The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 457 - 425: To Think of Hiding a Secret This Way
Song Wei said, "The specific location depends on the directional indications of the painting’s title, but I have tried connecting it with the River Map and Luo Book, and it didn’t work."
Yang Yi had not left yet, and upon hearing this, he thought of something and whispered to Emperor Guangxi, "Your Majesty, when I went to Ningzhou to retrieve the painting, I saw someone beside Old Marquis Lu. If my guess is correct, he is the ’Elder Qi’ that His Highness mentioned a few days ago."
Emperor Guangxi suddenly narrowed his eyes, "Elder Qi is actually with Lu Feng?"
Yang Yi asked, "Should I send someone to confirm?"
"Investigate it quickly," Emperor Guangxi said with a grave expression.
Yang Yi hesitated, "If it proves that the person is indeed Elder Qi, what does Your Majesty plan to do?"
Emperor Guangxi didn’t answer immediately but looked at Song Wei, "What does Scholar Song think?"
Song Wei shifted his gaze from the painting and calmly analyzed, "I have heard of Elder Qi; he is a Mechanical Master. Old Marquis Lu must have left the capital to find the location of the atlas. If Elder Qi is with him, it indicates that both of them are researching this matter. Why not invite them to the Capital under the name of the Royal Family to officially search for the atlas?"
Emperor Guangxi’s eyes deepened, "Lu Feng has concealed the matter of the atlas from me for decades. Do you think the Lu Family, holding the secret of the divine weapon, has a possibility of deliberate rebellion by not reporting it?"
This was a loaded question, with any slight mistake leading to dire consequences.
Song Wei remained as composed as ever and retorted, "Has Your Majesty found evidence of the Lu Family’s rebellion?"
"Not yet."
Song Wei said, "The Lu Family has plotted for decades, and yet Your Majesty hasn’t found a shred of evidence. Is it because their methods are too sophisticated and overly secretive, or is it because the people under Your Majesty are too incompetent?"
Emperor Guangxi: "..."
Mr. Cui had always feared Song Wei’s audacious approach and worried that continuing would bring trouble, so he immediately shouted, "Impudent!"
Even Jinyiwei Commander Yang Yi was shocked by Song Wei’s words and instinctively looked at Emperor Guangxi’s reaction.
The word "incompetent" was always a taboo for those in power.
Emperor Guangxi was no exception; his face was displeased, but he couldn’t refute, so he sulked in frustration.
Though he sulked, he didn’t lash out on the spot.
Perhaps accustomed to the flattery of courtiers, Emperor Guangxi always found Song Wei’s words unsettling, yet they pinpointed the issue, immediately sobering him up.
If the Lu Family had genuinely plotted for decades, they couldn’t have remained inactive.
And as an Emperor, it would be impossible for his subordinates to be so incompetent as to fail to uncover any trace of the Lu Family’s rebellion.
Thus, the only explanation could be that Old Marquis Lu had always been working for the Royal Family, harboring no treachery.
Emperor Guangxi continued to maintain a stern face, resolutely refusing to admit he had misunderstood the Lu Family, and directly instructed Yang Yi, "Invite those two back."
Recognizing the change in the Emperor’s attitude, Yang Yi knew what to do and saluted, "I take my leave."
After Yang Yi left, Song Wei subtly curled his lips.
He was aware of the matter with Elder Qi.
After Old Marquis Lu went to Ningzhou, fearing interference from Emperor Guangxi, he sent a message to Song Wei, asking him to help "introduce" Elder Qi and his mechanical beast to Emperor Guangxi.
Song Wei, understanding the Emperor’s suspicion of the Lu Family, didn’t approach him directly. Instead, through Song Yuanbao, he let the Eldest Prince Zhao Xi know Elder Qi’s whereabouts and naturally arranged for Zhao Xi to see the mechanical beast.
Subsequently, even if Song Wei wasn’t present, he could easily imagine—Emperor Guangxi would become very curious about the mechanical beast after hearing Zhao Xi’s description and would want to meet Elder Qi. Elder Qi, in turn, chose this time to meet Old Marquis Lu in Ningzhou.
When Jinyi Guard found the two of them, it would be easy to learn that Elder Qi was with Old Marquis Lu.
In this way, if Emperor Guangxi wanted to use Elder Qi, he would have to involve Old Marquis Lu as well.
Knowing Emperor Guangxi wouldn’t easily change his attitude towards Old Marquis Lu, Song Wei seized the opportunity to provoke Emperor Guangxi, forcing him to willingly invite Old Marquis Lu back.
