“Yunshu’s Notes”?

Written by Ji Yunshu?

Liu Qingping saw him holding that booklet and sighed, his face full of nostalgia.

“The characters in that notebook were all written by Yunshu. Back then, she didn’t recognize many characters, so she wrote down all the ones she didn’t know. There were so many—though some characters, even this official doesn’t recognize.”

Speaking of Ji Yunshu, his eyes reddened.

Yunshu, oh Yunshu, when exactly will you come back?

He let out another long sigh, raised his sleeve to wipe away the tears at the corner of his eyes, and continued searching for books for Wei Yi.

Wei Yi held Ji Yunshu’s small notebook and gently opened it.

The characters on the first page were crooked and uneven, tall and short, fat and thin, irregularly spaced. Some characters were even twisted into a clump, making it impossible to tell what they were supposed to be.

The further he flipped, the more orderly the handwriting became.

The characters on the last page were just like Ji Yunshu herself—clean and elegant.

This was absolutely a perfect calligraphy practice book!

Actually, it wasn’t surprising. When Ji Yunshu first arrived, she simply didn’t know how to write with a brush. She didn’t even recognize some characters. To progress from the beginning to that level was already quite remarkable.

Wei Yi smiled and asked Liu Qingping, “Can you give me this notebook?”

“Of course. When Yunshu returns from the Imperial Bureau, just give it back to her.”

He nodded and tucked the notebook into the front of his robe.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Liu Qingping had found all the books Wei Yi wanted.

However, they were covered in dust. He patted the books several times with his hand.

Dust flew everywhere.

“Cough cough…”

Both men were choked.

Liu Qingping laughed awkwardly a few times and said apologetically, “Young Master Wei, please don’t mind. Yunshu was always the one who took care of these books. Since she’s not here, well…”

Hehe.

Wei Yi didn’t mind at all and took all the books into his arms.

“If it’s possible in the future, I’ll come help you take care of them.” He volunteered.

“That would trouble Young Master Wei.”

“Not troublesome at all. I’m very happy to be able to read books here.”

“That’s good then. Come over whenever you have time. The yamen is terribly quiet anyway. If you come, it will be livelier.”

Having a little fool around would certainly be fun!

Liu Qingping patted his arm again and said, “Take your time reading these books. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come ask this official anytime.”

“Thank you, Magistrate. Then I’ll take the books back first. I’ll return them to you as soon as I finish reading them.” Wei Yi was modest and courteous, showing none of his former dull and rigid appearance.

“No rush, no rush. Return them whenever you finish reading.”

Wei Yi nodded. “Then I’ll take my leave first. The tutor at the manor is still waiting for me.”

“Take care, Young Master Wei.”

Wei Yi left with the books.

Watching that retreating figure, Liu Qingping was also dumbfounded.

He scratched his head, thinking, is this person truly foolish or falsely foolish?

Returning from the yamen to the Wei manor, Wei Yi buried himself in his study. The tutor sat beside him the entire time.

Whenever he encountered characters he didn’t recognize, he would ask. Whenever there was something he didn’t understand, he would seek instruction.

Wei Yi learned extremely quickly. Sometimes the tutor had only spoken halfway and he already comprehended. Some difficult characters he learned in one try, able to write them with his eyes closed.

The tutor said he had a heaven-given brain. In the future, he would certainly be exceptionally intelligent and extraordinary.

In short, he was a late-blooming genius.

Tonight, he read late into the night. The tutor also dozed in a chair beside him. A gust of wind blew in from the open window, making him shiver. Holding his book, he stood up to close the window.

But just as his hand reached the window, a figure darted in from outside.

“Mmph!”

The black-clothed man covered his mouth with one hand.

Wei Yi’s eyes widened as he struggled desperately. The book in his hand fell to the floor.

Immediately after, someone struck the back of his head hard. He fainted on the spot and was dragged out through the window. His arm scraped against a gap in the window, drawing blood that dripped onto the window and the floor.

However, the commotion was not great!

So much so that the tutor was not awakened and continued dozing in the pear wood chair.

After an unknown amount of time, Uncle Fu came in carrying a bowl of steaming hot noodles, wanting to give his young master a midnight snack.

But there was no sign of Wei Yi inside.

He only saw the book that had fallen on the floor. His gaze extended to the window, where he saw the bloodstains.

“Crash!”

The bowl of noodles in his hand smashed to the floor.

The tutor was startled awake, mumbling incoherently, “Is there a character you don’t recognize? Which character…”

His eyes were still squinting.

He only saw Uncle Fu cry out in alarm, “Come quickly, something has happened to the young master!”

Soon after, the manor began beating gongs and drums searching for him.

The entire Wei manor was searched—they were just short of digging three feet into the ground.

Uncle Fu quickly sent someone to report to the authorities. Liu Qingping led a group from the yamen and hurried over.

“What exactly happened?”

“My young master has disappeared, and there are bloodstains on that window. Magistrate, you must find my young master. If something happens to him, how can I explain to the master and madam?”

Liu Qingping led people into the study to investigate.

There was a book on the floor.

Blood on the windowsill.

This?

Liu Qingping searched around the room. On the desk were still placed the books Wei Yi had borrowed from him today.

He pondered for a moment and quickly had someone bring the tutor for questioning. “At the time, only you and Young Master Wei were in the room. Tell me, what exactly happened?”

That tutor was over eighty years old, his eyes barely able to open. He shook his head. “I don’t know. Although it was just Young Master Wei and me in the room at the time, I was resting in the chair and didn’t see anything.”

“Old sir, you mustn’t conceal anything! Otherwise, this official will never be lenient.”

A threat!

“Magistrate, I’m already so old, my body is in this condition—how could I break the law!” After the tutor finished speaking, he began coughing.

Liu Qingping quickly patted his back. After all, this person was a sage teacher, a great scholar.

Naturally he wouldn’t do anything harmful. He couldn’t be too aggressive either.

If this old gentleman died in front of him, that would be a major incident!

He quickly reached out to support the tutor. “Sir, don’t get agitated. This official is just following procedure to question you once. Please sit down first.”

“Sigh…”

Uncle Fu stepped forward and asked, “Magistrate Liu, my young master won’t have an accident, will he?”

“This official is also very worried that something has happened to Wei Yi. Rest assured, I’ll immediately order people to search for him.” He immediately gave the command, “Seal the city gates immediately and send people to search within the city. We must find Young Master Wei.”

“Yes!”

The entire city of Jinjiang became busy overnight.

They began searching for Wei Yi house by house, causing an uproar throughout the city…