“Xiao Deyin, and everyone from the Shen family,” Haitang said.

The lamplight flickered faintly. Perhaps the wick was too long—a slight breeze from outside blew past, making the flame dance, as if it might extinguish at any moment. Jiang Li steadied herself, picked up the silver scissors from the side, and trimmed the wick shorter. The flame thus stabilized, and the shadows of people in the room stopped swaying.

“Why do you say that?” Jiang Li asked.

Haitang didn’t answer, only looked at Jiang Li and asked, “Can I trust you?”

Haitang was a calm, rational, and decisive young woman. Otherwise, back then she wouldn’t have been ruthless enough to destroy her own appearance to evade pursuing soldiers. But that she could now ask this question showed that in this vast world, she no longer knew whom she could trust. She had to find someone to rely on, a reason that would allow her to live.

Jiang Li’s heart ached. Seeing Haitang was like seeing her former self. She said gently, “You can trust me. Like you, I hope the truth will come to light and that Xue Fangfei can regain her innocence.”

Haitang seemed moved by the sincerity in her gaze. After a long while, she slowly said, “That day, at Madam Shen’s birthday banquet, Xiao Deyin came. She and Miss were good friends who often played the zither together. That afternoon, Xiao Deyin kept drinking with Madam. Madam was with child and not good at drinking, so she said she’d only drink a little. But Xiao Deyin pretended to be angry and insisted Madam finish a full cup.”

“I found it rather strange. Master Xiao had always been very gentle and considerate, never forcing people to do things, especially toward Miss. But Miss didn’t think anything of it, and I was a servant, so naturally I couldn’t criticize Xiao Deyin.”

“Later, Miss became drunk. I was about to help Miss back to her room when Xiao Deyin’s maid detained me, saying she couldn’t find the way to the kitchen and needed to get some sobering soup. By the time I returned from the kitchen, Miss had already disappeared. They said Master Xiao had escorted Miss back to her room.”

“Then afterward, Xiao Deyin came back alone, saying Miss was resting in her room. Not long after, someone discovered a man in Miss’s room—she was having a private affair.”

At this point, Haitang said with hatred, “We were with Miss day and night, so naturally we knew Miss was innocent and could never have had a private affair. But the evidence was conclusive. Later, thinking it over again and again, Xiao Deyin’s actions in this matter were truly unnatural. I originally wanted to search for more evidence to confirm that Xiao Deyin had set this trap, but before I could, Miss drove Dujuan and me out.” She smiled bitterly. “But even if I’d told Miss about this, Miss might not have believed it. After all, Xiao Deyin really had no reason to harm Miss. She didn’t covet fame or profit, had a gentle temperament, and Miss had always been on good terms with her without any grievances. I couldn’t find a reason why she would do such a thing.”

Jiang Li gently shook her head. “People’s hearts are unfathomable. Anything can become a reason.”

“You believe me?” Haitang was shaken.

“I believe you,” Jiang Li answered. Of course she believed. In the days afterward when she’d lain bedridden, unable to leave the Shen mansion, she had countless times recalled the details of that day. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious Xiao Deyin became. As for why Xiao Deyin would do this, in her previous life she’d racked her brains without finding an answer, but in this life, after the Six Arts examination, she’d roughly grasped a clue.

It was nothing more than jealousy.

Jealousy made people ugly, especially when Xiao Deyin had to maintain a surface appearance of being noble and above worldly concerns while actually not allowing anyone to surpass her. She hid her ambition and selfishness beneath a generous and gentle exterior—that was what made it most disgusting.

Jiang Li paused briefly and continued, “Then, what do you mean by saying ‘everyone from the Shen family’?”

Haitang’s gaze shifted, and she suddenly laughed coldly. “Don’t you find it strange? When the matter of Miss having a private affair came out, Miss kept explaining herself, but not a single person in the Shen family was willing to listen to Miss’s words. Such an incident wasn’t good for the Shen family’s reputation either, yet the Shen family not only didn’t have anyone thoroughly investigate the suspicious points, they even seemed eager to convict Miss. Especially the young master.”

