Fish Meat – Chapter 144

The Second Year of Zhao Wu

Morning Like Blue Clouds (8)

Li Yanyi carefully examined every stroke on the sheepskin.

            

She and Wei Tingxu had written a sea of secret letters, and she was as familiar as could be with her handwriting. To prevent others from forging fake letters and confusing messages, the two of them had analyzed Wei Tingxu’s writing habits together. Li Yanyi remembered in her heart both the force of the pen strokes and the habits of finishing strokes.

She wanted to break down these few characters to find some flaws, to figure out who was trying to drive a wedge between her and Wei Tingxu.

She of course knew who was behind these Confucian scholars like Luan Jiang relentlessly attacking her, and understood that her determination to reform the imperial examination system would certainly touch on the interests of the noble families, with the Geng family being the first to be affected. She wasn’t afraid of any criticism from the Geng family, nor would she give up on reform because they were relatives by marriage, her mother’s family. If she gave up this time out of concern for the interests of a certain group, the next time she had other plans, she would again be hesitant and find it difficult to accomplish anything. So Li Yanyi had made up her mind from the very beginning of deciding on reform that she wouldn’t back down no matter who openly opposed or secretly stabbed her in the back.

            

Even if it was her own uncle, it would be the same.

Now Wei Tingxu had entered the imperial court, and although she was just an insignificant secretary, her achievements on the Path of Ten Thousand Directions and her status as the only female official were enough to attract everyone’s attention.

The entire central government understood where Li Yanyi’s next cut would be. So before she made her move, they wanted to drive a wedge between her and her confidant, weakening her power. Did they think this would prevent her from cutting into the rotten flesh of Da Yu? How could that be possible, it’s wishful thinking.

            

At this critical moment, the appearance of such a meaningful letter, clearly intended to make Li Yanyi doubt Wei Tingxu’s motives, was too obvious, and Li Yanyi wouldn’t fall for it.

If this letter was fake, it was too real. That this person could imitate Wei Tingxu’s ever-changing handwriting, and even capture the essence when writing, was truly frightening.

But what if it was real? Li Yanyi knew the possibility of it being real was small, but what if? What if someone was kindly warning her to guard against hidden arrows (meaning: secret attacks)?

            

What were Wei Tingxu and Wei Lun secretly plotting? If she really was planning something, Li Yanyi might truly not be able to see through her.

Something was missing.

Li Yanyi stared at the golden turtle incense burner in the corner of the desk. The turtle’s head was raised with its flat mouth open, as if someone was choking it, showing an agonized expression before death.

            

Who sent this letter? Was it Geng Bai? He was the most likely possibility and currently had the best position to do this. But, even if Wei Tingxu had ulterior motives and slipped up, did Geng Bai have the ability to catch that slip-up?

Given Geng Bai’s abilities, it would be difficult for him to find a letter Wei Tingxu sent to Wei Lun, especially since the content was extremely important and could easily arouse suspicion. Since the letter’s content wasn’t in any code but directly stated the results, it showed that both the sender and recipient believed the letter would be very safe and wouldn’t be intercepted by others.

Now that the letter was in Li Yanyi’s hands, unless it was forged by an expert very familiar with Wei Tingxu’s handwriting, it would be extremely difficult to obtain given Wei Tingxu’s intelligence and caution.

            

If it was real, who had the ability to obtain it?

Li Yanyi’s mind was a bit confused. She pinched the fresh crabapple branch from the bamboo tube between her fingers, smelling its fragrance. The floral scent could help her clear her thoughts and calm down.

The matter concerning the Xie family was extremely sensitive. Although Xie Fuchen was dead, Li Yanyi vaguely felt she had missed something.

            

A person as shrewd as Xie Fuchen was rare to find in a hundred years. When he risked everything and ended up with his entire family executed, did he really not leave any contingency plans? Was he truly content to let the empire fall into my hands? Li Yanyi asked herself. If she were Xie Fuchen, the answer would be no. She would definitely leave some “insects” hidden in the dark, slowly eating away at Da Yu’s foundations in places unknown to others. Even in the underworld, she would keep her eyes open, waiting for Da Yu’s downfall.

