“Prince Cheng knew of Consort Li’s unwillingness. He enticed Consort Li, and Consort Li fell for it.”

For a moment, Jiang Li couldn’t conceal the shock on her face.

She knew Consort Li was from the Ji family and favored by Emperor Hongxiao, but she never imagined Consort Li had already colluded with Prince Cheng. Perhaps it wasn’t an emotional entanglement, merely Consort Li seeking an escape route for her future. This was imperial palace intrigue. At least from her current position, Jiang Li had no way to discover these connections. If Ji Heng hadn’t revealed it, Jiang Li would never have thought of this.

“But… just because the Ji family wanted to send people into the palace, Consort Li colluded with Prince Cheng?” Jiang Li asked. “This doesn’t make sense. After all, Consort Li is His Majesty’s favored consort. To Prince Cheng, she isn’t particularly important. Rather than attaching herself to Prince Cheng, she’d be better off pleasing His Majesty. Even if those Ji family girls entered the palace, with Consort Li’s methods, if she truly wanted to control them, whether suppressing or sabotaging them, she would always find ways to resolve it. Why take such a risk?”

“That’s your thinking.” Ji Heng looked at her meaningfully.

Jiang Li paused and said: “Perhaps.”

“A consort without heirs has only one fate in the palace—being replaced sooner or later.” Ji Heng said lightly. “Consort Li is clever and saw this point earlier. Moreover, in Consort Li’s eyes, the Emperor’s position may not be secure.”

Jiang Li was shocked: “But the Ji family hasn’t taken Prince Cheng’s side at all!”

“The Ji family is timid,” Ji Heng smiled. “Even if they were to take sides, at most they would stand with your Jiang family. Though Consort Li is a consort, to the Ji family, she’s still just a married-out daughter who can’t affect the big picture. Ji Yanlin’s approach to officialdom is timid and opportunistic—to openly defect to Prince Cheng, he doesn’t have that kind of courage.” The corner of Ji Heng’s lips curved up. He took a sip of tea before continuing unhurriedly: “But his daughter is different. She’s much bolder than him.”

“Consort Li separated from the Ji family to turn to Prince Cheng,” Jiang Li said. “If Prince Cheng wins, the Ji family can avoid disaster. If the matter is exposed, the Ji family will also be implicated.”

“The matter isn’t so easily exposed,” Ji Heng said. “Ji Yanlin hasn’t shown any abnormalities. Just one consort isn’t enough to arouse suspicion.”

Jiang Li suddenly thought of something and had an epiphany: “No wonder, no wonder when the Xue family case was submitted, Prince Cheng knew its contents so quickly. At the time, I suspected there must be Prince Cheng’s informant in the palace. I just didn’t expect… didn’t expect this person was Consort Li.”

To see the secret memorial Ye Shijie submitted, one must be someone very close to Emperor Hongxiao. Jiang Li had even considered eunuchs but never suspected Consort Li. After all, Consort Li enjoyed the Emperor’s complete favor—how could she possibly betray him? Now hearing Ji Heng reveal the truth, Jiang Li felt emotional, though she didn’t know whether to lament people’s fickle hearts or that she wasn’t as far-sighted as Consort Li in preparing escape routes in advance.

“However, if His Majesty knows about this, why not punish Consort Li?” Jiang Li asked. Any emperor who learned his woman had colluded with someone coveting his throne would be unable to tolerate it. If he had to tolerate it, besides praising such exceptional willpower, there must be a reason.

But no matter how she looked at it, Jiang Li couldn’t find a reason. Perhaps Emperor Hongxiao simply didn’t know? Or merely suspected without verification?

Ji Heng didn’t answer Jiang Li’s question. He just smiled at her without any intention of clarifying, as if wanting her to figure it out herself.

Jiang Li thought for a while, then asked hesitantly: “Does His Majesty intend to move against Prince Cheng?”

Ji Heng’s eyes narrowed slightly. Soon, he returned to normal and asked casually: “Why do you say that?”

