Chapter 116 Protection
When Jiang Li and Ji Heng returned to the outside of the woods, Ye Mingyu and his men had already come. Two of his men were seriously injured, and the rest were more or less slightly injured. Ye Mingyu himself had a cut on his arm, and blood was dripping down, but he didn't care at all and casually tore a piece of cloth from his clothes to tie it up.

They couldn't find Jiang Li anywhere. Just when Ye Mingyu was desperate, he saw Jiang Li riding a horse at the end of Qingshi Lane. Beside her was a handsome young man in red. Ye Mingyu recognized him. This man had appeared in front of the Ye residence in Xiangyang. Jiang Li said that this man was Duke Su.

Although he didn't understand why Duke Su had come to Tongxiang, Ye Mingyu was still overjoyed to see Jiang Li. He quickly led his men to greet her, shouting, "A Li!"

"Uncle!" Jiang Li was also surprised to see Ye Mingyu, and immediately pulled the reins to dismount. The uncle and nephew were reunited, and both were grateful for escaping the disaster. Jiang Li looked behind Ye Mingyu and asked, "Is uncle okay? Where are the assassins?"

"They were just a mob. The three most skilled ones went after you. By the time we dealt with the ones behind, you were long gone. We didn't know the way to Tongxiang, so we scattered everywhere to look for you, but we couldn't find you. I was so worried. Fortunately, you're okay." He looked Jiang Li up and down, and was relieved to see that Jiang Li didn't hurt a little finger.

Jiang Li was shocked when she saw the rough cloth tied around Ye Mingyu's arm, which was still oozing with blood. She said, "Uncle, you are injured!"

"Nothing," Ye Mingyu waved his hand nonchalantly, saying, "They are just minor injuries, not worth mentioning. Ah Li, let me tell you, this time it was thanks to me. If you had brought your own guards, it would not have been possible. But even so, those three with good kung fu... I can hardly deal with them. By the way, how are those three people? I saw them chasing you, and I was so anxious, but they were entangled by others and couldn't get away for a while. How did you escape from them?"

Jiang Li thought about it and said that she used the swamp in the woods to trap the killers. It was a bit too scary for Ye Mingyu. Although she showed a lot of doubts, this uncle always believed in her wholeheartedly. It would be better to let him think more simply. She didn't want Ye Mingyu to look at her like a monster.

She said, "I was riding a horse and accidentally ran into a forest. Those people followed me into the forest. It was probably their first time in the forest and they got lost. I followed the guidance of the stars in the sky and walked out before them."

Ye Mingyu didn't even doubt her nonsense and said, "That was a close call."

Ji Heng, who had been silent all this time, glanced at Jiang Li when she heard the words, and curled the corners of her lips, as if she was laughing at her lies.

Ye Mingyu also noticed Ji Heng's eyes, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "A Li, this..."

"I met the Duke on my way out," Jiang Li said with a smile, "If it weren't for the Duke's help, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been so easy for me to come back."

Since Ji Heng has decided to spare her life temporarily, he will not go back on his word. In order to maintain his dignity of "not having his things taken away", he will even help Jiang Li not to die under the knife of others. In this way, Ji Heng becomes a natural barrier. Jiang Li believes that as long as she is in danger, although Ji Heng will not take the initiative to help, as long as she asks Ji Heng for help, Ji Heng will help.

I don’t know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

But no matter whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, at least before Ji Heng planned to take her life, they could be considered allies. So Jiang Li did not hide anything from Ye Mingyu.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Ye Mingyu immediately clasped his fists towards Ji Heng and said gratefully, "Really? Thank you, Duke, for your help! Ye San is very grateful. If you need anything in the future, Ye San will be at your service and will repay you with all his heart!"

Ji Heng looked at Jiang Li and said with a smile: "Does your family like to repay favors so much?"

Jiang Li's cheeks were slightly red. When Ji Heng's fan was pressed against her neck, in order to soften Ji Heng's heart, she also said something like "I will repay you in the next life". Although she knew that Ji Heng might not have seen through her calculations, it was hard to say whether Ji Heng let her go in the end because of her words.

As long as they are human, they will have weaknesses. It's just a matter of how big or small they are. Ji Heng's weaknesses are not clear yet, but Jiang Li knows that he will have them too, as long as he still has emotions.

"It's not that I like to repay favors." Jiang Li smiled and said, "We just have a clear distinction between gratitude and resentment." Revenge when there is hatred, repay favor when there is favor, this has been the truth since ancient times. There is no such thing as repaying kindness with hatred or being ungrateful. If there is, you have to seek fairness and justice yourself.

