Chapter 33 – Suspicion
A painting?!
What kind of painting?
Yu Tong’s heart pounded and her breathing became unsteady.
“You know how to read?” She heard herself speak in a hoarse voice.
“No, I don’t.” The boy cried tearfully and said, “The owner of the gambling house asked me to steal it, saying that if I stole it, I would be given five taels of silver. It’s a painting of two old men fishing by a river in the forests of a mountain ……”
Two old men fishing by a river in the forests of a mountain!
Yu Tong immediately thought of the painting “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden Painting”
She felt herself panicking and her hands and feet trembling.
“Is it this painting?” Yu Tang didn’t know how she managed to walk back to her room and how she showed that painting to that boy, only that when she opened that painting, that boy’s eyes lit up as he eagerly replied, “Yes! That’s the painting! The owner told me that there was a seal that was stamped just above the child’s hair next to the old man. This is the right painting.”
Those unimportant details that were overlooked in the past flooded into Yu Tang’s mind all at once.
The theft that happened in the Li family in her previous life, the sudden influx of wealth in the Li family …… The two thefts in this life, the “Plum Forest” seal stamped on the child’s hair, and the “Plum Forest” seal that was replaced with the “Spring Water Hall” seal…… she seemed to have understood something, but yet felt as though she didn’t understand anything at all.
“Ah-tang, what’s wrong with you?” Madam Chen, Yu Yuan and Shuang Tao all gathered around her. Madam Chen even held Yu Tang and said in confusion, “Dear child, why did you take out this painting again? Is there something wrong with this painting? Or ……” she asked, looking at the boy who stole from them and then again at Yutang.
There were some things that were still unsolved…… and even if everything came to light, her mother would only worry needlessly and wouldn’t have any useful solutions either.
“There’s nothing wrong.” Yu Tang forcefully suppressed the shocking waves in her heart, making sure that the tone of her voice sounded normal and calm, “He said that he came to our house to steal a painting, so I asked him about it.”
Once the boy heard, he immediately shouted. “It is-“
Yu Tang pretended to have unintentionally hit the boy’s mouth with the painting scroll, and made the boy’s words come out unclear, and said, “Mother, he can’t read or write, and said that someone else asked him to come to our house to steal something. I think that this matter has to be settled thoroughly, so it’s better to wait for Father’s return. Now let’s just hand him over to eldest cousin for him to keep an eye on him, so that he will not speak nonsense and untruths, and we will just be anxious after hearing it.” After speaking, she also gave the boy a warning glare.
Madam Chen had full trust in her daughter and husband, so naturally she did not suspect anything amiss. Yu Yuan, however, could see that she was hiding something. He gave Yu Tang a look and spoke up for her. “Yes! Ah-tang is right. I’m here, Aunt, so you can go and rest early. Your health has always been poor, so it would be bad if you fell ill again.”
Yu Tang looked at Yu Yuan, and knew that Yu Yuan saw through her but was still willing to help her, so she followed along with Yu Yuan’s words and said, “Mother, because of Lu Xin’s funeral, our family still owes money to Supervisor Tong!”
Madam Chen did not want to stay here any longer, but she still harbored some doubts. “Could someone have thought that this painting was the real one?”
“It’s possible.” Yu Tang only wanted to coax her mother to bed quickly. She laughed and continued, “Didn’t Father also thought it was the real thing at first?”
Madam Chen nodded and was accompanied by Shuang Tao and left.
The boy’s mother then came to beg Yu Yuan for mercy.
Yu Yuan, however, stared at Yu Tang.
Yu Tang gave him a look.
Yu Yuan understood her intentions and said to the boy’s mother. “Don’t worry. Our family is not that heartless, but as this is my second uncle’s family’s matter, I can’t make a decision either. I see that you are also tired, but if I were to let you head back home, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to. Why don’t you stay with Old Aunty Chen for one night, and your son, I will take care of him for the time being. When my uncle comes back, we will discuss further.”
The boy’s mother thanked him profusely and hollered at her son to kowtow to Yu Yuan, berating him for his lack of manners.
Old Aunty Chen also understood a little and interrupted her scolding, as she took the boy’s mother away.
Yu Yuan called Ah Cam and let him tie the boy up and take him to his room.
The two siblings then stood by the bamboo trees in the courtyard and talked.
