The snow in winter was heavy. By nighttime, the light snow turned into heavy snow, so all meetings and reunions carried the travel-worn quality of one returning home on a snowy night.
Yet within this weary travel, there were also some exquisite, beautiful scenes.
The young woman leaned out halfway, the astonishment on her face frozen in an instant, appearing adorable in her surprise. Meanwhile, the red-robed young man smiled as he pressed the handle of his fan against the window, unhurriedly lifting his eyes to look, his gaze full of seemingly present yet absent affection.
Both pure and alluring, both unexpected and yet like an arrangement in a play.
In a moment of silence, the young man broke the stillness. His lips curved upward as he asked, “Stunned?”
Jiang Li came to her senses and said, “Why has the Duke come?”
“Aren’t you supposed to go to the Duke’s mansion tonight?” Ji Heng said with a smile. “I came to fetch you.”
Jiang Li: “…”
The four words “I came to fetch you” should have been very gentle, carrying infinite tenderness, yet when spoken by the person before her, they carried a kind of unnatural feeling that made one’s hair stand on end. Jiang Li said, “The Duke needn’t trouble himself so. Actually, having Zhao Ke come would suffice, or I could go myself.”
“Oh,” he said. “I’ve already come.”
Since he had already come, she couldn’t send him away. Jiang Li sighed and stood up. Ji Heng extended his hand, resting it on her arm, and said, “Jump down.”
Jiang Li stepped onto the stool with one foot, then onto the desk, supporting herself on Ji Heng’s arm as she jumped down from the window. The window wasn’t high, but when jumping down she still felt somewhat unsteady, instinctively grabbing hold of Ji Heng’s robe.
Only after Jiang Li had steadied herself did she react—huh? Why jump out the window when she could simply open the door and walk out?
She glanced at Ji Heng again and silently sighed inwardly. She’d been led astray again.
Ji Heng examined Jiang Li with great interest and said, “Your outfit is quite suitable.”
Since she would be traveling at night, Jiang Li couldn’t dress too elaborately. Women’s skirts were too long, so she hadn’t even brought a cloak. She only wore a plain white padded jacket that Bai Xue had prepared, with gray trousers below and black boots on her feet. Her long hair was all tied high behind her head—a man’s attire.
Though dressed as a man, in the snowy ground under the lantern light, her features appeared even more gentle and clear, with an indescribable refreshing quality.
“Many thanks for the Duke’s praise,” Jiang Li responded. She asked, “How shall we leave?”
“Through the back door,” Ji Heng answered.
“Back door?” Jiang Li was startled. “What back door?”
Facts proved that regarding the interior of the Jiang mansion, Ji Heng was far more familiar with it than she, Second Miss Jiang. Winding past several gardens rarely seen on ordinary days, there actually was a back door. They encountered no one along the way. Although she knew Ji Heng must have arranged in advance to dismiss all servants who might appear, it was too simple—so simple it gave Jiang Li the illusion that the entire Jiang mansion was made of paper, and just anyone could enter. If the Jiang mansion were ransacked clean during the night, Jiang Li probably wouldn’t be too surprised.
After all, there weren’t even any guards at the gates at night!
Ji Heng led Jiang Li out through the back door, almost brazenly.
Outside the back door, in the snowy ground, there actually stood a black sedan chair. Before the sedan chair stood Zhao Ke and four bearers. Seeing Jiang Li and Ji Heng emerge, they came forward and lifted the curtain.
Jiang Li hesitated. A sedan chair was different from a carriage—for a man and woman to share a sedan was somewhat intimate.
While she was still hesitating, Ji Heng unhurriedly entered the sedan. After waiting a long time and seeing Jiang Li not moving, he asked, “Aren’t you getting in?”
The man spoke so casually, utterly relaxed, as if everything was just her overthinking. Jiang Li couldn’t help but wonder if she was making too much of it. But the journey was still far—not taking the sedan and walking on the street, if she were recognized by Princess Yongning’s people, it would likely cause trouble. She could only grit her teeth and get in.
