Chapter 147 Master and Servant
It snows heavily in winter and at night, the light snow turns into heavy snow. As a result, all encounters and reunions have the feeling of a person returning home tired and exhausted on a snowy night.

But in the midst of the dust, there are some wonderful and beautiful scenes.

The young girl leaned out half of her body, her face frozen with shock for a moment, looking adorable because of the shock. The young man in red smiled and leaned the handle of his fan against the window, looking up slowly, his eyes full of affection.

It was pure, erotic, unexpected, and like something out of a play.

In the silence, the young man broke the silence, raised the corner of his lips and asked: "Are you stupid?"

Jiang Li came back to her senses and asked, "Why is the Duke here?"

"Aren't you going to the Duke's Mansion tonight?" Ji Heng said with a smile, "I'll pick you up."

Jiang Li: "..."

The words "I'll pick you up" should have been very gentle and full of affection, but when said by the man in front of him, it felt creepy and unnatural. Jiang Li said, "Your Majesty, there's no need to go to such trouble. Just let Zhao Ke come, or I can go by myself."

"Oh." He said, "I'm already here."

He was already here, so he couldn't leave. Jiang Li sighed and stood up. Ji Heng reached out his hand, put his arm around hers, and said, "Jump down."

Jiang Li stepped on the stool, then on the table, holding Ji Heng's arm, and jumped down from the window. The window was not high, but it was still a little shaky when she jumped down, and she subconsciously grabbed the corner of Ji Heng's robe.

Jiang Li didn't react until she stood firm. Huh? Why did she jump out of the window? She could just open the door and walk out, right?

He looked at Ji Heng again, sighed silently in his heart, and was led away again.

Ji Heng looked at Jiang Li with interest and said, "This outfit suits you very well."

Because they were going out at night, Jiang Li couldn't wear anything too complicated. A woman's skirt was too long. She didn't even bring a cloak. She only wore a plain white cotton jacket prepared by Bai Xue, grey pants, black boots, and her long hair was tied up high behind her head, dressed like a man.

But although she was dressed as a man, under the light of the lanterns in the snow, her facial features looked even more gentle and handsome, with an indescribable refreshing feeling.

"Thank you for the compliment, Duke." Jiang Li responded, and she asked, "How do we get out?"

"Through the back door." Ji Heng replied.

"Back door?" Jiang Li was startled: "What back door?"

It turns out that Ji Heng is much more familiar with the interior of the Jiang Mansion than she, the Second Miss Jiang. After passing through several gardens that are not often seen on weekdays, there is actually a back door. She didn't meet anyone along the way. Although she knew that Ji Heng must have sent away all the servants who might appear in advance, it was too simple, which made Jiang Li have an illusion that the entire Jiang Mansion was made of paper and anyone could come in at random. If the Jiang Mansion was robbed at night, Jiang Li might not be too surprised.

After all, there are no guards guarding the gate at night!

Ji Heng took Jiang Li and went out through the back door almost openly.

There was a black sedan parked in the snow outside the back door. Zhao Ke was standing in front of the sedan, along with four coachmen. When they saw Jiang Li and the other two coming out, they came over and lifted the curtain of the sedan.

Jiang Li hesitated. A sedan chair was different from a carriage. It was a bit ambiguous for a man and a woman to ride in the same sedan chair.

While she was still hesitating, Ji Heng calmly got on the sedan chair and waited for a long time. Seeing that Jiang Li didn't move, she asked, "Aren't you coming up?"

The man spoke so calmly and easily, as if she was just imagining it. Jiang Li couldn't help but wonder if she was making a fuss about nothing. However, the journey was still long, and if she walked on the street without a sedan chair, she might get into trouble if she was recognized by Princess Yongning's people. She could only grit her teeth and get on.

Zhao Ke ordered the bearers to lift the sedan chair.

The sedan was as gorgeous and exquisite as its owner, and even contained hot tea and snacks, which was hard to enjoy in winter. But anyway, this was a sedan made by one person, so even if it was spacious, the distance between Jiang Li and Ji Heng could not be widened.

Almost close.

Ji Heng handed Jiang Li a cup of tea. The tea was still gentle. Jiang Li took a sip and the coldness was dispelled a lot. She looked at the snacks on the small table and suddenly asked, "Is this made by the Duke himself?"

At that moment, Jiang Li was sure that Ji Heng paused and the tea in his hand spilled out.

