Leaving Beijing
“Miss Jiang is joking. There is really nothing between me and Young Master Lin. We only met once. He didn’t even leave his name back then. I only found out later by chance that the person who saved me was the second young master of the General’s Mansion.”
Jiang Yi pressed on, asking, "Do you like him?"
It was actually a bit impolite, but she still asked the question without hesitation.
Yin Zhaobai looked up at her. Shangguan Muya's maid couldn't stand it anymore and said angrily, "My young lady has already explained how she met Young Master Lin. Isn't it a bit too rude of Miss Jiang to be so aggressive!"
Jiang Yi gave a silent sneer: "If you feel it's difficult, you don't need to answer. Miss Shangguan's silence speaks for itself. I already know your feelings for him. You like him, but so what? Now I am He Lin's wife, the young mistress of the General's Mansion. Moreover, the daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion would never submit to be a concubine, so you pose no threat to me."
These words went beyond mere rudeness; they were blatant provocation and mockery.
The maid was furious, all the goodwill she had initially felt towards Jiang Yi vanished, but little did she know that the other party didn't care about her at all.
Just as she was about to reprimand the person who had spoken rudely to her young lady, Shangguan Muya stopped her, her expression unchanged: "Miss Jiang is right. You are the wife he brought into the house with great pomp and circumstance. You can rest assured that he will not know, and I will not disturb you. I sincerely wish you both a long and happy life together."
Jiang Yi slightly raised the teacup in her hand to toast her, displaying a carefree and elegant demeanor: "Then I'll take advantage of Miss Shangguan's kind words."
Although it wasn't alcohol she was drinking, Shangguan Muya still returned the toast, then tilted her head back and drank the tea.
"Miss Jiang, please don't be so polite. If you don't mind, you can just call me Muya."
"Okay, stop calling me Miss Jiang all the time, it sounds really awkward to me. Just call me Jiang Yi."
"Mmm, Jiang~ Yi~"
"Muya!"
"..."
The two of them chuckled at the same time, exchanging a knowing smile. Their movements were remarkably synchronized, as intimate as if they were longtime best friends.
Yin Zhaobai was shocked. If he remembered correctly, weren't they just at odds because He Lin was being aggressive? How come they're joking around together now? He couldn't help but marvel at how quickly women can change their tune.
It seems Confucius was right: women are difficult to deal with. I must remember this in the future: never offend a woman!
Amidst their laughter and conversation, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Jiang Yi turned her head to look at the doorway and saw that He Lin had returned, followed by He Yu.
"Hey He Lin, you're back. Look, Mu Ya needs to talk to you."
As soon as the two He brothers entered the room, everyone in the room stood up unconsciously. Yin Zhaobai naturally followed Shangguan Muya, so when He Lin looked over, he just lowered his head and pretended to be a stranger. After all, He Yu was still there, and he couldn't let him see any flaws.
Shangguan Muya smiled and said, "It's nothing important. I came here today to ask Young Master Lin for the painting and to return the cloak you left behind a few years ago."
Before He Lin could answer, Jiang Yi added with a grin, "You should have finished drawing by now. Mu Ya even sent over a hundred taels of gold. Since you weren't here, I accepted it for you. You're welcome."
He Lin: "..."
He Yu chuckled, patted He Lin on the shoulder, and then strode to the table, lifting the red cloth covering it. Underneath was dazzling gold. Jiang Yi had never seen so much gold before, and her eyes widened in astonishment.
Good heavens! This...this...this is gold! Taking just one piece back would be enough for her to live a life of ease and comfort! What a pity! What a shame!
He Yu shook his head and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Miss Shangguan is indeed generous. I'm taking one gold coin to go out for drinks. Second brother, since you have guests, I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave first, no need to see me off."
After saying that, he tossed a gold ingot up and down in mid-air, greeted He Lin, and walked out the door, displaying a rare, spoiled brat-like demeanor.
Jiang Yi hesitated for a couple of seconds, then decisively chased after him.
"Wait, big brother!"
He Yu stopped and turned around, teasingly saying with a grin, "Hmm? Really? I only took one ingot of gold from my second brother, and you're already reluctant to part with it?"
"What?! I'm not that stingy. I won't mind even if you take it all, big brother!" Anyway, He Lin has plenty of his own savings!
Jiang Yi only dared to mutter the last sentence to herself; she didn't say it aloud.
"What do you want?"
"I came to ask how things are going with that matter, brother?"
He Yu crossed his arms, glanced at Jiang Yi, frowned slightly, stroked his chin, and said in a pretentious tone, "Oh, that matter... to be honest, it's a bit troublesome. You can ask my second brother. I'm leaving."
"Eh—"
Before Jiang Yi could finish speaking, He Yu had already turned and left briskly, giving her no time to react.
Jiang Yi didn't get an answer from him. She didn't know what He Lin and Shangguan Muya were talking about inside the house. When she went in, the group was just about to leave.
