003 Beneath the Mask

If given the choice, Xue Huai certainly did not wish to have a direct confrontation with this scion of the imperial house.

He had been in this world for a grand total of two hours. The vast, complex memories and information had surged into his mind like a tidal wave; he was now in desperate need of a quiet place to sort out his situation, figure out who his friends and enemies were, and determine how to navigate the challenges ahead.

How could he have the heart to indulge in a scene with a pampered princess?

Yet, circumstances often dictate one's actions. Xue Huai reckoned that if he were to simply walk away, the princess might fly into a rage and report him to the palace, which would leave him either dead or severely battered.

Therefore, he stepped forward, his expression solemn as he gazed at the young princess.

The guards by the door moved to intercept, but Jiang Li raised a hand to stop them, saying, "It is fine. I am not so easily intimidated by a bookish scholar who lacks the strength to truss a chicken."

Xue Huai made no unnecessary movements and said calmly, "Your Highness is joking. How could I dare to commit an offense against you?"

Jiang Li asked, "Then what is it that you want?"

Xue Huai seemed to resign himself to his fate, replying, "Does Your Highness not wish to know about my conspiracy? I am prepared to tell you the truth, but—"

He glanced at the guards nearby.

Jiang Li caught his meaning and waved the guards away, then said, "Now you may speak."

Xue Huai said with a straight face, "The reason I came here to seek my end was to frame Your Highness. I had a blood-written letter on my person, forging evidence of your various unlawful deeds as well as your past bullying of me. That way, after my death, the imperial court would be forced to investigate the case, leaving you unable to defend yourself."

Knowing full well he was spouting nonsense, Jiang Li still asked, "Where is this blood-written letter? When my guards rescued you yesterday and summoned a physician to treat you, they found no such thing on you."

Xue Huai thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps I forgot to write it."

Jiang Li asked curiously, "You could even forget to prepare such crucial evidence?"

Xue Huai maintained control over his expression and sighed, "I am only human; there are times when I am bound to be negligent."

Jiang Li asked again, "Then why would you want to frame me?"

Xue Huai replied quickly, "Perhaps out of jealousy."

"Jealousy?"

"Your Highness was born into wealth and splendor. You are favored and doted upon by the Emperor, and you have the sincere protection of the Eastern Palace and the princes. In terms of nobility, no one among the imperial clan can compare to you, and the sons of the capital's powerful families take pride in merely showing their faces before you. By comparison, I am now hated by all in court, despised by all who know me. Naturally, I would be jealous of Your Highness, and thus I came up with this foolish plan—a strategy that hurts the enemy by one hundred while destroying myself by ten thousand—in a vain attempt to cause you some trouble."

Hearing this, Jiang Li could not help but chuckle softly. She looked at Xue Huai with curiosity and asked, "Are you truly Xue Huai?"

Xue Huai nodded. "I am indeed."

"Rare, truly rare," Jiang Li remarked, clicking her tongue in wonder. "I had expected you to fly into a commoner's rage and spill blood five paces away; after all, judging by your past, you have never lacked such courage. I did not expect that a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, known for his unyielding and stubborn nature, would be capable of spinning such a yarn like a street rogue."

Though Xue Huai was making it up as he went along, his words conveyed a very important message: he had no motive to oppose the princess, and thus his falling into the water yesterday was indeed an accident. Furthermore, if he had truly intended to frame Jiang Li, he would have prepared thoroughly rather than standing there with no backup plan.

Jiang Li was sharp and discerning; she clearly understood the implication.

Xue Huai breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and explained, "I will not hide it from Your Highness: I have walked between life and death these past two days, and I have finally come to understand some truths. Regarding the past, I do not believe I was wrong, nor do I regret it, but I have come to realize that even if one cannot be perfectly balanced in conduct, there is no need to maintain such an unyielding posture at every moment."

This served as the premise for his change in behavior.

"I see."

Having heard this response, Jiang Li felt a faint ripple in her heart, though her words remained sharp. "You had better not be lying. If I discover you have ulterior motives, Minister Shen may not be able to protect you."

Xue Huai did not argue and promptly changed the subject. "I shall never forget this life-saving grace. I owe Your Highness a monumental favor."

Jiang Li’s lips curled slightly, her gaze holding a hint of intrigue. "Xue Huai, my favors are not so easy to repay."

Xue Huai replied solemnly, "If Your Highness has a command, I shall do my utmost to fulfill it."

"Oh?"

Jiang Li traced the rim of the white porcelain teacup on the table and said languidly, "Are you not afraid that I might use this favor to force you to do something evil? I have heard that you are a man who hates evil with a passion and cannot tolerate a single grain of sand in your eye."

"I am not worried."

Xue Huai met her gaze directly. "Your Highness is righteous and often disciplines those unruly scions who commit crimes. I have heard much of this in the past. Furthermore, as an imperial princess, you would naturally never violate the laws of the court. Why should I worry unnecessarily?"

"I am now convinced that this accidental fall has changed you quite a bit, though it is also possible that you have been deceiving everyone all along." Jiang Li’s tone rose slightly. "With just a few words, you have backed me into a corner while leaving yourself plenty of room to maneuver. Others say you are stubborn and inflexible, but I find you meticulous and cunning."

Xue Huai replied calmly, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."

Jiang Li was amused by his succinct reply and asked, "Do you truly believe that falling into the water yesterday was an accident?"

This was, in fact, something Xue Huai still had doubts about.

The original owner's current situation was indeed dire. The Ning faction’s suppression and targeting of him would be relentless, while the "Pure Stream" officials were unwilling to associate with him due to his past rashness and isolation. Even the Emperor had grown displeased with his constant impeachments over the past two years.

If there was one person who had treated him with absolute devotion, it was his mother, Lady Cui.

