Unlike the Ye family’s inner turmoil, Jiang Li’s life was much more relaxed. At least in the eyes of the Ye family servants, this Second Miss Jiang showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever, as if it weren’t her first time living in the Ye family at all. The Ye family maids originally assigned to serve Jiang Li had long known about this Second Miss Jiang’s past deeds—many years ago she had looked down on having a merchant family as maternal relatives, and later killed her mother and brother, ending up sent to a temple for penance.
They had expected to encounter a vicious, difficult-to-serve, pampered young miss, but who knew the person who arrived was incredibly easy to please? She made no excessive demands. Whatever Tong’er and Baixue could do, Jiang Li didn’t trouble the Ye family servants with. If one said Jiang Li was a guest staying at the Ye family, then this guest was certainly the easiest to serve.
The Ye family maids all breathed a sigh of relief. After a few days, they gradually became familiar with Tong’er and Baixue. Tong’er was clever and often shared snacks with the maids. Baixue came from a farming background and was very approachable. The maids gradually grew bolder and chatted with Tong’er and Baixue about idle gossip and interesting matters.
However, even so, after five or six consecutive days, the Ye family members still hadn’t proactively mentioned arranging for Jiang Li to meet Old Madam Ye.
When Tong’er mentioned this matter to Jiang Li, she was quite indignant. “What exactly do the Ye family people mean? They said they’d let Miss see Old Madam, but these past days they haven’t mentioned it once. It’s truly worrying.”
If the Ye family didn’t bring it up proactively, Jiang Li couldn’t very well ask.
“You’ve been getting along so well with those maids—haven’t you learned anything?” Jiang Li asked with a smile. Unlike Tong’er, she wasn’t anxious about this matter. She wasn’t truly Second Miss Jiang. Old Madam Ye was nominally her grandmother, but speaking of genuine feelings, there really weren’t any deep emotions. To pretend to be constantly thinking about her would be too deliberate. Now that she had already arrived in Xiangyang and moved into the Ye family home, she had succeeded in the first step—things were already going very smoothly.
Tong’er shook her head. “I heard from the maids in the courtyard that Old Madam’s health isn’t good. Even a few years ago getting out of bed was quite difficult. The doctor said she needs rest and quiet care.” She sighed here. “Perhaps we can’t blame the Ye family. If Old Madam truly can’t handle shocks, now really isn’t the time for Miss to meet Old Madam.” She remembered something and said, “I heard that because Old Madam’s health isn’t good, Third Master Ye who has been traveling abroad is also rushing back to Xiangyang these days. He should arrive any day now.”
Old Madam Ye had three sons and one daughter. Ye Minghui was the eldest, Ye Mingxuan the second. This Third Master Ye, Ye Mingyu, was born at the same time as Ye Zhenzhen. Ye Zhenzhen was simple and honest, but Ye Mingyu had never been one to follow rules since childhood. In his early years he liked to travel north and south as a wandering hero. After hitting his nose against a wall in the jianghu, he finally decided to return home and do business. But even in business, Ye Mingyu had to be unconventional. Every year he followed the maritime merchant fleet aboard ships, traveling along the way to remote foreign cities, spending silver to buy all sorts of strange trinkets, then reselling them upon return.
Sometimes he could find decent items, but more often, the things Ye Mingyu’s merchant team acquired couldn’t earn much money. Fortunately, the Ye family was large and prosperous. With First Master Ye and Second Master Ye supporting the family business, they could still let him act as he pleased.
This time, probably because Old Madam Ye’s health was indeed poor, Ye Mingyu returned to Xiangyang from the maritime merchant fleet before year’s end to visit his mother.
Because Ye Zhenzhen and Ye Mingyu were twin dragon-and-phoenix children, Ye Mingyu and Ye Zhenzhen had been very close since childhood. When Jiang Li spoke harsh words that hurt Old Madam Ye back then, the Ye family gave up on Jiang Li from then on. Only this Third Master Ye never stopped thinking about Jiang Li. It was only later when Ye Minghui expressly forbade the Ye family from mentioning Jiang Li again that Ye Mingyu gave up.
Speaking of restoring good relations with the Ye family, the others seemed polite but were actually distant and not easy to approach. This Third Master Ye might be a good opening.
