"I can only go with you to see the feng shui of that piece of land tomorrow."
Su Xiu said apologetically, but Marquis Changxing quickly said it was alright, he could check it again tomorrow, and then, with an air of self-importance, he took the fish back to his residence.
Regardless of Marquis Changxing's expression, Su Xiu, watching him leave, puffed out her chest, feeling that this was a sure thing.
After returning to his residence, Marquis Changxing stood at the main gate, somewhat hesitant, unsure whether he should take the fish to the kitchen.
Just as he was hesitating, a carriage stopped at the gate of the mansion. Chuanhai and Chuanwen, who had just returned from court, got off the carriage. Seeing him standing at the gate frowning at a fish, Chuanhai walked over and asked, "Father, would you like to eat fish for lunch?"
Marquis Changxing shook his head. "No, I went to see a feng shui master today, and he gave it to me."
After Marquis Changxing finished speaking, Chuanhai's face stiffened for a moment, and... it felt a little numb.
Chuanwen, on the other hand, was beaming with excitement. "Wow! There's definitely something inside!"
"I want to eat fish too! Grandfather, I'll take it to the kitchen for you!"
As he spoke, Chuanwen took the large carp from Marquis Changxing and headed excitedly towards the kitchen.
Marquis Changxing and Chuanhai exchanged a glance and hurriedly followed. "No, no, no! We haven't decided yet!"
The two men stopped Chuanwen, one of them saying, "We ate fish yesterday, so let's not eat it today."
Another said, "Yes, yes, the master said I shouldn't eat fish today."
Chuanwen looked at the two of them, frowned and said, "You ate fish yesterday, so you can eat it today too. Also, Grandfather, you must have misheard. If the master said that you shouldn't eat fish today, why would he give you a fish? He must have said that today is a particularly good day for you to eat fish!"
After saying that, he walked past the two of them and continued towards the kitchen. Marquis Changxing said, "I... I didn't hear wrong. Besides, I don't really want to eat fish today."
Chuan Hai also came over to stop them, which puzzled Chuan Wen. His questioning gaze fell on the two of them. [Wait, something's wrong with these two! Could it be... they know there's something inside the fish? But how did they know?]
Marquis Changxing and Chuanhai were stunned. In order to prevent Chuanwen from continuing to suspect, they could only watch helplessly as she took the big carp to the kitchen.
Wen Xue glanced sympathetically at the two who were about to cry, and followed Chuan Wen to join in the fun.
Marquis Changxing and Chuanhai exchanged glances, then resignedly closed their eyes. Oh well, it's just recognizing a royal descendant, not some conspiracy to seize power or anything like that.
Despite trying to reassure themselves, the two were still somewhat uneasy. Chuan Hai was absent-minded while handling government affairs in his study, and Marquis Changxing was restless when he returned to his courtyard.
In the kitchen, after Chuanwen delivered the carp, he said he wanted to drink fish soup and asked the cook to kill the fish.
"Second Miss, it's smoky and noisy here. Why don't you go back first? I'll have someone bring it to you when it's ready."
Although this second young lady came from the countryside, she was greatly loved by the masters of the mansion and was even allowed by the emperor to attend the morning court session—an honor not everyone had. Therefore, the servants in the mansion always greeted Chuanwen with smiles and treated him with utmost respect.
"No need, I'm free anyway, I'll just wait here for a while."
Chuanwen took a tomato and started eating it in the kitchen. The cook thought Chuanwen was going to inspect how they cooked, so he didn't say anything more and focused on cleaning the fish.
But when I made a cut on the fish's belly and took out its internal organs, I let out a sound of surprise.
Chuanwen had been waiting for this sound, so he quickly went over and asked what was wrong.
"There seems to be something there."
The cook picked up the thin white roll from the internal organs with a puzzled look, and the others in the kitchen also curiously gathered around.
"Unfold it and take a look."
Chuanwen's eyes lit up; she had truly stepped onto the front lines of gossip.
The cook unfolded the white silk cloth as instructed. It was covered with tiny characters, no bigger than sesame seeds, but he couldn't read. So he handed the white silk cloth to Chuanwen, saying, "Second Miss, it seems to be covered with writing."
Wenxue took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and was about to use it as a pad to pinch the white silk and hand it to Chuanwen, but Chuanwen had already taken the white silk with his bare hands before she could.
Wen Xue:......
Suddenly remembering that Chuanwen had been poking maggots in the latrine with a stick, Wenxue silently stuffed the handkerchief back into her bosom.
The tiny words on the small strip of cloth were crammed together, but even though they were small, they could still be seen by squinting. Chuanwen read it from beginning to end.
The cloth strip roughly tells the story of how Princess Jingmin and her husband went to their fiefdom, but their family gradually declined. By the seventh generation, they had little property left and had to live in a Taoist temple. However, the temple, located deep in the mountains, could no longer sustain itself due to lack of worshippers. The seventh generation became a wandering Taoist priest, and recently traveled to the capital. Heaven, unable to bear seeing the royal descendants living in poverty, sent a message via fish to inform the world of this news, the identity and location of the seventh generation, and to hope that the family would return to their rightful place.
Although the text didn't specify which street or alley the man lived in, the fact that he was a wandering Taoist priest from Northeast China and surnamed Su was enough to pinpoint him.
Chuanwen took the white silk and went to find Marquis Changxing. At that time, Marquis Changxing was pruning flowers and plants in the courtyard. Because he was absent-minded, he directly cut off the top of the chrysanthemum that the old lady was growing.
Before he realized the seriousness of the problem, Chuanwen ran over. When he saw the white silk in her hand, his face turned green again and again. Alas, there was something in the fish's belly!
"Grandfather, guess what I found inside the fish you just brought back?"
Chuanwen was still in the mood to joke with Marquis Changxing, but Marquis Changxing's face was contorted into a bitter expression. He didn't want to guess, nor did he want to know.
"What was discovered?"
Although Marquis Changxing was reluctant, he still had to ask.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Chuanwen held up a white silk strip in front of Marquis Changxing. "Look! A letter from Heaven to the Emperor!"
Chuanwen wasn't interested in the letter itself, but she was very interested in her participation in this miracle.
[I am now the soldier who discovered "Chen Sheng is King" during the Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising, and the woman who discovered the memorial in the famous tales of Yi He and his generals, hahaha!]
Chuanwen almost burst into laughter three times.
[From now on, my role in delivering messages will also be included in the beautiful tales of messages carried on fish bellies!]
Marquis of Changxing: ......
Sigh, I wonder what the emperor was thinking. So many generations have passed, and I don't even know if that person was really a descendant of Princess Jingmin.
If that's true, then the story of a message being delivered through the belly of a fish coming from his family is indeed a beautiful tale.
But otherwise, wouldn't that be a joke, and a disgrace to the royal family?
Alas, Marquis Changxing is in a dilemma.
"You didn't reveal the contents of the letter, did you?"
Marquis Changxing accepted the white silk and asked Chuanwen in a low voice.
Chuanwen thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Uh... I got so excited I forgot. Normally, the line would be to shout out the letter's contents with jubilation!"
Marquis Changxing breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that his granddaughter was occasionally a bit naive. He then instructed Chuanwen not to reveal the contents of the letter yet, and to discuss it again when he returned. He then took the white silk and set off for the palace.
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