Chapter 68 What else would you two young masters like to hear, Flower Maiden and Aying? I will do it all…

The prefect first straightened his expression and asked again, "You say you are Zhao Jicun, how can you prove it?"

Zhao Jicun simply instructed his yamen runners to prepare some paper and ink, and then to fetch ten painters from the street to serve as proof. It didn't take long for the prefect to do as he was told. When the ten painters stood together below the hall, Zhao Jicun's impromptu painting was complete.

After appreciating the painting, nine out of ten people would kneel down and formally become Zhao Jicun's disciples, creating a truly spectacular scene.

The only one who had no intention of becoming an apprentice asked the prefect, "Do you think he is not the master painter himself?"

The man replied, "No. It's just that I made a vow with my master that I cannot serve two masters, otherwise I would kneel down too."

This immediately drew laughter from the crowd. The gavel trembled, and the courtroom returned to its solemn state.

"You audacious Shang Shifan and Cui Chongqi, why are you trying to deceive me with two counterfeit items?"

Shang Shifan's knees buckled, and he simply fell to the ground. "Your Honor, I'm innocent! I was also deceived by a cunning art dealer. I didn't know it was a fake painting!"

"Your Honor, I am also innocent! It seems that these forgeries were made by the same person who counterfeits paintings and calligraphy for huge profits, disregarding the laws of our Great Yue. I beg Your Honor to thoroughly investigate this matter and restore justice to me!" Cui Chongqi knelt down with considerable effort, as his legs seemed to be injured.

Shang Shifan slightly raised his head and glanced at Cui Chongqi. At this moment, he only regretted that he did not have Cui Chongqi's eloquent tongue, and suddenly he was a victim just like him.

Therefore, this was all a misunderstanding. After the prefect promised to investigate the matter thoroughly, he withdrew from the meeting.

Zhao Jicun did not return to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion with Shen Minghuai, but instead came to the Tax Gift Tea House.

"Thank you for your help today, teacher."

Zhao Jicun casually helped him up, "We are master and disciple, no need for thanks. But why didn't you let me directly identify the genuine article, instead of calling both fakes?"

Shen Minghuai ordered the shop to bring out the finest Guzhu purple bamboo shoots, "Because what Cui Chongqi said is true, Minghuai wants to use the Prefect's hand to find out who is behind it all."

Zhao Jicun only knew how to paint and didn't understand the intricacies involved. "You mean, there really are people in the capital who deliberately sell fakes at high prices?"

"Not just Beijing." Beneath Shen Minghuai's deep eyes, the winds of change were being stirred into an unfathomable abyss.

After leaving the Tax and Gift Tea House, the carriage detoured to Li Family Incense Shop to pick up someone, then headed straight for Luoyi Brothel. As soon as the two stepped through the gate, beautiful women swarmed around them, their various fragrances making Wang Yan dizzy. Although it wasn't his first time in such a place, he still couldn't resist such enthusiasm. Wang Yan pulled Shen Minghuai upstairs and ordered someone to summon the madam of Luoyi Brothel.

A woman named Ruan Niang, dressed in a deep purple robe, walked unhurriedly towards them. She noticed the two young men seated on the throne, adorned with silk and jade, their hair bound in gold crowns inlaid with Hetian white jade; a single sleeve of their fur coats alone cost a hundred taels of gold. Ruan Niang smiled broadly and gracefully approached them.

"Gentlemen, which lady are you looking for?"

"You," Wang Yan repeated, afraid she hadn't heard him clearly, "we're looking for you."

The two were then led to a private room, giving Ruan Niang, who hadn't done this in many years, some time to prepare. Unfortunately, the room was surprisingly poorly soundproofed. While the door blocked out outside noise, the panting sounds from the next room clearly reached their ears, impossible to ignore. Both of them blushed and felt hot all over. Wang Yan covered her right ear with one hand and his left with the other, and Shen Minghuai imitated her.

