The forest lay hushed under a heavy shroud of winter snow. High above, a full moon broke through the cold dark, bathing the frozen world in a pale, silver glow. Song Qinghe stood guard, one hand holding a dagger, the other carrying her six-year-old daughter. The white snow was stained with blood as corpses lie on the cold ground. Song Qinghe had killed these assassins who were sent by her stepmother.
Five men surrounded her from every corner, their blades shining under the moonlight. Song Qinghe shifted her daughter's weight, pulling the shivering girl tighter against her chest. The child's face was buried in Qinghe's neck, her small hands clutching a blood-stained tunic. Song Qinghe's own breath came in ragged plumes of frost, but her grip on the dagger remained steady.
The five assassins moved in unison, closing the circle. They were professionals, unlike the clumsy scouts she had already left in the snow. The man directly in front of her lunged first. Song Qinghe didn't retreat—she couldn't. With a sharp pivot, she used the momentum of her daughter's weight to swing her body out of the path of the blade. As the assassin overextended, she drove her dagger upward, catching him beneath the jaw. He fell without a sound, his blood steaming as it hit the frozen earth.
Before the first body could settle, two more rushed her from the flanks.
The one on the left swung his heavy broadsword, going for her legs.
The one on the right held a twin-hooked blade, aiming for her shoulder.
Song Qinghe leaped back, her boots skidding on the slick ice. She felt a sharp sting as the hook caught the sleeve of her robe, tearing the silk but missing her flesh. Gritting her teeth, she kicked a cloud of loose snow into the face of the assassin on her left. Blinded for a split second, he faltered. She stepped into his space, her dagger a silver blur as it slashed across his throat. Now, only three remained. They were wary now, realizing the young lady was more wolf than prey. They circled slower, their boots crunching rhythmically on the crust of the snow.
"Stay still, Yanyan," Song Qinghe whispered, her voice a low rasp.
The three men charged at once. Song Qinghe dropped low, sweeping her leg across the snow to trip the closest attacker. As he stumbled, she used his back as a stepping stone, leaping over the sweep of another blade. In mid-air, she twisted, her dagger finding the chest of the third man. She landed hard on her knees, the impact jarring her bones, but she kept her daughter shielded.
The last two assassins hesitated, looking at their fallen comrades. The moon cast long, distorted shadows of the bodies across the white clearing.
Song Qinghe stood up slowly, her face pale and splattered with red. Her eyes, cold and dark as the winter night, locked onto the survivors. She raised her bloodied dagger, her voice echoing through the silent trees.
"Tell my stepmother," she said, her voice trembling not with fear, but with rage. "Qinghe and Yanyan will surely pay their respect when they arrived the city." The two remaining assassins glanced at each other, their resolve breaking under her icy stare. Retreating into the deeper forest, their figures disappeared in the shadows.
Song Qinghe dropped her dagger, her knees failing her. Her daughter, Song Yanli, cried as she tried wiping the blood off Qinghe's face. "A-Niang."
"Yanyan, be good. A-Niang won't die. We'll find somewhere to hide until the sun rise, okay?" Song Yanli nodded as she helped her mother to stand. They then left, searching for a place to hide.
***
That night, the Marquis of Zhengxi—Yang He'an—was leading his Frost-Blade Batallion as they were returning to the Imperial Capital. They happened to find the assassins' corpses, almost completely covered by the snow. Yang He'an ordered his soldiers to search around.
Two returned and reported there was a broken chariot 60 metres away. A woman's and a girl's clothes were found too. Yang He'an climbed down from his horse as he personally checked the corpses. "Hou-ye, we found this in the snow," Zhang Lan, a subordinate of Yang He'an, showed the dagger which he picked up. The wounds on the corpses were indeed caused by the dagger.
Another subordinate, Zhou Fengqi, as he explained the corpses were trained assassins. Yang He'an observed the dagger, a smile spreading across his face. "Trained assassins killed by a small dagger. They owner of this dagger must be really skilled."
Yang He'an ordered his men to burn the corpses as he prepared to leave. He stopped when he heard a child's crying in the woods. The soldiers spread up, thoroughly checking the trees.
Under a huge pagoda tree, Yang He'an found Song Qinghe and Song Yanli. The child was crying as she tried to wake her mother. Yang He'an lifted Song Yanli, handing her over to Zhang Lan. He then checked Song Qinghe's pulse. "Her heart is beating too slow. Quick, build the tents. We'll leave tomorrow."
Yang He'an carried Song Qinghe in his arms, ordering Zhou Fengqi to start a fire. Song Qinghe needed to be warmed first and foremost.
There were no woman amongst his soldiers, and he dared not risk them to take the responsibility of treating a woman. Therefore, he did the job alone and would take the responsibility himself. He tore up Song Qinghe's outer clothes, applying ointment on her wounds and bandaging them. All the while, Song Yanli cried, and Zhang Lan and Zhou Fengqi had to coax the little girl.
When the tents were ready, Yang He'an carried Song Qinghe inside and laid her on the bed, covering her with blankets. He tended her fever, staying up all night until her fever died down. Song Qinghe's pulse finally returned to normal at dawn.
***
Zhang Lan entered the tent with Song Yanli sleeping in his arms. "Did she tell you anything?" Yang He'an asked. Zhang Lan put Song Yanli beside her mother, and Yang He'an covered them with more blankets.
"The little girl's mother was pregnant out of wedlock, so she was sent away to a temple. The term for their banishment is over, so the mother's father send people to take them back to the capital. But on the way they encountered bandits and they were robbed."
"They are not bandits. Clearly, someone had sent assassins to kill them. The mother is lying to her daughter so that she would not get scared. However, I would really like to know who wants their life. They don't look like the type to have enemies." Yang He'an caressed the little girl's hair.
