Chapter 235 Dream Night
The person who was speaking was a woman. Her voice was very gentle, and a little nonchalant, which made people feel very soothed.

Then, someone in the yard who seemed to be a maid said, "After the son-in-law won the first place in the imperial examination, the mistress and the young lady became even more excessive towards the young lady."

"Nothing, he just won the imperial examination today, so naturally he has a lot of social engagements, Yurong had no choice, Dujuan, don't talk nonsense."

Number one scholar? Shen Yurong? When Ji Heng heard this name, he understood it instantly. He knew Shen Yurong, the new number one scholar a while ago. Emperor Hong Xiao had told him before that he was going to give Shen Yurong a house. He heard that this number one scholar Shen was born in a commoner family and was poor. As expected, he lived in such a shabby alley.

Ji Heng didn't like to listen to other people's gossip, but today he didn't leave. Perhaps he was exhausted and too lazy to move, so he just sat on the wall and listened to the people inside quietly.

"But today is the Spring Festival, so it's fine for the son-in-law to attend the social event. Madam and Miss went to the temple fair by themselves, leaving the girl alone in the mansion. Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for her? The girl is just good-natured. If the young master were here, he would definitely stand up for her."

"Haitang, you're talking nonsense again." The woman's voice was still nonchalant, and she smiled and said, "They're not here, so I just want to get some peace and quiet. Little do I know that pretending to do things is also very tiring. It's a blessing for me to have a moment of relaxation."

"The Shen family has too many rules. They are not a wealthy family. When you were in the Xue family, you didn't have to work so hard."

The maid in the yard seemed particularly dissatisfied with the Shen family, calling her "girl" all the time, clearly treating her mistress as an outsider. As Ji Heng listened, he remembered that he had actually seen Shen Yurong's wife.

Everyone in Yanjing knew that he liked beauty and hated ugliness. He would let him take a look at any beauty, as if it was a great honor to be recognized by him. Little did they know that he had no such hobby. Except for Yu Hongye, all the women in the world were nothing but mediocre women in his eyes. When Wen Renyao pointed Xue Fangfei to him from a distance in the restaurant, he was also full of disdain.

Xue Fangfei was born with stunning beauty, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but in Ji Heng's eyes, she was really useless. Just looking at her indulgent and docile attitude towards her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and her compromise for the Shen family, Ji Heng felt irritated. He only said, "She is beautiful but has no soul." He never thought about what kind of woman he would like in the future, but he would not even look at such a dull puppet-like woman, who was as warm and cunning as all the wives of officials, and whose mercenary nature was hidden under her smile. How could such a person be called "the most beautiful woman in Yanjing"?
The impression of Xue Fangfei only stayed there. I didn't expect to see a different Xue Fangfei today. Unlike the Xue Fangfei I saw in the restaurant, she was not a fool, nor was she hopeless. At least she knew what she liked and what she didn't like. Unfortunately, she liked Shen Yurong more than herself, so she was willing to sacrifice her "like" for Shen Yurong.

So love is the stupidest thing in the world. If you like someone and treat him/her wholeheartedly but get nothing in return, what's the point? It's better to be a sober spectator and laugh and cheer on the side.

"Miss, do you want to swing on the swing?" asked the maid.

Xue Fangfei inside the wall smiled and sighed, "Great. So now that they're not at home, I can be free for a while." She swung as if she were sitting on a swing.

It seemed that he could see through the wall in front of him, and see the beautiful woman with the face of a lotus flower, sitting on the swing, smiling, and graceful. This was a more beautiful scene than spring. He could jump onto the top of the wall to take a look at the beauty, but he did nothing, still leaning against the wall, with a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.

Even though she was extremely smart, talented and beautiful, she could only be trapped in such a shabby house. Even swinging in the yard became a luxury. Is there anything more miserable than this in the world? At least Ji Heng felt that Madam Shen was a bit pitiful. She herself was also stupid and pitiful. In such a hopeless and humble life, she could actually enjoy herself. Is this the blessing of stupid people?

At least in Ji Heng's eyes, after only seeing Shen Yurong a few times, he knew that Shen Yurong was definitely not a person who could be content with poverty. The ambition and desire in his eyes were more vigorous than his talent. He and the woman in this yard who was happy to swing on the swing were definitely not the same kind of people. If they were not the same kind of people, they were destined not to be together for long. The happiness that Xue Fangfei thought of would be destroyed sooner or later. Xue Fangfei couldn't see it because she was a character in the play, and he could see it because he was a spectator.