"Miss Jiang..." Shangguan Muya stepped forward and blurted out, but after calling out, she paused slightly, lowered her head and smiled, then changed her words, saying, "Jiang Yi, since Young Master Lin is back, I'll be leaving now. If you don't mind, I'll come to chat and have tea with you again when I have time."
Jiang Yi glanced at her, then turned her gaze to He Lin: "Why are you in such a hurry? Did He Lin say something to you? He wasn't very nice. If he said something wrong and offended you, please don't take it to heart."
"No, Her Majesty the Empress summoned me to the palace this afternoon. There are some matters at home that need to be prepared in advance."
"Oh, I see. So... He Lin, did you give the painting you drew to Mu Ya?"
This wasn't the first time He Lin had been yelled at like this, and he was already used to it. He remained indifferent, neither responding nor nodding. But to outsiders, it didn't seem like that at all. If someone who didn't know the situation saw it, they might suspect that the two were not getting along. Yin Zhaobai raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
The air seemed to freeze. The little maid, clutching a long sandalwood box, glanced back and forth between the two of them, not daring to breathe. How dare Jiang Yi, a mere concubine's daughter, yell at the second young master of the General's Mansion...?
To avoid embarrassment, Shangguan Muya quickly replied, "Young Master Lin gave it to me, and Zhu Qing is holding it."
Jiang Yi nodded and was about to agree when she suddenly remembered the birthday gift she gave to the Crown Prince at the East Palace last time. Who would have thought that He Lin would actually give him a damaged painting? Fortunately, the Crown Prince was magnanimous and didn't mind. However, she was afraid that the painting he gave to Shangguan Muya this time might also be problematic. After thinking about it, she felt that it would be more reassuring to check the goods on the spot.
"Muya, have you seen the painting? After all, it cost a hundred taels of gold. Why don't you open it and take a look? If you don't like it, you can point it out and let He Lin revise it for you."
Shangguan Muya chuckled softly, "It's alright. I trust Young Master Lin's painting skills; no one in the capital can match them. Jiang Yi, Young Master Lin, I'm sorry to have bothered you today. Muya will take her leave now."
The room was silent. Jiang Yi stared blankly at the figures of the group as they walked away for a moment, then turned to look at He Lin.
"Young master, how do you manage to pretend you don't know your best friend when you meet him? You're quite the actor!"
He Lin calmly looked back at her, remaining silent.
Jiang Yi became more and more curious, and asked again, "What's going on between you and Shangguan Muya? I've heard about your story of saving a beauty in the dark. According to the plot of the play, you two should have fallen in love at first sight and liked each other. Do you like her?"
He Lin looked speechless: "You're overthinking it."
"You don't like her? Really? Shangguan Muya is so beautiful, from such a good family, the Prime Minister's darling daughter, aren't you even a little bit tempted? She's kept your cloak for years, don't you understand what that means?"
Jiang Yi couldn't quite explain her own mindset when she asked those questions; it seemed a little bittersweet. Regardless, she needed to know what He Lin was really thinking, because it would determine whether she should continue liking him…
Unexpectedly, He Lin scoffed and pressed closer to Jiang Yi, asking, "What do you think? Hmm?"
Jiang Yi had nowhere to retreat and almost tripped over the stool. Luckily, He Lin caught her in time, otherwise she would have fallen to the ground.
"If you don't like it, you don't like it. Why are you pressing me for an answer? I'm not a mind reader, how could I possibly know what you're thinking? You can't even ask me one question? How petty!"
He Lin released her, took a small step back, and gave a soft, ambiguous hum.
"So...do you have someone you like?"
He Lin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the person opposite him. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, like an ancient well, unable to stir up any waves, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
The two stared at each other for a while, but Jiang Yi, not getting an answer, simply gave up and blinked her long eyelashes: "Fine, if you won't say anything, then forget it. By the way, what's the situation in the capital right now?"
He Lin clicked his tongue: "Why do you have so many questions?"
"I……"
"Go pack your things, you're coming with me tonight."
Jiang Yi's eyes widened: "Go? Where to?"
"You're wanted now, go out and hide."
"What?! I'm wanted!!"
He Lin glanced at her, calmly took a sip of tea, and said, "Mm."
Jiang Yi swallowed hard, unable to come to her senses for a long time. Oh no, oh no, this is it!
"Why are you still drinking tea! Let's not wait until tonight, let's leave now! I'll go pack my things!"
After saying that, she took off running into the room and disappeared in a flash.
He Lin sat in the chair, watching the direction she disappeared in, and couldn't help but chuckle. He gently rubbed the edge of the teacup with his thumb. It turned out that even someone who was fearless could be scared away by his words. She really was just a paper tiger.
The wanted notice is obviously fake. If you think about it carefully, you'll find that the statement is full of loopholes. If Jiang Yi were really wanted, the First Madam would probably have someone sweep her out the door before the authorities even came to arrest her...
He took Jiang Yi away from the capital for a while mainly because he needed to go south to resolve some matters, and to prevent this person from causing any more trouble while he was away.
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