Chapter 25

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The fine brush hovered over the paper, and the person holding it felt as if it weighed nothing, unable to sense the pressure of the tip on the paper, leaving no place to apply strength.

He forced himself to write the character '永' (yong), but the result looked as if it had been blown by a strong wind or scratched by a chicken's claws, making it hard for him to bear.

However, Lin Qing'er praised him, "At least the strokes are correct, and others can recognize it..." Today, she had brought the Four Treasures of the Study as promised and started teaching him how to write with a brush.

Wang Xian's face turned red, "I feel this brush is as light as a feather, yet as heavy as Mount Tai..."

"That's inevitable, since you've never written with a brush before," Lin Qing'er said with a smile that brought a sense of calm: "Let's start with how to hold the brush." She then took another brush from the pen holder, held it in her hand, and explained to Wang Xian, "Beginners should practice regular script, holding the brush lower, about one inch from the tip, to make the strokes more stable. Holding it higher allows for more variation, but it's harder to control when writing regular script."

Wang Xian nodded, realizing he had held it two inches away and quickly adjusted to one inch.

"Also, the tightness of your grip. If it's too tight, your hand will tremble; if it's too loose, you won't be able to apply force. You're gripping it too tightly, so you should relax a bit," Lin Qing'er said, "But it's not about not using any force. The key is 'force at the tip of the brush,' but it's a skillful force, not brute force. You need to transmit the force to the tip of the brush to move it freely."

This was easy to understand. Writing with a hard pen is easier than with a soft brush, precisely because of this. Wang Xian nodded and asked, "How do you apply force at the tip of the brush?"

"Though it's called a skillful force, it can't be faked and can only come from practice. If you practice diligently, over time, you'll be able to move the brush freely and pass this hurdle," Lin Qing'er glanced at Wang Xian's hand and said, "Then there's the finger technique. The secret is to use the 'press, press, hook, top, and support' method to hold the brush steadily, making each finger do its job..."

Lin Qing'er then demonstrated how each finger should apply force and coordinate to achieve the correct grip.

Wang Xian followed her instructions, learning very seriously, but he was still very unfamiliar and couldn't grasp the essentials.

Seeing him struggle to hold the brush, Lin Qing'er had to suppress her embarrassment and guide him by hand, despite being very careful, her slender fingers inevitably touched Wang Xian's.

Each light touch made Lin Qing'er's heart tremble, and her face, flushed with embarrassment and an indescribable feeling, burned like fire, making the silver bell who came in to deliver water quite curious, "Sister Lin, are you very hot?"

"Ah, yes, a bit hot..." Lin Qing'er withdrew her hand like a thief, stammering, "I'm just... anxious..."

"Ah, drink some tea to cool down," Silver Bell looked at her sympathetically, "My brother was always very clumsy when he was young."

"Your brother is already very smart..." Lin Qing'er took the teacup and whispered, "He just fell behind early." She then asked Silver Bell, "Do you have any eggs at home?"

"What, are you hungry?" Silver Bell asked, "I'll cook a couple for you."

"Not for eating, for your brother to practice writing," Lin Qing'er said, half laughing and half crying.

"Oh." Silver Bell quickly fetched an egg, and Lin Qing'er had Wang Xian hold it in his hand, saying, "Practice like this for a while until you understand the principle of 'solid fingers, empty palm.'"

"Okay." Wang Xian nodded and began to practice earnestly according to Lin Qing'er's instructions.

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From that day on, Wang Xian practiced diligently. He wasn't a genius and had started late, so he had to put in extra effort. The paper Lin Qing'er brought wasn't enough. Wang Xian had planned to follow Fan Zhongyan's example and practice writing on a stone slab with water, but when his brother saw him, he complained that he hadn't mentioned it earlier.

There's a saying, "The capital's top scholar uses Fuyang paper, ten rolls of Yuan paper to pass the imperial exams." Fuyang was a famous paper-making town, and Wang Gui worked in a paper mill, bringing home some discarded paper every day. Although the quality of this paper was good, it had some flaws like being wrinkled or not cut neatly, but it was perfect for practice.

Day by day, as he saw his writing improve bit by bit, Wang Xian even began to enjoy practicing, though he couldn't help but curse himself for being a bit strange.

During this time, Lin Qing'er would visit every few days to review his work and teach him more advanced brush techniques... Although she would always blush, it didn't stop her from continuing to teach.

One morning, she came over, and Wang Xian had just finished copying a piece of writing, holding it up and smiling at her, "I feel like I've made some progress today."

"No more writing today," Lin Qing'er covered her chest and caught her breath, "Go to the county office quickly, Iron Face has arrived!"

"Okay." Wang Xian put down his brush, hastily put on a shirt, and went out with Lin Qing'er. He could now walk without a cane, though he couldn't move too fast.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Silver Bell dropped her work and followed the two of them onto the street.

On the street, the people had also heard the news and rushed in the same direction to see the commotion. By the time the three of them reached the county office, the gate was already packed.

Fortunately, many people recognized Wang Xian and Lin Qing'er, and they shouted, "Make way, the victim has arrived!" The crowd then made a path for them to squeeze through to the gate.