The people carrying the sedan chair outside walked very steadily. The sedan bearers of the Duke's Mansion were probably carefully selected, and they didn't feel any bumps at all. Therefore, it was definitely not because of the bumps in the sedan chair that the tea spilled, but because of her words.

Ji Heng put down the teacup, took out the snow-white silk, slowly wiped the tea off her hands, and finally looked at Jiang Li: "No."

Jiang Li: "..."

If it's not, then it's not. Only Ji Heng can say it with such murderous intent. Jiang Li suddenly understood why outsiders wanted to spread rumors that Ji Heng was moody. He was moody to begin with.

"Who is Haitang to you?" Ji Heng suddenly asked.

The conversation changed too quickly, and Jiang Li didn't react for a moment. She only heard Ji Heng say, "You were so anxious to find her and even asked me for help. You weren't afraid that I would see your secret. It seems that she is very important to you."

"It is indeed very important." Jiang Li smiled: "Also, I never thought of hiding it from the Duke."

"Don't talk in a nice way, you are the most cunning." Ji Heng smiled nonchalantly and said, "You know this woman named Haitang, just like you already know Qiongzhi from Xihua Tower and Xue Huaiyuan from Tongxiang."

"I know her." Jiang Li said, "She is the one who can help me overthrow Princess Yongning."

"What I don't understand is," Ji Heng said softly, "why did you insist on killing Yongning?"

"My Lord, you only saw that I wanted to kill Princess Yongning, but you didn't see that Princess Yongning had repeatedly tried to murder me." Jiang Li smiled faintly, "It's not fair that the officials are allowed to set fires, but the people are not allowed to light lamps."

When she said the word "unfair", although she could suppress her emotions, she could still hear a hint of resentment in it. She really felt it was unfair.

Ji Heng propped up his head, looked at her, and said, "You are the daughter of the Prime Minister, not a commoner."

"Does the daughter of the Prime Minister have special privileges?" Jiang Li asked back, "But in my opinion, maybe against Yongning, or someone higher than her, it's simply worthless."

Yongning saw that she was the daughter of a minor official, so he could oppress the Xue family at will. But she was the daughter of a higher-ranking official, and as long as she blocked Yongning's way, her status was not as high as Yongning's, so Yongning could still do whatever he wanted. This is the truth of the world today, the people are oppressed by minor officials, the minor officials are oppressed by the big officials, the big officials are afraid of the princes and nobles, and the princes and nobles bow down to the emperor.

Exploitation is everywhere, and at the bottom is blood and tears. The Prime Minister's daughter is not aware of the sufferings of the world, and cannot understand it. However, Xue Fangfei, as a commoner, has personally experienced what it feels like to be bullied by the powerful.

"You seem very angry." A smiling voice came from her ear, and Jiang Li realized that Ji Heng had sat up straight without her noticing, so the distance between Ji Heng and her in the not-so-wide sedan chair was as small as possible. She seemed to be able to feel the warm breath of Ji Heng in her ears.

It felt itchy, with an inexplicable warmth, which dissipated a lot of the anger in her heart for a moment.

Jiang Li deliberately stepped back a little, but she had reached the edge and her head almost hit the beam of the sedan chair. Fortunately, Ji Heng was quick-witted and put his hand behind her head, so the back of Jiang Li's head touched Ji Heng's palm.

His hands were always cold, and the red clothes he wore were as hot as fire, but as thin as ice.

Jiang Li was stunned for a moment and thanked him softly.

Ji Heng took his hand back and said lazily, "You don't have to hate the emperor so much. Jiang Yuanbai is the Prime Minister. What you said has already put you on the opposite side of the emperor. Second Miss Jiang," he reminded with good or bad intentions, "will be exposed."

It will be exposed.

What would be exposed? Jiang Li was a little nervous for a moment. Would it expose her identity as not being the Second Miss Jiang? Although there were many mysteries about her and many things seemed incredible to others, as long as she didn't say it herself, no one would have thought that there was another soul hidden in Jiang Li's shell.

But that was how he treated ordinary people. If it was how he treated Ji Heng... Jiang Li raised her eyes and looked at the other person.

The young man's eyes were deep and smiling. His eyes were narrow and upturned, and the color was slightly darker, which made them more beautiful. His nose was high and his lips were bright red, like a cup of poisoned wine with a mystery. You couldn't see into his heart, but you felt that you were being watched by his eyes, and the secrets in his heart were exposed.

He is too dangerous, too sober, too rational, and too easy to make people fall for him.

