After the new year, the snow in the capital finally stopped for two days. During these two days without snow, the sun even made a rare appearance.

The new year washed away the unpleasantness of the past year. No matter what, the new beginning had to continue.

The criticism that the Jiang family had endured in the past year seemed to have been forgotten by tacit agreement among the Jiang family members. Suddenly, no one mentioned it anymore. The servants in the residence no longer went about with mournful faces. They were happy and cheerful again. The past events were all buried, and everyone continued living as usual.

Jiang Yuanbai also began attending court again, no longer claiming illness to take leave.

On this particular day, the weather was clear and fine. Jiang Li was sitting at the entrance to her courtyard, watching Mingyue and Qingfeng carry books out from the house to air them in the sun. After a whole winter, the books had become damp from being shut away. With the sunlight available, they could be taken out to sun and drive away any insects.

Just as she was squinting her eyes, enjoying the warm sunshine, Baixue suddenly came in from outside and said, “Miss, Ah Shun from the Ye residence just came by. He said you should hurry over immediately—something has happened to County Magistrate Xue.”

The smile on Jiang Li’s face instantly vanished completely. She sprang to her feet and said, “What happened? What happened to County Magistrate Xue?”

“This servant asked, but Ah Shun said it couldn’t be explained in just a few words and told Miss to hurry over and see for yourself. Right now, Third Master and Miss Situ are both at the Ye residence. Miss, should we go now?” Baixue knew that Jiang Li had always been extremely concerned about Xue Huaiyuan. If she learned that something had happened to Xue Huaiyuan, she would surely want to rush over immediately to see. Therefore, almost as soon as Ah Shun finished speaking, she had someone quickly prepare the carriage.

Jiang Li said decisively, “Of course we go now.” She hurried back into the room. With no time to dress up or fix her appearance, she simply grabbed a cloak and came back out, calling to Tong’er and Baixue, “You two come with me.”

She walked very urgently, instructing Mingyue and Qingfeng that if anyone asked, she had gone to the Ye residence. In any case, Old Madam and Jiang Yuanbai turned a blind eye to her frequent visits to the Ye residence every few days, and no one dared say anything. Once she got into the carriage, Jiang Li felt her heart beating extremely fast. She had clearly just seen Xue Huaiyuan a few days ago, and he had been fine. Situ Jiuyue had said he could now read and write, and although he spent much time sitting in a daze, it represented that he was gradually improving and beginning to actively search for his own memories. How could it be that just two days later, Ah Shun came running over urgently, saying something had happened to Xue Huaiyuan?

Jiang Li knew that unless the situation was urgent, Ye Mingyu wouldn’t have Ah Shun come tell her. This showed that matters had reached an extremely critical point.

Baixue could see that Jiang Li was very anxious and comforted her, “Miss, you needn’t worry. With Miss Situ there, surely nothing serious will happen.”

“That’s right, Miss,” Tong’er also chimed in. “Perhaps we’re going today because County Magistrate Xue has gotten better—maybe he’s recovered his memory?”

Jiang Li’s heart lurched violently. Others might consider recovering one’s memory to be a good thing. But Jiang Li knew full well that for Xue Huaiyuan, recovering his memory might mean the arrival of pain. If Xue Huaiyuan truly recovered his memory and regained his sanity, the first thing he would have to face was the fact that both his children were dead and the Xue family was no more. For a father, there was no greater pain in this mortal world.

Would he collapse again? Perhaps not even want to remember any of it. Jiang Li’s heart felt as if it were being cut by knives.

Lost in such wild thoughts, they soon arrived at the entrance to the Ye residence. The main gate of the Ye residence was open, with a young servant waiting outside. When he saw Jiang Li, he said, “Second Miss Jiang, you’ve finally arrived.”

Hearing this, Jiang Li became even more flustered and wished she could fly to Xue Huaiyuan’s side immediately. She didn’t even have time to greet the gatekeepers. Gathering up her skirts, she rushed inside in a great hurry.

Outside the room where Xue Huaiyuan usually stayed, several people were standing. As Jiang Li approached, she saw clearly that the person standing furthest outside was Ye Mingyu. She called out, “Uncle!”