"We have been in Yanjing City for several years, and we have not been able to see a temple fair." The maid muttered, "Madam actually said that the girl is too beautiful and she is afraid of being seen by bad people. This is clearly an excuse. How can this be possible? Then, aren't all the people who go to the temple fair ugly?"

Xue Fangfei laughed in the yard and said, "Haitang, why are you so fussy? It's just a temple fair. When you were in Tongxiang, you didn't do enough."

"It's because I rushed a lot in Tongxiang, but not once in Yanjing City. It's worse than the days in Tongxiang. It's fine for me, but I'm sorry for the young lady. The temple fair in Yanjing City is much more lively than that in Tongxiang. The young master always asks about it when he writes to you, but it's hard for the young lady to just make up stories every time."

Xue Fangfei laughed and said, "Ah Zhao is a fool. He believes everything I say. Now he is just new to me for a few days. When he really travels around the world in the future, how can he care about a small temple fair? Then I will write to him and ask him what new things he has seen and tell me, his sister."

She didn't seem angry at all. Even in the face of such unfair treatment and harshness from her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, she didn't care. She only said good things that made people happy. So on this side, Ji Heng's sarcasm became even stronger. I've seen stupid people, but I've never seen such a stupid one. There are actually such stupid women in the world. No wonder so many men always look longing when they talk about the wife of the top scholar. There are many beautiful women, many stupid women, but few beautiful but stupid women. Especially this woman is not really stupid, but pretending to be stupid. What's hard is that she has been pretending for so many years. Is she deceiving herself? Or does she think it's good this way?

Ji Heng is not a woman, she doesn’t know what women are thinking, and she doesn’t want to know.

However, as he listened to the woman's words, he found it somewhat funny. Yes, he was not the only one in the world who had a bad life. Many people had miserable pasts. Madam Shen, the most beautiful woman in Yanjing, had such a miserable life and was still stupid. Compared with him, who woke up too early and faced the darkness, he didn't know who was more miserable.

"The young lady has no complaints at all?" The maid inside was talking again, "The young lady also refused to write back to tell the master about these things. If the master and the young master knew about it, they would definitely stand up for the young lady. The young lady has never suffered such injustice before."

"Du Juan, these are nothing." Xue Fangfei's voice sounded from the other end. She said, "I am willing to do this because of Yurong. Yurong knows my efforts. If Yurong gets used to what I do, I will be disappointed. However, the way of husband and wife is worth studying. Who can have everything go as planned? If you really want to talk about worry-free days, it is probably only when you are young and ignorant. There is nothing to regret for the choice you made. Just bite the bullet and move forward. If you really can't bear it anymore, you can find another way out. But now it's not time yet, so don't take it to heart."

There is nothing to regret about the choice I made? Ji Heng raised his eyebrows. Did Xue Fangfei regret what she said? But she was straightforward and had the courage to risk everything. It was true. She had married from a strange place to Yanjing City. She had never thought about the difficulties after marriage. But Ji Heng was different. Many years ago, he began to gradually accept the fact that "Ji Minghan would die one day". As for the changes in life, he seemed to have not done as well as this woman.

The more lively maid said, "I heard that there will be a troupe of actors at the temple fair tonight. We have been in Yanjing City for several years, and I have never watched a play. It's a pity to think about it."

Xue Fangfei's voice was gentle. She said, "What's the problem? I can sing opera, although I'm not very good. Just treat me as an actor. How about I sing "The Lock of Hair" for you?"

At this moment, Ji Heng, who was standing at the other end of the wall, was slightly startled. He had never heard of any young lady taking the initiative to sing for the servants. The young lady was the lowest class among the three, six, nine, and nine classes. Young ladies and wives enjoyed watching operas, but never took the initiative to sing. When he was a child, he sang operas only because of his master's bad taste. He was young at that time and didn't know anything, so he was coaxed into learning operas. But he hadn't sung for a long time. He didn't expect that this seemingly generous and graceful Madam Shen could actually sing operas.

She sang "The Lock of Hair",
The rich lady in "The Golden Bag" happened to be named Xue. In the play, Xue Xiangling first married a man from a distant place, and then was separated from her family during the escape due to a flood, and drifted to a foreign land alone. Life changed dramatically due to a series of twists and turns.

Xue Fangfei's voice was very clear, especially moving in the night. She was singing about the time when the rich lady got married.

