he rode his horse to the Prime Minister's Mansion. The gate of the towering mansion was still closed. Two rows of guards stood in front of the door like pine trees, with cold eyes. They were not wearing the military uniforms that Gu Peng was familiar with, but the unique guard uniforms of this city. Obviously, these people were not Gu Peng's army.

Gu Peng frowned. He could feel the vigilance and hostility emanating from these guards. He was not afraid, but he did not want to cause trouble for no reason. So he stepped forward, bowed to the guards, and said in a deep voice: "I am Gu Peng. I have an important matter to ask the Prime Minister. Please inform me."

The guards looked at each other. One of the guards who seemed to be the leader stepped forward, looked at Gu Peng for a few times, and said in a cold voice: "Second Prince? This Prime Minister's Mansion has been sealed by the emperor. People inside can't get out, and people outside can't get in. Unless there is a special order from the emperor, no one is allowed to enter without permission."

Gu Peng's heart sank. The attitude of these guards was too tough. At least he was also the second prince, but because he had things to do, he could only try to make his voice sound calmer: "I have an important matter to ask the Prime Minister, please be flexible."

The guard was not moved at all and shook his head, saying, "No, no one is allowed to enter without the emperor's special order. Second Prince, please go back."

Gu Peng's eyes flashed with anger. He turned back to look at the several secret guards following him, signaling them not to act rashly. Then, he turned to the guard again, with a firmer tone: "My business is of great importance. If you stop me and cause me to miss something important, can you afford it?"

The guard was intimidated by Gu Peng's aura and hesitated for a moment. But he quickly came to his senses, and said in a gentle manner, "We are just following orders. Please don't embarrass us, Second Prince."

Gu Peng knew that it was meaningless to continue the stalemate. He nodded and said, "In that case, I won't bother you anymore." After that, he turned around and left, but in his heart he was thinking about how to find another solution.

Then enter the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

When the two returned at night, the lights in the hall of the general's mansion were particularly soft, illuminating every corner. Su Qianqian was already standing there, with a table of sumptuous food neatly laid out and filled with fragrance.

"You're finally back!" Su Qianqian walked forward, her tone revealing a bit of anticipation and joy.

Gu Yuan smiled and responded: "Yes, I brought back some good news today."

Gu Peng followed up by saying, “My side is not satisfactory.”

After hearing this, Su Qianqian said, "Come on, sit down first! We can eat and talk while sitting down."

The three of them sat around the dining table and began to enjoy this delicious dinner. One of them picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow, Ning'er, your braised pork really melts in your mouth, so delicious! With your cooking skills, whoever marries you will be very happy. Oh, by the way, I went to look for that palace maid today, but I didn't find the palace maid, but I found the eunuch who sent the letter out of the palace for the palace maid."

Gu Peng and Su Qianqian listened carefully to Gu Yuan and said, "The eunuch said that he had not seen the maid since that day, but he saw that the maid was familiar with Xiaoru, the maid beside Concubine Jia. He will go there tomorrow to ask Xiaoru."

Su Qianqian said after hearing this: "If that's the case, why don't we bring Xiaoru here? You're a man, and if she's afraid of you, how can she tell the truth? Right?"

"That's right!" Gu Peng said, "We'll find a way to get her here!" Then Gu Peng said, "I went to the Prime Minister's Mansion today, but the door was closed and the guards were not ours, so I didn't get in at all."

After hearing this, Su Qianqian frowned slightly and thought for a moment, then said: "The situation in the Prime Minister's Mansion is indeed a bit tricky, but we can't give up. Perhaps we can think of other ways to get the information we need."

Gu Peng nodded in agreement: "Yes, Ning'er, you are right. Then let's ignore the Prime Minister's Mansion for now and focus on finding out what happened in the palace. How do you think we should bring Xiaoru here?"

Su Qianqian thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow should be the day when the palace maids are allowed to leave the palace. We can find an excuse, such as asking her to help us do something, giving her some money or just telling her that we have something to ask her. Of course, we have to be careful about the method and not let her feel scared or suspicious."

Gu Peng nodded to show that he understood. "Okay, then we will go find Xiaoru tomorrow and find a way to bring her here. But before that, we still need to do some preparations, such as thinking about what specific questions to ask her."

After the three of them finished their discussion, they began to prepare for the next day's action.