Jiang Li’s heart jumped violently. “Shen Yurun? What did he do?”

Hearing Jiang Li address Shen Yurun directly by name, Haitang was briefly startled, but she quickly cast this bit of doubt to the back of her mind. She said, “Before the marriage, the young master was extremely attentive to Miss. After the marriage, my Miss followed him to Yanjing City. In an unfamiliar place, with Madam Shen and Miss Shen difficult to serve, our Miss handled everything personally and suffered countless grievances in secret. Each time, the young master would verbally express guilt but never change anything. He’d rather wrong Miss than criticize Madam Shen or Miss Shen even slightly. That aside,” she said hatefully, “when Miss got into trouble, he was Miss’s husband and should have trusted Miss without reservation. But what did he do? He said nothing and even blamed Miss—this was cutting Miss’s flesh!”

“Others thought that by not divorcing Miss or punishing her, he was showing deep affection and loyalty. Ridiculous,” Haitang spoke faster and faster, as if wanting to vent all her accumulated anger. She said, “It wasn’t like that at all. Our Miss had done nothing wrong and lost a child for nothing, yet he never did anything. On the surface, he pretended to be deeply devoted, but who didn’t know he’d long harbored different intentions!”

At these last words, Jiang Li’s heart shook violently. She asked slowly, “What do you mean by ‘different intentions’?”

Haitang seemed to realize what she’d said, tightly closing her mouth, her expression momentarily flustered.

Jiang Li didn’t give her a chance to remain silent. She said, “Did you discover that Shen Yurun and Princess Yongning had a private affair?”

“How do you know?” Haitang shot to her feet with a “whoosh,” her voice unable to conceal her shock.

Jiang Li understood. She patted Haitang’s hand. “Sit down first and speak slowly.”

Haitang sat back down, looking at Jiang Li with eyes full of wariness and confusion. She pressed again, “How do you know?”

“After Xue Fangfei died, I was entrusted to thoroughly investigate this matter and discovered that between Shen Yurun and Princess Yongning, there was an illicit relationship. In fact, precisely because of this, the Xue family suffered sudden calamity, Xue Fangfei died, and the charge of adultery was placed upon her.”

“You… you’re saying,” Haitang was greatly alarmed, “it was Princess Yongning who did it? She wanted to enter the Shen family, so she harmed my Miss and harmed the entire Xue family!”

Jiang Li nodded.

“Venomous woman!”

“Now can you tell me why you said you’d long known Shen Yurun harbored different intentions? Perhaps you’d already discovered Shen Yurun and Princess Yongning together?” Jiang Li asked. In her previous life, when she learned of their affair, Jiang Li was already bedridden, on the verge of death. But she hadn’t known that her own maid had discovered this matter long ago.

“I wasn’t certain,” Haitang calmed down for a moment and slowly recalled. “At that time, my Miss had only recently become pregnant, and the young master had also placed first in the imperial examinations. The entire household was full of joy. Every day I accompanied Miss as she nurtured her pregnancy. One day when I was shopping outside the mansion, I saw the mansion’s carriage stopped in front of a teahouse—the carriage the young master usually used. I thought perhaps the young master was inside drinking tea and was about to leave when I saw the young master and a young woman walk out one after the other.”

“I’d accompanied Miss to banquets and had seen this woman before. I knew she was Prince Cheng’s sister, Princess Yongning. The young master didn’t do anything improper, but Princess Yongning’s gaze wasn’t quite right. I knew the look a woman has when she admires someone—Princess Yongning’s eyes were clearly full of admiration for the young master.”

“But I didn’t dare tell Miss about this. First, Miss was nurturing her pregnancy and shouldn’t worry about such matters. If it disturbed the pregnancy, that would be a matter of utmost importance. Second, this was only my one-sided observation. After all, from what I’d seen, the young master hadn’t shown any special behavior toward Princess Yongning—it seemed Princess Yongning alone had feelings for the young master.”

