Chapter 103: Maid
Two pairs of eyes stared at each other, but the imperial study was incredibly tranquil. It was as if the two people were squaring off, waiting for the other to speak first. In the end, it was Xun Zhu who broke the silence, gathering up her courage to say, "Bixia, the Princess has arrived."
Jiang Changbai sighed, clearing her throat, and said, "Bring her in, then."
"Understood."
In the end, the strange atmosphere in the imperial study was broken. Liang Jiwen had something on her mind, and having been so suddenly summoned by Jiang Changbai, she assumed that her own actions had been exposed, and as such, she trembled with trepidation, and anyone could tell her nervousness.
But when Jiang Changbai saw this scene, she ascertained that, after returning from the relay station that day, Liang Jiwen hadn't told her everything. As a result, the sense of oppressiveness suddenly rose, and Jiang Changbai sat back into her chair, looking down on Liang Jiwen from on high. "That day you went to the relay station, what exactly happened?"
"Ah?" Liang Jiwen, hearing this, raised her head, her round eyes filled with shock. After all, before Jiang Changbai had asked, she'd assumed that it was her concealment of He Miao and Tao Li that had been exposed, and Jiang Changbai was about to censure her. It was such that Liang Jiwen had even determined how she would respond. But what Jiang Changbai had asked about wasn't that.
"Ah, this subject—this subject told you?" Liang Jiwen said, rather at a loss. When she'd still been in Shejin, she and Su Ya hadn't had any sort of profound affection, to say nothing of the fact that they hadn't seen each other in so long, and naturally there wasn't any reason in concealing things for her. After she'd returned, she'd explained the events to Jiang Changbai in their entirety, without reservation.
Jiang Changbai shot her a glance, and pressed, "In the Shejin Royal Palace, are there any princesses who look similar as Su Ya?"
"Who look the same?" Liang Jiwen, hearing this, fell into thought. Countless figures and faces flashed by, one after another, in her mind. Though these siblings all shared the same blood as her, there wasn't anyone who shared the same face as her. Even her siblings by the same mother looked quite different.
In the end, Liang Jiwen shook her head. "Responding to Bixia, Su Ya's mother only had her. As far as this subject has seen, there isn't anyone in the Shejin Royal Palace who looks similar to Su Ya."
"That's strange." A degree of doubt rose between Jiang Changbai's brows. The Shejin Royal Palace didn't have anyone like that, so had one of these envoys sprung forth from a rock? It couldn't be that another Jiang Mingyou had appeared, so what ill-intentioned person had changed their face to be Su Ya's?
"What's strange?" Liang Jiwen, her curiosity piqued, blinked as she asked.
At present, the only Shejinese person whom she could trust was Liang Jiwen, and Jiang Changbai had no intent to keep her in the dark. She coughed lightly, and Song Juguang came back to herself, and simply explained the matter of the Western Gate to Liang Jiwen. As a result, in the next moment, the same suspicion hung on Liang Jiwen's face as on Jiang Changbai's.
Who could it be? It couldn't be that Shejin had sent two envoys. And even if they had sent two envoys, they wouldn't have arrived one after another.
Song Juguang's gaze swept over Liang Jiwen, and she said quietly, "When you were at the relay station recently, did you sense anything strange about Su Ya?"
"Something strange?" Liang Jiwen thought a moment, and said, "there wasn't nothing. When I was five or six, I briefly earned by Royal Father's favour. Everyone in the Palace took advantage of the situation, and in that period, Su Ya and I could have been counted as being on equal footing. But that day in the relay station, when I mentioned that period of time, it was as if Su Ya didn't remember anything at all."
"Keep speaking," Jiang Changbai said, fingers unconsciously curling around the paperweight, her voice carrying a sense of brooking no argument.
"This subject can only think of that," Liang Jiwen shrugged. "This subject's said it repeatedly—this subject and Su Ya weren't close at all. Of the limited memories, it was only in order to speak with her a bit that this subject wracked my brains and recalled it.
"And this matter, it's not Su Ya's fault she didn't recall it. After all, those in the Royal Palace who could temporarily gain our Royal Father's favour were many, and probably the only one who held his favour for the entire time was Su Ya, and she regarded everyone as beneath her notice; that she couldn't remember this subject isn't inexplicable."
Before she'd even finished speaking, Jiang Changbai knew that she couldn't find anything from her. Liang Jiwen, having been ordered to leave, walked away in high spirits, having, in the end, concealed the matter of foreigners for another day. And, fortunately, Tao Li and He Miao didn't look Shejinese, but rather like the Great Li's local people. Otherwise, even if Liang Jiwen had been more skilled, she wouldn't have been able to hide the truth.
But just as Liang Jiwen was about to step over the threshold of the imperial study, she happened to run into Qing Huai, who was taking over the shift. Liang Jiwen knew Qing Huai, and knew that she was the second-ranked person by Jiang Changbai's side, below only Xun Zhu. Just like that day, when she'd run into the turquoise pendant-wearing maid, who was also the second-most favoured maid by Su Ya's side.
"Wait a moment." Liang Jiwen's eyes suddenly lit up, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her mind, and the tip of the iceberg of something originally hidden suddenly appeared. Liang Jiwen hurriedly turned around, and knelt once more before Jiang Changbai. "Bixia, this subject remembered it!"
