Jiang Li stared blankly at what was in his hand.
That jade pendant was completely intact. Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating both it and his hand with a lustrous, pure white glow. It was as if the civet cat might come alive. He was like a beautiful, enchanting spirit emerging from a dark world, holding a soul-stirring token in his hand and offering it before her.
“This…” Jiang Li looked at him in disbelief.
“You dropped this during the day,” Ji Heng leaned back against the wall, utterly unconcerned. “I forgot to return it to you.” Seeing that Jiang Li was slow to reach out and take it, he placed the jade pendant on the table himself.
Jiang Li slowly grasped the jade pendant in her palm, joy at recovering what was lost arising from the bottom of her heart, along with a trace of doubt. But her doubt was quickly submerged by a bloody smell emanating from Ji Heng’s body. He wore red clothing, and nothing could be discerned in the moonlight, so she couldn’t tell whether it was someone else’s blood or his own.
He hadn’t answered Jiang Li’s question earlier, so Jiang Li didn’t know where he had gone or what he had done. The only thing she could ask was, “Are you injured?”
Ji Heng smiled without speaking.
Jiang Li pulled out the scissors from her sleeve and placed them on the table. She was like a child who had done something wrong—somewhat anxious, but more than that, hoping to make amends. She said, “…Later I saw bloodstains on these scissors. I clearly stabbed that person before… I stabbed you, didn’t I… You…”
Ji Heng looked at her with a smile and said, “You still don’t trust me, Ali.”
Jiang Li froze for a moment. In just an instant, she understood Ji Heng’s meaning.
At that time, Ji Heng had been right beside her. Actually, she had known in her heart that Ji Heng would take action, but she had still pulled out the scissors at that moment. She hadn’t exposed all her vulnerabilities before Ji Heng, leaving herself a way out. She still didn’t completely trust Ji Heng, even though she had some affection for him.
All of this had been seen by Ji Heng.
She said, “I’m sorry…”
“It’s not your fault,” Ji Heng interrupted her words. He raised an eyebrow and said, “After all, you’ve died once.”
Jiang Li fell silent. Ji Heng believed that after being hurt by Shen Yurun, she was unwilling to easily trust others again. This was him giving her an excuse, but Jiang Li herself knew that apart from Shen Yurun, there was also her distrust of Ji Heng himself. Perhaps it was because Ji Heng’s image when he first appeared before her was inscrutable and calculating, weighing pros and cons. Even though in their later interactions she gradually understood that Ji Heng wasn’t that kind of person, when she encountered danger, even with Ji Heng present, she would instinctively protect herself.
If Ji Heng were a very sensitive person, he would be disappointed by this matter. If Ji Heng weren’t a sensitive person… he wasn’t a fool, so naturally he would understand.
Jiang Li felt somewhat dejected in her heart, yet she still gathered her spirits and forced a smile, saying, “So, are you injured? If…”
“No,” Ji Heng stood up. “I’m fine. You should rest early.” He was about to walk outside.
“Like this, where will you sleep?” Jiang Li asked.
“Don’t worry about me.” He only tossed out this sentence before walking out.
Jiang Li wanted to follow him out, but somehow couldn’t move her feet. After a long while, the moonlight disappeared into the clouds, and the room became completely dark. Slight movements came from outside, seeming to be voices speaking—probably Zhao Ke and Wen Ji. She sat on the bed platform with the thin bedding, her heart full of confusion.
Perhaps this was also a good thing for her. If Ji Heng thought she was just such a selfish, unfeeling, untrustworthy person, the connection between them would gradually be severed.
In the end, it still fulfilled one’s wish.
…
Outside, Zhao Ke lit a fire starter, and Wen Ji found clean water. They were cleaning the wound of Ji Heng, who sat on a stone stool.
His sleeve had been pulled up, revealing the wound on his arm. The wound appeared to have been cut open by some sharp implement. The wound wasn’t long, but it was rather deep. Wen Ji slowly cleaned it for him. Zhao Ke found a palm-sized small medicine bottle from the bundle. Wen Ji took it and sprinkled some medicinal powder on Ji Heng’s wound.
Ji Heng didn’t move a muscle and showed no expression, as if he couldn’t feel any pain at all. Zhao Ke said, “Your Lordship, is this wound from fighting someone outside?”
He didn’t know that Ji Heng’s wound wasn’t from fighting someone, but from Jiang Li’s accidental injury. He just found the wound somewhat strange. The shape of the wound didn’t look like it was from a sword or blade, nor like it was from a hidden weapon. It appeared completely haphazard, as if made by someone without martial arts striking randomly. However, the strike had been quite forceful, yet if it were a man using his full strength, it wouldn’t have stopped at just this much. Could it be that the person who fought with His Lordship was a woman? Zhao Ke’s mind wandered. There wouldn’t be women among Prince Cheng’s troops, would there? But if it wasn’t Prince Cheng’s troops, what other enemies were nearby?
