CH 43

Chapter 43 – Pretense

Yu Tang and Yu Yuan both looked at Yu Wen in surprise.

Yu Wen said, “If Ah Tang’s guess is correct, then there’s a high chance that Lu Xin’s death is closely related to this painting. Currently, we do not know who’s behind this, so how can we let the third master of the Pei family get involved in such a dangerous situation?”

Yu Tang’s face turned red with embarrassment.

She only thought of the Pei Yan in her previous life as being the all-round victor, but had forgotten that the Pei Yan in her previous life wasn’t the slightness bit involved in their family’s affairs, let alone knowing her existence.

Father was right.

This painting already took a life, they couldn’t selfishly drag PeiYan into this matter as well.

Only then did Yu Tang realize that her path had deviated quite a bit from her previous life’s.

She sincerely asked for his opinion, “Father, what should we do then?”

“Let me think about it.” Yu Wen smiled bitterly.

Evidently, he didn’t have any good ideas either.

Yu Tang thought of Lu Xin.

He shouldn’t have known that the painting hid such a dangerous secret either, right? Otherwise he wouldn’t have lost his life.

After returning to Lin’an, she should go and offer incense for him.

As Yu Tang sighed quietly, she suddenly thought of an idea.

She asked tentatively. “Father, why don’t we let Uncle Lu take the blame? Anyway, this matter was caused by him. Moreover, the Lu family members had already severed their ties with him, so they would not be implicated in this.”

Yu Wen couldn’t come up with any other solution either. Considering that there was wisdom to be found in a multitude of counselors, and Yu Tang had always been an intelligent and resourceful child, so she might have some good ideas. He thus nodded, saying, “Let’s hear your thoughts.”

Yu Tang’s mood lifted as she explained, “Think about it, the fact that Uncle Lu lost his life, it must mean that the people who came to look for Uncle Lu would have found out that the painting was with us, or it could be that Uncle Lu was unaware of the secrets in this painting, and therefore, didn’t provide them with a satisfactory answer. Whether the former or the latter, our top priority is still to extricate our family out of this mess. So why don’t we just give them the painting?”

“I understand your point,” Yu Wen replied, “but the question is, how do we give them this painting?”

Yu Tang laughed, “Aren’t we already here in Hangzhou City? Once we go back, we’ll tell the people that we came here to retrieve Uncle Lu’s belongings. Didn’t those people fail to find anything at our house? When they hear of this, they will certainly find a way to get Uncle Lu’s belongings. We will then publicly announce that we will burn all of Uncle Lu’s things for his afterlife……”

“Heh!” Yu Yuan’s eyes brightened as he said, “That’s a splendid idea! They will definitely find a way to get those supposed belongings, and we’ll be able to openly give the painting away!”

Yu Tang nodded as she followed up after Yu Yuan, and said to Yu Wen, “Didn’t you mention earlier that the painting is a province map, and that ordinary people would never have heard of it, let alone have seen it? Therefore, it’s normal that we didn’t recognize it. When the time comes, we will just say that we do not know what’s this strange painting, and thus be able to smoothly extricate ourselves from the matter.”

“That makes sense.” Yu Wen’s downcast expression was immediately swept away, as he smiled, walking around the room as he remarked, “However, this matter is very important, so we’d still have to think long and hard about it before making the final decision.”

However they seem to be heading in the right direction.

Yu Tang and Yu Yuan were relieved and they couldn’t help but look at each other and smile.

Yu Wen then murmured, “We’ll just have to find a way to hide it from those people – we must not let them find out that we know the secret behind this painting.” Speaking of this, he paused sharply and said to Yu Yuan, “This matter we will have to trouble Master Qian, see if he can find a way to restore the painting to its original condition.”

“Father!” Yu Tang interrupted Yu Wen and said, “I’m afraid restoration is not a wise decision – everyone knows that our family purchased Uncle Lu’s ‘Pine Creek Fishing Hidden painting’.”

That’s right! What if someone were to ask them about their family’s “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden Painting”?

Yu Wen asked Yu Yuan. “Since Master Qian is in this business, could you ask him if he knows a master skilled in copying ancient paintings? We’ll ask someone to copy this “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden Painting” and put it in our house.”

In this way, it should be foolproof.

Yu Yuan chuckled, “It would be better to ask Master Qian instead- he is an expert in this field.”

“Great!” Yu Wen said, “I was worried that with so many people involved, it would be hard to keep it secret.”

Yu Yuan grinned, “Don’t worry, Master Qian encountered many similar situations before, otherwise he wouldn’t have called me as soon as he found something wrong with the intermediary layer of the painting.”

Yu Wen nodded and said, “Then it’s settled!”

