“Actually, you don’t need to pretend to be obedient, A-Li.” he said.

Jiang Li looked at Ji Heng with some confusion. His tone was too familiar. She could clearly hear that he was calling her “A-Li” (fox), not “A-Li” (pear).

Perhaps from the very beginning, he had seen through her, just as she had seen through him.

Jiang Li shrugged her shoulders: “It’s become a habit.”

In her previous life, she had been truly obedient, though it hadn’t brought her any good results. Instead, she ended up covered in blood and tears, and even implicated her family. Now she was more cautious and careful, so pretending to be obedient came even more naturally to her, ingrained deep in her bones.

Ji Heng always spoke of acting and playing roles—but wasn’t she also an actor? Painting her face with stage makeup, concealing her thoughts, performing countless turns on stage while wielding deadly intent beneath.

Ji Heng looked at her for a while, then said: “Go back.” He handed the umbrella to Jiang Li, acting like a devoted young master who thought of everything for her, unwilling to let his beloved suffer even a bit of cold.

Jiang Li was momentarily stunned. She took the umbrella from his hand, stood up from the stone, and said with a charming smile: “Then I must thank the Duke.”

“No need for thanks,” Ji Heng said. “Protecting what’s mine is only natural.”

“When you say it like that,” Jiang Li pondered for a moment, “it makes me feel like I have a powerful backing, and I’m tempted to throw caution to the wind and stir up trouble without any reservations.”

“Haven’t you caused enough trouble already?” Ji Heng said indifferently. “With or without backing, you’re equally fierce.”

“That’s true.” Jiang Li nodded. “I’ll be going then.” She noticed that beneath the plain white umbrella surface, there was an embroidered peony flower, faint and subtle—if one didn’t look carefully, it would be almost invisible, yet it was exactly the style Ji Heng always preferred.

Holding the umbrella, she returned to her room with Tong’er and Bai Xue.

Ji Heng didn’t leave immediately.

He stood by the pond. Whether it was an illusion or not, the snow from the sky seemed to grow slightly heavier. The wind blew slantwise, and snowflakes drifted across the water surface—white, crystalline points that quickly disappeared from sight.

Wen Ji stood quietly behind Ji Heng and asked softly: “My lord, why do you help Second Miss Jiang?”

Wen Ji had followed Ji Heng since he was ten years old. They had a master-servant relationship spanning over a decade. Ji Heng was a solitary person. Others feared him, dreaded him, schemed against him, framed him—they didn’t dare easily ask him “why.” Wen Ji dared.

Ji Heng said: “Entrusting her life to others, living with her existence perpetually hanging on a knife’s edge, yet still able to smile.” His voice carried a smile, yet also seemed tinged with vast loneliness. “Wen Ji, don’t you think she’s very much like me?”

The difference was that he had fallen into an abyss and bloomed flowers from darkness, while Jiang Li carved a bloody path through thorns, trying to grasp even the tiniest sliver of sunlight through the gaps in the forest.

She had taken a path completely different from his, so he felt compassion for her. Just like the rare flowers growing in the garden of his mansion—originating from places of extreme difficulty and danger, desperately climbing upward. If not carefully tended, they would bloom briefly like ephemeral flowers, then quickly wither and vanish forever from the world.

There were countless rare flowers in the world, but there was only one Jiang Li.

Amidst the chaos, she had disrupted his plans time and again. Though it caused no serious harm, it made him discover this fierce, unique man-eating flower. Ji Heng could see through her pretense, see through her manipulation, and also see through her occasional genuine feelings and sorrow.

He wanted to place this seemingly docile yet fierce plant in the garden of the capital to see how much would remain after the slaughter.

They had met on narrow paths while playing their roles, and torn off each other’s masks amidst strategic positioning—hypocritical yet sincere, using each other while harboring a trace of genuine mutual understanding.

How wonderful.

In a short life of mere decades, to encounter someone so similar to himself yet completely different—what an interesting thing.

So he hoped she would live.

At least for now.

…

The next day, Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu’s group set off to return to Xiangyang.

