Chapter 25 — A Deadly Kind of Fate
Baochan recalled the man’s strikingly handsome face and grinned, eyes bright. “It’s dry already. It even carries a faint scent of pine.”
The smell stirred something in Xue Ning’s memory.
Back then, when Li Changche had saved her, he’d carried that same scent too.
Cool and clean.
The kind that made people feel safe without realizing it.
“Put it away carefully later,” Xue Ning said softly, gazing at the cloak in a daze. “Store it in the chest for me. When I meet him again someday, I can return it properly.”
Baochan caught the look on her mistress’s face and teased, “Miss, do you really think you’ll run into that young master again?”
“We will.” Xue Ning smiled faintly, her tone certain. “As long as I remain in the capital, I’ll definitely see him again.”
Baochan couldn’t understand the wistfulness hidden in her voice. She only remembered how her mistress hadn’t even had the chance to properly thank him, and sighed regretfully.
“It’s a pity we only know his name and nothing else. He said his name was Li Changche… Miss, do you think he could belong to the Li clan?”
In the Great Yong dynasty, noble families stood everywhere, but among them, four great clans towered above the rest: Wang, Xie, Su, and Li.
The Wang clan had withdrawn from political life many years ago. Their descendants no longer involved themselves in court affairs, content to live in quiet luxury.
Meanwhile, the Su and Xie families were at the height of their power. Talented heirs from both houses filled the court and moved through the flourishing streets of the capital. Even the imperial family treated them with considerable respect.
As for the Li clan of Hejian, they were the most low-profile of the four.
The Li family’s main branch still held deep roots in Hejian Prefecture. Every year, younger members of the clan traveled to the capital to sit for the imperial examinations and enter officialdom.
The Li clan had once enjoyed immense glory as well. Later, however, they had deliberately stepped back from the center of power, leaving fewer and fewer family members in the capital.
But in recent years, with the imperial family weakening and disasters plaguing the realm, more members of the Li family had gradually begun returning to court.
In her previous life, Xue Ning had spent all her thoughts and devotion on Su Zhan. Confined within the inner household, how could she have paid attention to anyone else?
She only remembered hearing the people of Yongzhou speak of him over and over while she was imprisoned in the old estate there.
They said Great Yong had produced an extraordinary genius capable of saving the nation.
A man unmatched in both scholarship and martial skill. Wise, formidable, and an upright official worthy of admiration.
The moment he rose to power, he solved three notorious cold cases in succession.
Within a single year in office, he had cleared countless wrongful convictions. During blizzards and floods, he personally traveled across the realm, rescuing the common people from disaster.
Later, when the Northern Di army invaded Jialing Pass and Su Zhan’s forces nearly suffered total defeat, it had been Li Changche who led five thousand light cavalry to save them.
With only five thousand men under his command, he had slain the enemy commander and crushed the invasion.
When he returned triumphantly to the capital at year’s end, the title War God of Great Yong spread throughout the land.
Everyone praised him.
A righteous official who fought for the people.
An undefeated general.
Inspector Li—the ruthless, cold-hearted enforcer who showed mercy to no one.
And also… a man deeply devoted to his late wife, guarding her memorial tablet for years without ever remarrying.
Later, when he rose to the very peak of power and became the emperor’s favored minister, he gradually stood on equal footing with Su Zhan, opposing him openly at every turn in court.
Back then, Xue Ning had worried endlessly for Su Zhan’s future. Night after night, she couldn’t sleep.
She feared the merciless Li Changche would harm him.
Every letter she sent to Su Zhan had included reminders to stay vigilant. If necessary, to protect himself… he should eliminate Li Changche before becoming the next target.
And yet—
Xue Ning’s thoughts twisted painfully together. Leaning weakly against the low couch, she let out a helpless laugh, her eyes suddenly burning hot.
Who would have thought…
After all the turns fate had taken, it was Li Changche who had pulled her from the freezing Suiye River in Yongzhou—the river cold enough to kill.
