Elara looked toward the direction where the arrow had come from. It was a young man with striking features. Though his clothes were worn and torn, and he only held an old, rough bamboo bow, he still managed to dodge the guards skillfully while pulling the bowstring to its full draw.
That crude-looking bow and arrow, which seemed hastily put together, looked like it was enchanted in his hands. From such a long distance at the foot of the city wall, he shot arrow after arrow with deadly precision toward the spot where Guard Yang was hanging. Every shot was sharp and accurate.
Such skill... he could pierce a leaf from a hundred steps away.
The young man looked handsome, but his expression was wild and filled with madness and grief.
He dodged another swing from a guard, continued shooting up toward the wall, and shouted loudly in anger. "You beast, Yang Shu! Give me back my father and mother's lives! Give me back my little sister's life! Yang Shu, you beast! How are you still allowed to live!"
"It's him…"
Elara's sharp ears caught someone nearby whispering the youth's name.
She turned around and saw several scholars holding scrolls who had wandered over without her noticing.
One of them looked familiar to Elara. After a closer look, she realized it was the same elderly scholar who had been the first to gamble his heirloom items at the gambling hall the other day when she forced everyone to join.
She remembered he had a fiery and stubborn personality. He had been dressed decently back then, but now he looked worn out and ragged. Could it be because she won all his possessions and he could no longer stay in the east side of the city, so he had to retreat to the slums in the west to continue his studies?
Elara smiled to herself but kept a straight face. She raised her hand and gestured for them to come over.
"You, come here."
These scholars were used to hanging around in the east side of the city and were bolder than regular citizens. Seeing the notorious Guard Yang tied up and beaten publicly, they were so shocked and curious that they walked up without noticing Elara nearby.
When they saw her calling them over, they all froze. After a few seconds, they realized that with their scruffy faces and older age, the Princess wouldn't be interested in them even with her known taste in handsome men.
So they nervously bowed and walked over slowly, then knelt down in front of her.
"G-greetings, Your Highness…"
Elara looked at the group who were now acting humble. She remembered how they had mocked her back when she was in disguise at the gambling house. Now that she stood before them as the Princess, they didn't even dare raise their heads. It wasn't gender they respected but power and status.
"Get up and tell me. Who is that young man?"
"Yes, Your Highness…" The one who had first called out the youth's name wiped the sweat off his forehead. Seeing Elara was only interested in the youth, he calmed down a little. Though he pitied the young man, he dared not hide anything and spilled everything he knew.
"Your Highness, that young man is named Damon. He's about twenty-three or twenty-four this year and used to be known in the eastern slums as a master archer."
"His father once served in the army and was said to be excellent at ambushes from the city gates. But he lost his right hand and left leg, so he retired and made a living by crafting and selling bows."
"Damon inherited his father's skills. He could shoot leaves from fifty steps away when he was just six. By his teens, he could hit targets from a hundred steps, even better than his father."
"So when it came time for conscription, Damon followed in his father's footsteps and enlisted, hoping to fulfill his father's dream and earn honor."
"But after just two or three years, he returned covered in wounds. It looked like he had been tortured. People said he collapsed outside the west city gate, skin and bones, unconscious. If someone who knew him hadn't found him and informed his family, he would've died there that year."
"Damon never talked about why he was discharged. Some guessed he offended someone powerful in the army or broke military law or... maybe he deserted and snuck back. Whatever the case, ever since then, Damon has shown deep hatred toward the soldiers of Summer Capital. Especially later…"
The scholar paused, as if recalling a painful memory. He looked toward Damon, who was still dodging guards while shooting arrows, and a look of pity crossed his face. He swallowed hard and went on.
"Especially later on, when his parents were suddenly implicated in a military smuggling case. They were accused of hiding thirty thousand military bows…"
What? A regular disabled veteran suddenly accused of hoarding thirty thousand military bows?
Elara looked at the scholar. "And then?"
"Then…" The scholar touched his face again, looking torn. "Then, his father was found guilty and executed. His mother and little sister... also died."
The scholar gave a quick answer, skipping over the details, but the sorrow and unease on his face clearly said he knew a lot more.
