Chapter 26

The Princess’s Shame

Nan Yi stood frozen for several seconds, barely able to believe her eyes.  

The word “prisoner” was something she’d heard daily, so often that it had lost any real meaning. Yet at this moment, it struck her with visceral force.  

“Madam, too many eyes are watching—let’s move on,” Song Yushu quietly reminded her.  

Nan Yi realized they had lingered too long. The Qi soldiers on guard were starting to eye them with suspicion. She had no choice but to move away.  

Before rounding the corner, she couldn’t help but glance back again. The princess had already entered the mansion, and the vermilion doors were about to close.  

As if by some strange, fateful connection, Princess Lingfu turned back to look deeply in her direction. Their gazes locked just as the heavy doors shut, sealing the princess—and her sorrowful, anguished eyes—inside.  

Though her expression wasn’t particularly dramatic, it struck Nan Yi like a blunt weapon, each blow pounding against her chest.  

Lowering her gaze in distress, Nan Yi noticed that Song Yushu’s hand was gripping the edge of his book so tightly that his knuckles had turned pale.  

He, too, was furious.  

“Song Qilang, when you were in the capital, did you ever hear of this princess?”  

“She was known as Xu Kouyue, the most favored imperial princess in the Eastern Capital.”  

“Kouyue? What a beautiful name.”  

“They say she was born at midnight on a night when thick clouds shrouded the moon. The moment her first cry rang out, it was said that the clouds parted, as if the moon’s door had been knocked open, flooding the world with moonlight. Because of this, the Emperor loved her dearly and gave her the name ‘Kouyue’—’Knocking on the Moon.’”  

Nan Yi sighed at the tale. In just a few words, one could imagine her life, once overflowing with love and privilege.  

She had once been the moon in the heavens, the phoenix perched upon the bough. But beautiful things are fragile, and no one escapes unscathed when war burns through the land.  

Xu Kouyue followed the group through the mansion gates. Wanyan Jun stopped in the courtyard, and she dared not move further, standing obediently by the decorative screen. The servants dispersed tactfully, leaving only the two of them in the courtyard.  

Wanyan Jun turned back to look at Xu Kouyue, his expression cold and ominous.  

“No one’s watching now.”  

The words seemed abrupt and out of place, but Xu Kouyue understood immediately.  

She knelt on the ground, removed her ornate outer robe, folded it neatly in front of her, and one by one took off her hairpins, earrings, gold bracelets, and jade bangles. She placed everything on the robe and respectfully held it out with both hands.  

It was the dead of winter, and she was left wearing only a thin inner garment, as delicate as a sheet of white paper. Clearly, she had been thoroughly broken and trained to behave, her actions now marked by an ingrained obedience and meekness.  

Though tears streamed down her face, her hands remained graceful as orchids. Her every movement was still elegant.  

But Wanyan Jun showed no trace of pity. If anything, he was disgusted by her submissive expression. With a sweep of his sleeve, he knocked the clothing and jewelry from her hands onto the ground and strode away.  

A filthy footprint stained the pale yellow robe lying on the floor.  

Xu Kouyue, as if used to this treatment, calmly picked up the scattered items and tidied them once more. When everything was back in order, she didn’t immediately rise. Instead, she sat in the center of the courtyard, raising her empty gaze to the sunset of her lost homeland.  

“The cicadas sing in the western land,  

The southern exile pines deeply for home.”

After escorting Song Yushu back to Jiangyue Alley, Nan Yi returned to Wangxue Wu feeling dazed. So much had happened in a single day, and her heart felt inexplicably changed from the day before.  

But where exactly this transformation had started, she couldn’t quite pinpoint.  

She thought of seeking out Xie Sui’an, only to learn that upon her return, Xie Sui’an had been placed under house arrest by Lu Jinxiu, with layers upon layers of guards watching her.  

It was obvious that with the shifting tides in the city of Lidu, Lu Jinxiu feared her daughter would stir up trouble and become embroiled in Xie Zhu’s case, so she had acted preemptively to confine her.  