This maneuver was initiated by Old Marquis Lu and concluded by Song Wei; the master and disciple worked together flawlessly.
Emperor Guangxi was unaware of the master-disciple relationship between Old Marquis Lu and Song Wei and didn’t realize he’d unwittingly fallen into the trap they set.
Now, he only had eyes for the mechanical beast and worried that Song Wei alone couldn’t solve it, so he sent for Zhao Xi as well.
In the peak of the festive season, having someone cancel the palace banquet to study a painting, Zhao Xi immediately realized that his father was entranced by the mechanical beast.
He didn’t know if this was good or bad.
"Xixi, come here quickly." Seeing Zhao Xi, Emperor Guangxi showed a pleased expression, pointing to the four paintings in front of Song Wei, "Take a good look and see if you can find the key to them."
Zhao Xi gave a brief salute to Emperor Guangxi, then stood next to Song Wei, carefully and earnestly examining the four paintings.
After a while, he turned to Song Wei, "Mr. Song, have you discovered anything unusual?"
"Just discovered," Song Wei nodded.
Shifang Cliff, Hundred Inches Heart, Thousand Feet Snow, Ten Thousand Miles Spring, correspond to the Smoke Waves Flying Bird Painting, Mountain Stream Orchid Painting, Winter Night Monk Knocking on the Door for Lodging, and finally the Pine Crane Painting.
Mr. Liu’s painting style was unique; the seemingly simple scenes from his brush often evoked a deeper sense of meaning, which is why these four paintings were famous worldwide.
Individually, each painting is superb in artistry and profound in meaning, but when placed side by side, there’s something peculiar about them, especially under palace lanterns, as if something is underneath.
The feeling was like a woman wearing a patterned dress with a sheer, cicada-wing-thin overlay that had a different pattern, obscuring the inner garment, making it hard to see what’s beneath.
"Could it be a painting within a painting?" Zhao Xi suggested, "I’ve seen people pour tea over a painting, and another image appears. Should we try it?"
This method had already been tried by Song Wei, and it didn’t work at all, so he shook his head, "Pouring tea would ruin the painting, and the underlying image wouldn’t emerge."
Zhao Xi approached, touching the thickness of one of the paintings, genuinely puzzled, "This is the normal thickness of Xuan paper, leaving no possibility for a concealed painting in-between. How did Mr. Liu achieve this?"
Song Wei contemplated for a moment, "What if the painting on top was pasted on?"
"Mr. Song means a normal thickness of Xuan paper was divided into two layers, with the lower layer holding the secret and the upper layer holding the landscape, merging the two paintings into one?"
"No," Song Wei deliberated, "The first layer should be painted first, then through papermaking techniques, the second layer is applied, transforming it into normal Xuan paper. Only then is the landscape painted on the upper layer, achieving the purpose of hiding the secret."
Emperor Guangxi listened to their analysis and found it somewhat absurd, "If you’re really right, and there’s a second painting hidden in a sheet of paper, but the lower one can’t come out, won’t my efforts have been in vain?"
"Since Mr. Liu intended to circulate the Divine Weapon Atlas, he wouldn’t play such a big joke on future generations," Song Wei explained, "I once saw someone deinking. If we can find such a master, we could easily reveal the painting underneath."
"Deinking?" Zhao Xi was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"Many years ago, during my time at home, I went to the county to deliver manuscripts and encountered a classmate," Song Wei said, "His father left a will on his deathbed, but he accidentally spilled ink over it, obscuring what was written. So, he took it to someone to deink, removing the excess ink layer by layer, much like peeling away clothes. Though not perfectly clean, by the end, the content of the will could be roughly deciphered."
Zhao Xi was amazed, "Truly, there are always more talented people out there. It’s incredible that such remarkable skills exist in this world!"
Song Wei also found it incredible.
Unfortunately, such a skill of deinking had no place in small towns; the master didn’t stay in Ningzhou for long before leaving, and Song Wei never saw him again.
While Song Wei was lost in thought, Zhao Xi had already discussed with Emperor Guangxi about arranging someone to find a deinking master as soon as possible.
After their discussion, Zhao Xi once again focused on the four paintings, "To think of such a method to hide a secret, Mr. Liu was indeed an extraordinary individual."
Song Wei smiled faintly, "Once the painting underneath is revealed, we will have quite the headache finding the location."
Zhao Xi also smiled, "Since Mr. Song could discover the double-layered painting, I’m sure finding the location won’t be an issue."
A double-layered painting like this is already challenging enough, and Song Wei dared not underestimate the abilities of his predecessor, "Let’s hope the puzzles Mr. Liu left us won’t be too difficult."
