Indeed, Dong Changsheng had been waiting for his three sisters to return, wanting to take them along together. Who would have known that as soon as Dong Tingzhen returned, she said she wouldn’t go today? Dong Changsheng thought Dong Tingzhen was being shy about the upcoming marriage discussion with Chen Zhaolu, afraid of running into him, so he didn’t force her.
Dong Changyuan lowered his gaze to look at the chessboard before him, but felt there was nothing to celebrate. He believed his aunt would rather Cousin not have this princess title than have her risk her life on the battlefield.
Dong Tingzhen sat before her dressing table, clutching the jade bracelet Prince Liang had given her, smiling foolishly.
“Miss! Miss… Cousin Miss has arrived!” Dong Tingzhen’s maid Haitang ran into the room, and after bowing, said, “Cousin Miss has already entered the courtyard gate!”
“Cousin?” Dong Tingzhen hurriedly tucked the jade bracelet in her hand into the red sandalwood box, rose, and took two steps toward the door to greet her, just as she saw Bai Qingyan in casual clothes with a heroic bearing enter the courtyard.
“Cousin?!” Dong Tingzhen, her spirits lifted by joyful events, smiled radiantly as she went to meet Bai Qingyan and linked arms with her, “We just met, how come Cousin has come?”
“Have all the servants withdraw, I have something to discuss with you!” Bai Qingyan looked at Dong Tingzhen, speaking gently.
Seeing Bai Qingyan’s serious expression, Dong Tingzhen nodded and had Haitang take all the servants away, closing the doors and windows tightly before sitting down with Bai Qingyan on the arhat bed by the window.
“Cousin, what has happened?” Dong Tingzhen asked softly.
“The person you fancy… is it Prince Liang?”
Dong Tingzhen’s heart secret was suddenly exposed. She withdrew her hand that had been resting on the small table, clutching it tightly in front of her abdomen, saying: “Cousin… since Cousin already knows, I won’t hide it from you. Prince Liang and I indeed have mutual feelings. Previously, Prince Liang even mistook Cousin for me from childhood, which is why he made such a scene wanting to marry Cousin. I had also wondered before… if I accepted Prince Liang, would it embarrass Cousin, but I…”
“Tingzhen, I came today not because I feel your being with Prince Liang would embarrass me, nor to stop you. I only want to lay out the facts for you to consider. With your intelligence, you can surely judge… how you should handle this relationship. Cousin will not interfere, alright?” Bai Qingyan’s voice was gentle and steady.
Dong Tingzhen had always been the most gentle and intelligent among all the sisters, and also the one who caused the least worry.
Moreover, although Bai Qingyan and Dong Tingzhen were cousins, they hadn’t grown up together. She couldn’t use the forceful methods she’d use with her sisters to speak to Dong Tingzhen about Prince Liang.
Seeing that Bai Qingyan wasn’t being forceful and only wanted to reason with her, Dong Tingzhen clutched her handkerchief and nodded: “Please speak, Cousin.”
“In your eyes, Prince Liang is probably a pitiful creature who gets bullied by others. You’ve always been kind-hearted, initially only pitying Prince Liang, but Prince Liang regarded you as his entire life. From being unable to bear it to being moved, you wanted to protect this pitiful Prince Liang, so that others could never bully him again. Am I right, Cousin?” Bai Qingyan asked.
“Cousin, Prince Liang is truly pitiful! He…” Thinking of the days Prince Liang had endured, Dong Tingzhen’s eyes couldn’t help but redden.
Bai Qingyan nodded: “I know, any girl with a kind heart would inevitably feel sympathy hearing of Prince Liang’s experiences. But what I want to tell you about is what happened after Prince Liang deceived my maid Chun Yan and placed that so-called love letter in my grandfather’s study.”
Dong Tingzhen clutched her handkerchief tightly, biting her lip without speaking.
