A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 11

Saying it aloud had made He Jingling feel better, but she knew perfectly well that the matter was not so simple.

Ever since assuming her post, she had never overstepped her authority or oppressed the common people. How could she possibly have seized someone else’s farmland?

Still, after seeing how aggressively Pei Jin had behaved today, she had already formed a few suspicions.

When she returned home, she was greeted by the familiar sound of coughing.

Living beneath the same roof day after day, it was only natural that affection would develop between them.

“Mother, has your consumption been getting worse lately?”

He Jingling pulled over a chair and sat down, looking worriedly at the bowl of pitch-black medicine.

He Zhenxian nodded gently. Turning toward He Jingling, she revealed deeply sunken eyes.

“This happens around the same time every year. I’ll be fine after taking some medicine. It’s nothing serious.”

The moment she finished speaking, He Zhenxian coughed several more times.

The atmosphere immediately became awkward and strained.

The corner of He Jingling’s mouth twitched. She stood and said, “Your illness was never this severe in previous years. Why don’t I consult Lady Shen again?”

“That would be fine.”

He Zhenxian hesitated before continuing, “But you’re always so busy with official duties. When would you have time? I happen to be free tomorrow, so I’ll ask your little sister to accompany me.”

He Jingling shook her head.

“I’m on leave tomorrow.”

This time, it was He Zhenxian’s turn to be surprised.

“You’re supposed to be on leave tomorrow?”

He Jingling shrugged and casually offered an explanation for why she had been given time off.

Most of it was fabricated.

A parent was still a parent. No mother wanted to hear that her child had encountered problems at work.

“I see! Then Lord Pei is truly good to you. He actually gave you so many days off. That’s wonderful!”

He Zhenxian broke into a smile, lifted the bowl of black medicine, and drained it in one gulp.

The words “drink slowly” became lodged in He Jingling’s throat before they could emerge.

He Zhenxian had already gulped down every last drop.

It was growing late. Evening light faded into dusk as He Zhenxian called Xiaolou over to eat with He Jingling.

The household employed a cook and servants, but He Zhenxian never cared much for rigid etiquette and often invited them to eat together.

However, because He Jingling’s working hours were unpredictable, she rarely managed to join them.

With that in mind, He Zhenxian had invited only her two daughters to dinner today.

Throughout the meal, she continued talking endlessly. From affairs of the imperial court and inner palace to rumors circulating among the marketplaces and neighboring streets, she covered everything.

He Jingling and Xiaolou merely kept their heads lowered and concentrated on eating, occasionally making a sound of acknowledgment to show they were listening.

At last, between bouts of coughing, He Zhenxian paused.

Her winding conversation had just reached Princess Jialang’s residence.

She looked curiously at He Jingling again.

“Jingling, tell Mother honestly. Did Commander Pei give you leave because Her Highness the Princess instructed him to?”

He Jingling lifted her cup and took a sip of water.

Upon hearing this, she immediately choked and began coughing so violently that her entire face turned red.

“Ah, could it actually be true?”

Xiaolou looked sympathetically at her red-faced elder sister.

It took He Jingling considerable effort to stop coughing and catch her breath.

She said with great seriousness, “Of course not. This is merely an internal personnel arrangement within the Jinyiwei.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

Mother and daughter spoke the same sentence, each with her own meaningful tone.

He Jingling: “…”

It was indeed not Yan Changjun’s order.

However, it probably was not entirely unrelated to her either.

After dinner, the twilight on the horizon gradually deepened beneath the approaching night. A bright moon began to emerge and rise clearly in the east.

It was getting late.

Yawning, He Jingling washed up and decided to rest.

She did not sleep particularly well that night.

When she awoke the following morning and opened the door with sleepy eyes, she found Xiaolou staring at her expectantly.

He Jingling frowned.

Her gaze swept across the small box clutched in Xiaolou’s hand, and she immediately understood.

Her younger sister knew her work and leave schedule almost better than she did.

But today, Xiaolou was destined to be disappointed.