Ye Mingyu was startled and asked, “How did you get here so quickly?”

Although the Ye residence and the Jiang residence weren’t far apart, it shouldn’t have been this fast. Jiang Li said, “I told the coachman to hurry.” Following her orders, the coachman had traveled at great speed the entire way and finally arrived at the gates of the Ye residence in the shortest possible time.

“Uncle, what exactly happened? Is County Magistrate Xue inside?” Not waiting for Ye Mingyu to answer, Jiang Li urgently pressed him with questions.

Knowing that she always took matters concerning Xue Huaiyuan very seriously, Ye Mingyu sighed and said, “I don’t really know how to explain this matter. Early this morning, I happened to be at the residence and hadn’t gone out. Recently, this County Magistrate Xue has been very fond of reading books, though he just stares at them in a daze. So I moved a stool and let him sit in the courtyard to get some sun and read.”

“Later, the kitchen brought hot soup. I got up to fetch the hot soup, and when I turned around, I saw County Magistrate Xue sitting on the ground with the stool overturned. It was probably that he didn’t stand steady when getting up. You know, when people get older, sometimes standing up suddenly can make them dizzy. I saw him just sitting on the ground without getting up, and I was afraid he’d bumped or hit himself somewhere. I quickly went forward to help him up. When I got a look at him, I got a fright—he’d hit his head and was bleeding quite a bit.”

Hearing this, Jiang Li’s heart clenched, and she couldn’t help asking, “How could it be so serious? Is he alright now?”

“I was also shocked. Who would have known that when Old Man Xue saw me walking over, he suddenly asked me: Who are you? Ah Li,” he scratched his head, “at that moment, Old Man Xue’s expression looked truly frightening. During this period, he’s often asked people that question, but today his tone was somewhat strange. I can’t say exactly what was strange about it, but anyway, when I answered that I was Ye Mingyu, he asked where this place was. I said this was the capital. Then he actually refused my help and stood up by himself.”

Jiang Li said, “Stood up by himself?”

“Exactly! I thought Old Man Xue’s health had improved and that he now didn’t like people helping him. But after just two steps, he collapsed headfirst. It scared me so much I quickly had someone go fetch Doctor Situ. I thought Old Man Xue was acting strangely today—I hoped nothing would happen. Miss Situ arrived quickly, but after Miss Situ came, she only told me to quickly have you come over.”

Jiang Li listened in a daze. If Situ Jiuyue said this, it must be because Xue Huaiyuan’s situation was no small matter.

Just as she was pondering this, Situ Jiuyue’s voice came from inside the room: “Has Jiang Li arrived? If she’s here, hurry in.”

“Well, she’s calling for you. Hurry inside,” Ye Mingyu said.

Jiang Li entered the room together with Ye Mingyu.

All the curtains in the room had been drawn, probably at Situ Jiuyue’s instruction. Although it was daytime, lamps were lit, making it quite bright. A calming incense fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose. Jiang Li walked to the inner area. By the bedside, Situ Jiuyue was seated, and standing beside her was surprisingly Haitang. Haitang had her head lowered, her eyes red as if she had been crying.

Jiang Li’s heart sank with a thud. Given how things had developed, if something happened to Xue Huaiyuan, she truly didn’t know how she could persevere.

She looked toward Xue Huaiyuan.

Xue Huaiyuan lay in bed with his eyes tightly closed. The wound on his head had already been bandaged. Situ Jiuyue was lowering her head to pack up her medicine box. Jiang Li couldn’t help but say, “Miss Jiuyue…”

“He may have recovered his memory,” Situ Jiuyue said without looking up.

Jiang Li’s hands trembled, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. After a long while, she finally asked, “…All of it?”

“Perhaps.” Situ Jiuyue stood up and faced Jiang Li. She said calmly, “Even if not all of it, he should have remembered most of it—the things he considers very important.”

Jiang Li steadied herself and asked again, “Then why is he unconscious now?”