"Okay, no more words." Ji Heng said, "I'm going back. Within seven days, Feng Yutang's people can't touch you." He said, "I live in the tavern opposite the county government office. If you have anything, come to the tavern to find me."

Ye Mingyu was somewhat flattered. In fact, for an adult like him who has been walking in the arena, he actually has no idea of ​​how big a person's official title is and how powerful an official is. Therefore, he did not think there was anything wrong with Ji Heng's "bowing his fist to thank him". But in his heart, Ye Mingyu did not think that Ji Heng would really help Jiang Li much. Because when he looked at this beautiful man, he had a hunch that this man's heart was as cold as steel, and no one could easily get into it. Talking about friendship and kindness was nonsense. Although he did not know why Jiang Li was involved with him, perhaps it was just a show.

But listening to Ji Heng's words at this moment, it was clear that she was willing to help Jiang Li. And what did it mean that Feng Yutang's people could not touch them within seven days? Did it mean that Ji Heng would clear all the obstacles brought by Feng Yutang and escort Jiang Li?

Is this man so kind? Isn't he a Duke? Can he condescend to do such things? Is the Duke's position lower than that of the Prime Minister? Does he want to please Jiang Yuanbo to get promoted? Maybe he just wants to please Jiang Li? Jiang Li is now old enough to look at others, and she will be able to get married in a few years. It's not that Ye Mingyu brags, Jiang Li's appearance and personality are the best, she is smart and brave, and she has a wide vision. There are very few people in the world who can match Jiang Li. Is this man a leper... A swan wants to eat swan meat? But then again, how big of an official is the Duke?
Jiang Li didn't know that her uncle's thoughts had already flown far away. No matter what the purpose was for Ji Heng to say such a thing, at least she was very grateful now. She bowed to Ji Heng and said, "Jiang Li has no way to repay the Duke's kindness. I will definitely repay you one day."

When Ye Mingyu heard this, his hair stood up all over his body, and he looked at Ji Heng warily. According to their experience of listening to storytellers reading opera scripts in taverns when they were traveling around the world, the dandy boy should have said "Then you should pledge yourself to me"!

He must not let this scoundrel succeed! He must protect this innocent niece!
Ye Mingyu was about to say something when Ji Heng spoke up. He said, "No need to thank me. Since I'm immersed in the play, I don't like to see strangers."

To Ji Heng, the assassins sent by Feng Yutang were indeed "outsiders" to him. If these "outsiders" really killed Jiang Li, there would be no show to follow.

Jiang Li didn't quite understand why Ji Heng had to make such an awkward statement about good things, but since he said so, she wouldn't get too close and make herself look bad, so she smiled at Ji Heng and said, "Anyway, thank you, Duke."

Ji Heng glanced at her lazily, then without looking back, he slowly walked to the other side of the road. Under the moonlight, the road in the bluestone alley was particularly long. His back was gorgeous and lonely, with the corners of his robe fluttering, like a lonely and powerful demon, walking gracefully towards home.

Jiang Li felt that Ji Heng was a little different from before.

Maybe it was because she knew Ji Heng's secret and revealed it, Ji Heng no longer needed to pretend in front of her. The smile that was always full of affection suddenly turned into a careless and careless state. Lazy, bored, yet sober, ready at any time.

He is a contradictory person, but at least he is not as "unhuman" as before.

Seeing Jiang Li staring at Ji Heng's back, Ye Mingyu secretly thought that it was not good. Although his niece was both intelligent and brave, she was still a little young. Facing this enchanting man, it was inevitable that the little girl would be tempted by the man's slight teasing. Now she was staring at his back in a trance. Could it be that she had already fallen for him? Pfft! The world is so unfair. A few words from a good-looking man sounded real.

He quickly pulled Jiang Li, hoping that his niece would come to her senses and turn back. He said, "Ali, how about it? Shall we go back?"

Jiang Li turned around, looked at Ye Mingyu's arm, and said, "Okay, uncle, let's go home first and find a doctor to reapply medicine. The wound can't be bandaged like this. Everyone can sleep well tonight." Since Ji Heng said that Feng Yutang's people would not cause trouble, it meant that someone would protect the safety of Ye Mingyu and his group. At least within these seven days, Jiang Li would not be suddenly assassinated when walking on the street in Tongxiang.

