On the joyous day of Shen Ruyun and Zhou Yanbang’s wedding, the people Jiang Yuanbai had sent to search for Jiang Youyao returned disappointed. At Marquis Ningyuan’s mansion and in its vicinity, they hadn’t seen anyone resembling Third Miss Jiang. After this, Jiang Yuanbai appeared even more melancholic. Even the person he thought of day and night was unwilling to appear—either Jiang Youyao was no longer in Yanjing City, or she was still in Yanjing City but unable to move about freely.

Whichever it was, it didn’t seem like good news. For Jiang Yuanbai, the second possibility obviously pained him even more. Over time, his displeasure and disappointment with Jiang Youyao had almost dissipated, and his instinctive worry as a father had taken the upper hand.

On the contrary, Old Madam Jiang had unusually become more firm, saying that since they couldn’t find her, there was no need to search for her anymore.

To Jiang Li, none of this mattered much. Apart from visiting Xue Huaiyuan daily, she was waiting for Situ Jiuyue to finish making the fake pregnancy medicine so she could implement her second step of the plan.

But unexpectedly, on this day, the Jiang mansion received a peculiar invitation.

Feicui came to Fangfei Courtyard looking for Jiang Li. Upon seeing her, she said, “Second Miss, Old Madam asks that you come to Wanfeng Hall.”

Tong’er asked, “Sister Feicui, does Old Madam suddenly seeking our miss mean there’s some urgent matter?”

Feicui smiled. “As for what exactly it is, this servant isn’t too clear. It seems Old Madam received an invitation and only then had this servant go fetch Second Miss.” She looked at Jiang Li. Among the young ladies in the Jiang mansion now, only Jiang Li’s words carried weight. Feicui was also willing to curry favor.

“It’s nothing. I’ll know once I go see.” Jiang Li smiled. She couldn’t help but feel doubtful in her heart. She had just gone to pay her respects to Old Madam Jiang this morning. If it were some trivial matter, Old Madam Jiang wouldn’t have specifically sent someone to ask her to come to Wanfeng Hall. But what urgent matter could it be?

When she arrived at Wanfeng Hall, Jiang Li’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat.

Old Madam Jiang sat in her seat, but in the adjacent seat was Jiang Yuanbai. Jiang Yuanbai had been claiming illness and not attending court for some time, simply to avoid his colleagues’ criticism of the Jiang family during this period and find some peace. Usually, aside from sending people to inquire about Jiang Youyao’s whereabouts, he would write calligraphy in his study, read books—utterly leisurely. Yet at this moment, he had also come to Wanfeng Hall and was looking at the invitation in his hand.

Jiang Li frowned slightly. The distance was too great—she couldn’t clearly see where the invitation came from. She only knew it must not be a trivial matter.

She said softly, “Father, Grandmother.”

Only then did Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai notice Jiang Li had entered. Old Madam Jiang said, “Second girl, sit down.”

Jiang Li sat down in a lower seat. Zhenzhu poured a cup of tea, which Jiang Li picked up to drink. She could feel Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai constantly scrutinizing her with their gazes, perhaps with some complexity in their eyes. She remained composed as she blew on the tea foam floating on the water’s surface and gently took a sip.

“Second girl.” Just as Jiang Li swallowed this mouthful of hot tea, Old Madam Jiang’s voice also sounded. She said, “Someone has sent you an invitation.”

Jiang Li raised her head, showing just the right amount of surprise, and asked, “Only for me alone?”

“Yes.”

“Then is it… Miss Liu Xu from Assistant Gentleman Lang’s mansion? Or my uncle? An invitation from the Ye mansion?” Those who would invite only her must be her friends. Unfortunately, in Yanjing City, friends belonging to Second Miss Jiang could truly be counted on less than half a hand.

“No.” This time it was Jiang Yuanbai who spoke. He stared into Jiang Li’s eyes and said, “It’s an invitation from Duke Su’s mansion.”

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment.

This time, her astonished expression truly didn’t seem feigned. Seeing this, Jiang Yuanbai’s expression also eased somewhat. If Jiang Li had acted as if she’d expected this all along, it would have made him suspicious.

