The Truth Behind the Betrayal

The city of Media was located in the southern part of the Gasdar Kingdom.

This city directly bordered the northern part of Great Yuan; hence, it became the major military garrison.

The city of Media was where His Highness Prince Uta and Asima would take her.

Yi Fen didn't feel unfamiliar with that place. That was where she was taken after being kidnapped on her way to the Wujian Temple in Xingshan. 

By horse, from the small town of Fosa to Media, it would take at least one day of travel. However, if accompanied by a horse-drawn carriage, their journey would be slower.

By the order of Prince Uta, Asima had prepared enough provisions for one day.

For lunch, Yi Fen only had two slices of bread, dried meat, and water. Because His Highness Prince Uta said that if they didn't want to camp on the edge of the forest at nightfall, they had to hurry.

Therefore, they just ate as little as they could while continuing to gallop their horses.

At dusk, they found a two-story guest house in a village.

"Your Highness, we will spend the night here for one night," Prince Uta conveyed.

"Apologies for the inconvenience. But we have to reach Media before tomorrow afternoon."

Yi Fen noticed that he didn't look tired, even though he had been riding for almost a day.

"Then follow the arrangement of Your Highness the Prince," Yi Fen responded and curtsied.

A girl servant came to show her the way to her room upstairs. She tried to speak politely using Great Yuan language. However, she wasn't very fluent. Mostly, Yi Fen couldn't understand what she was trying to say.

The facilities provided by the guest house were simple: a single bed, a table and a pair of chairs, and a small cupboard.

There was a partition that separated the bedroom from the bathing area.

The first thing Yi Fen did as soon as she arrived at her room was ask for warm water to take a bath.

After sitting all day in the carriage, she felt a little tired. A warm bath could help relieve her fatigue.

That night, Yi Fen fell asleep like a baby. Prince Uta knocked on her bedroom door to invite her to dinner, but she didn't wake up.

Uta thought that something had happened to Yi Fen, so he asked the guest house owner to open the door from the outside.

He only breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Yi Fen had only fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Afraid to wake up Yi Fen, Uta closed the bedroom door very slowly, then he returned to his own room.

...

Yi Fen was awakened by the wife of the guest house owner at dawn. After washing her face and cleaning her mouth, Yi Fen tidied up her outfit and hair before going downstairs.

Downstairs, Prince Uta, Asima, and the coachman were eating a hot breakfast.

Both Prince Uta and Asima were still in their armor. Only the coachman was wearing clothes and a thick coat.

Yi Fen nodded in greeting, then sat at a table next to them. A young male servant brought the breakfast to her table: some bread, a fried egg, a bowl of hot soup, and a glass of buttered goat's milk.

Yi Fen never liked drinking goat milk. But she wasn't a person who liked to create trouble for others.

She ate the breakfast in a graceful and dignified manner, without complaining.

After everyone had finished their breakfast, Yi Fen walked after Prince Uta and Asima to the front door of the guest house.

The horse-drawn carriage was ready, and without help from anyone, Yi Fen immediately got on.

His Highness Prince Uta and Asima also mounted their horses, which had been fed and watered.

The sun hadn't yet appeared on the eastern horizon. Under the cover of night, they continued their journey.

...

In front of the north gate of the city wall of Media, the garrison guards who were guarding the tower saw two horses and a black carriage approaching.

"That's His Highness Prince Uta and Deputy Commander Asima," one of the soldiers announced from above the wall. "Lower the gate immediately!"

The soldiers guarding below immediately worked together, turning the mechanism to lower the gate.

By the time the two horses and carriage arrived at the north gate, the gate had completely descended.

Yi Fen lifted the wooden curtain covering the window on the right as the carriage entered the city.

It was almost noon. The view inside the city wasn't much different from what she saw six months ago. 

Houses with gray stone walls and black wooden roofs were neatly lined up. The Gasdarians planted various kinds of flowers in front of their windows.

However, it was near the end of autumn. Not many flowers were still blooming.

The stones were also used to build the roads.

Looking at the layout of this city, Yi Fen could conclude that everything was built for the purpose of making it easier for troops to move around.

The Gasdarians stood by the road, watching as the two horsemen and the carriage passed them by.