Ye Mingyu didn't care much about his injury, but when he saw Jiang Li caring about him, he was moved and immediately cried out "Ouch, ouch", exaggerating, "I'm in so much pain, I need to find a doctor to bandage it. Let's go, Ah Li, let's go back first." He thought that as long as Jiang Li was distracted to him, he would naturally not think about the Duke. By the way, I have to ask him tomorrow how high the Duke's position is.

Jiang Li wondered why Ye Mingyu suddenly became so squeamish, but she also thought he was really in pain, so she didn't say anything more and helped Ye Mingyu back to the courtyard in Qingshi Lane.

Bai Xue and Tong Er were guarding the door, waiting until their necks were almost broken. A whole day passed, and Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu and his men did not come back. The two maids were so worried that they could not eat or sleep. Suddenly, they saw that the group of people came back safe and sound, and they almost cried with joy. Jiang Li ordered them to get hot water and prepare food, and asked an uninjured person to go and get a doctor, and first settle Ye Mingyu's men.

While Bai Xue was cleaning Ye Mingyu's wound, Ye Mingyu asked Jiang Li, "Ah Li, now that Peng Xiao and the others have been rescued and the files are in hand, what should we do next? Are we going to go door to door to find the people of Tongxiang as you said?"

"Yes." Jiang Li nodded. "Uncle, have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, we will go door to door to ask questions. There are only 568 households. Although I don't know if we can ask all of them, we will ask as many households as possible."

"So we're going to do these five days?" Ye Mingyu asked.

“As long as there is one family willing to stand up, they can write a petition to the Dali Temple, and the Dali Temple will immediately terminate the execution order of County Magistrate Xue and arrest Feng Yutang and bring him to the capital. No one will ever be able to change this, because all cases in the Dali Temple must go through the emperor’s hands. As long as you add a senior official in the capital to this, His Majesty will not look down on it.” There was one thing Jiang Li didn’t tell Ye Mingyu. She would not just write the senior official in the capital, she would directly write Princess Yongning’s name.

In this way, it means that he is openly making an enemy of Princess Yongning. But there is nothing to be afraid of. Even if she and Princess Yongning are at peace on the surface, Princess Yongning can send assassins to kill her in Tongxiang. As long as Emperor Hong Xiao sees Princess Yongning's name, the Tongxiang case will definitely become a big case, and Princess Yongning will definitely not be allowed to do anything about it.

This is what she wanted. The files and officials have already arrived. The only thing missing is the people of Tongxiang. As long as some of the people of Tongxiang can be persuaded to go to Beijing with her, the day when the case will be revealed to the world will not be far away.

"Good!" Ye Mingyu slapped his thigh, "We have done so much, and victory is just around the corner. As long as we convince the people of Tongxiang, the Xue family case can be overturned, and that bastard Feng Yutang can be brought to justice. I have disliked him for a long time. Such a bastard can still be the county magistrate, fuck him!"

Ye Mingyu was so angry that he even cursed, but Jiang Li didn't have time to care. She sighed softly, with a layer of worry between her brows: "In fact, the last step is the most difficult."

Since ancient times, kings have known that whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world. No matter who you are, it is not easy to win the hearts of the people, especially when the people are threatened with their lives.

In fact, she was not sure either, as she was least sure of human hearts.

But you have to give it a try.

…This night seemed to last an extremely long time. In the small county of Tongxiang, many people stayed awake all night. The moon quietly disappeared in the middle of the night. The wind blew the leaves on the street, making a rustling sound. The red lanterns under the eaves swayed violently in the wind. The calmer the city was, the more it seemed that a storm that could not be avoided was brewing.

In the early morning, light snow suddenly began to fall outside in Tongxiang, where it had not snowed for more than ten years.

The snow is not as rough as that in Yanjing, falling gently in small pieces, bringing out some bright crystal colors. Some of it hangs on the branches, covering them layer by layer, forming a long curtain like crystal. It seems that this not-so-bustling small city is also gentle and intoxicating.

Jiang Li was woken up by Tong'er.

Tong'er's distressed voice was still ringing in my ears: "How could the girl sleep on the table? She didn't even go to bed last night?"

Jiang Li stretched and said, "Nothing."

Last night, she dismissed Tong'er and Baixue, but she wrote something overnight. There are 568 households in Tongxiang, and every household has received favors from Xue Huaiyuan. It is too late for her to visit more than 500 households by herself. She had to let Ye Mingyu's people share part of the work. With these "favor books", Ye Mingyu would be more powerful and perhaps easier to persuade those people. But while writing, she fell asleep on the table unknowingly. But the strange thing is that she didn't feel too tired after waking up like this. Jiang Li stood up, opened the window, and a snowflake floated in. She stared at it and said, "It's snowing."

