Liuge forgery

It was late at night, the moon was bright and the stars were few.

Wu Qi and Yi Shen exchanged a glance. Yi Shen went to open the door, and Wu Qi, standing behind him, peeked out. Upon seeing the woman standing outside, he exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Pianpian? What brings you here?"

Pianpian said, "I need to talk to you about something."

"Come in." Wu Qi pulled Yi Shen aside to make way.

After Pianpian came in, Yi Shen closed the door.

Wu Qi poured Pianpian a cup of hot tea. Pianpian thanked him, but after taking the tea, she had no appetite for it. Holding the teacup, she said, "Can I trust you?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qi laughed and said, "Not necessarily. Rather than talking about trust, let's talk about a deal."

Trusting these two strangers was like an ethereal concept to Pianpian, but a transaction was different; both parties could benefit, which should make Pianpian feel more at ease.

Pianpian shook her head and said, "I have nothing to trade with you."

“Yes, since you dared to come to us tonight, it means you are certain that what you want to tell us is what we need,” Wu Qi said. “In that case, we can make a deal. You tell us what you know, and we can grant you one request.”

"How was the deal?" she asked.

Pianpian felt inexplicably relieved and said, "Okay, let me tell you what I know first. If you find it useful, I will then tell you my request."

“Okay,” Wu Qi replied.

“I know why Zhao Lang stabbed Li Shuying thirty-two times.” Pianpian put down her teacup, sat up straighter, and looked nervous. “Zhao Lang had Li Shuying write a letter to Lord Zhou, and it’s related to the forgery of Liu Ge!”

Is Liuge a fake?

Is this really that serious?

But this statement should be true...

Wu Qi thought about what Pianpian had said.

If Zhao Lang really did forge the gilded halberd, then Zhou Lang, as the head of the Gilded Gilding Department, should investigate the matter.

Zhao Lang must have heard some rumors in the court. Coincidentally, he encountered the matter of Li Shuying passing the imperial examination and harbored evil intentions. He wanted to force Li Shuying to write a letter to Zhou Lang, whether to plead for mercy or to take the blame.

In short, Zhao Lang didn't want Zhou Lang to know that he had faked Liu Ge.

Wu Qi asked, "But didn't Li Shuying not write a letter?"

After being stabbed thirty-two times, Li Shuying was thrown into a mass grave, so she obviously didn't write that letter.

“She didn’t write a letter,” Pianpian said. “But Zhao Lang had someone imitate her handwriting and write a letter in the name of Li Shuying to Lord Zhou Lang in the capital.”

"How did Miss Pianpian know about this?" Wu Qi asked.

It wasn't that she suspected Pianpian, but rather that Zhao Lang shouldn't have allowed the women in his household to know about these things.

Pianpian said seriously, "Because the person who imitated Li Shuying's handwriting was me."

What?

Wu Qi looked at Pianpian.

Pianpian said, "I didn't mean to kill anyone. I don't know how Zhao Lang knew that my handwriting was similar to Li Shuying's."

As she spoke, Pianpian burst into tears. With red eyes, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and continued, "At that time, Zhao Lang made me watch Li Shuying suffer thirty-two knife wounds and ordered me to lead men to throw her into a mass grave."

She originally thought that Zhao Lang valued her, but she never expected that this was just a warning. If she was not obedient and disobedient, her fate would be even worse than Li Shuying's.

Zhao Lang, this man has no heart.

Pianpian took a deep breath to calm herself down and continued, "After I came back from the mass grave, he gave me a piece of paper and asked me to write a letter by imitating her handwriting. He watched me write, and if I wrote a word wrong, he would make me rewrite the whole letter. It took me three days to finish a letter that satisfied him."

“At that time, I knew I had been tricked. Later, I heard that Zhao Lang sent someone to the capital with that letter to find Lord Zhou, and then Lord Zhou died.”

“Li Shuying is dead, and Lord Zhou is dead too,” Pianpian said. “I think this matter must be related to the letter I wrote.”

For several days, Pianpian had nightmares every night. After waking up, she would sit up and cry. She had known since she was a child that she was beautiful. She obeyed her parents' wishes and followed Zhao Lang to the Zhao family mansion.

She just wanted to use her face to find a comfortable place to live. Anyway, it didn't matter who she married. Although she had no status or position in the Zhao family, at least she would have no worries about food and clothing.

But she never thought of killing anyone.

I never intended to become an accomplice.

Pianpian took out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve and said, "Zhao Lang burned all those discarded letters. My memory is pretty good, or maybe it's because I wrote it so many times that I remember almost everything in that letter. Before coming to you, I rewrote the whole letter."

Wu Qi took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it.

It's true that Liu Ge fabricated the story!

The letter mentioned that Li Shuying failed the Longmen examination and indicated that she would register again next year. It hoped that Zhou Lang would wait for her in the capital. The letter also stated in Li Shuying's name that she had secretly investigated and rejected the claim that oil had been mixed into the halberd from Pingwu Mountain.

It seems that Zhou Lang discovered that the halberd was mixed with oil. Someone in the capital informed Zhao Lang of this, and Zhao Lang wanted to deny the matter in Li Shuying's name.

Zhao Lang wanted to take advantage of Zhou Lang's trust in Li Shuying.

