Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 267 - 249 Emotional Warming Up

Chapter 267: Chapter 249 Emotional Warming Up

"I don’t know what to do... I ran away... but I feel that this is wrong... I’m not someone with a conscience... I approached her because I saw how soft-hearted she was... She would always give me food... Her father is a blacksmith... Even my father couldn’t beat hers... He didn’t dare cause trouble at her house... As long as I escaped to her house, I could temporarily avoid being beaten by my parents..."

Her breathing gradually grew labored, nearly to the point of suffocation.

Meng Qianqian frowned: "Stop talking."

She weakly smiled: "Meng Qianqian... I just gave birth... and I’m in a state of impulsive foolishness... If I don’t say it now, the next time you ask me, I won’t speak under any circumstances..."

She gazed out toward the door, as if lost in memories. "Later, I went back and buried her. I kept that ’rescue order’ and signal bamboo... hoping one day to return them to Uncle Lin."

"As for the other corpses... I didn’t know how to deal with them. And at that time... Lu Lingxiao appeared."

Lu Lingxiao mistook her for Lin Wan’er, saying Lin’s father and brother were dead and asking if she was willing to leave with him—he would take care of her for a lifetime.

A lifetime.

No one had ever given her such a precious promise.

She couldn’t resist such a great temptation, so she nodded her head against her conscience.

She took Lin Wan’er’s identity.

Pretending to be Lin Wan’er wasn’t difficult; the difficulty was that Lin Wan’er’s father turned out to be the famously renowned among the Twelve Guards.

"General Lin said you also know martial arts. Being able to kill so many assassins means your skills must be better than mine."

Lu Lingxiao said to her with much admiration.

But she didn’t know any martial arts, which was her fatal flaw.

Soon after, an even bigger flaw emerged.

Lin Wan’er was from Yang State, and her entire family had Yang accents. She could learn a few phrases, but if she spoke too much, anyone could tell she was unmistakably a border native.

She tried to avoid speaking as much as possible.

Having just lost her father and brother, Lu Lingxiao assumed she was simply too heartbroken to talk to anyone and didn’t suspect anything.

But this wasn’t a long-term solution.

She needed a method that could resolve everything once and for all.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, she was captured by the Beiliang people.

The Beiliang interrogated her about the Twelve Guards, but she wasn’t truly Lin Wan’er—how could she possibly know?

No matter how she explained, the Beiliang refused to believe her.

They tortured her mercilessly, subjecting her to unimaginable pain.

It was the first time she experienced the consequences of lying.

She swore she’d never pretend to be Lin Wan’er again; the identity was far too perilous!

But what use was swearing? She was on the verge of death!

Just as she thought she was doomed, a masked figure appeared and took her away from the Beiliang army camp.

The person said they believed her, but hoped she would continue to impersonate Lin Wan’er.

They promised her she’d be completely safe.

They also shared information about the Twelve Guards, helping her bluff her way through.

"I asked him why he was doing this... He said I didn’t need to know... I either go back to the Beiliang camp to die... or fully become the real Lin Wan’er..."

For someone to sustain the act of impersonating Lin Wan’er for this long without slipping up, it had to be the Twelve Guards secretly aiding her.

More than the motives, Meng Qianqian wanted to know the identity of the person: "Who is he?"

Lin Wan’er replied: "Hai Pig."

Meng Qianqian was astounded: "Hai Pig?"

Hai Pig was known to be the most reckless yet indecisive among the Twelve Guards, always following others’ lead. Such an answer was utterly shocking.

But given the situation, Lin Wan’er had no reason to lie to her.

Though she was Xiaoli, Meng Qianqian had long been used to calling her Lin Wan’er.

Meng Qianqian asked solemnly: "Lin Wan’er, is Shen Monkey a traitor?"

Lin Wan’er’s face was filled with horror: "How could Uncle Lin be a traitor?"

Meng Qianqian asked suspiciously: "All those years ago, Chu Grand Marshal was poisoned, and someone forged his orders to relocate the Twelve Guards—wasn’t it Shen Monkey who did it?"