Although Geng Bai is careful and cautious, he’s not a strategic mastermind. It’s really difficult for him to find Wei Tingxu’s weak points. Li Yanyi and Wei Tingxu don’t even take Geng Bai seriously. Besides being called “fierce tiger” and “executioner,” what unexpected schemes could Geng Bai possibly have?

Li Yanyi looks down on all the fools in the central government who want to bring down the Wei family. They’re not even worthy of being Wei Tingxu’s opponents, and Geng Bai is one of them.

            

Li Yanyi paces in Xiashou Palace, feeling anxious and uneasy.

Xie Fuchen.

Only Xie Fuchen has this ability. Li Yanyi can’t think of anyone else.

            

Only Xie Fuchen can give her sleepless nights of worry.

Xie Fuchen didn’t die quietly in failure; he left behind a deadly trap that keeps Li Yanyi awake at night.

If this letter is connected to Xie Fuchen, it makes much more sense. It even made Li Yanyi instantly realize another purpose of this letter, the real intention hidden beneath the obvious provocation.

            

This letter is actually reminding Li Yanyi to recall the important clues Xie Fuchen once left behind, making Li Yanyi reconsider who exactly is this “daughter of thief Xie” controlled by Wei Tingxu?

Who is this person? Zhen Wenjun?

Is Zhen Wenjun Ah Xin’s younger sister? Is she Xie Fuchen’s daughter?

            

Li Yanyi wasn’t very sure.

If you were to say that Zhen Wenjun’s eyebrows and eyes were indeed a little bit similar to Ah Xin’s, it was only a tiny bit. However, Li Yanyi understood that her own judgment on this matter might be biased, because she was too familiar with Ah Xin, and Ah Xin was extremely special in her heart. Even if it were Ah Xin’s twin sister, Li Yanyi would see through it at a glance.

Wanting her to investigate the matter of Ah Xin’s younger sister was the true purpose of the person who sent the letter.

            

It was still an obvious attempt to sow discord.

This wasn’t the first time someone tried to drive a wedge between her and Wei Tingxu. The last time suspicion arose, she forcefully suppressed it, also because they were in the most crucial stage of the struggle, having painstakingly set up numerous interlocking traps, just waiting for the prey to fall into them. At that time, Li Yanyi had to rely entirely on Wei Tingxu and absolutely couldn’t have any suspicion or conflict with her.

Even now, Li Yanyi didn’t want to be enemies with Wei Tingxu. She had personally witnessed Wei Tingxu defeating political opponents one by one, crushing all obstacles along the way. Wei Tingxu was the enemy she least wanted to oppose.

            

Of course, Li Yanyi hoped this letter was fake, that it was all a curse left behind by Xie Fuchen, who had failed to die quietly.

Should she take this letter and directly ask Wei Tingxu if it was from her hand? If not, it would untie the big knot in her heart.

Doing this might bring immediate relief, but it carried a huge risk.

            

What if this letter really came from Wei Tingxu’s hand? Wei Tingxu would definitely try every way to deny it, but in her heart, she’d build an even stronger wall of defense. At that time, she’d be in the light while Wei Tingxu would be in the dark, and Wei Tingxu would act more carefully. The fear is that one day she really has other plans, and Li Yanyi basically can’t control her.

Although Empress Dowager Geng and Geng Bai’s lackeys are very annoying, they said one thing right.

The Wei family’s power is too big. If Wei Tingxu holds an important position again, if she wants to rebel, it would be as easy as picking up a straw.

            

But rewarding based on achievements is the way of heaven (a natural principle), and being able to defeat Li Ju and the Wei family is a top achievement. How could she not reward the Wei family?

Balancing central power has always been a headache for rulers. If not balanced well, it could backfire.

Li Yanyi suddenly realized that since she took the throne, she’s become very sensitive and suspicious. If this happened before, she would immediately decide it was a plot by bad guys, throw it aside and not ask about it again. She definitely wouldn’t think about it until midnight instead of sleeping.

            

The higher you go, the more worries you have, because she carries more responsibilities now.

Li Yanyi picked the small begonia flower petals one by one, put them in her mouth, and chewed slowly.

What she needs to do now is not to suspect without reason, but to find out the truth. Who sent the letter, whether Ah Xin has a secret sister, and whether Wei Tingxu is using this sister to do things she doesn’t know about.

