The fact that Wen Zilong could paint and write with his left hand and imitate others' handwriting perfectly was truly a well - kept secret.
Putting aside the fact that he was a scoundrel, he was indeed a talented man.
Over the years, no one had known about this skill of his, which showed that he was extremely calculating.
Xiao Rencheng nodded and said, "No wonder we couldn't find the slightest evidence of his imitating others' handwriting. He usually only uses his right hand and never writes with the other hand. Unless he wants to, he'll never be caught red - handed in this lifetime."
Although Master Guangzhi had just arrived in the capital, he had already learned about this matter from the letter Song Yinghuai had sent to Yanjing by carrier pigeon.
He stroked his silvery beard and pondered, "The most urgent thing now is to find a way to make Wen Zilong write a letter with his left hand. Then we can match it with the handwriting on the evidence from the Lan family. His handwriting is lighter than that of the old Marquis Lan. Both you, Lord Xiao, and Lord Xu are authorities in handwriting identification. With the two of you working together, you can at least make His Majesty see that there are clues in this case and order a re - investigation!"
Xiao Rencheng said, "Yes, but how can we make Wen Zilong write with his left hand again?"
It should be noted that in the past four or five years, the only evidence of Wen Zilong writing with his left hand was the letter from Lan Yuanyi, the forged letter in the correspondence between the Crown Prince and him, and a love letter to Peilan.
Now the letter of treason was stored in the archive room of the Ministry of Justice. The correspondence between the Crown Prince and Wen Zilong had been destroyed by the Crown Prince's messenger Han, and the real letter was hidden by Wen Zilong in his study. Lan Jinqin had tried for several years but couldn't find it. As for Peilan's love letter, it had also been destroyed.
It meant that the only existing left - hand handwriting of Wen Zilong was the letter of treason in the Ministry of Justice.
The study fell into silence. Only the sound of Song Yinghuai slowly twirling the Buddhist beads on his wrist could be heard.
After a long time, Song Yinghuai suddenly opened his eyes. A sly smile appeared on his face, and he said,
"The Princess of Nan'an is about to invite everyone to go hunting in Mulan Mountain. At that time... it will depend on you, Brother Xiao."
After seeing off Xiao Rencheng, Master Guangzhi was led by Ji Ming to the meditation room to stay. Song Yinghuai was still worried, so he went to the bedroom again.
He stood in front of the bedroom door, reached out his hand to push the door, but hesitated for a moment. He knocked on the door and asked,
"Yuer, are you asleep?"
Ji Ming, who was following behind, fainted instantly.
His master had only been tough for a few days, and now he was being humble again.
He even had to knock on the door before entering his own bedroom.
If he had known that he couldn't win against that young lady, why had he been so tough? Now he had to swallow his anger.
Fortunately, the young lady in the room was quite giving face. There was a rustling sound of putting on clothes inside. After a while, the door was pulled open.
A smile appeared on Song Yinghuai's face. Just as he was about to speak, Caiyu bowed her head meekly and saluted like a maid, saying,
"Your Highness, this maid didn't dare to sleep. I've been waiting for Your Highness to come back so that I can serve you to bed before I go to sleep."
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows twitched. Caiyu's appearance made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
His eyes flashed. When he saw the fair and white feet of the young girl exposed under her skirt, he bent down, picked her up, and strode into the room. At the same time, he gently scolded,
"I've told you many times. Why do you still forget to wear shoes when you get out of bed?"
As soon as Caiyu landed on the bed, she rolled over, slid to the ground, and knelt down to plead guilty:
"This maid is guilty. I will definitely remember to wear shoes next time."
Her cold and detached appearance made Song Yinghuai stand still. His breath stopped the moment she knelt down.
He finally realized that this time, it might not be so easy to coax her back.
The next second, he quickly pulled Caiyu up from the ground. There was a hint of red in his eyes as he said,
"Can you please listen to me for a few words?"
Caiyu nodded obediently. "This maid has always been listening and has never talked back to Your Highness."