Lin Wan’er’s chest tightened, her face pale as she struggled to speak: "It was Hai Pig... He poisoned him... He had Shen Monkey... disseminate the orders... on his behalf..."

Meng Qianqian suddenly understood.

At the Princess Mansion, when Si Snake demanded Chen Long, Sheep, and Hai Pig to simultaneously identify the person who issued the orders, all three had unanimously named Shen Monkey.

Hai Pig knew Shen Monkey was the one who delivered the orders, and indeed Sheep and Chen Long had learned the orders from Shen Monkey. However, the two were unaware that the orders had actually originated from Hai Pig.

Shen Monkey had been manipulated by Hai Pig.

Lin Wan’er’s life was rapidly slipping away, and Meng Qianqian quickly applied acupuncture, then gave her a Heart-Protecting Pill.

"I can’t swallow it..." Lin Wan’er tightly grasped Meng Qianqian’s hand, using all her remaining strength. "Hai Pig... told me to wait for someone in the Capital City... That person... will give me something... I have it now... it’s hidden in..."

Meng Qianqian leaned in, bringing her ear close to Lin Wan’er’s lips.

Fresh blood kept bubbling up her throat: "...Did you remember it?"

Meng Qianqian nodded: "I remembered."

"One more thing... be careful..."

Lin Wan’er whispered the name of one of the Twelve Guards into her ear, then her hand fell limply to her side.

The baby in her arms seemed to sense something and began crying, a heart-wrenching wail...

Meng Qianqian stepped into the adjoining room.

Having endured such a significant upheaval, her face showed no signs of panic.

The poise and composure she exhibited made Princess Wanping glance at her curiously.

A wild doubt suddenly flashed through the princess’s mind: Is this person truly Meng Qianqian?

Why does it feel like she and I are equally matched?

"Princess."

Princess Wanping snapped out of her thoughts: "She’s gone?"

"Yes."

"The child is fine, right?"

Meng Qianqian said: "Thanks to the princess’s protection, the child is unharmed. She is blessed to have been born under your care. Would you like to see her?"

Princess Wanping nodded.

Meng Qianqian carried the crying baby over to Princess Wanping.

The infant wailed helplessly as the princess held her, for the first time feeling the fragility of life.

She sighed deeply: "Life is full of uncertainties, fate toys with us. Do you think she feels even a shred of regret?"

Meng Qianqian did not respond.

Princess Wanping looked at the child in her arms and said to Meng Qianqian: "You may leave. I will handle everything from here. Last night, you and Lu Yuan were never here."

Meng Qianqian left the courtyard.

Lu Yuan stood at dawn, unsure how long he had been waiting, his body dampened by dew. Golden rays of sunlight refracted through the glistening droplets, creating a sheen like glazed glass.

Had he been here all night?

Lu Yuan turned around, noticing Meng Qianqian standing motionless at the door. Rarely, he didn’t mock her and instead strode toward her: "Tired?"

"Mm." Meng Qianqian’s forehead gently bumped against his chest.

Lu Yuan felt his heart leap, his chest blazing as though ignited by flames.

"You..."

"Let me rest for a bit, just for a bit."

Meng Qianqian softly murmured.

She wasn’t fragile. Lin Wan’er’s death had shaken her slightly but wasn’t enough to affect her emotions.

"Grand Commander."

"Mm."

Lu Yuan maintained his posture, allowing her to lean against him, responding coldly as usual.

"Hai Pig is the traitor."

"Mm."

"Lin Wan’er... Xiaoli had something hidden in the Lu Family."

"Send Yu Zichuan to retrieve it."

Yu Zichuan, who had been eavesdropping on the roof all along, had heard the entire conversation between Lin Wan’er and Meng Qianqian.

Lu Yuan had anticipated Meng Qianqian would name the second traitor among the Twelve Guards.

Unexpectedly, Meng Qianqian suddenly spoke with a hint of grievance, her nasal tone soft: "Giving birth... it hurts so much..."

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