Chapter 223: Night Exploration of the He Mansion
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For several consecutive days, Shuojing City experienced heavy snowfall, and the streets became much quieter.
In the Xu Mansion, He Xinying stood outside the study and knocked on the door. A voice from inside said, “Come in.” He Xinying walked in.
“I made some red bean sweet soup in the kitchen; it’s too cold outside,” He Xinying smiled as she brought a small bowl from the basket and placed it in front of Xu Zhiheng’s desk. “Husband, have some to warm yourself up and avoid getting too cold.”
Xu Zhiheng’s gaze fell on the white porcelain bowl on the table. In the bowl, the red bean sweet soup emitted a sweet fragrance, and the brown broth made him suddenly think of the medicinal soup that the He family sent over a long time ago.
It had the same color, the same sweet aroma. The medicinal effects of that soup were excellent; after He Yan drank it, after 3 days of high fever her eyesight disappeared forever.
Subconsciously, Xu Zhiheng looked up. He Xinying was looking at him tenderly, bearing some resemblance to He Yan in her eyes and brows. This sudden similarity caused Xu Zhiheng’s heart to skip a beat. He stood up instinctively, and the sleeve of his hand accidentally brushed against the soup bowl on the table, spilling the sweet soup all over, staining his clothes.
“Husband, are you okay?” He Xinying was startled, quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the soup off Xu Zhiheng, and called a maid to clean up.
“I’m fine.” Seeing the sweet soup spilled, Xu Zhiheng actually felt relieved. He took the handkerchief and wiped off the stains on his clothes.
“This bowl is spilled. I’ll go and have another one sent over,” He Xinying said hurriedly.
“No need.” Xu Zhiheng held her hand, smiling as he pulled her to sit beside him. “I wasn’t hungry anyway.”
The woman’s hand was warm and soft, dissipating some of the uneasiness he had felt in the past few days.
Following his suggestion, He Xinying sat down beside him. After a moment of contemplation, she said to Xu Zhiheng, “I heard from Liu Er that my mother’s health has been deteriorating and she has been bedridden. I want to go back and see my mother. Husband, do you have any free time these days? Why not accompany me to the He family?”
The military book had been in her room, and He Xinying always felt uneasy about it. If, one day, Xu Zhiheng decided to search the entire mansion, it could easily be discovered. Moreover, the arrival of the military book was inexplicable, and she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Going back to the He family, asking Second Madam He about it would be more reliable than trying to figure it out on her own.
“Do you want to go back to the He family?” Xu Zhiheng paused and asked He Xinying.
His gaze at He Xinying carried a hint of scrutiny. He Xinying’s heart skipped a beat, and she reached out to hold his arm. “I just want to go back and take a look. I’ll be back the next day. Husband, can you accompany me back to the He family? My mother has not seen you in a long time.”
He Xinying had never experienced much hardship since childhood. When she was married, Xu Zhiheng knew that she had been somewhat spoiled during her time in the He family, but after entering the Xu Mansion, she had always been obedient. This was different from He Yan’s temperament. Although He Yan never caused trouble and kept to herself, if asked to act coquettish like He Xinying, it would be impossible.
Xu Zhiheng said, “I’ve been busy these days, I’m afraid I won’t have time to accompany you back to the mansion. Let me have someone send you back first, and when I have some free time in a few days, I’ll accompany you.”
He Xinying timely showed a slightly aggrieved expression and said, “…Alright.”
Xu Zhiheng smiled, holding her hand, his thoughts already drifting elsewhere.
It was impossible for him to go to the He family now. Besides, with the two brothers He Yuansheng and He Yuanliang, who knew what He Rufei was currently planning. Placing spies in his mansion trying to find evidence… and He Xinying, Xu Zhiheng thought, although she was his wife, she was still surnamed He. Who knows if He Rufei has coordinated with her? In this way, if He Rufei could place spies in his mansion, he might retaliate in kind.
This time, let He Xinying go back to explore the situation.
…
In the middle of the night, it started snowing again.