Through the gate, Wang Xian saw that the people standing in front of the office were not the usual bailiffs but two rows of soldiers from the Censorate, armed with long spears, wearing red felt hats, blue robes, white socks, and black shoes. In the courtyard, there were also two rows of Jinyiwei soldiers in flying fish robes, with embroidered spring knives at their waists!

Looking further inside, he saw three high officials in red official robes sitting on the dais, but he couldn't tell which one was Iron Face.

However, Zhou Xin was indeed among the three. After reporting the case, Zhou Xin didn't wait for the imperial response but reviewed the case files from the beginning, quickly spotting several flaws.

First, the blood-stained clothes used as evidence. From the physical evidence, the blood-stained clothes were intact, with no signs of decay. However, according to the case file, they had been buried for nearly a year in the damp and rainy south, and the burial was shallow. It was strange that they hadn't decayed at all in a year.

Moreover, if the victim had died from head injuries, the blood on the clothes should have flowed from top to bottom, but what Zhou Xin saw was the opposite, leading him to believe that the evidence had been forged, as Lin Qing'er had said.

At this time, the constables Zhou Xin had sent out had captured a human trafficker named Chen San from Jiading. The trafficker confessed that three years ago, he had sold a kidnapped woman to He Chang. Zhou Xin followed up on the trafficker's confession and sent a letter to Yangzhou Prefecture, where a missing person case from three years ago matched, and the missing woman was indeed Zhang Linghua!

Zhou Xin compiled these solid pieces of evidence into the report of County Magistrate Wei, finally solidifying the entire case. At this point, the imperial order to re-examine the case arrived. Emperor Yongle was furious about the case and sent the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Gao Duo, and a Jinyiwei commander to handle it.

When the imperial representatives arrived, the case was already clear and the evidence solid, requiring no further investigation... This made Deputy Minister Gao and the commander very pleased, and they decided to travel to Fuyang to review the case.

After the court session began, Deputy Minister Gao called all the suspects, witnesses, and parties involved one by one. The people outside the gate couldn't hear clearly, but they could see the sound of the gavel and the stern rebukes of the presiding judge.

The court session started at dawn and ended at mid-morning. At noon, several Censorate soldiers escorted a seventh-rank official out, posting a judgment notice sealed with the imperial envoy's seal. A county criminal affairs clerk, Li Guan, read it out loud for the people:

"The case of Lin Rongxing killing his wife in Fuyang County is a false accusation. Lin Sheng was falsely imprisoned, endured torture, and suffered unjustly. He is to be immediately released and returned home! The former county magistrate, Chen Rupu, was fair and upright, and the corruption and bribery were a misjudgment; the former criminal affairs clerk, Wang Xingye, was law-abiding and a good official, who suffered torture and was unjustly imprisoned for years, and is to be immediately released and returned home; the former coroner, Zhou Xiyong, made a mistake in the examination but did not cover it up, and died under torture, and is to be buried with honors and compensated. All these individuals will receive further compensation and honors after the imperial report."

"The citizens of Fuyang County, Zhao Yan and Zhao Dayou, colluded to commit fraud, falsely accused good citizens, and falsely accused county officials, and are to be sentenced to death, to be executed in the autumn. The citizen of Fuyang County, He Chang, kidnapped and sold women, raped and murdered, and disposed of the body! To cover up his crimes, he incited false accusations, leading to a wrongful conviction, and his crimes are heinous and unforgivable, and he is to be executed by slicing! Zhao's wife, who fled and committed adultery, is to be sent to the brothel as a slave! The student, Hu Sancai, who coveted money, accepted bribes, and gave false testimony, is to be expelled from the school and sentenced to forty strokes and exile! He Fu, who knew but did not report, and aided the criminals, is to be sentenced to forty strokes and exile! Zhao Zhu and other evil servants, who acted as henchmen and attempted murder, are to be sentenced to hanging and imprisonment! The county clerks, Xu Shan and Zhao Er, who were corrupt and informed, are to be sentenced to one hundred strokes and exile for two thousand miles!"

Upon hearing the judgment, the people cheered, praising the fair trial of this long-dragged case. Lin Qing'er covered her mouth with a handkerchief, trying to hold back her tears. Wang Xian, however, said, "The wrongful conviction has been overturned, but no one can return to the past..."

In fact, Wang Xian was lamenting his own situation, as he had completely become the person he is now and could never return to the past.

Lin Qing'er, however, thought of her family's destruction and the death of her father, who had died with grievances. She finally couldn't hold back and leaned against the gate, tears streaming down her face.

Silver Bell, standing beside her, pinched Wang Xian hard and glared at him, "Why don't you comfort her?"

Wang Xian realized he had unintentionally hurt her and hesitantly reached out, gently patting Lin Qing'er's shoulder, and said softly, "Ziyun, I didn't mean to..."

'Pfft...' Lin Qing'er, who had been crying, was now neither crying nor laughing, and in a moment of anger, she punched Wang Xian twice.

Wang Xian pretended to be hurt, took two steps back, and smiled at Lin Qing'er, "I need to go back and practice writing. Miss Zhao, you should go home early and tell your mother the good news."

Watching the siblings leave, Lin Qing'er's eyes flickered with uncertainty, and finally, a determined look appeared. She quickly caught up and said, "Wang Er... brother, I have something to say to you."

Wang Xian turned around and smiled, "What is it, Sister Lin?"

"I..." Lin Qing'er blushed and couldn't speak.

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