“If His Majesty intends to deal with Prince Cheng eventually, he must find an appropriate reason. Though Prince Cheng is cunning, he acts without leaving traces. Apart from Princess Yongning being domineering, he hasn’t left any concrete evidence among the common people. Even if they wanted to deal with him, they temporarily can’t find cause. Acting rashly might even allow Prince Cheng to bite back. Keeping Consort Li—perhaps one day when Prince Cheng and His Majesty confront each other, this matter could become ‘evidence’ to make purging Prince Cheng logical and natural.”

Ji Heng smiled: “Did Jiang Yuanbai also teach you these things?”

Jiang Li froze and lowered her eyes: “Just things I’ve heard here and there.”

His smile became more playful: “What you’ve heard here and there is clearer than what those in the midst of it see.”

Jiang Li sighed. Her father had once been Minister of Works, a man of great ability. Though he concealed his sharpness, growing up constantly exposed to such matters, she could see farther than ordinary girls. Fortunately, Jiang Yuanbai was also a veteran of the court. Usually when anything came up, she could deflect with Jiang Yuanbai. If Jiang Yuanbai were just a commoner, these irregularities about her would be impossible to explain away.

Ji Heng’s words tacitly confirmed her thoughts.

This was somewhat beyond Jiang Li’s expectations. Emperor Hongxiao could actually endure even present humiliation for the sake of future matters. Looking at it this way, his past favor toward Consort Li probably contained some element of performance. With such an emperor, was Prince Cheng truly a match? Or in this scenario of the mantis stalking the cicada, was Emperor Hongxiao the oriole behind?

“Does His Majesty plan to move against Prince Cheng?” Jiang Li asked nervously. “In that case, how should the Jiang family position itself?”

“Not moving against Prince Cheng, but waiting for Prince Cheng to move.”

Jiang Li was puzzled: “Is Prince Cheng so impatient now?”

“Impatient?” Ji Heng asked back. “Why not confident and acting after careful planning?”

Jiang Li scoffed. This time, she didn’t conceal her mockery and said without hesitation: “I rather think the one who’s confident isn’t Prince Cheng, but His Majesty.”

That Emperor Hongxiao who always appeared weak, who under Prince Cheng’s contrast seemed liable to lose his position at any moment—now it seemed he might not be truly weak. He was just waiting in secret, waiting for an opportunity to capture Prince Cheng in one move and show everyone whose realm Northern Yan truly was.

“Prince Cheng has me behind him.” Ji Heng reminded.

“His Majesty also has you behind him.” Jiang Li replied.

“Then who do you think I’ll stand with?” Ji Heng asked with great interest.

Jiang Li fell silent, then shook her head: “I don’t know. I only know I’ll stand with the Duke.”

“You’re lying.” The young man spoke calmly.

“I’m not.” Jiang Li’s gaze was very firm.

The girl’s tone wasn’t heavy, even gentle, but this gentle persistence always evoked a sense of solitary courage and tragic determination that inevitably softened one’s heart.

Ji Heng’s gaze flickered: “What if I have designs on that position?”

“I’ll stand with the Duke.” Jiang Li said.

Ji Heng fell silent. The smile at the corner of his mouth faded, his gaze gradually becoming sharp, almost aggressive. Jiang Li didn’t yield at all, stubbornly persisting.

After a long while, Ji Heng looked away and said with a laughing curse: “Flattery!”

Jiang Li’s heart eased slightly.

Though Ji Heng wanted a balanced court, she still didn’t know why. But Jiang Li could vaguely sense that Ji Heng had little interest in the emperor’s position. Though he appeared to love gorgeous, complex things, his actions weren’t roundabout but rather quite blunt. If he wanted the emperor’s position, he could use simpler methods rather than this convoluted approach where no one knew what he was actually doing.

But why he did what he did now remained a mystery. Jiang Li couldn’t help but think of his birth mother Yu Hongye and General Jin Wu—their lives were also very mysterious. Perhaps what he wanted to accomplish was related to his parents, but these matters were too private for Jiang Li to probe.