"After the wedding, I didn't feel the time was passing by so quickly. I was still young and beautiful. I took my lovely child to ride in the carriage and traveled through the long streets. I heard the wailing sound that shook the earth and the sky."

The sad lyrics didn't sound sad when she sang them, but rather a bit of neatness and playfulness, as if she didn't care at all. She didn't sound like a sad woman, but more like a young girl who had just come out to the world, with a bit of novelty and surprise, but not a single bit of self-pity.

She really doesn't seem like someone who is having a bad life.

"I am hungry and call my husband, but he is not here. Why can't I see the pavilion in the wilderness? Could it be that the merciless flood has come true? I am in a trance and am on the boat with everyone. My old mother may have been killed in the waves, and the poor Daqi was buried in the belly of a fish. Can you see my husband and Xuantai? Come with me back to my hometown to look for their bodies."

Ji Heng was a very picky person. People said that he loved watching plays, but he just liked to watch the people in the plays being so immersed in the play that they couldn't extricate themselves, and shed tears for the joys and sorrows that didn't belong to them. And he would always be a spectator. Xue Fangfei's singing was very perfunctory. She didn't fit into the play at all. The sad lyrics didn't seem sad, but she sang them with a bit of joy. She wasn't really a child of the opera, and she couldn't sing very well, but it was strange that Ji Heng didn't feel disgusted. Instead, he sat on the other side of the wall and listened quietly, as if the voice was warm, which made his cold heart, as if it had been fished out of an ice cellar, soften and calm down.

She is singing:
"In an instant, all my past feelings were forgotten, and I understood the bitterness and pain so well that my clothes were soaked with tears."

"I thought that wealth and honor were destined in life, but who knew that life could be determined in a few moments. I used to act like a spoiled child, and even now I don't believe in the past."

"This is also a lesson from God: He taught me to put away my resentment, stop being coquettish, reform myself, change my character, stop lingering on the passing water, turn back from the sea of ​​suffering, and realize the cause of the orchid as soon as possible."

In the play, the young lady of the Xue family encountered a great change in her family and had to work as a servant in another family. At this time, she felt that things had changed and people had changed. When Xue Fangfei sang this part, she also had a hint of melancholy. This melancholy was very small, but it was captured by Ji Heng. This beautiful young lady probably didn't live a happy life, but her sorrow was probably very different from the sorrow of Xue Xiangling in the play. Because of the change of Xue Xiangling's status, she went from rich to poor. Xue Fangfei was obviously living a better life, but she was no longer free.

It was this melancholy that made Ji Heng realize that this woman was not stupid. She knew everything, but she just endured it silently. No matter what she did, she and he actually had some similarities in that they shared the same suffering. But Xue Fangfei was completely different from Ji Heng. Her singing was full of openness and calmness, brightness and uprightness, as if even if the future was dark, she would not hesitate and walk forward without a trace of fear.

On this night of warm spring breeze and music and dancing in Yanjing City, so many dirty deals were buried in the darkness, but her singing was like a ray of light, illuminating the darkness for a moment and revealing its true appearance.

But Ji Heng also knew that such an open-minded woman, who saw through everything but chose a foolish path, would sooner or later be buried in such a night. The person beside her did not need light. As a person in the dark, Ji Heng understood better than anyone what such a person wanted. Once Shen Yurong needed to sacrifice this lady, he would sacrifice this lady without hesitation.

The lady understood this, but her trust broke her cleverness and she was deceived.

What to say?

Ji Heng didn't know what to say. She was singing "The Lock of Hair". The woman singing was not into the play. She was calm and passionate. He, who was watching from the sidelines, seemed to be fascinated. This was really a strange experience. But there was one thing that was beyond doubt. He was on one side of the wall, listening to the rough lyrics of the woman on the other side of the wall. The despair of wanting to die slowly dissipated without knowing when.

He found peace in this play. If a woman was fearless, what should he be afraid of? Even if he had no one to rely on for the rest of his life, it would not be a big deal.

He slowly stood up from the wall.

At the other end, Xue Fangfei was swinging on the swing, her smile spreading across the yard. How many people would like to see the beauty of such a beautiful woman? Ji Heng stood under the wall, and for a moment, she suddenly felt that Xue Fangfei might really be a beauty.

