The Double-Chapter 644 - 195: Stay Behind_2

Jih Heng paused upon hearing this, then after a while, suddenly asked, "I heard that Xue Fangfei was strangled to death?"

"Yes," Jiang Li answered, "During the tripartite tribunal’s trial of Shen Yurong and Princess Yongning, it was made clear in the case file."

"What does it feel like?" His amber eyes were very moving, the outer corners lifted, the lower lashes drooped, and so seductiveness and gentleness shared a hue, wickedness and naivety coexisted.

"Probably very painful..." Jiang Li’s gaze became somewhat distant; before taking revenge, those events, whenever recalled, felt as if they had just happened, and she could even vividly remember every expression on Princess Yongning’s face, her own suffocating discomfort at that time. But after Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong had their fates sealed, those events became very distant, as if a lifetime had passed, and when she thought back on them, everything was blurry, nothing felt real.

She truly let go, hadn’t she?

Jih Heng patted Jiang Li’s head, probably as he would usually pat Xiao Lan, and said, "You rest well, I’ll have someone come to serve you. Let’s talk about anything else tomorrow."

Jiang Li said, "Please trouble the Duke to send a message to inform my father and uncle that I am temporarily safe, no need for worry."

"Alright," Jih Heng spoke while walking out of the room, and as he reached the doorway, Jiang Li’s voice came from behind.

She said, "With Prince Cheng starting his move, will the Prince of Xia County return to Yanjing?"

Jih Heng’s silhouette halted for a moment, then without saying anything or answering Jiang Li, he left.

Jiang Li sat on the bedstead, the lamplight in the room gradually settled her heart. The initial tension, fear, and anger had all vanished. With Lu Jiu and others around, she didn’t need to worry about her safety.

She actually fell asleep.

...

When the maidservant Lu Jiu found from outside entered the room to attend to Jiang Li, Jiang Li was already asleep. The maidservant tucked her in and after informing Lu Jiu and the others about the situation, she left.

Lu Jiu asked Jih Heng, "Should Miss Jiang stay in Huangzhou?"

Jih Heng nodded.

"Is it safe for her to stay in Huangzhou?" Wen Renyao asked, "Prince Cheng is about to make his move."

"Sending her back to Yanjing now would be unsafe," Jih Heng said, "She herself chose to stay."

"But wasn’t Prince Cheng’s initial intent to abduct her and cause her trouble? If Prince Cheng discovers she’s still in Huangzhou, he certainly won’t let Miss Jiang the Second off."

Jih Heng said, "Do you think he can abduct people in front of me?"

Wen Renyao shook his head, then nodded, "What I mean is, it’s quite inconvenient for you to be with Miss Jiang the Second."

"In any case, Miss Jiang’s appearance here was an accident," Lu Jiu said, "Previously, Miss Situ had someone send a message saying Miss Jiang had been kidnapped, but we didn’t expect that, by a fluke, she’d be discovered here by Your Excellency. I think we should write to Miss Situ, letting her inform the Jiang Family and the Ye Family, so they don’t have to search any longer."

Jih Heng said, "You see to it."

When he wasn’t smiling, he seemed somewhat dangerous. Lu Jiu exited, presumably to write the letter. Wen Renyao remained in the room, looking at Jih Heng from time to time, seemingly lost in thought. Jih Heng said, "If you have something to say, say it."

"Ah Heng, do you think..." Wen Renyao considered his words carefully, "Could Miss Jiang the Second be that woman from the Life Hexagram years ago?"

"No."

Wen Renyao lifted his head, "Why not?"

"No reason."

...

When Jiang Li woke up the next day, the day was already bright. A strange maid, upon seeing her awake, promptly helped her up to dress and wash. Seeing the maid reminded Jiang Li of Tonger who had stayed in Yanjing City; before being abducted, Tonger had been injured by a knife while covering for her. Now she didn’t know how Tonger was, and whether Bai Xue and Tonger ended up safe and sound in the end.

With worry in her heart after dressing and having had her meal, she felt the effects of the Soft Muscle Powder diminish somewhat. She didn’t know if Jih Heng had found an antidote later on, but at least compared to the day before, Jiang Li could move her limbs a little, still weak and without strength but not completely immobilized, able to do something.

"Help me outside to take a look," Jiang Li said to the maid.

The maid supported Jiang Li and walked outside; it was a quadrangle courtyard, and probably due to being in Huangzhou, the residence was not very large, with one room on each side of the courtyard. Wen Renyao was in the courtyard; he was crouching on the ground, and as Jiang Li was helped closer, she saw several fat pigeons around him, pecking at the corn on the ground.

He was actually feeding pigeons.