Perhaps not being able to probe was for the best.

When Ji Heng spoke of the Emperor eventually moving against Prince Cheng, he showed no particular emotion. This suggested he probably wouldn’t interfere in this matter—perhaps this was even one of the scenarios he anticipated. If previously Ji Heng wanted to maintain a stable state among three power factions, now it indicated he was prepared for the court’s balance to be broken.

What could the reason be?

“Is what you wanted to ask me today just about Consort Li?” Ji Heng’s words pulled Jiang Li’s thoughts back.

She hurriedly said: “There’s one more thing I really don’t understand. When the truth about Ji Shuran’s death came out, the entire Jiang family forbade spreading it outside. But the matter still leaked. Everyone suspects I did it, but it wasn’t me. My father also sent people to investigate without finding any clues. I want to ask the Duke—could you have Zhao Ke help investigate how the information was leaked?”

“I see you’ve become quite skilled at blowing that whistle,” Ji Heng seemed to deliberately tease her. “If you want to give Zhao Ke orders, just say so directly. Why ask me?”

Jiang Li felt somewhat embarrassed. She had indeed blown the whistle quite frequently recently and used Zhao Ke quite handily. She said: “After all, Zhao Ke belongs to the Duke’s Manor. His master is the Duke. To ask him to do things naturally requires the Duke’s permission.”

Ji Heng smiled faintly: “Fine.” After a pause, he added: “Isn’t it good?”

Jiang Li was confused: “What isn’t good?”

“Ji Shuran’s past being exposed—for you, this is good.” Ji Heng said leisurely. “You no longer have to bear that stigma.”

“It appears that way, but I don’t think whoever did this did it to vindicate me. Now everyone suspects I did it, and the Jiang family’s reputation is damaged. If this was directed at my father, it could be quite troublesome. This means someone inside the Jiang Manor is colluding with outsiders to damage the Jiang family’s reputation. As the Duke knows, inside traitors are hard to guard against.”

“You suspect it’s directed at Jiang Yuanbai?”

“To be precise, I suspect it’s connected to Prince Cheng.” Jiang Li sighed. “After all, the Jiang family has long been at odds with Right Chancellor Li’s family, and now Prince Cheng has targeted me because of the Xue family case.”

Ji Heng looked at the girl before him. She seemed quite troubled, her brows furrowed, yet the corners of her lips remained relaxed. Probably she considered even present difficulties temporary—she could resolve them. She had this confidence.

“Investigate freely,” Ji Heng raised an eyebrow. “While you’re with me, no one can take your life.”

Jiang Li was dazed for a moment, then smiled slightly: “Thank you.”

…

When leaving the Duke’s Manor, Wenren Yao used the Duke’s generosity to give Jiang Li an entire box of pastries, all made by Ji Heng himself.

Jiang Li didn’t look at Ji Heng’s expression, though she imagined it wasn’t very pleasant. If news spread that the dignified Duke could cook and did it quite well, it would be as sensational as news of Consort Li colluding with Prince Cheng. So Jiang Li decided to let today’s matters rot in her stomach and tell no one. After all, she couldn’t perform spirit divination like Wenren Yao to determine her own death date.

However, this winter solstice day wasn’t as cold and lonely as she’d previously thought. First she visited Zhao, then the Ye Manor, and even had a lively time at the Duke’s Manor. When she returned to the Jiang family, for a moment Jiang Li felt somewhat unaccustomed to such a cold atmosphere.

This winter had seen successive incidents, several deaths. Recently, the two Jiang brothers had been busy dealing with malicious colleagues at court, exhausted and overwhelmed. How could they have the heart to celebrate the winter solstice? The manor was no different from usual, so Jiang Li didn’t cause any fuss and went directly back to Fangfei Courtyard after returning.

