Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 14: Father's Secret Letter! The Profound Father-Daughter Bond Hidden in the Code of the Book of Songs

The bamboo tube in the hole in the wall was retrieved the next morning.

Jinshu woke up before dawn, using the excuse of picking wild vegetables in the backyard—in fact, she had already picked all the wild vegetables, but this was a common excuse she used recently.

The eunuch Wang Fu sent to keep watch yawned and waved her away, probably thinking that a mere maid couldn't cause any trouble.

The foxtail grass in the corner of the backyard wall grew very lushly, swaying in the morning breeze.

Jinshu squatted down, pretending to tie her shoelaces, her fingers quickly groping around the roots of the third clump of grass.

The soil was loose; with a gentle dig, the small bamboo tube was revealed.

She quickly stuffed the bamboo tube into her sleeve, grabbed a handful of soil to cover it up, then casually picked a few amaranth leaves, picked up her basket, and went home.

The whole process took less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

Back inside, after closing the door, Jinshu finally breathed a sigh of relief and handed the bamboo tube to Shen Qingci.

"Your Majesty, I've got it."

Shen Qingci took the bamboo tube.

The bamboo tube was thin, and its surface was still covered in damp soil. She unscrewed one end and poured out what was inside—

It's not a strip of cloth.

It was an extremely thin sheet of paper, cut into long, thin strips.

The paper was of excellent quality, top-grade Xuan paper, but it was cut very narrowly, so it had to be rolled up to fit into a bamboo tube. When unfolded, it was covered with densely packed small characters, tiny regular script, written with vigorous strokes.

It's my father's handwriting.

Shen Qingci's heart suddenly started beating faster.

She walked to the window and looked carefully in the morning light.

The text is small, but clear. It's just... the arrangement is a bit odd.

It wasn't in a normal letter format; instead, it resembled poetic verses, with seven characters per line, neatly arranged. The content also looked rather strange.

"The ospreys cry 'guan guan' on the river's islet."

"A graceful and virtuous woman is the object of a gentleman's affections."

"The watercress grows unevenly, drifting left and right."

"He longed for it day and night, but could not obtain it."

Is this... the poem "Guan Ju" from the Book of Songs?

Shen Qingci was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening—

password.

The father used a word game that he and his daughter had played when they were children.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall quickly.

When the original owner was six years old, her father began to teach her to read.

While other children started with the Three Character Classic, her father taught her the Book of Poetry first.

He said, "The Book of Songs contains three hundred poems, which can be summed up in one sentence: 'Thoughts without evil.'"

Remember, no matter what you encounter in the future, always keep a sense of innocence in your heart.

She didn't understand then.

Her father would play a game with her: he would write a line of poetry and she would spell out its true meaning based on the word order.

For example, in the line "Guan Guan Jujiu Zai He Zhi Zhou", the first character is "Guan" (关).

The second line, "窈窕淑女君子好逑", takes the third character, which is "女" (woman).

The third line, "The watercress grows unevenly, flowing to the left and right," takes the fifth character, which is "left"...

When put together, it reads "Guan Nü Zuo"—this is the password to the secret compartment in the father's study.

Later, after playing the game a lot, she could even create her own passwords.

And now, the father is using the same method.

Shen Qingci looked at the note again.

She remembered the entire poem "Guan Ju"—it was the first poem her father made her memorize.

"The ospreys cry 'guan guan' on the river's islet. A fair maiden is the object of a gentleman's affections."

The watercress grows unevenly, drifting left and right. A graceful and virtuous lady, I long for her day and night.

I long for it but cannot have it; I yearn for it day and night. I toss and turn, unable to sleep.

The watercress grows unevenly, I gather it from left and right. A graceful and virtuous lady, I befriend her with zither and lute.

The watercress grows unevenly, gathered from left to right. A graceful and virtuous lady is celebrated with bells and drums.

There are twenty sentences in total.

The father wrote four lines.

That means... taking one character from each sentence?

Shen Qingci tried to take the first character of each sentence: Guan, Yao, Can, Qiu.

Taken together: "Guan Yao Can Qiu"?

Nowhere.

That must be the second character: 关, 窕, 差, 之?

Not right either.

She frowned and reconsidered.

The father wouldn't use overly complicated rules because he had to consider her current difficult situation and that she might not have much time to decode them.

So... take each sentence in a fixed position?

