The Double

Ye Mingyu promised Xue Huaiyuan that when he returned to Xiangyang at the end of the year, he would definitely take Xue Huaiyuan with him. As for this year, Xue Huaiyuan would first stay at the Ye Family in Yanjing City. Xue Huaiyuan believed that the Ye Family had done a great favor in vindicating the Xue Family, so he could not well decline and accepted the arrangement.

Jiang Li sighed with relief.

She often visited the Ye Family; on the surface, it was to see Ye Mingyu, but in truth, she wanted to spend more time with Xue Huaiyuan. After the case, Xue Huaiyuan became calm and gentle. He was no longer the father who was sometimes stern and sometimes affectionate, but like an ordinary old man. He did not crumble completely, spending his days in the Ye Family reading and writing with comfort, seemingly not in agony over the tragedy of the Xue Family.

But Jiang Li knew very well that real sorrow is never spoken out loud. In her idle chats with Xue Huaiyuan, the words "I am Xue Fangfei" had almost slipped out many times, but she could never bring herself to say them.

She had her fears, and she had her moments of unease. What if she revealed herself and Xue Huaiyuan refused to believe her? She truly could not bear the scene of being denied by her own father.

At that moment, she even began to miss Jih Heng. If only Xue Huaiyuan could be like Jih Heng, who believed in the supernatural without a doubt, or rather, who would believe whatever she told him without question, that would be best.

Jih Heng... Jiang Li lowered her eyes, with the crisis of Prince Cheng’s uprising looming, Jih Heng must have been very busy these days. But since that day he learned of her identity, they had had no further contact. Not just her and Jih Heng, but also Zhao Ke had disappeared from the Jiang Family. Jiang Li did not dare to inquire about a gardener, to avoid drawing attention, but it was true that Zhao Ke had not shown up again.

Perhaps this was evidence that Jih Heng wanted to make a clean break with her, Jiang Li thought, and couldn’t help but laugh at herself. This man was truly heartless, appearing like a close friend when lending a hand but as soon as the deed was done, walking his own path as if wanting to sever even the slightest contact absolutely.

But perhaps it was for the best.

While she was reflecting, Tonger walked in from outside and said, "Miss, I’ve just returned from outside the mansion and heard something."