"Liang'er," her father Deputy Supreme Commander Mei asked gently, "what did you want to tell us?"
Mei Liang lowered her gaze. She slipped a handkerchief from her sleeve and carefully wiped away the tears on her cheeks. She could already imagine how messy her makeup must look—something she'd have to fix once she returned to her tent.
Only when she finished wiping her face did she finally speak.
In a calm, steady voice, she recounted everything she had overheard in the forest—the two men's secret conversation, the plot, the assignment to Datong, all of it.
When she finished, the tent fell into a heavy silence.
Then—
Bang!
Mei Jianwei shot to his feet so violently that the stool he had been sitting on toppled over with a loud crash.
Deputy Supreme Commander Mei immediately snapped at him.
"Jianwei! Compose yourself!" he barked.
But the fury blazing in Mei Jianwei's eyes showed that he had already lost all patience.
