Chapter 43: Delicate Flower Chapter 46

Chapter 46 – Seal

At this moment, the sun was setting. As it slowly descended in the west, the clouds turn from orange to red, like a raging fire in skies, and its rays painted the study in a brilliant red.

Yu Tang held the painting scroll tightly in her hands.

Only half of the province map that Master Qian copied was spread out on the bookcase and the other half drooped down the side.

Yu Wen was startled by Yu Tang’s sharp voice and went over quickly, saying “What’s wrong?”.

Yu Tong’s face turned pale, as if all of her strength was gone. Trembling, she pointed at the map, saying, “Have a look at this, ‘Spring Water Hall’!”

Yu Wen did not understand the meaning of her words, so he stepped closer to examine further, but he did not see anything.

Yu Tang placed the scroll in her father’s hands and said urgently, “Look at it from this angle, when the light hits this point at the mountain peak, it shows a seal with the words “Spring Water Hall”.

Yu Wen took the scroll from his daughter and looked at it from the angle Yu Tang said, and he saw a seal faintly glowing in the sunlight with the words “Spring Water Hall” engraved in a word-picture style.

Knitting his brows, he first called Ah Cam in and asked him to find Yu Yuan, who was helping Yu Bo repair the store. He then closed the door and whispered to Yu Tang. “Don’t panic, this is just one of the tricks of the trade. Although these works are forgeries, but skilled forgers have their pride and want to leave their mark in history. Therefore, they place their seals in places that are harder for ordinary people to find, so that after several years, or even hundreds of years later, people can unintentionally find out that those works were created by them.”

Yu Wen’s strong appreciation of Master Qian’s skills before had now turned into his deep frustration of him.

“Just what else had he left behind besides this seal? And under what other conditions can this seal be seen besides under the evening sun’s rays?” Yu Wen frowned, “When Ah Yuan comes over later, the three of us will look at this painting carefully.”

Yu Tang nodded as her heart beat erratically.

She was not mistaken. This “Spring Water Hall” seal was identical to the one she saw in her previous life in that “Pine Creek Lake Fishing Hidden painting” she owned .

Her parents’ death, the Li family’s marriage proposal, their promise to revive her family business, how she came of age holding Li Jun’s tablet. The Li family disdained the size of her dowry, and so specially set up a remote and quiet area as a storage place for her things. Later, the Li family’s burglary case, as only a few insignificant things were lost, Madam Lin did not even go to the magistrate to report the case ……

All of these memories, were like scattered beads, that was now strung together with this “Spring Water Hall” seal.

Yu Tang seemed to understood everything at once, but also feeling as though she had understood nothing at all.

Her mind was in a chaotic mess, her legs felt weak and she could no longer stand and she fell down on the chair behind her.

Yu Wen looked at her worriedly. “Ah-tang, don’t be afraid. This kind of thing, it will be fine as long as the perpetrator doesn’t notice it, even if he does, we can always ask Master Qian to compensate us some silver, and redo the paintings. The good thing is that there’s still some time before your uncle Lu’s double seventh day, so it’s not too late for your cousin to make a trip to Hangzhou City.” Saying that, he sighed bitterly and said, “Who knew this kind of thing would happen? I was still lamenting the fact that Master Qian’s works would remain unknown, but clearly he’s experienced in doing such things.”

More significantly, this painting had already claimed someone’s life. They still have yet to find out the identity of the perpetrator, and should that person is vicious enough, perhaps Master Qian would be implicated as well.

Yu Tang’s skin prickled over with goosebumps.

Master Qian…

The painting she had in her previous life must have been a copy done by Master Qian, that is to say, someone thought of the same thing as her and asked Master Qian to help create an imitation, and exchanged it for the real painting that she originally had.

And Uncle Lu.

She had wrongly accused him.

What he sold to their family was the real painting which he owned.

It was her.

She was the one who held the imitation work in her hands for years, blindly taking the forged work for the real thing and assuming that the painting Uncle Lu sold to their family was a fake.

Yu Tang couldn’t stop blaming herself.

“Ah-tang, Ah-tang!” Seeing her face ridden with guilt, Yu Wen went and patted his daughter’s shoulder and said in a low, soothing voice, “None of this is your fault. Your suggestions were all very good. Father had never seen another child that is more intelligent than you. If it weren’t for you, I would still be in the dark right now. This matter, let father think of a solution, don’t you worry.”

However, these words only made Yu Tang felt worse.

She sobbed quietly, and only after a long while, she responded, “Father, you’re right, Uncle Lu was a good person. Although he did cause trouble for you, he helped you sincerely too. I had misjudged him in the past. It will soon be triple seventh day, right? I want to go and pay my respects to him.”

This was also to express her remorse.

