Jiang Li was somewhat surprised, wondering why the system would give her a Beauty Pill as a reward. After carefully reading its introduction, an idea formed in her mind.
If she wanted to secure a smooth divorce, relying solely on the Yin Family’s disgust toward her was far from enough. Although every member of the Yin Family was an ungrateful wretch, they were completely obsessed with saving face. Without a compelling reason, they would never let her go. Therefore, she needed to find someone who could back her up.
Jiang Li thought of two people. One was Princess Rong’an, who had a knife scar on her forehead, and the other was the Eldest Prince, who had a birthmark on his left cheek. Perhaps she could use the Beauty Pill to get close to them, and in the future, they could become her leverage for the divorce. However, although the Jiang family could be considered wealthy, they had no foundation in the court and had never interacted with any Princess or Prince before. Meeting them would not be easy.
Jiang Li suddenly remembered that in her previous life, shortly after she got married, she heard that Commandery Princess Baoqing, the only daughter of Princess Rong’an, had gone missing. It wasn’t until a year later, when the court captured a group of human traffickers, that Commandery Princess Baoqing’s whereabouts were finally discovered. Unfortunately, by that time, Commandery Princess Baoqing had already been sold hundreds of miles away from the Capital City and had suffered endless torment. Even after she was brought back to the Capital City, she had gone mad. Moreover, the other girls who had been abducted at the same time as Commandery Princess Baoqing never made it back alive.
Since she was going to help, she would find a way to save them this time and hand those traffickers over to the government. Because it had been so long, Jiang Li couldn’t remember many of the details.
Upon returning to the Yin Family’s home.
She paid her respects to Mrs. Fan, then headed back to Qinghe Courtyard with red-rimmed eyes. Having failed to seek medical treatment and suffering from a splitting headache, Mrs. Fan couldn’t even be bothered to spare Jiang Li another glance.
Once back in Qinghe Courtyard, Jiang Li carefully recalled the events of her past life. If she remembered correctly, it should be on the tenth day of the month when Commandery Princess Baoqing, eager for some fun, secretly sneaked out of the Princess Mansion. Many years later, Jiang Li had heard a rumor that the reason Commandery Princess Baoqing was targeted by the traffickers was not only because of her fair and adorable appearance but also because she was wearing the clothes of a commoner. Even if those traffickers came to the Capital City to abduct people, they wouldn’t dare casually target the powerful figures of the court, much less the daughter of the Eldest Princess and the niece of the Emperor. But none of this justified human trafficking.
Jiang Li planned to make preparations in advance. When the time came, she would ensure a foolproof rescue of Commandery Princess Baoqing while simultaneously capturing the traffickers. She came from a prestigious family; her grandfather was a great scholar of the previous dynasty, and her grandmother was a famous talented woman. However, her father chose to join the military, earning merits on the battlefield and becoming a General. While fighting on the battlefield, her father met her mother, who was traveling for business with her maternal grandfather. The two fell in love and, after receiving the approval of her grandparents, got married at the border.
Jiang Li was born at the border and lived there for several years during her childhood. It wasn’t until she was five years old that she was sent back to the Capital City to live with her grandparents. Few people knew that Jiang Li had practiced Martial Arts with her parents when she was young. Her Martial Arts skills were not exceptionally high, but she knew enough hand-to-hand combat that ordinary people couldn’t easily get close to her. Before her parents’ accident, they had specially sent several guards to protect her in secret. After all, both of them were on the battlefield, beyond their reach to help, and they were terrified that their young daughter would suffer grievances. Even the maids by Jiang Li’s side knew a bit of combat.
Jiang Li instructed Wangyou to send someone to keep an eye on Commandery Princess Baoqing and see where she usually went after sneaking out of the mansion.
After Wangyou excused herself, Jiang Li questioned Bai Zhi alone.
"Bai Zhi, under what circumstances would you steal valuables from the Yin Family’s storehouse?"