Wen Ji helped Ji Heng bandage the wound. He was very practiced at it. Although he was a large man, the work he did was very meticulous. Ji Heng took off his outer robe. Even though the red color didn’t show blood stains, it had still been tainted with some traces. Looking carefully, one could still make them out.
“Your Lordship…” Wen Ji asked hesitantly, “Why did you go back?”
Wenren Yao and Lu Ji couldn’t sense it, but Zhao Ke and Ji Heng could. During the day, Ji Heng had suddenly left the carriage and turned back, heading in the direction they had come from.
Zhao Ke was inwardly shocked. He was also curious, but he didn’t dare ask this question. It was Wen Ji who was bold enough to ask. Ji Heng didn’t answer Wen Ji’s words, only looked at the wound on his hand, which Wen Ji had bandaged securely. He said, “Do your own job.”
He wasn’t smiling anymore. Both Wen Ji and Zhao Ke felt a chill in their hearts, knowing this was a sign of Ji Heng’s displeasure. They immediately said nothing more and went to stand guard by the bedding at the door from earlier.
Ji Heng sat on the stone stool, his gaze deep and dark.
He had, after all, done something he shouldn’t have done.
…
The next day, when Jiang Li got up, Wenren Yao was outside talking with Ji Heng.
When Lu Ji and Wenren Yao got up, they discovered Ji Heng was there and were very pleasantly surprised. After confirming that Ji Heng was safe and sound, they pestered Ji Heng asking what exactly he had done yesterday. Of course Ji Heng didn’t answer. After making a fuss a few times, Wenren Yao settled down obediently.
Jiang Li greeted Lu Ji and Wenren Yao, and also greeted Ji Heng. Everyone tacitly understood, as if nothing had happened last night. Everyone was busy hurrying along. They boarded the carriage, and throughout this journey, Jiang Li was even more silent than before. If Wenren Yao hadn’t constantly found topics to discuss with her, Jiang Li might not have said a single word the entire way. This silence was noticed by Wenren Yao, and even Lu Ji inquired with concern about what had happened to Jiang Li.
Jiang Li could only brush it off by saying she was thinking about how to respond to her father’s questions after returning to the capital.
“What’s so difficult about that?” Wenren Yao said. “You just need to push all these matters onto us. You were abducted to Huangzhou by Prince Cheng’s subordinates and happened to be saved by A Heng. You proposed returning to the capital, but A Heng was too busy and had no time to find someone to escort you back. You had no choice but to wait until now. Even if Yuanfu Jiang wants to say something, it has nothing to do with you. You can tell him to go to the Duke’s mansion to find A Heng and let A Heng talk to him.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Wenren Yao truly understood the principle of diverting disaster eastward.
“I wonder what the capital is like now,” Lu Ji sighed.
“What is the capital like?” Lin Yao asked. “Brother, are there many people in the capital?”
“Of course,” Wenren Yao said. “The capital is much bigger than Huangzhou. The Emperor lives in the capital. The young ladies there are also very beautiful. For instance, your Sister Jiang is a young lady from the capital. So tell me, are the young ladies of the capital beautiful or not?”
Lin Yao was still young and probably couldn’t discern what Wenren Yao meant by “beautiful or not.” He was just excited and somewhat nervous. He said, “Then will we stay in the capital from now on?”
“Uh…” Wenren Yao choked for a moment. He had heard that he often traveled everywhere, similar to Ye Mingyu. He couldn’t answer Lin Yao’s question, so he could only say, “We’ll stay there temporarily for now. Later I’ll take you out to see more places. Actually, the capital isn’t that great…”
He said it was good one moment and not good the next, confusing Lin Yao. Jiang Li watched Wenren Yao ramble on, and suddenly thought of something. She asked, “Given our current pace, Prince Cheng’s troops are a bit faster than us. When we arrive at the capital, will we encounter Prince Cheng’s people outside the city? Or when we’re just entering the city and meet Prince Cheng entering at the same time, it will be chaotic then. I’m afraid the city gates won’t open. How will we enter the city?”
Ji Heng didn’t answer. Instead, Lu Ji spoke up, patiently explaining, “Second Miss Jiang, the small road we’re taking is a bit shorter than the other route. Moreover, we’re hurrying urgently and will arrive at the capital earlier than Prince Cheng’s troops. As for the matter of the city gates, you don’t need to worry about that at all.”
Hearing this, Jiang Li felt relieved.