“I thought this was a small matter. The young master already had our Miss as his wife, and a noble princess couldn’t possibly become someone’s concubine. Even if Princess Yongning had designs on the young master, there was nothing to be done about it. But for some reason, I couldn’t let this matter rest. Later I discovered that at any important banquet, wherever the young master was, Princess Yongning was certain to be there. I didn’t know if I was being oversensitive, but I actually felt some resentment toward the young master.”

“If the young master truly didn’t want Princess Yongning’s entanglement, he could have been nastier in his attitude or colder, making Princess Yongning back down from the difficulty. But for Princess Yongning to be so persistent, the young master’s attitude must not have been harsh enough.” Haitang let out a soft breath. Even now, remembering these matters seemed to make her feel depressed. She said, “My Miss was soft-hearted and always considerate of the young master. Even if I told her about this, she would mostly pretend not to know. Moreover, being with child, she couldn’t do anything anyway.”

“Who knew such a thing would happen…”

After hearing Haitang’s words, Jiang Li didn’t know what to feel for a moment. She hadn’t expected that in her previous life, some things had already shown early signs. But because she’d appeared too fond of Shen Yurun, too willing to compromise, when Haitang had suspicions she didn’t dare speak out, fearing it would hurt her, thus brewing a great disaster.

“If only I’d known Princess Yongning harbored evil intentions and the young master was inviting a wolf into the house, I should have told Miss about Princess Yongning earlier! Let Miss be on guard, so she wouldn’t fall into Princess Yongning’s trap completely unprepared!”

“You’re wrong,” Jiang Li said flatly. “Even if you’d told your Miss early on that Princess Yongning harbored feelings of admiration for Shen Yurun, she still couldn’t have avoided this ending. Because she could guard against Princess Yongning, but had no way to guard against the person beside her pillow.”

Haitang frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Xue Fangfei didn’t die at Princess Yongning’s hands alone. She died at the hands of both Princess Yongning and Shen Yurun. Shen Yurun knew early on that Princess Yongning would harm his lawful wife, but he stood by and watched. So Xue Fangfei could never have survived. When her husband and an outsider joined hands, with her nature, she couldn’t resist.”

She knew her previous-life self—too soft-hearted, trusting Shen Yurun too much, not understanding the meanness and complexity of human hearts. If she hadn’t died once, how could she see through it all? How could the current Jiang Li live so clear-eyed and detached?

“I didn’t know… I didn’t know…” Haitang murmured. “After Miss got into trouble, I basely thought that perhaps the young master would use this opportunity to divorce Miss and marry Princess Yongning. This was all a setup they’d staged, with the purpose of letting Princess Yongning smoothly marry into the Shen family. But the young master had no intention of divorcing Miss, so I thought I’d been overthinking. Though Miss suffered day by day, I thought that after so many years of husband-wife affection, the young master would eventually soften. As long as this knot was untied and we found a chance to investigate the matter clearly, things might not turn out badly.”

“I never imagined that instead of divorcing Miss, he wanted to kill Miss.” As soon as Haitang’s words fell, she suddenly raised her head to look at Jiang Li, her tone intense, as if she absolutely had to demand an answer. She said, “Why did he do this? Why was he so heartless? If it was only to let Princess Yongning marry into the Shen family, divorcing Miss would have sufficed. Why did he have to be so ruthless and exterminate her completely, taking Miss’s life!”

“Because Princess Yongning wanted it.” In comparison, Jiang Li’s tone and expression were much calmer. She said, “If Xue Fangfei lived, she would become a thorn in Princess Yongning’s heart, reminding her that Shen Yurun once belonged to Xue Fangfei. For Princess Yongning with her extreme possessiveness, this was an unforgivable offense. Moreover, if Xue Fangfei lived, she would certainly continue investigating the affair. If it was discovered that this matter was a setup, complications would inevitably arise. To settle everything once and for all, to remove the thorn in her eye and flesh, Xue Fangfei naturally had to die.”