Zhao Ke ordered the bearers to lift the sedan.
The sedan chair was as luxurious and exquisite as its owner. Inside there was even hot tea and snacks—quite a rare enjoyment in winter. However, no matter what, this was a sedan meant for one person, so even though it was spacious, the distance between Jiang Li and Ji Heng couldn’t be drawn very far.
One could almost say they were quite close.
Ji Heng handed Jiang Li a cup of tea. The tea was still warm. Jiang Li took a sip, and the cold dissipated considerably. She looked at the snacks on the small table and suddenly blurted out, “Did the Duke make these himself?”
In that instant, Jiang Li could confirm that Ji Heng’s movements paused, and the tea in his hand spilled out.
The people carrying the sedan outside walked very steadily—the Duke’s mansion’s bearers were probably carefully selected, not even a hint of jostling could be felt. Therefore, it absolutely couldn’t be because the sedan jolted that the tea spilled. It was because of her words.
Ji Heng set down the teacup, took out a snow-white silk handkerchief, and methodically wiped the tea from his hands. Finally, he looked at Jiang Li. “No.”
Jiang Li: “…”
Not is just not—to say “not” with such murderous intent, only Ji Heng could do that. Jiang Li suddenly understood why outsiders spread rumors that Ji Heng was temperamental and unpredictable. He really was temperamental and unpredictable.
“What is Haitang to you?” Ji Heng suddenly asked.
The subject changed too quickly. Jiang Li didn’t react for a moment, only hearing Ji Heng say, “You’re so anxious to search for her whereabouts, willing to ask for my help, not afraid I’ll spy on your secrets—she seems very important to you.”
“She is indeed very important,” Jiang Li smiled. “Also, I never thought to hide anything from the Duke.”
“Don’t speak so nicely—you’re the most cunning,” Ji Heng smiled carelessly and said, “You know this woman called Haitang, just like you’ve long known Qiongzhi from Xihua House and Xue Huaiyuan from Tongxiang.”
“I do know her,” Jiang Li said. “She’s someone who can help me bring down Princess Yongning.”
“What I’ve never understood is,” Ji Heng said softly, “why must you insist on putting Yongning to death?”
“The Duke only sees that I want to put Princess Yongning to death, but doesn’t see that Princess Yongning has repeatedly tried to harm me,” Jiang Li smiled faintly. “Officials are allowed to set fires, but common people aren’t allowed to light lamps—this isn’t fair.”
When she said the three words “isn’t fair,” though she could suppress her emotions, one could still hear a trace of resentment in them. She truly felt it wasn’t fair.
Ji Heng propped up his head, looking at her, and said, “You’re the Prime Minister’s daughter, not a common person.”
“Does being the Prime Minister’s daughter grant special privileges?” Jiang Li countered. “But in my view, when facing Yongning or even higher people, it’s completely worthless.”
Yongning saw her as the daughter of a minor official and could freely oppress the entire Xue family. But even if she had been the daughter of an even higher-ranking official back then, as long as she blocked Yongning’s path and her status wasn’t as high as Yongning’s, Yongning could still do as she pleased. This was the truth of the current state of the world—common people were oppressed by minor officials, minor officials were oppressed by major officials, major officials feared the royal nobility, and the royal nobility bowed before the emperor.
Layer upon layer of exploitation, with blood and tears at the very bottom. The Prime Minister’s daughter didn’t taste the world’s suffering and couldn’t understand, but as a commoner, Xue Fangfei had personally experienced what it felt like to be bullied by those in power.
“You seem very angry.” A smiling voice came to her ear. Only then did Jiang Li realize that without noticing, Ji Heng had already sat up straight, so in the not-very-spacious sedan, Ji Heng and she were extremely close. Near her ear, she could even feel the warm breath Ji Heng exhaled.
Ticklish, carrying an inexplicable heat, it made the murderous intent that had surged in her heart for a moment dissipate considerably.
