The Double-Chapter 684 - 210 Farewell_5

"Miss Jiang the Second hasn’t come for a long time," the guard opened the door and said, "Please come in quickly."

Jiang Li felt a strange sensation in her heart, and Zhao Ke also sensed something amiss, but neither of them thought much of it and walked in.

Along the way, they didn’t see many servants, after all, it was late at night, and the servants had all gone to bed. Not every servant had tasks at night like Zhao Ke did.

As they reached the edge of the flower garden, Zhao Ke said, "We’re here."

Jiang Li said, "I don’t see the Duke."

"Over there," Zhao Ke gestured for her to look.

At the edge of the flower garden, there was someone. Because he wasn’t standing and the flowers and plants beside him were tall, Jiang Li did not see him at first. So she took a few steps closer and saw Jih Heng half-kneeling on the ground, holding a trowel, digging in the soil.

Jiang Li was surprised, "Why is your master acting as a gardener himself?"

Zhao Ke did not answer, perhaps he didn’t know why either. Jiang Li guessed that he was whimsical, planting flowers in his own yard in the dead of the night. She approached and saw that Jih Heng, probably to avoid getting dirt on his clothes, was not wearing an overcoat, just a black undershirt. Seeing Jiang Li, he smiled and said, "You’re here."

"What kind of precious flower is this?" Jiang Li asked, "worthy of the Duke himself planting it."

"It’s not a very precious flower." As he spoke, he continued to dig, and Jiang Li saw that what was placed around him was not a flower seedling, but clearly a young tree. It was only as tall as a small child. freewebnøvel.com

Jiang Li, when she was young, had also planted trees in Tongxiang with Xue Huaiyuan and Xue Zhao, so she could tell at a glance that Jih Heng might be planting a tree for the first time, and he was doing it all wrong. The key was that he was so leisurely, as if he did not care at all, casually fumbling around, not knowing how long he would take.

People’s leisure interests truly can arise at any time. Jiang Li couldn’t stand by and watch, rolled up her sleeves, and said, "Let go, I’ll do it."

Jih Heng let go, and Jiang Li took the small shovel. She dug faster than Jih Heng and with more practiced movements. Quickly, she dug a pit that was neither too big nor too small, just right for the size of two tree roots. Jih Heng stood by, watching her with a smile, seemingly lost in thought.

"Have you planted trees before?"

"Yes," Jiang Li said, "Father and I planted an apricot tree in the yard, but unfortunately, it died after a few months. However, later we planted a grapevine, and it grew well. In autumn, Father wanted to give these grapes away as gifts."

If the Jiang family members had been there, they would probably be puzzled—when had Jiang Li ever planted trees with Jiang Yuanbai, and besides, planting trees was not something a lady of a great house would personally do. But the person present was Jih Heng, who knew she had once been Xue Fangfei, so many things didn’t need to be concealed. He understood.

As expected, Jih Heng smiled and said, "That’s interesting."

"I didn’t expect the Duke to have such enthusiasm to plant flowers in the middle of the night," she suddenly thought of something and turned to ask, "You didn’t call me over in the night just to help you plant a tree, did you?"

"How could that be?" Jih Heng said lazily, "I was planning to plant it myself, but you seem very experienced."

Jiang Li stopped talking. She had dug a deep hole, had Zhao Ke fetch a jug of cold water, poured a bit into the hole, and had Jih Heng help her steady the tree sapling in the hole before she started to fill in the soil.

Wen Ji, who had come to the yard at some unknown time, watched the scene between Jih Heng and Jiang Li and asked Zhao Ke, "What is the master doing?"

"He’s planting a tree with Miss Jiang the Second," Zhao Ke said with his arms folded, "Miss Jiang the Second is really quite capable. Look at how she plants a tree, she’s even more practiced than you and me. She doesn’t show the slightest discomfort, do you think we’re too incompetent, or is Miss Jiang the Second just too peculiar?"

Wen Ji remained silent.

In the flower garden, Jih Heng finished filling in the last bit of soil and asked Jiang Li, "Is that good?"

"Pour water on it one more time," Jiang Li said.

She took the water jug and watered carefully, neither too fast nor too slow. She made sure the sapling was thoroughly watered before she put down the water jug and said, "Now it’s good."

In the night, her forehead glistened with bright, shiny sweat; planting a tree was not a simple task, and she was not just pretending with a shovel. She had genuinely exerted effort. Unlike those pretentious ladies who would faint at the slightest exertion, she was very tired but persisted, showing more vitality than those people.

Jih Heng smiled faintly, "Maybe by the time you grow up, it will have grown too."

He was referring to the sapling.

Jiang Li turned to look at the sapling, whose leaves were lush and green. As the breeze brushed past, the leaves swayed, as if suddenly imbued with life. In this vividly colored flower garden, it was not the most eye-catching, yet it seemed like the most vibrant one there.

Jiang Li watched it and said, "It’s just that I don’t know where I’ll be when it grows up."

Jih Heng looked at her, her tone genuinely wistful, and one could hear a hint of reluctance and uncertainty, as if she had made a decision and was about to embark on a long journey. Yet, there was a sense of hesitation before departing.

She turned her head to face Jih Heng and said, "Now, can we talk about the reason you asked me to come here tonight?"