Most of the Tongxiang villagers voluntarily wanted to go to the capital with Jiang Li and the others to file a complaint—not only to punish Feng Yutang, but also to seek justice for the now-insane Xue Huaiyuan. Jiang Li initially thought there were too many people, but the common folk were filled with righteous indignation—looking at the mentally confused Xue Huaiyuan, many people’s eyes grew moist.

In the end, except for the elderly, weak, women, and children who couldn’t travel far, everyone else followed the carriage convoy.

As for the travel expenses, Feng Yutang had originally plundered the people’s wealth and planned to flee with gold and silver treasures. Unexpectedly, before he could escape, he was blocked by the common folk at the county yamen entrance. Those large chests hadn’t been taken away either, and the gold and silver inside were enough to cover the villagers’ expenses for the journey to the capital.

Before going to the capital, they had to return to Xiangyang first to obtain the official order, and also to explain the situation to the Ye family. The common folk were cheerful, but Jiang Li accompanied the insane Xue Huaiyuan in the carriage. Xue Huaiyuan didn’t even look at her, playing happily by himself with a small wooden figurine, calling out “A-Li” and “A-Li,” then saying “I want to show this to A-Li and A-Zhao to play with.”

Jiang Li watched with a heavy heart. Ye Mingyu was outside, and during a rest stop while traveling, he asked Jiang Li: “A-Li, although we initially told Mother and the others that I asked you to come help me with matters, now things have blown up. How should we handle this situation?”

With so many Tongxiang villagers, the Ye family would certainly be shocked when they saw them. Once they returned to the capital, there would be the Dali Temple proceedings, and they had even used Jiang Yuanbai’s name to summon the Bureau of Weaving official to handle matters. If Jiang Yuanbai found out, who knew how he would blame Jiang Li.

These were no small matters—it all depended on how Jiang Li would explain them.

“It’s fine,” Jiang Li said. “I’ll explain to Grandmother and the others.” Ye Mingyu truly couldn’t explain these matters—he had no connection with Xue Huaiyuan whatsoever, so there was no reason for him to do these things.

Jiang Li was different. Although she also had no way to explain, the Ye family wouldn’t press her too hard, and might even assume these matters were orchestrated by Jiang Yuanbai, so they wouldn’t worry too much.

Ye Mingyu thought about it and felt Jiang Li was right, so he agreed.

The road back to Xiangyang was even faster than the journey to Tongxiang. Perhaps the common folk couldn’t wait to obtain the official order from the Xiangyang prefect to enter the capital and clear Xue Huaiyuan’s name, so they traveled faster than usual, with no one dragging their feet. Feng Yutang was locked in a prison cart with the crowd, along with several of his henchmen, all listless as they moved forward with the convoy.

They couldn’t run, couldn’t move, and knew the situation was lost, so they were all disheartened. Jiang Li had Ye Mingyu’s men watch Feng Yutang and his group, fearing that Princess Yongning’s people might get wind of things and simply silence them by killing Feng Yutang and his cohorts, leaving no evidence behind.

However, Jiang Li believed that with Ji Heng around, this shouldn’t happen. She herself had gone through such a huge detour to accomplish even this small part of the matter. Since Ji Heng enjoyed watching the drama unfold, he would allow no random cats and dogs to ruin the show and prevent a satisfying conclusion.

Upon returning to Xiangyang, Jiang Li didn’t go to the Ye family first. She had Ye Mingyu find a place to settle the villagers temporarily, then went directly to find Tong Zhiyang with her men.

Tong Zhiyang wasn’t at the prefect’s office, but was staying with his mistress and son in a rather shabby-looking small courtyard.

It was said that after Madam Tong, née He, had that quarrel with Tong Zhiyang that day, she went straight back to her mother’s home. Madam He’s father was furious and threatened to kill Tong Zhiyang to vindicate He Shi. Tong Zhiyang was so frightened he didn’t even dare to perform his duties as prefect. In fact, he couldn’t perform them anymore—he had only become prefect through He Shi’s influence. Now that he had offended He Shi, he couldn’t keep his official hat either. Every day he hid in this small courtyard with his mistress and son, keeping his tail between his legs.

Jiang Li didn’t waste words with Tong Zhiyang and said: “The official order I need—will Magistrate Tong give it or not?”