But could such a predicament really drive the original owner to seek death?

Xue Huai sensed that the truth was not that simple, but the memories of yesterday were too chaotic. He could not recall why the original owner had come to this villa or what had happened by the river; he could only be certain that the original owner had been subjected to immense distress.

Jiang Li observed the changes in his expression and continued, "My villa is not exactly secluded, but it is quite far from the Imperial City, the Hanlin Academy, and the Xue residence. Even if you wanted to clear your head, you had no reason to come all the way here, did you?"

"Your Highness speaks the truth."

Xue Huai acknowledged this and said frankly, "I will not hide it from you: perhaps because I suffered such a great shock, there are some things I cannot remember."

"Enough. That is your business; I have no need to worry on your behalf." Jiang Li spoke sternly. "I will only give you one piece of advice: do not be a pawn in someone else's hands as you were before. Even if you do not care about your own life, do not implicate me. If there is a next time, I will not concern myself with whether you live or die."

"Yes," Xue Huai replied.

Jiang Li glanced at him and added, "You said just now that you owe me a monumental favor. Is that true?"

Xue Huai knew that such a promise was extremely tricky. Given Jiang Li's status and power, there were few problems in this world that could trap her. What could a lowly compiler from the Hanlin Academy possibly do for her? If the day ever came when Jiang Li sent someone to collect on that debt, he wondered if his life would be enough to repay it.

However, the fact remained that she had saved his life, and she was not a person to be trifled with. Xue Huai could only take things one step at a time. For him, the immediate priorities were to become familiar with this world, repair his network of contacts, reverse the public perception of him, and build his own power base.

Therefore, he deliberated and said, "Your Highness, I am a man who repays kindness. If in the future you require my service, provided it does not violate the laws of the court or my conscience, I will certainly do my best."

Jiang Li watched him calmly, not mocking the cautious caveats in his words. "You have been missing for a day and a night. Your mother must be worried sick. I have already sent someone to the Xue residence to inform her, and I have had someone request a few days' leave for you at the Hanlin Academy. Now that you are recovered, I will have you escorted home. By the way, do you still remember the way?"

This debt was becoming heavier by the moment.

Xue Huai felt a strange sensation rising again. He could not quite understand what the princess was aiming for. Since she had already preemptively resolved his worries, why had she put on that earlier act? Could it be that she was merely bored and wanted to toy with him?

But he only wanted to leave as soon as possible. He pushed those thoughts aside, bowed, and said, "I remember. Thank you, Your Highness."

...

An hour later, at the water pavilion in the southeast of the villa.

Jiang Li leaned against the railing, watching the fish swimming in the pond, looking somewhat listless.

Soft footsteps sounded nearby as the Chief Steward of the Princess’s Estate, Su Erniang, approached and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, what do you make of him?"

Jiang Li thought for a moment and said slowly, "Xue Huai’s talent is known to all. His background is clean, his family upbringing is upright, he is handsome, and his domestic situation is simple. Otherwise, you would not have urged me two years ago to choose him as my consort."

Su Erniang felt a bit awkward. She had indeed thought that way back then, but for the past two years, Xue Huai had been stumbling through officialdom like a headless fly. Had it not been for the Minister of Works, Xue Minglun, remembering their clan ties, and the Left Minister of Rites, Shen Wang, showing favor to his former student—and most importantly, the lingering respect for his father, Xue Mingzhang—he would have been picked clean and killed dozens of times over.

A man like that only brought endless trouble; how could he be a suitable match for the Princess of Yun'an? Fortunately, the princess had never followed her advice. Su Erniang had long since stopped mentioning it, and she had not expected the princess to want to see him in person after the guards saved him yesterday.

"However—" Jiang Li tapped her slender, fair fingers against the railing, deliberating, "Seeing him today, I feel he is quite different from his past reputation. I do not know if he was deliberately suppressing his nature in front of me, or if his brush with death caused a change in temperament. In any case, he seems to understand the ways of the world now; he is not as grating to listen to as he once was."

Su Erniang said in surprise, "Could that be true?"

Jiang Li turned to look at her, a faint, enigmatic smile on her lips. "Erniang, are you in such a hurry to see me married off?"

Su Erniang was silent. She had been the personal maid to the late Princess of Qi. After the Prince of Qi passed away, the Princess of Qi had struggled to raise Jiang Li until she was three before dying of grief. Afterward, it was Su Erniang who provided a warm harbor for the young Jiang Li; in a sense, they were like mother and daughter.

"Erniang, I never said I would not marry," Jiang Li said, tugging at her sleeve, her voice softening. "But you must let me find a man I am fond of. You wouldn't want me to end up as lonely and bitter as my aunts, would you?"

Su Erniang wiped the corner of her eye and sighed, "Of course I hope for your happiness. But the Emperor will certainly not sit by and watch you remain alone forever. If an imperial decree for marriage is issued, there will be no room for maneuver. It would be better to choose a suitable man in advance, rather than..."

She stopped mid-sentence, but Jiang Li understood perfectly well. It was nothing more than the palace using her marriage as a bargaining chip to win over or check the powerful officials in court.

Jiang Li feigned a naive expression. "Who in the capital does not know that the Emperor dotes on me most? He will surely follow my wishes, so do not worry, Erniang."

Su Erniang could not argue and nodded. "Yes."

"Back to Xue Huai..." Jiang Li leaned against Su Erniang’s side, saying slowly, "Perhaps he truly did have an epiphany at the gates of death. If he has such a destiny, he may yet cause some unexpected waves in the future."

Su Erniang grew tense and looked around subconsciously, as if guarding against prying eyes.

Jiang Li merely smiled faintly, her gaze directed toward the towering walls in the distance, whispering to herself.

"It is quite interesting, after all."