“Third Master’s return to Xiangyang isn’t just because of Old Madam, is it?” Baixue, who was wiping the table, said. “I heard recently the Ye family business has encountered some trouble. The maids outside all say Third Master is returning to help.”
“The business encountered some trouble?” Jiang Li asked. “What trouble?”
Baixue shook her head. “This servant didn’t find out. I suppose those maids don’t know very clearly either. They only said it was a small problem.”
Jiang Li pondered. If it were a small problem, there would certainly be no need for even Ye Mingyu to return to Xiangyang. As outsiders said, Ye Mingyu didn’t manage affairs in the Ye family at all and couldn’t play any major role in the Ye family business. If even the insignificant Ye Mingyu was returning, the Ye family’s trouble was certainly not as simple as described.
But right now the Ye family didn’t trust her, so she had no way to know what exactly was going on.
She actually very much wanted to return to Tongxiang, but Xiangyang wasn’t close to Tongxiang. To people in Xiangyang city, Tongxiang was just a poor backwater. Even if she inquired about Xue Huaiyuan, probably no one would know.
However… Jiang Li’s eyes flashed. There was another method—in Xiangyang she could also learn news about Tongxiang. Here, besides the Ye family, she wasn’t without acquaintances.
After all, she had been Xue Fangfei for so many years.
Jiang Li stood up. “It’s quite stuffy staying in the room. Let’s go out for a walk.”
Tong’er looked at her in surprise. “Where to?”
“Just wandering around.” Jiang Li smiled. “This place is much smaller than the capital. It’s my first time in Xiangyang. Staying in the Ye household all the time isn’t a solution. Since there’s nothing to do and the Ye family won’t let me see Old Madam Ye, why not walk around casually? When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let’s see what customs Xiangyang has and how it differs from the capital.”
Tong’er and Baixue were first startled, then both nodded in agreement. Tong’er smiled. “That’s good. We don’t lack silver. Miss, if you see anything you like, or anything the capital doesn’t have, buy freely and we’ll take it back to the capital.”
Jiang Li smiled. “Of course.”
…
When they finished preparing and were about to go out, they happened to encounter Ye Jia’er and Lady Zhuo on the road.
The two were also startled to see them. Lady Zhuo felt somewhat awkward. After fumbling for a moment, she looked at Jiang Li and smiled. “Ah Li, where are you going?”
She called “Ah Li” particularly awkwardly. Tong’er also found it very awkward to hear, but this form of address sounded especially warm to Jiang Li’s ears, as if in Tongxiang when Xue Huaiyuan called her “Ah Li.”
“I’m feeling cooped up in the room and plan to go out for a walk.” Jiang Li answered with a smile.
Lady Zhuo was stunned. These past days, Jiang Li had hardly left the courtyard. The few times they encountered each other were all during meals. The Ye family treated Jiang Li very politely, but beyond politeness, there seemed to be nothing more. Jiang Li also behaved unusually quietly. Now that she proactively proposed going out to wander, Lady Zhuo was taken aback.
“You… plan to go wandering alone?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes.” Jiang Li smiled. “This is also my first time in Xiangyang. I want to see how Xiangyang differs from the capital.”
Lady Zhuo couldn’t help but blush a bit. Letting Jiang Li, a young lady from the capital, wander alone in unfamiliar Xiangyang—this was inappropriate. However, she had to accompany eldest sister-in-law Lady Guan to review account books shortly and truly couldn’t spare the time. Moreover, if she really had to wander Xiangyang together with Jiang Li, Lady Zhuo herself didn’t know how to interact with Jiang Li. Honestly, the polite yet distant interaction with Jiang Li made not only Jiang Li feel uncomfortable, but Lady Zhuo herself felt uneasy too.
The Ye family didn’t like doing things in a secretive manner.
Instead, it was Ye Jia’er, who had been quietly listening to Lady Zhuo and Jiang Li’s conversation, who now spoke softly. “It’s fine. I’m going to Lizheng Hall and need to go out anyway. I’ll go with Cousin.”
Jiang Li was startled and smiled. “There’s no need to trouble Cousin…”
Ye Jia’er smiled. “What trouble is this? It’s just on the way. Lizheng Hall is the Ye family’s shop. I’m going to take a look. If Cousin doesn’t mind, you can also see if there are any clothes you like. If you fancy something, I’ll give it to you.”