After reading the letter, Wu Qi handed it to Yi Shen and comforted Pianpian, saying, "This letter is very useful to us. Thank you for being so brave. Since our relationship is a transaction, you can now state your request."

“I want to live,” Pianpian said. “Even if I’m a beggar or a maid, I want to live peacefully and openly.”

She didn't want any of that—no worries about food and clothing, no fine clothes and delicacies.

So what if he's a beggar?

So what if she's a maid?

At least once you reach the underworld, you can openly and confidently declare, "I have never harmed anyone in my life, and I am far better than those corrupt officials who have killed countless people. Who dares to send me to hell?!"

Wu Qi solemnly replied, "Alright, I promise you."

After exhaling a breath of stale air and recounting these events, the heavy stone weight on her body finally dissipated.

She choked up as she spoke of something else.

“That day I drank the herbal soup, and I didn’t expect it to be red, very much like… very much like the blood on Li Shuying’s body. I only took one sip and then spat it out. For the next few days, I had no appetite for anything. Zhao Lang came and asked me what was wrong. I was afraid he would find out something, so I had to lie and say that I had drunk the cold herbal soup.”

Zhao Lang thought I was crying because I was feeling unwell, but that's not true. I was crying because I really didn't want to hurt anyone.

So that's how it is.

The person Zhao Lang mentioned who felt unwell after drinking the cooled medicine was Pianpian.

It wasn't because the medicine had gone cold; it was because she had become an accomplice in the murder that she dared not drink the blood-colored medicine.

Before leaving, Pianpian said, "I was indeed an accomplice. If I really die because of this, please don't blame yourself, Miss."

what goes around comes around.

She understands this principle.

Wu Qi gently hugged her and said, "I will do everything in my power to protect you. I hope you have a good night's sleep."

With tears blurring her vision, Pianpian nodded.

Good night...

She hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

"Shall I take you back?" Wu Qi said.

Pianpian shook her head and refused, saying, "No need. Zhao Lang is a suspicious man by nature. I hope you will keep my visit to you tonight a secret."

"Alright, take care, Miss Pianpian," Wu Qi said.

"Yes, take care, lady."

She gracefully donned her veil and disappeared into the night alone.

The two returned to the house, and Wu Qi saw that Yi Shen had put the letter away. He said to him, "I have a question after reading that letter!"

Yi Shen replied, "Where did the remaining halberds go?"

Wu Qi praised, "As expected of the brilliant and intelligent Third Young Master Yi! Truly clever!"

Zhao Lang mixed oil into the halberd.

The gilded halberds from Pingwu Mountain are naturally thinner than those from Hubangxue. They are used for glass lamps or small items. Therefore, adding a little oil to the gilded halberds does not affect their lighting or other functions.

This is a capital offense!

Furthermore, since some oil was mixed into the original sufficient amount of glitter, where did the remaining glitter go?

It was not explicitly stated in the letter.

Oil replaced some of the glitter, but where did the replaced glitter go?

"Yi Shen, it seems like we're really doomed!" Wu Qi said.

Who would have thought that this matter was related to Liu Ge!

It's still Liu Ge's work that's fake!

Furthermore, since they were assisting Lord Li Xi in thoroughly investigating the case, they did not have military orders to mobilize troops, only orders to deploy them.

Even if they both know swordsmanship, if Zhao Lang were to lose his mind and send hundreds or thousands of men to besiege them, they could be worn down and killed.

Wow, this is a dead end.

Wu Qi sighed, "Lord Li Xi! The wise and mighty Lord Li! Where are you?!"

Both of them are already in dire straits!

"Go to sleep first, staying up late is bad for you," Yi Shen said.

Wu Qi lay on the bed, while Yi Shen spread some bedding on the floor next to the bed, took off his outer robe, and lay down.

"Yi Shen, are we going to be assassinated by Zhao Lang in the middle of the night?!" Wu Qi asked. "What if we wake up tomorrow in the underworld?!"

As she spoke, she began to ramble incoherently.

They can spout off about the separation between Yin and Yang, the underworld and Yama, and reincarnation.

"We two will not be able to meet again in the next life..."

We've met...

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Qi fell silent.

Therefore, Yi Shen grabbed her hand.

His palms were warm and dry, with long, slender fingers and distinct knuckles. Years of playing the piano and practicing swordsmanship had imbued his palms with a vibrant life force.

Even after the lights were turned off and he couldn't see his hands, Wu Qi knew that they were extremely beautiful hands.

"Are you afraid that we won't be able to meet again in our next life?" Yi Shen asked.

“Hmm,” Wu Qi replied.

"No, I will find you in the next life," Yi Shen said. "In this life, let's get a good night's sleep first."

"oh."

Yi Shen held her hand. Wu Qi couldn't sleep and wanted to turn over, but she didn't want to let go of Yi Shen's hand. Just as she was struggling internally, she felt a force coming from her palm.

Caught off guard, Wu Qi followed the force and fell into Yi Shen's arms.

The bed wasn't high.

She wasn't in pain.

Yi Shen seemed to have anticipated this situation. The bedding beneath him was very soft, and he had been protecting Wu Qi's head. The moment she fell, he grabbed Wu Qi's waist and pulled her into his arms.

She didn't fall onto the soft bedding; she was pulled into Yi Shen's arms.

Yi Shen shared half of his bedding with her, patted her head, and said gently, "I'm here."

"Get a good night's sleep."

"If you're really scared, then hold me."