Our role models
The Dali Temple received a report at night, but the person who reported it could not be found. Instead, a letter was found on the ground. It happened to be seen by Li Xi, the Minister of the Dali Temple. After opening the letter, he found that there was a corpse in the peach blossom forest outside the city. However, the person who reported the case did not give his name or surname, but signed it at the end as "A Model for Our Generation".
Li Xi led his men to the peach blossom grove outside the city. Following the directions given in the letter, they looked up and saw a peach blossom branch stuck in the ground under the moonlight.
Just as the letter said, "our role models" used a newly broken peach blossom branch as a marker.
The soil here is soft, unlike anywhere else. If everything in the letter is true, then Li Xi said solemnly, "Dig up the corpse."
The group picked up shovels and dug into the body. They first saw the back and back of the head; the body had been buried face down. The two or three people who were turning the body over fell to the ground in shock upon seeing the corpse's face. The others, carrying more than a dozen glass lamps, approached the body and gasped in horror, thinking how gruesome it was.
The man died a very gruesome death. He had a cut from his forehead down his nose to his chin, and another cut from his left temple to his right temple.
Even more ruthless was that this person's eyeballs were gouged out, and he had a dagger in his mouth.
Upon seeing the deceased's face, Li Xi was shocked and immediately ordered a cordon and search of the area, and to thoroughly investigate the case overnight.
The vast peach blossom forest was closed off, forcing those who came to admire the flowers to return home. Although they had some complaints, they understood that the Dali Temple was handling a case. Groups of two or three people gathered together and whispered that they were wondering who had died in the peach blossom forest. An ordinary person wouldn't warrant the Dali Temple closing off the entire peach blossom forest; it must have been some very important person who had died.
Outside the peach blossom grove, Wu Qi leaned against an old locust tree, tossing gears and screws back and forth in her hand. She watched the crowd come and go with a bored expression, and was about to say something like "boring" when suddenly, her eyes lit up.
The carriages and horses seemed to fall silent, the crowd was blurred and quiet, even the peach blossoms in their prime were fading in color, it was Yi Shen who had arrived!
"Yi Shen, Yi Shen!" Wu Qi put away the gears and screws and hopped over to Yi Shen in a few steps.
She wrote on the note: "Meet me under the old locust tree outside the peach blossom grove at 1:15 am."
But it wasn't even 9 AM yet when Yi Shen arrived. Just as she was about to praise Yi Shen for being punctual, Yi Shen preemptively asked her, "Where's the handkerchief you tied to the peach branch?"
Wu Qi asked, "What handkerchief?"
Seeing Yi Shen frown, she smiled triumphantly, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and deliberately waved it in front of him, the peach blossoms embroidered on the lower right corner faintly visible. "You mean this? Does Young Master Yi like this handkerchief? Then I'll give it to you!"
Peach blossoms are the floral symbol of Wu Qi.
Each of the ten noble family daughters possesses their own unique floral emblem, which no one else is allowed to use; violators will be executed immediately—this was the late emperor's decree. If the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review finds Wu Qi by following the floral emblem on the handkerchief, there will be no shortage of trouble.
Yi Shen's expression softened, and he glanced at the handkerchief, saying, "That's against the rules."
Handkerchiefs are a woman's personal item, and it is inappropriate to give them away casually.
"Forget about rules and regulations, if you like it, I'll give it to you."
The peach blossom painting that the Master had arranged was still not finished, and Wu Qi didn't want to be criticized by the Master, so he began to half-jokingly deceive Yi Shen, "I came earlier than you. When I came to the peach blossom forest, it hadn't been sealed off yet. Then I wanted to see if the peach blossoms had bloomed, since we made a bet. Who knew that the peach blossoms would actually bloom!"
Yi Shen glanced at her, his gaze probing, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
"Don't you believe me? That flower really bloomed!"
Wu Qi pulled out a peach blossom from who-knows-where as if by magic. There was a mark on the petals of the peach blossom, which was the same peach blossom that the two of them had made a bet on yesterday.
"See? Yi Shen! I wasn't lying to you, the peach blossoms really are in bloom!"
It seems that she not only returned last night to collect the handkerchief but also picked that peach blossom. Yi Shen said, "I know."
Wu Qi was very familiar with her own painting skills and knew everything about Yi Shen's painting skills. If Yi Shen painted a peach blossom picture as usual, she would definitely not dare to hand that painting to the teacher.
