Chapter 207 Return
"No."

Jiang Yuanbo's voice was firm and unquestionable. He said, "The last time, something happened on your way to the Ye family. I don't know if there are any assassins who have escaped in Yanjing City. If you show up, you will inevitably be in danger. If you want to see them, you can ask them to come to the Jiang Mansion, but you'd better not go out in the next few days."

Jiang Li sighed in her heart. She had expected Jiang Yuanbai to say that. Before she could argue, Jiang Yuanbai opened the study and walked out, leaving no room for negotiation.

Jiang Li was helpless.

When she returned to Fangfei Garden, she ran into Tong'er and Baixue who were rushing out after hearing the news. When Tong'er saw Jiang Li, her mouth drooped and tears rolled down her cheeks. She said, "Miss, you are finally back. I thought I would never see you again... Woo..."

"I'm fine. But you," Jiang Li pulled up her hand and looked at it, "You blocked a knife for me at that time... Are you okay?"

Tong'er sobbed and shook her head: "The master asked the doctor to check on me. There's nothing serious. I can still take care of you in the future. But you've suffered a lot this time. Those bandits are so hateful. I heard that you were taken to Huangzhou, and there's still a war going on there... I'm really worried. I'm afraid something will happen to you." She was also thinking about Jiang Li wholeheartedly, so Jiang Li had to comfort her: "I'm really fine. You see, I'm fine now."

Bai Xue also came over. She was quieter than Tong Er, but she couldn't help but tear up. She said, "It's all my fault. I didn't take good care of you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to suffer like this."

Jiang Li said softly, "I know everything about the Duke's Mansion. If you hadn't gone there for help, Duke Su wouldn't have known about my disappearance so quickly. You did a great job, Bai Xue, thank you."

Bai Xue looked at her at a loss.

After meeting Qingfeng and Mingyue again, Jiang Li returned to the house. After closing the door, Tong'er confirmed again and again that Jiang Li did not hurt a finger, and then she was relieved and asked Jiang Li about other things. She said, "I heard that the young lady was rescued by someone, but I don't know who... Young lady, you just mentioned the Duke's Mansion... That person is the Duke, right?"

Jiang Yuanbo and Jiang Yuanping did not tell anyone else about this, and Jiang Li did not hide it from the two maids, so she said, "Yes."

Tong'er and Bai Xue both knew that Jiang Li and Ji Heng had a close relationship, so they didn't think it was a big deal. Tong'er also said, "The Duke is really a good person. He has helped the girl time and time again, which shows that he treats the girl as his own. The girl has been staying in Huangzhou with the Duke these days..." She looked at Jiang Li carefully, but Jiang Li understood what she said in an instant.

Jiang Li smiled faintly and said, "It's not that I see him every day. He has something to do, so he entrusted me to someone else."

Tong'er groaned when she heard this, and her expression faded a lot. However, Jiang Li was aroused by her words and felt a little upset.

She stood up, walked to the table, and said, "Bai Xue, help me grind the ink. Now that I'm back home, I should see my uncle and cousin, but my father won't let me go out, so I have to trouble them to make a trip."

Bai Xue hurriedly spread paper and ground ink for Jiang Li.

……

In the Ye Mansion in Yanjing City, a servant rushed to Ye Mingyu, who was sitting in a daze in the yard, holding a letter and said, "Master, the Jiang family, the Jiang family sent a letter!"

Ye Mingyu frowned: "What's so good about the invitation sent by the Jiang family! What is Jiang Yuanbai up to? I won't accept it!"

"It's not Prime Minister Jiang, it's my cousin, a post from my cousin!" the servant explained.

"Ali?" Ye Mingyu jumped up from his chair and snatched the note from the servant's hand. He looked carefully and saw that it was indeed the note from Jiang Li. He was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in ecstasy: "Ali is back!"

