“Duke, having watched the show for so long, might you come out for a meeting?”

The clear voice echoed through the forest at night. The moon hung low, almost resting on the treetops, illuminating Jiang Li’s delicate face.

Her eyes were clear and distinct. Not only did she show no panic at being at a dead end, she appeared relaxed and transparent instead, as if everything was under control.

The black-clothed figures looked at her. The leader laughed and said, “Second Miss, why must you put on airs…”

Before he finished speaking, a light laugh came from deep in the forest, and a crimson figure gradually emerged from the darkness. Under the moonlight, the darker it was, the more magnificent his red clothing appeared. Moonlight fell on the black-gold butterflies embroidered on his robe hem—those butterflies seemed ready to spread their wings and fly. In this moment, they appeared bewitchingly beautiful to the extreme.

Ji Heng unhurriedly emerged from the night, holding a golden silk folding fan, lips curved in a smile. “Nothing can be hidden from you.”

Jiang Li looked at him, her heart relaxing slightly.

Ji Heng often liked to send people to watch her. In all of Tongxiang, there was nothing he didn’t know about. She believed Feng Yutang’s people and Ji Shuran’s people coming to surround and kill her was also within Ji Heng’s grasp. This person most loved watching shows—such a spectacular performance, Ji Heng absolutely wouldn’t miss it.

Whether it was Ji Heng himself watching her or Ji Heng’s subordinates watching her, Jiang Li believed they definitely wouldn’t let her leave their sight. After Ji Shuran’s people ambushed midway, when she originally had no way out and nowhere to hide, she suddenly thought—those people following behind her all along, moving silently, might be able to protect her life in this situation.

Even if they couldn’t protect her, staying to distract the opponents’ attention would be good.

Fortunately, there truly was someone following behind her. More fortunately, it was actually Ji Heng following personally.

With Ji Heng present, Jiang Li felt much more at ease. This was actually a very strange thought—Ji Heng couldn’t be counted as her friend. Until now, he remained a mysterious and unpredictable man. But Jiang Li had dealt with Ji Heng several times, and he had shown no intention of harming her. Jiang Li certainly didn’t think this was because Ji Heng cherished beauty—perhaps there was something about her still worth Ji Heng utilizing.

Having utilization value was always better than having none. As long as Ji Heng was present, in today’s battle, she could be completely confident that the one dying wouldn’t be her. Setting aside Ji Heng’s highly skilled guards, even just that beautiful golden silk folding fan in his hand—Jiang Li had witnessed its power.

He wasn’t someone who sat waiting for death. Rather, his entire body was full of killing moves. Anyone who looked at his beautiful appearance and felt contempt would be viciously slapped in the face by danger.

Ji Heng’s appearance immediately drew the attention of the assassins Ji Shuran had hired. Some of them pointed their sword tips at Ji Heng.

Those assassins hadn’t missed Jiang Li’s words “Duke.” And Ji Heng’s appearance was too striking, too bewitchingly beautiful. Appearing alone in the pitch-black forest, he was like a forest spirit, carrying gorgeous danger. Perhaps because of assassins’ instinct for danger, the black-clothed leader asked Ji Heng, “Who are you, sir?”

But Ji Heng didn’t acknowledge them. He looked at Jiang Li with a smile and said, “Second Miss’s acting skills are becoming increasingly spectacular.”

“If the show isn’t spectacular, how can it attract you to watch, my lord?” Jiang Li glanced at the black-clothed leader, her smile deepening. “My lord, they’re pointing swords at you.”

Someone like Ji Heng—smiling on the surface but actually quite ruthless and merciless, proud by nature—having someone point a sword at him was perhaps a kind of insult to Ji Heng.

The black-clothed leader caught Ji Heng’s gaze and inexplicably wanted to retreat a step. The fingers holding his sword unconsciously curled, as if feeling something very wrong.

Ji Heng paid no attention, just smiled at Jiang Li. “Why must Second Miss divert disaster eastward? I already told you, I won’t enter the play.”

“Could it be that after watching so many of my performances, you watched for nothing? If I die here today and you can never watch my performances again, wouldn’t you feel even a trace of regret in your heart?” She looked up and asked.

