A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 8

The next morning, the moment He Jingling opened her door, she found Xiaolou standing before her with a bright smile and a letter in her hand.

The envelope had been sealed tightly, as though she feared someone might peek inside.

He Jingling held out her hand with practiced ease.

“Give it to me.”

Only then did Xiaolou pass the letter to her elder sister, thanking her repeatedly and telling He Jingling to work hard. She would be perfectly fine at home on her own.

The corner of He Jingling’s mouth twitched.

“All right, you stay home and study properly. The examination for female officials is in two years. Your sister can’t go on like this forever. I’ll still have to rely on you in the future.”

The Great Yan Dynasty had lasted nearly two hundred years and had already produced four ruthless and decisive empress dowagers who acted as regents.

To cultivate trusted subordinates of their own, they had successively created and refined the dynasty’s system of female officials.

Now, the selection examination for female officials was held once every five years.

The instant Xiaolou heard that she would have to work hard herself, the smile that had just spread across her face collapsed.

“There are still two years left.” She listlessly brushed the matter aside. “Anyway, Sister, I’ll leave this letter to you. The usual place.”

At the mention of the letter, a smile bloomed across Xiaolou’s face once more.

He Jingling agreed, reminded her of a few things, and then left.

She had worn red robes yesterday because of the unusual circumstances. Today, she was dressed in a blue-green official robe.

He Jingling served at the Southern Pacification Office. There was plenty of time to slack off, and the work itself was not particularly difficult. She spent her days rushing around the city arresting thieves, rarely remaining in one place, so her younger sister often asked her to deliver letters.

Besides that, He Jingling could conveniently gather a great deal of information.

For example, many of the men who entered Princess Jialang’s residence went in upright and came out horizontally.

And Yan Changjun’s second husband was said to have died while crossing a bridge on his way to court. The sky had only just begun to brighten when he “accidentally” lost his footing and fell into the water.

It was called an accident, but observant people counted on their fingers and realized that this prince consort and the previous one had truly been fated.

Each had remained Prince Consort for exactly three years.

Oh.

So no husband survived beyond three years.

Wouldn’t that make Xu Zhiyan doubly unlucky?

He was the third husband, and this was also his third year…

He Jingling pinched the space between her brows.

After losing herself in thought for a while, she arrived late at the Pacification Office again.

Still, she and her colleagues were already accustomed to it.

The Jinyiwei had plenty of empty posts reserved for the sons of officials and noble families. Who would trouble them over a fixed reporting time?

From time to time, eunuchs from the Eastern Depot also needed people to serve as their agents and selected them from among the Jinyiwei.

With layer upon layer of arrangements like these, how many Jinyiwei officers actually reported for duty on time?

He Jingling had assumed today would be the same.

Yet the moment she reached the government office, she sensed something was wrong.

Her colleagues were usually cheerful, but today every one of them wore a deeply furrowed brow.

Whenever He Jingling arrived, several people would ordinarily gather around to chat with her.

Today, however, everyone was solemn.

Even the chickens and rats standing guard at the entrance seemed to wear grave expressions.

He Jingling sensed something suspicious.

Sure enough, she had barely taken two steps into the courtyard when she felt a familiar, ominous chill behind her.

A furious shout followed.

“He Jingling, do you have any idea what time it is? I heard discipline at the Southern Pacification Office was lax. At first, I did not believe it. Who would have thought…”

It was Pei Jin’s voice.

He Jingling stopped and slowly turned around, staring directly at him.

She said nothing.

Neither did he.

Pei Jin met her gaze. The sight of her relaxed manner only made him angrier.

“Do you know what time it is?”

He Jingling had heard the water clock as she arrived, so she answered, “It is the hour of Si.”

“You know it is already the hour of Si, yet you still dare behave so carelessly?” Pei Jin pressed aggressively. “Lord He, I made a few inquiries just now. It appears this is not merely a single accidental occurrence.”