So she instructed Yi Shen: "Remember my peach blossom painting, but don't paint it too well."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Qi saw a bird flying towards them from a distance.
This bird is called "Purple Swallow Chick," and it was used by Cizi Pavilion to deliver messages.
Although the swallow chick is the size of a magpie, it has no feathers and is made of copper and iron. Countless tightly meshed, intricate gears rotate on its exterior. It moves extremely fast, leaving only two trails of white vapor in the sky.
The fledgling swallow landed in Yi Shen's palm, its wings still emitting white steam. Yi Shen turned his back to avoid the probing gazes of the crowd in the distance, reached out and turned a gear. Five or six adjacent gears also moved, and the iron beak opened, revealing a scroll of paper inside.
Yi Shen opened the scroll, on which were written several words: "School starts at 6:45 noon. Twenty students must arrive on time. Those who are late will be punished!" The scroll was also stamped with the vermilion seal of Ci Zi Ge in the lower right corner.
The school has only twenty students, who are divided into two categories: the first category consists of children from aristocratic families, including Yi, Song, Lin, Wu, and Ning, who are the five most prominent families in the world. Wu Qi, Yi Shen, and Lin Kuo are among the five students in the first category. The second category consists of children of important officials in the court, and the remaining fifteen students belong to the second category.
Although the twenty people were divided into two categories by the locals, they were of similar age and lived in the same building. They were often scolded together, and over time they became quite familiar with each other. Occasionally, when they failed their studies, they would be kept after class by the teachers. They would be kept after class two or three times, and their friendship grew very good.
The Cizi Pavilion opened for classes ahead of schedule, and twenty students, sighing and groaning, rushed to the pavilion from all directions. They arrived promptly at noon and took their seats. Perhaps having heard about the corpse in the peach blossom forest, one student asked Li Xi's son, Li Jian, "Shixun, who died in the peach blossom forest?"
Li Jian shook his head and said, "I don't know. My mother hasn't returned home since last night."
The man then asked, "Did someone really write a letter to report the case?"
This was no secret; it had already spread among the people. Li Jian nodded and said, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Yi Shen glanced at Wu Qi, who, seemingly unconcerned, joined the two's discussion, saying earnestly, "Really? This person is too good! He's practically a role model for us all!"
“Indeed, but…” Li Jian hesitated, and because others kept asking, he hesitated for a long time before saying, “It’s not good to talk about others behind their backs, but this person’s handwriting is so illegible that it’s hard to recognize.”
"What's wrong with that!" Wu Qi said seriously, "Even role models are not perfect!"
Just as the three of them were having a heated discussion, Yi Shen quietly reminded them, "The Master is here."
At six o'clock in the morning, Master Sun stroked his beard and entered with a smile. After looking around, he sat down in a chair, picked up a vermilion brush and said, "Since everyone is here, let's hand in the paintings. Remember to sign your name. Yi Shen, please help me collect the paintings."
"yes."
Yi Shen got up to collect the paintings. When he received Wu Qi's painting, Wu Qi shrugged, his expression no different from that of someone facing death.
Unfortunately, the notice from Cizige came too suddenly, and she was too lazy to paint, so she simply decided to skip this class, even if she was criticized by Teacher Sun.
Unexpectedly, Yi Shen, behind the teacher's back, tapped the drawings on her desk with his fingertips. The touch of his fingertips on the paper made no sound. Seeing that Wu Qi was puzzled, he seemed to sigh softly and lifted a corner of the drawings.
Wu Qi's eyes widened slightly when he saw what was underneath the blueprint.
Beneath the drawing was actually a picture of peach blossoms!
Yi Shen lowered his eyes and reminded him aloud, "Signature."
Wu Qi looked up at him, then murmured as if coming back to his senses, "Doing good deeds anonymously, Young Master Yi."
These words could only be heard by the two of them. Wu Qi looked at the peach blossom painting and chuckled, then picked up his brush and wrote his name.
The handwriting is neat and the strokes flow smoothly.
Yi Shen was very familiar with this handwriting, because Wu Qi had practiced running script with him since childhood. Although the two had practiced writing together since they were young, Yi Shen's writing was vigorous and powerful, while Wu Qi's writing was elegant and unrestrained.
Each has its own beauty.
Wu Qi blew the ink dry, handed the painting to Yi Shen, and smiled so hard his eyes crinkled: "Thank you, Yi Shen."