And now, after her rebirth, it was him again.
The one who had rescued her from the lotus pond at Zhenguo Temple.
If this wasn’t fate, then what was?
“Young Master Li certainly looks impressive,” Baochan muttered while drying her hair with a cloth. “I just wonder what kind of family background he has. Judging from the way he dressed, he looked a little down on his luck.”
Xue Ning glanced at her. “And what if he is?”
Baochan huffed. “Poor people don’t have money. Living takes silver.”
The little maid was painfully practical—just like she had been back in the Yongzhou estate in their previous life. She’d always known how to survive.
Xue Ning looked at her fondly, smiling as she flicked Baochan lightly on the forehead.
“You silly girl. Why would Young Master Li ever take a liking to me? What nonsense is going through your head?”
Baochan pouted. “I was only saying it casually.”
Xue Ning had thick hair, dark and glossy as silk.
Master and servant sat by the charcoal brazier for nearly half an hour before it finally dried completely.
“The heir really goes too far sometimes…” Baochan grumbled quietly. “Back when Miss wanted to read storybooks, he’d always scold you coldly for reading idle nonsense. But when Princess Xiuning wants something, suddenly anything is acceptable. Why is she allowed to read them?”
Xue Ning’s thoughts returned to the present, her expression calm.
“It’s fine. Not reading them won’t kill me.”
Baochan had an energetic, lively temperament. Seeing that her mistress wasn’t upset or heartbroken, she brightened again.
“But Miss was so brave today! I was completely stunned.”
“Was that bravery?”
“When Miss said you wanted to marry the heir, my heart nearly leapt into my throat! Didn’t you say you no longer wanted to marry him? Then why say something like that?”
Xue Ning laughed softly. “I never truly intended to marry him. I only wanted to use him to pressure the old madam.”
Baochan was simple-minded. She thought about it for a long while and still couldn’t understand.
But Xue Ning was different.
In her previous life, she had never understood the old madam’s intentions. Now that she had lived through it all once more, everything had become painfully clear.
The old woman didn’t want a calamity like her marrying her legitimate eldest grandson.
But neither did she want to waste such breathtaking beauty.
After all, Xue Ning had already been raised in the marquis household for years. Keeping her another year meant little.
And regardless of anything else, her face truly was stunning enough to topple kingdoms.
If used properly, it could become a weapon.
After all, in this capital city, most noble daughters existed only as bargaining chips for political marriages.
What made Xue Ning any different?
Though her hair had finally dried, the damp chill from earlier still left her head aching faintly.
But no matter how much it hurt, the matter that needed settling tonight could not wait until tomorrow.
After redoing her hair and changing clothes, she brought Baochan with her to Qiushui Courtyard.
So much had happened at Zhenguo Temple that Madam Jiang was in no mood to sleep. She had been waiting for Xue Ning to finish bathing so they could talk.
Unexpectedly, Xue Ning came to her first.
The wind and snow outside the curtains howled fiercely. Madam Jiang hurriedly pulled her inside the bedchamber.
Marquis Su was spending the night with one of his concubines and was absent from Qiushui Courtyard. Fine golden-thread charcoal burned warmly in the room, and the lamps were still lit.
Xue Ning performed a proper curtsy.
“Mother.”
Only after all the maids and older servants withdrew did Madam Jiang, wrapped in a thick outer robe, pull her onto the luohan couch beside the gauze screen.
“You child,” she said with a frown, “tell me honestly—what exactly happened at Zhenguo Temple? Your mother needs to understand.”
Toward Madam Jiang, Xue Ning held nothing back and recounted everything truthfully.
Madam Jiang’s brows knit together tightly.
“So… someone deliberately tried to harm you?”
Xue Ning did not answer directly.
“When the accident happened,” she said quietly, “that Nurse Hao had been standing guard outside my meditation room the entire time.”
