Chapter 158 Giving Gifts
On the way back, Tong'er could hardly hold back the laughter on her face.

Jiang Li was helpless, "Tong'er, please put away that smile on your face."

"Whenever I think of the tone of that man's words just now, I want to laugh." Tong'er said, "That man thought he had made a lot of money from the girl and was very pleased with himself. If he knew that I sold this Ferghana horse to the girl for only 500 taels of silver, I don't know how much he would regret it."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "That's how it is in the East Market. After the transaction, the money and goods are paid, and no one can regret it. If you don't have a good eye, no one dares to buy things randomly."

"Yes, yes, yes." Tong'er said with a smile: "Our girl has sharp eyes!"

She was very open-minded and did not ask Jiang Li why she was sure that the colt was a Ferghana horse. As long as Jiang Li said yes, she would believe it without a doubt. Many people who bought things in the East Market would lose everything, especially those who went there for the first time. They never thought that Jiang Li could find such a precious thing on her first visit.

"Dongshi is such a great place," Tong'er smacked her lips, "Let's go there again if we have a chance in the future!"

This child only wants to play. Jiang Li shook her head.

"When we get back, we'll clean this foal. We can't give it to General Ji in a dirty state," said Jiang Li.

"I won't waste it." Tong'er nodded, but she was a little reluctant, "Such a good horse..."

Jiang Li tapped her head gently: "So what? It only cost five hundred taels of silver!"

"That's true." Tong'er laughed foolishly again.

After returning to the Jiang Mansion, Jiang Li had the foal taken back to Fangfei Garden. The yard of Fangfei Garden was big enough, so she asked Bai Xue to take people to wash the foal. As soon as she returned to the house, Qingfeng came to deliver an invitation and also to pass on a message. Jiang Yuanbai and Old Madam Jiang thought about it for a long time and finally decided to let Jiang Li attend General Ji's birthday banquet.

It was exactly what Jiang Li thought.

She took the note with a smile and asked someone to go back to Wan Feng Tang and find out for herself.

After a while, Bai Xue's voice was heard outside the yard, asking Jiang Li to go over and take a look. Jiang Li walked out of the house and saw the maids gathered together in the yard. In the middle, a light golden pony stood in the middle, proudly raising its head, looking majestic.

After washing away the mud, the horse's true color was revealed, a light golden color. Its fur was extremely smooth and thick, but perhaps because it had not been fed enough before, it was not bright enough. Even so, it was still a very handsome pony, with a proud posture.

Tong'er saw it and liked it very much. Zhao Ke, who was hiding in the dark, also saw this scene. He didn't see at first glance that the horse was a Ferghana horse, but he could see that this horse was very good. Even in the stables of the Duke's Mansion, it was also a very good horse. Since ancient times, heroes love good horses, and he was also envious. He wondered where Jiang Li found such a mount, but there were other horses left, so he could pick one.

Jiang Li walked to the foal, and the foal glanced at her, still with a somewhat arrogant look in his eyes. Jiang Li reached out and touched its forehead, and the foal hummed softly twice.

The maids around all laughed, and Bai Xue said, "Girl, give it a name."

Jiang Li was about to speak, but after thinking for a while, she shook her head and said, "Forget it. This is a pony given to General Ji. It would be better for General Ji to name it himself."

"It's a boy!" said Snow White.

"That's even better." Jiang Li touched the pony, "If it's a girl, wouldn't it be a waste of talent to keep her in the Duke's Mansion?"

Zhao Ke: “…”

What do you mean by wasting nature's gifts? Even the flowers and plants in their mansion are public, okay? They should have had more girls long ago! Leaving girls outside is a waste of nature's gifts!
Everyone played with the pony for a while. As it got dark, Jiang Li asked someone to take good care of the foal and went back to the house to sleep.

The post said that General Ji's birthday was in three days. She suddenly thought, I wonder when Ji Heng's birthday was. It seemed like she had never heard of his birthday party.

……

Soon it was three days later.

It snowed lightly that morning. Spring came very late in Yanjing City. After the New Year, it seemed as if winter would last forever. The snow was heavier than before the New Year. The occasional sunshine became a rarity.

Tong'er was carefully choosing clothes in the room. Seeing this, Jiang Li said, "Just pick anything you want."

"Aren't you going to a birthday party, young lady?" Tong'er said with a smile, "Of course you have to pick something nice."

"No need," Jiang Li replied, "There are no other ladies at the birthday party, and no one will notice if I wear it, so it would be a waste of effort."

