The Double

"The petition from Yang Huating, Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud, was intercepted, and Prince Cheng summoned the Right Chancellor to his residence late at night. The Emperor is now looking everywhere for you,"

"Hmm."

"My lord, just now..." the tall guard with the saber started speaking but was shushed by the young man beside him, cutting off his words.

The mountain was silent, and the distant temple remained brightly lit—it was destined to be a sleepless night. A beautifully clad figure walking in the night spoke unhurriedly, "Wen Ji, don't speak out of turn when watching a play."

The guard named Wen Ji fell silent thereafter.

"He enjoys watching plays,"

Jiang Li explained to Tonger inside the house.

"Miss, are you saying that was... that was Duke Su?" Tonger asked.

Jiang Li nodded, "Exactly."

In a hundred years of the Yan Dynasty, talents had emerged in succession, yet Duke Su was the youngest Duke at present. After all, he was only twenty-four now.

Duke Su Jih Heng's father, Jih Minghan, was the Jinwu General who had expanded the territory with The Late Emperor, making significant military achievements. The Late Emperor, grateful for his devotion, conferred upon him the title of Duke Su.

The Jinwu General had an impressive military prowess and unflagging imperial favor, the dream of every daughter in the Yan Dynasty. However, this great general, Jih Minghan, chose to marry a criminal's daughter, Yu Hongye.

Yu Hongye's father was implicated in an embezzlement case, and upon investigation, his entire family was affected. Yu Hongye, being a daughter of a concubine of the Yu Family, was demoted to a brothel. The young Jih Minghan, while socializing with colleagues, fell in love with Yu Hongye at first sight.

Yu Hongye was a woman of stunning beauty, clever and cunning by nature. In fact, even though she was a criminal's daughter, the scions of Yanjing City were eager to please her. Later on, Jih Minghan redeemed her and took her as his wife.

If Jih Minghan had come from an ordinary family, the worst he would have faced were whispers and finger-pointing. Unfortunately, Jih Minghan was the Jinwu General, the Duke Su, and the Jih family vehemently opposed his marriage to Yu Hongye. Nevertheless, Jih Minghan did as he pleased, and no one could stop him.

One year after marrying Yu Hongye, she gave birth to Jih Heng. When Jih Heng was one year old, Eastern Xia invaded, and Jih Minghan was dispatched to the battlefield. Upon his triumphant return, he learned of the dire news that Yu Hongye had passed away from illness.

Nobody really knew what had happened, but it was known that the servants of the Jih family, inside and out, were replaced, and the maidservants who had been attending to Yu Hongye never appeared again. Furthermore, Jih Minghan severed ties with his clan, and from then on, there were no more descendants in the Duke Su's family.

After settling everything, Jih Minghan disappeared, leaving only his young son Jih Heng to be raised by his grandfather, Old General Jih. Later, The Late Emperor passed away, Emperor Hongxiao ascended the throne, and Jih Heng, still a teenager, inherited the title, becoming the youngest Duke in the Yan Dynasty at the age of fourteen.

The life of Jih Heng's father was indeed legendary, and Jih Heng himself was no less remarkable.

The citizens of the Yan Dynasty loved to discuss Duke Jih Heng, starting with his appearance.

It was said that Jih Heng's mother, Yu Hongye, was a renowned beauty, whose every frown and smile was like that of a person in a painting, yet more lively, truly deserving of the title "enchantress." Most of Jih Heng's appearance inherited his mother's beauty, captivating enough to mesmerize onlookers. However, his temperament took after his father's coldness, and indeed, as the son of the Jinwu General, he naturally possessed a resolute nature.

Jih Heng was extremely beautiful and cold, not distant towards people per se, but rather his heart was cruel and he was unpredictable in his emotions. Perhaps one moment he was speaking to you tenderly, and the next, he could have you dragged out for beheading without even a blink. The people of Yanjing City called him "Jade-faced Asura," but no matter how somber his personality, throngs of young maidens still pined for him.

