Chapter 218 Handwriting

"Get off the boat?" Sun Wei asked.

The attendant said, "When the young master passed through Puqi last year, he asked a good friend to buy him a zither. He wrote to me a while ago saying that he had bought it. He happened to be passing by today, so the young master went to pick it up."

"I see." Sun Wei said, looking at the book in his hand, "What is this?"

"Yesterday, the young master asked me to look for Mr. Sun's collected works in the bookcase. I found one and asked me to bring it to the princess first. There are about five or six left, and I will go find them later."

Sun Wei became interested and took the book.

Judging from the condition of the paper, it is quite old.

But when Sun Wei caught a glimpse of the words on the cover, her eyes fixed and the smile froze on her face.

——

Deng Lian dared not neglect Sun Wei's instructions, but he was tied up and couldn't find anyone as meticulous as A'ru. After much deliberation, he decided that Yin Wen was the only person on the ship with some knowledge, so he asked him to go in person and return quickly.

Puqi City wasn't big, but the market was quite large. However, since this was Yin Wen's first time here, he had no idea where to find spices.

Fortunately, when he reached the street corner, he met Yu Yi who got off the carriage.

Yu Yi was a naturally easygoing person, and had spoken to Yin Wen on the boat. When Yin Wen saw him, he hurried forward to greet him.

"Is Captain Yin here to do things for the prince?" Yu Yi asked.

"I'm coming down to buy some spices for the princess," Yin Wen said, "but I can't find a spice shop. I have no idea where to start."

"Oh?" Yu Yi said, "There's no shortage of common spices in this market, but since the princess wants them, I imagine they're not limited to just these. Captain Yin, if we were to ask every household, I'm afraid it would take us all day and night. I happen to know someone who's trading here, so why don't you come with me and ask?"

Yin Wen was overjoyed and agreed immediately. Then, he followed Yu Yi into the market and soon entered a shop.

The shop door was only half open, but when I walked in, I saw a spacious courtyard with a different world inside.

A shopkeeper named Tan came out to greet Yu Yi in a very warm manner.

After the pleasantries, he led Yu Yi and Yin Wen to a private room, where a square guqin shaped like a burnt tail was already placed on the table.

He was about to introduce it, but Yu Yi said it was not necessary.

"If it's a good zither, I'll know once I try it," he said. "Could the shopkeeper please show Captain Yin the list of spices he has. Where can I find them?"

Shopkeeper Tan agreed, took the list, and as he looked at it, he said, "Ginger, mugwort, and patchouli are common spices, and you can buy them at the shop at the end of the street. Sandalwood and cloves are also available, but you'll have to look for the finer ones. I can ask for them for the captain. But camphor is too precious, and I'm afraid we can't buy it in our small town of Puqi. And what is this storax? I'm ignorant and have never heard of it."

Yu Yi smiled and said as he tuned his zither, "It's a rare opportunity for me to ask Captain Yin to ask Shopkeeper Tan for advice, but Shopkeeper Tan is not an expert. It's really embarrassing. Styrax comes from Daqin, and merchants from the Western Regions have it. Just ask a Western Region merchant and you'll find out."

Shopkeeper Tan smiled and said, "I see." Then, he looked at the list, his face confused again. "What's this spice? I don't even recognize it."

Seeing that Manager Tan was in a difficult situation, Yu Yi simply took the list from him.

The moment his eyes fell on the list, he was stunned.

"Who wrote this list?" Yu Yi looked at Yin Wen and asked.

"It was written by the princess."

Yu Yi looked at him, seeming a little suspicious: "Was it written by the princess herself?"

"Exactly."

Yin Wen didn't know what was going on. He only saw Yu Yi staring at the list with a frown.

"Is there something wrong with the spice?" he asked.

Yu Yi did not answer, but suddenly stood up, leaned on his crutches, and left quickly.

Yin Wen and Manager Tan were both stunned and looked at each other.

Shopkeeper Tan hurriedly said, "Sir, this zither..."

In the distance, Yu Yi raised his voice and said, "Buy it and send it to the boat for me."

——

On the boat, Sun Wei also stared at the book in his hand intently.

"Has Master Yu read this book?" Sun Wei asked the servant.

"Of course I have read it. This morning, I took it out of the bookcase and showed it to you, Master. After reading it, you said that this was the first volume and that the princess could read it first. That's why I brought it to you."

Sun Wei was confused for a moment.

She never thought she would see it here.

The cover of the book reads "Feng Xiu Collection of Essays".

Fengxiu was the name of her grandfather Sun Yu.

And she was very familiar with this handwriting, it was written by her own hand.

When she was a child, her grandfather Sun Yu once said that her handwriting was not good, so he asked her to copy the "Feng Xiu Collection" as her daily homework.

Sun Wei remembered that he listened to his grandfather very much at that time. He practiced calligraphy while copying and copied down the entire set of essays.

My grandfather was indeed very satisfied and took away all the manuscripts.

She had indeed mastered her handwriting, and even the chief clerk of Anning Mansion praised her for her good handwriting. And her current handwriting was acquired during that time.

She thought that the papers with writing on them would be used to burn firewood, made into paper patterns, or even used to cover the walls. But she never expected that her grandfather would save them all and bind them into a book.

Then, he gave it to Yu Yi.

Sun Wei felt a headache.

There are indeed people in the world who write with similar handwriting, but she knew that with Yu Yi's knowledge, he could tell whether it was the handwriting of the same person.

And Sima Jun...

Thinking of him, Sun Wei felt her heart beating faster and faster.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

As long as there is no chance that Sun Wei and Lu Xian's handwriting match, she will be in no trouble.

Sima Jun had seen her calligraphy but had never read this collection of essays, so he had no problem with it at the moment.

Although Yu Yi had read this collection of essays, he had never seen her calligraphy, so it didn't matter.

Therefore, the situation is not hopeless at this moment. If we can destroy the Fengxiu Collection, we can eliminate the problem forever.

She immediately said to the attendant, "Where are the remaining volumes? When can they be found?"

The attendant had not expected the princess to be so anxious, so he could only reply, "The young master has always had a methodical way of organizing his books. The same set of books must be in the same bookcase."

Sun Wei nodded and said, "I'll go with you. Master Yu once told me that if I wanted to read a book, I could go to his bookcases and choose one. Now that I have some free time, I might as well take a look at those bookcases."

The attendant agreed and led Sun Wei to the cabin where the book box was placed.

Unexpectedly, the cabin was quite cramped and only one person could fit in.

The attendant said, "I am familiar with this place, so I will go and look for it. I will find the Fengxiu Collection and send it to the princess's boat house immediately. If there is anything else the princess wants to see, just tell me to continue looking."

Sun Wei had originally thought she could help out, or perhaps even look around to see if there were any other items related to her grandfather that she had missed. Seeing this, she gave up and said, "Well, thank you for the trouble."

She returned to the boathouse with a heavy heart, and only noticed something strange after closing the door.

The maid who served her stood nervously beside the screen, with panic in her eyes and a knife at her neck.

"I advise the princess not to make it public." A delicate face appeared from behind the maid. It was Yao Rong.

She still spoke slowly and softly, "If there was any noise, it would be bad."