Xiao Yichen stood in front of the wall on the second floor with a frown on his face, looking at the potholes in front of him, his thoughts drifting away.
When he was ten years old, his thesis was praised by his father. His handwriting was unique, upright and bold, and was imitated by many students. It was said that the calligraphy of the emperor was worth a fortune.
Wangshan Tower is a property under his name, so he left his calligraphy on the wall of the second floor. On the one hand, it increases customer flow and attracts diners. On the other hand, this calligraphy was inspired by a song that was sung by a soulmate, and it is one of his most satisfying creations.
Writing poems on the wall has become a feature of Wangshan Tower, so he specially built a wall in the lobby downstairs for those literati and poets to write poems.
He remembered that it was Ji Yuqing's birthday and she insisted on inviting him to dinner at Wangshan Tower. Ji Lingxue happened to be sick at that time, so he took Ji Yuqing to the largest private room.
Halfway through the meal, Ji Yuqing sighed that the food at Wangshan Tower was good, but unfortunately the decoration of the entire building was unremarkable, so she suggested that he leave a calligraphy work on the wall. After all, he was already famous for his talent, and his calligraphy work alone would be enough to attract many diners, and it might even become a unique item in the capital.
After hearing Ji Yuqing's suggestion, he thought it was a good one. Taking advantage of the drunkenness, he immediately ordered people to prepare pens, ink and painting. Just as he picked up the pen, an ethereal and pleasant sound of piano came from the private room on the second floor. Inspiration suddenly came to him, and he finished a poem.
The next day, the shopkeeper came and said that someone had painted a few willow leaves on his poem, which quite echoed the lines of the poem.
He was wondering at the time whether the person who dared to paint on his calligraphy could be the one playing the piano, but unfortunately there was no answer to this question.
Xiao Yichen murmured, "The spring scenery in the Jiangnan water town is beautiful, and the green willows and water are long. Let's celebrate together on this auspicious day, and the jade cups and golden jugs are filled with fine wine."
Every time Xiao Yichen spoke a word, the servants behind him couldn't help but shrink their necks.
Chi Feng could only sigh in his heart for that blind thief who had stolen words. He dared to mess with his prince, and his future would surely be miserable.
Xiao Yichen ordered with a gloomy face: "Check for me who has eaten at Wangshan Tower in the past month. I want the list before sunset."
The shopkeeper and Chi Feng looked at each other in bewilderment. There were tens of thousands of diners coming and going on this single day. Isn't the workload too much? It would be totally too late!
The shopkeeper looked worried and hesitated when he looked at Xiao Yichen.
Chi Feng said: "Um... Master, the scope of this investigation is a bit vague. I don't think the old diners have any motive to commit the crime. It's better to start with some new diners. Has the shopkeeper paid attention to new faces or diners who don't come often these days?"
The shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and said, "Yesterday I noticed two extraordinary people..."
"Who?" Xiao Yichen asked with narrowed eyes.
The shopkeeper said, "The young master of the Ji family came to eat with a strange girl. I observed them and found that the girl had been paying attention to the calligraphy wall since she came in. She even took a pen to leave a message, but was stopped by the young master Ji."
Chi Feng frowned, "A girl with a strange face... Shopkeeper, have you noticed the girl's appearance?"
For some reason, he always felt that the truth was about to be revealed, but it was just blocked by a layer of fog, and he was unable to figure out the connection.
Xiao Yichen glanced at Chi Feng, then turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Let's check all the diners for the past month one by one. I'll leave this matter to you. Is three days enough for you?"
Chi Feng nodded. Although investigating people was tedious and boring, how could he disobey his master's orders
(End of this chapter)