She counted the four lines of poetry on the number strip: the first line had seven characters, the second line had eight characters, the third line had seven characters, and the fourth line had eight characters.

and many more.

The original poem "Guan Ju" has four characters per line, but the father wrote it in seven or eight characters, which is obviously an adaptation.

adaptation……

Shen Qingci suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

She looked at the first line: "Guan guan cry the ospreys on the river's islet"—the original text is "Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the river's islet," eight characters. Her father had written seven characters; which one was missing?

Is the character "关" missing?

No, the first character is "关".

That means... the character "之" is missing?

The original text read "on the islet in the river," but my father wrote "on the islet in the river," without omitting any words.

She looked at it more carefully.

Found.

The original first line is "Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river," eight characters. My father wrote it as seven characters: "Guan guan cry the ospreys, on the islet in the river"—he removed the comma, but it's still eight characters!

and many more.

Shen Qingci suddenly understood.

The father wasn't choosing characters based on the number of characters, but rather on... the shape of the characters?

She looked at the four lines of poetry and counted them one by one.

The first line has seven characters: "Guan Guan cry the ospreys on the islet in the river."

The second line contains eight characters: "A fair maiden is sought after by a gentleman."

The third line contains seven characters: "The watercress grows unevenly, flowing to the left and right."

The fourth line contains eight characters: "Seeking it but not finding it, I long for it day and night."

The number of characters in each sentence is different.

But they have one thing in common: in each sentence, there is one word that is written a little thicker than the words next to it.

You can't notice it unless you look closely.

Shen Qingci stared intently at the screen.

In the first sentence, the last stroke of the character "鸠" (jiū) is slightly darker.

In the second sentence, the horizontal stroke of the character "子" pauses slightly at the end.

In the third sentence, the left-hand stroke of the character "左" (left) has a small ink dot at the beginning.

In the fourth sentence, the right dot of the radical "宀" in the character "寐" is thicker than the left dot.

鸠、子、左、寐.

"The dove sleeps on its left"?

It still doesn't work.

But Shen Qingci had already figured out the pattern.

She picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote the four words on the rag next to her.

Then, try another method that her father taught her when she was a child: homophones.

The character "鸠" (jiū) is a homophone for "九" (jiǔ).

"Zi" is the first of the twelve Earthly Branches, and can also mean "one".

"Left"...the left side?

Is the character "寐" a homophone for "妹"?

Ninety-one left sister?

wrong.

She continued to think.

Suddenly, an image flashed through my mind—

When she was little, there was a book called "Shuowen Jiezi" in her father's study. She mischievously opened it and looked at it. Her father pointed to the character "鸠" and said, "Qingqing, look, this character is composed of '鸟' (bird) and '九' (nine). Nine is the extreme of yang numbers. Doves are flocks, so the ancients used '鸠' to mean gathering."

Nine sounds.

The pronunciation of "鸠" contains the character "九".

What about "子"?

Zi Shi (11 PM - 1 AM) is midnight, and also the beginning of a new day.

"Left"...Left is east, and the east belongs to wood, which represents vitality.

"寐"... to sleep? To sleep peacefully?

9. Beginning, Birth, Peace?

Shen Qingci's eyes lit up.

She rearranged:

Nine—long?

Beginning—beginning?

Live - live?

An—An?

Good luck for a long time?

wrong.

She changed her approach.

Where would these four characters fit in the Book of Songs?

"鸠" is the third character in the poem "Guanju".

"子" is the eleventh character.

"Left" is the nineteenth character.

"寐" is the twenty-seventh character.

3, 11, 19, 27.

These numbers...

Shen Qingci suddenly remembered a kind of numerical code that her father had taught her: using numbers to correspond to the chapters and sentences in the Book of Songs.

For example, "three" might represent the third article, and "eleven" might represent the eleventh sentence.

She quickly recalled.

The third poem in the Book of Songs is "Juan Er," and the eleventh line is... she couldn't remember.

But maybe that's not what it means.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

My father wouldn't set a password that was too difficult.

It must be very simple, something only the father and daughter could understand.

As she stared at those four words, a scene suddenly flashed through her mind—

She was ten years old that year and fell seriously ill with a persistent high fever. Her father stayed by her bedside for three days and three nights, holding her hand and reciting the poem "Guan Ju" over and over again.

He said, "Qingqing, you must take good care of yourself. You are my only daughter. If you are gone, my life... will have no meaning."

