Chapter 11: Childhood Memories
Obviously, neither of them could have imagined that the clue left by Uncle Fu before his death was actually written by Shi Jingning. After looking at each other in surprise, they didn't say anything, just waiting for her next words.
"I was still young at the time, and many of my memories are fuzzy, but this is definitely what he wrote on the farm." Qian Deng raised his hand to press the scar on his eyebrow, trying to recall. "At that time, I had just started learning, and my handwriting was crooked and very ugly. My mother came from a poor family and was not good at calligraphy herself, so she asked Uncle Fu to buy a complete set of woodblock calligraphy for me from the market to encourage me to practice. Shi Jingning was also at the farm at the time, so he started learning calligraphy with me."
She looked at the characters for "county," "lord," and "husband" on the scraps of paper, regulated her breath, and continued clearly, "When we first started learning characters, the first ones we learned were 'Prince of Changhua,' 'Princess,' 'Crown Prince,' and 'Lady of Qi.' At the time, my father had made many great contributions, and the palace was already discussing my title of county lord, so my mother helped me find the characters for 'county' and 'lord' on the woodblock. And these few remaining characters left by Uncle Fu were the ones Shi Jingning copied when we were just trying out the template."
Ling Tianshui narrowed his eyes slightly as he examined the words and asked, "Since they were all copied by the young man, how did the county lady recognize that they were written by him?"
"Because Shi Jingning was different from me, he had a hard-earned opportunity to learn to read, so he was very careful with paper and didn't want to leave too much blank space. When he copied, each character was very close together, often squeezing them together and making them inseparable. I even laughed at him at the time..."
She took out the two fragments. The characters "县" and "主" were too close to each other, and the characters were split at the bottom horizontal stroke of "县". After the edges were burned, at first glance they looked like the characters "具" and "全".
These papers and writings were kept for eleven years and were burned when her mother was murdered. They were then secretly hidden by Uncle Fu, which brought him a fatal disaster.
All I see is fog. I can't see the mystery behind it, and I can't figure out how all this is connected.
What was the murderer's motive in burning their childhood calligraphy? Why did Uncle Fu risk hiding it? What was the connection between the shredded paper and the missing letter? And what was the connection between her mother's death and all this?
Qian Deng stared intently at the identical, childish handwriting on the white paper and the fragments before him. "Then, I thought of something—Uncle Fu was already in charge of the manor at the time. It was he who settled the Shi family mother and son, the woodblock calligraphy he bought for us, and also... the carving knife he bought for Shi Jingning."
Cui Fufeng frowned slightly: "The carving knife that killed Uncle Fu?"
"Yes. Shi Jingning's uncle's family lived in the Guanglu Temple, and they wanted to teach him the art, so he often practiced cutting vegetables and carving in the kitchen. That was when I asked Uncle Fu to buy him a carving knife and asked him to carve a rabbit for me. But he was a beginner at carving, and the rabbit he carved was ugly. I played with it for a few days and then lost it somewhere. As for the carving knife, it was originally thrown around, but my mother told me that throwing sharp objects around can cause cuts, so she told me to get some scrap paper, wrap it thickly, and put it in the drawer. Now that I think about it, the thing I used to wrap the carving knife was the calligraphy copybook that Shi Jingning and I used for practice."
Ling Tianshui concluded, "Eleven years later, the murderer opened the old paper package and took the carving knife. Uncle Fu discovered this and was murdered."
"Yes, what disappeared along with the carving knife was a letter that my mother had been so concerned about before she died... a letter she said would change my fate."
"When we found the carving knife at the manor, the first person we checked was Shi Jingning, but we didn't find anything unusual at the time." Cui Fufeng carefully recalled the situation. "However, the carving knife that injured Uncle Fu, and the fragments that Uncle Fu deliberately hid, all pointed to Shi Jingning. Could it be that... he really is hiding something deep down?"
Qian Deng's voice was deep: "But, Shi Jingning... I don't believe he has any bad intentions."
He was the only one among all the men with whom she had a childhood relationship.
He and his siblings were the first to enter her backyard. He took good care of her and cared about her every meal. His siblings were as well-behaved and quiet as he was. They not only added a lively atmosphere to the deserted backyard, but also comforted her who had just lost a loved one because of the children's laughter.
And now, the person she trusted the most and least likely to be suspicious, the man who was the least troublesome in the backyard, suddenly became the target of an unpredictable accident. How could she remain calm?
"But the current clues already point to him," Ling Tianshui said mercilessly, "Even though there's a youthful affection, he's been separated from you for ten years. Do you know what his fate is, who he's been with, where he's been, and what he's done?"
There was confusion and sadness in Qiandeng's eyes, and there was no blood on his tightly pursed lips.
Cui Fufeng comforted her, "Don't worry, County Lady. The truth is complex and confusing, and it may not be so. When Shi Jingning was selected as the husband of the prince's mansion, I was in charge of all the files. I will thoroughly investigate his past and will not miss any clues, big or small. I must ensure everything is safe and sound."
"Well, please, Cui Shaoqing." Qian Deng felt dizzy and rubbed his forehead, muttering, "I just didn't expect that among all the people, the first one to surface would be Shi Jingning."
Ling Tianshui folded his arms and studied Qian Deng's face, frowning slightly. "You look listless, clearly exhausted from the blow you suffered. It's better not to rush the Soul Embroidery Silk, and go back and get some rest first."
Qiandeng rubbed his solar plexus. He had been running around all day, from the mausoleum to the palace. He had taught Yang Huaijiang a lesson and dealt with Lady Dingxiang. He had seen through Shi Jingning's suspicion and finished embroidering his mother's soul silk. His mood was extremely ups and downs.
In order to ensure that nothing happened when she entered the palace, she had not eaten or drunk anything and had only two small cakes from Shi Jingning's place the whole day. She was truly exhausted now.
Cui Fufeng stared at her pale and dazed face for a moment, sighed softly, and said nothing.
"Okay, I'll go back and rest." She forced herself to stand up. "Besides, the Dali Temple is a government office after all, so some things are not so convenient to investigate. I also want to ask Mr. Ling, if there is any private situation with my husband candidate, please keep an eye on it for me."
Ling Tianshui didn't say much, and his answer was unusually concise: "Okay."
Qiandeng stood up and prepared to go back to the house, but as soon as he stood up, his vision went dark, his knees went weak and he fell down.
She raised her hands and grabbed at the air a few times, not knowing what kind of support she was hoping for. Unexpectedly, like a miracle, a pair of strong and warm hands held her palms and helped her up.
In the dim light, she vaguely saw Ling Tianshui's deep gaze, and his voice sounded a little erratic: "You're not listening, are you really unable to hold on?"
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