The Double
Chapter 247 - 104 Play Pretend_5

Chapter 247: Chapter 104 Play Pretend_5

He never did reveal Jih Heng’s true identity.

Jih Heng smiled and said to Jiang Li, "The secret has returned, Second Miss, you should head back," with a rather meaningful look.

Since Ye Mingyu was there, Jiang Li couldn’t say much more, so she nodded at Jih Heng and followed Ye Mingyu into the Ye Residence.

After the two left, Wen Ji asked, "My lord, do you need me to...?"

Jih Heng fended off the question with her fan, saying, "There’s no need." She glanced at the firmly shut doors of the Ye Residence, smiled, and said, "Even without looking, I know what she’s going to do. Xiangyang is about to be turned upside down."

...

Ye Mingyu and Jiang Li returned to Jiang Li’s courtyard.

Tonger and Bai Xue hurriedly brewed tea for Ye Mingyu, who, seeing no one else was around, immediately asked impatiently, "Jiang Li, who was that man just now? Although you didn’t say it outright, I can tell he’s no ordinary person, and it seems you have some prior acquaintance with him."

Since Jiang Li couldn’t hide it from him, she said, "He is Duke Su, Jih Heng, of the present day."

"Duke Su?" Ye Mingyu gasped. He had heard of Duke Su, of course, but for the people of Xiangyang, Duke Su was almost a legend—a figure so distant that seeing him in person felt unreal.

"Why would Duke Su be here?" Ye Mingyu asked.

Jiang Li shook her head, saying, "I don’t know. I’ve seen him a few times when I attended palace banquets with my father, and we’ve spoken a few times due to my father’s relationship with him, giving us a slight acquaintance. Seeing him in Xiangyang this time was quite unexpected, so we exchanged a few more words. However," she paused and continued, "please, Uncle Mingyu, don’t tell anyone about this. Given Duke Su’s special status and the unknown purpose of his visit to Xiangyang, it’s best to avoid trouble by keeping this to ourselves."

"I understand," Ye Mingyu patted his chest. Although he didn’t understand the intricacies of politics, he knew well enough that these nobles had their private affairs, and it was best not to get tangled in others’ troubles and become an unwitting scapegoat.

He took a letter from his bosom and said, "This is the reply letter found at the He Residence." He then turned to praise Jiang Li, "You’re really amazing, knowing that Tong Zhiyang fears his wife like a tiger, you cleverly hid the spot for the reply letter in the He Residence. Tong Zhiyang indeed did not dare to have anyone follow, so getting this letter was exceedingly easy. I just don’t know if what Tong Zhiyang wrote is true or false."

As she opened the letter, Jiang Li said, "It’s true. Tong Zhiyang wouldn’t risk his son’s life."

She unfolded the letter and began to read closely, then after a moment passed the letter to Ye Mingyu, signaling for him to take a look.

Ye Mingyu took it and started to read while Jiang Li fell into deep thought.

Tong Zhiyang must be extremely concerned about Tong Yu’s life, as the message conveyed by this letter was substantial. As for who was specifically behind the Ancient Fragrance Satin matter, Tong Zhiyang himself wasn’t quite sure. But his brother-in-law, Official Zhong, had written to instruct him that he must make the Ye Family suffer over the Ancient Fragrance Satin matter. By the time the Ye Family was driven to desperation, Tong Zhiyang would offer them a lifeline, for which the Ye Family would have to pay a price, but Tong Zhiyang would be their only salvation.

It seemed someone was using the Ancient Fragrance Satin matter to drive the Ye Family into a corner and make a deal with them, turning the Ye Family into their pawn. However, the identity of this person remained unclear to Tong Zhiyang. Even though his brother-in-law was the one who passed the instruction, he was merely a messenger. His brother-in-law had assured that if the matter were successful, Tong Zhiyang’s career would certainly advance to the next level.

And Official Zhong had vaguely hinted that there was a massive power behind the whole affair, involving an influential noble in Yanjing City, who they were all working for.

This should have been a fail-proof plan, but unexpectedly, Jiang Li appeared, and as soon as she arrived in Xiangyang, she had sent a letter back to Yanjing instructing the Head of the Weaving Department to come. This completely disrupted Tong Zhiyang’s entire scheme. He was forced to write to Official Zhong’s brother-in-law, but the response from the Weaving Department arrived too quickly, leaving no instructions for Tong Zhiyang’s next move, and the situation soon spiraled out of his control. Instead of being pushed to the brink, the Ye Family found revival from a hopeless situation.

This was all that Tong Zhiyang knew, and anything beyond this, he was unaware of. Jiang Li believed, however, that Tong Zhiyang had not disclosed everything and was still hiding parts of the story—for instance, the massacre at the Dafeng Medical Shop. But those weren’t the most important details. What mattered was in the parts Tong Zhiyang did reveal, that influential noble, who, if she wasn’t mistaken, must be someone from the Right Chancellor Li Zhongnan’s family.

From the start, with Li Lian setting sights on Ye Shijie, to Li Jing’s conversations with Jih Heng, and now the conspiracy against the Ye Family, the affair was convoluted and seemingly without end.

"Jiang Li," after reading the letter, Ye Mingyu said, "I understand all the words in this letter, but when put together, I just don’t grasp what it all means."

"Uncle Mingyu, put simply, there’s a noble in Yanjing City who covets the Ye Family’s fortune and Cousin Ye’s career, so they staged a trap. But," she smiled, "the performance was botched."