In the freezing cold, He Yan got up from bed in the dark. The room was pitch black, without even a lit oil lamp. Fortunately, she had long been accustomed to living as if blind, and even without a lamp, she wouldn’t stumble in the room. After putting on her clothes, she took out a short sword from the drawer and left the room.
The snow was heavy, and to facilitate movement, she dressed lightly. She only wore a thin layer of cotton under her night clothes. As soon as she stepped out, her nose was nearly frozen. The warm stable was lit with charcoal fire, emitting a faint glow. The courtyard was quiet inside and out, with He Sui and his son and Qingmei all sleeping soundly. There was no movement in the room where Chiwu was. He Yan quietly opened the door and walked out.
Everywhere was covered in snow, and the long street was blanketed in silver. Lanterns hung under the eaves along the street, shining brightly and lively. In just two months, it would be the New Year. The New Year atmosphere was already there, although it was still a bit cold.
He Yan exhaled a breath, and a white mist immediately surged in front of her. It was strange that the winter days in Liangzhou were much colder than in Shuojing City, but back then, during daily training and sweating profusely every day, she forgot about the cold. Now that she was here, it was indeed cold. She sighed, and her breath formed a white fog. It was so cold that she stomped her feet.
She had only taken a few steps when she saw a carriage parked at the end of this street. He Yan was stunned. In the middle of the night, on an empty street, such a carriage suddenly appeared, which was simply like seeing a ghost. He Yan squinted her eyes, took a closer look, and there was even a coachman sitting in front of the carriage. Seeing her, he took off his hat.
“Fei… Fei Nu?” He Yan opened her mouth in surprise. “Why are you here?”
Fei Nu didn’t speak, but the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a person walked down from above. Wearing a black-and-gold cloud-patterned brocade, with a graceful and handsome figure, looking at her when coming over, like a painting in a snowy night, it was Xiao Jue.
He walked over, the boots stepping on the accumulated snow, making a crisp sound. He Yan waited for him to approach and asked, “What are you doing here so late?”
Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, disdainfully speaking, “What about you? Going out in the middle of the night, what are you doing?”
“I…” He Yan was silent for a while. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to clear my mind.”
Xiao Jue sneered, staring at her with a disdainful look. “Miss, are you going out to clear your mind wearing night clothes?”
He Yan scratched her head, knowing this person was very clever, not easy to deceive. She frowned and said, “I came out to do something…” She looked at Xiao Jue, suddenly enlightened, and turned to glance back, “You’ve been following me all the time, even in the middle of the night? Xiao Jue, even if I’m your fiancée, you don’t need to follow so closely.”
Xiao Jue: “…”
“What are you thinking?” He seemed speechless. “In the morning, you went out and bought a short sword at the blacksmith shop in the west of the city. After saying this,” he lazily said, “going out so late, are you going to kill someone or set a fire?”
“When I bought the short sword, didn’t I leave Chiwu behind?” He Yan was also puzzled. “How did you know?”
When doing these things, she was always cautious. Knowing that being discovered by Chiwu would arouse suspicion, but she had finally gotten rid of that big guy.
“Not Chiwu,” Xiao Jue said, “in any case, I just knew.” He glanced at the short sword hanging at He Yan’s waist with some disdain. “With money given to you, can’t you buy a good sword?”
“What does this have to do with the sword?” He Yan said, “The important thing is the person using the sword and the sword technique. My sword technique is good, and I don’t need a fancy sword to show off.”
Xiao Jue nodded and said, “Frugal and thrifty.”
“…That’s a good thing to say,” He Yan asked, “but why does it feel like you’re scolding me?”
The snow outside didn’t stop, and it quickly covered her hair. A thin layer of frosty snow covered her body. Xiao Jue pulled her under the eaves on the side of the street. Standing on the outside, he blocked most of the snow and wind, only asking, “You haven’t said, why are you carrying a sword out so late?”
