Chapter 10
I crouched down beside Liang Chunyan.
The scars on her body were clearly visible to me, a testament to the inhuman torment she had endured.
“What secret is it, exactly, that is worth protecting at such a cost?”
I didn’t know if she heard my voice, but Liang Chunyan slowly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was unfocused.
It landed on me, as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water, just a fleeting glance before her eyes closed again.
I wasn’t sure if she could hear me. More precisely, I wasn’t sure if her current mental state still allowed her to understand my words.
But I had to try.
“Liang Chunyan, my name is Zhao Changsheng. I disguised myself as Xiyue, the chief palace maid beside Concubine Xiao, to come find you.”
“Because I suspect you might know the real reason Dongjian City fell.”
These words failed to elicit any reaction from Liang Chunyan.
She remained collapsed on the ground, like a dead fish drained of all strength.
I continued, “I don’t know when you were imprisoned here. Not long ago, the Old Matriarch of the Shao Clan led her entire family to kneel outside Changzhi Gate, begging His Majesty to thoroughly investigate the truth behind the fall of Dongjian City. Have you heard of this?”
Liang Chunyan was silent.
I pressed on: “The women and children of the Shao Clan knelt outside Dongjian City for a whole day and night, but His Majesty refused to see them.”
“The next day, I went to Changzhi Gate and knelt with them.”
“It was then that I learned you and Shao Huaian once nearly became engaged.”
Liang Chunyan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
At least she could still hear, and understand, my words.
“I know you’re wary of me. To be frank, coming to find you is a huge risk for me. If my identity is exposed, I’ll end up in the same situation as you.”
“I took this risk only to gamble on whether I could get a useful clue from you.”
“If I can expose the truth behind Dongjian City’s fall, I’ll have rendered a great service.”
“Though I am a princess, I am not favored by His Majesty.”
“Only by achieving great merit can I hope to obtain a Princess Manor for myself and escape from the palace.”
“Liang Chunyan, you can trust me. I swear on my Mother’s name: if the secret you’re hiding can truly clear Shao Huaian and the twenty-five generals of the Shao Clan of the wrongful blame for losing the city, I will do everything in my power to reveal this secret to the world and clear their names.”
Liang Chunyan opened her eyes again.
This time, a spark of spirit gathered in her once-dull gaze.
She studied me.
I took out the green thumb ring the Old Matriarch had given me and gently placed it in her hand. “That day, after I knelt with the women and children of the Shao Clan, the Old Matriarch was summoned by His Majesty. To express her gratitude, she gave me this ring.”
“I don’t know if it can serve as a token of trust, but please, take a look.”
Liang Chunyan’s swollen fingers kept rubbing the ring. She tried several times to bring it closer to her eyes for a better look, but failed each time.
Seeing her so helpless, my nose stung with emotion.
I took back the green thumb ring and held it up for her so she could see it clearly.
“I recognize it,” Liang Chunyan’s voice was so hoarse it sounded as if her throat was parched and cracked; every syllable squeezed out was broken. She said, “I’ve seen the Old Matriarch wear this ring. It’s her most cherished possession.”
“As long as you recognize it,” I said, “we don’t have much time. Please, tell me the secret!”
Liang Chunyan reached out to me: “Help… help me up.”
I did as she asked, helping her up from the ground.
She had no strength and could only lean against my shoulder.
She was so light.
The sharp bones of her back even pressed painfully into me.
I bit my lip hard, forcing back my tears.
If crying can’t solve the problem, then every tear is a waste.
Rather than spend time crying, it’s better to spend time solving the problem.
What use is crying?
Liang Chunyan slumped in my arms. After gathering some strength, she finally spoke again: “Huaian once wrote me a letter, mentioning Jiji Old Man.”
“That old gentleman was a genius. After Huaian found him, he immediately sent him to the Ministry of War Manufacturing Bureau.”
“When Dongjian City fell and Huaian died in battle, I thought… it was truly because the Dasheng army was no match for the Northern Di…”
“Until later, when the Third Prince led troops to war, I happened to overhear my father in a secret conversation, saying that the siege weapons developed by the Northern Di were actually the inventions of Jiji Old Man.”
“Huaian’s death, I fear… I fear someone leaked the Palace City Machinery Diagram.”
“From the Ministry of War.”
“It was someone from the Ministry of War.”
So that’s it!
I seized on the key point and hurriedly asked, “Where is that letter?”
Liang Chunyan struggled to lean close to my ear and whispered a few words.
My palms were damp with sweat.
So that’s where she hid the secret!
After asking everything, I gently laid Liang Chunyan back on the ground.
She looked at me with hopeful eyes.
I nearly bit my lip to bleeding and said to her, “Hold on a little longer. I will definitely find someone to save you.”
She shook her head, shattering the tears in her eyes: “I have only one wish. If all goes well, I hope Your Highness can help me with this.”
“Tell me.”
“If the Shao Clan does not object, please… please let me be recognized as a woman of the Shao Clan, and… and be buried with Huaian.”
I held her hand and promised her, “As long as you survive, the Old Matriarch will personally welcome you back to the Shao family, stand up for you, and write your name into the Shao Clan genealogy as Shao Huaian’s rightful wife.”
She seemed to envision that moment, a look of longing appearing on her face: “Thank you, Princess. Chunyan will wait for that day.”