Ruan Niang, carrying a pipa, pushed open the door, breaking their deep gaze. The look she cast at them was one of utter astonishment. The two men quickly sat up straight and got down to business. Fortunately, they had already finished in the private room, so the whispers had subsided somewhat.

As Ruan Niang set up her pipa and plucked the strings, Shen Minghuai, who was about to speak, was quietly stopped by Wang Yan. The pipa melody that had disappeared from Luoyifang for five years was finally able to be played again. Perhaps it was her intuition as a woman that told her that she had made a great decision to pick up this pipa.

With lowered brows and casual hands, she plucked the strings, stirring her heart. At first, it was a whispered conversation, tender and gentle; then it became like pearls leaping in the rain, then like the force of clashing swords and galloping horses; finally, it turned into the cold, astringent sound of an icy spring, mournful and desolate.

After the piece was finished, Wang Yan remained melancholy for a long time, then took out a gold ingot from his bag and said, "I'll give it to him on his behalf."

Ruan Niang had just recovered from the lingering melody when she put down her pipa and happily accepted it. "What else would you two gentlemen like to hear? I can play anything."

Shen Minghuai spoke up, "We two have come here to ask about someone. Did your Luoyifang once have a courtesan named Aying?"

Ruan Niang's expression changed upon hearing this, and Wang Yan immediately added, "I am A Ying's distant cousin, and this is A Ying's cousin. Four years ago was the last time we received news of her. We inquired everywhere and finally learned not long ago that A Ying had worked as a prostitute here, so we had no choice but to come and ask."

"There's nothing, A-Ying. You've got the wrong person." With that, the mother hurriedly chased them out of Luoyifang. By the time she realized what was happening, they were already standing outside the gate.

In the brief moment between being chased away, a courtesan slipped a piece of paper into Wang Yan's hand, on which was written a location and time. In her haste, she didn't see the person's face clearly, and although Shen Minghuai remembered it, he didn't know her identity. Whether it was a trap or an opportunity, calling on Li Changling was never a bad idea.

The fact that the list was given to her alone aroused Shen Minghuai's suspicion. He felt that the trip was fraught with danger and did not approve of her going to the appointment. Wang Yan came up with a clever plan. With more than a day left before the appointed time, she sent someone from Bu Xizhou to keep watch there. If there was an ambush, they were to immediately inform Li Changling, and she could simply not go.

Wang Yan used both soft and hard tactics to force Shen Minghuai to agree, but on the condition that he would accompany her. Once the matter was settled, Wang Yan finally brought up the news she had heard earlier at Luoyifang.

Aying served Shang Shifan at Luoyifang.

The carriage traveled from the inner city to the outer city, passing the Xiwazi in the west of the city and continuing forward. It then crossed the Jinliang Bridge to the south, turned into a narrow alley, and after a while, the road became increasingly narrow. Wang Yan and Shen Minghuai had no choice but to abandon the carriage and continue on their way.

Knock twice in front of the inconspicuous courtyard gate in the capital. A simply dressed woman, about the age of 18, came out. Her attire was completely different from that of the woman in the clothing store yesterday.

Lady Fu invited them into the house and poured them two cups of hot water. "Are you two from Huazhou?"

Wang Yan thanked her and confessed to her, "I come from Chenqiao Town, while he comes from Huazhou."

Finding information about a maid who disappeared four years ago is no easy task, especially since she had served Prince Wei. Through the combined efforts of Bai Baidao and Shen Minghuai, they finally pieced together some details about Aying's background.

She was from Chenqiao Town; her father was a local butcher, and her mother was from Linghe Town in Huazhou. At the age of thirteen, her father sold her into the palace as a maid for ten years. At fifteen, she was taken as a concubine of the Fifth Prince, and at sixteen, she was dismissed from the palace and came to Luoyifang. Several months later, she drowned herself in a river.