After returning, Tong’er carefully put away the box of pastries from the Duke’s Manor. Watching her, Jiang Li thought that if these weren’t edibles but jewelry, Tong’er would probably lock them in a treasure vault.

Even Bai Xue joined Tong’er in the excitement, saying: “These pastries are extremely precious. We absolutely cannot pair them with ordinary tea—we must use the finest tea.”

“What tea did the Duke’s Manor have?” Tong’er deliberately lowered her voice—they couldn’t let others know their young miss was close to the Duke’s Manor.

Jiang Li said matter-of-factly: “That was tribute tea bestowed by His Majesty.”

She thought this statement would dampen the two maids’ frenzy, but unexpectedly Bai Xue asked seriously: “Then should we try to ask Master for some? Master should have been allocated some as well.”

This left Jiang Li not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Just as things were chaotic, Mingyue came in from outside, smiling: “Bai Xue, here’s a letter for you.”

Hearing this, Bai Xue was overjoyed. Bai Xue’s family letters didn’t come frequently—sometimes she had to wait two or three months for one. No one in her family was literate. To write letters, they had to go to an estate dozens of miles away to find a scribe. The family was poor—each letter cost a string of copper coins, so they cherished them greatly.

These days, Bai Xue had learned to read more characters with Jiang Li. Taking the letter, she happily retreated to a corner to read. Tong’er watched Bai Xue’s back and said: “She’s happy now. A few days ago she told me that with the year’s end approaching and no family letter yet, she feared her family had forgotten this daughter. Now she can finally relax—her family does remember her.”

Jiang Li smiled. When those around her felt happy, she naturally rejoiced for them.

After a while, Bai Xue returned after reading the letter. Seeing her beaming smile, everything at home must be well. Tong’er teased: “Why so happy? Like you found silver.”

“My sister-in-law gave me a new nephew.” Bai Xue smiled. “This is joyous news.”

“It is joyous indeed.” Hearing this, Jiang Li was also happy and said: “Later I’ll get some silver. You can have someone take it back to your family as a congratulatory gift.”

Bai Xue hurriedly waved her hands: “That won’t do. Miss already takes such good care of this servant. Besides, the family has enough to eat and drink now.”

“This is my intention. If you refuse, it would be improper.” Jiang Li insisted.

“What Miss bestows, just accept it.” Tong’er also urged. “Just remember Miss’s kindness in the future and be loyal to Miss.”

Bai Xue thought about it and probably felt that further refusal would seem ungrateful. She smiled sheepishly: “This servant thanks Miss on behalf of my brother and sister-in-law for your kindness.” Suddenly remembering something, she said: “Oh right, last time Miss asked if there was a girl called Haitang in this servant’s hometown. My family has been inquiring. This letter also mentions it—there’s news.”

Jiang Li froze and suddenly stood up: “What did you say?”

Tong’er and Bai Xue were startled by her reaction, not expecting Jiang Li to respond so strongly. Bai Xue quickly realized that news of this girl called Haitang must be very important to Jiang Li. Since the letter only contained family matters with nothing unsuitable for others to see, she handed it to Jiang Li: “It’s all written in the letter. Miss, please look.”

Jiang Li eagerly unfolded the letter to read. Tong’er, standing beside her, noticed with sharp eyes that Jiang Li’s hands were actually trembling slightly. Tong’er wondered—the letter was light as a feather, why couldn’t Jiang Li hold it steady?

But Jiang Li couldn’t conceal the excitement in her heart. When she was still Xue Fangfei, she had been calculated against by Princess Yongning, placed under house arrest in the manor, bearing infamy while vaguely sensing the matter might be a conspiracy. Then her two personal maids were found an excuse by Madam Shen and beaten to death. Jiang Li didn’t even have time to intervene—by the time she arrived, only corpses remained. The remaining two she secretly “expelled” from the manor using theft as a pretext.

When Madam Shen learned of this, she came back to question her. Jiang Li refused to speak, only saying the maids had stolen her money and run away. Madam Shen had no choice but to report to the authorities, but the constables searched the area and found no trace of the two maids, so the matter was dropped.