Jiang Li deliberately moved back a bit, but unexpectedly she was already at the edge. Her head nearly knocked against the sedan beam. Fortunately, Ji Heng was quick-eyed and quick-handed, extending his hand to cushion behind her head, so what the back of Jiang Li’s head touched was Ji Heng’s palm.
His hands were always icy cold. Though he wore robes red as fire, he was as cool and detached as ice.
Jiang Li paused briefly and softly thanked him.
Ji Heng withdrew his hand and said lazily, “You needn’t be so hostile toward officials. Jiang Yuanbai is the Prime Minister. What you’ve said has already placed you in opposition to officials. Little one,” he reminded her, whether with good or ill intent, “you’ll be exposed.”
You’ll be exposed.
Exposed as what? Jiang Li became somewhat nervous in an instant. Would she be exposed as not truly being Second Miss Jiang? Although she had many mysteries about her that seemed incredible to others, as long as she herself didn’t speak of it, no one would imagine that within Jiang Li’s shell hid another soul.
But that was dealing with ordinary people. If dealing with Ji Heng… Jiang Li raised her eyes to look at him.
The young man’s eyes were deep, carrying a smile. His phoenix eyes were long and upturned, their color slightly heavy, thus all the more delineating their beautiful shape. His nose bridge was high, his lips crimson red, like a cup of poisonous wine carrying mystery. You couldn’t glimpse his inner thoughts, yet felt that being watched by his eyes, the secrets of your heart had nowhere to hide.
He was too dangerous, too clear-headed, too rational, and too easily able to make people sink into him.
He wasn’t an ordinary person. If it were him, perhaps he would discover the secret about her. Jiang Li thought without reason.
Jiang Li fell silent. She didn’t know what to say. Every sentence she spoke could become a clue for Ji Heng. The more she said, the more mistakes she’d make, so she could only say nothing.
However, Ji Heng surprisingly didn’t continue questioning her. As if slightly drowsy, he propped up his head with his hand, leaned against one side of the sedan, and closed his eyes.
In the narrow sedan, the two were close together, simultaneously silent. One could hear the whistling wind outside the sedan, and the bearers’ boots treading in the snow, making rustling sounds that added some liveliness to the cold, quiet night.
Each harboring their own thoughts, after an unknown amount of time passed, the sedan stopped. Zhao Ke’s voice sounded outside: “Duke, we’ve arrived.”
Ji Heng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, lifted the curtain, and got out first, then waited for Jiang Li to descend.
The Duke’s mansion at night wasn’t as gorgeous as it appeared in daylight. Under the hazy lamplight, it displayed a somewhat unreal appearance. Like a person who had trekked through deep mountains for a long time seeing an immortal palace temple, looking again at the handsome young man who didn’t seem like a mortal, one might mistakenly think they’d arrived at the lair of spirits and demons.
Jiang Li descended. The Duke’s mansion’s main gate opened, and she walked in with Ji Heng.
Old General Ji had probably already gone to sleep, as his shadow wasn’t seen. If Old General Ji were present, it certainly wouldn’t be this quiet—he would definitely grab Jiang Li and ask why she was coming here so late at night and what exactly her relationship with Ji Heng was.
Walking all the way to the innermost courtyard of the Duke’s mansion, there was a room. Outside the room, Wen Ji was keeping watch. Seeing them, he said, “My lord.”
“The person is inside.” Ji Heng looked at her. “Will you go in to see her now?”
Jiang Li nodded and was about to walk in. Wen Ji said, “Second Miss Jiang, this young lady called Haitang is extremely distrustful of others. If you go in alone, I fear she might harm you. Better let the guards—”
“No need,” Jiang Li smiled and declined his goodwill, saying, “I’ll go in and negotiate with her. She won’t harm me.”
Wen Ji looked at Ji Heng. Seeing that Ji Heng didn’t show any disapproving expression, he moved aside to facilitate Jiang Li pushing open the door.
Jiang Li hesitated briefly, then turned to face Ji Heng. Just as she was about to speak, Ji Heng smiled and said, “I know. I’ll wait at the courtyard entrance and won’t eavesdrop on your ‘secret.'” He emphasized the word “secret” slightly.