In her past life, Jiang Li could never figure out how the maid who stayed by her side could possibly steal from the storehouse. But because Bai Zhi was caught red-handed at the time, and Jiang Li completely trusted the Yin Family, she never doubted the matter. She had even been deeply disappointed in Bai Zhi, wondering why, after so many years as master and servant, Bai Zhi would resort to such extreme measures instead of confiding in her.
Bai Zhi was terrified. Thinking she had done something wrong, she hastily knelt down. "This servant doesn’t know where she erred. Please speak plainly, Miss. Rest assured, Miss, under no circumstances would this servant steal valuables from the Yin Family’s storehouse, unless—it was Miss’s order!"
BUZZ. A ringing sounded in Jiang Li’s mind. She wondered if that was the reason Bai Zhi had stolen from the storehouse in her past life. Someone must have forged an order from her, misleading Bai Zhi into thinking it was her intention, which was what led Bai Zhi to commit the theft.
It made sense. Having stayed by Jiang Li’s side, what kind of treasures hadn’t Bai Zhi seen? Why would she ever covet the meager belongings of the Yin Family?
It was Jiang Li who had been foolish.
As for Ren Dong and the wet nurse being implicated in a murder case, she feared that was also a deliberate setup. Wangyou, who had remained by her side until the end in her past life, was clever and quick-witted, which was how she had managed to escape their schemes.
Jiang Li helped Bai Zhi up, her tone gentle. "I was just asking casually; you don’t need to take it to heart. Naturally, I trust your character. But you must remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter, you must always come to me first."
With tears in her eyes, Bai Zhi nodded. "Rest assured, Miss. This servant will remember."
After being chased out while trying to seek an audience with the Divine Doctor, Mrs. Fan never spoke another kind word to Jiang Li. Every time she saw her, she displayed intense disgust and refused to let Jiang Li serve by her bedside. On the surface, Jiang Li maintained a meek and submissive demeanor, but in her heart, she relished the peace and quiet. She had no desire to deal with Mrs. Fan anyway. In her previous life, it was her utter sincerity that had caused Mrs. Fan to constantly pretend to be a loving mother-in-law. Had Jiang Li not been so accommodating, the Yin Family would have revealed their ugly true colors much earlier. Jiang Li only found it laughable. Her kindness to her in-laws had turned out to be her fault. However, she also understood that the mistake wasn’t her kindness, but rather this pack of ungrateful wretches in the Yin Family. She wanted to see just how long Mrs. Fan could hold out this time without her begging Divine Doctor Bai to cure her headache.
Two days later.
The people sent to investigate Commandery Princess Baoqing brought back news.
"Miss, we’ve found out. Every few days, the Commandery Princess sneaks out of the Princess Mansion and swaps identities with someone. Last month, she disguised herself as a clerk at a Rouge and Powder Shop, a clerk at a tailor shop, and a clerk at the Treasure Pavilion. She even spent two days at a teahouse. I heard she went to a butcher’s shop two days ago, but the places she visits are never the same. It seems she just does whatever strikes her fancy."
Hearing this, Jiang Li suddenly remembered something. After the Commandery Princess was recovered, she would suffer a mental breakdown whenever she heard the word "tofu." She wondered if the Commandery Princess had been acting as a clerk at a tofu shop on the day she was abducted. These were just guesses, so Jiang Li ordered them to keep watching. The tenth day of the month was in two days. She needed to come up with a plan to sneak out of the estate and personally rescue Commandery Princess Baoqing. Only then would she have the opportunity to meet the Eldest Princess and offer her the Beauty Pill.
Right at this moment, a servant came to pass on a message.
"Eldest Young Madam, the Second Young Master has been kicked out of the academy. The Old Master and Madam want you to head over there."
Jiang Li’s thoughts were pulled back to the present as scenes from her previous life surfaced in her mind. This exact incident had happened in her past life as well.