TPGA - 80

Chapter 80: Oversight

Meixue had never mentioned Du Ruhui to Jiang Caiping before, so the latter’s curiosity was instantly piqued. She eagerly pressed for details.

Yunyi gave a brief account and then continued, “When you mentioned earlier how those people in the music hall were spreading rumors, I initially didn’t care. But then I thought—if Ruhui hears about it, it might cause trouble. That’s why I’m in such a hurry to send this letter out. But I’m also worried about being discovered, so…”

“So you’re disguising it as delivering shoes!” Jiang Caiping giggled, covering her mouth. “What a clever idea, Sister! And here I was, secretly hoping you and Second Master would end up together!”

Yunyi glared at her. “You little mischief-maker, stop talking nonsense.” Her lie wasn’t particularly clever, but Jiang Caiping trusted her completely, believing whatever she said without a trace of suspicion.

Jiang Caiping stuck out her tongue playfully. “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more. But when will you let me meet this Mister Du?”

Yunyi brushed it off casually. “He’s heading to the capital in a few days to take the imperial exams. We’ll see after he returns.”

Jiang Caiping nodded with a hint of regret. As they neared their quarters, she suddenly asked, “Sister, does Uncle Wu know how to read?”

Caught off guard by the question, Yunyi hesitated. “I think… he probably does.”

Jiang Caiping was astonished. “You don’t even know for sure?”

Yunyi’s gaze flickered, and she replied somewhat uncomfortably, “I once taught Father for a while after secretly listening in at the private school. At the time, he seemed to recognize the characters, but now… I’m not certain.”

“If Uncle Wu can’t read, how will he understand the letter?” Even before Jiang Caiping voiced this concern, Yunyi had already thought of it and was feeling uneasy. “What should we do now?”

She had been careless—she’d forgotten that Wu Laosan was just a simple countryman who didn’t even recognize the character for “dragon,” let alone read a letter.

Jiang Caiping pondered for a moment. “If all else fails, we’ll have to ask Li Niang to relay the message. Come on, let’s go find her.” Grabbing Yunyi’s hand, she turned back toward the kitchen.

While Yunyi was still thinking about how to convey the contents of the letter through Li Niang, they arrived at the kitchen—but Li Niang was nowhere to be seen. Upon inquiry, they learned that she had already left some time ago and was likely already outside the mansion.

Jiang Caiping stamped her foot in frustration. “If only we’d hurried a bit more! Sigh!” Seeing Yunyi’s worried expression, she consoled her as they exited the kitchen. “Don’t worry too much, Sister. If worst comes to worst, we’ll plead with Li Niang to go out again once she returns. There must be a way.”

Yunyi sighed helplessly. “I suppose that’s all we can do for now.”

---

Meanwhile, as Yunyi fretted over the letter, Li Shimin had already arrived at Qingchun Garden. Li Xuanba happened to be there as well. Upon seeing Li Shimin enter, he was both surprised and delighted, rushing forward to grab his shoulder. “Second Brother, where have you been? You’ve driven Big Brother and me to distraction!”

The sudden grip caused Li Shimin immense pain, leaving him unable to speak. Li Jiancheng noticed immediately and quickly intervened. “Let go of Shimin!”

Li Xuanba, still unaware of what was happening, looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Li Jiancheng snapped impatiently, “You fool! Can’t you see that Shimin is injured? Let go of him at once!”

Realizing his mistake, Li Xuanba quickly released his hold and then instructed one of the servants, Li Jiu, “Quickly fetch a doctor!”

Li Shimin caught his breath and waved them off. “No need—I’ve already sent Lin, the steward, to summon Doctor Xu. He should arrive shortly.”

Li Xuanba carefully helped him sit down. “Second Brother, where on earth did you disappear to last night? You didn’t leave any word. I wanted to look for Duan Zhihong, but he wasn’t in the mansion either.”

“I went to paint the snow lotus for Wugou. I thought I’d return before nightfall, so I didn’t mention it. But something unexpected happened on the way down the mountain, delaying us. By the time we reached the city gates, they were already closed, so we had no choice but to spend the night outside and enter the city today.”

Li Xuanba winked teasingly. “I heard you went out with Wu Meixue. Could it be you’ve taken a liking to this dancer?” Without waiting for Li Shimin’s response, he added mischievously, “But Second Sister-in-Law hasn’t even entered the family yet. Second Brother, isn’t this a bit inappropriate?”

Li Shimin chuckled wryly. “You rascal! Where do you get these ideas? Deserve a beating! I only took her along because I needed her help.”

Li Xuanba smirked skeptically. “Second Brother, you’re fooling me again. Wu Meixue is just a dancer—what kind of help could she possibly offer?”

Without a word, Li Shimin pulled out the painting of the blooming snow lotus from his sleeve and handed it over. “See for yourself.”

Li Xuanba unfolded it casually and glanced at it, smirking. “Are you telling me this was painted by that dancer?” Though he didn’t understand art, he could tell at a glance that the painting was exquisite. The snow lotus seemed almost lifelike, its faint fragrance almost perceptible. Such skill couldn’t come from an ordinary dancer like Wu Meixue—it was impossible.

“In fact, she did paint it.” Amidst Li Xuanba’s astonishment, Li Jiancheng took the painting and examined it closely. Unlike Li Xuanba, who was obsessed with martial arts, Li Jiancheng had dabbled in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and music. At a glance, he recognized the painting’s quality. “Aside from some unevenness in the ink and slight imperfections in line thickness, this is truly a rare masterpiece. Who would have thought a mere dancer could possess such talent?”

Li Shimin recounted how he had stumbled upon Yunyi using the ground as her canvas and a dry branch as her brush in the back garden the previous day. He continued, “That’s why I decided to use the task of painting the snow lotus to test her. However… it seems I was overly suspicious. She’s not the person we’re looking for.”

Li Jiancheng frowned deeply. “If she isn’t the assassin, then where is the real culprit? Could she have truly escaped?”

At this, Li Shimin fell silent. His suspicions had been focused on Meixue for so long that once she was proven innocent, he found himself at a loss for where to turn next.

Seeing their silence, Li Xuanba grew impatient. “In my opinion, we should round up all the suspicious individuals and throw them into the dungeon for interrogation. I refuse to believe we can’t get answers out of them.”

Li Shimin firmly rejected the idea. “No. If we resort to such methods, it will damage Father’s reputation and authority. Moreover, it will hinder our future plans.” He was referring, of course, to their planned uprising. If Li Yuan were branded as someone who disregarded human life, their rallying power would be significantly weakened when they eventually rose against the empire. In times like these, public support was everything—a single misstep could lead to failure and cost the entire Li family their lives. This was a risk they simply couldn’t afford to take.

Li Xuanba, unaware of the deeper implications, stubbornly argued, “If we want to catch the assassin, we can’t keep hesitating out of fear. Big Brother, don’t you agree?” In his mind, Li Jiancheng often criticized Li Shimin for being overly cautious and lenient, so he assumed his elder brother would side with him this time.