A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 12

The five days of leave Pei Jin had assigned He Jingling passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, He Jingling changed into her official robes, adjusted her hat, fastened her waist badge, and left for the Pacification Office.

As a fifth-rank chiliarch, He Jingling held no insignificant position. Apart from the few superiors directly above her, hardly anyone could suppress her.

However, the speed of her exceptional promotion had indeed aroused a great deal of envy. During He Jingling’s five-day “leave,” rumors spread throughout the Southern Pacification Office.

“When does Chiliarch He’s leave end? Why hasn’t he come back yet? Come to think of it, I’ve never heard of Chiliarch He doing anything wrong. If even he was punished, aren’t the rest of us brothers doomed?”

“The commander almost never comes to our Southern Pacification Office. Did he make a special trip here just to reprimand Chiliarch He?”

“Lord He was promoted far too quickly. Perhaps Lord Pei feels somewhat threatened…”

He Jingling had barely stepped over the threshold when she heard this conversation.

Her expression stiffened slightly before her gaze met that of the man who had mentioned Pei Jin feeling “threatened.”

The junior banner officer looked embarrassed. He awkwardly rubbed his chin and changed the subject.

“Lord He, it’s been a long time.”

He Jingling pursed her lips and frowned in one fluid motion.

“You came this early just to gossip about this official?”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

The junior banner officer hurriedly cried out in protest and immediately distanced himself from the accusation.

“We were only concerned about Lord He. We haven’t seen you for five whole days. A few of us brothers were just saying that if we still didn’t see you today, we would go visit you.”

He Jingling smiled without warmth.

“There’s no need. This official is here now, so you no longer need to trouble yourselves.”

The junior banner officer plastered an ingratiating smile across his face.

“It’s good that Lord He is back. Very good indeed.”

Whether it was Pei Jin or He Jingling, neither was someone he could afford to offend.

The former came from an illustrious family. Beginning with his grandfather, members of the Pei family had served as commanders of the Jinyiwei. Although Pei Jin did not personally oversee the affairs of the Southern Pacification Office, he still possessed considerable prestige.

As for Lord He, she was even more remarkable.

She had become connected to His Majesty by marriage.

First, she obtained an official position through her elder sister in the palace. Then His Majesty personally bestowed upon her a Flying Fish Robe and a Xiuchun blade—

[The source text appears to jump here.]

A plaque hung high above the main hall, bearing the four vigorous and elegant characters Xuanji Yuheng. On either side stood decorative screens, paintings, willows, and lush green plants.

He Jingling sat down and casually opened one of the reports on her desk, reading it with apparent indifference.

However, the words her eyes saw were entirely different from the thoughts entering her mind.

She was still thinking about the memorials accusing her of embezzlement.

From the beginning, she had sensed that she had fallen into one of Pei Jin’s traps. But after returning home and carefully examining the memorials, she discovered that Pei Jin might not be the only mastermind behind them.

He Jingling had previously heard rumors that someone had accused her of “accepting bribes.”

However, false accusations like these were common. He Jingling knew she had done nothing wrong, so she had not taken them seriously.

But when she returned home that day and read the memorials carefully, a layer of cold sweat broke out across her back.

The documents described in vivid, meticulous detail whose bribes He Jingling had supposedly accepted, what wicked acts she had allegedly committed, and whose fields and residences she had seized.

The accusations concerning the seizure of land and property frightened her most.

The memorials claimed that the tenant farmers deeply resented her, but that was not the most important part.

What mattered was the identity of the estate’s owner.

The day after receiving the memorials, He Jingling personally visited the location to investigate.

The fields and residence actually belonged to Princess Jialang’s estate.

When Pei Jin punished her by sending her home that day, it had most likely been because of this matter.

Yet he had never directly told He Jingling whose land she had supposedly “seized.”

How infuriating.

He Jingling rubbed her temples while pondering the situation.

At that moment, a noisy commotion came from outside.

The uneven clatter of horses’ hooves echoed through the courtyard.

She raised her eyes impatiently and asked the person beside her, “Who has arrived?”

“This subordinate will go take a look,” Liu Er replied before turning and heading outside.

He Jingling turned a page.

She looked it over from one side to the other but could not absorb a single word, so she simply snapped the book shut.

The Jinyiwei officer soon returned. Standing before He Jingling, he bowed and reported, “Lord He, the visitor is Eunuch Wei. He is here to see you.”

“Eunuch Wei?”

He Jingling frowned.

“Wei He?”

“That is correct.”

He Jingling felt even less certain.

Wei He was a recently favored figure at the current emperor’s side.

In the original novel, he was skilled at currying favor with the powerful and had a habit of placing his bets carefully.

Still, he truly was an excellent opportunist.

When the emperor first ascended the throne, Wei He attached himself to the new ruler. Later, throughout the struggle between the emperor, Prince Heng, and the princess, he safely survived every shift in power.

During the rebellion arc in the original novel, when he realized the emperor’s cause was lost, he personally opened the palace gates and surrendered to Yan Changjun.

As for his own relatives, he never took special care of them.

Before He Jingling could recall anything more about Wei He, the footsteps drew closer.

A beardless eunuch in black robes entered, flanked by two junior eunuchs. He carried a horsetail whisk in one hand.

He Jingling gave Liu Er a meaningful look.