And he himself was quite ostentatious. It was rumored among the officials of Yanjing, let alone ministers, even princes and royal sons had to tread carefully around him. Jih Heng was deeply cunning, and offending him meant bringing a heap of troubles upon oneself. He liked to wear bright colors, which made him appear all the more glamorous, and he had a taste for beauty and loathing for ugliness; even the servant boy who burned incense at night in his residence was handsome and charming.

Jih Heng had two hobbies: appreciating flowers and watching operas. He collected all kinds of exotic flowers in his residence and enjoyed inviting opera troupes to perform. If he enjoyed the performance, he would reward them with a thousand taels of gold, but if it was not to his liking, he would have them, along with their opera troupe, banished thousands of miles away from Yanjing. The actors in Yanjing City both loved and feared him.

Some said that Jih Heng enjoyed watching operas because he liked to keep actors as pets, a shameful hobby shared by many sons of the noble families in Yanjing City. It wasn't until the famous lead actor of the Auspicious Opera Troupe, Liu Sheng, was found with his limbs broken and thrown out of the Duke Residence that the rumor was dispelled, claiming his fate was due to an unsuccessful attempt to climb into bed and thus he was discarded.

In summary, Duke Su Jih Heng was arrogant and unpredictable, dark and frightening, and had no compassion for beauty, a peerless beauty himself.

A beauty is still a beauty, even if they are poisonous.

Tonger had also heard of Duke Su's great name. They had come to this temple eight years ago when Jiang Li was only seven, but Duke Su was already sixteen then, known by everyone in Yanjing. Little had he expected to see him here.

"How did you recognize that person as Duke Su?" Tonger asked. "Miss, you've never seen Duke Su before."

Jiang Li smiled faintly.

How she recognized Duke Su was from back when she was still Xue Fangfei, and she had married into Yanjing along with Shen Yurong. Gradually, the reputation of Yanjing's number one beauty fell upon her. As someone who had a taste for beauty and a disdain for ugliness, Duke Su at that time also heard of the name Xue Fangfei.

And what did Duke Su think of Xue Fangfei? It was said that once on the street, upon seeing Xue Fangfei with Shen Yurong's sister visiting a jewelry store, he glanced at her and scoffed, "Beautiful indeed, but utterly soulless."

This comment became the talk of Yanjing City for quite a while, especially among the daughters of high-ranking families. Naturally, they were not pleased with the sudden emergence of a ravishing beauty like Xue Fangfei, so they felt that Jih Heng had strongly vindicated them. There were also men who felt it was unfair to Xue Fangfei, but none dared to openly offend Jih Heng.

Xue Fangfei herself did not mind, but Shen Yurong was upset by it. Yet Xue Fangfei ended up consoling him. Shen Yurong's sister and Mother Shen, however, felt that Xue Fangfei had made a laughingstock of the Shen family, which led to her being confined and forbidden to leave the house for three months.

Thinking back now, she still wasn't very angry about Duke Su's words; in fact, she felt that Jih Heng's comment was quite accurate. Back then, marrying Shen Yurong, she suppressed her own nature to please Mother Shen and her sister-in-law, restraining herself in her way of life. She strived to be a virtuous wife and a good mother, losing the spirited joy of her girlhood.

To love someone to the point of sacrificing oneself, transforming into another person, isn't that to be reduced to dust, soulless?

Jiang Li said, "In the Yan Dynasty, only Duke Su could have such an appearance. Besides, he has a red mole at the corner of his eye."

Tonger had no doubt about it but asked in confusion, "But why would Duke Su come here? To offer incense as well?"

Of course not.

"Perhaps he came to enjoy the flowers," Jiang Li mused and couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't expect to see such a fine performance. He must be in a good mood now, having satisfied two of life's greatest pleasures in one day."

Of course, she felt the same way herself.