Beauty lies in the bones, not in the skin, but this beauty is so beautiful that she doesn't even know it. Her posture is soft and lovely, and she seems to have no temper, but she is like a wild flower that has not yet bloomed. Before she blooms, she looks no different from other flowers. When she blooms passionately, no one knows what color it is.

It’s a pity that she planted it in the Shen family’s yard, and she doesn’t know if it will have the chance to bloom in this lifetime.

He raised his lips, his eyes full of affection, and walked along the wall until he came to the door of Xue's house. The door was made of wood, not very tight, and through the gap, he could see the courtyard. He took a quick glance and saw a beautiful young woman in cloth sitting on a swing in the courtyard at night, smiling charmingly.

Under the Milky Way, her smile was gentler than the spring breeze, and her eyes were like stars, sparkling and exceptionally bright. She seemed to sense someone's gaze, and turned her head to look at the door, with a smile still on her face. The picture at that moment was beautiful enough to stay in the memory for a lifetime.

Xue Fangfei stopped the swing suspiciously. Haitang asked, "Miss, what's wrong?" She shook her head, walked to the door, thought for a moment, and pushed the door open. She saw that there was nothing outside, only the gentle breeze blowing on her face, like a greeting from an old friend. She walked out of the door and looked towards the end of the alley. She seemed to see a red light, like a ghost figure, and everything disappeared.

There is only a faint aftertaste.

……

On a snowy night, she had a beautiful dream about a spring night. In the dream, there was an intoxicating spring breeze, and Jiang Li saw herself when she was still "Mrs. Shen". She was left alone in the house by Shen's mother and Shen Ruyun during the Spring Festival. She saw the handsome man in red walk to the other end of the yard, with a smile on his face, and listened to her singing a song "The Lock of the Unicorn".

In the dream, there was still the sound of babbling, but it gradually drifted away. But strangely, her memory stayed on the scene when someone walked past the door and looked at her from afar through the gap of the wooden door. She didn't stop smiling, and the other person's eyes were smiling, and a glance could see thousands of years apart.

Until Jiang Li woke up from her dream.

Wen Ji and Zhao Ke had already arrived and were guarding outside the cave. When Jiang Li got up, Ji Heng walked in from outside. He handed the kettle to Jiang Li and said with a smile, "Are you awake?"

Jiang Li looked at his face, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether it was strange or familiar, she stared at him in a daze.

"What's wrong?" He smiled puzzledly.

"Ji Heng..." Jiang Li asked hesitantly, "Three years ago, on the night of the Spring Festival, did you walk past the door of the Shen family?"

The scene in the dream was so clear, so clear that everything seemed to have really happened. It had been so long that she didn't know whether it was true or not. But she still remembered everything that happened last night, and she had also sung "The Lock of Hair" sung by Ji Heng.

Ji Heng was surprised and sat down on the ground in front of her. He said, "It seems that you have remembered it."

"You...I..." Jiang Li was speechless.

She once thought that the entanglement between her and Ji Heng in the previous life was just a sentence "beauty is beauty without soul", although she thought Ji Heng was right, it was not a friendship after all. But she didn't know that on the night when Ji Minghan died, he sat outside his own wall and listened to her singing "The Unicorn Bag".

Is this the entanglement of fate? Jiang Li didn't understand, but if she were to go back to that night, she would not let Ji Heng leave like that, at least she would talk to Ji Heng again. When he was most desperate.

"I'll teach you to sing opera in the future," he touched Jiang Li's head and said, "You're not singing in tune."

Jiang Li: "..." She suddenly remembered something more important, and then she looked at Ji Heng and asked anxiously: "How are your injuries?"

Ji Heng was seriously injured yesterday, but today he was in high spirits and joking with Jiang Li. However, Jiang Li was still very worried and suspected that Ji Heng was pretending.

"It's okay. Situ's medicine is very effective." Ji Heng said, "There's no need to worry about such a minor injury."

"But you are badly injured."

"Not seriously." Ji Heng said: "But are you injured?"

Jiang Li shook her head. She still wanted to check on Ji Heng's injuries, but Ji Heng avoided her. Zhao Ke came over and said Ji Heng was fine, so Jiang Li asked about what happened between Yin Zhan and Ji Heng. She only knew that Yin Zhan was dead.

Ji Heng looked at her and smiled slightly: "Do you really want to know?"

Jiang Li nodded.

It has come to this point, and it seems that there is no point in hiding it any longer. Ji Heng said: "Okay, I'll tell you."

Jiang Li listened for a long time.