He Jingling’s brows finally knitted together.

The hour of Si?

It was only nine in the morning. What was he going mad about?

From the corner of her eye, He Jingling swept a glance across the courtyard.

Several familiar faces were still missing.

Those people slacked off even more than she did.

Pei Jin ignored them and singled her out.

Naturally, it was not because of her attendance.

Ah. As expected, the battlefield of romantic rivalry is filled with verbal blades and hidden dangers.

Still, she was facing a hot-tempered superior.

He Jingling immediately lowered her head and admitted her fault.

“Lord Pei, please be magnanimous.”

Seeing He Jingling apologize, Pei Jin felt slightly relieved. Pretending to be generous, he waved a hand.

“A mistake is still a mistake. Tell me the reason as well. That will give me an opportunity to forgive you.”

“The night before last, I escorted Her Highness Princess Jialang and was injured inside the Princess Manor.”

He Jingling raised her eyes. Her clear gaze brimmed with innocence and sincerity.

“I rested for the entire day yesterday, but I still have not fully recovered today.”

Pei Jin choked.

His face alternated between green and white.

Pretending not to notice, He Jingling continued fabricating the story in vivid detail.

“After I entered the Princess Manor, Her Highness saw that I was injured and told me to go to her room…”

Princess Jialang’s romantic reputation was well known. No one would question the truth of such a story.

More than that, several people who knew the situation even cast He Jingling looks of “sympathy,” as though she would become a corpse within a few days.

“Enough.”

Pei Jin interrupted with a gloomy expression and coughed twice.

“Lord He, since you are capable of coming to the office today, I assume you are also capable of performing your duties.”

“Or perhaps, Lord He, how does it feel to have even the chickens and dogs in your household ascend to heaven along with you?”

He added the last sentence with a cold laugh, every word sharpened with thorns.

Before He Jingling could answer, Pei Jin waved broadly and gestured for the person beside him to step forward.

A man in black robes hurried over and handed him a scroll.

Pei Jin took it and unrolled it.

It contained a portrait.

“Here.”

He Jingling said nothing more. She accepted it and glanced at the name written beneath the image.

A certain man surnamed Lan had committed theft and was now moving around the capital. Several possible hiding places were listed below.

“This matter would not ordinarily fall to you,” Pei Jin said coldly, casting He Jingling a sidelong glance. “But Chiliarch He should understand the Jinyiwei’s recent situation.”

Why would arresting a common thief require a dignified chiliarch?

The Eastern Depot had too much work and had borrowed a large number of Jinyiwei officers, leaving even trivial matters like this to be handled by chiliarchs.

He Jingling nodded.

“Then I will set out now—”

“Do you require anyone to accompany you?”

He Jingling shook her head.

Pei Jin symbolically gave her a few instructions before finally allowing her to leave.

Watching He Jingling’s tall, upright figure retreat, Pei Jin ground his back teeth.

The man who had brought the scroll stepped closer and whispered, “Lord Pei, are you really letting the matter go today?”

“For today, barely.”

Pei Jin’s voice was cold.

“Didn’t your brother Luo Si say that He Jingling often disappears while carrying out assignments?”

Luo Er hurriedly nodded in agreement.

“Yes, every word was true. Sometimes, we genuinely have no idea where Lord He has gone…”

“Hmph. You have no idea where she goes.”

The light in Pei Jin’s eyes turned cold.

“I do not care where she goes. What matters is that she went.”

A chill suddenly ran down Luo Er’s spine.

By the time he recovered, Pei Jin had already left.

Looking straight toward the entrance, he could see only dark green trees with luxuriant branches and leaves.

Their shadows swayed, filtering sunlight into several narrow beams that fell into a bamboo basket.

A letter silently drifted inside.

By now, He Jingling was thoroughly familiar with delivering letters to this particular inn.

