Echoes of a Hidden Past

"It was many years ago," Ling began, her voice soft, as if recounting a long-forgotten tale. "At that time, my husband… he was your master's disciple."

Liana's eyes widened in surprise. Jian had never mentioned having other disciples.

"One day," Ling continued, her gaze distant, "your master's daughter… your mother… she fell in love with your father."

Liana's breath hitched. This was the first time she had heard anything concrete about her parents' relationship.

"But your master… and your father's father, your grandfather… he was vehemently against it. He saw it as a stain on the royal bloodline." Ling paused, her expression clouding with sadness. "But love, as it often does, found its way. Your mother became pregnant with you."

Liana felt a strange mix of emotions, longing for the mother she never knew and a dawning understanding of the tensions surrounding her birth.

"Knowing your mother carried the royal heiress, your grandfather knew he had to act decisively, before your birth caused too much scandal and weakened his control," Ling explained, her voice grim. "He was a cunning man. Even before you were born, he orchestrated a plan. He sent your father away on a fabricated mission to quell unrest in a distant province, knowing he would be far from the capital."

Ling's voice grew heavy with sorrow. "The day you were born… was also the day your grandfather enacted his cruel design. He had already made arrangements. He had your mother… silenced. It was made to look like a tragic accident during childbirth, a sudden illness, complications. There was no body to present, only carefully crafted lies and veiled grief."

Liana gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. The pieces of the puzzle were forming a horrifying picture of cold, calculated cruelty.

"My husband," Ling continued, her voice trembling slightly, "he suspected something was wrong. He had heard whispers, felt the shift in the palace atmosphere. He tried to investigate, but your grandfather's web of deceit was too strong. He was… eliminated. Another 'unfortunate accident.'"

Tears welled up in Liana's eyes, blurring her vision. The pain of loss, a constant ache in her heart, intensified with this newfound knowledge of her grandfather's monstrous actions.

"Hearing the whispers and fearing for my own life because of what my husband had learned, I turned to your master," Ling said, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He had his own suspicions, his own grief over his daughter's fate. He helped me disappear, protecting me from your grandfather's reach."

Ling's voice dropped to a whisper. "This story… it never left the inner circle of those who knew the truth. Your father returned from his mission, grieving the wife he believed had died in childbirth, never knowing the true hand behind her death."

Tears streamed down Liana's face as the weight of Ling's words crashed down upon her. "So… Master was my grandfather?" she choked out, her voice thick with disbelief and anguish. "And the mother I never knew… she was murdered by my own grandfather, while my father was unknowingly sent away?"

Ling reached out and gently took Liana's hand, her touch offering a small measure of comfort in the face of such devastating revelations. "Yes, child," she said softly. "The truth has been hidden for far too long. And now… now you know the full extent of the treachery you face."