Chapter 21 Such boldness in late spring

Yanshan received invitations from the Feng family for several days in a row, but she refused them all, whether from Lady Ma or Feng Xiang'er, and also refused to accept any gifts. After being harassed for three or four days, Yanshan simply shut herself in. The Prince of Xiping ordered his men to guard the gates of his residence tightly, and not a single invitation could be delivered.

A few days later, an unfamiliar servant boy arrived at the gate of the Prince's mansion, claiming to be from the residence of Princess Yong'an. The people of the Prince's mansion had never seen him before and were unsure of his identity, so they had no choice but to accept the invitation and present it to Yanshan for a decision.

Yanshan was puzzled when she heard that a servant had delivered it. In the past, when Fu Sui sent her invitations, either Dai Ling or Fei Qing would personally make the trip. She would only send a servant when delivering things. Why was someone else doing it this time?

Yanshan opened the invitation and saw Kouyun's handwriting, stamped with the words "Yong'an".

Although Fu Sui usually wrote the invitations to Yanshan himself and didn't care much about the paper, he would just write on any piece of paper and have Dai Ling deliver it, he would sometimes have Kou Yun write them for him.

The "Yong'an" seal was also the one Fu Sui used most often, affixing it for both official and private purposes. On the contrary, Fu Sui kept his personal seal like a treasure, rarely using it, and Yan Shan had only seen it once.

With the words "Kouyun" and the seal "Yong'an" on it, Yanshan no longer had any doubts. The invitation invited Yanshan to go boating on the lake the next day. Yanshan smiled and folded the invitation carefully, preparing to put it into Fu Sui's special little box.

Suddenly, a fragrance wafted through the Yanshan Mountains.

No incense was lit in the house today, and Yanshan had no plans to go out, nor was he wearing a sachet. Yanshan carefully sniffed around, and gradually his gaze fell on the note he was holding in his hand.

She brought the post close to her nose, and a faint fragrance wafted from the paper, as if she had picked it up unintentionally.

From the Princess's residence to the Prince's residence, this incense stick passed through several hands and still retained its fragrance, indicating that the fragrance was precious and rich, which is why it lasted so long.

The maid who handed the invitation to Yanshan was from the palace; she was extremely well-behaved and would never allow her scent to taint anything. The lowly servants couldn't afford such expensive incense, and the Fu Sui household never used perfume.

Yanshan was surprised to find that Fu Sui never used spices. Later, she secretly asked Doumiao if there were any taboos in the princess's mansion and then she learned the reason.

Fu Sui had suffered heart and lung injuries in his childhood. Doumiao was worried that the smell of incense would make Fu Sui feel suffocated, so she instructed Fu Sui not to use incense around him, and even those who served him closely were not allowed to use scented hair oil or powder.

After recovering from her illness, Fu Sui made it a habit not to burn incense, and this rule has been maintained ever since. Even now, the princess's residence only uses fresh mint or fresh flowers with little pollen and a light scent to fumigate the house.

Yanshan felt increasingly uneasy about the matter, so he ordered his men to put him in a carriage and go to the princess's residence to inquire about Fu Sui.

"Look, this is it." Yanshan took out the post and handed it to Fu Sui.

Fu Sui took the letter and opened it, and was astonished after just one glance. From the handwriting to the seal, it was not exactly the same, but it was at least eight or nine parts similar. Without the original for comparison, it would be difficult to notice the difference.

Kouyun peeked over, and after seeing the contents of the post, she quickly protested, "Princess, I never wrote this post."

Kouyun had spent the whole day with Fu Sui, so Fu Sui naturally knew whether Kouyun had written this post or not.

Fu Sui inquired about the identity of the messenger from Yanshan.

“A servant I didn’t recognize. When I sensed something was wrong and sent someone to look for him, he had already disappeared.”

"This matter cannot be left unresolved," Fu Sui said sternly. To forge a letter from the princess to deceive the county magistrate—this thief is truly audacious. Moreover, Fu Sui's "Yong'an" seal was bestowed by the emperor; counterfeiting an imperial gift is a serious crime. "Kouyun, have someone report this to the Jingzhao government office."

