It was sunset, and red clouds spread across the sky like a burning flame, dyeing half of the study room red.
Yu Tang held the scroll tightly.
The painting of a carriage that Master Qian was copying was half spread out on the desk, and the other half was suspended in the air.
Yu Wen was startled by Yu Tang's sharp voice. He walked over quickly and asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Tang's face turned pale, and it seemed as if all the strength in his body had been drained away. He pointed at the picture and said, "Look, look, Chun Shui Tang!"
Yu Wen didn't understand what it meant, so he walked over and looked carefully, but saw nothing.
Yu Tang quickly put the scroll into his father's hand and said, "Look from this side, facing the sunset, there is a seal on the top of the mountain with the three characters Chun Shui Tang printed on it."
Yu Wen took the scroll from his daughter's hand and looked at it from the same angle as Yu Tang had looked at it before. As expected, he saw a seal with the three characters "Chun Shui Tang" engraved in Qinli in the dim glow of the sunset.
He frowned, and first called Ah Tiao in, asking him to call Yu Yuan, who was helping Yu Bo repair the shop, and then he closed the door with a solemn look and whispered to Yu Tang, "Don't panic, this is a trick that those craftsmen often use - they pretend to be good, but they still want to leave their names in history, so they print their own seals in places that are not easy for ordinary people to find, so that people will accidentally discover that this thing was made by him or a hundred years later."
If Yu Wen admired Master Qian so much before, he was annoyed by him now.
"I don't know what other traces he left behind besides this seal? Besides the sunset glow, under what other circumstances can this seal be seen?" Yu Wen looked unhappy. "When A-Yuan comes over later, the three of us will look carefully."
Yu Tang nodded randomly, his mind in a mess.
She was not mistaken; that "Chun Shui Tang" was exactly the same as the one printed on the "Diao Yin Tu in Songxi" painting in her hand in her previous life.
After her parents passed away, the Li family came to propose marriage, promising to help them rebuild their family business. She left the house holding Li Jun's tablet. The Li family thought her dowry was too small, so they specially set up a secluded and quiet place for her to put her dowry. Then, the Li family was robbed, and only some trivial things were lost. Lin didn't even report the case to the government...
All of these are like scattered beads, strung together by the seal "Chun Shui Tang".
Yu Tang seemed to understand everything at once, yet seemed to understand nothing.
Her mind was in a fuss, her legs went weak, she could no longer stand, and fell onto the armchair behind her.
Yu Wen looked at it and said, "Atang, don't be afraid. This kind of thing, it doesn't matter if the victim doesn't find out. If he does, we can ask Master Qian to pay for it and ask him to repaint it for us. Fortunately, it's still some time before your uncle Lu's death, so it's not too late for your brother to go to Hangzhou City." As he said this, he smiled bitterly and sighed, saying, "Who knew this would happen? I felt sorry for him before. I'm afraid he has done a lot of things like this."
The most important thing is that their family's case involves a murder lawsuit, and they don't know who is behind it. If the other party is brutal, Master Qian might suffer as well.
Yu Tang's hair stood on end.
Master Qian!
The painting in her hand in her previous life was copied with the help of Master Qian. That is to say, someone had the same idea as her and asked Master Qian to help copy a fake painting, and also used a stolen painting to replace the real painting in her hand.
And Uncle Lu.
She had totally wronged him.
What he sold to their family were real paintings that he owned.
It's her.
It was that the painting she had been holding and caressing for the past few years was a fake, but she mistook it for an authentic one, and she was so self-righteous that she believed that the painting Uncle Lu sold to her family was a fake.
Yu Tang couldn't stop blaming himself.
"Atang, Atang!" Seeing her guilty look, Yu Wen stepped forward and patted his daughter on the shoulder, whispering to comfort her, "This is not your fault. The solutions you think of are all good. Dad has never seen a smarter child than you. If it weren't for you, Dad would be kept in the dark now. Dad will find a way to deal with this matter, and everything will be fine."
The more his father said this, the worse Yu Tang felt.
She sobbed quietly, and after a while she said, "Dad, you are right, Uncle Lu is a good man. Although he cheated you, he also helped you sincerely. I was wrong before, isn't he going to die soon? I want to go and pay my respects to him."
It's considered as compensation to him.