The girl’s face was clean and tender, fair and soft. Her lively, beautiful eyes seemed to contain infinite pleading. When she spoke in that soft, pitiful tone, even immortals couldn’t help but feel tender affection.

However, Ji Heng wasn’t an immortal. He was a demon even colder than immortals.

He just looked at Jiang Li with a smile and said, “Regrettable, but I won’t enter the play.”

Jiang Li’s pleading expression was instantly withdrawn. It was hard to imagine that after such a moving display of emotion, she could extract herself so quickly.

Jiang Li looked at Ji Heng, feeling slightly annoyed. In her previous life as Xue Fangfei, she had been breathtakingly beautiful—though she didn’t think this was anything remarkable. But most of the time when outside, because of that attractive appearance, things went almost entirely smoothly. When conflicts arose with others, seeing her face, they wouldn’t pursue relentlessly.

A beauty only needed to act coquettish, and everything came easily. She didn’t like using such methods, so Xue Zhao always said she was wasting such a good appearance by not gaining a reputation as a nation-toppling femme fatale.

Now she had to humble herself and put on an act of appearing pitiful and adorable, but whether the other party’s heart was too hard or Second Miss Jiang’s appearance didn’t count as devastatingly beautiful, she hadn’t moved him at all. Instead, she received such a clear-headed response.

Truly deflating.

Ji Heng still looked at her with a smile. He spoke lightly, seemingly not thinking there was anything wrong with refusing to save her like this. Under his long, narrow phoenix eyes, the bright red tear mole also carried infinite charm, slowly suffusing the night with alluring scenery.

But the black-clothed leader seemed to come to his senses at this moment. He first said to Ji Heng, “Since you have no conflict with us, sir, then matters are easy to handle.” Then looking at Jiang Li, he said, “Second Miss, your reinforcements don’t seem to plan on helping you. We won’t waste any more time then. Come!” With that, whether fearing Ji Heng’s appearance would lead to complications or not, he charged straight at Jiang Li. The sword tip flashing silver light brought killing intent in the night, startling leaves to flutter down!

Seeing no way to turn things around, and with the person beside her still calmly watching from the sidelines with detachment, Jiang Li steeled her heart and shouted without hesitation, “Duke! I know why you want to establish connections with the Right Chancellor and Prince Cheng. Now the court is divided three ways. Although His Majesty’s power wanes, he’s no ordinary fish in a pond—just naturally suspicious. For His Majesty to trust you alone, you must prop up Prince Cheng. With wolves before and tigers behind, His Majesty will urgently rely heavily on you. You can become first among court officials. This three-way division in the court was created by you alone, Duke!”

Jiang Li spoke these words quickly and urgently. The black-clothed assassins coming to kill were all stunned. What Prince Cheng, what Right Chancellor—what was all this?

The smile on Ji Heng’s lips seemed to freeze into ice in an instant.

Jiang Li’s words had barely fallen when a sword tip already appeared before her eyes. Behind her, someone else thrust a sword at her. Moving forward meant death, retreating meant the Yellow Springs—death either way!

Just then, a slender hand suddenly reached over, grasped her shoulder, and gently pushed her aside. The next moment, a peony bloomed vibrantly—Ji Heng opened his fan.

The front edge of that fan suddenly became like a sharp blade. Jiang Li only saw the fan swing forward and back. Between opening and closing, the golden silk embroidered thread on the peony petals flashed tiny, glimmering light. In mere moments, with a loud “thud,” the two black-clothed figures attacking Jiang Li from front and back both fell to the ground, their faces still showing astonishment, as if even in their last moment of life, they remained confused about their cause of death.

The surrounding black-clothed figures were temporarily stunned by this situation.

Almost no one had clearly seen how Ji Heng struck. Ji Heng’s movements were too fast. Jiang Li stared directly at Ji Heng’s fan. She witnessed that fan’s power once more—or perhaps it wasn’t that the fan was too terrifying, but that the man before her eyes was truly frightening.

“Brothers, never mind—attack together!” The black-clothed leader gritted his teeth and suddenly called for those behind him to advance together!