Seeing that it couldn’t be concealed, He Yan sighed and said truthfully, “I was thinking that He Rufei must have another relationship with the Wutuo people. He Rufei is cautious and hard to catch, so I want to go to the He family and find other evidence. If I can find evidence related to He Rufei and the Wutuo people, it would be even better.”
“The He family?” Xiao Jue lightly frowned. “Do you plan to go alone?”
“I was from the He family in my past life, after all,” He Yan approached him, whispering, “I’m very familiar with everything inside and outside the He family. I even know secret passages that others don’t know. Sneaking in is a piece of cake. Going alone will definitely be fine.”
“No, it’s too dangerous,” Xiao Jue interrupted her, without thinking.
“No, what’s so dangerous?” He Yan retorted. “The guards of the He family, I can take on ten of them alone. At this time, they must have already slept. The house where He Rufei lives now is the one I used to live in. I know every nook and cranny, secret compartments in the bookshelf, hidden layers in the wooden drawers. I’ll find what I need and leave immediately, without causing any trouble. I’ve attacked the Wutuo people’s camp at night, with tens of thousands of enemies, a He family is nothing to fear.”
“He Rufei originally suspected you. There must be an increase in guards in the mansion. Going to the He family now is not a good time.”
“If we wait too long, I’m afraid all the evidence will be destroyed.”
Xiao Jue’s gaze fell on her, and after a moment, he said, “I’ll go with you.”
“What?” He Yan immediately refused. “Going with me will only be a burden. I can handle it alone. Having you along will be inconvenient.”
“Then don’t go.”
“Xiao Jue,” He Yan was furious, “why aren’t you reasonable!”
“Hmm.”
Is this person so unyielding? But if they argued here, the neighbors would be awakened, and neither of them could escape. After a stalemate with him for a while, He Yan finally gave in, gritted her teeth, and said, “Okay, but I really didn’t expect that while others say Second Young Master Xiao is cold and indifferent, I didn’t expect you to be so clingy in private.”
“You’re no better,” Xiao Jue crossed his arms and looked at her. “Who made Miss He have the habit of going to others’ houses to relax in the middle of the night?” He leaned slightly, looking down at He Yan, his tone casually infuriating, “I’m afraid something might happen, and a husband must repay his wife’s debt.”
This person probably had never lost an argument with others. He Yan was also irritated by his words, saying fiercely, “Forget it, if you want to follow, then come along. But I must make it clear in advance, don’t regret it when we get to the He family.”
Xiao Jue smiled, reaching for her waist. He Yan quickly protected her belt, asking, “What are you doing?”
He took a deep breath. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
“At midnight, a man and a woman alone together, there are many things that can be done.” He Yan murmured softly, “Who knows what you want to do?”
“He Yan,” Xiao Jue calmly spoke.
“I was just joking.” He Yan smiled, trying to please.
“Your sword is too ordinary, take this one.” He unfastened his own sword from his waist and handed it to He Yan.
“Isn’t this Drinking Autumn?” He Yan was stunned for a moment, and Xiao Jue had already stuffed Drinking Autumn sword into her hands. Knowing that Drinking Autumn was precious, she wanted to return the sword to him, “Why are you giving me this?”
Xiao Jue glanced at her and smirked, “Take this one, so others won’t say that the Xiao family is shabby and embarrass me.”
“Who cares about others,” He Yan hurriedly said, “Pei, pei, pei, when we go to the He family today, we will certainly not disturb anyone. How could there be others to see?”
Before He Yan finished speaking, Xiao Jue had already pulled out the short sword from her waist and walked ahead on his own. “Take it.”
Helpless, He Yan could only catch up.
Fei Nu parked the carriage on the side of the road. The three of them left and headed towards the direction of the He family.
The He Mansion was located at the west end of the city. The residence did not look as elegant and exquisite as the Xu family, but it still had an imposing presence. Fei Nu waited outside the mansion to assist, and He Yan led Xiao Jue to the back of the mansion’s wall. When they arrived at a certain location, He Yan stopped and whispered, “Here, this is my secret passage.”
Xiao Jue stared at the opening in front of him, barely enough for one person to crawl through, and calmly asked, “Is this what you call a secret passage, a dog hole?”