The sunlight that day shone through the sparse clouds and sprinkled on the bluestone road of the palace, casting mottled light and shadows. Gu Yuan and Gu Peng, dressed in casual clothes, stood under a remote palace wall, waiting quietly. From time to time, they looked towards the direction of the palace gate, as if they were expecting something.

Soon, a petite figure walked out of the palace gate. It was the palace maid Xiaoru. She lowered her head, walked briskly, and held an exquisite food box in her hand. Gu Yuan and Gu Peng looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. They walked forward and Gu Peng called softly, "Xiaoru."

Xiao Ru looked up and saw Gu Yuan and Gu Peng. A flash of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she soon regained her composure. She bowed and saluted respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Mr. Gu."

Gu Yuan smiled and nodded, and said gently: "Xiaoru, we would like to ask you for help with something. Could you come with us?" As he spoke, he pointed to the carriage parked not far away.

Xiao Ru hesitated for a moment, but seeing the sincerity and expectation in Gu Yuan and Gu Peng's eyes, she nodded and agreed. She followed the two into the carriage, which slowly started and drove towards the general's mansion.

In the carriage, Gu Yuan and Gu Peng explained their purpose and purpose to Xiaoru in detail. After hearing this, Xiaoru's face showed a solemn look.

Soon, the carriage stopped in front of the general's mansion. Gu Yuan and Gu Peng took Xiao Ru out of the carriage and walked into the mansion. When the servants in the mansion saw them coming back, they all bowed and greeted them. Gu Yuan and Gu Peng responded with a smile, and at the same time signaled Xiao Ru not to be nervous.

The atmosphere in the hall of the general's mansion was particularly solemn. The maid Xiaoru stood in the corner with her hands clasped together. At this time, Su Qianqian slowly walked in. She saw Xiaoru in the corner at a glance, so she walked up and asked softly: "Xiaoru, why are you standing here? These two grown men don't even know to let you sit down."

Xiaoru's body trembled slightly when she heard Su Qianqian's voice. She raised her head and looked into Su Qianqian's bright eyes. Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Su Qianqian gently held Xiaoru's hand and said softly, "Xiaoru, don't be afraid. We just want to know one thing, so we brought you here."

Xiaoru felt Su Qianqian's warmth and concern, and the fear in her heart was slightly relieved. She hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Miss Su, what do you want to ask me?"

"We just want to know if you know a maidservant beside Concubine Yao?" Su Qianqian asked.

"Your servant... Your servant..." Xiaoru's voice trembled, "Your servant knows a maidservant of Concubine Yao, but there has been no news of her for several days."

Su Qianqian couldn't help but feel a bad premonition after hearing Xiaoru's words. She gently patted the back of Xiaoru's hand and asked softly, "What's the name of that maid? Where does she live? When did we lose contact with her?"

"That maid's name is Xiqing. Her family lives in this city. Because her family was poor, they sold her to the palace to be a maid. We haven't heard from her for about three or four days!" Xiaoru raised her head and answered seriously.

"Then tell me where her home is, and we'll help you find her, okay?" Su Qianqian said with a smile, "Trust me, nothing will happen to her. We will find her quickly and protect you and her safety."

Xiao Ru nodded. She looked at Su Qianqian gratefully and said, "Thank you Miss Su. Thank you, Mr. Gu!"

Su Qianqian smiled and said, "She is also a girl that my parents love. Gu Yuan, she can't go back to the palace now. She got on the carriage with you at the palace gate. At this time, I'm afraid Concubine Jia is already in the palace, preparing a bench and waiting for Xiaoru to come back!"

Gu Yuan said: "Then... let her be a maid in the general's mansion first, how about that?"

After hearing this, Xiao Ru said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Gu, and Miss Su, for taking me in."

Su Qianqian smiled and replied, "Okay, silly girl, you will stay in the general's mansion and work from now on. I will change your name. From now on, you will be called... called... called Qingzhi, okay?"

Xiaoru smiled happily: "Qingzhi thanks Miss Su for the name!"

Gu Yuan continued, "Ning'er, let's go to Xiqing's house tomorrow to find out her whereabouts."

Su Qianqian replied: "Okay!"

Qingzhi said: "Tomorrow, I will go with you. I know her family members, so it may be easier to communicate with them."

Gu Yuan said: "Okay!"

Gu Peng also nodded.

Su Qianqian said: "It's getting late, let's all go to bed early!"

So Gu Yuan called the housekeeper and asked him to take Qingzhi to rest, and everyone left the hall.