She was delirious with fever at the time, and all she could remember was her father's voice and his bloodshot but still gentle eyes.

And his pauses when reciting poetry:

"The ospreys cry 'guan guan'... on the river's islet. A fair maiden... is the object of a gentleman's affections."

Pause after every four words.

and many more.

Four words, one pause?

Shen Qingci suddenly looked at the note.

Although the number of characters in these four lines written by my father is different, they are all variations of the four-character line?

The four characters are "Guan Guan Jujiu".

The four characters "在河之洲" (on the islet in the river).

The four characters "窈窕淑女" (yǎotiāo shūn nǚ).

The phrase "君子好逑" (Junzi Haoqiu) means "a gentleman's good match".

He simply wrote the two sentences together!

Therefore, the correct punctuation should be:

The ospreys cry, "Guan Guan!" on the river's islet.

A beautiful and graceful woman is the object of a gentleman's affections.

The watercress grows unevenly, flowing left and right.

I cannot obtain what I desire. I yearn for it day and night.

Four lines, eight four-character phrases.

And in each phrase, there's that slightly thicker character...

The first phrase: "Guan Guan Jujiu" - the character "jiu" is thick.

The second phrase: "On the islet in the river"—is the character "之" thick? (No, no character in this sentence is noticeably thick.)

She looked again: "The last stroke of the character '洲' seems a little heavy?"

The third phrase: "窈窕淑女" – is the character "淑" (shū) thick?

The fourth phrase: "君子好逑" – the character "子" is thick.

The fifth phrase: "uneven watercress"—is the character "荇" (watercress) thick?

The sixth phrase: "flowing left and right" - the character "left" is thick.

The seventh phrase: "unable to obtain what one desires"—is the character "不" (not) thickened?

The eighth phrase: "寤寐思服" - the character "寐" is thick.

鸠、洲、淑、子、荇、左、不、寐.

These eight words...

Shen Qingci stared at them, her mind racing through combinations.

Suddenly, she understood.

It's not about taking the words themselves.

It's about taking the positions of these characters in the original text of "Guanju"!

She looked at the original text again:

1. Pass 2. Pass 3. Osprey 4. Dove 5. In 6. River 7. Of 8. Isle

9 graceful 10 slender 11 virtuous 12 woman 13 gentleman 14 son 15 good 16 suitor

17 参 18 差 19 荇 20 菜 21 左 22 右 23 流 24 之

25 Seeking 26 of 27 Not 28 Obtaining 29 Waking 30 Sleeping 31 Thinking 32 Wearing

"鸠" is the fourth character.

"洲" is the 8th character.

"淑" is the 11th character.

"子" is the 14th character.

"荇" is the 19th character.

"Left" is the 21st character.

"不" is the 27th character.

"寐" is the 30th character.

数字：4、8、11、14、19、21、27、30。

These numbers...

Shen Qingci suddenly thought of something, and her heart started racing.

She picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote down the most common words from the Book of Songs on the cloth:

之、乎、者、也、矣、焉、哉……

Then try to match these numbers.

4—of?

8—huh?

11—those who?

14—Also?

19—is that it?

21——焉？

27——How?

30——?

No, 30 exceeds the range of commonly used function words.

Does that mean... it corresponds to a word in the original text of "Guan Ju"?

She looked at the original text again and selected words according to their positions:

4th character: 鸠

8th character: Continent

11th character: 淑

14th character: 子

19th character: 荇

21st character: Left

27th character: No

30th character: 寐

Is Jiuzhou Shuzi unable to sleep?

It still doesn't work.

Shen Qingci was getting a little annoyed.

She put down the charcoal pencil and rubbed her temples.

Time is running out. Jinshu could come in at any moment, and Wang Fu might come to inspect the area.

It must be untied as soon as possible.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down.

She recalled the scene when her father taught her the password.

"Qingqing, the most important thing about a password isn't its complexity, but its unspoken understanding." Her father's voice echoed in her memory. "Only you know what I'm thinking, and only I know what you're thinking. Only a password created this way can't be cracked by others."

tacit agreement……

What unique understanding exists between her and her father?

Suddenly, she remembered something.

When she was little, she always liked to write the character "鸠" (jiū, dove) as "九鸟" (jiǔ niǎo, nine birds) because her teacher said that "鸠" is composed of "九" and "鸟". Her father would laugh when he saw this and say, "And what about the character '洲' (zhōu, continent)? Do you write it as '三水' (sān shuǐ, three waters)?"

