“The memorial from Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud Yang Huating has been withheld. Prince Cheng summoned the Right Chancellor to his residence overnight. His Majesty is now searching everywhere for you.”

“Mm.”

“My lord just now…” The tall guard wearing a sword had only spoken halfway when the young man beside him said “Shh,” interrupting his words.

The mountain was completely quiet. The temple in the distance remained brightly lit. This night was destined to be a sleepless one. The beautiful man in fine clothes traveling by night said unhurriedly: “Wenji, don’t talk too much when watching a play.”

The guard called Wenji stopped speaking.

“He likes watching plays.”

Inside the room, Jiang Li was explaining to Tong’er.

“Miss, you’re saying that was… that was the Duke of Su?” Tong’er asked.

Jiang Li nodded: “That’s right.”

Over the hundred years of the Yan Dynasty, talented people had emerged in great numbers, yet the Duke of Su was currently the youngest duke. Speaking of which, he was only twenty-four now.

Ji Heng, Duke of Su—his father Ji Minghan was a General of the Golden Guard who had followed the late emperor in expanding territory, establishing great merit. The late emperor, remembering his devotion, granted him the hereditary title of Duke of Su.

The General of the Golden Guard was brave and extraordinary, never falling out of imperial favor. He was the dream man of all daughters of the Yan Dynasty. However, this great general Ji Minghan had specifically chosen to marry a criminal official’s daughter, Yu Hongye.

Yu Hongye’s father had been implicated in an embezzlement case at the time. After the investigation, all family members were affected by association. Yu Hongye, as a concubine-born daughter of the Yu family, was eventually degraded into a pleasure house. The young Ji Minghan, socializing with colleagues, fell in love with Yu Hongye at first sight.

Yu Hongye was breathtakingly beautiful with a clever and cunning temperament. In fact, even though she was a criminal official’s daughter, the young masters of Yanjing eagerly sought her favor. Later, Ji Minghan redeemed Yu Hongye and married her into his household.

If Ji Minghan had merely been born into an ordinary family, at most he would have been criticized. Unfortunately, Ji Minghan was the General of the Golden Guard, the Duke of Su. The Ji family clan tried everything to prevent Ji Minghan from marrying Yu Hongye. However, Ji Minghan did as he pleased, and they could do nothing about it.

A year after Yu Hongye and Ji Minghan married, Yu Hongye gave birth to Ji Heng. When Ji Heng was one year old, the Eastern Xia invaded. Ji Minghan led troops on campaign. When he returned in triumph, he received the news that Yu Hongye had died of severe illness.

No one knew exactly what had happened. They only knew that all the servants inside and outside the Ji residence were replaced. The several maids who had personally attended to Yu Hongye never appeared again, and Ji Minghan also severed ties with the clan. From then on, the Duke of Su’s family no longer had extended family connections.

After handling everything, Ji Minghan disappeared, leaving only his young son Ji Heng to be raised by his grandfather, Old General Ji. Later, the late emperor died of illness, and Emperor Hongxiao ascended the throne. Ji Heng inherited his title as a youth, becoming the Yan Dynasty’s youngest duke at fourteen.

Ji Heng’s father’s life was quite legendary, and when it came to Ji Heng himself, he was no less remarkable.

What made the people of the Yan Dynasty talk endlessly was first and foremost Ji Heng’s appearance.

It was said that Ji Heng’s birth mother Yu Hongye was a famously beautiful woman in the world. Her every frown and smile were like a person in a painting, yet more spirited than a painted person, truly deserving the title “enchantress.” Ji Heng’s appearance mostly inherited his mother’s beauty, enough to make people stare transfixed. Yet his temperament inherited his father’s coldness. Someone who could become General of the Golden Guard naturally had a resolute character.

Ji Heng was extremely beautiful and extremely cold. This didn’t mean he was distant toward people, but rather that his heart was cruel and his moods unpredictable. Perhaps one second he would still be treating you gently, and the next second he could order someone to drag you out and behead you without batting an eye. The people of Yanjing called him “Jade-Faced Asura,” but no matter how gloomy his temperament, there were still countless young women who threw themselves at him one after another.