With the conversation reaching this point, if Jiang Li declined further she would seem ungrateful. Moreover, Ye Jia’er was by far the friendliest person Jiang Li had encountered in the Ye family so far. Jiang Li said, “In that case, I’d be disrespectful to refuse such kindness.”
Ye Jia’er smiled.
Lady Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief. If she let Jiang Li go out to play alone, it would appear the Ye family was neglecting their guest. Right now they truly didn’t know what kind of relationship to use in treating Jiang Li—they might as well treat her as a guest. Even for a guest, the host family had to fulfill their responsibilities. Now that Ye Jia’er proactively proposed accompanying Jiang Li, it wouldn’t be considered neglectful.
But soon, Lady Zhuo thought of something else. Although Second Miss Jiang currently seemed docile and gentle, who knew what her true nature was? If she deliberately made things difficult for her daughter, with Ye Jia’er’s honest temperament, wouldn’t she suffer at Jiang Li’s hands?
She worried in her heart but couldn’t think of a better solution. Additionally, Ye Jia’er gave her a look telling her to relax. Despite a thousand unwillingnesses, she could only let the two leave the estate gates together.
Jiang Li left the Ye family’s main gate together with this cousin.
Ye Jia’er was a典型 refined young lady from a great household. Although from a merchant family, whether in dealing with people or in her conduct and conversation, she was gracious, gentle, and elegant. In comparison, although the noble ladies in the capital came from wealthy families, because their births were too privileged they inevitably became spoiled. On Ye Jia’er’s person, there were none of these bad temperaments.
Toward Jiang Li, Ye Jia’er was also very friendly. Unlike the guarded and distant attitude of other Ye family members, Ye Jia’er treated Jiang Li like a cousin she had never met before—warm and somewhat curious. She asked Jiang Li about matters in the capital, and Jiang Li didn’t hide anything, telling her one by one.
When clever people interacted with clever people, they always hit it off. On the road to Lizheng Hall, Jiang Li and Ye Jia’er actually became quite close. Compared to their previous strangeness, it was as if they had established some unspoken understanding.
After walking for some time, Ye Jia’er stopped and gestured for Jiang Li to look. “Look, that’s the Ye family’s shop, Lizheng Hall.”
Not far away stood an exquisite red-tiled building. Right in the middle of the bustling marketplace, this hall occupied over ten mu of land by itself—quite grand indeed.
“All the fabrics produced by the Ye family are here. Tailor shops in Xiangyang city come to Lizheng Hall to get fabric for making clothes. The most famous is ancient fragrance satin. If Cousin likes it, you can go in and pick a few bolts.” Ye Jia’er said.
Jiang Li nodded.
The Ye family was an immensely wealthy merchant household that had a hand in every industry, but later withdrew from the capital. Other ventures gradually became more recreational, with the main business still relying on the textile trade that built their fortune. Ye family fabrics were renowned throughout the realm. The ancient fragrance satin Ye Jia’er mentioned was also very popular among the noble ladies’ circles in the capital. With such quality, it would be strange if the Ye family didn’t prosper.
Although Ye Jia’er was modest, when talking about her family’s ancestral business, her tone still unconsciously revealed a trace of pride. She turned to look at Jiang Li, but saw that Jiang Li’s expression was calm without any surprise.
This wasn’t Jiang Li’s first time seeing Lizheng Hall. In the past when she and Xue Zhao came to Xiangyang, playing in the marketplace, they inevitably saw Lizheng Hall. It was just that the two of them weren’t people who could afford to wear ancient fragrance satin, so they only looked from outside and never went in.
This time, however, she was being invited in as an honored guest. Truly the vicissitudes of life.
Ye Jia’er didn’t know the circumstances and only thought that as a young lady from the capital, Jiang Li was accustomed to such things. She smiled and said, “Let’s go in.”
Entering Lizheng Hall together with Ye Jia’er, the young attendant welcoming guests saw Ye Jia’er and immediately came forward with a smile. “Miss Jia’er.”
Ye Jia’er turned to look at Jiang Li. “Cousin, you can see if there’s anything you fancy?”