Tong Zhiyang truly dared not show his anger toward Jiang Li and said: “Second Miss Jiang, I don’t even dare enter the prefect’s yamen now…”

“Your wife is so domineering only because He Shi’s brother-in-law is an official in the capital, serving as Bureau of Clocks Director,” Jiang Li said. “If you want to live openly and not fear being hunted by the He family, you must make He Shi lose her support and have your brother-in-law lose his position. If you prepare this official order for me, I’ll make sure He Shi’s brother-in-law can’t continue as an official in the capital. Without support, the He family naturally won’t dare touch you.” She glanced at Tong Zhiyang. “You won’t trust me?”

Tong Zhiyang’s eyes lit up as he asked Jiang Li: “Is what you’re saying true?”

“I am the First Minister’s daughter,” Jiang Li smiled. “You don’t trust me?”

“No, no, no,” Tong Zhiyang hurriedly said. “I trust you, I trust you.” Of course he trusted her. Shortly after Jiang Li came to Tongxiang, she had the Bureau of Weaving Director from the capital rush to Xiangyang within just a few days to handle the Ye family’s case. And now she was requesting an official order to help the convicted criminal Xue Huaiyuan overturn his case. Since ancient times, helping convicted criminals overturn their cases required extreme caution—one wrong move could implicate oneself. If one didn’t have absolute confidence, who would dare do such a thing? Only because she was Miss Jiang could she be so fearless. If Jiang Li said she could do it, she certainly could.

“Second Miss Jiang, I have one more request,” Tong Zhiyang wiped his sweat. “If He Shi’s brother-in-law loses his position, that’s only natural. The Ye family matter was all their doing. I was just following orders… I’ve been utterly loyal to Second Miss Jiang and the Ye family! Could you let me continue as prefect? I promise I’ll look after the Ye family in the future!” He looked at Jiang Li full of hope.

Jiang Li’s smile faded as she said coolly: “Magistrate Tong, people’s hearts are never satisfied, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Moreover, as the Jiang family’s in-laws, I believe whoever becomes Xiangyang prefect would look after the Ye family—there’s no need for Magistrate Tong to worry about that. Furthermore, the current Magistrate Tong can’t even protect the mother and son in this house, and you’re in danger yourself. That I can make He Shi’s brother-in-law lose his position means at least you won’t have to hide and can stop worrying about Tong Yu being killed. This is already great fortune in your misfortune. For Magistrate Tong to want even more—isn’t that going too far?”

Tong Zhiyang looked at Jiang Li and couldn’t help shrinking his neck. Jiang Li’s words weren’t harsh, but the warning was very clear.

Of course Jiang Li had no intention of genuinely helping Tong Zhiyang. To her, the Right Minister who was tied to Prince Cheng would be her opponent sooner or later. He Shi’s brother-in-law was the Right Minister’s man, and removing him was merely convenient for her. Once she returned to the capital and spread word about the Ye family matter, that Bureau of Clocks Director would naturally have trouble. Jiang Li didn’t believe the cunning Right Minister would maintain principles and protect a Bureau of Clocks Director.

As for Tong Zhiyang—a prefect who had once obeyed orders to frame the Ye family—she would never give him a second chance. Now all of Xiangyang knew the relationship between the Ye and Jiang families wasn’t as bad as rumored. Whoever became the new Xiangyang prefect would naturally be courteous to the Ye family—they really didn’t need Tong Zhiyang’s guarantee.

Tong Zhiyang knew he was in the wrong and said nothing more, only saying to Jiang Li: “Please wait a moment, Second Miss Jiang.” He got up and went into the house.

In less than fifteen minutes, Tong Zhiyang returned with an official order. These orders were all formulaic—all Tong Zhiyang needed to do was affix his seal. Fortunately, He Shi hadn’t yet demanded he hand over the official seal, so preparing an official order for Jiang Li was simple for Tong Zhiyang.

Jiang Li took the official order, examined it, saw it was usable, then smiled at Tong Zhiyang: “Then I thank Magistrate Tong.” She turned and left gracefully.

Tong Zhiyang ran out after her eagerly, saying ingratiatingly: “Second Miss Jiang, about the Bureau of Clocks Director matter… don’t forget!”

