The Double-Chapter 495 - 153 Xiao Hong_4

She noticed that Princess Yongning was not among the crowd. However, no one here dared to inquire about Princess Yongning’s whereabouts, and where she went was even more beyond their control. Jiang Li knew that Princess Yongning was probably with Shen Yurong at this moment. Having finally found such an opportunity, she naturally wanted to pour out her innermost feelings. But based on Jiang Li’s understanding of Shen Yurong, she feared that seeing Princess Yongning would cause more annoyance than joy, more disgust than happiness.

Speaking of which, Jih Heng and Shen Yurong were two entirely different people—one loved to watch plays, while the other excelled in performing them. It seemed that the former was too indifferent, while the latter was too sentimental. But Jiang Li felt that she would rather face the detachment of a spectator than be deceived by an actor.

Whether it was joy or sorrow, reunions or separations, one had no control over them and they became the butt of jokes for others to see.

Thinking this way, she couldn’t help but feel melancholy.

Liu Xu nudged her and frowned, asking, "Why does Shen Ruyun keep looking at you?"

Jiang Li was startled, and looked toward Shen Ruyun, just in time to catch Shen Ruyun’s undisguised look of loathing. She understood and said, "It’s probably because of my fifth sister."

Shen Ruyun was soon to marry Zhou Yanbang, but before that happened, Jiang Yue had already entered the Zhou family’s doors. With Shen Ruyun’s nature of not tolerating any flaws, she undoubtedly wanted to teach Jiang Yue a lesson. Seeing Jiang Li and thinking of her also as a Miss of the Jiang Family, she lumped Jiang Li in with her hatred as well. Of course, there might also be resentment because Jiang Li had a prior marriage arrangement with Zhou Yanbang.

"She’s truly insane," Liu Xu said. "What does Jiang Yue’s matter have to do with you? Everyone in Mingyi Hall knows that you don’t get along with Jiang Yue. She’s really fond of making arbitrary connections."

"It’s fine, I don’t care, I’ll just ignore it," Jiang Li consoled Liu Xu. In fact, she was not optimistic about Shen Ruyun’s future days in the Zhou family. Although it seemed that Shen Ruyun got her wish to marry the man she loved and the Zhou family would treat her well on account of Shen Yurong, at least on the surface they were cordial toward Shen Ruyun, Jiang Li saw Zhou Yanbang for who he truly was. Zhou Yanbang was a petty man who did not truly love Shen Yurong, and Jiang Yue was no pushover. These three together would be a daily source of chaos and headaches.

She would leave the headaches to others; she wasn’t going to bother with such matters. Though she came to the Shen residence today and didn’t find any remaining evidence—since Shen Yurong had already cleaned everything up, nearly erasing her existence from the Shen residence—she knew what to do next.

That, too, was a significant gain.

As evening approached, the banquet at the Shen family finally concluded. On the way back, Old Madam Jiang, exhausted, closed her eyes to rest. Lady Lu dared not speak and disturb her, sitting quietly as well. Jiang Li seized the rare opportunity for quietude, sitting and thinking about her own affairs.

When they returned to the Jiang Residence and went back to Fangfei Garden, Tonger and Bai Xue saw her return, offering her warm water and hot tea. Tonger recounted everything that had happened in the residence during the day, picking and choosing what she believed to be useful. Jiang Youyao was still missing. By now, the whole city had almost been turned upside down in search for her. The authorities suspected that Jiang Youyao might have used some method to sneak out of the city, but Jiang Yuanbai didn’t believe it. Jiang Youyao had never been out of Yanjing City before and didn’t have the courage. She must still be in Yanjing City, only it was unknown where exactly.

So the search continued.

Tonger asked, "Miss, what do you think of your visit to the Shen residence today? Is the Shen residence big? I heard it was a mansion bestowed by the Emperor, even more beautiful than our residence. It’s a pity I couldn’t go; otherwise, it would have been an experience."

"Bai Xue, go close the door," Jiang Li interrupted Tonger’s words. Bai Xue closed the door and, along with Tonger, came to stand before Jiang Li, knowing Jiang Li had something to say.

Jiang Li took out a box from under the table, opened it, and inside was a neat stack of silver notes. She was not lacking in silver at the moment. To compensate her, the Jiang Family had more than doubled her monthly allowance, and when she returned from Xiangyang, Old Madam Ye had secretly stuffed a large embroidered purse full of silver notes into her luggage. On normal days, she had little use for it, but now, Jiang Li counted out five notes.

"Here are five hundred taels of silver for you to do something," she said, placing the silver notes in Tonger’s hand.

Holding the silver notes, Tonger looked at Jiang Li’s expression and inexplicably became nervous too. "Whatever the Miss instructs, this servant will accomplish. What is it?"