At the time, Xue Fangfei hadn’t thought much of it, only feeling that given the Shen family’s nature, regardless of whether there was a conspiracy, since they had decided she had committed “disgraceful acts,” they would inevitably vent on her personal maids. These maids had grown up with her since childhood, close as sisters. The dead couldn’t return to life, but the living might gain a chance at survival. As long as Dujuan and Haitang escaped, she wouldn’t have implicated them, and perhaps in the future there would be opportunities to investigate the past.

Who knew this parting would be forever.

From the first moment she saw Bai Xue, though Bai Xue’s appearance wasn’t attractive, she had great strength and could recognize a few simple characters. Most importantly, she came from Zaohua Village—Haitang’s hometown. Jiang Li harbored a slim hope that if she could learn news of Haitang through Bai Xue, it would be good for her.

But Jiang Li knew this possibility was truly minuscule. Though the Shen family didn’t know where Haitang’s hometown was, Princess Yongning might use her means to discover it. If Princess Yongning also knew, she need only send people to pursue them. Haitang and Dujuan were just two weak women—though the world was vast, they would be hard-pressed to hide.

What had been an extremely slim hope now suddenly brought news, telling her this hope might become reality. The joy in Jiang Li’s heart was like when she learned Xue Huaiyuan was still alive—she could no longer conceal her expression.

She read the letter quickly, scanning ten lines at once. But as she read, her expression darkened.

Good news always came with bad. Bai Xue’s family wrote in the letter that regarding what Bai Xue had asked them to inquire about—in Zaohua Village on the west side near the rice shop, there was indeed a family whose daughter was called Haitang. But that family’s parents had long since died. Now only two young men remained. It was heard their elder sister, the girl called Haitang, had become a maid for an official family’s young lady years ago.

A few months ago, a girl came to Zaohua Village. No one knew her name or her relationship to the two young men. She just lived at their home. Bai Xue’s family once passed by and heard the two young men call that girl “elder sister,” so they guessed whether it was the Haitang that Bai Xue had asked them to inquire about.

However, following Jiang Li’s description that Bai Xue conveyed to her family—that Miss Haitang was tall and thin, fair and clean with quite good looks—this newly arrived girl was not. Though she was tall and thin, her appearance was extremely ugly, especially with two long knife scars on her cheeks where flesh had turned out, very frightening. At the letter’s end, Bai Xue’s father found it strange, saying that if even a girl with such facial scars could be an official family lady’s maid, then it was no wonder Bai Xue could be a great official’s daughter’s personal maid.

Jiang Li could barely hold the letter. She steadied herself and read it twice more, especially the parts about Haitang, reading carefully several times. In her heart, she became increasingly certain—this person was most likely Haitang.

But how had Haitang become like this? Where had Dujuan gone? Bai Xue’s father mentioned a strange girl coming to Zaohua Village—just one person, not two. When she had sent them away, she told Haitang and Dujuan to escape together. Dujuan had no one to depend on and couldn’t go elsewhere—she would certainly stay with Haitang. But now only Haitang remained alone. Could Dujuan have… Jiang Li didn’t dare continue that thought. Especially learning of Haitang’s ruined appearance made her unable to stop imagining. Had these two girls met with foul play? Or encountered something terrible during their escape? The more she thought, the more distressed she became. Jiang Li’s complexion looked terrible.

Tong’er and Bai Xue had rarely seen Jiang Li in such a state. They looked at each other simultaneously, both bewildered. Especially Tong’er—she had practically grown up with Jiang Li and knew everything about her. But she had never known of a maid called Haitang, much less what relationship Haitang had with Jiang Li to affect Miss’s emotions so deeply. Her curiosity about this Haitang she had never met grew even stronger.

Jiang Li said: “Bai Xue, go prepare. I’m going to the Ye Manor.”