…

Having obtained the official order, A Shun came on orders to bring Jiang Li back to the Ye family. Ye Mingyu had settled the Tongxiang villagers and had already returned to the Ye family first. Such a large group entering Xiangyang naturally attracted countless eyes. Such an earth-shattering matter—the Ye family was probably still interrogating Ye Mingyu at this moment.

Ye Mingyu remembered what Jiang Li had said—that she would explain to the Ye family—so he said nothing and had A Shun fetch her.

Jiang Li got into the carriage and headed to the Ye family first.

Since Xue Huaiyuan and Feng Yutang were different from ordinary people, Jiang Li feared something might go wrong, so she had them settled in the Ye family courtyard. Just arriving at the gate, she saw the servants all looking serious, as if something major had happened to the Ye family that required high alert.

Seeing Jiang Li and A Shun arrive, the gatekeeper immediately shouted inside: “The young miss is back! The young miss is back!”

Jiang Li: “…”

As if her return would provide a reasonable explanation for everything.

Jiang Li entered the Ye family home. In Jinhua Hall, all the Ye family members had gathered. Ye Mingyu was surrounded in the center, hanging his head as if he’d done something wrong.

“I told you not to cause trouble, and now look—you didn’t cause enough trouble, so you even dared to kidnap an official? What on earth is going on?” Ye Mingxuan scolded him.

Ye Mingyu felt very wronged. This time it really wasn’t his doing. Although he usually caused plenty of trouble outside, he never got involved in these complex official matters. Moreover, when traveling the jianghu, he always used aliases—who would use their real name? But he couldn’t betray his own niece. Ah, what bad luck!

Just as he was thinking this, Jiang Li came in from outside.

Old Madam Ye saw her first and called out: “A-Li!”

Jiang Li walked quickly to Old Madam Ye’s side.

Old Madam Ye had looked better these past few days. With the maids’ support, she could stand up and walk a few steps. She took Jiang Li’s hand and examined her carefully from head to toe before breathing a sigh of relief. “Seeing you’re well, I’m relieved.”

“Grandmother, please rest assured. I’m very well,” Jiang Li smiled. “Uncle has been taking care of me all along.”

“A-Li,” Guan Shi couldn’t help asking, “what exactly is going on? Those people outside… how did you get involved with the Tongxiang County Deputy’s case?”

Jiang Li showed some difficulty, then after a long pause said: “This… was actually Father’s idea.”

“Jiang Yuanbai?” Ye Minghui frowned. “Jiang Yuanbai sent you to Xiangyang for this matter?”

“More or less. Since I was coming to Xiangyang to see Grandfather, Father had other plans and asked me to make a trip to Tongxiang. This matter is actually directed by Father. I’m just following his instructions. When we return to the capital, Father will personally supervise all these matters.” Jiang Li smiled. “It’s my fault for making Grandmother and my uncles and aunts worry.”

She unhesitatingly pushed all these matters onto Jiang Yuanbai. The Ye family wasn’t very interested in Jiang Yuanbai, and by completely removing herself from the situation, the Ye family wouldn’t worry too much.

Indeed, after hearing this, the Ye family members exchanged glances. Though their expressions still showed some strangeness, they weren’t as urgent as at first.

Jiang Yuanbai was an old fox. The Ye family didn’t understand official matters, so they couldn’t really question why he would do such things.

Ye Mingyu, seeing this, secretly gave Jiang Li a mental thumbs up. Reading more books really had its benefits—with just a few words, she’d convinced the family. If he had Jiang Li’s eloquence, he wouldn’t have to endure Grandmother and his brothers and sisters-in-law pressuring him about marriage every year.

It seemed that if you were slow-witted, you needed to read more. Ye Mingyu resolved that he must hire a teacher another day to learn better speaking skills.

Although she’d pushed the matter onto Jiang Yuanbai, Jiang Li still had to explain Xue Huaiyuan’s case to the Ye family. However, she didn’t mention that Feng Yutang had a master above him. So to the Ye family’s ears, it was Feng Yutang who framed Xue Huaiyuan to become county deputy himself, then committed all manner of evil deeds.

