A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 16

He Jingling clutched her clothes against her chest, her heart pounding like a drum.

Although it was a dry, refreshing autumn night, she felt as though her insides were boiling, her entire body scorched by heat as intense as midsummer.

But there was truly nothing she could have done.

Under circumstances like those, even a figure molded from clay or carved from wood would not have remained unmoved.

In the short span of a year, she had traveled through nearly every street and alley in the capital. He Jingling had her own methods for remembering roads, but none of them seemed to work tonight.

Why did the familiar scenery she saw every day look so different now?

It was already late when she reached home. He Jingling quietly closed the door behind her and went to rest.

She spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She was off duty the following day, and because she had gone to bed so late, the sun was already high in the sky when she woke. Even then, she could still hear her mother coughing.

The sound finally pulled He Jingling out of the lingering haze of last night’s charming encounter.

Her mother’s consumption seemed to have worsened again recently. Had Shen Yao prescribed her any more medicine these past few days?

Thinking of this, He Jingling decided she should ask.

“Cough, cough… Cough, cough…”

He Zhenxian held the medicine bowl as her coughing continued without pause.

“Oh dear…”

He Jingling could not help worrying.

“Mother, with you coughing like this, shouldn’t you see Lady Shen again?”

Her mother’s face was now ashen. She had suffered greatly from the illness lately.

He Zhenxian put down the medicine bowl and forced a reassuring smile.

“It’s nothing. This illness of mine becomes severe once every year or two. I’m already accustomed to it.”

“It can’t go on like this every year,” He Jingling said sternly. “If a minor illness is left untreated, it could become a serious problem. Why don’t I go look for Lady Shen again?”

“There’s no need. I already went to see her last time.”

He Zhenxian shook her head and continued, “I know you’re considerate, but this illness is simply like this…”

Otherwise, where would she find the freedom to donate money and give away food every day?

The workers weaving cloth in the inner room were all surprised to see He Jingling.

“Why has Lord He come today?”

“Mother is unwell, so I came in her place to check on things.”

“Oh, I see!”

The women turned back around without taking the matter too seriously and continued working.

At the He family’s cloth workshop, all the workers—whether they spun thread or wove fabric—were women.

Most came from poor backgrounds and were not natives of the capital.

Rather than saying they merely worked at the workshop, it would be more accurate to say He Zhenxian had given them an opportunity.

She had never shortchanged them on wages. In fact, she often paid them more than other workshops did.

Because of that, they also worked harder than the employees elsewhere.

He Jingling wandered around the spinning room for a while. Everyone was busy working and paid her little attention.

She could not interfere with their work, so she went back outside.

It was the same in the weaving room. Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Several of the older women there were particularly warm toward He Jingling. Because they found her handsome, they had always liked chatting with her.

Still, it was merely casual conversation.

After exchanging a few words, He Jingling stopped disturbing them and left.

She had come to the workshop for another reason as well.

Leaving the cloth workshop required crossing an arched bridge. Beneath it flowed a swift, turbulent river.

He Jingling crossed with exceptional caution.

There was no other reason.

Yan Changjun’s second deceased prince consort had “accidentally lost his footing and fallen into the water” while crossing this very bridge.

He died immediately.

Afterward, the Princess Manor had hung white mourning banners for three days as a symbolic gesture.

Some people even claimed Princess Jialang had never met that prince consort at all.

Listening to the rushing water, He Jingling’s throat tightened.

Memories of the previous night gradually resurfaced.

A man who occupied the title of Prince Consort without doing anything would die.

Anyone who became intimate or ambiguous with her could not survive either…

Then what exactly had happened last night?

Could Yan Changjun truly have taken an interest in her?

Just because of this face?

The woman was indeed seductive, but He Jingling refused to believe anyone would try to seduce her for no reason.

She had to be plotting something.

When He Jingling first introduced herself, she had recited a long string of words A-Yan could not understand.

In the end, A-Yan reduced it to “some Jinyi-whatever,” while He Jingling darkly supplied the word “handsome.”

From then on, A-Yan simply called her “the handsome one.”

Yang Wang had many people working under her and was exceptionally well-informed.

More than half the information He Jingling had gathered about Princess Jialang’s residence came from Yang Wang and her subordinates.

These people were ruthless when they fought.

The last time He Jingling visited, she had nearly received a vicious beating.

However, when Yang Wang learned that this fellow was Auntie He’s “eldest son,” she urgently stopped her subordinates from continuing.

