Chapter 40 – Uncover
Unknowingly, the sunlight filtering into the room gradually faded, and only then did Yu Tang realize that the sun was setting.
She got up and she rubbed her tired eyes. She went out the door and found a inn helper boy and asked, “Have Master Yu and Gentleman Yu returned?”
“Not yet!” as the inn helper boy replied, Yu Tang saw second supervisor Tong walk in.
He was very similar to Big Supervisor Tong, not so much in features but as to their temperaments, both had a very kind and approachable feel to them.
The innkeeper was currently managing accounts at the desk counter.
He asked the innkeeper, “Is your wife here? How is Lady Yu? I’ve been meaning to come over and ask, but I was too busy handling the shop business matters today and only now did I find the time to come over.”
Usually men and women who were unfamiliar with each other keep their distance.
As such, the innkeeper was a little hesitant to visit Yu Tang and replied, “I think that everything should be fine. I heard from my inn helper boy that Lady Yu went out to buy something and came back – she still had the mood to go shopping, so she’s probably feeling better.” But he didn’t know much about the specifics, so after saying this, he asked someone to ask his wife to come over.
The innkeeper lady smiled as she replied, “She’s feeling better now. Just that she’s not in good spirits. However, it’s understandable. Whoever doesn’t eat for a day will also be feeling lethargic.”
“That’s good.” Second supervisor Tong seemed to be relieved as he remarked, “Our Third Master is aware that I used his name card to hire a physician for Lady Yu, so if the Third Master asks about the Yu family’s situation, I will know how to reply him.” He then enquired about Yu Wen and Yu Yuan. After hearing that that they had left early in the morning and but had not yet returned, he then said, “I will not go to visit Lady Yu then. When Master Yu and Gentleman Yu are back, please tell them that I will visit them tomorrow.”
The innkeeper and his wife answered yes in quick succession and sent second supervisor Tong out.
Yu Tang was a little shy to go out to say hello, so she just went back to her room.
Just when they were beginning to light the lamps, Yu Wen returned.
He looked tired, and his smile was a bit forced when the innkeeper greeted him, and he hastily went back to his room after exchanging a few pleasantries with the innkeeper.
Yu Tang heard the noise and went to her father’s room.
“Have a seat.” The weariness in Yu Wen’s eyes seem to coming from deep within. He massaged his forehead and said, “If you didn’t come to find me, I was intending to find you as well. How are you feeling today? Does your stomach still hurt? What did you do alone in the inn while we were gone?”
Yu Tang answered his questions one by one and then poured a cup of hot tea for her father, before sitting down next to him and asking, “Did you find out something?”
Yu Wen nodded. He held the tea cup in his hand but did not drink it. Instead he stared intently at Yu Tang, his gaze was deep and his expression looked very grave.
Yu Tang’s heart thudded ominously.
According to their original plan, in order not to attract undue attention, her father would investigate the matter of Lu Xin, to see if there was something strange about Lu Xin’s death, while Yu Yuan would go to find the forgery master surnamed Qian, to see if he could uncover the layer underneath that “Pine Creek fishing hidden painting”. Since Yu Yuan hasn’t returned, she did not know the master surnamed Qian’s reply to Yu Yuan. Seeing Yu Wen’s expression, it wasn’t good news.
She quietly held her breath and waited for her father’s response.
Yu Wen was silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Ah Tang, you were right. I’m afraid that your uncle Lu’s death was indeed suspicious. “
After hearing this, Yu Tang’s heart stilled. She then replied, “Could it be that Uncle Lu was murdered? “
“I don’t know for certain if it was an intentional homicide, but he shouldn’t have died like this.” Yu Wen told Yu Tang the details of what he had found out, “Before he died, your uncle Lu still owed money for his room at the inn and for the wine at the small restaurant near the entrance of the alley, and he had just established a friendship with the newly appointed Censor of Education. As per what the innkeeper said, Uncle Lu had already gotten a recommendation letter from that Censor of Education and was preparing to head to the capital’s national imperial academy for further studies after two days…”
Yu Tang frowned and asked, “Could it be that Scholar Lu was just bragging?”