Yu Wen said worriedly, “What’s wrong with you? Suddenly, you are saying such good things about your uncle Lu. If he knew about it, he would be overjoyed!”

Lu Xin wasn’t stupid, he knew that the other Yu Family members didn’t think too highly of him.

Yu Tang took out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears, nodding her head lightly.

Yu Yuan rushed over, panting hard, as he quickly greeted Yu Wen and Yu Tang and asked Old Aunty Chen to pour him a cup of tea, before turning to speak to Yu Wen and Yu Tang, “I’m dying of thirst. That Pei Man, he had so many questions, asking about this and that. However, he is also pretty capable, at least much better than the former chief steward. Everything that he spoke about were all the crucial points. Just observing from today’s activities, everyone’s perception of him already improved by leaps and bounds. His position as chief steward should be indisputable.”

Yu Wen hurriedly asked, “What happened?”

Yu Yuan explained, “The Pei family’s chief steward, Pei Man visited Changxing Street to check on the progress of the rebuilding of the stores. He went from door to door, asking us about what materials were used in these stores that were not belonging to the Pei family, whether they were built according to the style agreed with the Pei family before, how big was the covered drain, the size of the drainage area…… See, after this fire, who would dare not leave a drain? This time, the third master of the Pei family was compassionate enough to lend us some silver to rebuild our store. If we should encounter such a thing next time, and the Pei family didn’t step in to help, we would have no other option but to selling our plot of land.”

Yu Wen chuckled. “Indeed, it’s reasonable for him to ask about such things! If the street catches fire again because of us, their Pei family stores will also be implicated.”

The two continued conversing about the matters about Changxing Street but Yu Tang did not hear a word of it.

She remembered the Li family’s sudden fortune that occurred right after the Li family’s burglary incident.

Afterward, they relied on Madam Lin’s maternal family connections and started their sea trading business.

Could this province map that was hidden in the “Pine Creek Lake Fishing Hidden painting”, be a nautical chart?

After she married into the Li family, she would occasionally see some relatives of the Lin family visiting the Li family. She once overheard one of Madam Lin’s nephews bragging very proudly that this sea trade business could not be done by just anyone. They not only had to own a ship, have a competent and reliable helmsman and shipwright, but more importantly, know to navigate …… that is to say, they needed to possess a nautical chart.

And this nautical chart, was a priceless treasure beyond measure.

Just to draw such a map, the cartographer needs to know how to operate a ship, identify the correct direction and orientate, recognize changes in tide, be literate, understand geomancy – perhaps even after decades or centuries had passed, there wouldn’t be one such talent. Even if there should be someone so capable, wouldn’t they rather spend a few years undergoing the scholarship examinations and obtain the qualifications to be a respected official, instead of putting their lives at risk in the open waters, unknown and without merit, slogging away, spending a lifetime out at sea?

At this time, even if you are the emperor, you can only helplessly watch from the sidelines.

Those who do know to navigate the open waters, all of them relied on the knowledge passed down from several generations before, even decades-worth of generations, accumulating such experience little by little through time. Whoever possesses such skills, it is akin to holding a treasure chest in his arms; a guaranteed lifetime of gold and silver.

Yu Tong remembered that after Madam Lin’s nephew said this, she never saw that person appear in the Li family mansion again.

She thought it was because she was widowed and didn’t see many outsiders, but now after giving it some thought, this was clearly another thing hidden in the shadows that she was unaware of.

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The province map was definitely a nautical chart, and the perpetrator pulling the strings behind this must be the Li family.

The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more she felt as if the wind had blown away the haze in her mind, revealing many facets that were previously overlooked.

This would explain why Li Jun did not know her and why Madam Lin lied.

It also explained why the Li family would disregard their strong sense of pride to go to such lengths in order to obtain her consent to the marriage.

At the same time, Yutang felt a sense of fear – the Li family also knows about this Master Qian, and so their plan may be discovered by the Li family at any time.

However, this worry, she could not reveal it to her father and cousin.

Yu Tang paced back and forth in the study, like a trapped beast in a cage.

“Ah-tang!” Yu Wen was the first to notice his daughter’s strange behavior. He called out anxiously and said, “You’re making me dizzy. Sit down and have a rest! I have just spoken to Ah Yuan and he will leave for Hangzhou tomorrow morning. Rest assured, since Master Qian is in this business, of course he knows the dangers. He should have been well-prepared for such events.”

Yu Tang stopped her pacing, but that did not lessen the fear in her heart. She replied, “Father, this painting had already taken a life. Although Master Qian is living on the edge and there must have been times where his profession caused him some trouble. However, we cannot let him lose his life because of this matter in our family.”

“I understand!” as Yu Yuan listened, his face gradually turned serious and said, “I will inform him about this, and see if he has any means of self-preservation, or seek shelter and temporarily avoid this.”