“Duke Su’s mansion… why would they invite me? And only me alone?” Jiang Li was so surprised she became somewhat incoherent.

Jiang Yuanbai said, “It’s the Old General’s birthday. I heard that your Six Arts are outstanding, so they’re inviting you to Duke Su’s mansion to attend a banquet—it’s Old General Ji’s birthday banquet.”

“A birthday banquet?” Jiang Li was puzzled. “But they shouldn’t only invite me alone. Didn’t Father and Grandmother receive invitations? Who else will be at this birthday banquet?”

She looked as if she truly knew nothing about this. Jiang Yuanbai said, “No one else. Among those Old General Ji invited, you are the only one. I came to ask you—what relationship do you have with Old General Ji? Or rather, do you have any relationship with Duke Su Ji Heng?”

He still maintained the air of a refined scholar with a calm and detached demeanor, but his gaze was like a fox that had caught the scent of prey—gleaming green.

Jiang Li laughed silently in her heart. On the surface, Jiang Yuanbai served as an official at court with mediocre political achievements—not particularly good, just smooth and slippery. However, in his bones, he was no less cunning than those jackals and hyenas. He sensed something was amiss about this matter and had specifically come to trick her into revealing something.

Jiang Li said in surprise, “I once met Duke Su at the palace banquet. The next time I saw him was outside the hall during the court deliberation. As for a relationship with Old General Ji, there’s even less to speak of—I’ve never even met Old General Ji.”

These words were half true and half false. Jiang Yuanbai knew about these two times she’d seen Ji Heng, and they were unavoidable—quite a few people had witnessed them. If Jiang Li claimed she’d never seen Ji Heng, that would be suspicious instead. As for Old General Ji, every time Jiang Li met with him, it was when she privately went to the Duke’s mansion—outsiders couldn’t possibly know about that.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuanbai saw that Jiang Li’s words were earnest and matched exactly with the information he knew. He already believed most of it. In fact, when the Xue family case occurred, Ji Heng had helped Jiang Li speak up and confronted Prince Cheng—this matter had spread through the court, though not widely, only to a small portion. When Jiang Yuanbai first heard about it, he hadn’t paid it much mind. After all, Duke Su had no relationship with him for many years, and needless to say, Jiang Li had no dealings with Ji Heng either. Perhaps the rumors were too exaggerated and had distorted the facts.

But today, when Old Madam Jiang’s people came to find him in a hurry and showed him this strange invitation, Jiang Yuanbai’s heart became uncertain.

Perhaps he had overlooked something? Perhaps there was some relationship between Jiang Li and Ji Heng that he didn’t know about.

But at least from Jiang Li’s current behavior, it seemed that Jiang Li and Ji Heng weren’t very familiar.

“Father,” Jiang Li hesitated, then asked, “Must I attend Old General Ji’s birthday banquet?”

Hearing this, Jiang Yuanbai also found it difficult. In truth, Old General Ji was a decent person—utterly loyal, upright and generous, never taking any crooked paths. Back when Old General Ji hadn’t completely retired, he had even laughingly called Jiang Yuanbai a sly fox. Jiang Yuanbai hadn’t taken it to heart. Having served as an official at court for so many years, he knew what was loyal and what was treacherous. Although this old general sometimes made shocking statements like an old child at play, his character was beyond question.

The problem lay with his grandson, the current Duke Su, Ji Heng. At such a young age, he was already feared by everyone at court. Leaving aside his unpredictable temperament that made it difficult to fathom his thoughts, even Jiang Yuanbai, who was many years older than Ji Heng, felt Ji Heng was dangerous and difficult to handle whenever he encountered him.

Jiang Yuanbai was not someone who liked taking risks. Toward such dangerous people, he always maintained a respectful distance. Fortunately, Ji Heng didn’t support Prince Cheng either, and his relationship with the Right Chancellor was also quite distant—not enough to be enemies, still fairly friendly.