“I just felt that something wasn’t right. So I frightened the boy a little, and the boy told me something.” Yu Tang then told Yu Yuan all the things she had just heard and asked, “I don’t know if what he says is really the truth. Brother, if you didn’t look for me, I will also ask you for help . “
After speaking, she and Yu Yuan went to the study, relighted the lamp and spread the painting out on the desk and carefully examined the painting. She said, “I really can’t figure out what’s so special about this painting – even if it’s genuine, it still has to be exchanged for silver. When Mr. Lu sold this painting, he did not only ask my father. If another person liked this painting, they can just spend a few more silver taels to buy it, why go through all these unnecessary hassle? Besides, this painting is a fake and has been proven by Supervisor Tong. So if someone wanted to get this painting, he should have already known about it.”
Yu Yuan had read more books than Yu Tang, and was very fond of calligraphy and paintings, and thus had more knowledge and understanding than Yu Tang.
He looked at the painting carefully, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. He murmured under his breath, “Couldn’t there be a time that Supervisor Tong was wrong about something?”
Yu Tang was struck speechless.
Why was she so certain that Supervisor Tong was right?
Firstly, in her previous life, she didn’t hear anything negative about Supervisor Tong, so she already formed a preconceived notion about him. Secondly, this painting was hers in her previous life; she had lost count of how many times she observed it, and was confident that she would never be wrong.
But Yu Yuan’s words were like pouring water in scalding hot oil, causing oil to splash violently everywhere.
What if it was her painting that was fake?
Yu Tang felt her mind clear up.
Didn’t she just also thought of that?
If this really was the painting her father bought in her previous life, and she brought this painting with her when she married into the Li family…. after the Li family’s residence was burgled, and someone replaced her painting with a fake one…… then it all seems to make sense.
This is the genuine one!
Supervisor Tong’s appraisal was wrong.
The one that she owned in her previous life was the fake one!
But who swapped the painting in her hands?
Yu Tang’s mind was raced.
At that time, she had already married into the Li family as a widow. The entire Lin’an City was watching and waiting to see if she could really keep her chastity as a widow in the Li Family. She rarely stepped out of the house and even when she did, the people that know her would view her with some pity, helplessness and respect.
Who would be so foolish as to steal from her?
Who would have the courage to steal from the Li family?
Furthermore, the Li family kept that incident secret.
She used to think that it was because the Li family was worried of malicious rumors spreading and negatively affect her.
But what if that’s not the case?
What if it was the Li family who stole her painting instead?
Moreover, not long after she lost that painting, the Li family’s wealth started to increase exponentially.
When she thought of this, Yu Tang felt immeasurable fury welling up inside her.
She placed two lamps on the the desk and said to Yu Yuan, “Brother, can you see any abnormalities in this painting?”
Yu Yuan shook his head. He examined the painting for a long time, and laughed bitterly, saying, “No wonder people say ‘hateful is the lack of knowledge’. If only I had read more books.”
Yu Tang instantly thought of Pei Yan.
She shook her head as if that would shake away her thoughts.
Pei Yan is the third master of the Pei family. If she took a painting that was identified as a fake by Supervisor Tong and asked him to help identify it, not only would she be thrown out, but Pei Yan might even think that she was there to cause trouble.
How much of an idiot was she to even think of asking Pei Yan for help!
No wonder Pei Yan despised her, she was indeed doing things without thinking!
Yu Tang sighed and asked Yu Yuan. “Brother, what do you think? Should we take this painting to someone who is more capable? I feel that if that boy wasn’t lying, then we’re definitely being watched by that person who instructed him to steal the painting, and the perpetrator will definitely cause trouble again if he doesn’t get it. We don’t know who he is, so even if we freely give up the painting to avoid disaster, there is no way to hand this painting over to him!”
Yu Yuan thought about it and said, “I will find second uncle tomorrow and tell him about this. Then I’ll ask Magistrate-runner Li to secretly ask the owner of the gambling house to see if he can find out who wants this painting so desperately. If uncle agrees, we will ask the owner of the gambling house to be the middle-man and sell the painting to him openly.”
Yu Tang worriedly answered, “What if they think that we are selling a fake?”
Yu Yuan contemplated for awhile and said, “Then, do you have any good suggestions?”
“I think it’s still best to figure out the secrets hidden in this painting.” Yu Tang said. She suddenly thought of Lu Xin, and stiffened, looking towards Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan saw confusion, hesitation, worry, shock, and even fear in his cousin’s eyes.