“Prince Liang said he was bewitched by others and wanted to save Prince Xin, which is why he wanted to falsely accuse my grandfather of treason and collaboration with enemies. Treason and collaboration with enemies is a crime that results in the extermination of entire families – wouldn’t Prince Liang know this? Would someone capable of imitating others’ handwriting be useless? Moreover, Prince Liang’s guard Gao Sheng… Gao Sheng was watching Liu Huanzhang in the capital when he was captured by my milk brother. To prevent Liu Huanzhang from betraying him, Gao Sheng killed Liu Huanzhang instead! You should still remember when my milk brother brought Liu Huanzhang’s corpse and Gao Sheng to beat the grievance drum!”
“Gao Sheng’s martial arts were superb. Even my milk brother, combined with the Bai residence’s elite, suffered casualties before capturing Gao Sheng. Would such a person willingly serve Prince Liang if Prince Liang were incompetent?”
Dong Tingzhen remained silent, her palms breaking out in fine sweat.
“In the great hall, my milk brother presented a letter in Prince Liang’s handwriting, with decisive and ruthless wording, stating… if Liu Huanzhang didn’t comply or intended to threaten by revealing everything about his cooperation with Prince Liang, Prince Liang would ensure the entire Liu family joined Liu Huanzhang in the underworld! From when the servant from Prince Liang’s residence returned to report, to Prince Liang writing, to that letter being sent out from Prince Liang’s residence, it was less than half an incense stick’s time! When Prince Liang faced Grand Princess’s questioning in the great hall, he also couldn’t clearly explain… whether that letter was dictated by others while he wrote, or written entirely by himself!”
“Qin Dezhao conspired to tamper with the military provisions in Nan Jiang, causing the army to be trapped without food. In that letter written in Prince Liang’s hand, although there’s no solid evidence, the wording vaguely suggests Prince Liang couldn’t escape involvement in this matter!”
Bai Qingyan looked at Dong Tingzhen’s gradually paling complexion and said in a low voice: “The bond of loyalty between people is most precious, especially the loyalty of women, and shouldn’t become a sacrifice to conspiracy! The entire Dong family… also shouldn’t become a sacrifice on Prince Liang’s path to succession! Marriage, while seemingly an individual matter, also concerns the entire family, especially when it involves succession struggles. If successful, one person becomes king, but followers don’t necessarily achieve good ends. If defeated… all become prisoners, and how many followers can meet peaceful ends?”
Dong Tingzhen kept her gaze lowered without raising her head. The words “then why does Cousin follow the Crown Prince?” were swallowed back by Dong Tingzhen.
“I understand all of Cousin’s concerns, but Prince Liang may not necessarily have ambitions for succession!” Dong Tingzhen raised her head to look at Bai Qingyan, “Moreover… Cousin, once the heart is moved, spilled water cannot be recovered! I’ve already given my safety lock to Prince Liang, and Prince Liang entered the palace precisely to request His Majesty to grant our marriage!”
As she spoke, tears fell from Dong Tingzhen’s eyes.
Bai Qingyan’s fists tightened. How could Dong Tingzhen be so confused as to give her belongings to an outside man?!
Bai Qingyan closed her eyes, and after composing herself, said: “If you can think it through, I’ll handle the rest!”
Dong Tingzhen shook her head: “Cousin, I know you mean well! You’ve always been magnanimous and upright in character. Tingzhen knows Cousin is afraid I’m entrusting myself to the wrong person, which is why you came to persuade me, not because Prince Liang once admired Cousin! But… Prince Liang is my own choice. This world doesn’t give women much power to choose. This time counts as me making decisions for my marriage, and I’m very happy!”
Bai Qingyan pressed her lips tightly together.
“I’ve always envied Cousin since childhood!” Dong Tingzhen’s gaze was very sincere, “Cousin was born into the Bai family, personally taught by Grand Princess and Duke Zhenguo. You can do what you want to do, practice martial arts, ride horses, compete with men, train your guard unit…”