Chapter 2: The Mansion of General Ji Da

  This corpse is a young woman's, and her face looks exactly like Long Xilan's.

  Although Long Yilan had never seen her own female attire before, that clear and elegant face made her recognize it at a glance, as if it was herself in female attire lying in the shroud.

  She couldn't believe what she was seeing and was stunned for a long time before coming back to her senses. How could there be such a coincidence in this world? She had been searching all the way after hearing the ghost cry at midnight, and unexpectedly found a corpse that looked exactly like herself inside this grand mansion! What was this woman's surname and name? Why did she die here? And why did those two people want to conceal her death and burn her body?

  All sorts of doubts flashed in Long Xilan's mind, and when she realized there was a faint breath behind her and turned around, an iron fist heavily landed on her forehead.

  The sky was dark and the earth was dim, when she regained consciousness again, it was already the second day at noon!

  The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood, and this was not a dark little hut, but a high-end elegant boudoir.

  Long Xilan lay on the bed, a maid-like person guarding beside her. As soon as she saw her open her eyes, she immediately stood up.

  "Miss, you're awake?"

  She furrowed her brow, for the sake of inheriting the Long family's extraordinary skills, since she was born, her father Long Tianhang had raised her as a son, suddenly someone called herself Miss, she felt a sense of guilt towards her ancestors.

  "Who are you?" She quickly sat up from the bed, vigilantly staring at the maid in front of her.

  The girl's face froze for a moment, and she stiffly smiled as she replied: "Miss, I'm Qinglian!"

  She must have never seen this girl before, but the girl recognized her. However, Long Xilan soon realized that the girl didn't recognize her, but another person who looked exactly like her.

  The door of the compartment was pushed open with a "creak"!

  A tall and straight figure walked in, wearing a black silk square-necked narrow-sleeved long gown with dark gray straps. His facial features were sharp and his eyes were bright. His steps were light and quick, and at first glance, he looked like a martial arts expert. Even Long Xilan could see that he was very skilled.

  "Qinglian, you go out first, I have a few words to say to the young lady!" As soon as the man spoke, Long Xilan recognized that it was the person who had been talking in the backyard the night before.

  "Yes, young master!"

  Qinglian went out, and Long Xilan was still sitting on the bed, covered with a brocade quilt.

  "You must have a lot of questions?" The man's bright eyes fell on Long Xilan's face.

  She didn't respond, secretly calculating in her heart that if she were to engage in a physical confrontation with the other party, what would be her chances of winning.

  The man peered into her cunning and restless eyes, and took the initiative to mention: "There are ten guards outside this western wing, and twenty more stationed outside the Western Garden, all of whom I have carefully selected to protect you!"

  Long Xilan's eyes blinked lightly twice: "I'm not the person you're looking for, if you think you can use me to do something for you, I advise you, this will only ruin your big deal!"

  Just now, the maid called herself "Miss" and referred to this man as "Young Master". This "Miss" and the man may be siblings. Looking at this bedroom, it's not an ordinary guest room, but a master bedroom that has been occupied for a long time. It must have been last night when she saw the woman in red, who lived in this very room before her death. The Young Master must have knocked her out and brought her here afterwards.

  The other party did not immediately respond to her words, paused for a moment, and then sighed: "Really clever, since you already know what my purpose is, you should also be clear that General Qi's daughter, Qi Jin Hua, died last night under unnatural circumstances. You sneaked into the general's mansion at night, no doubt the biggest suspect. If it weren't for this face of yours that resembles Jin Hua's, you would have been beheaded long ago!"

  "I don't even know her, why should I kill her?" Long Xilan finally couldn't help but retort.

  "What brings you here at midnight, in the third watch of the night, to my humble abode?"

  "I——" Her throat choked, and the words she wanted to say were swallowed back.

  No one would believe she was here to catch ghosts, and this person in front of her was even more impossible.

  "This is what I found on you!" The man pulled out a delicate silver hairpin with a pink jade flower from his sleeve.

  That was the token of love her father, Long Tian Xing, had given to her mother, Qiao Shi. There were two branches in total, but fifteen years ago, when Qiao Shi left home, she took one branch with her and left the other for her daughter. This time, Long Xiao Lan traveled far and wide to come to Jinling, all for the sake of finding her mother.

  "Give it back!" Long Xilan jumped down from the bed excitedly and reached out to grab the hairpin from the other person's hand.

  The man didn't move, he just slightly raised his hand and dodged it.

  "I once saw a hairpin exactly like this one!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, Long Xilan's movements stopped, "Where is it?"

  The other person's mouth corners rose in a triumphant arc as they guessed: "The person holding that hairpin is very important to you, isn't he?"

  Long Xilan swallowed his saliva and did not answer.

  That man continued to say: "I, Ji Jinjiang, am not a person who forces others into difficulties. As long as you help me do one thing, I will tell you the whereabouts of the owner of that hairpin. And I'm very sure that under the heavens, apart from me, there is no one else who can help you find this person!"

  Long Xilan didn't believe him, but she also didn't refuse, instead wanting to hear what this person wanted her to do.

  "My sister, Ji Jin Hua, was one of the candidates selected by the Emperor to be the wife of Wang Ye, but the palace's official document arrived just a few days ago, and tomorrow she is supposed to enter the palace for the selection ceremony. However, last night she was murdered at home. Her death - at this moment, absolutely cannot be made public, so tomorrow someone must go to the palace in her place; if we randomly find someone to replace her, that would be a crime of deceiving the Emperor, our Ji family cannot afford to take on such a responsibility..."

  "You're looking for me, isn't that a crime of deceiving you?" Long Xilan interrupted him.

  "You're different!" Ji Jinjiang looked over: "You and Jin Hua's appearance are 90% similar, as long as you make some slight adjustments, no one should be able to notice in a short period of time!"

  Long Yilan's eyes flashed with a hint of doubt, and she asked: "What was the real reason your sister died? Why can't it be made public?"

  "I won't tell you now, but this concerns the lives of several hundred people in my family, so I had to resort to this!" The other party spoke bluntly, their tone softer than when they first met, and their eyes more candid.

  "You just need to enter the palace and participate in this selection to get through the past, and our transaction will be completed!"

  It sounds simple, but Long Xilan didn't think it was that easy. "What if I'm chosen after entering the palace?"

  Ji Jin Hua has already become a stiff corpse, can't let this corpse get married?

  "The other party replied with a confident smile: 'No, King Xú has long had his heart set on someone, this is just a formality.'"

  Seeing her still hesitant, Ji Jinjiang said: "You can rest assured, our Ji family will never let you be selected, after all, you are not the real Jin Hua."

  Long Xilan heard this and thought it was reasonable. After all, being a princess is not a trivial matter, and it's not something that can be fooled by just anyone.

  In this heavily guarded general's mansion, if she didn't agree, Ji Jinjiang wouldn't let her go either. Moreover, the whereabouts of her mother was a long-standing major event for her, and at this moment, she had already decided to make this deal. However, there was still one thing that wasn't clear, so she asked: "Since you're willing to negotiate with me, I suppose you've confirmed that I'm not related to your sister's death? How did you confirm it?"

  Ji Jinjiang's face darkened, this seven-foot-tall man, full of vigor and vitality, actually replied with a fearful and evasive look in his eyes when asked about the matter: "Because... she wasn't killed by someone!"