“Precisely because he remembered most of the past, and those memories likely weren’t particularly pleasant ones.” Situ Jiuyue spoke very calmly. “From what I know, this County Magistrate Xue’s past was thoroughly miserable. Because the first thing he remembered after regaining his memory were painful events, he couldn’t bear it all at once and fell unconscious. You can consider this behavior as his instinctive escape. However, I already told you before that this situation was very likely.”

Jiang Li lowered her eyes. “I know.” She asked softly again, “When will County Magistrate Xue wake up?”

“Hard to say. It depends on how long he needs to escape. Don’t think this is a simple matter. No matter how brave or coldhearted a person is, suddenly recovering their memory—especially this kind of unpleasant memory—will definitely involve a struggle. When he gradually accepts the truth and is willing to wake up, he’ll naturally wake up. It could be one day, or it could be ten days. If you need it, I can of course use acupuncture to make him wake immediately. But facing this reality without any preparation would also be very painful for him. What do you plan to do?”

Meeting Situ Jiuyue’s gaze, Jiang Li pulled at the corner of her mouth but ultimately couldn’t smile. She said, “There’s no need. Let him slowly accept it and slowly wake up.”

She herself had taken a very long time to emerge from it and accept the facts of the past. Father had loved her and Xue Zhao so much—the harm he suffered was a hundred, a thousand times deeper than hers. How could she bear to deepen Father’s pain?

Ye Mingyu sighed and said, “This County Magistrate Xue’s whole life has truly been full of hardships. It makes one’s heart ache to see.”

“No matter what, after he wakes up, what he’ll have to face is a conscious life.” Situ Jiuyue’s tone seemed to also contain some faint melancholy. She said, “Actually, the past days weren’t necessarily bad. In the eyes of the world, a madman lives more happily than others.”

She herself was Princess Molan. Having experienced turmoil back then, she probably also knew how cruel it was to consciously face reality. Xue Huaiyuan could probably make her empathize.

“I want to stay here.” Haitang’s voice was still somewhat choked. “With Master in this condition, if he learns what happened to the Xue family, he’ll surely be very distressed. I want to stay by Master’s side, at least to tell Master that the Xue family isn’t completely without people. I also want to tell Master about Young Miss’s grievances, to let Master know that back then, Young Miss wasn’t as disgraceful as others said.”

Jiang Li looked toward Situ Jiuyue. Situ Jiuyue shrugged and said, “This is someone you brought back, so naturally you have the say. No need to look at me.”

Jiang Li thought for a moment, then said to Haitang, “In that case, stay here. Taking care of County Magistrate Xue is good, but you shouldn’t go out during normal times, lest someone see you.”

Haitang nodded. “Alright.”

Making this trip, Jiang Li had originally thought Xue Huaiyuan had met with some accident. She hadn’t expected that in the end she would learn that Xue Huaiyuan had recovered his memory. For a moment, her heart was filled with mixed grief and joy that were hard to express.

After she sat by Xue Huaiyuan’s bedside watching for a while longer and walked out of the room, she saw that Situ Jiuyue had long been waiting for her outside. Jiang Li stepped forward, and Situ Jiuyue said, “After Xue Huaiyuan recovers his memory, do you plan to tell him about your plan to avenge Xue Fangfei?”

Jiang Li answered honestly, “I don’t know.”

“Oh?” Situ Jiuyue was puzzled.

“If I tell him, he might feel that he still needs others’ help to avenge his own children, and might feel even more distressed. But if I don’t tell him… he should know the truth.”

Situ Jiuyue laughed lightly. “You’re quite thorough in your considerations.”

Jiang Li shook her head. “I just don’t know what would be best.”

“How strange. In other matters, you always have strong opinions, but when it comes to matters concerning the Xue family, you’re always too concerned to think clearly.” Situ Jiuyue said, “I don’t understand, but it doesn’t matter. On the day Xue Huaiyuan wakes up, I’ll come to the Ye residence to examine him. Afterward, I’ll also tell you. As for how you interact with Xue Huaiyuan and how you tell him the truth, that’s your business.” She waved her hand and walked forward. “I’m leaving first. Please excuse me.”

Situ Jiuyue left just like that.