Four elegant characters were written in neat standard script on the signboard:

WANFU INN

Wanfu Inn stood at the intersection of three major roads, and people constantly came and went.

The capital was a mixture of dragons and fish, filled with every conceivable kind of person.

For example, at first, He Jingling had absolutely refused to believe that anyone besides her younger sister could be enthusiastic about exchanging letters with complete strangers.

Yet that was apparently the truth.

He Jingling slipped the letter inside in one smooth motion, tightened her grip around the scroll in her hand, breathed into her palms, and prepared to begin the day’s work.

She would first look around the nearby teahouses and taverns.

Aside from constantly setting traps for her, the wretched system had a few limited uses.

At the very least, it had helped He Jingling considerably in her work as a Jinyiwei officer.

It had allowed her to learn some martial arts and made catching criminals proceed more smoothly.

The moment He Jingling sat down, before the waiter could even bring tea, she glanced sideways and noticed that the man seated at the table beside the wall had shifty eyes and a furtive expression.

His face bore a noticeable resemblance to the man in the scroll.

Without another word, she immediately rose and strode toward the corner as though the wind gathered beneath her feet.

The scroll unfurled with a snap, revealing the wanted man’s face.

When the thief first saw a Jinyiwei officer enter, his heart had trembled, and he had kept himself huddled in the corner.

The moment he saw He Jingling approaching, he made an immediate decision.

He bolted outside as though his feet had been greased.

Naturally, He Jingling chased after him.

The scroll clearly stated that this thief had been moving around the capital for more than a month. The Pacification Office had already dispatched dozens of men after him.

The fact that he had still not been caught under such circumstances proved that he possessed some ability.

As a result, He Jingling’s pursuit was rather difficult.

Carriages clattered noisily, and crowds packed the streets.

Although ordinary people hated and feared the Jinyiwei, they saw there was only one officer and could not even be bothered to move aside.

He Jingling twisted and turned through the streets for a long time.

In the end, she actually lost her target.

The chase also caused a great commotion, with people shouting, horses neighing, and idle complaints flying everywhere.

It did not matter.

The Jinyiwei were already hated by everyone anyway.

Sweat gathered in He Jingling’s palms, and frustration weighed heavily on her.

What did Pei Jin mean by saying she had ridden another’s coattails to heaven?

Judging by the mocking and sarcastic way he had spoken, if He Jingling failed to capture this man, she might not even be able to keep her job!

Suddenly, she spotted a man in a white hood in the distance.

His figure resembled the thief’s by at least eighty percent.

A thought stirred in her mind.

She might as well treat a dead horse as though it were still alive.

She would follow him first and see what happened.

By then, it was already midday.

He Jingling followed the white-hooded figure all the way.

The man seemed to be deliberately allowing her to keep up, glancing around as he moved through street corners and intersections.

Suspicion arose in He Jingling’s heart, but she forced herself to continue following him.

At last, in front of an abandoned residence, she completely lost sight of her target.

She pushed open the door and saw a bamboo tube lying inside.

The instant she recognized its shape, He Jingling’s heart gave a jolt.

She had once seen something similar.

It was one of the objects He Zhenxian had found in the bundle on the field path years ago.

In other words—

It had come from the emperor.

With trembling fingers, He Jingling picked up the bamboo tube and shook out the silk cloth inside.

Summon He Jingling, Chiliarch of the Southern Pacification Office, to enter the palace.

The emperor’s private seal had been stamped in the lower-right corner.

Summoning her to the palace without making a public spectacle of it was also one of the emperor’s considerations.

In the original novel, Pei Jin had been deeply dissatisfied with the emperor and later played an important role when the rebellion began.

Naturally, the emperor was displeased with him as well.

And so, he had sought out He Jingling.

“Oh dear.”

He Jingling folded the silk cloth, returned it to the bamboo tube, and murmured to herself,

“It looks like I really am about to ride another’s coattails all the way to heaven.”