"That's not necessarily true," Tong'er shook her head. "Even so, General Ji and His Royal Highness the Duke of Su are also men. If the girl wears something nicer, they will definitely appreciate her more."

Tong'er was naive and thought that as long as Jiang Li looked good in her clothes, it would be fine. However, this also showed that even Tong'er was not wary of the people in the Duke's Mansion. In Tong'er's mind, Ji Heng and General Ji were not enemies worth being wary of.

Jiang Li thought about it and smiled, "Then you choose."

It took a long time to choose clothes, and Tong'er spent a long time looking for matching jewelry for Jiang Li. When everything was ready, it was time to go out. Bai Xue led the Ferghana colt over from the yard.

I don't know if it was Jiang Li's illusion, but the pony's fur was much brighter than when she bought it from the East Market three days ago. This was natural. The horse buyer only sold the horse and fed it with inferior food. After returning to the Jiang family, Jiang Li instructed the horse feeder to mix good food and feed it on time every day. With good food, the horse's light golden fur became more beautiful. Even though there was no sun today, standing in the yard, its whole body was like a piece of light golden silk, emitting a bright luster.

What surprised Jiang Li the most was that someone had pinned a small red cloth flower on the horse's ear.

Jiang Li: "...What's going on with this flower?"

Bai Xue said, "Since this horse is a gift to the old general, I wanted to go to the storehouse to pick out a beautiful collar for the pony. But the horse refused to wear it, and after putting it on, it kept trying to take it off. I had no choice but to take off the collar. After thinking about it, I decided to find a flower for it to wear, which would make it look more like a gift."

Jiang Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The Arabian horse colt was naturally arrogant and difficult for ordinary people to tame. Even when it was young, it didn't like to wear things like collars that restricted people. But Snow White actually thought of giving it another flower, which was really...

The pale golden pony was like a defeated rooster, with its head downcast, not even looking at Jiang Li. I wonder if it was sulking because of the flower beside its ear. Jiang Li wanted to take it down for it, but Tong'er was already urging her, "Girl, they said the carriage is waiting outside, let's go out quickly."

Jiang Li said, "Okay, I'll come." Then she temporarily forgot about the flower on the horse's head.

When I left the yard and walked out of the mansion, I met a rare person along the way.

Yang from the third room was walking into the house with Jiang Yuyan. Yang was holding a silk handkerchief in her hand. Jiang Li took a glimpse and saw that the handkerchief was not made of ordinary material, and the workmanship was not that of an ordinary embroidery workshop. Jiang Yuyan saw her from a distance and slowed down her pace. When Jiang Li came to her, she said, "Second sister."

"It's Ah Li." Yang also saw her and smiled, not very warmly. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Jiang Li calmly withdrew her gaze from Yang's silk handkerchief and said with a smile, "Third aunt, fourth sister." She was just trying to find an excuse to get away with it, but suddenly an idea came to her mind, and she immediately smiled and said, "I'm going to the Duke's Mansion for a banquet."

"The Duke's Mansion?" Without waiting for Jiang Yuyan to say anything, Yang asked in surprise, "Which Duke's Mansion?"

"It's the Duke Su's Mansion."

"The Duke of Su's Mansion?" Yang was stunned. "The mansion has never heard of any invitations from the Duke of Su's Mansion." She looked at Jiang Li and said sourly, "The old lady didn't tell us about this." The Duke's Mansion has many invitations to banquets. Unless it is absolutely necessary, the third house will not be allowed to participate. Yang complained about this a lot. Although Jiang Yuanxing is not the biological son of Old Lady Jiang, he is also surnamed Jiang. The family is so estranged. Besides, it is better to promote a family member than to give it to an outsider, right? But Old Lady Jiang insisted on acting estranged, and even Dafang and the second house had to act as if they were superior and did not take the third house seriously.

"It is said that the Duke of Su is not someone you can get close to," Yang continued to observe casually, "When did he become friends with our family? Is he very close to my eldest brother?"

Jiang Li looked at her quietly, with a smile on her lips and gentle eyes, but she said nothing. After a long time, Yang was also a little scared by her eyes, so she asked: "A Li, why do you look at me like that?"

"I was just thinking about how to answer Third Aunt's question," Jiang Li said with a smile, "Father is not very familiar with the Duke of Su's Mansion. In fact, the invitation from the Duke of Su's Mansion was only sent to me. Even Father and the old lady did not receive an invitation, so it is natural that Third Aunt and Fourth Sister did not receive the invitation. I am the only one in the whole mansion who will go to the banquet."