“Whether it’s bragging or not, it’s true that he was preparing to go to the capital.” Yu Wen said, “He also found several acquaintances of his to obtain funds to settle the bills for his accommodation and wine. The innkeeper was pretty trusting but when the owner of the small restaurant heard that he was leaving, he was afraid that he would not pay for the wine and sneak away, so he sent his son to follow your uncle Lu. The owner of the small restaurant said that on that very night, his son saw your uncle Lu return to the inn to rest. He was afraid that your uncle Lu would be called out to play in the middle of the night, so the small restaurant owner’s son waiting until almost midnight before he gave up due to his sleepiness.
“Who knew that early next morning, they found your uncle Lu drowned in the Peach Blossom River not far from the inn.
“I also asked the innkeeper, and the innkeeper swore that he did not see your uncle Lu going out of the inn at all.”
Yu Tong shivered.
Yu Wen looked solemn.
Both felt that the death was too unnatural, but yet they didn’t dare to continue their investigations as they were afraid of alerting the perpetrator. However, they also couldn’t continue to feign ignorance until disaster comes knocking at their door.
For a while, both father and daughter were stuck in a quandary.
Yu Wen tried to comfort himself, saying “Perhaps we are thinking too deep into this. Let’s wait for Ah Yuan to come back first.”
Doing such a shady business like Master Qian, naturally they were very cautious. Today when Yu Yuan went over, he did not bring the painting, but asked a friend who had a very good personal relationship with master Qian to act as the middleman, and try to see if Master Qian would do them this favor.
As for its success or failure, it was still uncertain.
Yu Tang saw that her father was feeling dejected, so she remarked, “Father, you haven’t had your dinner yet, right? I’ll ask the innkeeper lady to bring up some food. Today they fried up some fish, when I was sitting in my room I smelt its aroma.”
This inn had in-room set meals as well as a la carte.
As Yu Wen and the others didn’t have a fixed itinerary, they did not book the set meals. So now, they would have to order a la carte instead.
“Let’s wait for Ah Yuan to come back!” as Yu Wen said this, Yu Yuan finally came back.
He was in a jovial mood and said happily, “Uncle, Master Qian asked us to go over early tomorrow morning. He said he has to see the painting before he can give us a confirmation.”
This was considered good news.
Yu Wen tried to brighten up, but Yu Yuan could still sense lingering traces of his dispiritedness.
Yu Wen did not hide it from him, and told Yu Yuan everything that had happened.
Yu Yuan said grimly, “Then we’ll have to be more careful heading out tomorrow.”
Yu Wen sighed and said, “Let’s eat! Do your best and leave it to fate. We’ll talk about tomorrow’s things tomorrow.”
Yu Tang went to order the meals.
After eating, they originally intended to visit the night market on Little river Imperial Street, but as they weren’t in the mood, so everyone went back to their respective rooms early.
Yu Tang continued to make flower head pieces until midnight before going to sleep.
The next day when she got up, she heard Yu Wen conversing with the innkeeper, and Yu Yuan had already left the inn with the painting.
However, this time he came back quite early.
He came back before lunch, and left the painting with Master Qian.
He lowered his voice and said to Yu Wen and Yu Tang. “Master Qian saw the painting and said that the painting can be uncovered at least three more layers and asked us how many layers we want to uncover. I thought I’d trouble him only this once, so I didn’t stand on ceremony but asked him to uncover as many layers as possible, but it would cost five taels of silver more than before, and I can only have it latest tomorrow afternoon.”
Yu Wen was in a depressed mood ever since he heard about Lu Xin yesterday, so he simply agreed and gave the silver to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan took the silver and went out again.