Now this invitation—on the surface it was Old General Ji’s invitation, but who knew if it contained Ji Heng’s intentions? If it was Ji Heng’s intention and the Jiang family flatly refused, would it invite retaliation? But what if it was just Old General Ji’s whim? The invitation also mentioned inviting other people, but they weren’t court officials’ family members, which left Jiang Yuanbai even more confused.

He couldn’t flatly refuse this invitation, nor did he dare rashly let Jiang Li attend the banquet. He had planned to question Jiang Li about whether there was some connection he didn’t know about, but Jiang Li hadn’t been able to give a satisfactory answer either.

Jiang Yuanbai was caught in a dilemma.

Old Madam Jiang said, “How about… we decline this invitation? It’s improper for Second girl, a young lady, to attend a banquet alone.”

Jiang Yuanbai smiled bitterly. Naturally, he wanted to do that too, but the Jiang family was currently in troubled times. If they offended Duke Su again and Ji Heng added insult to injury, the Jiang family might truly face a catastrophic disaster. At that time, Right Chancellor Li’s people definitely wouldn’t miss this opportunity—the entire Jiang family would suffer. The official arena was like this—you saw many people climbing upward by any means necessary simply because once they stopped, perhaps their entire family would be thrown into an abyss of ten thousand feet.

They truly didn’t dare stop.

Jiang Li observed the conflicted expression on Jiang Yuanbai’s face and sighed softly. She said, “I’ve heard that Duke Su Ji Heng has an unpredictable temperament. If we flatly refuse his grandfather’s invitation like this, perhaps he’ll think our Jiang family doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness and instead bring unnecessary trouble to the Jiang family. The current Jiang family truly cannot withstand any more blows.”

Both Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai looked at her.

Jiang Li’s voice was very calm. “It’s just a birthday banquet. I’ll go.”

“A Li.” Jiang Yuanbai urgently called out to stop her. But after calling out, he didn’t know what to say. Looking at the girl’s gentle eyes and brows, his heart hazily thought—this child’s temperament wasn’t like his, wasn’t like Ye Zhenzhen, but he didn’t know who she resembled.

“Does Father have a better solution?”

Jiang Yuanbai was at a loss for words. He truly didn’t know what other solution there could be. With a family like Duke Su’s, it would be best to have no connection for an entire lifetime. But how unlucky could they be to run into this?

“If there’s no other solution, then let’s do this.” Jiang Li smiled. “I’ve heard that Old General has always been upright. After all, I’m also the Chief Minister’s daughter—there shouldn’t be any mishaps. If something does go wrong, a Duke’s mansion cannot escape responsibility either. Moreover, if they truly had ill intentions, they wouldn’t need to act against me so openly and aboveboard—how difficult would it be to manage the aftermath? If they had some scheme in mind, wouldn’t it be better to act when no one knows, thereby saving a lot of trouble? Looking at it this way, Old General Ji’s birthday banquet is not some Hongmen Feast, but merely this old general’s whimsical and somewhat unruly way of having fun.”

She spoke in a light and breezy manner that surprised both Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai. Especially when Jiang Li mentioned “acting when no one knows,” it had a kind of calm that made one’s heart palpitate. But on second thought, what Jiang Li said made sense—if there were truly some plot, why make such a big show of it and even leave evidence like an invitation?

Jiang Yuanbai looked at Jiang Li and said, “You go out first. Let me think about it some more.”

Jiang Li didn’t say much more. After paying her respects to Jiang Yuanbai and Old Madam Jiang, she left Wanfeng Hall.

She came quickly and left quickly. For a moment, only Jiang Yuanbai and Old Madam Jiang remained in Wanfeng Hall, facing each other.

Old Madam Jiang sighed and said, “See? I told you Second girl has her own ideas.”

“I don’t know who she takes after with this temperament.” Jiang Yuanbai smiled bitterly. “Now I don’t even know what she’s thinking anymore.” Thinking about it, he had truly been a terrible father. One daughter was killed by his second wife, one daughter ran away from home with whereabouts unknown, and another daughter he wrongly accused and sent far away for eight years—her heart had long since left. Three daughters, and now not one was close to him.