            

She called for Ah Li and Ah Yin, gave them this letter, and asked them to investigate the source of this letter and all about Xie Fuchen’s past, and must find his other daughter.

Wei Tingxu left Runing and was gone for a year and a half. Wei Tingxu’s mother longed day and night for her daughter to return soon. She often cried her eyes out, even though Wei Tingxu had repeatedly told her mother about the dangers of this journey before leaving. Wei Tingxu said the South was a barbarian land, and once she left Da Yu, it would be difficult to send messages back to report her safety. She told her mother not to worry too much and to believe in her daughter’s abilities, assuring that she would definitely return safely.

How could her mother not know how capable her daughter was? At just over ten years old, she had traveled throughout Da Yu with two servant girls, and now she was even taking a route that no one had traveled for hundreds of years, going thousands of miles away. Knowing her daughter’s abilities was one thing, but worrying was another matter.

            

Her mother was crying on the day her daughter left. Wei Tingxu left with a heavy heart, and when she returned, she found her mother still crying. If it weren’t for the new strands of white hair on her mother’s head, she would have thought time hadn’t moved forward at all.

Wei Tingxu had returned, and while others might not have noticed, her mother saw the difference in her daughter at first glance.

She had thought her daughter would surely become skin and bones on this southern journey, but to her surprise, not only had her daughter not lost weight, she had actually become a bit rounder, and her complexion was much better than when she left Runing.

            

Her mother was relieved but curious, and tried to probe Wei Tingxu indirectly.

How could Wei Tingxu not know her mother’s thoughts? She frankly said that Wenjun had been serving her day and night, taking care of her properly, comparable to a divine medicine.

At that time, the whole family was eating in the hall. Wei Tingxu was sitting with her parents, while Zhen Wenjun, as the “lifesaver” and “close friend,” sat behind the table on the east side, together with Zuo Kunda, who had been appointed as a military officer. When Wei Tingxu said this, Zhen Wenjun almost spat out the soup she had just put in her mouth. She managed to hold it in, but the soup got stuck in her nasal cavity, causing her to cough frantically.

            

The whole hall could only hear her coughing. Zhen Wenjun, with a bright red face, tried to stop coughing under everyone’s gaze but couldn’t. She could only cover her face and leave the front hall while coughing.

Zuo Kunda watched Zhen Wenjun’s retreating figure while eating a roasted chicken leg, puzzled. Wenjun was usually calm and graceful, so how could she be so impolite in front of Master Wei? What deeper meaning was there in what Lady Wei had just said? He noticed that everyone present had rather subtle expressions, but only he was kept in the dark… Could it be that he was the only one who hadn’t seen through it?

The roasted chicken leg in hand had already been brought to the mouth and then stopped.

            

Could it be that I’m too stupid?

Zhen Wenjun stopped coughing and didn’t dare to go back, so she just sat in the courtyard counting stars.

Not long after, Wei Tingxu also came out and sat next to her on the stone steps to count together.

            

“Are you trying to scare your Ah Mu to death?” Zhen Wenjun hooked her pinky finger with Wei Tingxu’s.

“Is she that timid? Can my casual words scare her to death?”

“That sentence of yours was really too suggestive.”

            

“My words are only suggestive when you all let your imaginations run wild.”

Zhen Wenjun really couldn’t argue with her, so she simply stopped talking and looked back, making sure no one was there before leaning on her shoulder.

Wei Tingxu said, “Is the Wei household making you uncomfortable?”

            

“It’s not that I’m not used to it, but I feel a bit guilty when I see your Ah Mu.”

“Guilty? What’s there to feel guilty about when you’ve fattened up her daughter by several jin?”

“You know exactly what I mean.”

            

“Then, what if we move out and live on our own?”

Zhen Wenjun suddenly sat up straight when she heard this.

“Really?”

            

Wei Tingxu had already anticipated her excited reaction and nodded with a smile: “Really.”

“But will your Ah Mu agree?”

“I can make my own decisions. With our wealth, it’s not difficult to buy a decent mansion in Runing. In fact, I’ve already picked out a few suitable ones that I like, just waiting for you to confirm.”

            

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