Qin Yining told Hirasawa Na about how she first met Sakurai in Danfu County, how she arranged for Sakurai to go to the estate, how Sakurai rushed into the crowd to rescue her, protected her during their escape, and finally how he died for her sake. She even detailed how Sakurai became dispirited after being betrayed by Philanthropist Wang, as well as Philanthropist Wang’s ultimate fate.

As Hirasawa Na listened to Gao Delai’s slow narration, his eyes gradually reddened.

“That person didn’t betray his beliefs. He’ll always be someone I admire. But I, due to my own cowardice, betrayed him. When he was wrongly accused, I didn’t even dare stand up to say a word of justice for him.”

Standing up, Hirasawa Na knelt on one knee before Qin Yining in salute. “Thank you for trusting Hideaki, thank you for not abandoning him. I can feel that though he died fighting for you, he died with peace of mind. His lifelong loyalty was finally not betrayed—you didn’t disappoint him. He died a worthy death.”

Qin Yining quickly helped him up. “In the end, it was I who failed him.”

“You already did your utmost for him. You also have more courage than I do.” Hirasawa Na said shamefully. “Compared to you crossing the vast ocean to find this place to bury Hideaki, all I had to do then was speak a single sentence—so easy, yet I failed to do it. Without clearing Hideaki’s name, even if I committed suicide, I wouldn’t be worthy.”

After hearing Gao Delai’s explanation, Qin Yining consoled him: “This is human nature. Why must you dwell on it until now? Since you were Sakurai’s good friend, you should understand his character. He wasn’t a petty person. Even after being repeatedly betrayed that day, he still didn’t lose his faith. He wouldn’t care about these things even more. If his spirit exists in heaven and sees you constantly feeling guilty about this matter, his heart would also be troubled.”

Hirasawa Na remained deeply ashamed.

“I know your identity must be extraordinary. But I don’t want to know your background details. I only care about Hideaki’s affairs. What do you plan to do next?”

Seeing his understanding, Qin Yining smiled with relief, sparing herself from having to think up explanations.

“When I landed, I encountered Adachi Manba. He has designs on me and my goods, so I went along with the flow. He promised to help me promote silk to the Daimyo and nobles. Given his character of loving to show off, he’ll definitely work hard to accomplish this. I plan to gradually seek opportunities to meet Ishikawa Daimyo. When I have the chance to meet the Daimyo face-to-face, I’ll personally discuss Sakurai’s burial with him.”

After Gao Delai finished speaking, Hirasawa Na shook his head: “The hope of the Daimyo agreeing is very slim. The Daimyo is arbitrary and extremely face-conscious. That incident back then—it was the Daimyo himself who ordered Hideaki to carry out the assassination, but something went wrong midway. The other party actually caught Hideaki red-handed, and since Hideaki was the person the Daimyo valued most, faced with the other party’s questioning and pressure from several allied countries, the Daimyo became fearful. Adachi Manba then gave the Daimyo an idea—to push Hideaki out as a scapegoat.

“Adachi Manba appears steady and courteous, but he’s actually extremely vain and jealous. His so-called status as first warrior was obtained through improper means. He can’t even defeat me, yet he was jealous of Hideaki’s skills and position with the Daimyo. After bringing down Hideaki, he became like a fish in water before the Daimyo, living better and better.

“I was defeated by Hideaki. All these years, I’ve wanted to challenge Adachi to a duel. As long as I defeat Adachi, his reputation as first warrior will crumble, and the people won’t respect him as they did before. There’s so little I can do for Hideaki. I want to use this method to prove that Adachi Manba is inferior to Hideaki. If his martial arts are proven false, wouldn’t that prove that his accusations against Hideaki back then were also false?”

After Gao Delai conveyed Hirasawa Na’s meaning to Qin Yining, she nodded and suddenly asked: “In your Mizusawa Country, who is most beloved by the people? Who has the greatest ability to bring a good life to the people? Does your Daimyo truly treat the people wholeheartedly?”

If these words were spoken in Great Zhou, they would truly be treasonous, and anyone who heard them would certainly be labeled as rebellious. It was the same here—as soon as Gao Delai finished speaking, Hirasawa Na’s expression changed drastically as he stood up abruptly.

“What do you mean!”

Seeing Hirasawa Na’s agitation, Qin Yining’s cherry lips curved slightly in a gentle smile: “I have no other meaning. I’m simply concerned about the people’s livelihood. Regardless of who serves as Daimyo, the happiness of a country’s people lies in being able to live stable lives, having fields to cultivate, food to eat, and peacefully multiply and thrive. Not living in constant fear every day, worrying about when war might break out and they’ll lose everything.

“From what Adachi Manba said, I deduce that your Ishikawa Daimyo is very ambitious and glory-seeking, loves to dominate, so he conscripted all males, including ten-year-old boys, into the army. Many battles that shouldn’t have been fought were started because of his aggressive nature. After each war, every family has lost sons. Is this really the life the people of Mizusawa Country want to live?”

Though Hirasawa Na desperately wanted to reveal the truth about that incident and clear Sakurai Hideaki’s name, he was ultimately still Ishikawa Sanemi’s ninja. His loyalty to his master was a barrier he couldn’t overcome.

Hirasawa Na said with a stern face: “None of this can shake me. I will never betray my master!”

When Gao Delai translated these words, everyone fell silent upon hearing them.

This was another person as stubborn as Sakurai—trying to turn him would truly not be easy.

Qin Yining, however, smiled slightly: “Then, your choice to clear Sakurai’s name—isn’t that also a betrayal of Ishikawa Daimyo? He racked his brains to think of a good way to preserve his own reputation. By banishing Sakurai, he maintained his lofty image, but you want to tell everyone the truth.

“How many things did Sakurai do for Ishikawa Daimyo? He was once Mizusawa Country’s foremost ninja, someone the people admired, yet Ishikawa Daimyo framed him at the crucial moment. Wouldn’t such character from Ishikawa Daimyo be despised by people?

“If you want to reveal the truth about Sakurai’s case back then, Ishikawa Daimyo’s actions will simultaneously be known by all. Doesn’t this count as betraying your master?”

As Gao Delai heard Qin Yining speak with such force and conviction, even his own tone became firmer when translating into Japanese.

Upon hearing this, Hirasawa Na’s expression grew serious, but the walls around his heart began to show faint cracks, as if something was shattering piece by piece within him.

“I… I won’t betray the Daimyo!”

“But you want to clear Sakurai’s name. Doing so means betraying your Daimyo. You can only choose one of these two options.”

“I can speak the truth, and then I’ll be qualified to commit seppuku! After revealing the truth, I’ll commit seppuku to preserve my loyalty to the Daimyo!” Hirasawa Na declared with absolute determination.