This time, Yang was really stunned, and Jiang Yuyan was also puzzled. Yang stammered, "What's going on? How could the old lady let a girl like you go to the banquet? Besides, this doesn't make sense..."

"That's right," Jiang Li frowned slightly, as if she was very distressed, "but everyone in Yanjing City knows the temper of Duke Su. Even if I am my father's daughter, I dare not refuse the invitation from the Duke's Mansion. I can only go there with my head held high. Although I don't know what kind of dragon pool and tiger cave is ahead, for the sake of the Jiang family, I have to consider the overall situation."

Her words were half true and half false, and there seemed to be a hidden meaning. Yang's eyelids jumped and she couldn't help but look up at Jiang Li. But she saw that Jiang Li looked sincere, as if she had found a close relative to tell her recent troubles. There was no trace of cunning, and she was a little confused.

Yang asked tentatively: "But why did the Duke's Mansion invite only you? Could it be that..." She took a step closer, "You are already at the age of getting married..." Yang seemed to feel that it was inappropriate for her to speak to Jiang Li like this, and she stopped talking as soon as she opened her mouth.

Jiang Li lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "I don't know about this..."

This look clearly shows that she is extremely shy.

This was a strange thing. Ever since Jiang Li returned to Yanjing City from Qingcheng Mountain, the Jiang family had seen her more gently, calmly, and even calmly to the point of indifference. As a result, this shyness and unnaturalness became particularly obvious.

Jiang Yuyan also stared at Jiang Li without saying a word.

Jiang Li raised her head and met Yang's gaze. She seemed a little flustered for a moment and said quickly, "It's almost too late for me now. I won't talk to Third Aunt in detail. I'll leave first." She turned sideways and left Yang and Jiang Yuyan, as if she was in a panic and couldn't wait to escape.

Jiang Li's figure disappeared quickly. Jiang Yuyan stood there. After a while, she asked in a low voice: "Mother, was Second Sister lying just now?" Yang didn't say anything, but frowned. After a while, she said: "Whether she lies or not, the Duke's Mansion only invited her, there must be something wrong!"

On the other side, Jiang Li was walking outside the mansion gate and was helped by Tong'er into the carriage.

Her shyness, embarrassment, and awkwardness had long since disappeared, replaced by her gentle and calm face. She sat in the carriage, thinking of her appearance just now, and couldn't help laughing. I don't know since when, she has become a person who can act at any time, accurately controlling her own joys and sorrows, and showing others what they want to see.

She had long felt that the third room was a little strange. The clothes worn by Jiang Yuyan and Yang had been much more extravagant than before. However, Jiang Yuanxing had not been promoted, and the third room had not started any other small business. The improvement in the third room's life was too obvious. A large sum of money was needed.

Moreover, ever since Jiang Yu'e got married, the third wife didn't seem to mind the rift between her and the first and second wives, and Jiang Yuanxing was even unwilling to pretend to be a friendly and respectful brother.

There was also the scandal between Ji Shuran and Liu Wencai, which suddenly spread throughout the entire Yanjing City overnight. Jiang Yuanbo checked all the servants of the Jiang family, but did not find any suspicious people. So for a long time, many people believed that Jiang Li did it in order to avenge Ji Shuran. However, Jiang Li herself knew whether she did it or not. Later, Jiang Li thought that in addition to the servants, people from the third house were also present that day. If there was anyone in the Jiang family who was alienated from the first and second houses, the third house must be one of them?
Could the third room be the traitor of the Jiang family? Jiang Li had been unable to find any evidence until she saw Yang just now. She suddenly thought that she could use this matter to give it a try.

Her shyness and embarrassment would mislead Yang. If Yang misunderstood something and told someone, and the matter was leaked, it would almost prove that there was something wrong with Yang.

The carriage set off, and Jiang Li sat inside, looking at her fingertips.

I hope my suspicion is wrong.

But if it is right, it doesn't matter. It is just a poisonous tooth hidden in the Jiang Mansion. After it is pulled out, it is nothing.

……

At the gate of the Duke's Mansion, Zhao Ke was squatting in the yard, talking to Wen Ji.

He was out last night for something and returned to the Duke's Mansion early this morning to report, so he did not return to the Jiang family.

In the room inside, Situ Jiuyue was busy. When she had some free time, she would make some new poisons. Haitang stood beside her, handing her the materials she needed from time to time.

