A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 14

“What is this?”

He Jingling stared at the suspicious dark-blue bundle before her and voiced her confusion.

“Mother didn’t pick this up from somewhere again, did she?” she asked with a deep frown.

The examination supervision had finally ended. On her way home, He Jingling had carried the brocade box with her, feeling uneasy the entire way.

Inside it was Yan Changjun’s jade thumb ring.

The eunuch’s meaning had been perfectly clear: she was supposed to take the ring and use it as an excuse to see Yan Changjun.

She was still pondering the implications when she returned home and discovered yet another bundle. Her feelings instantly became complicated.

Surely her mother had not gone around picking things up again?

As it turned out, He Jingling had guessed correctly.

Xiaolou nodded vigorously.

“Exactly. Mother found this on her way home from the tailor shop yesterday and brought it back.”

The sisters’ gazes met.

As expected, both wore expressions of complete understanding.

Their mother had not changed her habit of bringing home random things in the slightest.

Xiaolou continued, “Mother really wanted to open it yesterday. I had to argue with her for ages before she agreed not to. Later, I simply took it away while she wasn’t paying attention.”

“Well done.”

He Jingling nodded and reached out to weigh the bundle in her hand.

“What if there’s something inside it again…”

She muttered to herself as she opened the bundle.

The moment she saw what was inside, her eyelashes trembled and her throat bobbed slightly.

Good heavens.

Did these people have a death wish?

She knew someone had framed her for seizing another person’s fields and estate, but she had not known the property belonged to this terrifying lady.

A chill instantly seeped into her very bones.

“Sister, what’s inside?”

Xiaolou leaned closer curiously, rising slightly onto her toes in an attempt to see the contents.

He Jingling reacted even faster. She immediately wrapped the bundle up again and answered casually, “Nothing.”

Xiaolou pouted and stepped back in dissatisfaction.

“Hmph. You read my journal, so why can’t I see what’s inside the bundle?”

“What journal?”

He Jingling was both annoyed and amused.

“What ridiculous thing did your elder sister—the Jinyiwei officer who disguises herself as a man—do today?”

“Seriously, why don’t you write a little less?”

Xiaolou coughed awkwardly twice and explained that it had only been an accident.

An accident that happened to make her want to write every single day.

To ease the awkwardness, Xiaolou changed the subject and asked about the days He Jingling had been absent.

“Sister, I heard you went to supervise the examination?”

He Jingling nodded.

“Did anything interesting happen?” Xiaolou asked.

She always loved gathering stories like these so she could write them in her letters and send them to a certain someone.

Something interesting or amusing?

There had been something, but Xiaolou might not find it particularly amusing.

After thinking for a moment, He Jingling said, “Nothing especially interesting happened, but I did meet your… Mm.”

At this point, He Jingling broke into a smile.

The expression made Xiaolou feel a chill run through her.

“Who did you meet?”

He Jingling did not answer immediately.

Instead, she slowly pulled over a stool and sat down. Only after clearing her throat did she say, “If you perform well in the examination two years from now, you might meet her too.”

Xiaolou understood.

However, her thoughts went much further than that.

An unusual light shone in her eyes as she leaned closer and asked with complete sincerity, “Then, Sister, could you become close to Her Highness the Eldest Princess?”

“Do it for your little sister.”

He Jingling’s hand trembled as she poured water from the kettle.

He Jingling: “…”

Hey! Don’t use your sister as a stepping stone!

After finally composing herself, He Jingling stared at Xiaolou.

“Don’t you know that Princess Jialang’s residence is the kind of place people enter but never leave? Besides, I’m a woman. Wouldn’t approaching her with an ulterior motive be the same as courting death?”

“That’s true…”

Xiaolou immediately deflated. She pursed her lips and fell into thought.

“I forgot that Her Highness Princess Jialang has unusual tastes. I heard that once, a burly man with a face covered in rough flesh and a pretty young man were placed before her, but she actually chose the first one. Perhaps the Eldest Princess truly does have some special preferences.”

He Jingling suppressed a laugh.

The princess’s reputation could no longer be described merely as “unusual.”

After sighing to herself for a while, Xiaolou quickly recovered. Her gaze filled with understanding.

“It’s better not to go, then. Sister’s life is more important. Our little family cannot lose you.”

The corner of He Jingling’s mouth twitched.

“All right.”

Truly…

Thank you for your concern.

Xiaolou said nothing more after that. She merely asked, “Sister, you’re going to work tomorrow, aren’t you?”

He Jingling confirmed that she was.

This time, Xiaolou did not wait until the following morning to bring out her letter.

The moment she received confirmation, she pulled an envelope from her sleeve, wearing a sweet and ingratiating smile.

The sisters had reached the point where neither needed to say a single word.

He Jingling nodded and accepted it.

That night, He Jingling lay in bed and fell soundly asleep, only to be awakened by a voice inside her mind.

“Host, are you really just going to sleep?”

He Jingling said nothing.

“Someone is trying to harm you!”

He Jingling rolled over and continued sleeping.

But the system refused to give up.

“Host, haven’t you made any preparations or considered what to do?”

He Jingling finally woke up.

“I have.”

“Then what have you prepared?”

“I have a plan. Whoever harms me, I’ll harm them right back.”

System: “???”

“What exactly are you planning?”

He Jingling rolled onto her back and answered calmly, “First, I’ll clear myself of suspicion.”

Afterward, no matter how much noise the system made, she ignored it completely.

The system was speechless.

This was the one hundred and twenty-fifth time He Jingling had given it the cold shoulder.

Every time, it resolved to let He Jingling experience the same treatment next time!

Unfortunately, He Jingling had never once asked it a question.