Jiang Li had barely escaped one calamity when she saw killing intent coming from all directions again. Without thinking, she immediately grabbed Ji Heng’s robe corner tightly. Ji Heng was dangerous, but the enemy of one’s enemy was a friend. Right now, the only one who could protect her temporarily was Ji Heng!

Ji Heng glanced at her coldly. Before he could speak, the black-clothed figures ahead had already surged forward. A cold smile curved his lips. The fan in his hand fully opened, and one hand grabbed Jiang Li’s collar, bringing her rapidly backward. His movements were extremely fast, making him hard to see clearly. One could only clearly see the black butterflies on his robe hem dancing gracefully, carrying heavy, eerie enchantment.

Under the night, his figure moved extremely quickly. The fan in his hand was like some terrible weapon. Between rising and falling, opening and closing, large swaths of fresh blood blossomed like May peach flowers. The tiny light flashing on the fan made spines run cold.

Successive screams rang out in the forest. In this moment, this place was like hell on earth.

Jiang Li instinctively pressed closer to Ji Heng but felt his robe was ice-cold, as if he weren’t a person of the mortal world, without a trace of warmth.

After some unknown time, the screams outside disappeared. Ji Heng’s movements also stopped.

Ji Heng’s mocking voice sounded overhead. “Second Miss Jiang, the scene has been cleared.”

Jiang Li slowly released her grip and raised her head to look around.

Under the moonlight, black-clothed corpses lay scattered everywhere. The ground was covered with blood flowers, like the human purgatory painted in temple murals.

Ji Heng alone had killed over ten people, and this seemed to have taken only a short quarter-hour.

Jiang Li turned to look at Ji Heng.

The moon slowly climbed back up the branches, as if finding the scene before her eyes not terrifying enough. The moonlight was exceptionally bright and clear. The pure moonlight mixed with the blood covering the ground made it impossible to distinguish whether this was nightmare or reality.

And Ji Heng stood in the midst of the blood. His long robe was bright red, making one suspect whether this red was dyed with the blood on the ground. But holding his folding fan, he seemed not to find any of this uncomfortable at all. He just looked at Jiang Li and said, “Second Miss Jiang, shouldn’t you thank me?”

Jiang Li was speechless.

The next moment, that fan suddenly pressed against Jiang Li’s throat. Ji Heng didn’t press close—he even maintained a certain distance from Jiang Li. However, his expression was exceptionally cold. From meeting Ji Heng until now, he always smiled lazily, and even knowing it was his disguise, when this venomous beast truly revealed its fangs, anyone would feel their heart turn cold.

Jiang Li also felt frightened.

“Second Miss Jiang, I told you—I don’t like entering the play. Why did you insist on dragging me into the game?” His voice was very light, like intimate whispers between lovers, yet contained inexplicable coldness that climbed up one’s spine inch by inch, making one’s back run cold.

“No choice,” Jiang Li looked directly into his eyes. Her voice was ultimately somewhat soft, as if genuinely feeling apologetic. She said, “I don’t want to die.”

Just now, she could clearly feel Ji Heng truly didn’t plan to act—he planned to just watch from the sidelines like this. But she absolutely couldn’t let this happen. If Ji Heng didn’t act, she could only die here. Father was still in prison. The truth of Xue Zhao’s death hadn’t been revealed. She couldn’t die here—at least not now. So she had to act.

So she could only speak that secret she had long ago glimpsed.

She didn’t know when it started, but one day when pondering the relationships between Ji Heng, Prince Cheng, the Emperor, and Jiang Yuanbai, she suddenly understood—there was no particular event, she just suddenly comprehended it.

The current court was divided three ways—Prince Cheng, Jiang Yuanbai’s faction, and Emperor Hongxiao’s faction. But before Prince Cheng allied with the Right Chancellor, he wasn’t as secure as now. Back then, the court could probably only be counted as two factions. Between Jiang Yuanbai and Emperor Hongxiao was teacher-student affection. If Jiang Yuanbai didn’t harbor treasonous thoughts, Emperor Hongxiao wouldn’t have too many misgivings.