“I’m on leave today, so I can’t deliver your letter. I need to find Lady Shen. Mother’s consumption has flared up again these past two days.”

“All right.”

Xiaolou’s eyes widened slightly as she stuffed the box back into her sleeve.

“Do you need me to accompany you, Sister?”

Her dark almond-shaped eyes were filled with sincerity and anticipation.

He Jingling refused decisively.

“Aren’t you preparing for the female officials’ examination? Not long ago, an important person even asked me how well my younger sister was progressing in her studies.”

At the words “preparing for the examination,” Xiaolou immediately pouted in discouragement.

But when she heard “an important person,” her eyes lit up again.

“Which important person? Was it Princess Jialang who asked a few days ago? Sister, how did you answer her?”

“Does that mean Her Highness Princess Jialang is concerned about me?”

He Jingling became even more speechless.

The Great Yan Dynasty’s examination for female officials also followed a relatively comprehensive system.

Besides several rounds of written examinations, there was a final appointment selection—

[The source text jumps here.]

Fortunately, neither of these two people was particularly formidable.

Pei Jin was impatient and reckless. After spending some time around him, He Jingling had learned how to deal with him.

As for Shen Miao, he had a gentle temperament. In the novel, his feelings had been entirely one-sided, and he had never done anything to harm the others.

He was nothing like that terrifying prince of a different surname, who constantly threatened to beat or kill people!

In other words, although He Jingling had already met two of her rivals, she was not yet in any danger.

She knocked on the Shen family’s door.

Before long, the latch clicked, and Shen Miao’s face appeared before her.

When he saw that the visitor was He Jingling, he said, “My younger sister is not at home.”

“She’s away again?”

He Jingling froze briefly before asking, “In that case, could you accompany me and examine my mother’s condition?”

She then explained the diagnosis Shen Yao had previously given.

Shen Miao looked apologetic.

“Since my younger sister originally treated her, only she should continue handling the case. She will return in a few days. I will inform her then.”

He Jingling was rendered speechless.

Shen Miao seemed to possess considerable self-awareness—

[The source text jumps here.]

The provincial examination held once every three years was about to begin again.

“Speaking of which, this year’s third-ranked scholar won’t be getting into the Princess Manor!”

“What do you mean? The results won’t be announced until next spring’s metropolitan examination.”

“Are you stupid? Prince Consort Xu is still alive! Surely he won’t die again within the next few months, will he?”

The man made a throat-slitting gesture.

The corner of He Jingling’s mouth twitched.

It was almost the end of another three-year period, so perhaps it would not be long after all.

With the autumn examination approaching, it seemed Princess Jialang might not have time to welcome her fourth spring.

Moreover, in the original novel, Yan Changjun had indeed stopped after three dead husbands.

There had been no fourth.

From then onward, she remained a thrice-married widow, stepping upon a road built from mountains of corpses and seas of blood until she ascended the imperial throne.

He Jingling yawned, paid for her wine, and prepared to return home.

By then, dusk had grown heavy.

When she entered her room, she saw a square box sitting on her desk.

While she was still wondering about it, she heard her younger sister’s voice.

“Sister, you’re back!”

Xiaolou hurried over, lifted the brocade box, and held it before He Jingling with a mysterious expression.

“Look at what’s inside. Someone handed it directly to me when I went out today.”

“It was a frightening man dressed in black, and he was this tall.”

Xiaolou gestured with her hands as she spoke.

“He knew about you, and he knew about me. He only told me to give it to my ‘elder brother.’”

The moment He Jingling saw the dragon-and-phoenix patterns decorating the outside of the brocade box, her heart gave a jolt.

She opened it.

Several memorials lay inside.

Without exception, every one of them impeached her for embezzling property and forcibly seizing fields and residences.

This combination of attacks had come far too quickly.

On one side, they had ordered her to take leave.

In the blink of an eye, they had already submitted memorials against her to the throne.

This battle of male rivalry was truly terrifying.

He Jingling drew a breath and chased away her younger sister, who kept clamoring, “What’s inside? Let me see!”

She needed some peace and quiet.