Ye Mingyu watched Situ Jiuyue’s retreating figure and sighed in admiration, “Doctor Situ is also an extraordinary person.”

Jiang Li came back to her senses. Ye Shijie wasn’t at the residence. She stayed in the room, keeping watch over Xue Huaiyuan together with Haitang for a while. After having lunch at the Ye residence with Ye Shijie at noon, she finally took the carriage back toward the Jiang residence.

On the way back, Jiang Li was preoccupied the entire journey. Tong’er and Baixue didn’t dare disturb her. Jiang Li felt somewhat restless and anxious. How should she speak to Xue Huaiyuan after he woke up? Should she acknowledge their relationship? When should she acknowledge it? What if Xue Huaiyuan didn’t believe she was Xue Fangfei—what then? Her mind was a tangled mess. At the same time, she felt indescribable guilt.

Xue Zhao had died because he sought to clear her name. Even though she had become Second Miss Jiang and regained life, Xue Zhao could never live again. Father would ultimately have to face the fact that he had lost a son. Jiang Li didn’t know what to say.

Whenever she thought of such a scene, she felt cold all over.

When she returned to the Jiang residence, Jiang Li didn’t want to say anything and headed straight for Fangfei Garden. But just as she reached the courtyard entrance, Mingyue came over and said, “Miss, someone came to the door wanting to see you. This servant said you’d gone out, so she’s waiting for you to return in the front hall.”

“See me?” Jiang Li truly had no mood to see any guests today, but she also knew she couldn’t lack in propriety. However, she had always had very few friends, and even fewer who would take the initiative to call at the door. If it were those unimportant people, she could simply not see them. Therefore, she asked, “Who wants to see me?”

She guessed it might be Liu Xu. Among the young ladies in the capital who were on good terms with her, there was only Liu Xu. But Mingyue shook her head and said, “Instructor Xiao Deyin from Mingyi Hall.”

“Xiao Deyin?” Jiang Li furrowed her brow. She never would have thought that Xiao Deyin would come looking for her. Setting aside how things were as Xue Fangfei, in Second Miss Jiang’s life, apart from the nominal teacher-student relationship at Mingyi Hall, she had no friendship with Xiao Deyin. Moreover, this teacher-student bond was extremely thin. Whenever Jiang Li didn’t attend classes, it was as if nothing existed. Especially recently, she had barely gone to Mingyi Hall and hadn’t seen Xiao Deyin more than a few times. How could Xiao Deyin suddenly come looking for her out of the blue?

Furthermore… Jiang Li pondered inwardly. Just a while ago, hadn’t Ye Mingyu arranged a “silencing” act at Xiao Deyin’s residence gate? Xiao Deyin should currently be in a panicked and uncertain state. How could she still have the mind to come looking for her?

“Is she still in the front hall?” Jiang Li asked. “If she is, Mingyue, bring her to my courtyard. Speaking in the front hall is always somewhat inconvenient.”

Mingyue quickly said, “She’s still there. This servant will invite her over right away.”

Jiang Li removed her cloak and changed clothes. She had Tong’er tidy up her hair slightly so that she looked quite composed. Sitting by the stone table in the courtyard, with sunlight flowing halfway into the jade-green tea water, just as the tea reached the perfect temperature, Xiao Deyin arrived.

She followed behind Mingyue, wearing a purple gauze gown embroidered with plum blossoms. She moved gracefully, with wide sleeves—carrying quite an otherworldly air. Her face was beautiful, with a smile at the corners of her mouth. She looked gentle and kind. No wonder the most popular instructor at Mingyi Hall—Xiao Deyin ranked first.

When she saw Jiang Li, she smiled and came forward, calling out, “Xiao Li,” and sat down on the other side of the stone table.

“Instructor Xiao.” Jiang Li also smiled and returned the greeting, saying, “How does Instructor have time to come by today?”

“You haven’t come to Mingyi Hall for quite some time. I knew your family encountered some troubles.” Xiao Deyin smiled. “I’ve wanted to come visit you for a while, but I was afraid of disturbing your household and felt it would be somewhat inconvenient. But after all, you are Mingyi Hall’s best student—at least in the qin arts, no student in all of Mingyi Hall is better than you. I truly like you from the bottom of my heart. After thinking it over, now that the new year has passed, I still came to see you.”

