Jingrong and Lang Bo were both absent, and their sole mission was to protect Ji Yinshu’s safety.
Naturally, they dared not relax their vigilance.
“Miss Ji, the Prince has instructed that when he’s not here, we must be especially careful to protect you,” one of the guards said.
Ji Yinshu understood their concerns, but still said, “Rest assured, they won’t harm me.”
Now that the matter of the young heir was still unknown, would they dare kill her?
Of course not.
“But if the Prince…”
Before the guard could finish speaking, Ji Yinshu interrupted: “All of you withdraw. Without my orders, don’t come over.”
What a stubborn young lady!
The guards hesitated for a long time, but finally had to sheathe their swords and retreat one by one. However, the archers on the roof dared not withdraw and could only hide in the darkness of night, ready at all times.
The courtyard quieted down. Several paper lanterns swayed in the wind, their light scattering on the ground where the rainwater had not yet completely dried, shimmering with a crystalline glow.
Ji Yinshu walked into the courtyard and approached the two people.
She said, “Thank you.”
She bowed slightly.
This gratitude came without any awkwardness, because the two people before her could be said to be her lifesavers.
Speaking of which, it truly had been a thrilling rescue operation.
At that time, Lin Shu had deliberately written the rescue time and method in his suicide note, telling her to be prepared. That night at the hour of the rat, Wen Xian and Zhao Huai had disguised themselves as junior officials from the Ministry of Works, carrying several large boxes. They said they were delivering some tools, but because the items had been sent from outside the capital and encountered heavy rain on the road, they were delayed and only arrived at the hour of the rat. The jailers at the gate were suspicious and made them open all the boxes one by one. Inside were indeed some tools commonly used in prisons. Since it was late at night, the jailers were too lazy to inspect thoroughly and let them in.
Little did they know that one of the boxes had a mechanism built into it. On top was a layer of tools, but underneath was a hidden compartment containing a female death-row prisoner about to be executed. The prisoner was weak, her tongue had been cut out as a child so she couldn’t speak, and her build was very similar to Ji Yinshu’s. Thus, they successfully executed the switch, smuggling the real Ji Yinshu out of the Ministry of Justice prison and sending her to Prince Rong’s mansion. Fortunately, Ji Yinshu had long hair falling over her shoulders at the time, so with the long hair as a disguise, the prisoner successfully fooled everyone at the execution ground, including the usually clever Jing Yi.
Moreover, Wen Xian and Zhao Huai were unfamiliar faces—the jailers couldn’t recognize them, so even if something went wrong, it wouldn’t matter.
This was precisely why Jingrong had asked the two of them for help.
Now that Prince Yi had been eliminated and Ji Yinshu was unharmed, they naturally couldn’t wait any longer. Anxious to know the young heir’s whereabouts, they had come over under cover of night.
Zhao Huai, that brash fellow, spoke in his rough voice: “We only want to know where the young heir is now. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have agreed to help Prince Rong rescue you from prison. A person like you doesn’t deserve to live.”
He spoke through gritted teeth. Anyone who had been deceived all along would be angry.
But Wen Xian calmly said, “Miss Ji, we can let the matter of you deceiving us go, but now you must tell us.”
“Very well.”
She agreed readily.
The two were shocked.
Ji Yinshu’s expression was calm: “Follow me.”
She walked past the two and left the courtyard.
Wen Xian and Zhao Huai stood stunned for a moment, then hurried to follow.
The three soon arrived outside the study at Prince Rong’s mansion, but only stood in the courtyard without approaching.
“Why did you bring us here?”
“Don’t you want to know the young heir’s whereabouts? You can see for yourself.” Ji Yinshu’s gaze lightly indicated toward the study, gesturing for them to look inside.
Inside the study, the tutoring scholar had long since left. Only Wei Yi remained inside. He sat behind the desk, back straight, holding a writing brush in his hand, writing something stroke by stroke, character by character, very earnestly.
Extremely focused!
That profile, as if finely carved, had distinct angles and bore an air of intelligence.
“He… is the young heir?”
Zhao Huai was greatly shocked, incredulous. “That fool?”
Wen Xian: “You know him?”
“He’s a fool. How could he possibly…” Zhao Huai was so surprised his eyes widened. When they had captured that fool and taken him to Gaoshan Stronghold, they had nearly forced him to drink wine until he died.
But—
While astonished, Zhao Huai didn’t forget to ask Ji Yinshu, “You’re not trying to say that this fool is the young heir, are you?”
Ji Yinshu: “That’s correct. The young heir you’re looking for is Wei Yi. That jade pendant also belongs to him. The person who carried him out of the capital back then is now in Jinjiang. If you send someone to ask, you’ll be able to learn the whole story. Originally, before the matter was clearly investigated, I should have kept this secret, even for a lifetime if necessary. But since Prince Rong promised to tell you, I’m keeping my word.”
Zhao Huai was completely stunned.
Now he really wanted to slap himself a few times. Back then, he had almost taken the young heir’s life.
After Wen Xian digested this information, he asked seriously, “What you’re saying… is it true?”
“Absolutely true.”
“Good!”
After speaking, Wen Xian was about to go to the study but was stopped by Ji Yinshu. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re taking him with us.”
“Impossible!” She immediately stood in front of the two, her attitude firm. “What I can do is tell you the truth, but I absolutely won’t allow anyone to harm him.”
“He’s our young heir. How could we harm him?”
“I understand your feelings, but please understand me as well. From the moment I learned the truth, I tried every means possible to keep him from being involved in this matter. I only want him to be happy and carefree all his life. In his heart, there has never been hatred, never been vengeance, never been schemes and calculations. If you tell him, how can he think about this matter with a normal person’s reasoning? The consequences are predictable. If you truly want to protect him, then until the Linjing Case is clearly investigated, don’t disturb him, and don’t let things develop to an uncontrollable point.”
Her words were resolute!
Wen Xian looked at Wei Yi writing earnestly in the study, his resolve wavering.
But—
Zhao Huai surprisingly agreed, “Alright!”
Huh?
He put away his original hostility and shock, revealing eyes of appreciation and trust, and said, “Back at Gaoshan Stronghold, Miss Ji took a beating for the young heir without any hesitation. I, Zhao Huai, most admire someone like you, and I trust that you won’t harm the young heir. However, when the truth about the Duke Yuguo’s mansion fire is revealed to the world, we will come to take him away.”
Ji Yinshu’s heart trembled, and her hands inside her collar tightened.
She knew that the day she feared would come sooner or later.
After a long while—
“Alright, but until then, please keep this secret.”
“This is the capital. We don’t want anything to happen to the young heir either. But can you allow us to come see the young heir from time to time?”
“Yes.”
She agreed.
Only then did Zhao Huai and Wen Xian leave satisfied.
Ji Yinshu stood dazed for a while, then turned to look at Wei Yi still writing in the study. Her eyes couldn’t help but redden.
Wei Yi, why can’t we… be “ordinary” people?
Suddenly—
A servant ran over. “Miss Ji, someone has delivered a letter for you.”
She immediately wiped away her tears and took the letter.
Opening it to look.
There was only one very brief sentence on it.
“Tomorrow at the Three-Li Pavilion outside the city.”
The signature was Jing Xuan.
Tomorrow?
Wasn’t that the day Jing Xuan was getting married?