After this, indeed, as Lu Ji had said, the journey was very smooth. After leaving the most difficult mountain roads, even though they were still on small paths, the pace began to quicken. They didn’t encounter any more unwelcome visitors.
By the morning of the seventh day, the capital was already within sight.
Previously in Huangzhou City, she hadn’t particularly felt it, but when truly about to return to the capital, Jiang Li couldn’t help but feel a sense of lightness. It seemed the capital had not yet been affected by Prince Cheng’s troops—at least they hadn’t seen any strange people. However, there were far fewer people coming and going inside and outside the city gates. The common people were probably still somewhat afraid. The young soldiers at the city gate were much more cautious than before. Every person who passed had to be carefully examined.
Wenren Yao looked outside and said, “It seems Prince Cheng hasn’t attacked here yet.”
“That won’t be long either,” Lu Ji said as he jumped down from the carriage, holding their travel permits. He went outside and said something to the two young soldiers guarding the city. The soldiers didn’t carefully inspect the inside and outside of the carriage as before, but respectfully let them through. Jiang Li guessed that Lu Ji hadn’t concealed Ji Heng’s identity, which was why things went so smoothly.
The carriage drove through the city gates.
Outside was the familiar hustle and bustle. Wenren Yao lifted the carriage curtain halfway, letting Lin Yao lean against it to look, saying, “Look, this is the capital.”
After all, he was a child, and was immediately dazzled by the capital’s prosperity. Lin Yao murmured, “Brother, the streets of the capital are so wide, even wider than those two roads back home!”
“Of course,” Wenren Yao wasn’t from the capital either, but he still showed an appearance of shared pride. “Otherwise why would it be called the capital?”
Listening to their conversation, one large and one small, Jiang Li couldn’t help but smile. But she met Ji Heng’s eyes. He still had a smile at the corners of his lips, as if just calmly watching Jiang Li. Jiang Li turned her head to the side, avoiding his gaze, and followed Lin Yao in looking outside.
On the streets were vendors selling sugar figurines and dough figurines, performers doing tricks, and the voices of storytellers. Everywhere was bustling with noise and excitement. Compared to Huangzhou at that time, which had been a complete mess with scorched earth everywhere, the capital was like a paradise. Those wars, corpses, fires, and fears were all very, very far away—clearly two different worlds.
Jiang Li inevitably felt somewhat dazed.
She was wondering whether she should part ways with Ji Heng and the others here and return directly to the mansion. But doing so might instead arouse Jiang Yuanbai’s suspicion, seeming like she was trying to cover something up. But having them truly accompany her to the Jiang family felt inexplicably strange.
If she returned to the Jiang family first, Ye Mingyu would definitely get the news quickly and rush over. After that previous incident, Jiang Yuanbai probably wouldn’t easily let her leave the mansion again.
Just as she was thinking, she saw Lin Yao leaning against the carriage window, reaching his hand outside. He probably found the street performers outside novel and interesting, so he stood up, his body swaying unsteadily with half his body outside the carriage window. Jiang Li was startled and said, “Xiao Yao, come down! This is too dangerous!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the carriage suddenly lurched. Something seemed to have happened up front, as if the horses had been startled. The entire carriage shook violently, then came to an abrupt stop. Lin Yao’s body swayed and he fell out of the carriage.
Jiang Li cried out in alarm.
He was still a child. If he fell like this, he very likely wouldn’t survive!
Jiang Li couldn’t care about anything else and immediately ran down from the carriage. Outside the carriage, quite a crowd of onlookers had already gathered. Not hearing the child’s voice, Jiang Li’s heart tightened. She almost couldn’t bear to look. Zhao Ke and Wen Ji had only just managed to calm the startled horses.
Just then, a gentle female voice suddenly rang out. She said, “Whose child is this?”
Jiang Li looked up.
Before her stood a young woman. This woman was extremely beautiful, so stunning it could almost be called excessive. Yet within her beauty, there was also a trace of dashing heroic spirit. She wore red riding clothes, pretty and vivid. Her dress and appearance didn’t seem like those of someone from the capital. One hand held a riding whip, the other held Lin Yao. Lin Yao, not yet recovered from his shock, looked at Jiang Li and suddenly burst into loud tears with a “wah.”
He reached out toward Jiang Li: “Sister!”
“Is this your younger brother?” As the woman spoke, she released her hand. Lin Yao stumbled toward Jiang Li, threw himself into Jiang Li’s arms, and began sobbing. His body trembled violently—he appeared quite frightened.
Jiang Li said, “Thank you for saving him, Miss.”
The woman raised her eyebrows. Just as she was about to speak, her gaze suddenly passed over Jiang Li’s shoulder and froze.
Jiang Li understood and turned around.
Behind her, Ji Heng had emerged.