"Yes, it's snowing." Tong'er also looked outside.

She has lived in Tongxiang for more than ten years, but this is the first time she has seen snow in Tongxiang. She doesn't know what this means, but maybe it is a new beginning.

A smile slowly appeared in Jiang Li's eyes, and she said, "Very good."

On the other side, Feng Yutang arrived at the county government office in the morning and put on his official uniform.

It was the first time in more than a decade that Tongxiang had snowed. It was so cold that he sneezed repeatedly. He wiped his nose and the servant brought him a cup of hot tea. Feng Yutang lay down on the chair and complained, "It's so cold."

"Yes." The servant said with a smile, "The lanterns at the door were blown down by the wind."

Feng Yutang looked outside and asked, "Who went out last night? Hasn't come back yet?"

The servant said, "No."

"There are no rules!" Feng Yutang said angrily. Princess Yongning's three assassins didn't even take him seriously. Sometimes Feng Yutang didn't dare to speak to the people who ordered him. There was nothing he could do. They were Princess Yongning's people. Besides, if he had any problems here, he had to rely on those people. So although he was dissatisfied, Feng Yutang only dared to grumble behind his back.

Last night, it seemed that those three people had finished their work and went away with their men. Feng Yutang thought angrily. He had never thought that the assassination of Jiang Li had failed. In his opinion, Princess Yongning's men were very skilled. Jiang Li was just a little girl. Among Ye Mingyu's group, only Ye Mingyu could fight, but he was not a real killer after all. It was an indisputable fact that Jiang Li died in the hands of those people.

Thinking of Jiang Li's soft and beautiful face, Feng Yutang smacked his lips and felt a little sorry. If it weren't for Jiang Li's identity, he would never let such a little beauty die so easily, at least wait until he had played with her. Jiang Li was born well, and she was Jiang Yuanbai's daughter. It was bad luck for her to die in Tongxiang. But then again, if she hadn't been asking for trouble and insisted on investigating Xue Huaiyuan's case, why would it have come to this? So she deserved to die.

But Jiang Li was a little girl, and she should have no connection with the Xue family. Why would she investigate Xue Huaiyuan's case? Could it be her father Jiang Yuanbai's suggestion? Not only did he stop Jiang Li, but he also took her life. If Jiang Yuanbai knew about this, wouldn't he be an enemy of the Jiang family? Feng Yutang felt a little uneasy. He was doing things for others, and he was ruthless, but he was always afraid of Jiang Yuanbai. After all, he was not an ordinary minister, but the head of the literati.

Thinking of this, he felt a little irritated. He had been waiting for someone to come and report Jiang Li's sudden death early in the morning, but there was no news until now. Feng Yutang felt uneasy, but he tried his best to hold it back. He just urged the servant beside him and said, "Send someone to check and see if there are any of their people in the Hualou Tavern?"

As he was talking, someone suddenly stumbled in from outside. As soon as he entered, he actually fell because he ran too fast. His nose touched the sole of Feng Yutang's shoe and he shouted, "My lord! My lord, something terrible has happened!"

Feng Yutang was in a state of impatience. Hearing this, he kicked him and said, "What are you yelling about? What's the big deal?"

"Sir...you should go to the backyard of the county government office and take a look yourself!" The subordinate looked terrified.

Feng Yutang saw this and knew something was wrong. He said nothing more and walked towards the backyard in two steps.

Before he reached the backyard, he could smell a strong smell of blood. Feng Yutang resisted the urge to vomit and walked further in. Before he reached the middle, he saw twenty corpses neatly laid out on the ground in the yard.

Feng Yutang didn't see the body clearly, but he didn't need to see it clearly. Because it snowed all night, the body was covered with a layer of snow particles, cold and hard, and it had no breath. The blood had already solidified. Feng Yutang took a step back and barely held on to the pillar in front of him to prevent himself from falling.

He counted in his mind three times and found that there were exactly twenty people.

Twenty people, he sent a total of twenty of his own men, and three of Princess Yongning's men. Now there are twenty people here, where did the other three go?

Feng Yutang asked: "Where are the others?"

The subordinate who spoke first stepped forward, his tone still showing uncontrollable panic, and said: "Sir, there are a total of twenty people, and three are missing. We have not been able to find them."