But later, Prince Cheng suddenly allied with the Right Chancellor, and the balance in the court was broken. Prince Cheng’s power sowed discord between Jiang Yuanbai and Emperor Hongxiao. The teacher-student affection remained, but trust was gone. Jiang Li believed that if one day the Jiang family truly had evidence of treason, Emperor Hongxiao would unhesitatingly imprison Jiang Yuanbai.

Emperor Hongxiao couldn’t ally with Jiang Yuanbai anymore. Although Emperor Hongxiao’s power gradually waned, from last time, Jiang Li sensed that this Emperor Hongxiao whose birth mother Imperial Consort Xia died early wasn’t as easily manipulated as he appeared on the surface. Ji Heng perhaps saw Emperor Hongxiao’s ambition, which was why he decided to stand with Emperor Hongxiao’s faction.

There was a type of person in the world who, when doing something, did it to perfection. Merely becoming one among Emperor Hongxiao’s ministers was obviously not what Ji Heng wished for. The situation Ji Heng hoped to see was becoming Emperor Hongxiao’s confidant, becoming the person Emperor Hongxiao trusted most. Although she didn’t know why, Jiang Li could confirm that Ji Heng propped up Prince Cheng precisely to achieve this goal.

In other words, from the very beginning, Ji Heng arranged to support Prince Cheng, having Prince Cheng ally with the Right Chancellor to become a threat to the Jiang family. Prince Cheng sowed discord, Emperor Hongxiao and Jiang Yuanbai grew distant, and thus the entire court became the three-way division Ji Heng hoped for. The isolated Emperor Hongxiao chose to trust Ji Heng, making Ji Heng his confidant.

Thinking to this point, Jiang Li also felt somewhat chilled. Ji Heng’s scheming—if spoken of, probably no one would believe it. After all, this required long-term vision, precise planning, and the courage to fear nothing. But he had done exactly this, and moreover succeeded.

When Jiang Li glimpsed this secret, she knew she must bury this secret in her heart forever and never speak of it. She knew what Ji Heng was planning. When confronting Ji Heng, she never mentioned it at all because she knew that once Ji Heng learned his secret had been glimpsed, the first thing he would do was silence her.

Disease enters through the mouth, disaster exits through the mouth. Choose food carefully for health, choose words carefully to avoid calamity. This was Jiang Li’s principle, but human calculations couldn’t match Heaven’s calculations. She hadn’t expected that tonight, pushed to a dead end, with Ji Heng beside her but showing no intention of acting, she could only use a borrowed knife to kill.

She announced Ji Heng’s secret publicly before those assassins. Ji Heng would absolutely not allow people who knew his secret to remain alive in the world. Those assassins were destined to be silenced.

“Second Miss Jiang, you should know,” he slowly spoke, “silencing people means leaving no survivors.”

He could kill those assassins and could also kill her. First, she knew Ji Heng’s secret. Second, she actually used Ji Heng’s secret to scheme against Ji Heng. Just these two crimes alone were enough reason for her not to continue living.

The fan was ice-cold, pressed against her fragile throat. His gaze lingered on Jiang Li’s neck, seemingly carrying a trace of lingering sensuality, but looking carefully, it was all cold cruelty. The fan pressed closer inch by inch. The feeling of death was so clear. Jiang Li heard her own heartbeat, yet her voice remained very calm.

“Duke, I don’t want to die—otherwise I wouldn’t have said those words,” she said.

“Give me a reason why you don’t need to die.” Ji Heng looked at her.

“For you to make His Majesty trust you, you must have Prince Cheng and the Jiang family fight each other. Supporting Prince Cheng isn’t the goal—support is for better resolution.” Jiang Li said, “I can make it so the Jiang family and Prince Cheng have no possibility of reconciliation. I can erode Prince Cheng’s power.”

Ji Heng laughed once. “How would you do that?”

“In the Xue family case, Feng Yutang is just a front. The one behind him is Princess Yongning.” Jiang Li lowered her eyes. Ji Heng probably already knew this case was related to Princess Yongning, so she needn’t hide anything. She continued, “When I handle the Xue family case, sooner or later I’ll face Princess Yongning, and with Prince Cheng it will be a fight to the death. Regardless of how my father views me, my surname is Jiang. Prince Cheng will blame this on the Jiang family. Prince Cheng and the Jiang family becoming opponents—I’m a Jiang family member, I’ll help the Jiang family deal with Prince Cheng.”