Kouyun accepted the order and left. Fu Sui then asked Yanshan, "Do your servants still remember what that boy looked like?"

"I remember." Before coming, Yanshan had carefully questioned the servants in the mansion. The gatekeeper said that because the person kept saying that he was from the Princess's mansion but was a stranger, he made a special note of his appearance.

Fu Sui instructed Dai Ling to invite Qin An: "Isn't there a portrait painter at the Dali Temple? Take the people from the Prince's Mansion to him to have your portrait painted."

Fu Sui was furious that someone was impersonating him to swindle people. If it weren't for Yan Shan's quick thinking, the thief would have succeeded. "If we can't catch him, I'll appeal to the Emperor and have him go to sea to arrest Tong Wen. I don't believe he can grow wings and fly away."

The Jingzhao Prefecture dared not neglect the princess's case, and immediately launched a full-scale search throughout the capital upon receiving the portrait. The Prince of Xiping also sought help from all quarters, even paying some江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people of the martial arts world) to search for her.

Fu Sui's grand arrest of people naturally reached Tian Ganyou's ears. Once outside the palace gates, Tian Ganyou's words carried less weight than Yue Shanling's, so Tian Ganyou immediately passed the matter on to Yue Shanling. Yue Shanling asked Zhao Qi to keep a close eye on things. Zhao Qi, now a minor official, treated his colleagues to a lavish meal, and the guards at the city gates were all wide-eyed, scrutinizing even the passing mice.

The search continued in this manner until the last day of March, when Kule's delegation arrived in the capital.

The Jingzhao Prefecture governs nearly twenty counties in the capital region. It is responsible for managing the garrison soldiers and beacon towers around the capital, dealing with theft, robbery, rape, and violence in the capital, as well as handling various miscellaneous matters assigned by the emperor. Recently, it has also been given the task of finding people for the princesses of the prefecture and county. The Jingzhao Prefect is so busy every day that he is overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, the year was fast approaching, and the Prefect of the Capital dared not be negligent. He could only lament that the position of Prefect of the Capital was not a job for an inhuman being, while cursing the messenger servant ten or eight times a day.

Thus, the Prefect of the Capital still had to find time to inspect the houses and walls, and arrange manpower to cooperate with the Court of State Ceremonial to welcome the envoy from Kule. He was busy, but finally managed to check all the trees on both sides of Zhuque Avenue before the delegation entered the city.

Sunlight shone on the majestic city gate, and the long street was crowded with onlookers. The Imperial Guards and the Bad People were on high alert, and the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial were ready to welcome the delegation into the city.

As the sound of horses' hooves approached, accompanied by the long, drawn-out horn music, a group of foreign envoys slowly stepped onto Zhuque Avenue. They were dressed in exotic costumes, adorned with fur, bones, teeth, and brightly colored stones. Their horses were also decorated with red and colorful ornaments, and behind them were more than a dozen huge chests, completely covered with cloth, some of which appeared to contain living creatures.

Leading the group was a young man around twenty years old, tall and robust. Perhaps due to years of traversing the grasslands, his skin was slightly dark, gleaming like honey in the sunlight. His thick, dark eyebrows and prominent brow bones completely obscured his eyes, leaving only a hearty smile on his lips, revealing his untamed vitality.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the delegation, the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial led them to the State Ceremonial Guesthouse to arrange their accommodations. At that time, officials from the Ministry of Rites would teach them the etiquette for meeting His Majesty.

The people on both sides of the street followed the delegation all the way, excitedly discussing their appearance and clothing, and guessing what treasures were in the cages.

"The Vermilion Bird Street is very lively, don't you want to go and take a look?" Qin An asked Fu Sui.

Fu Sui was tidying up the mugwort when he heard this, and didn't even look up: "What's so interesting about a few Kule people? Remember to urge the Jingzhao Prefecture again, don't just focus on the delegation and neglect the matter of arresting people."