His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he thought of the origins of this painting.
Could it be, could it be that Lu Xin’s death was also related to this painting?
Lu Xin was an extremely selfish person. Every time he drinks excessively, it would always be at another person’s expense, he would hardly buy any liquor for himself. Once he was in the mood for drinks, his first option was to find a way to drink someone else’s wine. Only when there really isn’t anyone, would he then painfully spend his own coin to buy some for himself.
“I, I’m going to find uncle.” Yu Yuan jumped up at once, “We do not know the specifics of Lu Xin’s death so we can only ask uncle.”
However, Yu Wen was busy with Lu Xin’s funeral in another temple on the outskirts of the city.
“Innocent people convicted just for possessing a jade1!” Yu Tang looked at the painting and hated it so much that she wanted to burn it in a fire, “This is really an undeserved calamity!”
However, she didn’t dare to.
She was afraid that even if she did burn this painting, the person who wanted the painting would not believe her and would still create trouble for their family. And when they couldn’t hand over the painting, their situation might be even worse than now.
Yu Tang calculated the time and said, “The city gates will not open for another four hours at the earliest, so you should sleep first and I’ll ask Shuang Tao to wake you up later. Afterwards, let Ah Cam go to Master Wu’s house to borrow a mule. As it’s so early in the morning, there’s a high chance you wouldn’t be able to hire a carriage, so if you have a mule to ride on, it’s faster than walking!”
Yu Yuan knew that this plan by Yu Tang was the best.
Although he was beset with many troubling thoughts, he forced himself to sleep according to Yu Tang’s words.
Yu Tang, on the other hand, didn’t sleep all night.
She kept staring at the painting, hoping to find anything that was different from her previous life. When it was almost dawn, she called Shuang Tao up to help Yu Yuan prepare some dry provisions for the journey, and then let Ah Cam wake Yu Yuan and send him out the house.
1. 匹夫无罪，怀璧其罪 pi fu wu zui, huai bi qi zui – Innocent people convicted just for possessing a jade. This saying refers to how a person who holds something valuable. e.g. being talented, beautiful, intelligent etc. things that people admire, will bring harm unto themselves because of that.
Chapter 33 – Suspicion
A painting?!
What kind of painting?
Yu Tong’s heart pounded and her breathing became unsteady.
“You know how to read?” She heard herself speak in a hoarse voice.
“No, I don’t.” The boy cried tearfully and said, “The owner of the gambling house asked me to steal it, saying that if I stole it, I would be given five taels of silver. It’s a painting of two old men fishing by a river in the forests of a mountain ……”
Two old men fishing by a river in the forests of a mountain!
Yu Tong immediately thought of the painting “Pine Creek Fishing Hidden Painting”
She felt herself panicking and her hands and feet trembling.
“Is it this painting?” Yu Tang didn’t know how she managed to walk back to her room and how she showed that painting to that boy, only that when she opened that painting, that boy’s eyes lit up as he eagerly replied, “Yes! That’s the painting! The owner told me that there was a seal that was stamped just above the child’s hair next to the old man. This is the right painting.”
Those unimportant details that were overlooked in the past flooded into Yu Tang’s mind all at once.
The theft that happened in the Li family in her previous life, the sudden influx of wealth in the Li family …… The two thefts in this life, the “Plum Forest” seal stamped on the child’s hair, and the “Plum Forest” seal that was replaced with the “Spring Water Hall” seal…… she seemed to have understood something, but yet felt as though she didn’t understand anything at all.
“Ah-tang, what’s wrong with you?” Madam Chen, Yu Yuan and Shuang Tao all gathered around her. Madam Chen even held Yu Tang and said in confusion, “Dear child, why did you take out this painting again? Is there something wrong with this painting? Or ……” she asked, looking at the boy who stole from them and then again at Yutang.
There were some things that were still unsolved…… and even if everything came to light, her mother would only worry needlessly and wouldn’t have any useful solutions either.
“There’s nothing wrong.” Yu Tang forcefully suppressed the shocking waves in her heart, making sure that the tone of her voice sounded normal and calm, “He said that he came to our house to steal a painting, so I asked him about it.”