As of now, Yu Tang couldn’t think of another better plan.

She rubbed her temples tiredly.

They still had to settle the Li family’s matter, and they had to do it as soon as possible.

Yu Tang now had a better understanding of the Li family and their approach.

Due to their own suspicious and villainous nature, even if something was done in good faith, they would still think it was some kind of scheme to entrap them. Because this map was so precious, so they only assumed that people who know of its value would definitely not let go of it. Therefore, they resorted to underhanded means, choosing to steal it rather than buying the painting openly from their family.

However, there is a huge difference between this life and her previous.

Furthermore, she also knew who the mastermind was.

However, just how did the Li family know for a certainty that the painting would become part of her dowry as it did in her previous life?

Previously, as her parents had passed away, so the things left behind by her parents would definitely be hers. However, in this life ……

Thinking of this, Yu Tang’s entire body stiffened.

She thought of her marriage with the Wei family.

Impossible?!

Just for the sake of obtaining this painting, would the Li Family even dictate her marriage?

Yu Tang’s heart was uncertain, but a voice in her head kept saying, They had already killed a person – why would they be concerned about killing another?

Yu Tang had difficulty breathing and could not remain in the study any longer.

She needed to know if Wei Xiaoshan’s death had anything to do with the Li family.

She had to meet with Wei Xiaochuan and ask him about what happened before Wei Xiaoshan’s death.

She hoped that she was being paranoid and was only imagining things.

Yu Tang walked out of the study at a brisk pace.

“Ah-tang!” Yu Wen and Yu Yuan both shouted worriedly and followed after her.

The heat of the summer had rescinded, some of the leaves of the cinnamon trees in the courtyard already started to turn yellow, and as the evening breeze blew by, there was a fragrant scent that drifted by from time to time.

Yu Tang took a deep breath before turning around with a light smile on her face. “I’m fine. There was the scent of flowers in the study, so I just came out to have a look.”

Both Yu Wen and Yu Yuan looked relieved.

Yu Yuan grinned. “You didn’t manage to have a gook look around Hangzhou City previously. Do you have anything you want me to bring back?”

“As long as you can return safe and sound, that would be the best souvenir.” After what had happened, Yu Tang felt ever more strongly that it was best for her family to be together all in one place. She lowered her voice and said, “Brother, you must caution Master Qian to be more prudent, this province map, if I’m not wrong, might be a nautical chart.”

Yu Yuan was dumbfounded.

Yu Wen said in a sharp voice, “Did you find out something?”

Yu Tang could not explain herself, so she could only say, “When I went out to buy materials for the head flower pieces, I met a seller of imported goods. I happen to have overheard something about this. However, at that time I did not pay much attention to it, and only now did I suddenly think of it and felt that our province map was very similar to those nautical charts.”

Yu Wen and Yu Yuan did not know how precious the nautical charts were, but they knew how fiercely the people in Fujian competed over the sea trade business. Murder and arson would happen every few years, and there were several tragic cases of extermination that were well-known.

When ordinary, commoner families were involved in this, not many survived.

Both of them sucked in a breath of cold air.

Yu Wen grabbed Yu Tang’s hand and said, “You, you really think this is a nautical chart?”

“I’m not completely certain.” YuTang didn’t dare to guarantee it. “The more I think about it, the more I think it is. Think about it, what did Minister Zuo do in the past? What was Uncle Lu’s father’s occupation? Even if it’s a province map, the imperial court isn’t even chasing after it. Even if they want it back, they can just do a search of our house and confiscate it. So why is the perpetrator so relentless and desperate to obtain this?”

“Minister Zuo once fought against Japanese pirates,” Yu Wen murmured, “Brother Lu’s father was once a member of Minister Zuo’s retinue. Furthermore, only province maps that were able to provide immense wealth would be so prized by people. Generally, province maps were only useful in war, so even if they fell in the hands of court officials, they were useless too. Brother Lu most likely do not know the secrets of this painting, perhaps because brother Lu’s father do not know about it? Or even if his father knows, perhaps like us, he did not know what to do with it and simply hid it in the painting?”

As Yu Yuan listened, his face turned pale and he said uneasily, “Uncle, then….then what are we to do?”

Previously, he thought it would be good to be rid of this, however, now it’s unclear whether they can even get rid of it.

Yu Wen was also out of ideas.

At least Lu Xin’s father knew someone like Minister Zuo, but he was just an ordinary village scholar, how can he be more capable than Lu Xin’s father?

Now it was Yu Wen’s turn to pace around in the courtyard.

Madam Chen, who came to call them over to eat, saw them and looked at them strangely, saying “What are you all secretly discussing here? Do you all still want to eat?”

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