Sanshui...

The character 洲 is composed of the water radical (氵) and the character 州.

The water radical (氵)...

water?

Shen Qingci suddenly opened her eyes.

She looked at the eight characters again: Jiu, Zhou, Shu, Zi, Xing, Zuo, Bu, Mei.

Then, she tried to find an association for each word:

The character 鸠 (jiū) sounds like the character 九 (jiǔ).

Continent — water (radical)

Shu—Shu Nu, woman?

子—son, son?

Water chestnut—water chestnut, a vegetable?

Left—left side, left?

No—negation, no?

寐—sleep, sleep?

9. Water, woman, child, vegetable, left, not, sleep?

It still doesn't work.

But the word "woman" together...

woman.

Shen Qingci's heart stirred.

She continued to work with the group.

Is the woman from Jiushui, who eats vegetables on the left, sleepless?

wrong.

and many more.

What if we put "Shuzi" together?

"Shuzi" is not a commonly used word, but "Shunu" is.

A lady from Jiuzhou?

Is Jiuzhou a place name?

No, it shouldn't be.

She continued dismantling.

Jiu (nine) Zhou (water) Shu (woman) Zi (child) Xing (vegetable) Zuo (left) Bu (no) Mei (sleep).

Is the woman from Jiushui, who is sleepless, a vegetable vendor?

Shen Qingci stared at these eight characters, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her—

She got it!

It's neither a wordplay nor a homophone.

It's an acrostic!

For each character, take its radical or representative part!

Dove (鸠) – Bird radical (鸟部).

Zhou—Water Department.

Shu—the female radical.

Zi - Zibu.

荇—grass radical (艹).

Left—Ministry of Works? (The character left is "工" with "口" added below it.)

No - one.

寐——宀部.

Bird, water, woman, child, grass, work, one, roof.

These radicals...

Shen Qingci quickly wrote down the common characters corresponding to these radicals on the cloth:

Bird – possibly representing "I" (in ancient times, "bird" was sometimes used as a self-reference).

Water – Water may represent “purity” (Shen Qingci’s name contains the character “qing”, which is derived from the water radical).

"女" (nǚ) can mean "you" (a term of address for women).

子—子 may represent "child".

The character 艹 (cǎo) could represent "being" (the grass is growing).

工—工 may mean "to do".

One—one, may represent "one".

The radical 宀 (roof) may represent "peace" (the roof radical often signifies stability).

Put together: "I understand your child is doing something right?"

Nowhere.

But the character "清"...

Shen Qingci suddenly realized that the character "清" is simply "水" plus "青".

The water element represents "purity"!

What about the "bird" part?

Her father's name is "Anbang". The character "An" has the radical 宀 and the character "Bang" has the radical 阝. Neither of them has the radical 鸟.

What might that "bird" represent?

Suddenly, she remembered a painting hanging in her father's study, depicting a "dove-headed staff"—an ancient walking stick given to the elderly, with a dove carved on the head, symbolizing longevity and good health.

Dove-like staff... Father...

Does "bird" represent "father"?

Shen Qingci's heart pounded like a drum.

She rearranged:

Bird (father) water (clear) daughter (you) child (child) grass (in) work (doing) one (one) roof (peace).

Father, are you doing something wrong?

Adjust the word order: "Father, Qing, your child, is doing, Yi An."

Further adjustments: "Father, peace, Qing, your child is here, do one."

wrong.

She changed her approach.

What if we combine "Water Woman"?

"Water" and "woman" - "You"!

In ancient times, "汝" meant "you".

Is that "bird-water woman" the same as "father's child"?

"Father, your child is doing one thing" - "Father, your child is doing one thing"?

Father, your child is doing it, in peace.

"Yi An"... means "peace"!

Father, your child is doing it, peace.

It means: Father, your child (referring to Shen Qingci) is making (preparations), is he alright?

Shen Qingci's eyes lit up.

She continued to decipher the next four characters: 荇, 左, 不, 寐.

荇 (艹) – Grass radical, possibly still means "at".

Left (工) – Ministry of Works, possibly still means "to do".

不（一）——一部, possibly meaning "one".

The character 寐 (宀) – with the radical 宀 – may represent "peace".

Is it "doing one more thing" again?