Elara thought of the way the young man had looked just now, ready to burn everything down for revenge. She didn't need to guess to know that this story, full of holes, must hide something much deeper.
Elara cracked a nut in her mouth. With a crisp snap, she spoke in a calm voice, "Just say what you think about this. No need to hold anything back."
"This..." The scholar hesitated, even though his face clearly showed he had much more to say. He seemed afraid, not daring to speak.
"If you won't say it, I will!"
The old man next to him gave a cold snort and pushed the young man aside. He walked up to Elara and gave her a respectful bow.
Even though Elara had won his family heirloom in a bet just the day before, the old man still held onto his stubborn, unyielding spirit.
His face showed faint anger. Clearly, he had long been dissatisfied with the injustice of the past and now wanted to make everything clear. He hoped that Elara and the nobles in power could finally uncover the truth behind the false accusation.
"Your Highness, I used to live not far from Damon's family. I knew them well. They were upright and honest people. They would never do something like stealing weapons or betraying the kingdom."
"Damon's father was just a regular retired soldier. His limbs were injured, and he was already half-disabled. How could he possibly have the energy or ability to be involved in something as serious as weapon smuggling? After returning to the east side of the city, he never had any contact with military weapons again. His reputation in our neighborhood was one of honesty and kindness. He would never do something like that."
The scholar beside him tugged the old man's sleeve, worried he was saying too much. But the old man pushed him away and continued to speak directly to Elara:
"Besides, their shop back then was small and cramped. Even if it was packed full, it couldn't hold thirty thousand military bows. It's a shame… hmph! I heard that in the beginning, the people involved in that case were actually a few high-ranking officials, including Damon's superior, Guard Yang, and some of his close allies."
The old man raised his voice, clearly too angry to stay calm any longer.
"It's said that Guard Yang and his allies had all bought bows from Damon's father's shop once. But they only came that one time. After the incident, they all pointed at Damon's father and accused him of stockpiling weapons in secret!"
"The worst part is that even when Damon's father was sentenced to torture by burning, the government never searched his shop. It was like they had already decided he was guilty without needing proof!"
The old man's chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. The veins on his hand bulged as he gripped his book tightly.
By this point, it was obvious. This was clearly a false case, a setup to shift blame onto someone innocent.
If even regular scholars like these could see it, how could those clever and experienced officials in court not understand?
Elara brushed the nut shells from her hand and looked at the old man. Her voice turned cold. "From the beginning to the end of that case, no other official ever stepped forward to speak the truth?"
The old man paused. After hearing her question, the anger on his face softened a little. He thought back to that year and finally nodded.
"There were some! Even though the Pei Family was already being suppressed at the time, Mathias still had great influence at court. Back then, there were still some honest officials like Lord Ming and Lord Yuan who dared to speak up. They asked for a reinvestigation! But..."
The old man frowned and thought for a moment. Then he looked at Elara and continued, "In the end, all the petitions they submitted disappeared. No one ever responded. And after that, Lord Ming, Lord Yuan, and the other officials who joined them were each accused of crimes. Ha! All of them were exiled by Lord Gregory himself. After that, the Pei Family declined even further. Mathias also began to step back from court affairs..."
So it really was connected to Lord Gregory. The smuggling and framing of thirty thousand weapons didn't surprise Elara. She had already seen evidence of large sums moving in and out in the files from the night before. The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart became.
Since six years ago, Lord Gregory and his allies had already started stealing from the kingdom so boldly. Then how long had their secret dealings been going on before that? Just how much power and influence had they built up in secret over the years?
Elara slowly furrowed her brow.
As the old man continued, the strength in his voice began to turn into sorrow.
If even someone as upright and respected as Mathias couldn't protect his family at court, what chance did commoners like them have, people without even a name or rank...
The old man looked down at the scroll in his hand. For a moment, he seemed lost. He wondered if his lifelong efforts to study and earn a title in this chaotic world had any meaning. Was he right, or had it all been a mistake?
Seeing the sorrow on the old man's face grow deeper, the scholar he had pushed aside stepped forward again. He stood beside him and sighed as he added:
"Sigh... that case caused a big uproar back then. It involved several high officials, so we all remember it clearly."