Jiang Li smiled. “Many thanks for the Duke’s understanding.”
Ji Heng and his guards all retreated to the courtyard. Jiang Li took a deep breath, mustering her courage before pushing open the door.
Closing the door behind her, Jiang Li looked into the room. On the table in the room a lamp was lit, and before the table sat a person. She was leaning back against the wall, as if this could make her feel somewhat safer. Her back was thin and tall and graceful. Just seeing this back, Jiang Li’s tears nearly fell. This back was so familiar to her, filling her with mixed emotions. She couldn’t possibly not recognize it—this was Haitang.
Hearing someone come, Haitang immediately turned around swiftly, her gaze warily fixed on Jiang Li. Her face wore a veil, revealing only a pair of eyes, but the expression in those eyes was unfamiliar. The Haitang of the past had been gentle and calm, always at her side offering strategies and plans, most considerate and reliable. The current Haitang—her eyes no longer held that past gentleness. She was like an injured animal, watching the newcomer with vigilance.
This gaze broke Jiang Li’s heart.
Yet Jiang Li only raised a warm smile and sat down across from Haitang. As she made these movements, Haitang’s body dodged away from her, pressing tightly against the wall, not making a sound.
“You’re Haitang, aren’t you?” Jiang Li smiled. “I’m the one who had people inquire about your whereabouts and bring you back from Zaohua Village.”
Haitang still looked at her with the gaze one would give a stranger. In fact, the current Jiang Li was indeed just a stranger Haitang had never met, of unknown background. Haitang spoke. She said, “What is your purpose?”
Hearing this, Jiang Li was startled, a look of shock appearing on her face.
Haitang’s voice was light and soft, very pleasant to hear. Back then, others had even joked that Haitang had followed her mistress so long that her manner of speaking and voice had become similar to Jiang Li’s. But now her voice was as if it had been scorched by fire—hoarse and terribly unpleasant to hear.
“Your voice… what happened to it?” Jiang Li asked.
Haitang stared at her without speaking.
To Haitang, a strange woman inquiring about her voice with such a concerned attitude was abnormal in itself.
“Your purpose,” Haitang asked again.
“I am Second Miss Jiang of the Jiang family, Jiang Li, daughter of the current Prime Minister Jiang Yuanbai.” Jiang Li tried to soften her voice as much as possible and make her expression appear more gentle and kind. She said, “I’ve been entrusted to investigate the case of Miss Xue Fangfei of the Xue family.”
“Miss…” Haitang was startled, then became agitated. She asked, “What happened to Miss?!”
Jiang Li frowned. “You don’t know?”
“I don’t know!” Haitang asked urgently, “What exactly happened to her?”
When Haitang and Dujuan left the Shen mansion back then, Xue Fangfei hadn’t yet died, only been placed under house arrest for the scandal of having a private affair with someone. Xue Fangfei had driven them away because one day she’d accused the two maids of stealing valuables, expelled them from the mansion, and ordered them never to return to the capital.
At the time, Haitang and Dujuan had felt greatly wronged, but Xue Fangfei had never been so severe before. Years of master-servant affection destroyed in a single moment—Haitang’s heart had also grieved. But later, after they left Yanjing City, much time passed and Haitang gradually calmed down and understood that Xue Fangfei back then had been protecting them. If she and Dujuan had remained at the Shen mansion, sooner or later they would have been targeted by Madam Shen.
Since their young miss wanted them to live well, Haitang and Dujuan could only endure their grief and barely survive. Now hearing Jiang Li suddenly mention Xue Fangfei, Haitang’s heart suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Jiang Li looked at her and said, “She’s dead.”
Haitang was stunned, nearly unable to remain sitting, about to collapse to the floor. Jiang Li reached out to support her. Only then did Haitang look at her, though her expression remained dazed and confused. She asked, “How… could this be? When I left, she was still fine…”
“After Xue Fangfei’s private affair was discovered, she lost all face. Not long after, she fell gravely ill, and ultimately died from this grave illness.” After a pause, Jiang Li said, “That’s how it appears on the surface.”