Chapter 40 – Uncover
Unknowingly, the sunlight filtering into the room gradually faded, and only then did Yu Tang realize that the sun was setting.
She got up and she rubbed her tired eyes. She went out the door and found a inn helper boy and asked, “Have Master Yu and Gentleman Yu returned?”
“Not yet!” as the inn helper boy replied, Yu Tang saw second supervisor Tong walk in.
He was very similar to Big Supervisor Tong, not so much in features but as to their temperaments, both had a very kind and approachable feel to them.
The innkeeper was currently managing accounts at the desk counter.
He asked the innkeeper, “Is your wife here? How is Lady Yu? I’ve been meaning to come over and ask, but I was too busy handling the shop business matters today and only now did I find the time to come over.”
Usually men and women who were unfamiliar with each other keep their distance.
As such, the innkeeper was a little hesitant to visit Yu Tang and replied, “I think that everything should be fine. I heard from my inn helper boy that Lady Yu went out to buy something and came back – she still had the mood to go shopping, so she’s probably feeling better.” But he didn’t know much about the specifics, so after saying this, he asked someone to ask his wife to come over.
The innkeeper lady smiled as she replied, “She’s feeling better now. Just that she’s not in good spirits. However, it’s understandable. Whoever doesn’t eat for a day will also be feeling lethargic.”
“That’s good.” Second supervisor Tong seemed to be relieved as he remarked, “Our Third Master is aware that I used his name card to hire a physician for Lady Yu, so if the Third Master asks about the Yu family’s situation, I will know how to reply him.” He then enquired about Yu Wen and Yu Yuan. After hearing that that they had left early in the morning and but had not yet returned, he then said, “I will not go to visit Lady Yu then. When Master Yu and Gentleman Yu are back, please tell them that I will visit them tomorrow.”
The innkeeper and his wife answered yes in quick succession and sent second supervisor Tong out.
Yu Tang was a little shy to go out to say hello, so she just went back to her room.
Just when they were beginning to light the lamps, Yu Wen returned.
He looked tired, and his smile was a bit forced when the innkeeper greeted him, and he hastily went back to his room after exchanging a few pleasantries with the innkeeper.
Yu Tang heard the noise and went to her father’s room.
“Have a seat.” The weariness in Yu Wen’s eyes seem to coming from deep within. He massaged his forehead and said, “If you didn’t come to find me, I was intending to find you as well. How are you feeling today? Does your stomach still hurt? What did you do alone in the inn while we were gone?”
Yu Tang answered his questions one by one and then poured a cup of hot tea for her father, before sitting down next to him and asking, “Did you find out something?”
Yu Wen nodded. He held the tea cup in his hand but did not drink it. Instead he stared intently at Yu Tang, his gaze was deep and his expression looked very grave.
Yu Tang’s heart thudded ominously.
According to their original plan, in order not to attract undue attention, her father would investigate the matter of Lu Xin, to see if there was something strange about Lu Xin’s death, while Yu Yuan would go to find the forgery master surnamed Qian, to see if he could uncover the layer underneath that “Pine Creek fishing hidden painting”. Since Yu Yuan hasn’t returned, she did not know the master surnamed Qian’s reply to Yu Yuan. Seeing Yu Wen’s expression, it wasn’t good news.
She quietly held her breath and waited for her father’s response.
Yu Wen was silent for a long time before finally speaking. “Ah Tang, you were right. I’m afraid that your uncle Lu’s death was indeed suspicious. “
After hearing this, Yu Tang’s heart stilled. She then replied, “Could it be that Uncle Lu was murdered? “
“I don’t know for certain if it was an intentional homicide, but he shouldn’t have died like this.” Yu Wen told Yu Tang the details of what he had found out, “Before he died, your uncle Lu still owed money for his room at the inn and for the wine at the small restaurant near the entrance of the alley, and he had just established a friendship with the newly appointed Censor of Education. As per what the innkeeper said, Uncle Lu had already gotten a recommendation letter from that Censor of Education and was preparing to head to the capital’s national imperial academy for further studies after two days…”
Yu Tang frowned and asked, “Could it be that Scholar Lu was just bragging?”