Ye Rufeng said: “That Feng Yutang is truly despicable! Poor County Deputy Xue.”

“To think such villains exist in this world,” Ye Jia’er was very moved. “What’s even more frightening is that such villains can become officials.”

Ye Mingxuan pondered for a while, then said: “So this time, Jiang Yuanbai actually did something good.” He glanced at Jiang Li.

Ye Mingxuan was a smart man. Although Jiang Li had pushed everything onto Jiang Yuanbai, Ye Mingxuan still sensed something wasn’t quite right. What benefit could Jiang Yuanbai gain from handling the Xue family’s case? Jiang Yuanbai wasn’t some upright official devoted to the country and people, and more importantly, Jiang Yuanbai had no relationship with the Xue family—why would he specifically send Jiang Li on a trip to Tongxiang just to overturn the Xue family’s case?

But suspicion was one thing—without other evidence, Ye Mingxuan had to let it go.

“Since it’s a good deed, and Magistrate Xue is a pitiful man,” Old Madam Ye said, “A-Li, you should return to the capital soon. Official orders have time limits. From Xiangyang to the capital takes quite a few days. If you leave early, you can return to the capital early.” Old Madam Ye was reasonable. Having heard the whole story, she advised Jiang Li accordingly.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Jiang Li smiled. “We’ll stay in Xiangyang one day, then depart tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Zhuo Shi was surprised. “Why so urgent?”

“Sister-in-law, we’re going to handle official business. Of course we can’t delay,” Ye Mingyu said.

“What, you’re going too?” Ye Mingxuan asked Ye Mingyu.

“Of course! As A-Li said, with me there, I can take proper care of A-Li. With so many people, do you want A-Li to lead all these Tongxiang villagers to the capital alone? Do you want to exhaust A-Li to death? I’m different—back when I roamed the jianghu, how many underlings did I lead? I’m perfect for this kind of leadership position. With me in charge, I guarantee A-Li will be comfortable the whole journey. Any mountain bandits, robbers, or thieves—none will dare come. If one comes, I’ll kill one. If two come, I’ll kill both!” He gestured fiercely.

“Forget it. I think you’d just add to the chaos,” Ye Mingxuan said without courtesy.

“Uncle Mingxuan, this time I truly owe much to Uncle Mingyu’s help,” Jiang Li smiled. “I hope Uncle Mingyu can accompany us when entering the capital. With him there, I’ll feel much more at ease.” Ye Mingyu was a wonderful family member. He never asked too many questions, was carefree, yet could understand Jiang Li to the greatest extent. With Ye Mingyu around, many things would be more convenient.

Hearing Jiang Li speak for him, Ye Mingyu immediately straightened his chest proudly and gave Ye Mingxuan a “see that?” look.

Ye Mingxuan wanted to object, but Old Madam Ye spoke up. She said: “Enough. Since A-Li wants Third Brother to go along, let Third Brother go. A-Li is a girl after all. Even though she has guards, I’m still not reassured. Third Brother, I’m entrusting A-Li to you. If anything happens to A-Li, I’ll hold you accountable when you return.”

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Ye Mingyu said with delight. “When I handle things, you can relax!”

Old Madam Ye turned to look at Jiang Li, her eyes full of reluctance. “A-Li, you just returned to Xiangyang not long ago, and now you’re leaving… I don’t know when you’ll come again.”

Jiang Li’s heart softened. She held Old Madam Ye’s hand and said: “Grandmother, it’s all right. When I finish this matter and return to Xiangyang, I’ll find another opportunity to come back soon. When your health improves more, have Uncle and Aunt bring you to the capital. Cousin Ye is now working as Director of the Board of Revenue in the capital. Once he’s firmly established, it would be good for our Ye family to settle in the capital too.”

The phrase “our Ye family” made Old Madam Ye’s heart feel warm and comforted. The smile on her face couldn’t be stopped. “Good, good. Then I’ll take good care of myself here in Xiangyang. When I can walk, I’ll come to the capital with your uncles and aunts to see Shijie and you.”