The attendant and shopkeeper heard Ye Jia’er’s words and both looked toward Jiang Li. Everyone in the shop knew about Second Miss Jiang coming to Xiangyang. Outsiders didn’t know that the original rift between Jiang Li and the Ye family was because Jiang Li spoke hurtful words. They thought it was only because Jiang Yuanbai remarried, so the two in-law families naturally no longer interacted. Even so, Jiang Li’s widely spread evil reputation of killing her mother and brother—people in Xiangyang had also heard rumors. Regarding this legendarily mean and vicious Second Miss Jiang, there was much speculation. The person Ye Jia’er called “Cousin” should be the Second Miss Jiang who recently returned to the Ye family in Xiangyang.
But seeing this girl standing beside Ye Jia’er, she was not inferior in the slightest. Her features were elegantly outstanding, her smile gentle and warm—nothing like the cruel appearance they imagined. Setting aside everything else, just those eyes—someone with a truly filthy heart could never possess such clear eyes no matter what.
While the shopkeeper and attendant were pondering inwardly, Jiang Li had already walked around the counter toward them. The shopkeeper started and immediately had the young attendant pile several bolts of newly released fabric before Jiang Li, smiling ingratiatingly. “Young Miss, these are all newly released fabrics. The styles are also very fashionable.”
Looking at these silks and satins, Jiang Li had to admit that the Ye family truly deserved to have built their fortune on textiles. The textiles here were even more delicate and vibrant than those in the capital. Touching them with her hand, they were smoothly cool and seemed to emit a faint fragrance.
“There doesn’t seem to be any ancient fragrance satin here?” Jiang Li turned her head to ask. She was somewhat curious—the Ye family shop was famous for ancient fragrance satin, yet since the fabrics displayed now were all fashionable types, why wasn’t there any ancient fragrance satin renowned throughout Northern Yan? Surely they weren’t unwilling to show it to her, an outsider?
Ye Jia’er was startled and looked at the shopkeeper. “Shopkeeper Qian, why not show Cousin the ancient fragrance satin?”
Shopkeeper Qian’s face immediately showed some difficulty. “Miss Jia’er, it’s not that I won’t show it to Young Miss, but rather…”
Before he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly froze. Jiang Li followed his gaze and turned to look—it was two unfamiliar middle-aged men.
“Uncle Zhuang, Uncle Zhao, why are you here?” Ye Jia’er spoke.
The two men looked at Ye Jia’er and asked, “Jia’er, are your father and uncle not here?”
“They’re not. Is there some matter?” Ye Jia’er asked carefully.
Ye family young ladies began learning business from a young age. Ye Shijie had taken the path of entering officialdom. The vast family business couldn’t always rely on the previous generation to manage. Among the Ye family’s grandchildren generation, only Ye Rufeng and Ye Jia’er remained. However, she had heard the Ye family maids say that Ye Rufeng was probably still a bit too young and somewhat hot-headed, not handling matters as properly as Ye Jia’er. Right now, the Ye family was also having Ye Jia’er begin participating in some of Lizheng Hall’s business.
The two exchanged glances, looked at Ye Jia’er, and said, “There is indeed a matter. Since your father and the others aren’t here, let us speak with you first, Jia’er.”
When they spoke with Ye Jia’er, they didn’t pay attention to Jiang Li. They probably thought Jiang Li was just a good friend of Ye Jia’er’s, an unimportant person. But Jiang Li was observing these two men. Their tone wasn’t relaxed, as if they had encountered some thorny matter.
Ye Jia’er nodded. “Alright.” She smiled apologetically at Jiang Li. “Cousin, I need to discuss business with Uncle Zhuang and Uncle Zhao. You’ll have to wait a while…”
“It’s fine.” Jiang Li gently interrupted her. “You just discuss business. I only wanted to go out for a walk today anyway. Seeing Lizheng Hall was already quite delightful. I’ll wander nearby with Tong’er and Baixue shortly. I won’t go far. It’s fine.”
“You alone…”
“It’s alright,” Jiang Li said. “There are city guards everywhere. No need to worry.”