“What do you mean?” Haitang immediately grasped the meaning in Jiang Li’s words.
“I mean that Xue Fangfei’s death wasn’t an accident, nor did she die from grave illness. The reason she died was because someone murdered her. Just as the matter of her having a private affair with someone was also a setup.”
Haitang looked at Jiang Li. Her expression gradually changed, as if guarded, yet also excited. She asked, “How do you know that her affair with someone was a setup?”
“How I know isn’t important, but you should be clear—you were Xue Fangfei’s personal maid. Back then, whether or not Xue Fangfei actually had a private affair, you know best of all,” Jiang Li said.
Haitang gripped the teacup on the table tightly. “She didn’t have a private affair.”
Jiang Li looked at her. “I know.”
“Why have you come looking for me,” Haitang asked, “and why are you telling me these things? What benefit does this bring you? If you want my life, just take it—I don’t care. But if you want to use me to achieve some unspeakable purpose, I advise you to abandon that notion as soon as possible. I won’t do anything.”
Jiang Li didn’t answer, only looked at Haitang with a smile.
After a while, Haitang asked nervously, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Li shook her head. “I’m just feeling emotional that Xue Fangfei was so fortunate to have you as her maid. No wonder she went to such great lengths back then to send you and Dujuan away.”
Haitang was startled. “You know?” Her voice suddenly trembled slightly. “Back then… she deliberately expelled us from the mansion, didn’t she? She actually never wrongly accused us, did she?”
Though Haitang had later guessed this possibility, she had never been able to let it go. Now that Xue Fangfei was dead, this question would never have an answer, but hearing it from Jiang Li’s mouth, she suddenly had a glimmer of hope, as if only this way could things be complete.
“Yes,” Jiang Li looked at her calmly. “She knew that in the Shen family she would face dangers everywhere, and very likely couldn’t even protect both your lives. Only by driving you out of the mansion could there be a thread of hope for survival. If she told you the truth, you wouldn’t leave but would insist on sharing life and death with her. Better to speak harshly and make you give up completely, thoroughly leave Yanjing City, and preserve your lives.”
Haitang listened blankly. Before long, a line of tears suddenly fell. She murmured, “I knew it… I always knew it.”
“But,” Jiang Li asked the question she wanted to ask, “what I know is that you weren’t the only maid then—there was also one called Dujuan. Why is only you left now? Did you part ways midway? Or was there another plan?”
Haitang lowered her head and said, “She died.”
Jiang Li’s heart constricted tightly, as if seized by a hand, making her unable to breathe. Though she’d long thought of this possibility, when she actually heard it from Haitang’s mouth, she still couldn’t accept it.
The lively people who had been by her side left one by one like this, as if leaving nothing behind.
“How did she… die?” Jiang Li’s voice carried a trace of barely concealed choking.
But because Haitang was currently too grief-stricken, she didn’t notice her abnormality. She only said, utterly exhausted, as if having expended all her strength, “Not long after we escaped Yanjing City, we suddenly discovered that authorities everywhere were posting notices about us, saying we’d stolen our master’s silver and they wanted to arrest us. Dujuan was captured. I originally wanted to go help, to plead with the officials and tell them Dujuan was innocent, but that night… when I found Dujuan, she had already been strangled to death and thrown in a mass grave.”
Jiang Li’s heart ached unbearably.
“I don’t know if it was the authorities’ people. If the authorities were arresting us, why execute her without trial? Even if executing her, why not announce it publicly? If it wasn’t the authorities’ people, why were wanted posters everywhere with official seals? I didn’t understand, but I also knew this was all unavoidable. I saw they were even lying in ambush near the mass grave, probably waiting for me to walk into their trap when I went to collect Dujuan’s body, so they could capture me. So I didn’t collect Dujuan’s body.” When speaking of this, Haitang’s hands trembled, probably still unable to forgive herself for what she’d done then, even to this day.