“Hush,” He Yan raised her finger to her lips. “Keep it down. This dog hole is not an ordinary one. I dare say, no one in the entire He family knows about it.”
“When I was a child, I disguised myself as a boy, but I wasn’t very strong. When I played with other boys, I always worried about revealing my flaws. My family was also afraid that I would attract trouble if I showed up too much in public, so they kept me locked up in the mansion. Before I entered Xianchang Academy, every morning before dawn, I crawled out of this dog hole and climbed to the top of the East Emperor Mountain in the capital to help the monks in the temple fetch water and chop wood. At first, my hands were all torn, but after calluses formed, I could hang stones on my wrists and practice boxing.”
“The young men at Xianchang Academy were often very powerful, but if I hadn’t secretly climbed the mountain for practice back then, I’m afraid I would have had an even more miserable time at Xianchang Academy.”
“Ah,” she suddenly realized something, “could it be that I did too many chores for the monks in the temple at that time, so the Buddha saw my sincere heart and gave me a chance to start over in this life? No wonder everyone always says to accumulate good karma, it seems to be true, don’t you think so?” She turned to look at Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue pinched his forehead, restrained, and said, “So, your idea is for me to crawl through this dog hole?”
“Yes.” He Yan said, “I told you, you must follow me, just don’t regret it, I did remind you.”
“Not crawling.” Xiao Jue frowned slightly, turned his head away as if just looking at it was disgusting, “I’ll climb over the wall.”
“Don’t, there are traps everywhere on the walls of the He family. He Rufei must have rearranged them by now. I don’t know exactly where they are. If you trigger the traps, our previous efforts will be in vain.” He Yan assessed him, “If that’s the case, you can wait outside like Fei Nu, I’ll go in by myself.”
“No.”
“Young Master, please, be good,” He Yan said helplessly. “Neither crawling nor climbing, then what do you want?”
Xiao Jue looked at the dog hole expressionlessly for a moment, suddenly lifted the hem of his robe, half knelt down, and turned to He Yan, “You go first.”
This time, He Yan was truly shocked. “You really want to crawl?”
“Hurry up,” Xiao Jue couldn’t bear it any longer.
He Yan had originally hoped to use this dog hole to make Xiao Jue give up, but she didn’t expect this person to really crawl through it. For a moment, she felt a myriad of emotions. Xiao Jue’s sacrifice was indeed too great. If the soldiers of the Nine Banner Battalion or Nanfu soldiers knew that their commander came to crawl through a dog hole in the middle of the night and didn’t sleep, they would surely kill her.
However, He Yan didn’t deliberately make things difficult. This dog hole in the He family was dug by herself when she was young. The He family didn’t like keeping dogs, so He Yan personally fed the stray dogs outside. This place was much safer than what Xiao Jue described as climbing over the wall.
“Then you follow me,” He Yan whispered. “Be gentle.”
She herself didn’t mind crawling through the dog hole, as she had been doing it since she was a child. It had been a long time since she last crawled through it, and it felt surprisingly familiar. With a slight movement, she slipped inside like an eel. Xiao Jue endured, and followed suit, crawling in as well.
The walls of the He mansion were thick, and the opening that He Yan had created during her youth wasn’t large. With their current adult stature, it appeared somewhat narrow. As soon as they crawled out, before they could steady themselves, a yellow figure swiftly pounced under the dim lantern light.
Xiao Jue was about to take action when He Yan exclaimed in delight, “Second Fur!”
The one called “Second Fur!” ran up to He Yan, rolled over, and affectionately clung to He Yan’s leg. It turned out to be a yellow dog.
Xiao Jue asked, “What’s this?”
“I raised it,” He Yan whispered. “I thought it had been kicked out after I died, but it seems it’s still here.”