Seeing Jiang Li’s insistence, Ye Jia’er couldn’t say much. Moreover, this discussion might last who knows how long. Having Jiang Li wait outside alone would be quite dull. So she nodded at Jiang Li and followed those two men inside to discuss matters. Jiang Li bid farewell to Shopkeeper Qian and left with Tong’er and Baixue.
On the road, Tong’er asked, “Miss, why didn’t you wait for Young Miss to come out? We haven’t even seen the ancient fragrance satin yet?”
Jiang Li teased her. “You’ve seen ancient fragrance satin in the capital before. Why act like it’s your first time seeing it? How embarrassing. What ancient fragrance satin looks like—have you forgotten completely?”
“But the ancient fragrance satin in the capital was sent over. The Ye family’s ancient fragrance satin might have even more distinctive varieties.” Tong’er felt aggrieved and pulled Baixue over. “And although I’ve seen ancient fragrance satin, Baixue hasn’t, right Baixue?”
Baixue answered her seriously. “I have seen it. The day after Miss entered the palace and received the Emperor’s award, Old Madam sent many clothing materials. Among them was ancient fragrance satin. You even had me touch it.”
Tong’er: “…”
Jiang Li laughed. “Alright, I have my own matters to attend to that are more important than ancient fragrance satin.” In truth, she did want to stay at Lizheng Hall. Those two people called “Uncle Zhuang” and “Uncle Zhao” seemed to have very important matters to discuss with Ye Jia’er. And Shopkeeper Qian’s hesitation in not producing the ancient fragrance satin also seemed to have other reasons. Jiang Li estimated it was related to the “small trouble” Tong’er had mentioned about the Ye family. She was inclined to inquire what was going on, but thinking again, even if she inquired, Ye Jia’er might not be willing to tell.
This Ye family young lady was already very methodical in her conduct despite her young age. She was indeed an honest and sincere person, but not without brains—regarding the Ye family business, she would probably be even more cautious.
Since staying at Lizheng Hall wouldn’t yield anything, better to leave. Besides, what should be known would eventually be known. No need to be urgent about it. At this moment, she had even more important matters to do.
“Miss, where are we going now? Don’t go too far. This is your first time in Xiangyang. If we get lost and don’t know how to return, we didn’t even take a carriage when we left.”
Xiangyang wasn’t like the capital. Noble young ladies in the capital absolutely couldn’t go out without a carriage. But in Xiangyang, taking a carriage or not was entirely up to personal preference. Young ladies going out on the streets was very common—one could say the local customs were simple and honest. Although this might be mocked in the capital, here Jiang Li really liked this feeling.
Very free.
“It’s fine.” Jiang Li smiled. “We’ll just wander along this street casually.”
Tong’er didn’t suspect anything, but Baixue sensed something wrong. Although she said they were just walking casually, Jiang Li’s steps were clearly very determined, as if she had made up her mind to go somewhere. Moreover, Baixue had a feeling that Jiang Li seemed very familiar with Xiangyang. Just like the crops they tended—knowing where grains were planted, where fruits were planted, never getting confused.
But Tong’er said Jiang Li was returning to Xiangyang for the first time, and others said so too, so it was probably just her own misconception. Baixue shook her head, shaking the strange feeling out of her mind completely.
But this intuition in her heart was soon confirmed.
After walking a bit more, Jiang Li stopped.
“Miss?” Tong’er stopped following, thinking Jiang Li was tired. She hurried to say, “Are you tired? This servant will help you rest your feet?”
“No need,” Jiang Li said. “Let’s go in.”
“Go in?” Tong’er looked ahead in surprise. Ahead seemed to be just an ordinary household’s courtyard gate—nothing special about it. Tong’er said, “…Miss, this is someone else’s home, right? Where are we going in? Does Miss know the people inside?” She thought, how could Jiang Li possibly know people in Xiangyang? Besides the Ye family, Jiang Li had no connection whatsoever with Xiangyang.
“It’s not someone’s home,” Jiang Li answered unexpectedly. She said, “This is the back door of Xihua House.”
“Xi-Xihua House?” Tong’er stammered. “What kind of place is this? A restaurant?” She vaguely felt this name sounded quite improper.
Jiang Li smiled. “It’s Xiangyang’s most famous pleasure house.”
Tong’er and Baixue completely froze.