“How will you deal with Prince Cheng?” Ji Heng said, “You’re only fifteen years old now.”

Jiang Li only said four words: “By any means necessary.”

Ji Heng was silent for a moment, then said, “Whether the Jiang family or Prince Cheng, neither will remain in the end.”

This was something Jiang Li had already guessed. Ji Heng supported Prince Cheng and sowed discord in the Jiang family precisely so Prince Cheng and the Jiang family would oppose each other and erode each other. Only then would Emperor Hongxiao’s power grow. She was determined to deal with Prince Cheng, but the Jiang family was also in precarious danger.

Speaking fairly, although she wasn’t the real Second Miss Jiang, borrowing Jiang Yuanbai’s reputation, she had accomplished many things. Apart from Ji Shuran and her daughter and Jiang Yu’e, the others in the Jiang family, though not harmonious with her, hadn’t harmed her either. If the Jiang family truly fell, when the nest is overturned, how could any eggs remain intact? She would have no chance of survival either.

She had to take revenge on Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun while preserving the Jiang family.

“Duke, I don’t know what your ultimate goal is, but if the Jiang family falls, sooner or later there will be a second Jiang family.” Jiang Li said softly, “Keep the Jiang family—what if one day the Jiang family becomes your aid, your reinforcements?”

Her earnest persuasion didn’t move Ji Heng. Ji Heng smiled slightly. “I don’t need aid, and I don’t need reinforcements.”

Jiang Li: “…”

But she actually felt this was normal, because it was truly hard to imagine Ji Heng having friends or warm scenes with family. A venomous snake living together with a flock of sheep—thinking of that scene was also hard to believe.

“You still haven’t convinced me,” Ji Heng reminded her, “of a reason not to kill you.”

“I can’t find a reason.” Jiang Li looked at him candidly. “Because with these reasons, I can’t even convince myself. But I have unfinished business and don’t want to die yet. If you absolutely won’t spare me, Duke, I hope you can give me some time. I’ll leave my life here. After I finish what I should do, I’ll personally deliver this life to you. I hope you’ll graciously accept it.”

Ji Heng looked at her and smiled. “What if I say no?”

Jiang Li fell silent once more.

After another moment, she said, “If it truly won’t work, then please strike, Duke. Actually, I’ve profited—originally today, if you hadn’t appeared, I would have died at these people’s hands, perhaps even very indecently. Now being able to die at your hands, Duke, is my honor. Moreover, so many people are buried with me—thinking about it, it’s not a loss. These past days, thank you for your care, Duke. If there’s a next life, Jiang Li will repay you by tying grass rings.” Finishing this statement, Jiang Li truly closed her eyes, calmly tilted her head slightly back, and waited for Ji Heng to strike.

The fan moved on her jade-white neck, like an instrument harvesting life. Her features were distinct, clean and delicate like a celestial child from the mountains. Her small mouth was red and moist. When pressed together, it showed some stubbornness. And her long eyelashes seemed to be covered with a layer of light dew, about to fall but not yet fallen, trembling slightly—so pitiable.

Ji Heng’s fan traveled, gradually pressing deeper. This wasn’t just a magnificent folding fan—it was more ferocious than a blade’s edge.

A venomous snake coiled around its prey, opened its fangs, venom dripping down drop by drop. The white rabbit shrank into a ball, pitiful, cautious, hoping for a thread of survival.

It slowly approached. The snake’s forked tongue was ice-cold, its gaze also ice-cold. Just one light bite, and this rabbit would never move again.

But it suddenly released its tail, turned its head away, and slithered off.

Jiang Li only felt the fan on her throat lighten. In an instant, she felt nothing at all. She raised her head and saw Ji Heng’s indifferent profile.

Ji Heng said, “You’re the first person to thank me while being killed by me.”

Jiang Li said, “Is that so? Then that’s also my honor.”

“Your mouth is truly sweet,” Ji Heng’s lips curved. “Are you always like this?”