He is not an ordinary person. If it were him, he might discover her secret. Jiang Li thought for no reason.

Jiang Li was silent. She didn't know what to say. Every word she said could become a clue for Ji Heng. The more she said, the more mistakes she would make. So she could only keep silent.

But Ji Heng did not continue to question her. As if she was a little tired, she supported her head with her hands, leaned against the side of the sedan chair, and closed her eyes.

In the narrow sedan, the two people were close to each other and were silent at the same time. They could hear the whistling of the wind outside the sedan and the rustling sound of the sedan bearer's boots stepping on the snow, which made the cold and quiet night more lively.

After an unknown amount of time, the sedan chair stopped and Zhao Ke's voice rang out from outside: "Duke, we're here."

Ji Heng, who had been dozing with her eyes closed, opened her eyes, lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, went down first, and waited for Jiang Li to come down.

The Duke's Mansion at night was not as gorgeous as it looked during the day. Under the dim lights, it looked a little unreal. It was like a person who had been trekking in the mountains for a long time saw a fairy palace, and then looked at the handsome young man who was not like an ordinary person, and suddenly thought he had walked into the lair of a monster.

Jiang Li walked down, the door of the Duke's Mansion opened, and she and Ji Heng walked in.

General Ji had probably gone to bed, because there was no sign of him. If General Ji were here, he would definitely not be so quiet. He would definitely pull Jiang Li aside to ask her why she came here so late at night and what her relationship with Ji Heng was.

They walked all the way to the innermost courtyard of the Duke's Mansion. There was a room. Wen Ji was waiting outside the room. When he saw them, he said, "Sir."

"There's someone inside." Ji Heng looked at her: "Do you want to go in and take a look now?"

Jiang Li nodded and was about to go in. Wen Ji said, "Second Miss Jiang, this girl named Haitang doesn't trust others at all. If you go in alone, I'm afraid she will hurt you. It's better to let the guards..."

"No need." Jiang Li smiled and rejected his kindness, saying, "I'll go in and negotiate with her. She won't hurt me."

Wen Ji looked at Ji Heng, and seeing that Ji Heng did not show any disapproval, he stepped aside to make it easier for Jiang Li to push the door in.

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then turned to Ji Heng. Just as she was about to speak, Ji Heng smiled and said, "I know. I'll be waiting at the gate of the yard and won't eavesdrop on your 'secret'." He emphasized the word "secret" a little more.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Thank you, Duke, for your understanding." Ji Heng and his guards retreated to the yard. Jiang Li took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to push open the door.

After closing the door, Jiang Li looked into the room. There was a lamp on the table in the room, and a person was sitting in front of the table. She was leaning against the wall, as if this would make her feel a little more at ease. The back of the person was tall and thin. Jiang Li almost cried when she saw this person. This back was familiar to her, and it made her feel mixed emotions. She couldn't fail to recognize it. This was Haitang.

When Haitang heard someone coming, she turned around quickly and stared at Jiang Li with vigilance. She had a veil on her face, revealing only a pair of eyes, but the look in her eyes was unfamiliar. Haitang used to be gentle and calm. She always made plans for everything and was the most considerate and reliable. But now, Haitang no longer had the gentleness of the past. She stared at the newcomer with caution, like an animal that had been hurt.

This look broke Jiang Li's heart.

But Jiang Li just raised a gentle smile and sat down opposite Haitang. When she did these actions, Haitang avoided her body, pressed tightly against the wall, and said nothing.

"You are Haitang, right?" Jiang Li said with a smile, "I asked someone to find out about you and brought you back from Zaohua Village."

Haitang still looked at her as if she were a stranger. In fact, Jiang Li was just a stranger to Haitang, and she didn't know her background. Haitang spoke up, "What is your purpose?"

Hearing this, Jiang Li was stunned for a moment, a look of surprise appeared on her face.

Haitang's voice was soft and pleasant to the ear. People used to joke that Haitang had been with her master for so long that her voice sounded like Jiang Li's. But now her voice sounded as if it had been burned by fire, and it was extremely hoarse and unpleasant.

"What's wrong with your throat?" Jiang Li asked.

Haitang stared at her and said nothing.

For Haitang, it was abnormal for a strange woman to ask about her throat with such concern.

"What is your purpose?" Haitang asked again.