Ye Minghui and the others felt somewhat moved. Before Jiang Li returned to the Ye family, Old Madam Ye was so ill she couldn’t even get out of bed and lacked this kind of energy. Jiang Li hadn’t been at the Ye family long, yet Old Madam’s health improved day by day.

After all, people needed something to look forward to. With hope, everything had promise.

They talked more with the Ye family until it was late evening. After dinner, everyone dispersed.

Xue Huaiyuan had already gone to sleep. Jiang Li went to check on him and instructed the surrounding guards to watch over him carefully before returning to her own room. Unexpectedly, she found Ye Jia’er there.

Tong’er had brewed hot tea for Ye Jia’er. As Jiang Li walked in, she called: “Elder Cousin.”

“Younger Cousin,” Ye Jia’er stood up.

Jiang Li said: “For Elder Cousin to come find me so late, is there something you need?”

Ye Jia’er pointed somewhat bashfully at the box on the table. “This is for you.”

Jiang Li opened it and found it was a garment. It appeared to be a wide-sleeved, narrow-bodied long dress in gentle pearl white, but under the lamplight it shimmered with rippling brilliance, like ocean wave patterns, flashing with fine blue light.

“Third Uncle’s peacock feathers—we used them to experiment. We made sample cloth first, produced several bolts of fabric. Look, this is roughly what the material looks like,” Ye Jia’er said. “Since we were still exploring, we wasted a lot. So far, we’ve successfully made only this one bolt. With Father and Uncle’s permission, I had it made into clothing to give to you. This was your idea—since we can no longer do the Guxiang silk business, we need to create new materials that can rival Guxiang silk… Younger Cousin, what do you think of this fabric?”

Jiang Li said: “It’s beautiful.”

“Really?” Ye Jia’er’s anticipation suddenly became real. She looked at Jiang Li with eyes brimming with joy.

“I never speak falsely.”

“Hearing you say so, I’m relieved. Younger Cousin, you’ve seen so many fine things in the capital. Since even you say it’s good, it certainly can’t be bad. I trust you,” Ye Jia’er said happily. “We discussed it and decided that since this fabric’s pattern resembles ocean waves, we’ll call it Wave Pattern.”

“Wave Pattern…” Jiang Li murmured twice, then looked at her. “That’s a lovely name.”

“I thought of it,” Ye Jia’er said bashfully, pinching her skirt hem. This usually composed young woman showed some shyness. “I thought that since Younger Cousin is the First Minister’s daughter, you must know many noble ladies. If Younger Cousin wears this garment out and others think you look beautiful in it, they’ll naturally ask what fabric this is and where it’s made. Then you can mention the name Wave Pattern.” She paused before continuing: “Younger Cousin, please don’t think we merchants are all so profit-driven. It’s just that if the Ye family can’t quickly create materials to replace Guxiang silk, we’ll decline. The Ye family business will eventually fall apart. I don’t want Grandmother and Grandfather’s life’s work to go to waste. Since my surname is Ye, I must shoulder this responsibility.”

She said hesitantly: “I know my request is excessive…”

“It’s not excessive,” Jiang Li said.

Ye Jia’er looked at her.

“Though I don’t have the Ye surname, my mother does. Half my blood is Ye family blood. Naturally I should share the Ye family’s responsibilities.” Jiang Li smiled. “Moreover, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. Wave Pattern currently exists as only one batch, so it won’t be easy to produce. Rare things are precious—the harder Wave Pattern is to obtain, the greater people’s desire for it will be.”

“This is the Ye family’s opportunity, Elder Cousin. You’ve seized it. I believe the Ye family business won’t lack successors.”

This was Jiang Li’s sincere belief. If Ye Jia’er didn’t understand how to manage the Ye family business, no matter how wealthy the family was, when the older generation and the three Ye brothers gradually aged, this family fortune would eventually scatter.

But Ye Jia’er was clearly very intelligent. She had inherited the Ye family’s business acumen and was already showing it at a young age.

“Elder Cousin, leave this matter to me,” Jiang Li stroked the garment in the box. “I will definitely wear it at an appropriate time when all eyes are watching.”

Ye Jia’er stared blankly at Jiang Li. After a while, she suddenly smiled and nodded vigorously.

“Yes!”