Ji Heng told her everything, from the entanglement between Yu Hongye, Ji Minghan, Yin Zhan and Lin Roujia, to what Yin Zhan had done for Lin Roujia all these years. Even earlier, when Ji Heng was a child, he began to investigate the truth, retrained the Flying Dragon Cavalry, and transferred the Jinwu Army. The worst case scenario of the battle in the Red Mansion was that he and Yin Zhan would perish together, but in the end, General Ji paid with his life.

Jiang Li could hear the deepness in Ji Heng's words. Although he looked indifferent, he was in pain for the death of General Ji. He spoke about the past in a calm tone, but Jiang Li could imagine the bitterness he had experienced growing up from a young boy. While other noble children worked hard for a bright future, he threw himself into hell. He gave up his future to gamble on a game with an unknown outcome.

He is never sincere, because for someone like him, sincerity is a sin.

The darker a person is, the more he longs for light in his heart. The more lonely he is, the more he wants to wear bright clothes and listen to lively plays. He walks through the hustle and bustle, as if he can't be abandoned. But in fact, his relatives left one after another, and in the end he was left alone.

He said a lot, nothing more, looked at Jiang Li with a smile, and said softly: "Now I have nothing, do you want to regret it?"

Jiang Li looked at him.

His eyes were gentle, but Jiang Li felt very sad. After all the calculations over the past few days, Yin Zhan's matter had come to an end, but there was one more Yin Zhili. And those Yin family soldiers in Qingzhou, no matter how this battle was fought, Ji Heng would be tired.

She said, "Who said you have nothing?" Without waiting for Ji Heng to answer, she continued, "Don't you still have me?"

He laughed and said, "You really are... exactly the same as before."

On a spring night many years ago, he heard her finish singing a play and knew that this woman was not smart enough. Once she fell in love with someone, she would throw herself into it without hesitation, like a moth flying into a flame. She had clearly missed him once, but she still dared to fall in love with someone again and bravely gave her true heart.

Her sincerity was simple and casual, but he could not extricate himself from it, and was deeply involved in it, willing to give everything he had. So he changed from a shrewd hunter to a gentle beast, willing to be tamed by her.

"I didn't think of it before." Ji Heng said, "I only asked people to protect the Jiang Mansion, but I didn't expect Yin Zhan to use the Ye family as a bargaining chip to threaten. I have asked Kong Liu to take people to the Ye family, and this kind of thing will not happen again in the future."

Jiang Li said: "It has nothing to do with you, it's just that Yin Zhan is too despicable."

He actually thought of using such a method. After all, he is a general. Even though all is fair in war, he should not use such an unfair and even despicable method.

"I will send you back to Beijing as soon as possible. After we return to Beijing, I will have Kong Liu send people to stay by your side to protect your safety. Try not to leave. The people of the Ye family will live in the Duke's Mansion." Ji Heng said: "The Duke's Mansion is always safer than outside."

Jiang Li heard this and realized something was wrong. She looked at him and asked, "Are you not going back with me?"

"Yin Zhili has raised an army in Qingzhou. The Yin family has a lot of soldiers and horses. Yin Zhan has been planning for many years and intends to rebel. I promised the emperor that I would lead the Jinwu Army to quell the rebellion, so I can't leave." Ji Heng said with a smile.

"You...you haven't been to the battlefield." Jiang Li said anxiously.

He smiled, "You don't believe me, A Li." He said, "For many things, there is no choice. Only by killing Yin Zhili with my own hands can I feel at ease. I don't know how long this battle will last. When I come back, I will marry you."

"Ji Heng..."

"You can't marry anyone else." He pulled Jiang Li towards him and pecked her gently on the lips.

"Have you really decided?" Jiang Li was very sad. She didn't want to be separated from Ji Heng, and she knew that it was really dangerous for Ji Heng to go. But she also knew that Ji Heng was determined to leave. If it were her, she would also go to understand this debt that lasted for two generations. She had no reason to influence Ji Heng's decision. Liking someone did not mean imprisoning him. She respected his choice.

"I'm going to leave you, will you forgive me?" he said with a smile.

Jiang Li smiled and said, "If you promise me that you will come back to marry me, I will forgive you."

Her eyes were bright, honest and clear. Ji Heng was slightly startled, and felt satisfied and grateful from the bottom of his heart. She easily smoothed out all her violence and darkness, making him calm.

He replied solemnly: "I promise you."

(End of this chapter)