He was so happy! In the twenty days since Jiang Li was abducted, first the Empress Dowager Liu was executed, then the King Cheng escaped, and then something happened in Huangzhou. When Ye Mingyu first got the news of Jiang Li's disappearance, he asked his friends in the martial arts world to help find Jiang Li's whereabouts, but nothing was found. After a few days, who knew that the Jiang family suddenly received a letter saying that Jiang Li had been found and was in Huangzhou.

When Ye Mingyu heard this, he wanted to find someone to pick up Jiang Li, but Jiang Yuanbo stopped him, saying that it was Jiang Li's own idea. Ye Mingyu didn't believe it at first, but Jiang Yuanbo took out Jiang Li's letter and let Ye Mingyu read it himself, and then Ye Mingyu gave up.

But later, a war suddenly broke out in Huangzhou. King Cheng's troops were just outside the city of Huangzhou. Ye Mingyu became even more worried when he heard that there was unrest in the city of Huangzhou and that people were burning, killing and looting inside.

But he couldn't help much now, so he could only sit in the yard all day, feeling anxious. He didn't even want to go to the brothel. It was heard that when he was angry, he even scolded the girls he liked in the brothel, making them unhappy.

Now that he had finally gotten the news about Jiang Li, he could finally put an end to such anxiety. How could Ye Mingyu not be happy? He immediately asked someone to call Ye Shijie over, tidied his clothes and prepared to go out to see Jiang Li.

Ye Shijie was also very happy when he got the news. Although he did not show it, he quickly asked someone to prepare the carriage. When he was about to leave, Xue Huaiyuan came over. He looked much better these days. It seemed that since Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong were executed and the real culprits of Xue Fangfei and Xue Zhao were revealed to the world, Xue Huaiyuan had unloaded a heavy burden. He went to Xue Zhao's tomb every day to talk and teach Ye Shijie a little about being an official. Gradually, he also had some shadows of Xue County Magistrate, or Xue Lingyun.

"Master Ye," Xue Huaiyuan said, "I just heard that Miss Jiang has returned to the Jiang family."

Ye Mingyu nodded: "Yes, I'm sorry, I was so happy just now that I forgot to tell the old man."

"I also want to go see Miss Jiang," Xue Huaiyuan said, "Miss Jiang helped our Xue family a lot in the past. After Miss Jiang got into trouble, I have been worried."

He was still a little hesitant, probably because he felt that it was perfectly legitimate for Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie to go to the Jiang family to see Jiang Li. After all, they were Jiang Li's uncle and cousin, and he and Jiang Li had no relationship, so it was difficult to say.

However, Xue Huaiyuan had a particularly strange feeling towards Jiang Li. Maybe it was because Jiang Li helped Fang Fei clear her grievances, or maybe it was because Miss Jiang was straightforward and frank, or maybe it was because she and Ali were surprisingly similar in some ways. When Jiang Li was abducted, Xue Huaiyuan also felt a wave of anxiety and worry in his heart. This feeling was very strange and made him feel unable to sleep well at night. So when Ye Mingyu and others were anxious, Xue Huaiyuan seemed calm, but in fact he was the same as Ye Mingyu.

When Xue Huaiyuan learned that Jiang Li had returned to Jiang's house, his heart suddenly dropped. He also wanted to see if Jiang Li was injured and how she was doing now.

Xue Huaiyuan looked at Ye Mingyu, and Ye Shijie said, "Mr. Xue, please go with us. I think my cousin will be very happy to see Mr. Xue."

Ye Mingyu was carefree and naturally didn't notice anything. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go together!"

……

Jiang Li sat in the room. The invitation had already been sent to the Ye family. She couldn't leave the house. After the incident between Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong, she didn't know what else she could do. It seemed that the only thing she could do next was to be a lady of the prime minister's family, but it was a bit melancholy.

She couldn't help but press her chest and took out a jade pendant engraved with a civet cat.

