The tea is cold.
Although Zhou Xuan talked with Su Shi for a long time, he didn't drink much tea.
Su Shi stood up and poured out the cold tea for Zhou Xuan, then replaced it with hot tea for her.
Zhou Xuan took a sip of tea and suddenly asked, "Do you know that your eldest brother was once a guard of the prince?"
Su Shi was pouring tea for himself. When he heard this, his hand shook and the tea almost spilled on the table.
"Prince Guard?" He thought for a moment, then shook his head: "I have no impression."
Zhou Xuan put it on the tea cup and said, "No wonder you don't have any impression. Your eldest brother has not been the crown prince for a long time, only half a year."
Su Shi had already keenly felt that these six months must have had a significant impact on his eldest brother, otherwise he would not have taken such a big risk to investigate the cause of the prince's death.
He said calmly: "Even if it is only half a year, I must have benefited a lot from being able to listen to the prince's personal teachings."
Zhou Xuan looked at him sideways, as if she wanted to know whether Su Shi really meant what he said or if he just said it casually.
But she couldn't tell any clues from Su Shi's expression.
Although Su Shi was young, in terms of depth of scheming, even seven or eight old foxes could not match him.
Zhou Xuan really couldn't figure out how there could be such a person in this world.
"In the past six months, Brother Prince has indeed taught Brother Su a lot, and Brother Su has great respect and admiration for Brother Prince, and Brother Prince also appreciates Brother Su's frankness and frankness."
She deliberately emphasized the words "honest and frank", but Su Shi didn't seem to hear her.
He suddenly asked: "Is this strange pattern related to the prince?"
Zhou Xuan was not surprised that Su Shi could guess that the pattern was related to the prince so quickly. It would have surprised her if he couldn't figure it out.
So Zhou Xuan also said lightly: "Yes."
Su Shi couldn't help but ask, "But it seems like you haven't seen this pattern before?"
He remembered Zhou Xuan once said that when she saw the strange pattern on the handkerchief, she asked around. Apparently she had never seen such a pattern before.
This was a bit strange. He had never seen the younger sister who was close to the prince, but his eldest brother, who had only been a guard of the prince for half a year, had seen her. This made Su Shi a little confused.
"What's strange about this? Brother Su only saw it by chance."
"How do you say this?"
Zhou Xuan said slowly: "Brother Prince is very kind to others, and there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority. He especially admires Brother Su, so Brother Su can come in and out of the East Palace at will."
Su Shi didn't expect that the prince valued his eldest brother so much, but he somewhat understood why his eldest brother would take such a big risk to find out the cause of the prince's death, and still refused to give up even after so long.
At this time Zhou Xuan continued: "After we met at the Red Plum Pavilion that day, Brother Su saw the pattern on the handkerchief and suddenly remembered that when he was serving as the prince's guard, he had seen a similar pattern in the prince's study, and the pattern was exactly the same. It was painted by the prince."
"Drawed by the prince?" Su Shi said, "Have you ever asked me what this pattern means?"
"Brother Su will naturally ask questions when he sees this strange pattern."
"Then what did the prince say?"
Zhou Xuan sighed: "Brother Prince said that he is creating a cipher text that can be used for communication in emergencies."
That damn pattern turned out to be a kind of cipher text, which surprised Su Shi.
But at the same time, this explanation also made Su Shi feel extremely weird. A prince who didn't learn to deal with political affairs wanted to create a secret text. No matter how much Su Shi thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.
What's more, as the prince of the East Palace, what emergencies will arise? Still need to create a ciphertext to convey information?
"Did my elder brother really say that?" Su Shi asked doubtfully.
"Don't you believe your elder brother?" Zhou Xuan couldn't help asking.
Su Shi touched his nose. He naturally believed what his elder brother said, but precisely because he believed it, he felt incredible.
He couldn't help but sigh and said: "So when my eldest brother saw the pattern on the handkerchief, he remembered the prince's words and thought that this handkerchief must be trying to convey some kind of message?"
Zhou Xuan said: "That's right. Although this pattern was embroidered by Hui Niang, the secret text should have been given to her by the prince's brother."
Speaking of this, there was a trace of sadness on her face.
Even though so much time had passed, she still couldn't help but feel sad whenever she thought of her brother.
"Brother Prince said that this cipher text will only be used in emergencies. Since Brother Prince gave this cipher text to Hui Niang, it means that he knows that he is in danger."
Su Shi was noncommittal about her inference.
The so-called care leads to chaos. Zhou Xuan and Su Zhou had a close relationship with the prince. The prince suddenly died of illness and the so-called secret text appeared. Therefore, it is not surprising that they doubt the cause of the prince's death.
But as a bystander, Su Shi was far calmer and more objective than them. He would not easily draw any conclusions without substantial evidence.
Because Su Shi knew that as long as he had preset conclusions in his mind, it would affect his judgment.
Zhou Xuan continued: "It's just that the prince said it casually at that time, so Brother Su didn't pay attention to it. He left the East Palace not long after, so he didn't know what the cipher text on it meant."
"Since you already know that the strange pattern on the handkerchief is a cipher text, and this cipher text was created by the prince, people close to the prince should know some inside information. You should have asked those people, right? .”
Zhou Xuan nodded, but said helplessly: "I have asked everyone who has been in contact with the prince brother, but the strange thing is that except for brother Su, no one has seen this pattern."
Su Shi usually didn't think too much about things that didn't have answers, so he smiled and said, "In that case, why do you need to trouble yourself anymore? Besides, it's been so long, and it's hard to trace it anymore." , why not just let it go.”
Zhou Xuan's face showed a rare hint of begging, and he said: "We also know that our abilities are limited and not enough to solve these mysteries, so we thought of asking you for help."
Hearing this, Su Shi couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "I'm afraid you guys overestimate me too much. No one can decipher this secret message. The things Hui Niang left behind were also taken away, and it was a long time ago. Even if Even if the gods come, I’m afraid they won’t be able to solve these mysteries.”
Zhou Xuan suddenly looked directly at him and said slowly: "But I know you must have a way."
Su Shi was secretly surprised, but there was no change on his face. He just said lightly: "What can I do if even gods can't do it?"
At this time Zhou Xuan suddenly laughed.
When she smiled, the spring scenery in the courtyard lost its color.
"Isn't the art of making ice a divine spell? Since you can even use divine means, I don't believe you will be helpless in this matter."