"I am Jiang Li, the second daughter of the Jiang family, and the daughter of the current Prime Minister Jiang Yuanbai." Jiang Li tried to lower her voice and make her expression look gentler and more friendly. She said, "I was asked by someone to investigate the case of Xue Fangfei, the daughter of the Xue family."

"Miss..." Haitang was stunned, then became excited. She asked, "Miss, what's wrong?!"

Jiang Li frowned: "You don't know?"

"I don't know!" Haitang asked anxiously, "What happened to her?"

When Haitang and Dujuan left the Shen residence, Xue Fangfei was still alive, but was under house arrest for having an affair. Xue Fangfei drove her and Dujuan away because one day she suspected the two maids of stealing property, so she expelled them from the residence and never allowed them to return to Beijing.

At that time, Haitang and Dujuan felt very aggrieved, but Xue Fangfei had never been so strict before. The friendship between the master and the servant for many years was destroyed, and Haitang was also sad. But later, after they left Yanjing City, a long time passed, and Haitang gradually calmed down and realized that Xue Fangfei was trying to protect them. If she and Dujuan stayed in the Shen Mansion, sooner or later, they would be attacked by Shen's mother.

Since their young lady wanted them to live well, Haitang and Dujuan could only endure the grief and linger. Now, hearing Jiang Li suddenly mention Xue Fangfei, Haitang suddenly had an ominous premonition in her heart.

Jiang Li looked at her and said, "She's dead."

Haitang was startled, almost unable to sit still, and fell to the ground. Jiang Li reached out to help her, and Haitang looked at her, but her expression was still confused. She asked: "How... could it be? She was fine when I left..."

"After Xue Fangfei was found to have an affair with someone, she lost all face and soon fell seriously ill. She eventually died of the disease." After a pause, Jiang Li said, "That's what happened on the surface."

"What do you mean?" Haitang immediately grasped the meaning of Jiang Li's words.

"What I mean is that Xue Fangfei's death was not an accident, nor was she killed by a serious illness. She died because someone had murdered her. Just like when she had an affair with someone, she was framed."

Haitang looked at Jiang Li, her expression gradually changed, like she was on guard, but also excited. She asked, "How do you know that she was framed for having an affair with someone?"

"It doesn't matter how I know, but you should know that you are Xue Fangfei's personal maid. You know best whether Xue Fangfei had an affair with someone back then." Jiang Li said.

Haitang tightly grasped the teacup on the table: "She didn't have an affair with anyone."

Jiang Li looked at her: "I know."

"Why did you come to me?" Haitang asked, "and why did you say these things to me? What good will this do you? If you want my life, just take it. I don't care. If you want to use you and me to achieve your ulterior motives, I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible. I won't do anything."

Jiang Li didn't answer, but just looked at Haitang and smiled.

After a while, Haitang asked nervously, "What are you doing?"

Jiang Li shook her head: "I just sighed, Xue Fangfei is so lucky to have you, no wonder she went to great lengths to send you and Du Juan away."

Haitang was stunned: "You know?" Her voice suddenly trembled: "Back then...she deliberately expelled us from the house, right? She has never wronged us, right?"

Although Haitang later guessed that this was the possibility, she couldn't let it go. Now that Xue Fangfei was dead, this question would never be answered, but when Jiang Li said it, she suddenly had a glimmer of hope, as if only in this way could it be complete.

"Yes." Jiang Li looked at her calmly, "She knows that she will face dangers everywhere in the Shen family, and it is even more likely that she will not be able to save your lives. The only way to survive is to drive you out of the house. If she tells you the truth, you will not leave, but insist on living and dying with her. It is better to say something harsh so that you will give up and leave Yanjing City completely, and save your life."

Haitang listened blankly, and soon, tears suddenly fell. She murmured, "I know... I have always known."

"But," Jiang Li asked the question she wanted to ask, "From what I know, you were not the only maid at that time. There was also a maid named Du Juan. Why are you the only one left now? Did you go your separate ways? Or do you have other plans?"

Haitang lowered her head and said, "Dead."

Jiang Li's heart shrank, as if someone had grabbed her, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. Although she had thought of this possibility a long time ago, she still couldn't accept it when she heard Haitang say it.

The lively people who accompanied her left one by one, as if nothing was left behind.

"How did she... die?" Jiang Li's voice was choked with sobs that she couldn't hide.

