The Double

Xue Huaiyuan called only Jih Heng into the room, not Jiang Li or Xue Zhao, which left Jiang Li a bit anxious, wondering what they were going to talk about inside. Noticing her worried expression, Xue Zhao wheeled his chair over to Jiang Li and gestured for her to come closer. Leaning down, she heard Xue Zhao whisper in her ear, "Father meeting his son-in-law naturally has many things to explain. He also knows about your status, so Father doesn’t need to hold back anything. Sister, don’t worry, Father won’t eat your husband up."

He called him "brother-in-law" quite naturally as if they had been close for many years. Jiang Li thought it wasn’t that she was worried about what Xue Huaiyuan might do; her father had always been gentle with people. She was concerned that Jih Heng’s temper might irritate her father.

However, upon reflection, Jih Heng had been so polite and mild-mannered when he met Xue Huaiyuan earlier that day that even Old General Jih was taken aback, which showed his ability to pretend was quite remarkable. With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Li realized that it was pointless to worry and decided to stop.

When she turned around, she caught Situ Jiuyue staring at her and Xue Zhao, her gaze thoughtful. Jiang Li’s heart skipped a beat; their position was a bit too intimate, and Situ Jiuyue, not knowing that Xue Zhao and Jiang Li were siblings, might misunderstand.

She stood up straight, and perhaps because she had glimpsed Situ Jiuyue’s thoughts, she was exceptionally accommodating as she said to Situ Jiuyue, "Miss Jiuyue, since you’re here today to examine Ah Zhao’s wounds in order to devise new poisons, why don’t you go see Ah Zhao first."

Looking puzzled at Jiang Li, Xue Zhao didn’t understand why she suddenly brought this up. However, he wouldn’t reject Situ Jiuyue’s kindness and smilingly said, "Is that so? Doctor Situ, my wounds have healed quite a bit recently. If they can be useful for your poison-making, that would be great."

Situ Jiuyue moved her lips, but in the end, she just said, "Come with me." Though her face remained cool, her tone had softened significantly.

Jiang Li was about to speak to Old General Jih when she saw not far off, Old General Jih and Ye Mingyu engrossed in conversation, discussing something fervently. They were likely talking about sword techniques. Old General Jih was red-faced and animated, his voice resounding.