Yu Wen laughed and said, "What's wrong with you? You suddenly speak well of your uncle Lu. If he knew about this, he would definitely be very happy."
Lu Xin was not stupid, and he knew that other people in the Yu family looked down on him.
Yu Tang took out a handkerchief, wiped his face, and nodded.
Yu Yuan came over breathlessly, greeted Yu Wen and Yu Tang, and called Mrs. Chen to pour him a cup of tea. He said to Yu Wen and Yu Tang, "I'm so thirsty. That Pei Man is so talkative. He asks this and that. But he's also quite capable, at least better than the previous chief steward. What he says is to the point. In just one day, everyone looks at him differently. He has secured his position as chief steward."
Yu Wen asked hurriedly: "What's wrong?"
Yu Yuan said, "Pei Man, the chief steward of the Pei family, went to Changxing Street to see how the shop was being built. He also went door to door to ask us what materials were used for these shops that were not owned by the Pei family, whether they were built according to the style agreed upon with the Pei family, how many open trenches were left, and whether any hidden trenches were left... You tell me, after this fire, who would dare not leave trenches? This time, the third elder of the Pei family was kind enough to lend us money to rebuild the shop. If we encounter such a thing again next time, and the Pei family lets us go, we will have no other way to make a living except selling the foundation."
Yu Wen smiled and said, "That's right! If we have a mishap again, Pei's shop will also be implicated!"
The two of them were talking about Changxing Street, but Yu Tang didn't hear a word they said.
She thought of the Li family's sudden wealth.
It happened after the Li family was robbed.
Afterwards, their family took advantage of Lin's family connections and started a shipping business.
Could the map inside the inner layer of "Songxi Diaoyintu" be a nautical map?
After she married into the Li family, she occasionally saw the children of the Lin family visiting the Li family. She still remembered that she had heard one of the nephews of the Lin family boasting very proudly that this maritime business was not something that anyone could do. Not only did you need a ship, but you also needed a capable and reliable helmsman and boatman, and you also needed to know how to sail... In other words, you needed a nautical chart.
And this nautical chart is a priceless treasure.
Let's not talk about other things. To draw such a picture, the person must not only know how to sail, but also know the direction, know the law of tidal changes, know how to read, and know fortune telling. It would take decades or even hundreds of years for such a talent to emerge. And even if such a talent emerges, who would not spend decades to pass the imperial examination and become a high official, but hang their heads on their belts, have no fame or profit, and spend their whole lives drifting on the sea?
At this time, even if you are the emperor, you can only stare blankly.
Those who know how to travel by sea have accumulated it bit by bit with the lives and experience of several or even dozens of generations. If someone has such a skill, it is like holding a treasure pot in his arms, waiting to lie on a mountain of gold and silver and enjoy the delicious food and spicy drinks.
Yu Tang still remembered that after Lin's nephew said this, she never saw this person in the Li family again.
She thought it was because she was a widow and rarely saw outsiders, but now that she thought about it, it was clearly another matter that she didn't know about.
That map must be a nautical map.
The Li family must be behind this.
The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more she felt as if the fog in the forest before her had been blown away by a strong wind, revealing many features that she had not noticed before.
This also explains why Li Jun didn't know her and Lin lied.
It also explains why the Li family was willing to sacrifice their reputation to marry her.
But Yu Tang also felt a sense of panic because the Li family also knew about Master Qian and their plan might be discovered by the Li family at any time.
She couldn't tell her father and brother about this panic.
Yu Tang paced back and forth in the study, like a beast trapped in a cage.
"Atang!" Yu Wen was the first to notice his daughter's abnormality. He shouted worriedly, "You've been walking so much that I feel dizzy. Sit down and take a rest! I've just told Ayuan that he will leave for Hangzhou early tomorrow morning. Don't worry about Master Qian. Since he is in this line of work, he certainly knows the dangers of this line of work. He should have been prepared for this kind of thing."
Yu Tang stopped walking, but he couldn't stop the fear in his heart. He said, "Father, someone has died because of this painting. Although Master Qian often walks by the river, his shoes must have been wet. We can't control what happens to him, but we can't let him lose his life because of this incident in our family."
"I understand!" Yu Yuan's face gradually became serious as he listened, and he said, "I will tell him about this matter and see if he has any means to protect himself, or let him stay out of the spotlight for the time being."