Once the boy heard, he immediately shouted. “It is-“
Yu Tang pretended to have unintentionally hit the boy’s mouth with the painting scroll, and made the boy’s words come out unclear, and said, “Mother, he can’t read or write, and said that someone else asked him to come to our house to steal something. I think that this matter has to be settled thoroughly, so it’s better to wait for Father’s return. Now let’s just hand him over to eldest cousin for him to keep an eye on him, so that he will not speak nonsense and untruths, and we will just be anxious after hearing it.” After speaking, she also gave the boy a warning glare.
Madam Chen had full trust in her daughter and husband, so naturally she did not suspect anything amiss. Yu Yuan, however, could see that she was hiding something. He gave Yu Tang a look and spoke up for her. “Yes! Ah-tang is right. I’m here, Aunt, so you can go and rest early. Your health has always been poor, so it would be bad if you fell ill again.”
Yu Tang looked at Yu Yuan, and knew that Yu Yuan saw through her but was still willing to help her, so she followed along with Yu Yuan’s words and said, “Mother, because of Lu Xin’s funeral, our family still owes money to Supervisor Tong!”
Madam Chen did not want to stay here any longer, but she still harbored some doubts. “Could someone have thought that this painting was the real one?”
“It’s possible.” Yu Tang only wanted to coax her mother to bed quickly. She laughed and continued, “Didn’t Father also thought it was the real thing at first?”
Madam Chen nodded and was accompanied by Shuang Tao and left.
The boy’s mother then came to beg Yu Yuan for mercy.
Yu Yuan, however, stared at Yu Tang.
Yu Tang gave him a look.
Yu Yuan understood her intentions and said to the boy’s mother. “Don’t worry. Our family is not that heartless, but as this is my second uncle’s family’s matter, I can’t make a decision either. I see that you are also tired, but if I were to let you head back home, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to. Why don’t you stay with Old Aunty Chen for one night, and your son, I will take care of him for the time being. When my uncle comes back, we will discuss further.”
The boy’s mother thanked him profusely and hollered at her son to kowtow to Yu Yuan, berating him for his lack of manners.
Old Aunty Chen also understood a little and interrupted her scolding, as she took the boy’s mother away.
Yu Yuan called Ah Cam and let him tie the boy up and take him to his room.
The two siblings then stood by the bamboo trees in the courtyard and talked.
“I just felt that something wasn’t right. So I frightened the boy a little, and the boy told me something.” Yu Tang then told Yu Yuan all the things she had just heard and asked, “I don’t know if what he says is really the truth. Brother, if you didn’t look for me, I will also ask you for help . “
After speaking, she and Yu Yuan went to the study, relighted the lamp and spread the painting out on the desk and carefully examined the painting. She said, “I really can’t figure out what’s so special about this painting – even if it’s genuine, it still has to be exchanged for silver. When Mr. Lu sold this painting, he did not only ask my father. If another person liked this painting, they can just spend a few more silver taels to buy it, why go through all these unnecessary hassle? Besides, this painting is a fake and has been proven by Supervisor Tong. So if someone wanted to get this painting, he should have already known about it.”
Yu Yuan had read more books than Yu Tang, and was very fond of calligraphy and paintings, and thus had more knowledge and understanding than Yu Tang.
He looked at the painting carefully, but could not see anything out of the ordinary. He murmured under his breath, “Couldn’t there be a time that Supervisor Tong was wrong about something?”
Yu Tang was struck speechless.
Why was she so certain that Supervisor Tong was right?
Firstly, in her previous life, she didn’t hear anything negative about Supervisor Tong, so she already formed a preconceived notion about him. Secondly, this painting was hers in her previous life; she had lost count of how many times she observed it, and was confident that she would never be wrong.
But Yu Yuan’s words were like pouring water in scalding hot oil, causing oil to splash violently everywhere.
What if it was her painting that was fake?
Yu Tang felt her mind clear up.
Didn’t she just also thought of that?
If this really was the painting her father bought in her previous life, and she brought this painting with her when she married into the Li family…. after the Li family’s residence was burgled, and someone replaced her painting with a fake one…… then it all seems to make sense.
This is the genuine one!
Supervisor Tong’s appraisal was wrong.
The one that she owned in her previous life was the fake one!
But who swapped the painting in her hands?
Yu Tang’s mind was raced.
At that time, she had already married into the Li family as a widow. The entire Lin’an City was watching and waiting to see if she could really keep her chastity as a widow in the Li Family. She rarely stepped out of the house and even when she did, the people that know her would view her with some pity, helplessness and respect.
Who would be so foolish as to steal from her?
Who would have the courage to steal from the Li family?