He himself was also very flamboyant. According to rumors, in official Yanjing families, not to mention ministers, even princes and imperial sons had to be wary when they saw him. Ji Heng was deeply calculating. If you offended him, you’d just be finding yourself a heap of trouble. He loved wearing bright colors, which made him look even more gorgeously striking. He also loved beauty and hated ugliness—even the servant who emptied chamber pots in his residence was bright and handsome.

Ji Heng had two hobbies: one was appreciating flowers, the other was watching plays. His residence collected all kinds of rare flowers from the world. He loved inviting theater troupes to perform. If they performed well, he’d reward them with a thousand taels of gold. If they performed poorly, he’d have them—troupe and all—thrown out of Yanjing, a thousand li away. The performers in Yanjing both loved and hated him.

Some said Ji Heng’s love of watching plays was because he had a fondness for keeping actors—many young masters from prominent households in Yanjing also had such unspeakable hobbies. That is, until later when Liu Sheng, the star performer of the famous Jixiang Theater Troupe in the capital, had all four limbs broken and was thrown out the gate of the Duke’s residence. It was said he’d been thrown out after failing to climb into the Duke’s bed. Only then did this rumor collapse of its own accord.

In short, the Duke of Su, Ji Heng, was an arrogant, moody, gloomy and terrifying, unappreciative-of-beauty absolute beauty.

A beauty with poison, but still a beauty.

Tong’er had also heard of the Duke of Su’s great name. Eight years ago when they came to this nunnery, Jiang Li was only seven years old. The Duke of Su was already sixteen then. Who in Yanjing didn’t know him? She never expected to encounter him here.

“How did Miss recognize that as the Duke of Su?” Tong’er asked. “Miss has never seen the Duke of Su before.”

Jiang Li smiled slightly.

How did she know the Duke of Su? When she was still Xue Fangfei, after marrying into Yanjing with Shen Yurong, gradually the reputation of Yanjing’s greatest beauty fell upon her. As the Duke of Su who loved beauty and hated ugliness, he had naturally heard of Xue Fangfei’s reputation at the time.

And how did the Duke of Su evaluate Xue Fangfei? It was said that once on the street, the Duke of Su saw Xue Fangfei shopping at a jewelry shop with Shen Yurong’s younger sister. With just one glance, he mocked: “Beautiful indeed, but utterly soulless.”

These words circulated as a joke in Yanjing for quite a while, especially among the young misses of prominent families. With Xue Fangfei suddenly appearing as such an absolutely beautiful woman, the young misses naturally weren’t convinced. Ji Heng had given them a satisfying outlet. Some men defended Xue Fangfei, yet didn’t dare openly offend Ji Heng.

Xue Fangfei herself didn’t think much of it. Shen Yurong was upset about it, and Xue Fangfei had instead comforted him. Shen Yurong’s younger sister and mother felt Xue Fangfei had embarrassed the Shen family. For this, they ordered her confined and forbidden from leaving the house for three months.

Thinking about it now, she still wasn’t very angry about the Duke of Su’s words. She even felt Ji Heng’s words were quite right. At that time, married to Shen Yurong, in order to please Madam Shen and her sister-in-law, she had suppressed her own nature and lived with bound hands and feet. Learning to be a virtuous wife and good mother, she no longer had the spirit and joy of her girlhood.

Loving someone to the point of sacrificing oneself and becoming another person—wasn’t that being so humble as to be trampled in the dust, without a soul?

Jiang Li said: “In the entire Yan Dynasty, only the Duke of Su could look like that. Moreover, he has a red mole at the corner of his eye.”

Tong’er didn’t doubt otherwise, only asking puzzledly: “But why would the Duke of Su come here? Is he also here to burn incense?”

Of course not.

“Perhaps he came to appreciate flowers,” Jiang Li thought, and couldn’t help but smile. “He unexpectedly watched a good play. Both great pleasures of life satisfied in one day—his mood must be very good right now.”

Of course, she herself felt the same.

The male lead is Duke Ji, the beautiful one! The Ji family stands at the pinnacle of beauty ╮（╯▽╰）╭