The jade pendant had clear lines and was still warm. Jiang Li's fingers stroked the lines of the jade pendant, and her mind couldn't help but think of that day when Ji Heng disappeared from the carriage and suddenly appeared outside the thatched cottage at night. He opened his hand to himself, and in his hand was the jade pendant.

He said, "You still don't believe me, Ahri."

His appearance was gorgeous, so it was natural to think that his emotions were also resolute and gorgeous, the kind that made people stay away and dare not approach him. Jiang Li somewhat understood why he was obsessed with being a spectator and refused to get into the play. What she feared most was that she would get into the play and fall in love with it, but in the end, it would become someone else's play, and the joys and sorrows were all fake.

She thought back to the days in Huangzhou, when she held an oil-paper bag of cakes in her hands, and he held her sleeve, walking slowly on the street. The ground was clearly a mess, not a good sight, but she could clearly feel the arrival of spring.

I don't know when spring comes, just like I don't know when my heart starts to move. When I find it, the grass is already green, the flowers are red and the willows are green, making me reluctant to leave.

She closed her eyes.

At this moment, the voices of Qingfeng and Mingyue rang out outside: "Miss, Miss, Master Ye San and Master Ye Biao are here to see you!"

Jiang Li was surprised. It had only been half an hour since she sent the invitation to the Ye family. She thought Ye Mingyu and his men would not come today, but she did not expect Ye Mingyu to come so soon. It seemed that they had received the invitation and rushed over immediately without stopping.

After Jiang Li was surprised, she couldn't help laughing. She was still a little uncomfortable, but if it was Xue Zhao and Xue Huaiyuan, they would rush over immediately after learning that Xue Fangfei was kidnapped and returned. Family members are like this, there is a difference between true worry and false worry.

When Jiang Li opened the door, she saw Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie rushing in from outside the yard. Behind them, Haitang and Xue Huaiyuan also came.

Seeing Jiang Li, Ye Mingyu waved to her from a distance and said, "Ali! Hey, Ali!"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Uncle."

When the group arrived, Ye Mingyu grabbed Jiang Li and looked her up and down, saying, "Ali, are you okay? You've been out for so long? Are you hurt? Where are those thieves now? Did they attack you? Oh, if I had known this would happen, I should have taught you some martial arts, so you wouldn't have been kidnapped so easily."

Jiang Li interrupted him with a smile: "I'm really fine. Uncle, cousin, Mr. Xue, please go inside and sit down first. Bai Xue, pour the tea."

When the group arrived at the house, the originally spacious house was immediately filled with people. Bai Xue came to offer hot tea, and Ye Mingyu drank a cup without hesitation. He took a breath and said, "Ali, we just got your post and rushed over immediately."

"Originally, I should have come to the Ye Mansion to see you." Jiang Li smiled and said, "But my father felt that the situation in Yanjing City was still not peaceful, so he told me not to go out, so I could only send you a message."

"Your father didn't do well in other things, but he did the right thing in this matter." Ye Mingyu finally agreed with Jiang Yuanbo for once. He said, "Don't leave the house these days. What if those people are still determined to kidnap you? I heard that they are the subordinates of King Cheng. They are bastards and traitors with wolfish ambitions. I think he is not only planning to usurp the throne, but he will not even let a little girl go!"

Ye Shijie said: "Uncle San, be careful with your words."

Although everyone can talk about King Cheng, it is better to say less about state affairs.

Ye Mingyu said: "I know, I know, I won't say anything more."

Jiang Li said: "The thief who kidnapped me is dead, uncle, don't worry."

Ye Shijie looked at Jiang Li and asked in a low voice: "Did...he do it?"

The "he" he mentioned was naturally referring to Duke Su. Jiang Li did not hide it from Jiang Yuanbo or Ye Mingyu. As early as in Tongxiang, Ye Mingyu had seen the relationship between Jiang Li and Ji Heng. Jiang Li nodded.

