The Double

"Prince Cheng’s matter is pressing, so it is only natural that the Prince of Xia County would seek to make his mark," Jiang Li responded, "Has Father ever considered that perhaps even if the issue with Prince Cheng did not arise, the Prince of Xia County might have returned to the capital someday? His Majesty simply used the situation to his advantage, as if he was closing the door to beat a dog, keeping the Prince of Xia County under his watchful eye. If there were any moves to be made, they would be clearer to see."

Jiang Yuanbai frowned as he stared at Jiang Li, feeling that she might know more. Her stance towards the Yin Household had always been evasive, as if she knew they were trouble from the start. But Jiang Li was a sheltered young lady, how could she know so much? In the entire Yanjing City, aside from the Jiang Family, Ye Shijie was the only official she knew. But if even he was not privy to some matters, then Ye Shijie was even less likely to know. Could it be... Jih Heng?

Jiang Yuanbai felt a headache coming on again. Jiang Li had repeatedly stated that she had no connection with Jih Heng, but his intuition told him otherwise. However, his daughter was tight-lipped, and he could not force the truth out of her, so he could only worry helplessly.

"Father," Jiang Li asked, "why did the Late Emperor send the Prince of Xia County to Northwest Yunzhong back then?"

That was something Jiang Li had been unable to find out, no matter how hard she tried. Jih Heng and the old general had both told her not to get involved. She thought that maybe Jiang Yuanbai would know something.

Jiang Yuanbai shook his head, "When the Late Emperor made that decision, I was not yet the Chief Senior Scholar and was unaware of the details. So many years have passed and no rumors have come to light. This suggests that very few people knew about it and the Late Emperor didn’t tell anyone else."

His words only made Jiang Li more suspicious. There must have been something that caused a rift between them without reason, as she had heard the Late Emperor had a very good relationship with the Prince of Xia County, closer than brothers despite being half-blooded. There must have been something which caused their estrangement, but not serious enough for the Late Emperor to have the Prince of Xia County killed outright, leaving a sliver of hope which led to the current chaotic situation.

Jiang Li’s words seemed to also remind Jiang Yuanbai, and he stopped asking about other matters, lost in thought.