“Ah?” Bai Xue froze and reminded: “Miss, you already went to the Ye Manor today. You just came back from the Ye Manor.”

Only then did Jiang Li snap back to reality. Yes, she had already gone to the Ye Manor today. Though in truth she’d spent most of the day at the Duke’s Manor, in the Jiang family’s eyes, Jiang Li had left in the morning for the Ye Manor and only returned at dusk. Going out to the Ye Manor again now would be inexplicable.

Jiang Li pressed her temples. She’d been flustered by urgency. She said: “Then first thing tomorrow morning, go to the Ye Manor.” She must quickly send someone to Zaohua Village to bring Haitang to Yanjing City. First, she didn’t know Haitang’s situation—staying in Zaohua Village might not be safe. If she could find traces of Haitang, Princess Yongning certainly could too. Second, if Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning’s affair was exposed and the truth about Xue Fangfei’s adultery case years ago came to light, to testify that Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning conspired to murder and eliminate heirs, Haitang was a crucial witness.

So no matter what, she had to bring Haitang back. Thinking it over, she had no one useful at the Jiang Manor. She could only borrow people from the Ye family. After all, Ye Mingyu had plenty of jianghu brothers. As long as Ye Mingyu’s people went to fetch Haitang, there should be no problem.

“Miss, are you alright?” Bai Xue asked cautiously.

“I’m fine.” Jiang Li forced a smile at her. “Bai Xue, this family letter—let me burn it for you.”

Bai Xue nodded: “As Miss wishes.” Though she didn’t know how important the letter’s contents were, seeing Jiang Li’s expression, the news about that Miss Haitang was clearly no simple matter. Since she didn’t understand, she’d let Jiang Li handle it.

Jiang Li walked to the brazier and threw the letter in, personally watching the flames climb high and consume the paper until nothing remained before breathing a slight sigh of relief.

She sat down at the desk again.

Probably after the earlier shock, she had now calmed down and realized the problems with her thinking.

Though Ye Mingyu was indeed a jianghu person, because of her relationship, Princess Yongning’s people were likely also watching the Ye Manor. Once Ye Mingyu made any move, Princess Yongning would definitely send people to follow, which would inevitably expose Haitang’s existence. Moreover, if Ye Mingyu personally went to Zaohua Village, no one would be left at the Ye Manor to care for Xue Huaiyuan. If Princess Yongning secretly sabotaged things, Xue Huaiyuan suffering harm was possible. If Ye Mingyu didn’t personally go to Zaohua Village, Jiang Li couldn’t trust others.

Most importantly, though Ye Mingyu’s martial arts were excellent, facing assassins Princess Yongning might send, the outcome was uncertain. If both sides were injured and Ye Mingyu had any mishap because of this, Jiang Li would deeply regret it. She genuinely loved this uncle and hoped Ye Mingyu could remain healthy and well.

Asking Ye Mingyu was improper. Who would be better?

As Jiang Li hesitated, her fingertips touched the porcelain whistle in her sleeve.

Right, she still had Zhao Ke. Though Zhao Ke was just one person, he belonged to the Duke’s Manor. Today Ji Heng had even told her to blow the whistle freely. If Ye Mingyu might be unable to handle Princess Yongning’s assassins, switching to someone from the Duke’s Manor would be completely different. Jiang Li was very certain—first, people from the Duke’s Manor wouldn’t let this matter leak. Second, even if it truly leaked and confrontations occurred on the road, Princess Yongning’s people couldn’t handle those from the Duke’s Manor.

Thinking it over, finding Zhao Ke to do this, or rather, finding Zhao Ke to have him find trustworthy people to handle it, was the best choice.

The only downside to this matter was that Ji Heng would know of Haitang’s existence. He would certainly wonder about her relationship with Haitang, why she investigated Haitang, and would eventually uncover her myriad connections to Xue Fangfei.

But doing things couldn’t be perfect in every way. Future matters could be dealt with in the future. At present, she had to find Haitang.

Jiang Li blew the whistle.