Time Travel: Did My Sister-in-Law Get Slapped in the Face Today?

Li Lan's heart skipped a beat. Inner court legends? Zhao Tanyue was unwilling to tell him, which clearly meant that these legends were not just unfounded rumors!

However, he didn't press the matter further, so he said:

"There are indeed some clues."

"The letter itself cannot be deciphered, but the letter itself contains information."

Li Lan picked up the letter and gently held it up to the candlelight. "There are many places selling paper in the capital, but only a few have unique characteristics. Xu's shop likes to make pure bamboo pulp paper, which is made entirely of bamboo pulp; Moxiangfang's top-quality paper likes to add a hundred flowers, giving it its own fragrance; Luo's paper is loved by painters because it is very dense and will not bleed even with heavy ink..."

Li Lan smiled, held the letter to his nose, and sniffed it, saying:

"Lord Zhao, you probably don't like fragrances, do you?"

The young man next to him, Yan Qiu, frowned slightly. This letter was kept close to his master's body and kept safe. Li Lan's action... was simply a bit frivolous!

But Zhao Tanyue's beautiful eyes lit up, and she seemed to be thinking: "I understand, Moxiangfang... but this is not enough."

Li Lan smiled and said, "This paper is very valuable, and poor people can't afford it. The paper used for those secret letters is all the same, which means that this paper is the everyday paper used by the writer."

"Those that can be used daily are delivered regularly by Moxianfang. There aren't many families like that, and even fewer that are involved with Beihu."

In fact, Li Lan already knew that the person who orchestrated the plot against the Lin family was mostly the Third Prince, and the one who colluded with the Northern Hu... should naturally be him.

However, Li Lan would not tell Zhao Tanyue directly.

As Lin Zheng said, we must not get involved.

Having said this much to Zhao Tanyue, how to investigate and to what extent is her own business.

Zhao Tanyue is trusted by the royal family and is considered half a member of the royal family in some respects. It is acceptable for her to investigate, but it is indeed not appropriate for outsiders to get too involved.

Her investigation will definitely put pressure on the Third Prince, and that's enough.

"understood."

Zhao Tanyue nodded, then suddenly said, "By the way, I've heard people say that you, young master, are unparalleled in poetry. I wonder if you, young master Li, are familiar with Qingci (a type of classical Chinese poetry)?"

Li Lan asked in confusion, "Qingci?"

Zhao Tanyue nodded: "His Majesty is fond of Taoism. When worshipping the gods, he must burn books to communicate with them. These are called Qingci (a type of prayer paper). There are very few people in the court who can write Qingci."

"The Emperor attaches great importance to the Qingtian Ceremony, but the petitions written by the court literati have never won His favor. Since Young Master Li is talented, why not give it a try?"

"The lunar probe can be handed over on its behalf."

Li Lan understood.

Zhao Tanyue wanted to repay Li Lan, so she gave Li Lan a chance!

A Qingci (a type of official document) can reach the emperor directly. If Li Lan is chosen, his rise to prominence will be imminent.

Even if her writing is subpar, with her speaking on her behalf, Li Lan won't suffer any loss.

Generally speaking, those who can write memorials for the emperor are all renowned scholars and academicians in the capital. Li Lan, whose academic achievements are only at the level of Xiucai, would never have such an opportunity.

After a moment's thought, Li Lan smiled and said, "Alright. I'll go back and think about it. If I have any ideas, I'll come back to trouble Lord Zhao."

"Thank you!"

Zhao Tanyue nodded and left.

……

On the road.

“Master, although Li Lan is intelligent, he is too frivolous. His so-called talent and reputation are just rumors in brothels. Asking him to write brothel poems is giving him too much credit.”

Yanqiu couldn't help but speak.

"I don't understand poetry, but Her Majesty the Empress does."

Zhao Tanyue said calmly, "Her Majesty the Empress is extremely talented. She was good at writing Qingci (a type of lyric poetry) back then, which is why she won the Emperor's favor and became the Empress of the world... But recently, she has been so distressed about the Qingci to be used in the Qingtian Grand Ceremony that she has lost her appetite and is in distress all day long. The only time she showed any joy was when she received Li Lan's poem 'Spring River Flower Moon Night,' which she was quite happy about and said was a good poem."

Even if Li Lan's writings are unusable, they might give Her Majesty the Empress some inspiration.

She didn't really believe that Li Lan could write Qingci (a type of classical Chinese poetry).

However, firstly, to relieve the Empress's worries, and secondly, because she owed Li Lan a great favor, she wanted to take this opportunity to introduce Li Lan to the Empress.