…
“My lord, Second Miss Jiang went to Xihua House.”
As soon as these words were spoken, in the pavilion, Lu Ji failed to swallow a mouthful of tea and spat it out with a “pft.”
Across from him, the red-robed beauty reacted quickly, snapping open his folding fan with a “snap” and fanning all the tea Lu Ji sprayed back at him, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes.
Poor Lu Ji—choked half to death by his own saliva, then doused in the face by the tea water Ji Heng fanned back at him. Half his body was soaking wet—quite pitiful. When had this graceful, elegant scholar in blue robes ever fallen to such a state? If that big oaf Kong Liu were here, it would certainly provoke another round of mockery.
But at this moment Lu Ji didn’t bother with his disheveled state. Instead, he pressed Wen Ji urgently. “What you said is true? She went to Xihua House?”
“Indeed so.” Wen Ji answered matter-of-factly. “Moreover, Second Miss Jiang entered through Xihua House’s back door.”
“What’s the difference between the back door and front door?” Lu Ji didn’t understand.
“Xihua House is Xiangyang’s most famous pleasure house. The patrons inside are all Xiangyang’s nobles. Nobles enter through the front door. When nobles with families at home go to Xihua House to find someone, they enter through the back door.”
Lu Ji suddenly understood. So that was it—understood. Simply put, men entered through the front door, while wives coming to find their husbands entered through the back door, to save face for the men. Speaking of it, this Xihua House was truly considerate. No wonder it became Xiangyang men’s favorite pleasure house.
“But how did she know to go through the back door?” Lu Ji asked. “Did the Ye family tell her? Aren’t the Ye family people all upright and don’t visit pleasure houses? Moreover, she’s a young lady from a great household—how could she discuss pleasure houses with Ye family members? Aren’t her relations with the Ye family still quite distant?”
Lu Ji was completely baffled and couldn’t figure it out. This was hardly surprising—who could figure out why the Chief Minister’s daughter from the capital would go to a pleasure house as her first activity in Xiangyang, and even know the rules to enter through the back door? It seemed incredible no matter how one looked at it.
Ji Heng paid no attention to Lu Ji, only saying calmly, “Who did she go with?”
“Second Miss Jiang went with her two maids. No one led the way on the road.”
Ji Heng: “Then from your observation, did she deliberately seek it out, or pass by unintentionally?”
“Replying to my lord, this subordinate believes she sought it out herself.” Wen Ji hesitated before speaking according to his own thoughts. “Second Miss Jiang doesn’t seem unfamiliar with Xiangyang’s roads. Lizheng Hall to Xihua House isn’t close, but she still found it. Along the way she didn’t go anywhere else until she found Xihua House.”
“This…” Lu Ji tried to find a suitable explanation for Jiang Li’s behavior. He said, “Second Miss Jiang has always had an outstanding memory. During the Six Arts examination, her ‘Calligraphy and Rites’ were both first place. Supposedly she only studied for several days after returning to the capital. Perhaps she has the ability to never forget what she’s seen.”
“That’s not right.” The one negating him was actually Wen Ji. Wen Ji said, “Even if she has the ability to never forget what she’s seen, from the capital to Xiangyang, newly arriving in a strange place, she would display wariness, caution, and a sense of strangeness. But Second Miss Jiang had none of that. She was very relaxed and bold, appearing to navigate Xiangyang with ease.”
Speaking to this point, Wen Ji couldn’t help recalling the scene when he lurked in the shadows following Jiang Li. Jiang Li wasn’t traveling alone—she had two maids with her. It was precisely because of the two maids beside her that Jiang Li appeared particularly different. She almost merged with Xiangyang’s streets. She was like someone who had grown up in Xiangyang from childhood, a Xiangyang native. This sense of familiarity and intimacy was even more obvious than when she was in the capital.
“She even knows the rules of Xihua House’s back door. Of course we can’t underestimate her.” Ji Heng smiled. “Jiang Li tried every method to return to Xiangyang. Perhaps it was for this purpose. Wen Ji,” he spoke calmly and composedly, “have your people stick close to Jiang Li. See what she does at Xihua House and who she meets.”
“I’m also very curious to see what kind of surprises this Second Miss Jiang can bring us.” He said with a smile.