Li Yue Shu entered with a steaming kettle, her eyes full of surprise.
Shen Yi Min's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively tried to hide the red paper on the table.
But as soon as he raised his hand, he felt the move was too much like covering up a guilty conscience and froze.
Shen Wei's heart also skipped a beat, and his hand holding the brush trembled slightly.
The father and son were flustered in their hearts, but their faces remained calm.
Not knowing their thoughts, Li Yue Shu walked in quickly, placed the kettle aside, and carefully picked up the red paper with the couplets written on it.
The characters on the red paper were vigorous and powerful, with sharp strokes like a drawn sword ready to be unsheathed.
Although Li Yue Shu didn't understand calligraphy, she recognized that the characters were not written by Shen Yi Min. This level was clearly much better than Shen Yi Min's.
She looked at Shen Wei in surprise, "Did you write this?"
For a moment, Shen Wei and Shen Yi Min felt their hearts would leap out of their chests, but they forced a calm expression, not even letting their breathing falter.
Shen Wei nodded, looking at Li Yue Shu with an expression seeking praise, "A Shu, do you think it looks good?"
Li Yue Shu raised an eyebrow and didn't spare her praise, "Of course it looks good! A Min, you should learn more from your father in the future. These characters are so good, you could be a teacher at the academy!"
She couldn't help but smack her lips, looking curiously at Shen Wei, "Where exactly were you a guard before? It's one thing to know how to hunt, but you can also write such beautiful characters!"
She thought this was like riding a horse, a muscle memory for Shen Wei, and didn't think too deeply about it.
Shen Wei blinked innocently, seeming not to understand what she meant.
Li Yue Shu knew he wouldn't have those memories and gently patted his head, "You're gradually recovering your old instincts. It seems like full recovery isn't far off."
Shen Wei tilted his head, his face full of confusion, as if he hadn't understood her words.
Seeing his expression, Li Yue Shu couldn't help but reach out and rub his head, "Be good and practice calligraphy with A Min. I'll go and paste the couplets!"
Li Yue Shu's touch was a bit heavy, and Shen Wei's neatly styled hair was messed up.
Watching her retreating back, the father and son couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
But remembering what she had just said, Shen Yi Min turned to the person beside him and hesitated, "Father, have you not found out her secret yet?"
Shen Wei didn't answer, implicitly acknowledging it.
Shen Yi Min frowned slightly, "If we can never find out, will we have to keep it from her forever?"
Shen Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at her, his eyes full of unfathomable emotion, "Are you starting to trust her?"
"Don't you trust her?" Shen Yi Min retorted.
Shen Wei was silent, as if he didn't have an answer to this question himself.
He gazed at the doorway where Li Yue Shu was no longer visible, his expression inscrutable.
If Li Yue Shu was sent by someone from Chong Zhou, and knowing their identity didn't result in her killing them to silence them, then she must have been trying to gain their trust, only to capture them all when they returned to Chong Zhou.
It wasn't time for them to return to Chong Zhou yet. Therefore, the best course of action was to wait and see until they figured out who was behind Li Yue Shu.
However, in this process, many things seemed to be exceeding his expectations.
…
Li Yue Shu excitedly pulled Shen Can, pasting the couplets at the main gate, and also pasted the couplets for Old Man Liu's house.
When Mo Lian saw the handwriting on the red paper, he couldn't help but exclaim, "When did Yi Min's calligraphy improve so much?"
"Shen Wei wrote this."
Li Yue Shu attached the last corner, turned back with a smile, "He must have been a guard in a wealthy family before. Not only did he master hunting, but he also learned excellent calligraphy."
Mo Lian was surprised.
What kind of wealthy family could cultivate a servant to write such good calligraphy?
But the next moment, Mo Lian thought of himself and Shen Tan and felt relieved.
Perhaps there were still good people in this world like Madam, who would spend their own money to let their servants read and write.
However, to write such powerful characters, he was very curious about what Uncle Shen was like before he became foolish.
After pasting the couplets, Li Yue Shu went into the kitchen.
Today was Shen Yi Min's birthday, and the evening was New Year's Eve. Li Yue Shu decided to hold his birthday celebration at noon.
This would also give Shen Tan and the others half a day off, and they could help at the pharmacy in the afternoon.
While everyone was busy preparing for the New Year, a figure who had secretly returned to Chong Zhou from Tong Mu County, slipped into the Grand Tutor's mansion unnoticed.
At that moment, Old Xu had just returned from the East Palace. The housekeeper quickly bowed and whispered something in his ear.
Old Xu was taken aback and hurried towards the study.
The housekeeper personally closed the door and stood guard outside.
In the study, a man dressed plainly, so ordinary that he would be lost in a crowd, was waiting.
Upon seeing Old Xu, the man immediately knelt and saluted, "Your subordinate pays his respects to the Grand Tutor."
"Get up," Old Xu quickly stepped forward, "What happened? Why didn't your letter arrive?"
The man quickly replied, "Your subordinate, as you ordered, hid his tracks all the way to Tong Mu County. However, because too many people were watching the Grand Tutor's mansion, I was delayed by two days."
"Your subordinate went directly to the prefectural yamen. As soon as I stated that I was sent by you, the prefect said that the matter you ordered had already been handled and the person had been released."
Old Xu was surprised, "What does this mean?"
The man took out one or two letters from his怀 (huai - bosom/inside pocket) and said, "Your subordinate managed to pry information from the prefect. Someone had used your name to send a letter to the prefect in advance. Your subordinate, under the pretense that you did not want too many people to disturb Madam Shen, brought the letters back."
Old Xu took the two letters and opened them. One of them was the one he had written after receiving the message from the county magistrate of Tong Mu County, instructing the prefect to release the person quickly.
The content of the other letter was similar, but the handwriting was not his. However, the private seal at the corner was still his.
If he hadn't known that he had never stamped that letter, he would have almost mistaken it for a fake.
Old Xu's heart tightened, "Did you find out any other news?"
The man shook his head, "Your subordinate was worried about alarming them, so he didn't pursue information about the appearance of the person who delivered the letter."
Old Xu fell silent.
Looking at the two letters in his hand, he had a vague guess.
This letter, which impersonated him, only asked the prefect to release Li Yue Shu and keep his whereabouts secret. Its purpose seemed to be solely to save Li Yue Shu.
If that was the case, he probably guessed who did it.
It seemed that that person's mind had recovered, but he had not returned to Chong Zhou for a long time, and even used his name to save someone. This was likely to conceal his identity and prepare for a larger scheme.
Old Xu sighed silently.
By using his name to threaten the people in Tong Mu County, the news would not reach Chong Zhou.
And as long as he didn't speak, no one in Chong Zhou would know about it.
That gentleman was certain that he would help him again.
Old Xu folded the two letters, took out a fire starter, and lit them.
Then, he looked at the man, "This matter ends here. No matter who asks, you must not reveal a single word!"
The man respectfully replied, "Yes!"