Since Haitang's facial injury healed, she had nothing to do in the Duke's Mansion, but she couldn't find anything to do, so she simply became Situ Jiuyue's servant. When Situ Jiuyue was refining medicine, Haitang helped her on the side.

Zhao Ke looked at the two people in the room, shook his head, and sighed: "Why did such a good girl follow Miss Situ?"

Is Situ Jiuyue beautiful? Of course she is. Her appearance can even be ranked in the top ten among the women in Yanjing City. But she is too fierce. She feeds poison to people when she disagrees with them. How can others dare to get close to her? As for Haitang, apart from other things, the guards of the Duke's Mansion still admire her. Situ Jiuyue treated the wound on Haitang's face by using the method of using poison to fight poison with poison. The people in the Duke's Mansion knew the danger and pain of the poisonous spider. It was unexpected that Haitang was willing to accept it, and it was even more unexpected that she could endure it.

The guards of the Duke's Mansion were all impressed by a girl who was so tenacious and brave. Some of them were even so pleased that they confessed their love to Haitang.

It was a pity that this beautiful girl who had restored her original appearance was actually very cold-hearted. She resolutely rejected all the guards who expressed their love to her and said that she would never marry in her life. Everyone knew about the affair between Shen Yurong of the Shen family and Princess Yongning. They guessed that Haitang had seen through the hypocritical face of the man and was afraid of the consequences. They secretly cursed and scolded Shen Yurong.

Wen Ji said, "Stop talking nonsense, go to the door and calculate the time. Second Miss Jiang will be here soon."

Zhao Ke spat out the grass in his mouth. "I'm not her subordinate, why do I have to take care of everything? If the Duke really likes her, why doesn't he just marry her back home?"

"I like it! I like it!" A loud cry came, frightening Zhao Ke to death. When he looked up, Xiao Hong was standing on the branch, staring at him mockingly, her shiny black feathers particularly conspicuous, and she said, "I like it! I like it!"

"Auntie, please stop yelling." Zhao Ke wanted to cover its mouth. "If the master knew that I was talking nonsense behind my back, he would peel off my skin. Shut up!"

Xiaohong screamed even louder and her voice was as loud as that of General Ji.

Zhao Ke had no choice but to wait for the bird to continue calling, otherwise it would attract everyone in the Duke's Mansion. Thinking of Ji Heng smiling and asking him what he had said, Zhao Ke shuddered and said to Wen Ji, "Well, you just stay here and watch it. I'll go pick up Miss Jiang II right away... See you!" Then he ran away.

Wen Ji took a deep breath, looked at Xiaohong who was standing proudly on the tree, turned his head, and left.

……

Jiang Li's carriage stopped at the gate of the Duke's Mansion.

The waiter who greeted guests smiled more and more enthusiastically when he saw Jiang Li. In a trance, Jiang Li felt that he was almost as good as the waiter in Ye Mingyu's family. She asked someone to lead the light golden pony. The waiter at the gate was still stunned and said, "Second Miss Jiang, this..."

"A birthday gift for General Ji," Jiang Li smiled slightly, "Just follow me into the palace."

The boy was stunned for a moment, then said, "Oh, OK."

A pony is given as a birthday gift. This young lady from the Jiang family is really different from ordinary people. No wonder the adults treat her specially.

Jiang Li and the guide walked towards the Duke's Mansion. When they reached the flower garden, they saw a tall figure dancing with a sword in an open space in front of the flower garden. His swordsmanship was excellent. The silver light shuttled like a dragon, and his figure was agile. Looking closely, the man wearing a white cloth and a red belt around his waist was none other than General Ji.
From his swordplay, one can indeed glimpse his former heroic spirit. But perhaps because he was using too much force, the sword energy immediately lifted up many petals in the flowerbed, and the petals fluttered down. If we ignore General Ji, dancing with a sword in the rain of flowers is really a pleasing sight.

Jiang Li only vaguely remembered that the flowers in this flower garden were carefully transplanted and maintained by Ji Heng at a great cost. The Duke's Mansion was very large, and there was not only this piece of open space, but General Ji chose to practice swordsmanship here, which could be said to be very willful.

She stood quietly beside the flowerbed, waiting for an unknown amount of time. After General Ji finished his sword dance, a servant came up to him and said something, probably to inform him that Jiang Li was coming. General Ji immediately turned around and strode towards Jiang Li.

"Old General." Jiang Li saluted him.

"You're here." General Ji's expression was neither happy nor unhappy, but he was still somewhat happy. He said, "Today is my birthday. I really liked the venison you roasted in my house last time, so I specially invited you to come here today. You don't have to do it this time."