“As for Shen Yurun, it was even simpler. From the moment he chose to stand by and watch, he necessarily had to show compliance with any decision Princess Yongning made. He had no right to object—or perhaps he simply didn’t want to object.”

The truth was cruel. Even between husband and wife, they could turn swords against each other like this. Haitang looked at Jiang Li. This unfamiliar young woman spoke in a gentle, calm tone, not as agitated as herself, but somehow, Haitang detected a trace of subtle familiarity in her manner.

As if she’d seen her somewhere before, making it difficult to feel ill will toward her. Haitang discovered that facing Second Miss Jiang, she’d unknowingly told everything she knew. Her heart told her to be guarded, but facing Jiang Li, she involuntarily trusted her.

Perhaps this past year of fleeing and wandering had been too exhausting for her. Bearing such pressure alone, when another person suddenly appeared, gently taking her hand and telling her they could share the burden, and that their goals were aligned, she would involuntarily want to lean on them, want to trust, want to seek an alliance. She was unwilling to believe there might be hidden purposes and exploitation.

Jiang Li said, “I think when you and Dujuan were suddenly wanted by the authorities, that too was Princess Yongning’s handiwork. She’s on good terms with the Capital Magistrate. Bribing officials to do such things would be easy as breathing. Using the authority’s reputation to convict and kill you, yet erasing the traces—clearly this wasn’t done openly and honestly.”

“She really is… too venomous!” Haitang gritted her teeth.

“When your Miss originally released you two, she only guarded against Madam Shen’s outburst but didn’t think of Princess Yongning’s involvement, causing Dujuan to lose her life for nothing. It was her lack of thorough consideration.” Jiang Li sighed. She truly blamed herself. If only she’d thought more deeply back then, perhaps these two maids wouldn’t have suffered such misfortune.

“Second Miss Jiang, you’re wrong to say that. Our Miss treated us perfectly properly. Even in such dangerous circumstances, she still thought to protect us. We’re merely servants, born to serve our master. What virtue or ability do we have to deserve such protection from our master? The ones to blame are that pair of adulterous scoundrels who committed such murderous, lineage-extinguishing deeds. If Heaven has eyes, it should send them to the eighteenth level of hell!”

“Why pray to Heaven?” Jiang Li said flatly. “If Heaven had eyes, such tragedies wouldn’t happen in the mortal world. Better to rely on oneself.”

Haitang looked at her and asked with confusion, “Second Miss Jiang, though I don’t know who entrusted this to you, I want to ask you—are you going to help our Miss obtain justice?”

“Yes,” Jiang Li answered.

Haitang looked at her for a while, then suddenly stood and knelt down, kowtowing twice to Jiang Li. She said, “Haitang is a servant with nothing of value, nothing to repay Miss with. If Miss can help seek justice for my Miss, Haitang is willing to pay any price!”

Xue Fangfei was already dead. By rights, Haitang was free—no longer anyone’s servant, able to live the life she wanted. But she still remained for the Xue family.

Jiang Li helped her up. She said, “I won’t want you to pay any price. You only need to live well. As long as you live, you are living proof of Shen Yurun and Princess Yongning’s crimes. As long as you exist, when the day comes that truth comes to light, you will be the witness.” She smiled. “I will use all my efforts to protect you, prevent them from finding you, and let you live in peace. Just wait for the day when the Xue family’s case comes to light again, and you can have your wish fulfilled.”

These words moved Haitang to tears. She’d lived in darkness for too long, to the point where she no longer expected what light would look like. Because she knew she couldn’t touch it, couldn’t reach the light, she simply stopped thinking about it. Now someone suddenly appeared and told her the darkness was about to end—keep walking and she’d see daylight.