These words made it sound as if this instructor had always been very fond of and concerned about this student, and that Jiang Li was her prized pupil. Jiang Li smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor refuting. Her smiling expression somehow made Xiao Deyin’s face flush slightly.

However, she quickly said, “Xiao Li, have you been well lately? When do you plan to return to Mingyi Hall?”

“I probably won’t be going to Mingyi Hall anymore in the future,” Jiang Li said. Her original reasons for entering Mingyi Hall were simply to gather information and to build her reputation. Since both goals had already been achieved, and Mingyi Hall couldn’t teach her anything else, staying on would be a waste of time. Moreover, spending most of her time at Mingyi Hall meant she could only use a small portion of her time to care for Xue Huaiyuan and take revenge on Shen Yurun. It really wasn’t worthwhile.

Jiang Li clearly saw a flash of something pass through Xiao Deyin’s eyes, but on her face appeared genuine regret. She said, “Why? You’re Mingyi Hall’s best student.”

“Instructor flatters me too much. The truth is there are many matters at the residence, and I’m no longer suited to going to Mingyi Hall.”

Xiao Deyin sighed. “Since you’ve made up your mind, I cannot persuade you further. Knowing you have your own ideas, I can only express my regret. You must know that among Mingyi Hall’s students, you’re the one I like most—not only because you’re brilliantly talented, but also because you have courage and a sense of justice. For instance, in the case of County Magistrate Xue from Tongxiang, you—a young lady from a sheltered household—dared to bring the villagers from Tongxiang to the capital and lodge complaints on their behalf. Even I admire this in my heart.”

Here it comes, here it comes. This was Xiao Deyin’s true purpose for this visit. Jiang Li knew this perfectly well and instantly understood that today’s main event lay here. But she pretended not to know and only smiled with a somewhat bashful expression, saying, “If it were you, Instructor, you would have done the same.”

Xiao Deyin nodded and said with a sigh, “It’s just that in this world, while there are many with a sense of justice, those without one are extremely few.”

“Instructor is overthinking. There are still more good people in this world,” Jiang Li said, appropriately adopting the air of an innocent and kind young lady.

Xiao Deyin looked at her, then suddenly leaned in closer and said in a low voice, “Xiao Li, tell your instructor—the evidence presented at the court deliberation that day, showing that Princess Yongning was the one behind instructing Feng Yutang to act against County Magistrate Xue, wasn’t just a rumor, was it?”

Jiang Li was startled and covered her mouth, saying, “How can Instructor Xiao say such a thing?”

But Xiao Deyin seemed certain she was hiding something and said, “Tell your instructor—is it true or not?”

“It was already explained very clearly at the court deliberation that day,” Jiang Li said haltingly. “Evidence was indeed produced, but it was merely fabricated by someone with ulterior motives wanting to frame Princess Yongning. Although it bore the princess’s seal, it couldn’t be taken as genuine.”

“Since there was already a seal, it must be genuine. How could it be fabrication? If it were anyone else, they would have been convicted long ago. It’s only because she’s a princess that others try every means to exonerate her,” Xiao Deyin said.

Jiang Li looked at her with surprise, seeming extremely astonished that Xiao Deyin would say such things. She said, “But most importantly, Her Highness the Princess had no reason to do such a thing! County Magistrate Xue was just a county magistrate in Tongxiang, extremely far from the capital. In his entire life, County Magistrate Xue probably never even saw Princess Yongning. Why would Her Highness the Princess go to such great lengths to make difficulties for a small county’s magistrate?”

“No reason?” A meaningful smile appeared on Xiao Deyin’s face. “Why not?”

Jiang Li widened her eyes.

Xiao Deyin leaned forward a bit more, almost speaking directly into Jiang Li’s ear: “This Princess, you see, was quite enamored with the former top scholar Lord Shen. And Madam Shen’s father was County Magistrate Xue.”

