Meixue had never mentioned Du Ruhui to Jiang Caiping before, and the latter’s curiosity was immediately piqued as she pressed her with questions about what was going on.

Yunyi gave a general account, then said, “When you mentioned earlier that those people in the music hall were gossiping, I originally didn’t care. But then I thought that if Ruhui found out, things would get somewhat troublesome, so I was anxious to send the letter out. I was also afraid of being discovered, so…”

“So you said it was delivering shoes!” Jiang Caiping covered her mouth and laughed, “Sister thought of such a good idea! And here I was always hoping Sister and Second Young Master would become a couple!”

Yunyi glared at her, “You little girl, you’re talking nonsense again.” Her lie wasn’t particularly clever, but since Jiang Caiping had no suspicions about her, she believed whatever she said without any doubt.

Jiang Caiping stuck out her tongue, “Alright, alright, I won’t say it anymore. Speaking of which, when will Sister let me meet this Young Master Du?”

Yunyi deflected, “He’s going to the capital to take the imperial examinations in a few days. We’ll talk about it after he returns.”

Jiang Caiping nodded with some disappointment. As they were approaching their room, she suddenly said, “Sister, can Uncle Wu read?”

Yunyi was stunned by her question and said uncertainly, “He should… know how to read.”

Jiang Caiping said in surprise, “Sister doesn’t know either?”

Yunyi’s eyes flickered slightly, looking somewhat uncomfortable, “I used to eavesdrop at the private school and taught Father for a while when I came back. He seemed to recognize the characters I asked him about then, but I’m not sure about now.”

“If Uncle Wu can’t read, then how will he read Sister’s letter?” Even without Jiang Caiping saying it, Yunyi had thought of this problem and said somewhat panicked, “What should we do now?”

She had been truly careless, forgetting that Wu Laosan was just a country peasant who couldn’t even recognize a dragon, much less read.

Jiang Caiping thought for a moment and said, “If not, we’ll have to ask Lady Li to convey the message for us. Come, let’s go find Lady Li.” She pulled Yunyi back the way they came.

As Yunyi was thinking about how to ask Lady Li to relay the contents of the letter, they had already reached the kitchen, but Lady Li was nowhere to be seen. Upon inquiry, they learned that Lady Li had already left and had probably already exited the residence by now.

Jiang Caiping stamped her foot, “If only we had walked faster! Sigh!” Seeing Yunyi’s worried expression, after leaving the kitchen she said, “Sister, don’t worry too much. If worst comes to worst, when Lady Li returns, we’ll ask her to make another trip. There will always be a way.”

Yunyi said helplessly, “That’s all we can do.”

While Yunyi was worrying about that letter, Li Shimin had already arrived at Qingchun Garden. Li Xuanba happened to be there too. Seeing Li Shimin enter, he was both surprised and delighted, rushing forward to grab his shoulder, “Second Brother, where did you go? You nearly worried Elder Brother and me to death.”

Being grabbed like that, Li Shimin was in too much pain to speak. Li Jiancheng saw clearly and hurriedly said, “Let go of Shimin quickly.”

Li Xuanba still didn’t know what had happened and said bewilderedly, “What’s wrong?”

Li Jiancheng angrily blurted out, “You fool, can’t you see that Shimin is injured? Let go quickly!”

Only then did Li Xuanba react. He quickly released his grip and then said to Li Jiu nearby, “Go fetch a physician quickly.”

Li Shimin caught his breath and said, “No need. I already had Steward Lin go fetch Physician Xu just now. He should be here soon.”

Li Xuanba didn’t dare use too much force and gently helped him sit down, “Second Brother, where exactly did you run off to for the whole night? You didn’t say a word. I wanted to find Duan Zhihong, but he wasn’t in the residence either.”

“I went to paint snow lotus for Wugou. I originally thought I could return before nightfall, so I didn’t give any special instructions. Who knew something would happen on the way down the mountain that delayed our journey. By the time we arrived, the city gate was already closed, so we had to spend the night outside before entering the city.”

Li Xuanba blinked at him, “I heard Second Brother went out with Wu Meixue. Have you taken a fancy to this dancer?” Before Li Shimin could speak, he continued, “But Second Sister-in-law hasn’t entered the family yet. Isn’t this inappropriate for Second Brother?”

Li Shimin said with mixed laughter and tears, “What are you thinking, you rascal? You really deserve a beating! I brought her along just to have her help me with something.”

Li Xuanba said dismissively, “Second Brother is fooling me again. Wu Meixue is just a dancer – what could she possibly help Second Brother with?”

Li Shimin said nothing but took out the painting of blooming snow lotus from his chest and handed it over, “See for yourself.”

Li Xuanba casually opened it, glanced at it, and said with amusement, “Second Brother surely isn’t trying to say this painting was done by that dancer?” Although he didn’t understand painting, he could roughly tell good from bad. The snow lotus in this painting was lifelike, and one could almost smell the clear fragrance of snow lotus flowers. Only someone skilled in painting could create such a work, and Wu Meixue was just a dancer – there was no way she could paint something like this.

“In fact, this was indeed painted by her.” Under Li Xuanba’s surprised gaze, Li Jiancheng took the painting. Unlike Li Xuanba, who was obsessed with martial arts, he had studied music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He could tell at a glance the quality of this painting, “Aside from some uneven ink usage and not quite mastering the thickness of lines, this is a rare masterpiece. I never imagined that a mere dancer could have such painting skills.”

Li Shimin recounted how he had accidentally seen Yunyi in the back garden the day before, using the ground as canvas and a withered branch as brush, then said, “So I thought of using the matter of painting blooming snow lotus to test her, but… I was probably being too suspicious. She’s not the person we’re looking for.”

Li Jiancheng frowned, “If she’s not the one, then where is the female assassin? Has she really escaped without a trace?”

Hearing this, Li Shimin fell silent. He had previously focused his suspicions on Meixue, and once her innocence was proven, he lost direction in his investigation.

Seeing them not speaking, Li Xuanba said impatiently, “If you ask me, we should arrest all suspicious people and throw them in the dungeon for severe interrogation. I don’t believe we can’t get answers out of them.”

Li Shimin said firmly, “Absolutely not. If we do that, once word gets out, it will surely damage Father’s official reputation and standing, and will hinder future matters.” He was naturally referring to the uprising. Once Li Yuan was branded with the words “treating human life as worthless,” when the time came to raise the banner of rebellion, his appeal would surely be greatly weakened. At such times, popular support was everything – the slightest loss could lead to complete failure and cost the entire Li family their lives. This was a gamble they absolutely could not afford to take.

Li Xuanba didn’t know these reasons and said stubbornly, “If we want to catch the assassin, we can’t be afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind. Elder Brother, don’t you agree?” In his impression, Li Jiancheng often felt that Li Shimin was too soft-hearted in his actions, so he expected him to agree with his suggestion this time.