Old Madam Jiang glanced at him, seemingly knowing what he was thinking, but didn’t say much. She only said, “Yuanbai, I was thinking earlier—Second girl is now at the age where we should be looking at potential matches for her. It’s just that with all the trouble at home recently, it wouldn’t be good to bring up such matters at this time. Moreover, even if people looked, they might not dare come. Today… what do you think,” her voice contained a hint of uncertainty, trembling slightly, “do you think Duke Su might have taken a fancy to Second girl?”

“Impossible!” As soon as these words left her mouth, Jiang Yuanbai immediately stood up. Old Madam Jiang hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him. Jiang Yuanbai frowned and said, “Duke Su is that kind of person—what kind of beauty hasn’t he seen? Why would he take a fancy to someone like A Li? Moreover, he kills without batting an eye and has unfathomable depths of scheming. A Li absolutely cannot marry such a person!”

“I was just saying. Why are you getting so agitated?” Old Madam Jiang had him sit down. “I was just asking. Because I truly can’t understand why he would send an invitation to Second girl. If they truly have no relationship at all, with so many young ladies in Yanjing City, why would he invite only Second girl? I’m worried that Old General Ji has other plans and has taken a fancy to Second girl…”

“Mother, please don’t talk nonsense.” Jiang Yuanbai was agitated by her words and said, “Such a thing is absolutely impossible. I’ll send people to investigate again and find out what exactly this is about!”

He strode out of Wanfeng Hall.

On the way back to Fangfei Courtyard, Jiang Li was also thinking carefully.

What was the reason for the Duke’s mansion suddenly sending this invitation? If there was truly something that needed to be discussed, they could easily have Zhao Ke tell her, and she could go to the Duke’s mansion at night… Jiang Li pressed her forehead with a headache. What was wrong with her? She had actually started treating sneaking out of the mansion at night to go to someone else’s residence as a commonplace matter. This was a truly shocking and scandalous affair.

But speaking of which, this invitation truly baffled Jiang Li. Clearly doing this would cause Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai to suspect unnecessarily, yet they still sent the invitation, so brazenly too. Were they really having her attend the birthday banquet?

Wasn’t this just nonsense?

But Jiang Li couldn’t not go. If this was a move Ji Heng had made, if there was some special significance in it, and she didn’t go, wouldn’t she disrupt others’ plans? Therefore, at Wanfeng Hall, Jiang Li had said she was willing to go.

She knew that Jiang Yuanbai would certainly become suspicious and would definitely send people to investigate. Of course, they would certainly find nothing. Ji Heng’s people weren’t pushovers—if others could discover clues about any matter, nine times out of ten, it was because he deliberately let others see the parts he wanted them to see.

Tong’er asked, “Miss, what shall we do now that we’re back at the courtyard?”

“Think about a birthday gift,” Jiang Li said.

“Huh?” Tong’er was surprised.

Jiang Li smiled. Old General Ji wouldn’t use his birthday as a pretense, so if the invitation said it was his birthday, it definitely was his birthday. Going to attend a birthday banquet in name, she couldn’t very well go empty-handed. She still needed to think about what would be a gift that wouldn’t be too expensive but also wouldn’t lose face.

All of this was on the premise that Jiang Yuanbai agreed to let her accept that invitation. However, Jiang Li believed this was only a matter of time.

…

By nightfall, Jiang Yuanbai and Old Madam Jiang still hadn’t indicated whether they wanted Jiang Li to accept this invitation. Yet Jiang Li had already begun having Bai Xue take out all the silver notes to calculate how much remained and how substantial a thank-you gift she should buy for Old General Ji.

Tong’er asked, “Miss, it’s not even certain we’re going yet. Why are you already calculating?”

“We’ll have to go sooner or later.” Jiang Li smiled slightly. “The fact that Father and Old Madam haven’t been able to decide even now already amounts to tacit agreement.” She counted the banknotes in her hand—some that Ye Mingyu had given her, and much of what Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Yuanbai had given her as compensation remained. She herself, aside from tipping others and buying supplements for Xue Huaiyuan, didn’t spend much normally. The jewelry and clothing that young ladies loved, Jiang Li only needed enough to get by, so she had quite a bit of silver saved. She weighed it and felt it was enough to send Old General Ji a decent gift. She had Tong’er put away the box containing the banknotes and said, “Let’s go to the streets early tomorrow morning to take a look.”