The infantries walked in squads on patrols.

It had been six months, and everything was still the same. Yi Fen couldn't help but think about someone.

(Is he also still the same?) 

Prince Uta and Asima headed straight to the residence of the City Lord.

Meanwhile, the driver turned the carriage onto a small road and stopped in front of a house.

Yi Fen heard the sound of someone knocking from outside and opened the door.

Her pupils constricted as she saw the person in front of her.

Yi Mei. One of her dowry maids. 

Yi Mei bowed respectfully to Yi Fen, "Greetings, Your Highness Princess An."

Yi Fen fell silent. She neither answered nor got off the carriage. Yi Mei also didn't dare to straighten up or force her to come down.

She stared at Yi Mei with a complex look and then questioned, "Why?"

Yi Mei raised her head. Her expression was calm.

"This servant will answer Your Highness the Princess's questions, but we'd better get inside the house first."

She added, "The air is getting cold, and Your Highness has had a tiring journey. This servant has already prepared some refreshments."

Yi Fen nodded. They really shouldn't be talking here.

Yi Mei helped her down the stairs and led her into the house.

Yi Fen scanned the entire interior of the house. The house looked simple but neat and comfortable. She sat on a long chair with soft cushions with the help of Yi Mei.

None of that was important now, nonetheless. She wanted to get the answer to her question.

She spoke sternly, "We're already inside the house. Now speak!"

Yi Mei took several steps back and kowtowed loudly three times; her head hit the floor hard.

By the time she raised her head again, Yi Fen saw that her forehead was slightly bruised.

Yi Mei started to recount, "My mother's name is Meng Shuiying..." 

"Meng? Your mother's surname is Meng?" she was cut off by the dumbfounded Yi Fen.

Yi Mei nodded in confirmation.

Yi Fen frowned and questioned again, "What is your relationship with Meng Guanyao?"

"He is my second uncle," Yi Mei returned truthfully.

Yi Fen took in a deep breath. She didn't know how to react to this shocking news.

Meng Guanyao was one of her father's deputy commanders. He had always been known for his loyalty.

However, kneeling before Yi Fen now was his niece, who was collaborating with the enemy kingdom.

Yi Fen felt that her head began to swell. She waved her hand and weakly said, "You continue!

Yi Mei nodded and continued to narrate. "My mother was born to the legal wife of colonel Meng Haiqiu. And about my late grandfather, everyone knows that he was someone who abandoned a legal wife for the sake of spoiling a concubine..."

Yi Fen nodded in agreement. She also heard the rumors.

Recalling the sad past, Yi Mei's eyes dimmed.

"My grandmother passed away due to heartache. She left my mother, who at that time was 7 years old, behind. 

"Later, my late grandfather handed over the power of managing the house to his favorite concubine. Since then, my mother's life has become very difficult.

"After her hairpin ceremony, my mother was betrothed to Chen Zimo. They married one year later..."

Chen Zimo was a scholar who failed many times in taking the Provincial Examinations. 

He was the only son of the Chen family, a famous wealthy merchant family in Jianshi Province.

Instead of studying, Chen Zimo spent his time in brothels or gambling or drinking. And he had 16 concubines in his back house...

"My mother and I didn't have a good life in the Chen family. On the day the Chen family was massacred, my mother and I survived because we were locked up in the woodshed," Yi Mei said.

Eight years ago, the Gasdarian Army attacked a small town southwest of Licheng, Anding, where the Chen family lived. They were massacred for resisting. Not only did they refuse to give away their food and supplies, they also provoked others to fight back in vain.

"So, you and your mother are the only ones left from the Chen family," Yi Fen concluded.

"Indeed. My mother and I were rescued by the commander of the First Legion of Gasdarian Army. We were both taken back to Gaston," Yi Mei answered.

Gaston was the capital of the Gasdar Kingdom.

Yi Fen could already guess how the story would go. Meng Shuiying fell in love with the commander, then they got married and now live in the capital.

She massaged her temples and sighed heavily.

"You are a spy under the orders of His Highness Prince Uta?"

To her surprise, Yi Mei shook her head. "No. My master is the Third Prince of the Great Yuan, Yuan Jun."