Song Yinghuai was choked by her words. He felt even more miserable.
It was true that she had never talked back, but she seemed so lifeless, and there seemed to be a huge gap between her heart and his.
He suddenly felt that it would be better if she talked back to him.
Song Yinghuai couldn't help but smile bitterly. "You're torturing me in a different way."
"This maid wouldn't dare. Your Highness is this maid's master and the sky above this maid. Whatever Your Highness says is right. This maid wouldn't dare to torture Your Highness."
Song Yinghuai took several deep breaths before suppressing his depression. "Didn't I tell you? When it's just the two of us, you don't need to call yourself a maid."
Caiyu shook her head. "This maid has figured it out. My status is what it is. It won't change because of a title. Before, this maid was over - ambitious. Relying on Your Highness's favor, I was lawless and talked back to my master. This is my fault. I won't do it again... From now on, this maid will always remember her status and will never talk back to Your Highness again."
Her voice was very low, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Song Yinghuai's heart and eardrums word by word.
Song Yinghuai stared blankly at her cold and stubborn little face. It felt as if something had stabbed his heart hard, and the pain quickly spread throughout his body.
It was his fault.
Song Yinghuai looked at her blankly.
He didn't understand for a moment why the relationship between the two of them had become like this overnight.
He mechanically opened his mouth to defend himself. "Actually, that lingering - fragrance ink was originally meant for the two of us to draw our love marks. I didn't expect that I would draw it on you in a fit of anger. This matter..."
He paused for a moment and finally said in a humble tone, "If you're angry, you can draw one on me too. Draw whatever you like, a turtle or a tortoise. You can draw it wherever you want. Consider it my apology."
Caiyu unexpectedly looked up at Song Yinghuai.
So that lingering - fragrance ink was specially found by him for their love mark.
However, the next second, she became sad again.
So what?
He could quarrel with her and give her the cold shoulder.
But how could he hold her down on the table and write on her like a painting object at that time?
Moreover, she had never heard of anyone's love mark being a character "wrong".
Thinking of this, the little bit of tenderness that had just risen in Caiyu's heart dissipated again.
Song Yinghuai might have forgotten about it because of Caiyu's fainting. What he had left on Caiyu's waist was not a character "wrong", but an ink lotus.
He only knew that Caiyu was deeply hurt by his actions.
When he saw Caiyu looking up at him, he suddenly felt a chill on his scalp and said with an apologetic smile, "It's not okay to draw on the face. For other places, you can choose whatever you like. Even there is okay."
"This maid wouldn't dare to draw on Your Highness." Caiyu still calmly changed the topic. "Your Highness, are you going to bed? This maid will serve you to sleep!"
Seeing that Caiyu was unmoved by his explanation, Song Yinghuai was even more helpless.
He looked outside. The sun was shining brightly, and it was the hottest time of the day. There was no need to sleep at all. But he didn't dare to push too hard, so he had to nod following her words. "Okay, let's sleep."
Then he quickly grabbed Caiyu's hand to stop her from turning around to get busy. He sighed,
"No need to serve. I'll do it myself."
Caiyu was really a bit tired. Moreover, she was only being respectful in words. She was not willing to serve this stinky man who had humiliated her.
Hearing this, Caiyu simply lay back on the bed and wrapped the quilt around herself.
Song Yinghuai stood by the bed for a long time, stunned.
She kept saying "this maid wouldn't dare", but she was still so willful. She occupied the master's bed and rolled up the master's quilt.
He, the real master, had nowhere to sleep.
Looking at the young girl's cold back facing him, Song Yinghuai sighed and turned to go to the bathroom.
Caiyu hugged the quilt but couldn't fall asleep at all.
She wasn't really sick. She had just fainted last night because of anger and a bump on her lower abdomen.
She wasn't in poor health. After sleeping for a night, she had recovered a lot.
It was just past noon, and it was a good time for a nap. But she had eaten very little at lunch, and now her stomach was growling.
Just as she was tossing and turning, a fragrance of food suddenly wafted from the bedside...