Chapter 15 — Sacrificed by the Heir: Reborn as Yue Zhaoyue to Avenge Sixteen Years of Injustice

I asked: "Is it possible to destroy me simply because of a moment of confusion?"

He lowered his voice: "I will compensate you."

I stared at him. "Heir Apparent, besides the word 'compensate,' do you have anything else to say?"

He was left speechless. The Grand Princess was utterly disillusioned. "Xie Linchu, if you dare to interfere again, you need not sit in this position of Heir Apparent any longer."

Xie Linchu’s face turned deathly pale. Shen Yuntang grabbed his hand. "Brother Linchu, I am not afraid of the Calm Heart Nunnery. As long as you believe in me, I fear nothing."

Her voice was soft and fragile, but her grip on him was desperate and iron-tight. Xie Linchu looked at her, his heart caught in a prolonged struggle. Finally... he did not intervene. When the guards came to take Shen Yuntang away, she turned to look at me. This time, there was no smugness in her eyes, only malice.

"Shen Zhaoyue, do you think you have won? You do not even know who you truly are."

I remained silent. She screamed at me: "You do not bear the family name Shen! You have nothing at all!"

The Grand Princess spoke up suddenly: "She has my protection."

Shen Yuntang’s voice was instantly silenced. I looked at the Grand Princess. She did not look at me, but instead instructed the elderly matron: "Clear out the Snow Listening Courtyard and have the Second Miss of the Shen family reside there for the time being."

My father spoke in a fury: "She is no longer a daughter of the Shen family; the family has no further obligation to raise her."

My mother burst into tears and cried out: "Master!"

The Grand Princess laughed with sharp sarcasm. "Minister Shen, rest assured. From this day forward, she will eat the bread of the Grand Princess's estate. There is no need for the Shen family to trouble themselves."

My father's expression was unsightly. I bowed to him in salute. "Minister Shen, do remember to send the formal letter of severance."

He glared at me. "There will come a day when you return to beg me."

I replied: "I sincerely hope that day never arrives."

The Snow Listening Courtyard was very quiet. Qing Xing lay on the cushioned divan, eating a bowl of warm porridge provided by the Grand Princess’s estate; with every bite, she uttered a curse. "Minister Shen is truly shameless. He causes such a calamity and blames it entirely on the Young Miss. The Eldest Miss is even worse; she has no shame, claiming the Young Miss stole her life. Why does she never mention how many insults the Young Miss has endured in her stead?"

The elderly matron, while changing Qing Xing’s bandages, shook her head. "You child, your mouth is sharper than your wounds."

Qing Xing immediately clamped her mouth shut, but a moment later, she could not hold back. "Matron, is the Calm Heart Nunnery truly such a miserable place?"

The matron replied: "White porridge, salted greens, listening to bells in the morning and gongs in the evening. It is miserable, yes, but not to the point of killing her."

Qing Xing hummed coldly. "She is getting off too easy."

I sat by the window, staring at the copper token on the table. When the Grand Princess entered, I rose to pay my respects, but she waved me off. "Sit down. Your body has not yet recovered; do not bother with these formal courtesies."

I sat back down. The Grand Princess watched me. "You were frightened today."

I said: "I thank Your Highness for your protection."

"I protect you to preserve the dignity of the Prince’s estate. Xie Linchu acted wrongly; the estate cannot pretend to be blind to it."

She spoke with such blunt honesty that it put me at ease. She asked again: "Do you wish to investigate the truth about your biological parents?"

I answered: "I do."

The Grand Princess pulled an old piece of fabric from her sleeve. It had been washed until the color had faded, and a crescent moon was embroidered upon it. "This is a fragment of the swaddling cloth you were wrapped in years ago. I had my people search the old archives of the Shen family to find it."

I took it, my fingertips brushing the embroidery. The stitches were thick and exquisite—not at all the work of a common household. The Grand Princess said: "Minister Shen did not find you by chance. He is lying."

I looked up. She continued: "That year, while traveling back to the capital, he stopped at the Qingzhou post house. That night, the post house burned to the ground, and many perished. A husband and wife went missing, and their attendants vanished without a trace. The very next day, he brought you back to the capital."

I asked: "Why does Your Highness know this?"

The Grand Princess looked at the fabric. "Because that couple was coming to the capital to meet me."

A sudden silence fell over the room. Qing Xing even forgot to swallow her porridge. The matron whispered, "Your Highness." The Grand Princess raised a hand to stop her.

"I have investigated this for many years, but the trail ended in Qingzhou. I never imagined you were right there inside the Shen household."

I gripped the fabric tightly. "Who were they?"

The Grand Princess looked at me, her voice perfectly steady. "I cannot tell you yet. It is not that I do not trust you; I fear that if you know too early, it will only invite disaster upon yourself."

I remembered the dreams—the Northern Frontier under siege, the rebels explicitly demanding the sacrifice of the Heir Apparent's consort. In my dreams, until the moment I died, I never understood why the rebels were so fixated on me. If I were merely the unloved second daughter of the Shen family, my life would not have been worth such a price.