Furthermore, the Li family kept that incident secret.
She used to think that it was because the Li family was worried of malicious rumors spreading and negatively affect her.
But what if that’s not the case?
What if it was the Li family who stole her painting instead?
Moreover, not long after she lost that painting, the Li family’s wealth started to increase exponentially.
When she thought of this, Yu Tang felt immeasurable fury welling up inside her.
She placed two lamps on the the desk and said to Yu Yuan, “Brother, can you see any abnormalities in this painting?”
Yu Yuan shook his head. He examined the painting for a long time, and laughed bitterly, saying, “No wonder people say ‘hateful is the lack of knowledge’. If only I had read more books.”
Yu Tang instantly thought of Pei Yan.
She shook her head as if that would shake away her thoughts.
Pei Yan is the third master of the Pei family. If she took a painting that was identified as a fake by Supervisor Tong and asked him to help identify it, not only would she be thrown out, but Pei Yan might even think that she was there to cause trouble.
How much of an idiot was she to even think of asking Pei Yan for help!
No wonder Pei Yan despised her, she was indeed doing things without thinking!
Yu Tang sighed and asked Yu Yuan. “Brother, what do you think? Should we take this painting to someone who is more capable? I feel that if that boy wasn’t lying, then we’re definitely being watched by that person who instructed him to steal the painting, and the perpetrator will definitely cause trouble again if he doesn’t get it. We don’t know who he is, so even if we freely give up the painting to avoid disaster, there is no way to hand this painting over to him!”
Yu Yuan thought about it and said, “I will find second uncle tomorrow and tell him about this. Then I’ll ask Magistrate-runner Li to secretly ask the owner of the gambling house to see if he can find out who wants this painting so desperately. If uncle agrees, we will ask the owner of the gambling house to be the middle-man and sell the painting to him openly.”
Yu Tang worriedly answered, “What if they think that we are selling a fake?”
Yu Yuan contemplated for awhile and said, “Then, do you have any good suggestions?”
“I think it’s still best to figure out the secrets hidden in this painting.” Yu Tang said. She suddenly thought of Lu Xin, and stiffened, looking towards Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan saw confusion, hesitation, worry, shock, and even fear in his cousin’s eyes.
His heart thumped wildly in his chest as he thought of the origins of this painting.
Could it be, could it be that Lu Xin’s death was also related to this painting?
Lu Xin was an extremely selfish person. Every time he drinks excessively, it would always be at another person’s expense, he would hardly buy any liquor for himself. Once he was in the mood for drinks, his first option was to find a way to drink someone else’s wine. Only when there really isn’t anyone, would he then painfully spend his own coin to buy some for himself.
“I, I’m going to find uncle.” Yu Yuan jumped up at once, “We do not know the specifics of Lu Xin’s death so we can only ask uncle.”
However, Yu Wen was busy with Lu Xin’s funeral in another temple on the outskirts of the city.
“Innocent people convicted just for possessing a jade1!” Yu Tang looked at the painting and hated it so much that she wanted to burn it in a fire, “This is really an undeserved calamity!”
However, she didn’t dare to.
She was afraid that even if she did burn this painting, the person who wanted the painting would not believe her and would still create trouble for their family. And when they couldn’t hand over the painting, their situation might be even worse than now.
Yu Tang calculated the time and said, “The city gates will not open for another four hours at the earliest, so you should sleep first and I’ll ask Shuang Tao to wake you up later. Afterwards, let Ah Cam go to Master Wu’s house to borrow a mule. As it’s so early in the morning, there’s a high chance you wouldn’t be able to hire a carriage, so if you have a mule to ride on, it’s faster than walking!”
Yu Yuan knew that this plan by Yu Tang was the best.
Although he was beset with many troubling thoughts, he forced himself to sleep according to Yu Tang’s words.
Yu Tang, on the other hand, didn’t sleep all night.
She kept staring at the painting, hoping to find anything that was different from her previous life. When it was almost dawn, she called Shuang Tao up to help Yu Yuan prepare some dry provisions for the journey, and then let Ah Cam wake Yu Yuan and send him out the house.
1. 匹夫无罪，怀璧其罪 pi fu wu zui, huai bi qi zui – Innocent people convicted just for possessing a jade. This saying refers to how a person who holds something valuable. e.g. being talented, beautiful, intelligent etc. things that people admire, will bring harm unto themselves because of that.