Yu Yuan assented and kept the painting. He was preparing to immediately leave to find Master Qian. “We should take this opportunity before the sun is fully up to get things done so that we can have peace of mind and go back to Lin’an sooner.”

However Yu Tang stopped Yu Yuan and said to Yu Wen, “Father, this matter cannot be done hastily. Since Master Qian is accomplished in this field, I thought that we might as well ask him to make a copy of the province map.”

“Ah-tang,” Yu Wen disagreed, saying, “We really can’t be involved in this matter any further, we should stay as far away from this as possible. Whatever secrets lie in this, let’s not pry into it. Sometimes, the more you know, the faster and more miserable your death will be.”

Yu Tang replied in a gentle voice. “Father, I also understand this principle. However, I feel that it is better to rely on yourself than on others. It’s good if we can hand over the painting without any problems, but what if they don’t believe us? Do we still expect them to be merciful towards us? We wouldn’t harm others, but we cannot drop our guard against them either!”

This was the lesson she learned after she married into the Li family.

This was also the resolution she made after her rebirth.

Your most capable backer can fall at anytime, your most carefully crafted plans can be thwarted easily. Therefore, the only way to be the absolute victor is to always hold a bargaining chip in your hands.

“Father,” she urged Yu Wen, “Listen to me just this once! We have to prepare for the worse outcome. What if those people find out that we know the secrets of the painting, will they kill us to silence us? Would they suspect that the painting they receive was fake? We have to know the reason behind everything. Take Uncle Lu for example. If he knew the secrets hidden in this painting, would he still end up like this? He was ignorant, but we are different, we know. Although he was unaware of the secrets in this painting, but did those people let him off because of that?”

Yu Wen and Yu Yuan both stared at her and did not speak for a long time.

She stood straight and did not show any sign of relenting under their probing gazes, using her attitude to show her determination, and also to reassure her father and brother that she had matured and could take charge of things now.

After a while, Yu wen’s stern expression softened.

He glanced at Yu Yuan and suddenly remarked. “The Yu family will be taken care by you two siblings in future. Your father and I are already old and afraid of trouble, and we can’t keep up with the changes in this world.”

“Father!”

“Uncle!”

Yu Tang and Yu Yuan cried out in unison.

Yu Wen waved his hand and laughed, “Don’t mistake my words as ominous parting words. I’m actually happy about this. I can see that the words of our past ancestors were trustworthy. Whether a person succeeds or not, depends on how well he or she performs during critical times. Both of you are capable of handling challenges as they come, so I am very relieved.” After saying that, he took a deep breath and said loudly, “Then let’s do this!”

Yu Yuan and Yu Tang once again said urgently, “Keep your voice down! Lest someone hears you!”

Yu Wen laughed heartily, but after two laughs he stopped and said in a low voice, “I’ll listen to you, to the both of you.”

Yu Tang and Yu Yuan exchanged looks and grinned, seeing the delight reflected in each other’s eyes. Because of this incident, Yu Tang felt that her relationship with her eldest cousin had grown a lot closer.

Yu Yuan packed up the painting and asked Yu Tang playfully, “Do you have any further instructions?”

As both her father and eldest cousin were working well in one accord, Yu Tang was able to concentrate better and come up with good ideas. She then said, “Father, I have a suggestion regarding the province map.”

After hearing this, Yu Wen became intrigued and said, “Tell us.”

Yu Yuan wasn’t in a hurry either, and resumed his seat at the table.

The three of them conversed around the oil lamp.

Yu Tang replied, “Father, I think that some of Uncle Lu’s words weren’t wrong. For example, his father was once an advisor for Minister Zuo, so perhaps the painting really belonged to Minister Zuo.”

As for whether Minister Zuo was given the painting or that he obtained it by other means, no one knows.

Yu Tang continued, “Therefore, if we are to inquire of the province map, it’s probably better to head for the capital or Fujian.”

Yu Wen was startled for a moment. “What you’re saying…… the capital has many powerful, knowledgeable and insightful individuals. And as for Fujian, Minister Zuo was a famed general who fought against the Japanese, thus, there may be some former contemporaries of his over in Fujian?”

“Personally, I think that travelling to Fujian might be more fruitful.” Yu Tang explained, “It’s impossible for the Lu family to get this painting apart from their connections to Minister Zuo. Since Minister Zuo passed away a few decades ago, if the province map was lost, Minister Zuo should have investigated this matter while he was still alive. This matter was only discovered now, so clearly it can’t be the imperial court who’s pursuing this……”

If it comes to that, it will certainly be a perilous situation!

But what if they couldn’t extricate themselves from this situation?

They need to make preparations in advance.

Yu Wen and Yu Yuan both understood what she left unsaid.