But Haitang was so sad at the moment that she didn't notice anything unusual about her. She just said tiredly, as if she had used up all her strength: "Not long after we escaped from Yanjing City, we suddenly found that the government was posting notices about us everywhere, saying that we stole the master's silver and wanted to arrest us. Dujuan was caught, and I wanted to help and ask the officials to tell them that Dujuan was innocent, but that night... when I found Dujuan, she had been strangled to death and thrown into a mass grave."

Jiang Li's heart was in unbearable pain.

"I don't know if he is someone from the government. If he is wanted by the government, why do they execute him directly without trial? Even if he is executed, why don't they announce it to the world? If he is not someone from the government, why are there wanted warrants posted everywhere? I don't understand, but I know that there is no way to avoid it. I saw them even lying in ambush near the mass grave, probably waiting for me to fall into the trap and arrest me when I go to collect Dujuan's body, so I didn't collect Dujuan's body." When she said this, Haitang's hands began to tremble. Perhaps even now, she still couldn't forgive herself for what she had done at that time.

"I destroyed my face, evaded the government search, and fled back to my hometown," Haitang said.

"your face……"

Haitang asked, "Do you want to see it?"

Jiang Li nodded.

Haitang laughed miserably and reached out to lift the veil.

Jiang Li's breathing almost stopped for a moment, but her originally fair and pretty face now had two deep knife scars, from the eyes to the chin, which were hideous and terrifying. The wounds had formed scars, but instead of making people feel better, they were even more shocking.

What could make such a beautiful woman willing to destroy her appearance to such an extent? From now on, she can only walk in the world with her face covered with a veil.

Haitang kept staring at Jiang Li's eyes. She had long been accustomed to seeing her face, which only attracted disgust and fear. Even the men in black who came to pick her up felt quite unnatural when they saw her appearance. She thought Jiang Li was the same as those people.

But Jiang Li didn't.

Jiang Li just looked at Haitang deeply, her eyes were full of sadness and guilt, heartache and regret, but the only thing she didn't have was fear and avoidance. She even reached out her hand and wanted to touch the scar.

Haitang suddenly took a step back and put her veil back on. After a moment of silence, she said, "You saw it."

Jiang Li was also silent. It was not a joyful reunion to see an old friend for the first time. Both of them had experienced many ups and downs, which made people sigh at the absurdity of fate.

"I want to ask, why do you want to destroy your own appearance in order to survive?" Jiang Li asked.

"I don't know." Haitang's eyes were blank for a moment. "At first I thought the wanted order was issued by the young lady. But I don't think so. I hope to survive and meet the young lady one day to ask her what happened and why she accused us of stealing. Maybe the young lady wanted to save our lives, so we should not give up our lives easily. Instead, we should work hard to survive."

She said, "We have never left the young lady since we were young."

Jiang Li closed her eyes.

In fact, Xue Huaiyuan never wanted the servants of the Xue family to devote everything to their masters, and they should have their own lives. Jiang Li also called Haitang Dujuan and the others sisters, but there was probably such a loyal servant in the world, whose whole life was tied to another person.

Very heavy. Very heavy.

"I didn't know the young lady was dead..." Haitang murmured, "I was still thinking that maybe I could see the young lady again..."

"Xue Fangfei can't possibly be alive," Jiang Li gathered her thoughts and looked at her again, "Not only that, Xue Zhao is also dead, and Xue Huaiyuan is crazy. The entire Xue family has nothing left now."

Haitang looked at her blankly and shook her head: "No..."

"Haitang, listen, this is not an accident, nor is it karma. This is a conspiracy, a real conspiracy. Someone killed the Xue family. I am Miss Jiang Er, and I was entrusted to help the Xue family redress the false stigma for Xue Fangfei and find evidence that she was murdered." Jiang Li stared into Haitang's eyes, "This is not only because of Xue Fangfei, but also for you, why Du Juan, and for all the innocent people who died tragically in this conspiracy. Do you want to watch the murderer get away with it?"

"Why should I believe you?" Haitang asked. She was a smart girl, determined and decisive. Even when faced with the truth, she could still stick to her rationality.

"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have tried every possible means to bring you to Yanjing City. You can also go and see the crazy Xue Huaiyuan, and then you will know whether what I said is true or not." Jiang Li said: "You are Xue Fangfei's personal maid, and you are with her every day. You at least know who to suspect. When Xue Fangfei had an affair with someone and was framed, who was the most suspicious, and what suspicious things did she do?"

Haitang stared at Jiang Li. After a while, her eyes darkened and she uttered a few words.

"Xiao Deyin."

"Also, everyone in the Shen family."

(End of this chapter)