Chapter 727: The Separate Residence

After one incense time, at the alley entrance behind Zhu Peng’s residence, a small green sedan chair suddenly appeared.

In the pitch-black night, four sedan carriers carried the chair, while a servant held a lantern to lead the way.

As they arrived at a street corner, a patrol of soldiers approached them head-on.

By this time, it was already late at night, the hour of the pig, according to routine, encountering such a sedan chair, the soldiers were supposed to question it.

The leader of the patrol raised his hand to stop the sedan chair, his voice quite respectful as he asked, “May I ask, who’s in the sedan?”

Standing beside the servant, the man glanced towards the slightly swaying curtain of the green sedan chair behind the servant.

The servant carrying the lantern shouted, “My master is Master Zhu from the Secretariat, out on business.”

The man stood there, a flicker in his eyes. The Secretariat was a key government office, and the person was surnamed Zhu, he had already guessed who it was.

At this point, only to see the curtain of the sedan chair lift a corner, Zhu Peng poked his head out, with a visibly displeased look on his face, coldly asked, “What’s the matter?”

The man was frequently patrolling this area and naturally recognized Zhu Peng, immediately bowed, a face full of smiles said, “Master Zhu, it’s little Wang Gui, on patrol duty, I’ve bothered you.”

Zhu Peng said, “Oh, it’s Wang Gui! You haven’t really progressed. Two or three years still as a patrol leader. Here, take this silver, have tea with the brothers.”

As Zhu Peng spoke, he shook out a silver note.

Wang Gui promptly stepped forward to take it, using the lantern’s residual light to glance at the denomination of the silver note, his heart immediately skipped a beat, respectfully called out, “Thank you, Master!”

By now, Zhu Peng had already lowered the curtain, and the servant made a gesture, the four sedan carriers lifted the sedan chair and moved forward.

Wang Gui stood there, looking at the bent sedan shaft, his brows slightly furrowed.

The shaft was bent like that, obviously besides Zhu Peng, there were other things in the sedan, either precious items or another person…

However, Wang Gui did not intend to delve deeper, matters of the masters, what could a patrol leader like him manage?

Wang Gui pocketed the silver note and led the troop of soldiers out the street corner, patrolling towards the other side.

In the misty night, inside the gently swaying green sedan chair, Zhu Peng hunched over, sitting on the legs of a stout man with a full beard, both figures were not small, almost filled the space inside the sedan chair.

With the rocking of the sedan chair, Zhu Peng’s body involuntarily swayed up and down, the posture was somewhat sensual…

Zhu Zhengfu’s residence was also on Chang Le Street, not far from Zhu Peng’s place, after about half a stick of incense time, the sedan chair had entered the back alley of Zhu Zhengfu’s residence, stopping at a secluded corner gate.

Zhu Peng lifted the curtain and came out, walked to that corner gate, lightly knocked three times.

The door opened a crack, a face lit by the lantern stretched out, it was a forty-year-old middle-aged man’s face, with a deep furrow on his forehead, Zhu Peng naturally recognized it, it was Zhu Zhengfu’s steward Zhu Yu.

Seeing Zhu Peng, Zhu Yu called out in a hoarse voice, “Seventh Lord!”

Among their generation, Zhu Peng was the seventh in line, Zhu Zhengfu was his uncle, Zhu Yu calling him like this was according to the family’s ranking, and more intimate.

Zhu Peng softly said, “The person has arrived!”

Zhu Yu understood, promptly opened the corner gate.

Zhu Peng stood there and coughed once. Then the curtain of the green sedan chair flickered, a shadow had already stood behind Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu felt a chill on the back of his neck, as if a faint breeze had passed, he turned his head and saw a ghostly shadow standing behind him.

Although Zhu Yu felt goosebumps, he was, after all, a steward of the Director of the Imperial Secretariat’s residence, having seen quite some things, even Zhu He he had seen twice.

He raised his lantern, slightly bowed to the shadow behind him, and called master.

Zhu Peng stood there, gestured to the servant and sedan carriers, then also walked in, closed the corner gate behind him.

On this side, steward Zhu Yu carried the lantern, leading Duan Rong and Zhu Peng along a somewhat secluded path, Zhu Yu walked and said, “The patrol guards along this route have all been dismissed by me.”

Following the path for a while, bypassing a pond, entering a covered gallery, after walking in the gallery for a segment, Zhu Yu led Duan Rong and Zhu Peng, stopping in front of a room door, only to see a dim yellow light faintly penetrating through the gauze pasted on the carved lattice.

Standing there, Zhu Yu slightly bowed to Duan Rong, then reached to knock on the room door three times, and without waiting for a response inside, directly pushed the door open.

At the door, Zhu Yu gestured a hand, “Please come in, my master has been waiting for a long time!”

Duan Rong and Zhu Peng, one after the other, stepped into the room.

Zhu Yu closed the door behind them, held the lantern, and stood guard outside.

As soon as Duan Rong crossed the threshold, two silhouettes immediately knelt down in front of him, exclaimed, “Your servant greets the master!”

Those kneeling, one was Director of the Imperial Secretariat Zhu Zhengfu, the other was Temple Chief of the Ministry of Justice Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Cheng aside.

Zhu Zhengfu was indeed the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, one of the Four Ministers, managing all finances and tax matters in Qingzhou, one of the most powerful people in the Mortal World.

At this moment, he too knelt in front of Duan Rong.

Actually, what Zhu Zhengfu and the others did, was according to protocol.

Duan Rong is Zhu He’s direct disciple, by generation, only one level below Zhu He. And Zhu He was the Zhu Family’s patriarch.