Yu Tang has no better solution for now!
She rubbed her temples wearily.
As for the Li family matter, I have to find a way to get rid of it as quickly as possible.
Yu Tang now feels that he understands the Li family's approach a little bit.
They were just judging others by their own standards. They thought that this painting was so valuable that anyone who knew its value would definitely not let it go, so they made a move in secret and would rather cause some theft than buy the painting directly from them.
However, there are great differences between the previous life and this life.
She also found out who was behind the scenes.
But how can the Li family guarantee that this painting will become her dowry like in her previous life?
In her previous life, both her parents died, so she would definitely keep the relics left by her parents with her. But in this life...
Thinking of this, Yu Tang's body stiffened.
She thought about her marriage to the Wei family.
No way?!
The Li family just wants the painting, would they influence her marriage?
Yu Tang thought so in his heart, but a voice in his head kept saying: One person has already died, would you care about killing another person?
Yu Tang had difficulty breathing and could no longer stay in the study room.
She wanted to know whether Wei Xiaoshan’s death had anything to do with the Li family.
She wanted to meet Wei Xiaochuan and ask him what happened before Wei Xiaoshan died.
She hoped that she was just being too suspicious and having wild imaginations.
Yu Tang walked out of the study quickly.
"Atang!" Yu Wen and Yu Yuan both shouted worriedly and followed after him.
The summer heat is over, and the yellow petals of the lush green osmanthus trees in the yard have appeared among their leaves. The evening breeze wafts a rich fragrance from time to time.
Yu Tang took a deep breath and turned around with a faint smile on his face: "I'm fine. I smelled the fragrance of flowers in the study, so I came out to take a look."
Yu Wen and Yu Yuan looked sluggish.
Yu Yuan smiled and said, "You didn't even have a good time strolling around Hangzhou. Do you want me to bring you something?"
"Brother, I hope you come back safely." After this happened, Yu Tang felt that it was better for the family to be together. She lowered her voice and said, "Brother, you must persuade Master Qian not to be careless. If I guessed correctly, this map might be a nautical map."
Yu Yuan was stunned.
Yu Wen asked hurriedly, "Did you find anything else?"
Yu Tang had no way to explain his guess, so he said, "When I went to buy things for hair ornaments, I met someone selling imported goods. I seemed to have heard this by accident, but I didn't take it seriously at the time. Now I suddenly remembered that our map is very similar to those nautical maps."
Yu Wen and Yu Yuan didn't know how valuable the nautical charts were, but they knew how fiercely Fujian was fighting for the maritime business. Murders and arson occurred every few years, and there were several tragic cases that were reported to the emperor.
If ordinary people were involved in this, few would survive.
Both of them took a breath of cool air.
Yu Wen grabbed Yu Tang's hand and said, "You, do you really think this is a nautical chart?"
"I'm not entirely sure." Yu Tang didn't dare to finish his words, and said, "The more I think about it, the more I think it's true. Think about it, what did Lord Zuo do in the past? What did Uncle Lu's father do in the past? Even if it's a map of the imperial court, it's not the court's responsibility to confiscate the property if it can't be found. Why are they so persistent in getting it?"
"Lord Zuo fought against the Japanese in the past," Yu Wen murmured, "Brother Lu's father was once Lord Zuo's staff member. Only a map of the state of affairs that can generate huge wealth will be cherished by others. Ordinary maps of the state of affairs are only used in wars. Even if they are held by an official of the imperial court, they are useless! Brother Lu probably doesn't know the secrets of this painting. Is it because Brother Lu's father didn't know either? Or even if his father knew, he was just like us, not knowing what to do, so he just let it be hidden in the painting?"
Yu Yuan looked pale and asked anxiously, "Uncle, then, then what should we do?"
In the past, I just thought that I should just throw away this hot potato, but now it is still unclear whether I can throw it away.
Yu Wen was also at a loss.
After all, Lu Xin's father knew someone like Lord Zuo. How could he, an ordinary country scholar, be better than Lu Xin's father?
Now it was Yu Wen's turn to walk around in the yard.
Chen, who had come to call them to eat, was surprised to see them and asked, "What are you discussing? You are talking nonsense. Are you going to eat or not?"