If we fail to find them, maybe they are still alive. Yes, Princess Yongning's men are very skilled, they will definitely not die so easily. Feng Yutang suddenly felt a glimmer of hope in his heart, and asked, "Have you found any trace of them?"

The subordinate shook his head and said, "We didn't find any trace of them, but we found their weapons in the swamp of the Black Forest... My lord, they are most likely... in danger."

Feng Yutang's eyes went dark and he nearly fainted. When he came to his senses, he immediately started cursing, "There are more than twenty of them, and they went to surround and kill seven people! And they can be wiped out! Are they bastards? A bunch of trash!" He cursed so quickly that Feng Yutang's chest heaved violently and he seemed like he was out of breath. But even his men could hear the anger and panic in his voice.

Feng Yutang was scared.

Those twenty people were his men. Now twenty of his best men were killed at once, and the remaining ones were nothing. Without Princess Yongning's assassins, he could not do anything. Not to mention attacking Jiang Li and the others, if Ye Mingyu wanted to assassinate him, he didn't know if his own men could protect his life.

By the way, Jiang Li and Ye Mingyu, we don't know how they are doing now! Regardless of Ye Mingyu, what about Jiang Li? If their people had taken Jiang Li's life before they died, everything would not be so bad. At least he didn't mess up Yongning's job, Yongning would not blame him, and would help him escape. As long as Jiang Li died, it would be fine!

"Where's Jiang Li?" Feng Yutang grabbed the messenger and asked, "Where's Jiang Li? Is she dead? Is she dead?"

His eyes were bloodshot and he looked horrible and scary. His men were forced to take a step back and slowly shook their heads.

Feng Yutang's heart gradually sank.

"Miss Jiang Er and the big guy came out of the house in Qingshi Lane early in the morning and walked around. They are safe and sound."

Feng Yutang let go of his hand weakly.

The assassination failed, and he lost twenty-three people, but Jiang Li was unharmed. He even dared to swagger around the county town the next day. This was a provocation, or perhaps he was confident.

Come to think of it, the twenty corpses in the back garden of the county government office were Jiang Li's return. It seemed that she had known that the people who came to assassinate her, Feng Yutang, had harvested all her troops, and then slowly sent the corpses back to him without panic, so that he could see clearly. This was the end.

She really wasn't afraid at all.

But he had no way out. He saw clearly the danger of Jiang Li and her group, but he also knew that Jiang Li could not be left alive. Not only because Princess Yongning's orders could not be disobeyed, but Jiang Li knew that if he attacked her, if he could not kill her, he would die at the hands of Jiang Li when Jiang Li and Jiang Yuanbai reconciled, or even before that day, and she would not let him go.

This is a war between two groups of people. Either Jiang Li dies or he dies, and he must do it to the end.

"Continue to send people to hunt down Jiang Li." Feng Yutang said hatefully.

"Sir..." His subordinates looked at him in surprise, as if puzzled by his decision, "I'm afraid..."

"I'm afraid of shit!" Feng Yutang cursed, "What do you know? Hurry up and go! If you go too late, we'll all die!"

This road really has to go on until darkness.

……

In the tavern opposite the county government office, Wen Ji said, "Sir, Feng Yutang has sent out new troops to hunt down the second Miss Jiang."

Ji Heng sat in a chair, looking at the tea in the cup. Compared to usual days, he seemed much calmer. He looked out the window, not knowing what he was thinking. In the snow, his red clothes were more vivid, and his lips were as tempting as petals.

After a while, he said, "Go find someone to deal with it."

Wen Ji took the order and left.

Lu Ji, who was sitting next to her, looked at Ji Heng thoughtfully without saying anything. Ever since he knew that Miss Jiang Er was being hunted down by Ji Shuran and Feng Yutang last night, Lu Ji had been worried. With such a combination of both hands, even if Miss Jiang Er had great abilities, she couldn't escape. But he didn't expect that the person who followed Miss Jiang Er last night was not Wen Ji, but Ji Heng. Moreover, Ji Heng, who never interfered in other people's affairs, actually helped her, which was really surprising.

Ji Heng was never a soft-hearted person, and would not be so kind as to draw a sword to help, but she still helped in the end, and after that, she even showed a protective attitude towards Miss Jiang Er. No matter what the purpose was, whether it was to use her or other plans, Miss Jiang Er still succeeded.

She used incredible means to pull adults into this wonderful group drama, and adults joined the game.

There was no way to guess what the adults were thinking, but Lu Ji thought that the Second Miss Jiang was really amazing.

　The first day of June, everyone howls!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)