"Ali," Ye Mingyu frowned and asked, "What does he mean? Later I asked Shijie, this man is not a good person in the court, he...could he be interested in you?"

Tong'er's eyes widened. Ye Mingyu's words were too direct and blunt. Even Xue Huaiyuan and Haitang couldn't help but look sideways when they heard it.

"That's not true, uncle," Jiang Li had to calm down and said, "He just happened to pass by and recognized me. As for saving me, it was probably because of my father. The affairs of the court are very complicated. Maybe only my father knows the origin. I don't know the specific reason. But it can't be because of the reason uncle said. He has seen all kinds of people. I am really not worth mentioning."

"What do you mean you are really not worth mentioning?" Ye Mingyu was immediately unhappy when he heard this, and said: "You are a girl from our Ye family, don't belittle yourself. I was thinking that he is just good-looking and is just trying to deceive the little girl. Ah Li, you are so smart and you don't just look at people's appearance. You will definitely not be fooled by him, right?"

Ye Mingyu stared at Jiang Li, as if he wanted Jiang Li to give him a reassurance.

Jiang Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she had to say, "Yes, yes, uncle, I won't be fooled by him."

Jiang Li felt very strange. When she didn't have these thoughts, everything seemed calm. When she discovered her thoughts and was distressed by them, it seemed that everyone found out overnight. Jiang Yuanbo, Tong'er, and now Ye Mingyu were all reminding her subtly that they were not the same kind of people and naturally could not be together.

Why bother? She actually knows it better than anyone else.

Ye Mingyu asked Jiang Li about what happened in Huangzhou City and what the current situation was like. To Jiang Li's surprise, she thought Ye Mingyu would ask about Ji Heng, but she didn't expect that Ye Mingyu would just remind her and then never talk about it again. Jiang Li thought about it and realized that Ye Mingyu was not a member of the imperial court, so he naturally had no idea about Ji Heng's other affairs.

Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie stayed here until the evening before they planned to go back. They asked detailed questions, and Jiang Li answered them patiently. Xue Huaiyuan also asked Jiang Li some questions, and Jiang Li answered them one by one. She had originally decided to go to the Ye family and confess her identity to Xue Huaiyuan after returning to Beijing this time. Jiang Yuanbai would not let her leave the house now. If she said it here now, she was afraid that there would be ears on the other side of the wall, and if Xue Huaiyuan looked strange after hearing it, it would arouse the suspicion of the people in the house. Jiang Li had to hold back and planned to go to the Ye mansion after this period of time to make things clear with Xue Huaiyuan.

It was getting late, and the Ye family couldn't stay here, so Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie were going back. Jiang Li sent them to the door, but saw Xue Huaiyuan suddenly standing in front of his desk without moving.

Jiang Li felt strange and walked over to ask, "What's wrong with Mr. Xue?" Her voice died in her throat, and she saw Xue Huaiyuan lowering his head and looking at something in his hand. He was holding the jade pendant with the civet cat engraved on it.

Ye Mingyu came in a hurry just now, and Jiang Li left in a hurry, so she didn't pay attention and put the jade pendant on the table. But now Xue Huaiyuan saw it. He held the jade pendant and looked at Jiang Li tremblingly, with an inexplicably excited tone, and said: "Miss Jiang, this jade pendant... where did this jade pendant come from?"

Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie paused, and looked at Xue Huaiyuan in confusion, wondering why Xue Huaiyuan was so bothered by such a jade pendant. Seeing this, Tong'er said in surprise: "Miss, isn't this the pawnshop we are in..."

"I redeemed this from the pawn shop." Jiang Li interrupted Tong'er, "I saw this jade pendant in the pawn shop at the time, and I thought the civet cat carved on it was very beautiful, so I redeemed it."

She couldn't tell the truth here in front of Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie.

Ye Mingyu asked: "Mr. Xue, what's wrong with this jade pendant?"