To be precise, when He Yan was young, she picked up a stray dog and brought it back to the mansion, naming it Big Fur. The He family didn’t like dirty stray dogs, but at that time, He Yan had no friends. When she was lonely, having a yellow dog as company wasn’t bad. She begged Madam He to let Big Fur stay in the mansion. Big Fur later gave birth to a litter of puppies, but due to the cold weather, except for Second Fur, none of them survived. Second Fur turned out to be mute.
He Rufei removed everything with He Yan’s traces, and He Yan thought she would never see Second Fur again. However, Second Fur usually stayed in the backyard, catching mice by itself. He Yan guessed that it wasn’t that He Rufei didn’t want to get rid of it; he probably just forgot about the dog altogether.
“It seems to recognize me,” He Yan sighed as she watched Second Fur wag its tail and playfully roll around. “When I was classmates with you, Lin Shuanghe, and Yan He for so long, none of you recognized me. Second Fur has better eyesight than you guys.”
Second Fur stupidly wagged its tail and stuck out its tongue, smiling.
Xiao Jue closed his eyes and, with patience, said, “Now is not the time for your reunion.”
“I know.” He Yan gestured for Second Fur to “sit down,” and the yellow dog obediently sat in place. “Second Fur, stay here and keep watch for me.” She turned to Xiao Jue and said, “You come with me.”
The He mansion was large, and He Yan was cautious, checking for servants in hiding each time they moved. Although He Yan hadn’t entered the mansion recently, she had secretly explored the surroundings. The number of servants in the He family had increased significantly since her time, indicating He Rufei’s influence.
Perhaps He Rufei thought having more servants in the He family could support the image of the “Flying Phoenix General,” or maybe he was simply being cautious.
He Rufei’s residence, which was originally He Yan’s, was the innermost courtyard in the mansion. Xiao Jue asked in a low voice, “Why so far?”
“Because Young Master He is naturally ugly, eccentric, and unsociable,” He Yan replied. “He doesn’t like to interact with people too much.”
Her courtyard had few attendants, and if He Yan had been a quiet child from the beginning, it would have been acceptable. However, young children always have many fantasies. Originally lively and curious about everything, He Yan had been confined to playing alone in the courtyard due to her identity. Over time, even if she wasn’t unsociable, she had become isolated.
A child who couldn’t do this or that, even the maids and servants couldn’t get close. The time spent in isolation led her to find her own entertainment. For example, she would draw pictures on the sand with tree branches. She could accurately and flawlessly draw every room in the He family’s courtyard because she had walked through them countless times in her mind.
He Yan once suspected that the sensitivity to terrain she developed later, after joining the army, was cultivated from her childhood experiences.
“The mansion layout has changed,” He Yan whispered. “We need to be cautious.”
It was already late at night, and the people on duty were in the outer courtyard. There was no movement in the mansion, so they could relax a little. Seeing that they were about to reach He Rufei’s residence, He Yan became increasingly nervous.
Turning around a long corridor and just about to move forward, He Yan stopped abruptly. Silently, she pulled Xiao Jue into an empty tea room.
Xiao Jue was about to speak when He Yan covered his mouth. “Shh, someone’s here.”
Outside, the dragging footsteps slowly approached, probably a servant going to the toilet. They passed by the door and gradually moved away. When there was no more sound outside, He Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Turning her head, she was stunned.
The moon had come out at some point, shining a sliver of light through the window. She had pushed Xiao Jue against the wall, and in her nervousness, almost her entire body ended up on top of him. Xiao Jue didn’t move, and his hands slightly moved backward, as if deliberately avoiding any improper contact. He Yan covered his mouth, looking like a female rogue taking advantage of someone.
Startled, she subconsciously withdrew her hand.
The young man looked at her indifferently, suddenly curved his lips, and silently said, “Taking advantage of me?”
He Yan almost choked and shook her head repeatedly. “No, no, I was too anxious just now. It wasn’t intentional.”
He cast a skeptical look at her, and the gaze clearly expressed disbelief.
He Yan had difficulties explaining further, but well, she didn’t care much since she had taken liberties with Xiao Jue not just once or twice. She glanced through the crack in the door, saw no one, and whispered, “Let’s go.”
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