Liu Er immediately understood. He fetched a rosewood round-backed chair and hurriedly invited Wei He to sit.

“Eunuch Wei, please take a seat.”

Wei He glanced sideways at Liu Er. He reached out and ran his fingers over the rosewood chair, then clicked his tongue twice after feeling a faint roughness beneath his fingertips.

“Forget it. We came only to speak with Chiliarch He.”

He Jingling asked, “May I ask what business Eunuch Wei has with me?”

Wei He raised his head and stared at He Jingling with a smile.

“Lord He should not be particularly busy these days, correct?”

“I am not.”

Although puzzled, He Jingling answered honestly.

Strange.

Was something happening soon?

The smile on Wei He’s face deepened, gathering creases at the corners of his eyes.

“We knew we had not misjudged you. The autumn provincial examination is approaching. Apart from officials from the Ministry of Rites, your office must also provide personnel to supervise it.”

So that was what this was about.

“How many people does Eunuch Wei require?”

Wei He’s eyes, which had been narrowed into thin slits, suddenly opened.

“We do not require anyone else from your office. We need only Lord He.”

He Jingling’s throat tightened.

Before she could say anything, Wei He turned sideways and pointed his horsetail whisk toward the hall’s entrance.

“Lord He, please come with us. The autumn examination is close at hand, and not a single moment can be treated carelessly. As for the personnel involved, they cannot be chosen casually. Every one of them has been selected from thousands.”

Every word seemed to contain a hidden meaning.

Supervising the examination was not especially dangerous.

Moreover, Wei He was one of the emperor’s favored attendants. Since he had personally come to request He Jingling by name, the emperor had most likely instructed him to do so.

Naturally, He Jingling did not refuse and followed Wei He out.

Still, she felt somewhat dizzy with confusion.

Wei He had prepared an additional carriage before arriving and invited He Jingling to ride in it.

After exchanging a few polite remarks with him, He Jingling boarded the carriage.

However, the carriage did not follow the tracks of Wei He’s vehicle as she had expected.

Instead, it headed in the complete opposite direction.

Only after she had disembarked and all the arrangements for her accommodation had been completed did He Jingling finally realize the problem.

She had been confined.

A minor official smilingly led He Jingling into a large courtyard.

“Lord He, you will be responsible for supervising the autumn examination in five days. During this period, you will live and rest here. You will be provided with everything you require.”

Then the courtyard gates slammed shut with a heavy bang.

The gates were tightly sealed, and skilled guards watched from the tiled roofs and eaves.

In short, all the examination supervisors were to be kept under strict control.

He Jingling knew she could not leave.

Half a day later, she began conversing with the other people confined in the courtyard while they drank together at a banquet.

There was more than one residence used to “accommodate” the examination officials. The supervisors were also divided into inner-curtain and outer-curtain examiners, making the group even more complicated and diverse.

He Jingling only grew more confused.

At last, she asked the long-bearded civil officials, “Apart from all the lords gathered here, who else will be involved?”

One of the civil officials picked up a wine pot and slowly refilled his cup.

Stroking his long beard, he spoke with a cheerful smile.

“Most of the civil officials are already inside. However, there is one man whom this old fellow knows will certainly supervise the examination, though he is not staying in this courtyard.”

“And who might that be?”

The fine wine poured slowly into the cup until it was almost full.

“Why, the Ministry of Rites’ rising star, Lord Xie Yanchu, of course!”

The civil official drained his cup in one gulp.

“Lord Xie placed first in the imperial examination when he was barely twenty and became a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. In only a few years, he transferred to the Ministry of Rites as a secretary. Truly, a tiger father does not produce a dog for a son…”

He Jingling heard none of the praise that followed.

Her head was already beginning to ache.

At precisely that moment, the system spoke faintly inside her mind.

【System: Host, an important plot scene will now be reenacted.】

【System: During the upcoming supervision of the imperial examination, the female lead and male lead will meet for the first time in the novel. It will also be their reunion after a long separation.】

He Jingling immediately ordered the system to stop reenacting the plot.

Indeed, Xie Yanchu was not the reason for her headache.

The problem was that she would have to see Yan Changjun at the same time.

The system stopped reproducing the plot and began giving unwanted advice instead.

【System: You must understand that feelings cannot be cultivated in a single day. You absolutely must not miss an opportunity to meet the princess. Host, you now possess excellent martial arts with this system’s assistance…】

He Jingling still refused to listen.

She told it to shut up and declared that she had her own arrangements.

It was true that she had already made physical contact with Yan Changjun and had remained alive since leaving the Princess Manor.

But Xie Yanchu was still the male protagonist.

He and the female lead had even grown up together as childhood friends.

Meanwhile, He Jingling was currently nothing more than a tool used to anger the Prince Consort.

She had no idea why this wretched system placed such absurdly high expectations upon her every day.

With the emperor behind her, was she supposed to become a double agent?

He Jingling possessed considerable self-awareness on this matter.

If she acted rashly, she naturally stood little chance of success.

Then what else could she do?

He Jingling sat in her chair, racking her brains.

Her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the weapon rack beside the window.

Sabers, swords, bows, and crossbows were all arranged there. These were intended for the military officials supervising the examination.

The red sun descended toward the distant mountains.

Crimson light slid down the window lattice, coating the weapons in the colors of sunset.

Orange-red points of light gathered over the crossbow at the end of the rack.