"This is Ali's jade pendant..." Xue Huaiyuan murmured, "The civet cat on it was carved by me personally..."

Ye Mingyu and Ye Shijie were both stunned for a moment before they realized that Xue Huaiyuan was talking about "Ali" instead of "Ali". Ye Mingyu was open-minded and didn't think about other places. He just laughed and said, "Really? That's really fate. Our Ali and the Xue family are probably destined to meet in our previous lives. How could we meet like this!"

Haitang moved her lips but said nothing. Tong'er looked puzzled, but Ye Shijie looked at Jiang Li strangely again.

"Miss Jiang..." Xue Huaiyuan looked at her and said, "Can you sell this jade pendant to me? I want to take back what belongs to Ah Li."

Jiang Li said, "Since it's Miss Fangfei's stuff, Mr. Xue can take it. You don't have to pay any money." She wanted to comfort Xue Huaiyuan, but she didn't know what to say.

"Thank you, Miss Jiang." Xue Huaiyuan carefully placed the jade pendant in his hand, as if he had obtained a priceless treasure and hid it away with great care. He looked at Jiang Li, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Jiang Li knew that Xue Huaiyuan probably wanted to ask what she had said before, and tell him what his connection with the Xue family was. But Xue Huaiyuan also realized that now was not the time to talk, so he could only hold back.

After Ye Mingyu and his group left, Tong'er stood in the room, looked at Jiang Li and asked, "Miss, didn't you ask me to redeem the jade pendant? How come from the beginning... did you know it was Miss Xue's?"

She was puzzled. Jiang Li clearly did this consciously, but she told Xue Huaiyuan that she redeemed it by accident. Tong'er didn't understand why Jiang Li lied, and she didn't understand the meaning of Jiang Li redeeming the jade pendant. How did she know that it was Xue Fangfei's thing? Before this, Jiang Li and Xue Fangfei had never met.

Jiang Li said: "Yes, I knew it from the beginning. I think Mr. Xue also knew it."

After all, they were father and daughter, and she would not try to hide it in front of Xue Huaiyuan, and even hoped that Xue Huaiyuan would discover her differences, so she revealed more and more. Her father was a smart man, and I was afraid that this time, he was really suspicious.

She should find a way to confess to her father as early as possible.

……

In the Duke's Mansion, Ji Heng's return did not seem to attract as much attention as Jiang Li's. This was natural, he often went out of town for work, sometimes he would not come back for ten days or half a month, even General Ji was used to it, so it was nothing.

However, the starling hanging in the birdcage under the eaves saw Ji Heng coming back and greeted her warmly, "Beauty! Beauty!"

This mynah bird looked like a lecherous creature, but it was fortunate that Ji Heng was particularly tolerant of it and did not kill it. This further encouraged its arrogance, as if someone was backing it up. It pecked at all the servants in the yard, and last time it even snatched the meat from Zhao Ke's plate.

No one dared to touch it.

The mynah bird had a loud voice, and everyone in the yard heard it. Naturally, this included Situ Jiuyue. To be honest, this mynah bird was probably a bully. It would never dare to be presumptuous to Situ Jiuyue. It didn't even dare to get close to her. It stayed far away from her. It probably knew that Situ Jiuyue was also a ruthless character. If she got impatient and threw a bunch of poisonous smoke, its life would be in danger. Therefore, the mynah bird was very aggressive in the Duke's Mansion, fawning on Ji Heng and keeping a distance from Situ Jiuyue.

Situ Jiuyue was picking flowers in the flower garden. The flowers here grew very fast and needed someone to take care of them. Situ Jiuyue would pick some plants to make medicine every now and then, which was much simpler than going through the trouble of looking for materials by herself.

When Wen Renyao pulled Lin Yao over, he showed him to Situ Jiuyue proudly and said, "This is my little disciple, Lin Yao. Come, little disciple, this is Sister Situ."

