Chapter 4 — The Heir to the Throne with the Wicked Face

Two People Bearing the Same Hatred

Throughout that winter, Nhược Hi and Trường Phong continued to encounter each other in the dark, each time a common battle against tyrants, bandits, or corrupt officials raging throughout the Lam Phong mountains. No one took the initiative to meet anyone, but it seemed that fate kept pushing two people on the same path, with the same goal.

One night in the middle of December, when snow covered the entire mountainside, Nhược Hi discovered a group of imperial troops secretly escorting food out of the public warehouse, not to help the poor and hungry people like notices posted throughout the towns, but to transport it straight to the capital as a personal possession for a certain mandarin. She ambushed on the hillside, preparing to attack, when she discovered that Trường Phong had also hidden on the other side of the trail.

"You came earlier than me," she whispered when the two met behind the bushes, her eyes peering at him through the gap in her mask.

"I've been following this army for three days," Trường Phong replied, his voice low. "I didn't expect you to know the news."

The battle that night was quick but fierce. The escorting army had up to twenty people, fully equipped with armor, but under the strange coordination between an anonymous man wearing a ghost mask and a skilled swordsman, in less than half an hour, all the food was redirected and distributed that night to the poorest families in the area.

When everything was done, the two of them stood side by side on a high cliff overlooking the valley, the moonlight reflecting on the white snow created an unusually quiet scene after the recent battle.

"Who are you anyway?" Trường Phong asked directly, no longer beating around the bush like before. "No one can practice skills like you just by self-studying in the deep forest."

Nhược Hi was silent for a long time, considering keeping the secret and a hunch that told her that this man deserved to know part of the truth.

"I have been properly trained, since childhood." She selects every word. "But what happened forced me to bury that past and take on a name that everyone despises."

"I understand that feeling better than anyone," Trường Phong suddenly spoke, his voice low, carrying an old pain that had never completely healed. "My father used to be a General of Chinh Tây, guarding the border for twenty years and repelling countless invasions by northern nomadic tribes. Four years ago, he was falsely accused of colluding with foreign invaders and beheaded in front of three troops, although he insisted on his innocence until the last moment."

Nhược Hi turned to look at him, a deep sympathy arose in her heart that she had never felt with anyone since the night of the incident.

"Who harmed your father?"

"At that time, the evidence was presented by the current Vice-Chairman, Khưu Bá Trạch." Trường Phong gritted his teeth, his hand clenched the hilt of his sword until it turned white. "He had only been in office not long at that time, but he was powerful enough to orchestrate a case that caused a general loyal to the court to die unjustly, his estate to be confiscated, and I had to take my mother's name and live anonymously for the past four years."

That name rang out like a thunderclap in the clear sky, making Nhược Hi stagger a step. She held Trường Phong's hand tightly, her voice trembling with excitement.

"Khưu Bá Trạch," she repeated that name, each word gritted through her teeth. "He was also the one who ordered the murder of my father and mother, orchestrated a night of bloody events at Kim Loan Palace, and then blamed all the blame on me."

Trường Phong was stunned, turned around to look at her, his eyes in that moment contained both surprise and a ray of light that was gradually revealing.

"You..." He looked closely at her figure, the way she stood, the way she held her sword, the small details that he had never paid attention to connecting before. "You are Princess Khương Nhược Hi."

Nhược Hi did not deny it anymore. She slowly raised her hand to take off the ghost mask, letting the moonlight shine on her real face for the first time in front of a person outside of Tịnh Nghiệp Am since the night of the incident.

"That's right," she spoke, her voice no longer trembling but sharp and full of determination. "I am Khương Nhược Hi, heiress to the throne of Đại Hạ, who was falsely accused of killing her father and mother, and was exiled to this deep mountain and valley to wait for her death in oblivion. But I have never, and will never, accept that fate."

A long silence passed between the two, with only the sound of the mountain wind whistling through the bare trees. Finally, Trường Phong knelt on one knee on the snowy ground, placing his right hand on his left chest according to the old military etiquette his father had taught him.

