The Double
Chapter 262 - 107: Returning Home_5

Chapter 262: Chapter 107: Returning Home_5

Jiang Li’s lips curved into a bitter smile.

The reality was quite the contrary, Xue Huaiyuan had not risen to prominence but had instead become a prisoner, which was utterly absurd.

"Let’s go," Ye Mingyu urged the caravan to continue moving forward.

Tongxiang was unlike Yanjing City or Xiangyang, there were no soldiers guarding the city gates. It was probably because there were so few people entering and exiting Tongxiang that even a layer of dust had accumulated on the stone statues at the city gate. In the absence of soldiers, occasionally a few herb gatherers with baskets on their backs, probably returning from the mountains, passed by the gate. They sometimes cast curious glances at Ye Mingyu and his companions, likely because their faces were unfamiliar.

Tongxiang was small, and the locals were almost all acquainted with each other, even if they couldn’t name everyone, they could at least recognize faces. As soon as they entered, Tonger and Bai Xue felt it was not as lively as Xiangyang or Yanjing, but there was still a simple and unpretentious charm to the place.

Ye Mingyu walked over to the side of the carriage and asked Jiang Li, "Ah Li, where do you want to go?" He had passed the decision-making power to Jiang Li, seemingly to let her take charge of her own affairs.

Jiang Li thought for a moment and said, "With so many of us, it’s inconvenient to move around, let’s find a place to settle first."

"Right, should we stay at an inn..." Ye Mingyu hadn’t finished his sentence when he was interrupted by Jiang Li, "Inns here wouldn’t be convenient, better to find a guesthouse to rent for a while."

Ye Mingyu frowned, "Renting? Ah Li, are you planning to stay here for a long time?"

"I don’t know," Jiang Li’s voice carried a trace of wistfulness, "Let’s just play it by ear." The issue with Xue Huaiyuan indeed wasn’t something that could be resolved in just a few days, and there was no way to determine right then how long the standoff might last. She couldn’t give up, so she had to be prepared to stay here indefinitely.

Hearing this, Ye Mingyu said, "In that case, let’s rent a place."

Jiang Li said, "I’ve heard of a place called Green Stone Lane in Tongxiang. The guesthouses there are quite good; let’s head in that direction."

"No problem," Ye Mingyu instructed one of the people in the caravan, "Go find someone to ask where Green Stone Lane is, and let’s head there right away."

Jiang Li then sat back in the carriage.

Curious, Tonger and Bai Xue peered outside the carriage. In this small county of Tongxiang, Jiang Li no longer needed to hide her identity, nearly no one except Ye Mingyu and his group would recognize her. She didn’t have to wear a fence, nor did she have any need to confine Tonger and Bai Xue’s actions.

Bai Xue was fine, being a child from a farming family, but it was Tonger’s first time in a rural area like this. At first, he missed the bustle of Yanjing, but after a while, he became enchanted by the sugar artists and jugglers on the streets and began to find Tongxiang interesting too.

The carriage rumbled towards Green Stone Lane.

It was the road that Jiang Li knew best; the Xue Residence, where she and her father, Xue Zhao, once lived, was located there. She had walked the road from the gates of Tongxiang to Green Stone Lane countless times. Later, she left Green Stone Lane and never managed to return. And when she did come back, she was Jiang Li, no longer Ah Li.

Jiang Li became unusually silent.

The spirited Tonger and Bai Xue also noticed the change in Jiang Li and gradually quieted down, intending to ask her what was wrong. But seeing Jiang Li seemingly lost in her own thoughts, they couldn’t bring themselves to speak and sat cautiously beside her, worried for her.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage stopped.

Ye Mingyu’s voice came from outside, "Ah Li, we’ve arrived!"

Tonger and Bai Xue were the first to jump out of the carriage and, parting the carriage curtains, reached out to help Jiang Li down.

For a moment, Jiang Li felt her hands shaking, along with her heart. She took a deep breath, grasped Tonger’s hand, and jumped down from the carriage.

Even the air felt familiar.

The Goldflower Grass in front of the door gave off a familiar scent, the green stone slabs at the alley entrance still had the small pits from being hit by objects falling off the roof, and in the distance, there were sounds of children playing and laughing, with curious ones peering towards them from behind the stone lions, shyly tentative.

A smile tugged at the corners of Jiang Li’s lips, a smile that seemed inexplicably bitter in Ye Mingyu’s eyes.

Everything was familiar, everything was just as it had been in her memories, except for herself, she had never changed.

"Let’s walk a bit more," Jiang Li said. Though she spoke to Ye Mingyu, she couldn’t help herself and began walking forward before he could reply.

Soon, very soon, they would reach the Xue Family’s place. She didn’t know what the Xue Residence looked like now, a thought she dared not even entertain. She thought she would feel uneasy upon nearing home, but when the moment came, she realized she couldn’t care less, there was no hesitation, and she walked on instinct.

She was coming home.

Ye Mingyu and his companions quickly followed.

Suddenly, Jiang Li stopped in her tracks.

A few paces in front of her was the entrance to a residence that seemed modest, even humble compared to the Jiang Family’s or Ye Family’s houses. The green tiles on the roof, weathered by wind and rain or neglected with age, were missing in places, leaving empty gaps and a few broken branches.

Despite the sunlight, there was a desolate feeling about the place, as if it were destitute and its people scattered.

Everyone following Ye Mingyu was puzzled to see Jiang Li standing motionless in front of the house, and Ye Mingyu asked softly, "Ah Li?"

"Yes," Jiang Li lifted the corners of her mouth, and tears fell in an instant.

The gate of the Xue Residence was sealed by the Official’s Residence, and the Xue Family no longer existed in this world.