Yu Tang continued, “This province map depicts a body of water, so it’s either related to rivers or seas. As for the reason for our actions, since we’re asking Master Qian to copy the painting and the province map anyway, so why not do it thoroughly. We’ll keep the original painting, and treat the copied one as Uncle Lu’s belongings. We will then take one of the copies to discreetly enquire, saying that we inadvertently found this while sorting out Uncle Lu’s belongings, and ask those people what’s on the map and what is the general place it depicts. Wouldn’t that suffice?”

Now the most crucial task is to prepare what needs to done for the future.

“Good!” Yu Wen clapped his hands together, “It’s settled. Let’s get the painting ready first, so that we won’t be caught off guard if there’s any unexpected issues.”

“However, don’t rush this.” Yu Tang cautioned her father, “The most important thing is still keeping alive.”

“Don’t worry, I still want to see you bring a good son-in-law back!” Yu Wen teased his daughter.

Yu Tang smiled in reply, but her heart was not at ease in the slightest.

She had a faint inkling that a storm was brewing ahead.

She only hoped that this storm would not cause more people to be affected by it.

Yu Yuan, however, gave a thumbs up towards Yu Tang expressing his appreciation.

Yu Tang pursed her lips and smiled.

Sparks of light from the lamp crackled, and Yu Wen told Yu Tang and Yu Yuan in a serious tone, “Just as what Ah Tang had said. Request Master Qian to make three paintings, first to restore as per the “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden painting” we sent to him initially, next to replicate a copy of the “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden painting”, and finally a copy of the province map. We will keep the original. First, we’ll try to figure out what is depicted in the province map. If we really can’t, I’ll head over to Fujian first, and later to the capital. I’ll check with my previous acquaintances and see if there’s anyone who is travelling to Fujian, so at least I’ll have a familiar contact to obtain information.”

This will be another cost for their family.

In addition, on Yu Yuan’s side, the stores on Changxing Street will be ready by the end of the year, and their lacquerware store will also be reopened by year end. At that time, Yu Yuan will be busy with managing the stores, so who will accompany her father on his journey?

All these things were giving Yu Tang a headache.

However, Yu Yuan didn’t know Yu Tang’s worries. When he saw that things were properly arranged, he happily got up, hid the three paintings close, and left the room.

Yu Tang secretly let out a sigh of relief.

What she could think of and what she could do; she did her best.

What’s left is left to fate.

As Yu Tang mused, only then did she realize how hungry she was, and she couldn’t even stand up straight.

She pleaded with Yu Wen. “Father, I shouldn’t have to fast anymore, right? I can even drink three bowls of white porridge now.”

With this matter settled, Yu Wen also became relaxed and joked with his daughter, “Humph, what else do you think you can eat? After fasting, you can only drink plain porridge. Furthermore, you can only drink them gradually. First, start with one bowl and then you can increase the portion when you feel better. I told the innkeeper lady yesterday to make some plain white porridge for you to drink this morning.”

Yu Tang looked at the gradually brightening sky and pleaded pitifully, “But father, right now it’s not yet morning, the kitchen might not be ready and the porridge may not be cooked, I’m so hungry that I’m starting to feel dizzy, couldn’t you head outside to buy two meat buns for me? I looked yesterday when I went out, near the Pei family’s pawn store and not too far from the place where we disembarked, there is a small dock in little river Imperial Street. They would definitely sell some food early in the morning. If there are no meat buns, surely there will be beancurd pudding! Father, please, I beg of you!”

Yu Wen laughed heartily and went out to buy breakfast for Yu Tang.

Yu Tang laid sprawled out in front of the window, waiting for Yu Wen miserably.

Yu Wen not only bought back beancurd pudding, but also meat buns.

Yu Tong’s eyes turned starry with happiness.

However, Yu Wen placed the beancurd pudding in front of Yu Tang and replied, “That’s yours!” Then he stuffed a meat bun into his mouth and said in a muffled voice, “This is mine.”

Yu Tang wanted to cry as she pathetically drank a mouthful of beancurd pudding.

Fortunately, her father wasn’t completely heartless as the beancurd pudding was at least sweet, so she could replenish some energy.

As for the plain porridge cooked by the innkeeper’s wife, she didn’t waste it either and drank it all up.

Yu Wen even provoked her. “You stay here obediently and make flower head pieces, remember to make one for your mother too. I’m going to the night market on Little river Imperial Street with your elder cousin in the evening. I’ll come back and tell you about it afterwards.”

Yu Tang feigned her unhappiness by stabbing her needle on the calyx of the flower head piece, but inside her, she felt sweet like sugar water flooding through her veins, and the corners of her eyes glistened with tears.

With her father and cousin by her side, and her mother waiting for her, such a life was indeed her real happiness!