A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 18

A gentle autumn rain fell beneath heavy clouds, carrying waves of biting chill against the face.

Hurried footsteps sounded beneath the covered corridor of the He residence. Xiaolou, dripping wet, stepped up from the courtyard and ran to He Jingling’s room, knocking rapidly on the door.

“Sister, Sister, are you awake?”

Her cheeks were flushed with urgency.

“You’re not off duty today, are you? If you’re late, that man is going to lecture you again!”

Not long ago, her sister had complained over dinner about the outrageous behavior of that superior of hers.

Xiaolou had been so angry that she cursed him for three whole sentences in her journal!

And she normally wrote only five sentences in each entry.

When there was no response from inside, Xiaolou knocked several more times.

“Sister, are you in there?”

A moment later, a distant reply finally came from within.

“I’m up.”

Only then did Xiaolou’s anxious heart settle.

If her sister had ignored her any longer, she would have opened the door and barged straight in.

The door suddenly swung wide.

He Jingling had thrown on her clothes in a hurry and immediately asked anxiously, “Where did my waist badge go?”

Xiaolou shook her head.

Her sister had been off duty these past two days, constantly leaving early and returning late without saying where she had gone.

But she had not even been reporting for duty, so how had she managed to lose her waist badge?

He Jingling searched frantically for a while. Sunlight was already slanting through the window lattice when realization finally struck her.

She slapped her forehead.

“I’m finished—”

One of the guards winked meaningfully at her, while the other maintained a perfectly normal expression, as though he had seen nothing.

He Jingling’s tightly drawn brows finally relaxed.

Thankfully, the two gatekeepers from the Imperial Seal Office did not seem concerned about her waist badge today.

She quietly released a breath of relief.

Earlier that year, a Jinyiwei officer had lost his waist badge, and someone had picked it up and used it to impersonate an official and swindle people.

Because of that incident, the Jinyiwei had issued another order imposing much stricter controls over their badges.

Before He Jingling could even step across the threshold, a pair of inverted triangular eyes suddenly appeared from inside.

It was Sun Qi—the fellow who had unsuccessfully followed her last time.

Sun Qi smiled at He Jingling.

“Lord He, you nearly arrived late again today.”

He Jingling’s expression turned stern.

“Nearly. I’m not late yet.”

Seeing He Jingling’s cold expression, Sun Qi did not care in the slightest.

After all, he had received specific instructions today.

“Lord He, Lord Pei needs you to make a trip somewhere.”

He gave her a smile that did not reach his eyes.

“To a farmstead in the southern outskirts.”

“For what?”

Sun Qi gave only a brief explanation.

Apparently, a sacrificial ceremony was being held there, and the thief who had previously escaped had been sighted nearby.

The Southern Pacification Office frequently handled assignments outside the city, so Commander Pei had ordered Chiliarch He to go ahead first.

“Lord He should hurry.”

He Jingling raised an eyebrow but agreed without hesitation.

That suited her just fine.

She had not brought her waist badge today anyway, so she was more than happy to take an easy assignment elsewhere.

But was this truly about attending a sacrificial ceremony and catching a thief?

Or was there some other scheme behind it?

Watching He Jingling’s retreating figure, Sun Qi could not help snickering to himself, already happily imagining the generous reward Pei Jin had promised him.

“This commander promised Sun Qi the position of centurion. Surely that idiot isn’t so useless that he can’t even bring He Jingling here?”

Pei Jin abruptly rose, his tone increasingly irritated.

He and Xu Zhiyan had already been sitting here for quite some time, yet there was still no sign of He Jingling.

The atmosphere between them was growing increasingly strange.

Xu Zhiyan had accomplished everything required of him.

So why was it Pei Jin’s side that had gone wrong?

It was all that idiot Sun Qi’s fault!

Once this was over, Pei Jin would send him off to dig river channels!

Xu Zhiyan was considerably calmer.

He smiled and reassured Pei Jin.

“Lord Pei, there is no need to worry. Even if He Jingling arrives now, some of our honored guests have yet to appear.”

At those words, Pei Jin immediately became solemn.

He hurriedly adjusted his clothes and asked Xu Zhiyan, “Does this commander look presentable?”

“Very presentable. Lord Pei possesses such striking features that naturally your appearance is impeccable.”

Xu Zhiyan smiled flatteringly while inwardly cursing the man from head to toe.

If not for his desire to take revenge on He Jingling, he never would have joined forces with Pei Jin.

A crude military officer.

What did he know?

Pei Jin’s expression improved slightly.

He sat down again and looked toward the row of tenant farmers seated on small stools outside the fence.