Zhou Fengqi entered as he greeted the Marquis. "Hou-ye, the sun is rising. We must enter the city before noon." Yang He'an dismissed Zhou Fengqi as he told Zhang Lan to stay and guard the mother and daughter. "Escort them to the city when they wake up." Zhang Lan bowed as Yang He'an left the tent.
***
Song Qinghe regained consciousness and saw her daughter staring at her with big eyes. "A-Niang, you're awake."
"Yanyan? Where are we?" Song Qinghe was surprised to find herself sleeping on a bed inside a tent. She remembered she had killed the assassins, and then.. it all went black.
Zhang Lan entered the tent, alerting Song Qinghe as she hastily jumped off the bed and shielded her daughter. "Guniang, don't be afraid. My master saved you and he told me to escort you to the city. I mean no harm." Song Qinghe wasn't convinced, however, her daughter told her the man was a good man.
Song Qinghe then thanked the soldier. "When we arrived the city, I will personally thank your master."
Zhang Lan waved his hand while smile. "No need, no need. My master serves the kingdom of its people. Saving lives is his duty." Zhang Lan gave the mother and daughter a new set of clothes, then stepped outside.
***
Yang He'an was known as cold, cruel, and ruthless. However, he never wronged the people and the people admired him. The moment he and his soldiers entered the city, the people welcomed them with gongs and drums, and explosives, and people gathering in the streets and balconies. They screamed and shouted, welcoming the return of the Marquis.
On one of the pavilions, a beautiful lady dressed in green stood, her face gleaming with the color of a moon. This lady was the youngest and legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister, Liu Fuling. She had admired the Marquis since childhood. But she could not openly show any affection she had for him due to the fued between her family and his family.
Liu Fuling was betrothed to the Crown Prince, Xiao Yu, but she had no interest in him or any other men. Her maternal aunt was the Empress, and her paternal aunt was the Imperial Noble Consort. The Prime Minister's family controlled the court; even the Emperor was weak against the power they hold.
Song Qinghe was the eldest daughter, but she was also the daughter of a maid, so her status in the Prime Minister's house was low. To make her life worse, she was drugged by Liu Fuling, which caused him to sleep with a stable boy, Pei Zhen.
Pei Zhen refused to marry her, even though he knew she was pregnant with his child. The Prime Minister was furious upon finding Song Qinghe's pregnancy, so he sent her away and banished her to a temple for six years. Song Yanli was then born, and Song Qinghe would do anything to protect her. But she was of low birth, and she was poor in health. A day before she was summoned back by her father, Song Qinghe was pushed into a lake by Liu Fuling who came to tell the news. Song Qinghe did die in the lake, but her body was claimed by An Qinghuan.
Liu Fuling was mad to see that Song Qinghe survived, so she stromed out of the temple and returned to the city alone. Song Qinghe's memory was passed on to An Qinghuan, so she was able to tell the woman's life was difficult. Since the heavens gave her a chance to live again, An Qinghuan vowed to take revenge for Song Qinghe and herself. The frail and timid Song Qinghe had died, and now, they were going to face the radiant and courageous general.
***
The Prime Minister's wife, Ning Sui, wasn't too much shock to see Song Qinghe alive as the two assassins had already passed on the news to her. However, she was indeed angry.
"Muqin doesn't seem too happy to see me return. Have this daughter done something wrong?"
Liu Fuling and Ning Sui were surprised. Song Qinghe had always been quiet and timid, not like the person standing in front of them with confidence and a proud face. The Prime Minister and the Old Madam, however, were quite pleased to see Song Qinghe and Song Yanli. After all, Song Qinghe was still the eldest daughter, even if she was an illegitimate. The Old Madam approached them as she pat Song Yanli on the head. "This must be Yanyan. Grandma have been waiting to meet you, it's good that you have finally returned. Come on, grandma will take your to your courtyard."
The Old Madam and Song Yanli left the hall. The matters between Song Qinghe and her stepmother was not good for children to watch.
"Jiejie looked so stunning in red. I thought white was your favourite," Liu Fuling said as she sat down. Song Qinghe took out her dagger as she placed it on the side table beside her seat. "Muqin, did you know? Yanyan and I ran into bandits on our way to the capital. It's my fortune that I happen to adopt few skills while I was at the temple. If not, Yanyan and I would already be dead."
The Prime Minister aggressively hit the arm of his chair, looking so angry. "How dare they! But it's a good thing you both are safe." Song Qinghe smiled at Ning Sui with a smug face. "Right. It's to my luck that the monks taught me martial arts. Those bandits died tragically by my hands. Muqin, do you know what I did to them? I cut one on his throat, and I stabbed one. Right. At. His. Heart." Song Qinghe grabbed the dagger and in a swift movement, she threw the dagger towards Ning Sui, the dagger flying passed her head and stabbed the wall behind her.
Ning Sui shouted as she dropped her tea, the porcelain scattering into pieces on hitting the floor. Liu Fuling hastily rushed to her mother's side. "Muqin, don't be scared. I'm very skilled at aiming," Song Qinghe said as she left her seat to retrieve the dagger. Before the Prime Minister could scold her, Song Qinghe cut in and showed them the spider on the tip of her dagger. "Fuji, the spider was going to bite mother. I hope father would not blame me for my action. If I scared mother, I apologized." Song Qinghe bowed, but her face remained smug.
Liu Fuling was going to say something but her mother stopped her. Song Qinghe turned her head towards her father, bidding him farewell. "If there's nothing more, this daughter will leave."
"You may go," the Prime Minister told her. Song Qinghe then turned on her heels as she stepped out of the hall.
xxx