As it turned out, Su Ya had ought to have had two maids by her side, but that day in the relay station, Liang Jiwen had only seen one. The other one seemed to never not follow by Su Ya's side, yet there hadn't been a trace of the maid who'd accompanied her in countless important situations.
"I see," Jiang Changbai said lightly. She waved a hand to dismiss Liang Jiwen, and then turned her head to order Song Juguang, "First let the newly-arrived Envoy rest a few days, and then why don't you bring her to the relay station."
"Understood."
In a small residence in the capital, Tao Li was apprehensively pacing. And in stark contrast to her was He Miao, cupping her face with her hands at the stone table, lost in thought.
"How come Dianxia still hasn't come? Could it be that something happened?" Tao Li suddenly stopped, coming over to the stone table. Propping both arms up on the stone table, she looked at He Miao with furrowed brows.
"It's not that easy for something to happen," He Miao consoled her, but her face clearly held some worry as well. "Didn't Dianxia say that her majesty showed her a lot of care? Think about it, when we were in Shejin, was there ever anyone who mistreated the people his highness protected?"
"That's true," Tao Li nodded, clearly quite approving of He Miao's words.
"Don't you worry further," Bi Yushuang, who had appeared from who knew where, said. "Her majesty is generous and benevolent, and doesn't often make things hard for others. Nothing will have happened to your Dianxia; she's probably just been delayed by something. Wait a bit, just wait a bit and she'll come."
"Alright—" Tao Li replied.
This was Bi Yushuang's residence. After she'd moved out from the Rear Court, she'd lived here ever since. At first she'd rented it, and then afterwards, relying on having argued for and earned her father's inheritance, she'd bought it.
Her and Liang Jiwen's personal relationship had always been excellent. Liang Jiwen didn't have any property in the capital, and she didn't want to leave He Miao and Tao Li to return to the foot of Mount Tongshan, and thinking over it, she'd come to Bi Yushuang. And Bi Yushuang had agreed without even thinking about it.
The two's expenses were covered by Liang Jiwen, and a few more people meant a bit more liveliness.
According to their agreement, this time, Liang Jiwen ought to long since have arrived. But at this moment, there wasn't a trace of her. It was only after a long while, when the sun was almost entirely set, that Liang Jiwen hurriedly pushed the door open and came in.
He Miao and Tao Li immediately crowded around her; before they could speak, Liang Jiwen said, "Hurry up and pack, I'm taking you two out of the capital now."
"Why?" Tao Li asked, not understanding. "Dianxia knows as well that the two of us don't have any identities in the Great Li, and even entering the capital wasn't easy. To say nothing of whether or not we can leave the capital easily, even if we could leave without an issue, we wouldn't necessarily be able to come back!"
He Miao's disposition wasn't as extroverted as Tao Li's, but her expression showed the same puzzlement.
Yet Liang Jiwen shook her head, tugging the two of them out of the building, and lowered her voice quite a bit. "Two envoys have arrived from Shejin. One's in a relay station, but the other, I don't know where she's staying, and there might even be an impostor among them. Though you don't look Shejinese, but in the end, you lived in the Shejin Royal Palace for all those years. If someone recognised you and you were apprehended and taken back, then what?"
"When's there ever such a coincidence? If they want to apprehend us, could the two of us run?" Tao Li said, somewhat stubbornly, "if the two of us were to leave the capital right now, and wanted to see you again, then it'd probably be extremely challenging."
"Tao Li's right," Bi Yushuang, who had at some point come over to their sides, said. "If it's easy to be apprehended outside, then they just shouldn't go out. After all, everything I use here is purchased by specialised people, and they don't need to go do anything. I know the area of Mount Tongshan better than you do; with all those wild beasts on the mountain, even experienced hunters have the possibility of losing their lives. Letting the two of them live alone at the foot of Mount Tongshan, that's really far too dangerous."
Hearing there was someone supporting her, Tao Li nodded immediately. Even on the silent He Miao's face rose a rather praising expression. But Liang Jiwen, for the first time, didn't listen to Bi Yushuang, and rather shook her head stubbornly.
"No, they have to leave now. Sneaking into the capital is an awkward matter. I knew there's no one in the capital who's checking identification, and they probably wouldn't be exposed, and that's the only reason I arrange them to be here with you. But now the situation's different; the envoys will probably meet her majesty, and if someone from Shejin recognises them, and then tells her majesty, then the matter will be massive.
"That you're willing to shelter my friends is your benevolence. But I can't allow them to continue to remain here with you knowing that the situation's risky, and let you carry such massive explosives by your side. If, one day, it came to light and implicated you, I'd never be able to forgive myself."
Bi Yushuang, hearing Liang Jiwen's words, felt a warmth rise in her heart. Unconsciously, she lamented that she hadn't mistaken her—she really had made a worthy friend. But she still said, "So what if they meet her majesty? Between you and I, who hasn't met the current Emperor? Don't forget my identity; I'm a concubine dowager; if it has to be spoken of, the Emperor is my junior. How could the two of them implicate me? Their Jiang family owes me quite a lot; how could I not be able to shelter two people? The two of them will stay here—they won't go anywhere at all."
But before Bi Yushuang finished speaking, a maid hurriedly came to her side. "Xiaojie, there's someone at the gates asking for an audience."
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