“Are all these people capable of keeping their mouths shut?”

“Of course, of course. They are my family’s tenant farmers. How could there be any problem?”

Xu Zhiyan smiled ingratiatingly.

“Besides, we also have the Eastern Depot agents to identify her.”

Pei Jin pointed toward the empty stool beside them and told He Jingling to sit.

He Jingling raised her eyes and glanced at the two men.

Both of them were sitting in sandalwood round-backed chairs, yet they had deliberately left a tiny stool for her?

Forget it.

She could not be bothered to argue over something so trivial.

She brushed off her robes and was just about to sit when Xu Zhiyan suddenly stood up, looking as though he had only just realized something.

“Who brought only a stool over here? How could Lord He possibly sit on something like that?”

After speaking, he turned toward the fence and shouted,

“Luo Wu! Stop standing around. Go bring out that chair from your house!”

“Huh?”

Luo Wu looked surprised. Muttering quietly under his breath, he got up and headed toward his home.

“Hahaha, these tenant farmers simply have no eye for these things.”

Xu Zhiyan laughed as he turned back around, looking at He Jingling with great friendliness.

“Lord He, please don’t take offense. It’s merely because I haven’t managed them properly.”

He Jingling could only remain standing.

“Thank you for the trouble, Prince Consort Xu.”

They had known perfectly well that she was coming, yet they had waited until she arrived before suddenly remembering to find her a proper chair.

They merely wanted her to know exactly who had arranged it for her.

Pei Jin, however, frowned slightly at the sight.

He gave a cold snort and swept his gaze over He Jingling from head to toe.

His sharp eyes immediately noticed that her luan-patterned belt was completely bare.

“Lord He, you are on duty today. How is it that you even forgot to bring your waist badge?”

He Jingling could only offer a few evasive explanations, claiming she had left it at home.

Pei Jin had long since grown accustomed to her calm nonsense.

After listening to He Jingling babble for a couple of sentences, he simply waved his hand.

“Fortunately, today you were only summoned here. You weren’t sent out to conduct official business. Otherwise, if someone saw you like this, the Jinyiwei would lose face yet again.”

He Jingling immediately agreed.

Today, she had no intention of contradicting Pei Jin.

Just as she finished speaking, a large square shadow fell beside her.

The tenant farmer had returned with the chair.

A grand armchair carved with auspicious cloud patterns was set down with a thud.

He Jingling raised her eyes and met the gleam in the man’s tiny, bean-like eyes.

“Lord He, please sit.”

He Jingling nodded slightly.

After thanking him, she did not stand on ceremony and sat down immediately.

It seemed these people did indeed recognize her.

The villages of the southern outskirts were scattered sparsely across the land, surrounded by green trees and encircled by verdant mountains.

The vast, clear sky looked freshly washed.

A stream murmured nearby beneath the autumn sun.

Then, from the distance, an extravagant carriage drawn by four tall horses slowly approached.

Two crystal lamps hung from the front of the carriage, swaying as it came toward the gathering.

The driver called out, “Whoa!”

At last, the thunderous pounding of hooves ceased.

The jeweled tassels hanging from the lamps continued to sway, reflecting brilliant rays of colored light.

He Jingling was slightly surprised.

That fellow actually dares put on such an extravagant display?

But she quickly realized something.

The autumn wind suddenly rose.

One corner of the frost-white carriage curtain lifted.

The deep vermilion robes inside were so vivid that they made the pale curtain appear even whiter—and made the three fingers holding it aside look even more slender and flawless.

A moment later, the curtain shifted.

The daylight itself seemed to brighten and dim with the movement of her hand.

Beneath the clear autumn light, the owner of the carriage finally revealed herself.

A snow-white chin.

Crimson lips.

“I have arrived late.”

She calmly stepped onto the footstool and descended from the carriage.

Although she claimed to be late, there was not the slightest trace of apology in her voice.

He Jingling froze.

The scene from that night suddenly flashed before her eyes again, along with that heated whisper that had seemed to scorch straight through her chest.

Why is she here?

Pei Jin, Xu Zhiyan, and all the surrounding tenant farmers hurriedly bowed to greet the princess.

He Jingling had no time to think and could only follow their example.

Yan Changjun’s gaze remained calm.

She swept her eyes across everyone present, then flicked her wide sleeve, signaling for them to rise.

“Well, then.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Can the sacrificial ceremony begin?”

Yet her gaze passed over shoulder after shoulder without stopping.

It went directly to He Jingling, who stood at the very back of the group.

Just like that night, Yan Changjun’s eyes were brilliantly bright—

like the vast sky after an autumn rain had washed it clean.