Jiang Li smiled reluctantly, "Thank you, General, for your understanding." She was not a servant of the Duke's Mansion, so why should she go to the Duke's Mansion to fulfill other people's wishes for no reason?

General Ji's eyes fixed, and he suddenly said, "Good horse!" He took two steps at a time and walked behind Jiang Li.

Bai Xue was leading the light golden foal. Jiang Li had warned Bai Xue not to let the foal get close to the flower bed because the flowers in the bed were poisonous. If the foal was poisoned, it would be disastrous.

"This is..." The old general walked to the pony, frowned slightly, and stroked the pony's fur. The pony snorted, shook its head slightly, and kicked its front hooves.

"This is a birthday gift for the old general. I hope he won't dislike it." Jiang Li smiled slightly.

Dislike? How is that possible? At least from General Ji's current appearance, there is really no sign of dislike. His mouth was almost grinning from ear to ear, and his face was full of smiles. Since Jiang Li met the old general, this was the first time she saw him so obviously happy. He touched the foal's mane again, and his movements were also cautious. Suddenly he looked at Jiang Li again, hesitating as if he wanted to ask a question.

Jiang Li guessed what he wanted to ask, so she said, "It's a Ferghana horse."

"Oh!" The old general slapped his thigh, "I told you! This horse is simply a Ferghana horse." With Jiang Li's affirmation, his smile became even more obvious. He circled around the colt again and again, just like a lustful man seeing a peerless beauty, or a greedy man seeing ten thousand taels of gold, and couldn't let go.

"I haven't seen a Ferghana horse for many years. To me, my mount, Zhuifeng, was also a good horse, but it was shot dead by the enemy when I was on a campaign. Later, I raised Lightning, and it stayed with me until the end, until I died of old age. It's a pity that it hasn't been on the battlefield for many years. How can the horses in the capital be good at fighting? This horse would be different if it had less blood. You can tell it's different in its bones." As he spoke, he became sad again, "Such a good horse, but now it follows me, a half-dead man, and can't go to the battlefield or travel around. It's a pity."

Since ancient times, famous generals are like beauties, who are not allowed to grow old in the world. The old age of a general is as sad as the old age of a beauty.

But Jiang Li was completely calm, because although General Ji sighed like this, he was dancing with a sword in the flower garden in winter and going hunting specifically for roasted venison. All these actions did not make him look like a person with "half his body buried in the ground".

As they were talking, they heard screams and footsteps from not far away. Jiang Li looked back and saw Wen Renyao, Lu Ji and Kong Liu coming from not far away. The last person was naturally Ji Heng. It seemed that the four of them were together just now.

Kong Liu walked the fastest. Once he set his eyes on the pony, he couldn't take them away. When he got closer, he touched and looked at it, causing the pony to groan impatiently.

"Old man, where did you get this fine horse? It doesn't look ordinary!"

General Ji said proudly: "Don't be jealous, my dear horse. This is a birthday gift from Jiang girl to me. You have no right to it!"

Hearing that it was a Ferghana horse, Lu Ji and Wen Renyao were both surprised. Kong Liu stared at Jiang Li blankly and asked, "Ferghana horse?"

There was a Ferghana horse in Yanjing City in the past. It was a gift from a small country nearby to the late emperor. It was kept in the palace and served with good food and drink. Apart from that, it was only heard from rumors. Kong Liu and his friends were not stupid. After listening to what General Ji said and taking a closer look, they knew that it was not a lie.

"My goodness," Kong Liu couldn't help but say, "This is really enviable." He looked at Jiang Li, "Second Miss Jiang is really generous. Could this... be what Jiang Yuanfu meant?"

A BMW is worth ten thousand taels of gold. Is Jiang Yuanbai such a generous person? The Jiang family and the Duke's Mansion have no dealings. It is not certain whether Jiang Li will accept the invitation. The Jiang family will hesitate for a long time. But if it is Jiang Li's own idea, even if Jiang Li is well-off and the Ye family helps Jiang Li, it seems unlikely that they will give such a big gift so readily.

"Father doesn't know what gift I gave him, and probably thought it was just an ordinary tonic." Jiang Li smiled slightly, "But Lord Kong, you don't have to praise me. This horse is not expensive. I still have the money to give this horse to the old general."

She looked calm and composed, not pretending to be anything but happy, which surprised the people around her. She really looked like she was doing something very easy.

Ji Heng narrowed his eyes, "How much?"

"Not much, just five hundred taels of silver." Jiang Li said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)