Finding a glimmer of light amid grief was like a drowning person grasping a lifeline—unwilling to let go no matter what.

Jiang Li spoke with Haitang a while longer, carefully inquiring about what happened to her and Dujuan along their journey evading soldiers. Haitang also learned from Jiang Li about Xue Huaiyuan’s imprisonment and subsequent rescue, expressing great surprise. Hiding from soldiers in Zaohua Village, she hadn’t known such changes had occurred in the Xue family. Jiang Li promised that in a few days, she’d take her to the Ye family to personally see Xue Huaiyuan.

Only when the oil in the lamp was completely exhausted did Jiang Li leave the room. The Duke’s mansion had sent several people to attend to Haitang. She was always guarded and easily nervous around people. With difficulty, they finally got her to rest peacefully for a while.

Beside the stone table in the courtyard, Ji Heng sat quietly. Wen Ji stood behind him holding an umbrella, blocking the falling snowflakes.

When Jiang Li emerged, Ji Heng had Wen Ji take the umbrella to Jiang Li’s side.

Snowflakes fell profusely on his crimson robes, adorning them with splendor. He said, “Finished talking?”

“Finished.”

Ji Heng raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem in high spirits.”

Jiang Li forced a smile. Anyone who learned of such matters wouldn’t be in high spirits. She moved her lips, hesitated, then didn’t speak. Seeing this, Ji Heng only smiled and said, “If you have a request of me, you can speak directly. No need to hem and haw.”

“Miss Jiuyue…” Jiang Li said, “Could you please have Miss Jiuyue come look at the injuries on Haitang’s face? I know this is asking a lot. Those scars are very deep, but I still hope Miss Jiuyue can examine them, even if just to make the scars fade somewhat.”

To evade pursuing soldiers, Haitang hadn’t hesitated to disfigure herself, yet she’d originally been a delicate and lovely young woman. In her current neither-human-nor-ghost state, even though Haitang herself said nothing, Jiang Li could sense the loss in her heart. Since Situ Jiuyue was a divine physician, perhaps she would have some methods of her own.

“Acceptable,” Ji Heng said. “I’ll have her come tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Li bit her lip slightly. “These past days, thanks to the Duke’s care, Jiang Li is infinitely grateful. I don’t know what I can do to repay your kindness, I… but I truly thank the Duke very much, sincerely.”

“Sincerity is the cheapest thing—I don’t care for it,” Ji Heng said, smiling at her. “Better for you to play out this drama perfectly, then my painstaking efforts won’t be wasted.”

Jiang Li smiled and said, “I’ll do my utmost.”

“What did you learn from her?” Ji Heng asked.

Jiang Li thought for a moment and didn’t hide anything. “How Yongning and Shen Yurun originally set up Xue Fangfei in the affair.”

A trace of surprise flashed through Ji Heng’s eyes, as if he hadn’t expected her to answer so directly. After thinking, he asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Follow the vine to find the melon,” Jiang Li said. “In this setup, there’s another character—the current zither teacher at Guangwen Hall, Xiao Deyin. From what Haitang said, at Madam Shen’s birthday banquet back then, Xiao Deyin might have been the one who drugged Xue Fangfei. I think as long as I find Xiao Deyin and convict her, either I can make Xiao Deyin implicate Princess Yongning, or I can make Yongning panic and make mistakes herself.”

Ji Heng nodded. “Not a bad plan. But Yongning won’t be so easy to deal with.”

“I know. But dealing with Yongning also counts as helping strike at Prince Cheng. I suppose I’m helping the Duke as well.” Jiang Li smiled.

“Helping me?” Ji Heng seemed to hear something amusing. He said, “Why would I want to strike at Prince Cheng?”