It's repeated.

wrong.

She changed her perspective.

Water chestnut is an aquatic plant, often used as a metaphor for being adrift and without support.

Left, left side. In ancient times, the right was considered superior and the left inferior.

No, I disagree.

寐, to sleep.

Put together: wandering, lowly, sleepless?

It means: Although in a humble and wandering situation, one dares not sleep peacefully (always on guard)?

Shen Qingci felt that she was getting close to the truth.

As she looked at those eight characters, a sentence her father had once said suddenly flashed through her mind:

"Qingqing, if you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, just write a letter to your father. It doesn't need to be too clear; just use the 'Guanju' coded language we used to play with when we were kids. Your father will understand it at a glance."

The secret of "Guan Ju"...

She looked at the four lines of poetry again.

The ospreys cry on the river islet.

A beautiful and graceful woman is the object of a gentleman's affections.

The uneven water plants flow to the left and right.

I long for it day and night, but cannot obtain it.

These four lines of poetry themselves convey a message!

The first line: "The ospreys are on the river islet"—birds are peacefully resting by the water.

The second line: "A virtuous woman is sought after by a gentleman" – meaning that good people will eventually become a couple (implying the wish that she will be well).

The third line: "Water plants drift to the left and right"—meaning to drift with the current and be content with whatever comes.

The fourth line: "I long for her but cannot see her, and I yearn for her day and night."

This is what her father was telling her:

I'm doing well, and I hope you are too. Let things take their course and wait for the right opportunity. I miss you so much.

Shen Qingci's eyes suddenly reddened.

She held the thin note, her fingers trembling slightly.

So it turns out... no complicated decoding is needed.

These four lines of poetry are the very words the father wanted to say.

The slightly thicker handwriting might have been a slip of the pen when the father was emotionally agitated, or... it might have been a deliberate attempt to mislead, preventing the secret letter from being easily deciphered if it fell into the wrong hands.

The real intelligence is hidden in the poems.

Shen Qingci wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and took a deep breath.

She picked up a charcoal pencil and began writing on another piece of cloth.

Replies should not be too long and should be coded.

Using the same method, she chose another poem from the Book of Songs—"Peach Blossom".

Recipe, Shining.

The son is home, it is suitable for his family.

Tao Zhiyao, there is actually a lot of money.

The son is home to his family.

Tao Zhiyao, its Ye Zhenzhen.

The son is home, suitable for his family.

She adapted it as:

"Peach blossoms in full bloom, a perfect home for the family."

"There is actually a home here."

"The leaves are lush and green, a perfect match for family."

"The son awaits the arrival of spring upon his return home."

Four lines.

In each sentence, there is one word that is written slightly heavier:

The word "poison" is emphasized in the first line—she added the word "poison" in the original poem, even though it wasn't there, to convey the message.

The word "西" is repeated in the second sentence.

The word "pregnant" is repeated in the third sentence.

The character "安" is repeated in the fourth sentence.

Put together: Poisonous West Pregnancy Safety.

Combining this with the meaning of the poem itself (peach blossoms in full bloom, a woman getting married, waiting for spring), she wanted to tell her father:

The poisonous creature, named Zhu Yanmo, originates from Xiling. My daughter is pregnant and currently well. We await the right opportunity; we will surely reunite.

After she finished writing, she rolled up the strip of cloth and stuffed it into the bamboo tube.

"The Brocade Letter".

"This servant is here."

"Put it back where it was tonight."

"Yes."

Jinshu took the bamboo tube and carefully put it away.

Shen Qingci sat on the edge of the bed, still holding her father's note in her hand.

The morning light shone through the broken window, illuminating her slightly reddened eyes.

This was the first time since she transmigrated that she had felt genuine warmth.

It comes from blood ties, from the father, from that distant yet steadfast guardian.

"Father," she whispered, her voice a little hoarse, "wait for me."

Wait until I crawl out of this hell.

I'll clear your name once I've proven you innocent.

Waiting for our family to... be reunited.

Outside the window, the autumn wind rises again.

But this time, Shen Qingci felt that the wind seemed to carry a hint of warmth.

Meanwhile, at this moment, in a farm on the outskirts of Beijing.

Shen Anbang stood by the window, looking in the direction of the palace.

He clutched the secret guard token tightly in his hand.

"Qingqing," he murmured to himself, "Dad will definitely... bring you home."

for sure.