Killing someone only requires a nod of the head, but this letter… was even more cruel than murder—it struck directly at the heart.

If someone had asked Li Tianfu before she saw this letter whether she regretted causing her mother’s forced death and alienating her sister all for the sake of avenging Lu Tianzhuo, she would have said she didn’t regret it.

But today, upon seeing this letter, Li Tianfu felt regret.

She was simply unwilling to accept her fate. Unwilling to accept that, though they were both legitimate daughters, could her elder sister inherit the throne and do as she pleased, while she had to marry for political alliance and separate from the man she loved? Even though Lu Tianzhuo could no longer be considered a man, in her heart, he was still her most beloved, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

What she actually wanted was very simple—just to have a princess mansion in Western Liang where she and Lu Tianzhuo could live peacefully for the rest of their days.

After Lu Tianzhuo’s death, she hated her mother… hated her elder sister, hated Bai Qingyan… hated the Bai Family Army, hated all of Jin Kingdom, hated all of Western Liang! She hated why they had to sacrifice her alone in exchange for Western Liang’s peace—what were those generals and soldiers for! She was a princess! She was Western Liang’s most noble princess! She felt it was her elder sister… her mother, Bai Qingyan, and the others who had caused Lu Tianzhuo’s death!

She had never considered that even if she hadn’t gone to Jin Kingdom for the political marriage, given Lu Tianzhuo’s nature of being willing to sacrifice even his manhood, he would still have come to Jin Kingdom to avenge his adopted father.

Li Tianfu suddenly remembered what her mother empress, had said before her death—that she… had gone mad with obsession over a man.

Yes, Li Tianfu had gone mad with obsession over a man!

But it wasn’t just because of a man. She was also driven mad by her father emperor, and her mother empress’s lack of regard for her, because… from childhood, she knew that her father emperor, would eventually pass the throne to her elder sister, not her! The father emperor had always trained the two sisters differently from childhood—the things the elder sister had to learn, the father emperor never taught her.

Therefore, she harbored hatred!

“Princess…” Guan Zhangning spoke in a low voice. “Before His Majesty’s departure, he was still thinking of you. Please don’t sink deeper into hatred—that was Lu Tianzhuo’s hatred, not the princess’s! Princess… you are now the only bloodline of Western Liang’s royal family. Living according to His Majesty’s dying wish is what matters! His Majesty has already arranged everything for you, with loyal servants to accompany you. The princess is still young—why worry about not finding a suitable person to spend your life with?”

Li Tianfu’s tears fell like broken strings. She casually placed Li Tianjiao’s handwritten letter aside, raised her hand to wipe her tears, rested her elbow on the table, and seeing Guan Zhangning’s cautious manner of not daring to speak loudly, she called out loudly: “Everyone outside, move farther away! This princess wants to bathe—what are you doing guarding the door? Are you trying to peep?”

The two young soldiers guarding the door exchanged glances and moved to guard at the courtyard gate.

Hearing the door guards move away, Li Tianfu finally curved her lips in a mocking smile, looking at Guan Zhangning playfully: “Western Liang is gone, and so is the Western Liang Emperor! You don’t want to restore the kingdom either, so why won’t you live peacefully instead of coming to rescue me, this imprisoned Western Liang princess? If you had burned this letter when you first received it… and pretended you were never a Western Liang spy, you’re still young… even if Great Zhou suspects you’re a spy, as long as they can’t find solid evidence and you can’t advance in rank, you’d still be a general of the Bai Family Army and could certainly live peacefully for the rest of your life.”

“I am a person of Western Liang, loyal to His Majesty… loyal to the Yun family! I dare never forget!” Guan Zhangning looked at Li Tianfu, who was still pretending to be composed. “Princess, we are all waiting for your decision. As long as you’re willing… starting a new life would be easy! We can rescue Your Highness from the Capital City, provided Your Highness is willing to come with us.”

Seeing Li Tianfu’s unmoved expression, Guan Zhangning continued: “If the princess still wants to kill the Great Zhou Emperor for revenge, after Your Highness is safe, I will certainly accomplish this for Your Highness.”

Li Tianfu’s lips moved slightly. She looked at Guan Zhangning seriously, and after a long while, said with a face full of mockery: “You are… pitifully loyal.”

Guan Zhangning lowered his gaze, unable to meet Li Tianfu’s eyes, only saying: “This subordinate has been taught to be loyal since birth, even if Your Highness…”

The disrespectful words about Li Tianfu, Guan Zhangning ultimately didn’t voice, only saying: “This subordinate did indeed once contemplate wanting to be a person of Great Zhou, wanting to become a true member of the Bai Family Army, but I am from Western Liang! As long as Western Liang’s majesty has commands, this subordinate would still go through fire and water without hesitation.”

“Then go be a person of Great Zhou, be a member of the Bai Family Army!” Li Tianfu picked up the letter from the table and held it over the candle flame to ignite it. “Forget that you’re from Western Liang!”

“Your Highness!” Guan Zhangning’s eyes widened.

Li Tianfu watched the flickering flames devour the paper, half-lowering her eyelids as she watched the blue flames slowly consume her elder sister’s handwriting, turning it into charred ash. She said, “Just pretend you never received this letter, and I never knew you were a Western Liang spy embedded in the Bai Family Army. You are simply a soldier of the Great Zhou’s Bai Family Army. Go…”

This was Li Tianfu’s last trace of kindness toward this Western Liang person.

“Since I have already received orders from His Majesty, this subordinate must rescue the princess. I came today to discuss a date with Your Highness!” Guan Zhangning’s expression remained unchanged, his voice firm. “After speaking with Your Highness today, this subordinate will go out to contact Western Liang’s former subordinates. Five days from now, I will come to take Your Highness away. If Your Highness still cherishes the lives of us Western Liang survivors, please go with them! The princess’s revenge… this subordinate will risk his life to accomplish!”

“Where did Li Tianjiao find such a foolish person like you?” Li Tianfu laughed softly, raising her hand to wipe away tears. “Lu Tianzhuo’s revenge is a private grudge—you don’t need to avenge it! I don’t want to live anymore either, so you needn’t waste your efforts.”

“Your Highness is now the only bloodline of Western Liang’s royal family. If Your Highness says such things… aren’t you afraid of being unworthy of the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, as well as your father emperor, who loved you?”

Guan Zhangning stared fixedly at Li Tianfu. He had also heard of this princess’s deeds and deep down felt this princess wasn’t worth saving. Going mad over a eunuch and abandoning all of Western Liang—such a princess… didn’t deserve to be called a princess at all.

But since His Majesty had given him secret orders to rescue Li Tianfu, he would save Li Tianfu no matter what.

“His Majesty doesn’t ask you to restore the kingdom, doesn’t ask you to seek revenge, only asks you… to leave some bloodline for Western Liang’s royal family!” Guan Zhangning gritted his teeth. “As a princess of Western Liang’s royal family, you’ve never done anything for Western Liang in the first half of your life. Now that Western Liang is gone… can’t you even do this much for your mother and elder sister?”

Guan Zhangning had anger in his heart, and his voice inevitably rose. Fearing he might alert the guards Li Tianfu had sent to the courtyard entrance, he glanced toward the partition and, hearing no movement outside, finally relaxed.