“Of course you’re not doing it to strike at Prince Cheng. You don’t need to. What you want is balanced power in court, which you’ve already achieved. Now you want His Majesty to break this equilibrium. The final result will be Prince Cheng’s defeat and His Majesty’s victory—Prince Cheng will naturally become a sacrifice. As for His Majesty winning this war with minimal losses, that too is what you wish to see.” Jiang Li smiled. “As long as it’s a goal you want to achieve, if I can help at all, I’m willing. It’s just a pity that my position is humble and my words carry little weight—what I can do is only a little bit.” She sighed regretfully.

Wen Ji and Zhao Ke simultaneously twitched at the corners of their mouths.

In this world, very few people could guess at Ji Heng’s thoughts. Even those who could guess probably wouldn’t dare speak so openly about it. How many people in this world could tolerate someone who’d guessed their thoughts continuing to live? So there were plenty who pretended ignorance while understanding perfectly. Yet Jiang Li never concealed her shrewdness. Was this fearless confidence, or naivety?

Ji Heng put away his smile and looked quietly at Jiang Li. He was a beauty rarely equaled in this world. When he looked at you deeply, he involuntarily captivated hearts. Yet his gaze was very cold, very cold—like a snowy winter night, without a trace of warmth.

After a long while, he said softly, “You know everything, don’t you?”

Jiang Li said nothing.

“Little fox, this is you pledging allegiance to me.” He curved his lips, his voice lazy. “You’re laying yourself bare—to put my mind at ease?”

“It’s exchanging sincerity for sincerity,” Jiang Li corrected his phrasing. She had no choice. She had to rely on Ji Heng’s power, even more importantly than relying on the Jiang family’s power. But she had nothing to repay Ji Heng with, nor did Ji Heng need her repayment. She could only take the tiny bit of information she’d gleaned from observing the current situation and tell it all to Ji Heng exactly as it was.

Telling Ji Heng: Look, I have no different intentions. I’m on your side, so we’re allies.

Ji Heng said, “I accept your sincerity. As for what you can repay me with, first complete the matter at hand.”

He didn’t refuse.

Jiang Li smiled. “Good.”

After Jiang Li left the Duke’s mansion, Zhao Ke also departed. Haitang remained at the Duke’s mansion. After all, Haitang’s identity was too sensitive. Even though she’d now disfigured herself, for absolute safety from discovery by Yongning’s people, the Duke’s mansion was safest. After all, Yongning’s people didn’t dare come spy on the Duke’s mansion.

Ji Heng didn’t return to his room but continued sitting in the courtyard. The snow seemed to have lessened considerably. Wen Ji no longer held the umbrella. In the vast whiteness, only the striking color stood out—red and abrupt.

He still sat there, as if he didn’t feel cold at all. Snowflakes had lightly kissed his eyelashes too, leaving tiny bits of fluffy white that made him appear even more enchanting.

The cunning girl had voluntarily pledged allegiance, yet he too felt confused. Yes, Jiang Li couldn’t repay him with anything. If at first it was only to watch a play, to see what would remain after throwing this man-eating flower into Yanjing City’s flower garden to fight to the death—by now, what he’d invested far exceeded the attention needed to watch a single play.

Was he the type to give without expecting return? No, for matters without benefit, he wouldn’t expend even a bit of energy.

Then what was his reason for doing this? This wasn’t a particularly spectacular play, one that demanded watching, that would be regretted for life if missed. In some ways, it had no connection whatsoever to his life, yet without noticing, he’d invested too much, to the point that often, he’d unconsciously pay attention.

He’d gone too far.

Ji Heng frowned slightly.

A beauty frowning was a very beautiful thing, especially when in this beauty’s amber eyes floated a trace of uncomprehending confusion—bewitching yet innocent, seeking an unknown answer.

Could it be that the reward gained from doing such things was merely a verbal phrase of “sincerity”?

Sincerity was only a useless waste, able to exist for only a period of time. Like spring flowers, only briefly open, not eternal. Once time passed, it swiftly withered, becoming ugly and foul-smelling. Rotting into mud, never again finding a trace of its existence.

He didn’t need sincerity, nor did he need companions.

He asked nothing of the world.