“Whether it’s bragging or not, it’s true that he was preparing to go to the capital.” Yu Wen said, “He also found several acquaintances of his to obtain funds to settle the bills for his accommodation and wine. The innkeeper was pretty trusting but when the owner of the small restaurant heard that he was leaving, he was afraid that he would not pay for the wine and sneak away, so he sent his son to follow your uncle Lu. The owner of the small restaurant said that on that very night, his son saw your uncle Lu return to the inn to rest. He was afraid that your uncle Lu would be called out to play in the middle of the night, so the small restaurant owner’s son waiting until almost midnight before he gave up due to his sleepiness.
“Who knew that early next morning, they found your uncle Lu drowned in the Peach Blossom River not far from the inn.
“I also asked the innkeeper, and the innkeeper swore that he did not see your uncle Lu going out of the inn at all.”
Yu Tong shivered.
Yu Wen looked solemn.
Both felt that the death was too unnatural, but yet they didn’t dare to continue their investigations as they were afraid of alerting the perpetrator. However, they also couldn’t continue to feign ignorance until disaster comes knocking at their door.
For a while, both father and daughter were stuck in a quandary.
Yu Wen tried to comfort himself, saying “Perhaps we are thinking too deep into this. Let’s wait for Ah Yuan to come back first.”
Doing such a shady business like Master Qian, naturally they were very cautious. Today when Yu Yuan went over, he did not bring the painting, but asked a friend who had a very good personal relationship with master Qian to act as the middleman, and try to see if Master Qian would do them this favor.
As for its success or failure, it was still uncertain.
Yu Tang saw that her father was feeling dejected, so she remarked, “Father, you haven’t had your dinner yet, right? I’ll ask the innkeeper lady to bring up some food. Today they fried up some fish, when I was sitting in my room I smelt its aroma.”
This inn had in-room set meals as well as a la carte.
As Yu Wen and the others didn’t have a fixed itinerary, they did not book the set meals. So now, they would have to order a la carte instead.
“Let’s wait for Ah Yuan to come back!” as Yu Wen said this, Yu Yuan finally came back.
He was in a jovial mood and said happily, “Uncle, Master Qian asked us to go over early tomorrow morning. He said he has to see the painting before he can give us a confirmation.”
This was considered good news.
Yu Wen tried to brighten up, but Yu Yuan could still sense lingering traces of his dispiritedness.
Yu Wen did not hide it from him, and told Yu Yuan everything that had happened.
Yu Yuan said grimly, “Then we’ll have to be more careful heading out tomorrow.”
Yu Wen sighed and said, “Let’s eat! Do your best and leave it to fate. We’ll talk about tomorrow’s things tomorrow.”
Yu Tang went to order the meals.
After eating, they originally intended to visit the night market on Little river Imperial Street, but as they weren’t in the mood, so everyone went back to their respective rooms early.
Yu Tang continued to make flower head pieces until midnight before going to sleep.
The next day when she got up, she heard Yu Wen conversing with the innkeeper, and Yu Yuan had already left the inn with the painting.
However, this time he came back quite early.
He came back before lunch, and left the painting with Master Qian.
He lowered his voice and said to Yu Wen and Yu Tang. “Master Qian saw the painting and said that the painting can be uncovered at least three more layers and asked us how many layers we want to uncover. I thought I’d trouble him only this once, so I didn’t stand on ceremony but asked him to uncover as many layers as possible, but it would cost five taels of silver more than before, and I can only have it latest tomorrow afternoon.”
Yu Wen was in a depressed mood ever since he heard about Lu Xin yesterday, so he simply agreed and gave the silver to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan took the silver and went out again.