Nan Yi completely forgot about the matter of collecting rent and was just about to return to Zheyue Pavilion when she ran into Lu Jinxiu in the courtyard.  

Seeing her come back empty-handed, Lu Jinxiu looked suspicious. “Madam, are you just returning now? Where is the rent money you collected today?”  

Nan Yi answered quietly, “The tenants and shopkeepers truly didn’t have enough cash on hand...”  

Lu Jinxiu’s patience wore thin. “Madam, you are far too naive. Those scoundrels are simply full of excuses to avoid paying rent.”  

“—I waived their rent for three months,” Nan Yi said flatly.  

Lu Jinxiu drew in a sharp breath. “What?!”  

Her voice was so loud that the passing maids all turned to look. Previously, she had managed to maintain a kind and polite demeanor toward Nan Yi, but now she could no longer keep up the facade. Her tone was unmistakably reproachful.  

“Madam, how generous of you! A single trip out, and you’ve made yourself a saint! Do you even realize what supports the upkeep of Wangxue Wu? With so many mouths to feed in this estate, will you take responsibility for providing for them all?”  

Nan Yi was already frowning in her heart. Even in this chaotic world, the Xie family still lived in luxury, boasting of their righteousness and morality while willfully ignoring the suffering of the common people.  

Yet she kept her smile intact. “Isn’t the Grand Madam ill? Giving some money away can be seen as accumulating virtue and praying for her recovery.”  

Lu Jinxiu was momentarily at a loss for words. In aristocratic families, filial piety was paramount. Anything done in the name of honoring one’s elders was above reproach. With just a simple sentence, Nan Yi had turned the tables, making it seem as though she was the unreasonable one.  

Lu Jinxiu’s gaze toward Nan Yi grew sharper and less friendly. To have her words blocked by a mere countrywoman left her feeling deeply displeased.  

But she knew better than to press further. Lu Jinxiu was acutely aware of the importance of maintaining the facade of a dignified woman from a noble family. Even though she was inherently calculating and opportunistic, she understood that benevolence, too, could serve as an excellent mask.  

She quickly adjusted her tone. “Since the young madam has such a kind heart, then perhaps you could return and copy a few Buddhist scriptures to pray for the Grand Madam’s health.”  

Nan Yi dared not admit that she was completely illiterate. She could only nod obediently and agree.  

Lu Jinxiu had already guessed that Nan Yi, being uneducated, was unlikely to produce anything worthwhile. Either she would fail to deliver altogether or embarrass herself before the Grand Madam. Feeling like she had regained the upper hand, Lu Jinxiu’s mood lightened slightly.  

When Nan Yi returned, she stared at the dense, unfamiliar characters in the Buddhist scripture. To her, it was as incomprehensible as a foreign language. Her head throbbed.  

She began to regret her decision. In the past, Zhang Yuehui had offered to teach her how to read, but she had dismissed it as pointless—something that wouldn’t earn her any money. Back then, she only cared about the few pieces of silver she could get her hands on immediately. In hindsight, it felt like such a short-sighted choice.  

A deep sense of frustration swelled within Nan Yi. She didn’t know what she was capable of or what value she had.  

Amid her despair, a thought suddenly took root in her mind, growing rapidly.  

By the time she started regretting her impulsive decision, she was already standing beneath the eaves of Jingfeng Residence.  

Jingfeng Residence was heavily guarded on all sides, its interior dark and unlit. Xie Queshan had gone out to attend a banquet that evening and wasn’t in his room. For Nan Yi, slipping past the patrolling guards and sneaking inside was not a difficult task.  

After all, stealing was her old trade.  

That night, Guzha had delivered the city defense map to Xie Queshan. The map should still be in his room. She headed straight for Xie Queshan’s desk, forcing herself to remain calm as she rummaged through its contents. But her hands were trembling violently, and her heart pounded like a drum.  

At last, she found a roll of parchment. Though she couldn’t read the words on it, the diagram clearly depicted the layout of Lidu City. It had to be the city defense map. Just as she was about to examine it more closely, a voice suddenly spoke from behind her.  

“What are you doing here?”