Tong’er nodded.

The next day, Jiang Li, along with Tong’er and Bai Xue, went to the streets to select a birthday gift.

She hadn’t left the mansion in a long time. Quite a few of the Jiang family’s guards followed along. Jiang Li thought and thought about what exactly to give Old General Ji as a gift, but truly had no ideas. Ordinarily, when giving gifts to elderly people, one would send precious supplements like ginseng or deer antler, but the Duke’s mansion surely didn’t lack such things. Old General Ji was a military general—should she send a good weapon? But Old General Ji had certainly seen plenty of weapons. Moreover, if she really sent him a very good weapon that he couldn’t take to the battlefield now in his twilight years, what if it made him sad?

After browsing for an entire morning, she still hadn’t seen anything particularly suitable. Seeing that they were approaching the East Market, Jiang Li had the carriage stop and got down herself.

Tong’er asked, “Miss, you’re not planning to go to the East Market, are you?”

“That’s exactly my intention.”

“But, but…”

“There’s no ‘but,'” Jiang Li interrupted her. “Let’s go in.”

Tong’er could only obediently follow.

The East Market was a black market located in the eastern part of Yanjing City. Here, all sorts of people mingled—perhaps murderers and arsonists, perhaps grave robbers who had just rolled in mud from some tomb, perhaps desperate sons from fallen noble families. In any case, the sellers who came here could spread out a mat anywhere on the ground and conduct business. Of course, there were also swindlers among them. Whether you bought genuine or fake goods depended entirely on your own eye for quality. Once the transaction was complete, even if you discovered the item was fake and the deal was a loss, you had to accept your bad luck.

Therefore, those who came to the East Market to buy things were mostly people who specialized in dealing with such goods and had some discernment.

When Jiang Li’s group entered, many people turned to look. Firstly, although Jiang Li wore a conical hat, she was dressed as a woman—there were rarely women among those who came to the East Market to trade. Secondly, the string of guards following behind Jiang Li was truly conspicuous. With a little thought, one could guess she was probably a young lady from a wealthy family who had come here to broaden her horizons.

Therefore, those sellers sitting on the ground all enthusiastically called out, praising their goods to the skies, thinking that a pampered young lady who knew nothing of worldly hardships would be easily fooled.

Tong’er and Bai Xue were both nervous and curious, but these places were somewhat dirty and chaotic after all. They worried that Jiang Li wouldn’t be accustomed to walking here, but when they looked up, although they couldn’t see Jiang Li’s expression, her steps were calm and steady.

She seemed very familiar with this place, without the slightest bit of discomfort.

As if she had been here before, Tong’er muttered in her heart.

In fact, Jiang Li had never truly been to the East Market. At most, when she was Xue Fangfei, she had only passed by the entrance to the East Market. It was just that she wasn’t unfamiliar with or afraid of these people who had a jianghu air about them. Xue Zhao had once taken her to see similar places. Moreover, everyone said that between upper-class people and lower-class people, there was an absolutely insurmountable chasm. But upper-class people wouldn’t always be upper-class, and lower-class people wouldn’t always be lower-class. In these people’s eyes, she was upper-class, but Jiang Li knew that in her bones, she was still the minor official’s daughter who came out of Tong County—not much different from these people here.

Her gaze swept over the nearby small stalls, but she didn’t see anything that interested her and felt somewhat disappointed. You must know that ordinary things would be difficult to catch Old General Ji’s eye. She wanted to see if she could find some rare and unusual items here, but from the looks of it now, there weren’t any good things.

Just then, not far away, there suddenly came the whimper of a young beast. Jiang Li looked in the direction of the sound and saw a long mat with a sturdy wooden post standing at its edge. Several ropes were tied to the post, and at the other end of the ropes were several foals.

The foals should have been born not too long ago—they could barely stand steadily. They were of various colors, but all were covered with a thick layer of dirt and grime, making it impossible to see their true appearance.