They had all benefited from He Zhenxian’s kindness before.

“Yes, but today I want to ask about something else.”

He Jingling smiled at A-Yan.

A-Yan’s gaze froze. She even stopped shaking her head from side to side.

“Something else? What, have you decided there’s no hope of getting into Princess Jialang’s residence?”

This handsome fellow neglected her proper work every day.

It was bad enough that she kept asking about the situation inside Princess Jialang’s residence. She had even hired them to check whether the dead men were genuinely dead.

“Where is your boss?”

Thinking about what had happened last night, He Jingling felt deeply unsettled and did not wish to answer.

But A-Yan’s curiosity had been aroused, and she refused to let the matter go.

“What? Do you still think you can’t get inside? But you’ve been preparing for almost half a year.”

She grinned at He Jingling, revealing a row of white teeth that appeared slightly crooked.

“A-Yan, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where did you go?”

A clear, pleasant voice suddenly sounded.

The voice did not quite match its owner.

The newcomer was Yang Wang, a broad-shouldered, powerfully built woman and the leader of the children in this area.

She liked wearing short, practical clothing. Her sword-like eyebrows were thick and dark, making her look difficult to provoke.

“Jinyiwei, why have you come?”

Yang Wang walked over to He Jingling, looking curious.

“I heard last time that you managed to enter Princess Jialang’s residence.”

“Pah!”

A-Yan was so shocked that she spat out the blade of grass in her mouth. She straightened from the wall and stared at He Jingling with wide eyes.

“No wonder you wouldn’t answer me! So you’ve already gotten into the Princess Manor!”

He Jingling laughed dryly twice.

It appeared this gang leader truly did have some connections. She knew more than A-Yan did.

Yang Wang laughed at her.

“You finally got what you wanted, didn’t you? You even went to the mass graves in the middle of the night to feel whether those men were truly dead.”

Then she asked, “Speaking of which, is Her Highness really as beautiful as the rumors say?”

“She is beautiful,” He Jingling said faintly. “But…”

“But what?”

“She’s a little strange.”

Yang Wang misunderstood her meaning.

She scratched her head, looking hesitant.

“Ah, strangely beautiful? Could she truly be… a man-eating demon?”

He Jingling coughed twice and changed the direction of the conversation.

“I didn’t mean she looks strange. I meant her personality is strange.”

Yang Wang became even more confused and gave her a sidelong glance.

“Jinyiwei, we’ve known each other for quite a while. Besides, I’m not competing with you for the princess. There’s no need to say something like that to me.”

This was not the first time He Jingling had instructed her to spread rumors about the princess among certain groups of people.

Every rumor carried the same message:

The princess was terrifying.

The princess was dangerous.

Do not approach her.

He Jingling felt that every explanation only made her appear more suspicious, so she simply said, “Fine, fine. I came to ask you something again today.”

“Ask me what?”

Yang Wang yawned.

“This.”

He Jingling pulled a note from inside her robes and handed it to Yang Wang.

“Is there any danger around this residence? I want to go there and take a look.”

The Jinyiwei’s “reputation” was widely known.

When He Jingling wore her recognizable uniform and traveled alone, it was entirely possible for someone to attack her.

One of her colleagues had previously been beaten black and blue by hostile commoners while carrying out official business.

Although he had taken revenge afterward, the beating he had endured at the time had been very real!

Yang Wang could read, though doing so required some effort.

After a moment, she raised her head.

“They’ll be holding a sacrificial ceremony at this place in a couple of days.”

“A sacrificial ceremony?”

He Jingling looked surprised.

“That’s right.”

Yang Wang nodded.

“The southern outskirts will be holding a ritual in a few days. Doesn’t this estate belong to Xu Zhiyan…? Oh, no wonder you came to ask me again.”

“Every time you come looking for information, it has something to do with Princess Jialang.”

Otherwise, why would the person before her go to such extraordinary lengths?

He Jingling had already made up her mind, so she paid no attention to what Yang Wang said next.

Seeing He Jingling distracted, Yang Wang even tried to comfort her.

“Oh, don’t be upset, Jinyiwei. He only has a relative in the palace…”

“Yes. Only a relative in the palace.”

He Jingling murmured to herself.

A relative, indeed.

Unfortunately, only a distant one.

Yang Wang watched He Jingling’s retreating figure with a grave expression.

Then she turned to A-Yan and muttered worriedly, “Auntie He has only this one son. What are we supposed to do when he’s this foolish?”