The Double

Chapter 4: The Temple

After a night of rain, the sky cleared the next day, but all the bedding in the room was soaked.

Tong'er was sunning the bedding while Jiang Li sat inside, a stack of shoe soles on the table. This was also part of her daily routine—completing fifty shoe soles would earn her a string of copper coins. The coins were useless in these mountains, and Tong'er couldn't go down the hill, so they could only wait for the traveling vendor to come up and buy some malt candy from him.

This was Jiang Li and Tong'er's only luxury.

Looking out the window, Jiang Li saw Tong'er standing on a stool to hang the bedding. Not far away, nuns in gray robes passed by without giving them a glance.

They couldn't order these nuns around. When Jiang Li was first sent here for her mistakes, only Tong'er accompanied her. Tong'er was the maid chosen for Jiang Li by Ye Zhenzhen and had stayed by her side all along.

The little maid had quite a temper. Watching the two nuns walk away, she spat and cursed, "Bald hens!"

Jiang Li knew she was upset because she had been refused dry bedding that morning and couldn't help but laugh.

Like master, like servant. After six years here, Tong'er was still the same, which probably meant the original Second Miss Jiang had an even fiercer temper. Thinking about it, if she hadn't been so fierce, she wouldn't have taken her own life in anger.

Would someone with such a fiery temperament plead innocence after pushing her stepmother and causing a miscarriage?

Jiang Li pondered the information she had gathered from Tong'er. It was said that Second Miss Jiang had vehemently denied harming her stepmother until death. Jiang Li thought that if she had really done it, she would have proudly admitted it aloud.

But none of that mattered now.

Tong'er came back after hanging the bedding and sat beside Jiang Li. She was so afraid that Jiang Li might attempt to drown herself again that she hadn't left her side for days. Seeing Jiang Li lost in thought, she picked up a shoe sole and started working. Jiang Li noticed the dense needle marks on the girl's fingertips, snatched the sole away, and tossed it aside, saying, "Stop doing this."

"Eh?" Tong'er was puzzled. "The vendor will be here in three days. Didn't you want to eat malt candy?"

Jiang Li shook her head and asked in return, "Do you want to sit here for the rest of your life, waiting for malt candy every month?"

"Of course not," Tong'er replied. "But we can't leave this place now." She then muttered, "We've written letters to the master and the Old Madam of the Ye family before. Why hasn't there been any reply?" Her little face fell. "They couldn't have forgotten us, could they?"

Jiang Li sighed. It wasn't just about the letters; every move they made was likely being watched. Usually, when a young lady who had made mistakes was sent to a family temple, the nuns wouldn't treat them too poorly because the family would send money for their care. But the nuns here were clearly making things difficult. When Jiang Li fell ill, they didn't even call a doctor. It was probably all orchestrated by someone in Yanjing City.

As for who that someone was, there was no need to guess—it was undoubtedly that stepmother.

If Jiang Li had really caused her miscarriage, Ji Shuran would never let her off. If Jiang Li hadn't, and Ji Shuran had staged this drama, her goal was still not to let Jiang Li off.

Moreover, Jiang Li's marriage arrangement had been taken from her. She had nothing left—an estranged maternal family she had refused to contact? A discarded legitimate daughter in a place like this, even if killed, wouldn't cause a ripple.

But why hadn't Ji Shuran taken her life?Jiang Li didn't believe this was due to the other party's mercy. Perhaps she still had some use to that stepmother or the Jiang family. Wasn't this common? Daughters being used as stepping stones for political marriages to pave the way for their fathers and brothers' careers—just like Shen Yurong. The difference was that Shen Yurong used himself as a bargaining chip for marriage alliances while treating Xue Fangfei as an obstacle.

Second Miss Jiang reminded her of herself—both had their possessions stolen by others, both had their nests occupied by magpies, both unable to defend themselves.

Tong'er watched as Jiang Li's expression darkened and couldn't help shivering.

For some reason, Tong'er felt that Second Miss had become somewhat strange since waking up. Second Miss had always been straightforward, speaking her mind without reservation. She'd even fought with nuns in the convent—easily excited, easily angered. Of course, this wasn't Second Miss's fault; it was all those wicked people's doing.

But since waking up, Second Miss had never gotten angry. She'd become gentle and soft-spoken, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking. When she fell silent and thoughtful, Tong'er felt somewhat afraid.

Jiang Li's fingers traced over the embroidered shoe pads before her. The stitches were fine and dense. Though Tong'er was a bit noisy, her needlework was truly excellent.

She needed to find a way to leave this place.

Xue Fangfei in Yanjing City should be dead, but she didn't know how Princess Yongning and that beast Shen Yurong had covered up their lies. She still needed to check on Xue Zhao again and find a way to return to Tongxiang. Xue Huaiyuan was dead, both his children were dead—who would collect his body? She hadn't even seen Xue Huaiyuan one last time.

She needed to leave this place, but currently in Yanjing City, throughout the entire Yan dynasty, no one remembered her, Jiang Li. An unremembered person wouldn't be taken away from here.

Since that was the case, she could only take the initiative to leave herself.

If no one remembered, then she'd make the world remember—this wasn't particularly difficult to accomplish.

Jiang Li suddenly smiled.

Tong'er looked at her in surprise. This was the first time Jiang Li had smiled these past days—not her previous cold sneer or bitter smile, but a genuinely happy, contented smile. This smile instantly brought life to her sallow complexion, brilliant as morning blossoms.

"Tong'er," Jiang Li asked her, "you said a peddler comes up the mountain?"

"Yes," Tong'er said, "Zhang Huolang comes here every year at noon on the tenth day of the fifth month. We've made arrangements with him—if he gets any delicious pastries or candies, he comes to us first and lets us pick whatever we want."

Truly a maid from a wealthy family—even in reduced circumstances, even when only able to produce a string of copper coins, she still spoke with considerable authority.

"Does he have lots of candy?" Jiang Li asked.

"Lots," Tong'er replied. "Does Miss want to eat candy?"

Jiang Li smiled: "I do."

It had been too bitter. Because it had been too bitter, she longed for the sweet taste of honey candy. These candies could let her taste sweetness, and could also make certain people taste bitterness.

Tong'er said cheerfully: "It's good that Miss wants to eat candy! We saved up more copper coins recently—enough to exchange for several baskets! Miss can eat as much as you want!"

Jiang Li said: "You said Helin Temple is nearby, right?"

Tong'er stared blankly at her and asked: "Does Miss want to go offer incense too?"

"No." Jiang Li said: "I don't believe in Buddha."

Tong'er didn't understand.

Jiang Li's smile grew even gentler as she said: "What's so worth believing about Buddha?"(End of Chapter)