“No, I’m only like this toward you, Duke.” Jiang Li nodded, breathing a long sigh of relief in her heart. She had ultimately won the gamble. She thought—Ji Heng was ultimately someone who accepted neither force nor persuasion, but Ji Heng also wasn’t a madman who killed everyone he saw. Although outsiders called him capricious, in truth, only when someone provoked Ji Heng would he take their life.

Once she showed herself to be completely harmless, docile, and having no impact on Ji Heng, he was too lazy to act against her.

“I know you’re not as harmless and docile as you appear,” Ji Heng suddenly spoke, as if able to predict what she was thinking. “You’ve also inadvertently disrupted many of my plans. I don’t like showing mercy. But,” he suddenly looked at Jiang Li, his eyes both transparent and deep, “you’ve pulled me into the play.”

“I want to watch this play to the end, to the most spectacular moment. You can’t die.” Ji Heng said, “So your life is temporarily left to you. After you finish your business, I’ll come collect it.”

Jiang Li asked, “What if the business I’m handling will only be finished a very, very long time from now?”

“Then I’ll wait.” Ji Heng said, “I’m patient. You know that.”

Jiang Li fell silent. Ji Heng was indeed very patient. Long ago, before Prince Cheng rose to power, Ji Heng had already begun making arrangements. Back then, no one paid attention to these matters. He just step by step propped up Prince Cheng to a position where now no one dared underestimate him. The Jiang family’s current restraint was all due to this person.

He was more patient than anyone. What he wanted to accomplish, probably nothing couldn’t be achieved.

But Jiang Li was already very satisfied. Whether this life temporarily remained alive or would one day be collected by Ji Heng, at least she needn’t die now. She had to live—live to rescue Xue Huaiyuan from prison, live to expose Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun’s true faces, live to avenge Xue Zhao.

All of this could only be accomplished while alive. If Ji Heng could keep her from dying today at the hands of those Ji Shuran arranged, could give her this life to take revenge with, she had no reason whatsoever to resent Ji Heng.

The road ahead was long—keeping her life, she would eventually find a way through.

“These people…” Jiang Li looked at the corpses on the ground.

“No need to worry about them.” Ji Heng looked at her. “Or perhaps you hope to pack them up and send them before Ji Shuran’s eyes in Yanjing?”

Jiang Li thought seriously for a moment. “No need. If sent back, she’ll know the matter failed and will inevitably think of other methods. I really can’t spare the energy. Better to let her think everything succeeded. When I return to Yanjing, she’ll naturally be greatly shocked—that’s also a pleasant matter.”

Ji Heng nodded approvingly. “That makes sense.”

“What does the Duke plan to do now?” Jiang Li asked. “I need to return. I don’t know how Uncle is now. Feng Yutang’s people were intent on killing me—I’m afraid Uncle is in danger.”

“Ye Mingyu is fine.” Ji Heng said, “Among Feng Yutang’s people, Princess Yongning’s three assassins with the best martial skills came to chase you and were schemed by you into the swamp.” He looked meaningfully at Jiang Li before saying, “The remaining people are nothing to worry about. Ye Mingyu can handle them.”

Hearing Ji Heng say this, Jiang Li felt somewhat reassured. If Ye Mingyu came to harm because of her, Jiang Li would feel extremely guilty. Ji Heng wouldn’t lie about this matter. Jiang Li still believed him.

“Let’s go.” Ji Heng said, indicating she should ride forward.

Jiang Li paused. Earlier when hastily fleeing, her foot had twisted, making it inconvenient to walk. She had wanted to endure it, but unexpectedly Ji Heng had noticed. But now wasn’t the time to be affected, so Jiang Li didn’t think much about it and supported herself to mount the horse.

Ji Heng walked unhurriedly at her side. Jiang Li held the reins sitting on horseback. The two of them shared an unprecedented harmony.

“Duke, there’s something I want to ask you.” Jiang Li said softly, “This life is borrowed to me, but what if before returning it to you, I die?”

“That’s impossible.” Ji Heng didn’t turn his head. His red robe cut a gorgeous streak of light through the night. He said, “My things—others cannot possibly take them away. Including your life.”