Jiang Li walked toward the owner of the foals. The owner was a middle-aged man. Seeing Jiang Li approach, he quickly stood up to greet her, saying, “These are all newly acquired foals. Would the young lady like to pick one to raise? They’re very well-behaved.”

Bai Xue and Tong’er exchanged glances. The Jiang mansion had stables, and the mares in the stables often gave birth to foals—why would they need to buy one here? But Jiang Li actually lifted her skirt and bent down, picking and choosing among that group of foals, pointing at one small foal and saying, “I want this one.”

Everyone looked at the foal she had chosen. It was a small foal, not even as tall as Jiang Li’s knee, with very bright eyes. Standing among the group of horses, it appeared especially small, its body covered in mud scabs, filthy and dirty.

Tong’er said quietly, “This one is too dirty, Miss. Why not choose that maroon one?”

Jiang Li shook her head. “I want this one.”

The middle-aged man was also stunned. When young ladies chose foals, they would probably choose cute ones, but this horse looked quite fierce in temperament—even its gaze was somewhat fierce—and it was filthy. He hadn’t expected Jiang Li to actually choose this one. Her eye was truly unusual.

“How much silver?” Jiang Li asked.

Seeing her straightforward manner, the middle-aged man thought she truly must be a pampered young lady who knew nothing of the world, so he said, “I see you and I are fated, Miss. These foals are all the finest stock. Today I’ll give you a discount—five hundred taels of silver!”

“Five hundred taels of silver?” Tong’er cried out in alarm, glaring at the middle-aged man. “Do you think our silver grows on trees, or do you really think we don’t know how much foals sell for?”

“Tong’er, give him the silver,” Jiang Li said.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man immediately smiled with his eyes narrowed, saying, “This young lady truly has an eye for quality. A straightforward person!”

Tong’er was indignant in her heart. Spending so much silver to buy a foal—if word got out, people would laugh their heads off. This man was flattering their miss on the surface, but in his heart he was probably laughing at how foolish the miss was. But since Jiang Li had spoken, Tong’er had no choice but to agree. She counted out five banknotes from the box and handed them over.

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up as he took the banknotes. Seeing this, Tong’er felt even more sullen.

Many people came and went at the East Market. Jiang Li’s group was very conspicuous and had long been noticed. Her process of buying the foal had also attracted many onlookers. Watching Jiang Li spend so much silver to buy an inexplicable foal, many people’s faces showed mocking smiles.

To all of this, Jiang Li turned a blind eye. She had Bai Xue hold the foal properly. After leaving the East Market, she had someone watch over the foal before boarding the carriage herself.

Tong’er finally couldn’t help but say, “Miss, why did you spend so much silver to buy this foal? We have plenty in our mansion. Now that we’ve spent more than half the silver, what’s left won’t be quite enough to buy a birthday gift for Old General Ji.”

“There’s no need.” Jiang Li said. “The Old General’s gift has already been purchased.”

“What?” Tong’er was stunned. “When did we buy it?”

“It’s that foal.”

Tong’er was dazed. “But that’s just an ordinary foal. Even if you tell the Old General that foal cost five hundred taels of silver, it’s still just a commonly seen horse.” The words “and so dirty” Tong’er quietly recited once in her heart but didn’t say aloud.

“Oh? You think it’s an ordinary horse?” Jiang Li asked with a smile.

“Isn’t it?” Seeing Jiang Li’s smile, Tong’er’s heart stirred. She asked Bai Xue, “Bai Xue, did you notice something?”

Bai Xue honestly replied, “No, I just felt that foal was dirtier than the horses we usually see.”

Tong’er: “…”

“That’s not an ordinary horse,” Jiang Li smiled slightly. “It’s a Ferghana horse.”

“What?” Both Tong’er and Bai Xue were shocked, staring at Jiang Li in disbelief.

“Although I don’t know how a Ferghana horse ended up mixed in with that group of foals, and their owner actually didn’t notice, this transaction was clearly my gain. Let alone five hundred taels of silver—even ten thousand taels of gold would be worth it.”

Author’s Note:

A Li: Surprising? Startling? Exciting?