"Lieutenant Trường Phong, son of the late Chinh Tây General Lieutenant Thành Kiệt, vows to give his remaining life to assist Her Highness, demanding justice for both our families." His voice rang out in the snowy night, as firm as an unshakable oath. "From today, Your Highness's wish is also my wish."

Nhược Hi quickly helped him up, her eyes shining with uncontrollable tears. "Stand up. I don't need a servant kneeling in the middle of the forest, I need an ally standing by my side, a friend who can be trusted absolutely on the road ahead."

Trường Phong stood up, his eyes looking straight at her, no longer at a distance of suspicion like previous encounters. "So what do you plan to do next?"

"I have been building a small network for nearly two years, called the Night Shadow Pavilion," Nhược Hi recounted, her voice growing more enthusiastic as she spoke. "It is still too small to do more than help a few villages around this mountain area. But I believe that with more talented people like you, along with your family's old connections in the army, we can turn it into a force strong enough to return to the capital one day, overthrow Khưu Bá Trạch, and take back what belongs to us."

"I still keep in touch with a few former deputy generals under my father's command, men who were loyal but unfairly discharged after that incident." Trường Phong pondered. "If Your Highness approves, I can invite them to join the Night Shadow Pavilion, turning it from a group of chivalrous helpers into a truly disciplined military organization."

Since that night, the two began to coordinate more systematically. Trường Phong led Nhược Hi to meet Tang Dịch Phong, a loyal former deputy general who had followed his father into battle for more than ten years, who was living in seclusion in a small village not far from the foot of Lam Phong mountain, pretending to be a physician treating poor people to hide his true identity.

Tang Dịch Phong was initially skeptical when he heard Trường Phong tell the whole story, but when he witnessed Nhược Hi take off his mask and heard her recount the details of the night of events that only the royal family knew, he immediately knelt down and worshiped.

"This old man once swore loyalty to the Vệ family, and now he is willing to lend his remaining little talent to help Her Highness," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "The old man still keeps in touch with more than a dozen former generals, all of whom were unjustly discharged like General Trường Phong, simply waiting for the day when they can wash away that humiliation."

From then on, the Night Shadow Pavilion began to transform. It was no longer just a sporadic group of chivalrous helpers aiding the poor, but gradually formed a clear organizational structure: Tang Dịch Phong handled reconnaissance and liaison with former soldiers scattered throughout Đại Hạ; Trường Phong oversaw training and deployment; and Nhược Hi, its nominal owner under the code name Ghost-Faced Witch, planned the overall strategy and maintained a cover before the court.

On the last night of that winter, standing atop a hill overlooking the valley where the Night Shadow Pavilion had laid its first foundations, Nhược Hi turned to Trường Phong, her eyes filled with determination.

"Three years," she spoke softly, like an oath to herself. "Give me three years to build enough strength, then I will return to Vân Khánh capital and reclaim everything that Khưu Bá Trạch stole."

Trường Phong stood next to her, his eyes looking towards the distant horizon where the capital was hidden behind a thick layer of fog. "And I will be by your side, every step of the way, until that day."

The mountain wind blew through, carrying a few snowflakes left over from the afternoon rain, lightly covering both of their shoulders. Nhược Hi smiled slightly, the first complete smile since that fateful night, even though in her heart there was still the pain of loss that nothing could compensate for.

"Do you ever complain about fate?" She suddenly asked, her voice low as if she was talking more to herself than to Trường Phong. "Why did God make us both go through something like that?"

Trường Phong was silent for a moment, following the moonlight sparkling on the white snow. "I used to complain a lot. The first nights after my father passed away, I almost went crazy with hatred. But gradually I realized that complaining about fate doesn't change anything, only action can wash away the injustice. Perhaps God let us meet now, as a way for both of us to not have to bear that pain alone anymore."

"You're right." Nhược Hi nodded and tightened her sleeves, her eyes bright with familiar determination. "From tonight, we are no longer two lonely people with separate grudges, but allies with one goal: expose Khưu Bá Trạch and clear my father's name—for your father, for Khấu Đình Ân, and for everyone who has suffered injustice at his hands," They stood there for a long time, no one said another word, just quietly looking towards the distant capital, where a dark conspiracy was still carefully hidden behind the towering walls, waiting to be exposed under the light of justice.