The Double-Chapter 456 - 147 Master and Servant

The snow on this winter day was heavy, and as night fell, the light snow turned into a blizzard, lending every encounter and reunion the air of a weary traveler battling through the snow.

But amidst the weariness, there were also some extraordinarily beautiful sights.

A young girl leaned halfway out, her face momentarily struck with astonishment, which made her appear endearing. The young man in red chuckled, propping the window open with the handle of his fan, his eyes leisurely shifting with a hint of affectionate gaze.

It was pure yet sensuous, unexpected yet like something arranged in a play.

In the silence, the young man broke the calm with a smile lifting at the corner of his lips, he asked, "Stunned?"

Jiang Li came back to her senses and said, "Why has the Duke come?"

"Aren’t you supposed to be going to the Duke Residence tonight?" Jih Heng replied with a smile, "I’ve come to pick you up."

Jiang Li: "..."

The words "I’ve come to pick you up," should have been gentle, filled with endless affection, yet when spoken by the person before her, they carried an unnerving artificiality. Jiang Li said, "The Duke needn’t go to such trouble, really. It would have been enough for Zhao Ke to come or I could go by myself."

"Oh," he said, "I’ve already come."

Now that he was here, she couldn’t very well ask him to leave. Jiang Li sighed, stood up, and Jih Heng reached out his hand, touching her arm, "Jump down."

Jiang Li stepped onto a stool, then onto a table, holding onto Jih Heng’s arm, she jumped down from the window. The window wasn’t high, but the descent was still somewhat precarious, and she instinctively tightened her grip on the corner of Jih Heng’s robe.

It was only after Jiang Li had steadied herself that she realized, hmm? Why did she jump out the window when she could have walked out the door?

Once again glancing at Jih Heng and inwardly sighing, she allowed herself to be whisked away.

Jih Heng looked at Jiang Li with interest and said, "This outfit suits you quite well."

Because she needed to travel at night, Jiang Li couldn’t wear anything too complicated. With women’s skirts being long, she didn’t even have a cloak, wearing only a simple white cotton-padded jacket prepared by Bai Xue, grey trousers underneath, and black boots. Her long hair was pulled up high in the style of a man’s bun.

Despite the masculine attire, under the lamplight reflecting on the snow, her features seemed even more gently beautiful, radiating a refreshing vigor.

"Thank you for the compliment, Duke," Jiang Li replied. She asked, "How shall we leave?"

"Through the back door," Jih Heng answered. freewebnøvel.com

"Back door?" Jiang Li was stunned, "What back door?"

As it turned out, Jih Heng was far more familiar with the interior of the Jiang Residence than she, the Second Miss. They moved past several gardens she hardly ever saw and sure enough, there was indeed a back door. They encountered no one along the way, and although Jiang Li knew that Jih Heng must have cleared away any potential servants ahead of time, the ease of their departure gave her the illusion that the entire Jiang Residence was as fragile as paper, accessible to anyone at will. Had the Jiang Residence been robbed clean during the night, Jiang Li might not have been too shocked.

After all, there were no guards at the door at night!

Jih Heng, with Jiang Li in tow, almost boldly left through the back door.

Outside the back door in the snowy field, a black sedan chair was parked, in front of which Zhao Ke stood, alongside four bearers. Upon seeing Jiang Li and the other come out, they approached and lifted the curtain of the sedan chair.

Jiang Li hesitated; riding in a sedan chair was different from riding in a carriage. A man and a woman sharing a sedan chair was rather intimate.

While she hesitated, Jih Heng climbed into the sedan chair quite composedly and after a long wait, seeing that Jiang Li didn’t move, he asked, "Aren’t you getting in?"

The man spoke as if he was talking about the weather, utterly relaxed as if she was worrying about nothing. Jiang Li almost doubted whether she was making a mountain out of a molehill. Yet, with a long journey ahead and the risk of being recognized by Princess Yongning’s people if they walked the streets, she reluctantly bit the bullet and climbed in.

Zhao Ke ordered the bearers to lift the sedan chair.

Like its owner, the sedan chair was luxurious and exquisite, even equipped with hot tea and pastries inside—an exceptional comfort in winter. But no matter what, it was made for one person, so even in its spaciousness, the distance between Jiang Li and Jih Heng couldn’t be very wide.

It was almost very close.

Jih Heng handed Jiang Li a cup of tea, the liquid still soothingly warm. She took a sip, and the chill dissipated considerably. She glanced at the pastries on the small table and suddenly blurted out, "Did the Duke make these himself?"

In that instant, Jiang Li was positive that Jih Heng paused, his tea spilling from his grasp.