Master Sun was extremely strict. He reviewed the twenty paintings on the spot, first praising Yi Shen's painting, and then his expression hardened as he began to call out names. Whoever's name was called had to stand up and be scolded. Some were scolded once, some were scolded ten times, and some were scolded a full twenty times.
Everyone was already used to this.
“Wu Qi,” Master Sun said.
"The student is here." Wu Qi stood up and stood properly.
"Your painting..."
The crowd shook their heads, silently imitating the Master's words: "Without form or spirit, this painting is worthless."
"good."
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged bewildered glances, looking at Wu Qi in disbelief. Those who often shared Wu Qi's insults now stared at her as if she were some unknown ghost, mouthing incredulously, "You were actually praised?!"
Wu Qi remained calm and nodded slightly.
"Although it's still a bad painting, I can see that you've improved. I won't scold you today. Sit down."
"Thank you, Master."
Wu Qi had just sat down when there was a knock on the door.
After Master Sun opened the door, everyone saw Li Xi standing outside and said, "His Majesty has decreed that the case of the corpse in Peach Blossom Forest has far-reaching implications, and the students of Cizi Pavilion must do their utmost to assist."
The Cizi Pavilion was established by the current emperor. Both the teachers and students in the pavilion were chosen by the emperor after careful consideration and deliberation. The emperor attached great importance to the students of the Cizi Pavilion and often came here to check on their studies.
Master Sun asked, "How can my student offer his full assistance?"
"His Majesty says that the top two students in today's class will accompany me to investigate the case." Li Xi treated all the students of the Pavilion School equally, her gaze not lingering on her son Li Jian for even a second. She bowed to Master Sun and asked, "May I ask, Master, who are the top two students in today's class?"
"Yi Shen and Wu Qi."
Wu Qi was not dissatisfied with the result. She was not good at painting, so she was destined to be last. Although the teacher praised her today, she had made progress, but she would still be last after making progress.
Li Xi said, "Please come with me, both of you."
It turns out that His Majesty wanted to select people to investigate cases with the Dali Temple by starting school early at Cizi Pavilion, but was the selection of these people too arbitrary?
Who was the person who died in the peach blossom forest that His Majesty took so seriously?
Wu Qi felt these questions were not important. The most important question was: Why did His Majesty want the people from Cizi Pavilion to investigate the case together?
There were children from prominent families in Cizige, but everyone knew that children from prominent families could not enter officialdom.
The five great families of Yi, Song, Lin, Wu, and Ning devoted their efforts to building Beikun and presented it to the court to defend against the barbarians. Because they did not want to get involved in factional struggles and were afraid that their achievements would overshadow the emperor, the five family heads once made a promise to the late emperor: "The children of our families will never enter officialdom, and we are willing to be bound by official titles and self-disciplined by the family's etiquette for generations to come."
The code of conduct for aristocratic families was established through discussions among the first heads of the five great families. Each head of the family could add or subtract rules at their own discretion. If a child of an aristocratic family failed to comply with the code of conduct, they would inevitably be punished. The late emperor reviewed the code of conduct for a long time before saying, "Very good."
Therefore, children of aristocratic families must never enter officialdom.
But is His Majesty's current approach intended to allow them to enter officialdom?
Wu Qi had a gut feeling that there was a massive conspiracy behind this matter, like an airtight net that would gather everyone together and then strangle them. The more she thought about it, the deeper she went. Suddenly, she heard Yi Shen say, "The mind of a ruler is unfathomable. Do not speak rashly."
At this point, Wu Qi regained his senses.
She sidled up to him with a delighted smile and whispered, "Young Master Yi's painting skills are superb!"
It's not just superb; even Master Sun couldn't tell that the painting she submitted today was painted by Yi Shen. It's no exaggeration to say that Yi Shen is a person who provides help in times of need and is good at saving people from dire straits!
Yi Shenping calmly said, "The characters written by the model with his left hand can also be considered as having a graceful and unrestrained style."
When Yi Shen exposed this, Wu Qi wasn't angry at all; instead, he was even happier, laughing for a long time before saying, "Right! He's simply a role model for us all!"
Last night, under the moonlight, she picked up a pen with her left hand and tentatively wrote a few words before daring to write a letter to the Dali Temple. Such a good deed cannot be made public; it's good that Yi Shen knows about it.
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