Jiang Li frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Seeing Jiang Li perfectly portray an intelligent young lady who knew nothing of matters between men and women, Xiao Deyin didn’t suspect otherwise and explained, “Princess Yongning likes Lord Shen, but felt that Madam Shen was in the way. A woman’s jealousy led the princess to go so far as to make difficulties for County Magistrate Xue, who was thousands of miles away, just to satisfy her desire for revenge.”

Jiang Li was shocked, looking at Xiao Deyin with alarm. “Instructor! You mustn’t speak such words carelessly!”

“Why would I deceive you?” Xiao Deyin sighed lightly. “In fact, the matter concerning Madam Shen—Xue Fangfei—likely involved great complications. Think about it—how could it be such a coincidence? Before Lord Shen became the top scholar, no one knew that he and his wife were perfectly harmonious. But after he became top scholar and Her Highness the Princess took notice of him and admired him, Madam Shen just happened to have an illicit affair with someone, and just happened to pass away from illness not long after? Just happened that all three members of the family were gone, with nothing left? Xiao Li, your heart is pure and you don’t know the dangers of the world, but you must understand—when people turn bad, they’re capable of anything.”

Listening to this, Jiang Li wanted to laugh. Xiao Deyin spoke these words with such earnest concern, yet weren’t these words describing Xiao Deyin herself?

Jiang Li acted as if she were frightened by these words and said softly, “Instructor, you can’t speak carelessly like this. How do you know that Princess Yongning admires Champion Shen?”

“Naturally I have evidence. When I first heard about this matter, I was just like you—completely disbelieving. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…” She sighed. “I want to avenge my friend Fangfei, but I’m powerless. Princess Yongning has considerable power and influence in the capital, while I’m merely a qin instructor—I cannot contend with her. I’m afraid that before I could even speak the truth, I would be killed by someone.”

Jiang Li shrank back.

Xiao Deyin looked at her. “Xiao Li, do you believe your instructor’s words?” Her words were earnest and her tone sincere, not seeming false at all. Jiang Li hesitated for quite a while before finally nodding her head gently.

“Actually, I don’t dare tell these words to others.” Xiao Deyin said, “This secret is of great importance. I’m afraid of inviting trouble. Moreover, to be honest with you, in the capital I’m accustomed to being alone aside from Fangfei. I have no friends and no one I can trust. But you, Xiao Li, are different.”

“You personally handled the Tongxiang case. You dared to seek justice for County Magistrate Xue at the court deliberation, which shows your upright heart and fearlessness of the powerful. I’m telling you this, and I’m not afraid you’ll tell others. Moreover,” she gathered her courage and looked into Jiang Li’s eyes, “I also hope you can help.”

“Me?” Jiang Li said in surprise. “What help could I possibly provide?”

Xiao Deyin said, “Since you’ve already involved yourself in County Magistrate Xue’s matter, and Xue Fangfei was his daughter, you might see it through to the end and clear Xue Fangfei’s name. I know you have an upright heart, and moreover, you have the entire Jiang family backing you—perhaps you could contend with Princess Yongning. Although I’ve learned the truth and want to seek justice for my good friend, my power is too limited. But I think if we could join forces, perhaps things would be much easier.”

“Join forces?”

“Yes.” Seeing that Jiang Li seemed moved, Xiao Deyin quickly said, “If you’re willing to work on Xue Fangfei’s case, I can become your most important witness and help you identify Princess Yongning. This way, the chances of success would be much greater!”

Jiang Li looked at Xiao Deyin with a surprised expression, but inwardly she nearly couldn’t hold back her laughter. She truly hadn’t expected that Xiao Deyin would come to her with such a scheme. This was originally Xiao Deyin’s own plot, but now it seemed to have become Jiang Li’s mission, while Xiao Deyin would merely serve as a “witness”—ready to withdraw at the first sign of trouble.

She was still as selfish and self-serving as ever.

Jiang Li sneered inwardly, but her face showed a hesitant expression. She said, “Instructor, I can’t make up my mind about this matter right away. Let me think about it some more.”

—Off Topic—

Moving the plot forward~