“I disfigured my own face, evaded the authorities’ search, and fled back to my hometown,” Haitang said.
“Your face…”
Haitang asked, “Do you want to see?”
Jiang Li nodded.
Haitang laughed bitterly and reached up to remove the veil.
Jiang Li’s breathing almost stopped for an instant. She saw that on what had been a clean, pretty face, there were two deep knife scars running from the eyes all the way to the chin—ferocious and terrifying. The wounds had scabbed over, but far from making it seem any better, they were even more shocking to behold.
What could make a woman as beautiful as flowers and jade willing to disfigure herself to such a degree? From now on, she could only walk through the world with her face veiled.
Haitang kept staring at Jiang Li’s eyes. Wherever this face of hers went, what she saw was nothing but disgust and fear. She was long accustomed to it. Even these black-clothed men who came to fetch her had been quite uncomfortable upon seeing her appearance. She thought Jiang Li would be the same as those people.
But Jiang Li wasn’t.
Jiang Li only looked deeply at Haitang. Her gaze was full of sorrow and guilt, heartache and regret, but what was uniquely absent was fear and avoidance. She even extended her hand, wanting to touch those scars.
Haitang suddenly retreated a step backward, putting the veil back on. After a moment of silence, she said, “You’ve seen it.”
Jiang Li also fell silent. Suddenly seeing an old friend, but it wasn’t a joyful reunion—both had tumultuous experiences, making one lament fate’s absurdity.
“I want to ask, you didn’t hesitate to disfigure yourself, doing this much to survive—what was it for?” Jiang Li asked.
“I don’t know,” Haitang’s gaze held a moment of confusion. “At first I thought Miss had issued the wanted posters. But in my heart, I felt it wasn’t so. I hoped to stay alive so that one day I could see Miss and ask clearly what this was all about, why she said we stole valuables. Perhaps Miss was trying to preserve our lives, so we shouldn’t casually throw away our lives but rather strive to live on.”
She said, “We’ve known since childhood that we live for Miss.”
Jiang Li closed her eyes.
Actually, Xue Huaiyuan had never wanted the Xue family’s servants to dedicate everything to their masters—they should have their own lives. Jiang Li had also addressed Haitang and Dujuan as sisters, but there probably existed in this world such loyal servants whose entire lives were tied to another person.
Very heavy, very heavy.
“I didn’t know Miss had died…” Haitang murmured. “I was still thinking that perhaps I could see Miss one more time…”
“Xue Fangfei can’t possibly come back to life,” Jiang Li gathered her thoughts and looked at her again. “Not only that, Xue Zhao also died, and Xue Huaiyuan went mad. The entire Xue family clan now has nothing left.”
Haitang stared at her blankly, shaking her head. “No…”
“Haitang, listen to me. This wasn’t an accident, nor was it some karmic retribution. This was a conspiracy, a living, breathing conspiracy. Someone murdered the entire Xue family. I am Second Miss Jiang. I’ve been entrusted to vindicate the Xue family, clear Xue Fangfei’s falsely accused name, and find evidence that she was murdered.” Jiang Li stared into Haitang’s eyes. “This isn’t only for Xue Fangfei, but also for you, for Dujuan, for all the innocent people who died tragically in this conspiracy. Should we just watch the murderer go unpunished?”
“Why should I believe you?” Haitang asked. She was a clever girl, decisive and resolute. At this moment, struck by the truth, she could still maintain her rationality.
“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to bring you to Yanjing City. You can also go see the maddened Xue Huaiyuan and know whether what I say is true or false,” Jiang Li said. “You were Xue Fangfei’s personal maid, with her every day. You at least know who should be suspected. Back when Xue Fangfei was set up in the affair, who was most suspicious, who did things that aroused suspicion?”
Haitang stared at Jiang Li. After a while, her gaze grew heavy as she uttered a few words.
“Xiao Deyin.”
“And all the people of the Shen family.”