Lady Fu inquired about their origins and how they had learned of A-Ying's whereabouts in Luo Yi Fang, questioning them thoroughly. Wang Yan sincerely recounted the hardships faced by A-Ying's mother and explained that he had come at her request to bring A-Ying back to Hua Zhou. Only then did Lady Fu realize that the two had genuinely come to find her. This courtesan knew A-Ying much as they did, except for one thing that remained largely unknown, even to Ruan Niang, now a mother herself, whom she dared not mention in private.

"Ah Ying was pregnant."

Like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples. The news was truly shocking. Wang Yan hesitated before asking, "Whose child is it?"

Fu Niangzi seemed lost in her memories. "She didn't tell me anything, only that having this child would bring her a good life. But it was this child that brought her this misfortune."

Shen Minghuai asked doubtfully, "Are you saying she didn't drown herself?"

"No one saw her drown herself, and she would never do so. Sister Ying has never been such a pessimistic person."

Fu Niangzi said that a noble person had spent a large sum of money to suppress the matter back then. Regardless of the truth, everyone told the public that A Ying had committed suicide by drowning. Shang Shifan was heartbroken at the time and didn't come to Luoyifang for a month. Minister Shang had always been indifferent to his son taking a concubine, and Shang Shifan was even preparing to welcome her into the mansion when this incident occurred. The identity of that noble person didn't need to be revealed; all three knew perfectly well.

"I've heard that His Highness Prince Wei is most fond of A-Ying. Is he aware of this?" Wang Yan asked tentatively.

Fu Niangzi said indifferently, "He came after Sister Ying died. In his eyes, Sister Ying was a courtesan who died for him."

Perhaps he knew the truth wasn't true, but he still chose to hear what he wanted to hear. He couldn't defy his mother, nor would he allow her to betray him. Wang Yan sighed heavily, "Aying only has this one backer in the capital, and even he..."

“Sister Ying has helped me a lot,” Fu Niangzi said, taking out a dazzling gold hairpin from her dressing case. “This is what I’ve saved up over the years. Please take it to Sister Ying’s mother… Just say that Sister Ying bought it for her, and that it will be my way of repaying her kindness over the past few months.”

On the way back to the Zhu residence, Wang Yan was troubled by this matter, while Shen Minghuai was thinking about something else. To find out who the father of A Ying's unborn child was, they could only find the old woman who performed the autopsy back then.

Several days later, when Bai Baidao sent a letter, Wang Yan, dressed as a maid, was preparing to return to her residence. She casually tucked the letter into her bosom and, under the cover of Bu Xizhou and his men, successfully entered the Wang residence. Her father and mother were already waiting inside; she had returned to say goodbye.

Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and also Wang Zhen's wedding day. She agreed to leave the capital to avoid the storm and go with Shen Minghuai to Huazhou to investigate the breach case. She often went months or even a year away from home, but none of these times felt as painful as this unavoidable separation. Wang Yan couldn't help but shed tears again.

Wang Zhen laughed at her, "Now you're crying like a child again."

Wang Yan held Li tightly, refusing to let go, saying, "When have I ever stopped being a child? It's you, brother, who, after getting married, can no longer be so innocent and carefree."

Wang Zhen patted her head. "Yes. Then I'll have to ask my mother to arrange a marriage for you later, so you can experience all the sights I've never seen before."

Whenever the topic of marriage came up, Wang Yan always evaded the question. Madam Li gave him a long lecture, and even the usually taciturn Wang Fuzhi joined in the concern, telling him to take good care of himself, assuring him it wasn't like she wasn't coming back. After eating the golden jade soup prepared by Madam Li, time was running out.

She hugged her father and mother in turn, and sincerely said to her brother, "Brother, Aying will always support you."

Wang Zhen remained silent for a moment before smiling and saying, "Okay."

The brother and sister hugged for a while, and then Wang Yan, with a touch of reluctance, left home and set off.

In a discreet carriage leaving the capital, the two men each opened the sealed letters they hadn't had time to read earlier. One was surprised, the other calm. One letter contained Chen Yu's dying words, the other revealed the parentage of the child in A Ying's womb.