"Where is he going to look for someone? That servant must be someone's slave. He just needs to hide in his master's house and not come out. Do you think the Jingzhao Prefecture can search every house?" Qin An had no hope for the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Fu Sui didn't expect to find the person through the Jingzhao Prefecture. Anyone with brains wouldn't let that servant swagger around the streets at this point. However, a person can't hide forever. If he couldn't leave the city, he would have to deal with him within the city. Everything leaves a trace, but it remained to be seen whether those traces would be discovered.

"What did they say on the black market?"

"Eight days ago, someone brought a letter to the mad scholar who specializes in imitating handwriting, asking him to write an invitation letter based on the handwriting on the letter. The seal was carved by a young man from the north of the city. He and the mad scholar worked together to forge seals. Five days ago, the man took the forged letter and gave the mad scholar three thousand taels of silver, telling him to leave the capital."

Fu Sui raised an eyebrow: "The mad scholar didn't leave?"

“They didn’t leave. People like them do shady business. Today they make travel permits for thieves, tomorrow they forge documents for court officials. Their names and appearances are all recorded before the emperor. If no one is there to meet them outside the city, they’ll be spotted by bad guys before they even leave the city gates.” Qin An didn’t want to get his hands wet, so he used a long wooden stick to stir the mugwort floss in the basin.

Fu Sui ignored Qin An's mischievous actions and carefully used a stick to separate the tangled moxa wool that Qin An had stirred up: "Does the mad scholar still remember what that person looked like?"

"It was the same person who delivered the letter to the Prince's mansion." Qin An shook the wooden stick in the water, trying to shake off the moxa wool wrapped around it. "The mad scholar doesn't know his name, but the letter he gave the mad scholar to forge was made of the finest water-patterned embossed paper. Although the title and location were erased, you can still tell that the content was a refusal of the banquet invitation."

The water-ripple embossed pattern, the "T" handwriting resembling knocking clouds, the seal engraved with "Yong'an," and the declining invitation to the banquet—this was the invitation Fu Sui had sent to refuse Consort Feng's invitation to the Qujiang Banquet. Fu Sui sneered. How did the invitation sent to the palace end up outside, and even get forged? Whether it was the Feng family's influence reaching into the inner palace or the inner palace's influence reaching into the imperial clan, it was all worth investigating thoroughly.

Fu Sui put down the unfinished moxa wool and washed his hands with clean water: "Draft a petition, you don't need to mention the Feng family, but you must clearly state the origin of that post. After you finish drafting it, I will copy it and personally send it to the palace."

Such a memorial was utterly insignificant to Qin An. He asked Fu Sui, "Today?"

"If you finish writing now, I will enter the palace immediately." Only by being fast enough can we catch the Feng family off guard.

Before noon, Fu Sui's petition was delivered to the palace gate.

Just as the palace servants were setting out lunch, Xu Asheng entered carrying a memorial to the throne.

The Emperor frowned: "What urgent matter is it that you can't even eat in peace?"

Xu Asheng lowered his head and replied respectfully, "It's not urgent, it's a petition from Princess Yong'an, which was just brought in."

Upon hearing that it was Fu Sui's memorial, the Emperor reached out and said, "Bring it here."

Fu Sui's petition was short, but every word was earnest. He stated that the thieves were audacious and reckless, having stolen items from the palace and forged an imperial seal in an attempt to murder the county princess. He also presented the forged letter along with the petition.

After reading it, the emperor pondered for a moment and asked, "Who else knows about this petition?"

"Because it was personally delivered by the princess, the palace servants dared not neglect it. The young servant at the palace gate handed it to Xu Zhiyi, who then gave it to this old servant. It was never handled by anyone else again."

The Emperor closed the memorial and handed it back to Xu Asheng: "Put it back in Taiji Palace untouched, as if I haven't read it yet. I have many things to do today, I'll read it again tonight."

Xu Asheng hurriedly took the memorial and was about to turn around when the emperor pointed his finger at it: "Remember who entered and left Taiji Palace today."

As the sun set, a thin, pale-faced, and beardless young man entered the Feng residence and left in a hurry after only a quarter of an hour.

As darkness fell, a covered cart drove out of the back gate of the Feng residence.