Xin Zizhao groped his way back to the Fenghe Hall, with two letters tucked in his bosom.
At this hour, Wei Shuxuan had already gone to bed. Xin Zizhao decided to study these two letters carefully on his own.
He lit the oil lamp in the study and unfolded the two letters. After thinking for a while, he thought he should fetch the letter personally written by General Wei Tu to compare it with the one he had just found in the inner chamber of the Imperial Study.
"The letter seems to be with Wei Shuxuan," Xin Zizhao murmured to himself. Without a comparison, he couldn't make any judgment. He had intended to help Wei Shuxuan, but now everything was ready except the crucial element. He might as well go to bed first.
When Wei Shuxuan received the two letters from Xin Zizhao, she looked at him in surprise. "How... how did you find these two letters? Did your father really give them to you?"
Xin Zizhao pursed his lips and said nothing. He just stuffed the letters into Wei Shuxuan's hand and turned away. "I have other things to do. I'll leave first."
Wei Shuxuan was stunned for a moment. By the time she came to her senses, Xin Zizhao had disappeared. Holding the two letters, she murmured, "Why did he run so fast?"
Well, since he had left, it was up to her, Wei Shuxuan, to handle the rest!
When it came to solving cases, Wei Shuxuan was highly motivated. She took out the two letters from her bosom and added the two letters Xin Zizhao had given her today. She decided to read the two letters Xin Zizhao had given her first.
One of the letters was written in the language of Qiangfeng Kingdom. No matter how hard Wei Shuxuan tried, she couldn't understand it. She'd better wait for Xin Zizhao to come back and translate it for her. The other letter was presumably written by General Wei Tu. The content stated that General Wei Tu had agreed to the request of the general from Qiangfeng Kingdom, saying that after winning the war, he would open the border gate and let the people from Qiangfeng Kingdom in to help them invade Yulong Kingdom.
Wei Shuxuan read the letter from beginning to end. The signature at the end was indeed Wei Tu's, and there was also the red seal of the Wei family at the end. It seemed to be genuine, but she inexplicably felt a sense of discord, yet she couldn't tell exactly where it was.
She spread out the letter Wei Tu had written to Emperor Jinzheng again. This letter must have been written by General Wei Tu himself. She had carefully compared the handwriting. At first glance, the two letters were really quite similar, but if you looked closely, you would find that they were actually a bit different from Wei Tu's real handwriting. The Wei family seal at the end was also a bit different.
The seal of the Wei family was the character "Wei", but the dot in the upper right corner was not very obvious, looking as if it was missing. And it was enclosed in a small circular frame.
"This doesn't really look like the Wei family's seal..." After careful comparison, Wei Shuxuan overlapped the positions of the seals on the two letters and compared them in the sunlight. Indeed, the position of that dot didn't match, and the character "Wei" on the seal was not very similar either.
"This should be a forgery, imitating General Wei Tu's handwriting and the Wei family's seal to create this fake correspondence. But how can I make the emperor believe that this is a forged letter?" Wei Shuxuan was a bit headache - stricken about this. Should she just show it to the emperor directly? Maybe he could recognize General Wei Tu's handwriting and the seal.
However, she didn't know if Emperor Jinzheng would accept such evidence. It seemed too hasty. She'd better collect some more evidence first. Since there was physical evidence, the next thing was witness testimony.
Now that Xin Zizhao was not in the Fenghe Hall, Wei Shuxuan decided to go to Emperor Jinzheng herself. She had something to ask him.
According to the palace maids, Emperor Jinzheng usually rested in the Qianyu Palace in the afternoon. After learning this, Wei Shuxuan headed straight for the Qianyu Palace.
As soon as she arrived at the main gate of the Qianyu Palace, Wei Shuxuan was stopped by two guards standing outside. "Who are you?"
"I'm Wei Shuxuan. I'm here specifically to see the emperor."
"The emperor is resting now. He won't see anyone. Please go back."
Damn it! Wei Shuxuan couldn't help swearing in her heart.
"Two guard brothers, could you please pass on a message for me? I have something to talk to the emperor about."
Wei Shuxuan tried to make her tone as gentle as possible. Back when she was doing criminal investigations, as long as she showed her work ID, no one would dare to argue with her. She didn't have to be so humble now.
"Ah, I wondered who it was. So it's you, Wei Shuxuan!" A very familiar high - pitched female voice came from behind.
Wei Shuxuan didn't even need to turn around to know who was behind her. She forced a smile and turned around. "I pay my respects to Princess Nine."
"What are you doing here?" Xuan Ruoling glanced at Wei Shuxuan. Could it be that you're asking the emperor to arrange your wedding with Brother Zian?
".... Princess Nine, you're overthinking it, aren't you?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xuan Ruoling helplessly. Why was this shrewish little princess so imaginative?
"Isn't it?" Xuan Ruoling slightly raised her eyebrows and looked at Wei Shuxuan seriously.
"The engagement was arranged by my father and Zian's father without asking me and Zian's opinions. Although Zian and I grew up together, I don't have that kind of romantic feeling for him. I'm not very willing to marry him..."
However, Xuan Ruoling's next reaction took Wei Shuxuan by surprise.
"You don't like Brother Zian? You don't know how gentle and considerate Brother Zian is. He's also very kind to the common people. He's handsome, and he's both good at literature and martial arts. I find it strange that you say you don't like him!" Xuan Ruoling's words completely refreshed Wei Shuxuan's view.
In modern terms, she was simply a die - hard fan of Ge Zian.
"Yes, I don't like him," Wei Shuxuan nodded, emphasizing that she really didn't have that kind of feeling for Ge Zian. "Zian and I are just ordinary childhood sweethearts. If you want to win Ge Zian's love, you should work harder. You know, being a pampered and shrewish princess won't make Ge Zian like you."
Xuan Ruoling looked at Wei Shuxuan suspiciously. "Do you know what kind of woman Brother Zian likes?"
"Of course I do! Do you think all those years of being childhood sweethearts with Ge Zian were for nothing?" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xuan Ruoling with a mischievous smile.
"Then tell me quickly what kind of woman Brother Zian likes!"
"I still have something to do now. Wait until I'm done, okay?"