Situ Jiuyue only glanced at Lin Yao, and Lin Yao trembled with fear and hid behind Wen Renyao. Situ Jiuyue said: "Just like you, a coward."

"You are too fierce and scared the child." Wen Renyao pulled Lin Yao out and said, "Xiaoyao, let's go. Don't worry about this fierce sister. Remember, the flowers in this flowerbed are poisonous. You must stay away from them on weekdays. Except for the poisonous sister just now, no one will easily come to you. Although these words look nice, they are actually very poisonous. Once you are poisoned, your life will be in danger and even gods cannot save you."

Lin Yao nodded obediently.

Situ Jiuyue endured it, put the picked flowers and herbs into the box, and walked to the medicine room. Wen Ji and Zhao Ke stood by, and Zhao Ke asked: "Miss Situ, how is the boy who was sent here before?"

"It looks like there's nothing wrong with him, but his martial arts are all wasted and he can't possibly stand up. If Ji Heng wants him to join you, it's absolutely impossible." Situ Jiuyue replied.

This answer was very absolute, but Zhao Ke and Wen Ji had no doubts. This was indeed the case. In addition to formal medical skills, Situ Jiuyue also had various unconventional and strange prescriptions. If Situ Jiuyue said that there was no hope, then no one in the world could cure him.

"What should we do now?" Zhao Ke asked Wen Ji to make a decision, "Should we tell the Lord? Has the Lord forgotten about this man? I haven't heard him mention him. We can't let him live in the Duke's Mansion forever without knowing who he is."

"You can find out more about his background," Situ Jiuyue raised her eyebrows, "I told him that his leg couldn't be healed, but he still tried. There were a few times when he even carried me on his back and tried to get out of bed, which was of course impossible. I think he is a determined person, different from ordinary people."

Zhao Ke said: "Since he is in Princess Yongning's private prison, he must have had a grudge against Princess Yongning. We can investigate based on this point."

Situ Jiuyue: "That's your business." After saying this, she took the box and left. But when she reached the door of the small house next to the pharmacy, she paused and still walked in.

Inside the room, the young man named A Zhao was holding a book in his hand and reading. Situ Jiuyue saw that he was reading a travelogue of mountains and rivers, and couldn't help but feel strange. It was clear that his legs could not be healed, so what was the point of reading these? After all, he couldn't walk through them one by one, and the more he read, the uglier it would be.

The young man did not look sad at all. When he saw Situ Jiuyue coming in, he put down the book and smiled at Situ Jiuyue, "Doctor Situ."

"Keep nursing your external injuries, they will all heal in no time."

"Thank you, Doctor Situ." Ah Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying, "I was injured before, but it takes a long time to recover. Doctor Situ healed me in such a short time, which shows that Doctor Situ's medical skills are superb."

"I'm not a real doctor, you don't have to flatter me like that." Situ Jiuyue said, "I have something to ask you, what is the deep hatred between you and Princess Yongning?"

Ah Zhao was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected Situ Jiuyue to ask this question. In the past few days, Situ Jiuyue had been cold and had rarely talked to him, and most of the time she talked about his injuries, and she did not take the initiative to ask about his family affairs. The servants of the Duke's Mansion brought him food and water, but did not talk to him much. Ah Zhao did not know what was going on outside, he only knew that his enemy was dead.

"She killed my whole family." A Zhao said.

Situ Jiuyue nodded, as if she was not surprised by the answer.

"I also want to ask Doctor Situ something," Ah Zhao said, "Doctor Situ said last time that Princess Yongning and Shen Yurong were executed for the crime of killing someone but he didn't say which family it was. May I ask..."

Situ Jiuyue replied, "That's a lot. I heard that the two of them killed a lot of people, but the most important thing is probably that Yongning dug out the eyes of the young lady of the current Prime Minister's family and locked her up in a private prison. He offended the Prime Minister and was thrown into prison."

(End of this chapter)