Rushing through the woods he ran in the darkness while being pursued by something that shook the leaves of the trees as he breathed heavily and sweated profusely while he got slower and tired with every stride on the way.
"Help me." He cried and alas before going any further there was an arrow that struck him in the back he stumbled and fell over on his abdomen, his hands ahead of him he had gotten close to a slope he rolled over swiftly.
The branches beating against his face and the rocks cutting his skin, his head took a solid hit of one of the tree stems and he was concussed and knocked unconscious, he halted somewhere in the dark valley with the grass covering him while at the top where he was toppled a couple of horsemen appeared bearing torches in their hands and along with them very long and sharp Spears.
They had their hair tied behind into a single plait and their beards were thick with their chests hairy their eyes were very dark and cold and some strands from their heads were loose.
"There's no way he could have made it." One of them said.
"You can't be too sure as one of the things that sly fox is good at is staying alive." The other replied.
"With the rocks and the branches at the bottom, through all those trees even a horse can not survive, shall you really not cease to exist if I pushed you down right this very moment?" His friend asked.
"To retrieve the corpse is what we must do at all costs." The other replied.
"At what price?" His fellow inquired.
"The most handsome price people like us can find." He replied as he smiled at himself ghastly as the two rode away.
Beiyuan happened to be close by hidden under the bushes and looking right beside himself he noticed the man whose face was wounded and he seemed very hard to recognize.
Moving closer he checked for his heartbeat with two of his fingers only to detect a very faint pulse he garnered his courage and might and with all the strength he could find in his weary body he quickly carried him on his back.
Yang Meizi was seated inside the cottage silently, a number of months having passed her abdomen had bulged and become very big she heard a knock at the door and standing up she approached it and opening it Beiyuan rushed in with the casualty that he had saved the first thing that he did was to lower him on the nearby bed.
"What happened, who is he?" Yang Meizi asked curious.
"I don't know my lady but I was out coming from the forest with firewood when I came across this man." Beiyuan replied as he removed the clothes on his chest and he examined his body which was covered in wounds and scars.
His eyes were swollen and his hair was unkempt and disorganized, his beards had grown out and they were tied into three braids while his skin looked tan with bruises and wounds all over.
"He seems to me to be as a warrior." Yang Meizi Said.
"These scars." Beiyuan said.
"It must have been years ago." Yang Meizi remarked.
"Sadly." Beiyuan muttered while he opened his eyes and examined them.
"Did you see his pursuers?" Yang Meizi asked.
"They could have been ordinary bandits but it seems to me that they were really out to annihilate him." Beiyuan replied, "furthermore judging from their accent and the way that they spoke Mandarin they are likely to be Jurchens." He added.
"This far from the border?" Yang Meizi asked.
"It could have been a warrant of pursuit, over the past couple of months security in the North has been relaxed and it's likely that between the two states of Jin and the Great Song, there are concessions." Beiyuan replied as Yang Meizi moving over she caught a bucket of hot water which she carried over to his side.
"You needn't do this Milady." Beiyuan said.
"If I don't do this who will?" Yang Meizi asked.
"You are heavily pregnant and soon you'll go into labour, at this stage you are more vulnerable than ever before." Beiyuan cautioned as he dipped the cloth into the water and wringing it he started cleaning the wounds of the man.
"You seem to forget that I am no ordinary woman." Yang Meizi said.
"Nonetheless Milady." Beiyuan objected.
She went quiet for a moment and he seemed to notice that he was concerned.
"Anything wrong Milady?" He asked.
"I bet the capital has changed, I bet that the palace there is lively, I bet that he is already wedded with the Princess, a high ranking official, a Prince Consort, an Imperial brother in law, a Marquis of the first rank, I wonder which one of these he is." Yang Meizi replied as she took a deep breath and sighed while he temporarily reserved his silence feeling uneasy.
Shi Miyuan only miles away he stood in the gardens of his residence and stared at the night sky, his eyes looking at the half full moon while he clenched in his fists the half of the Jade pendant that Master Bao had given to him only months ago.
He could recall one by one the words that the old man had mentioned to him.
"The further she is she is protecting you from wrath and you have a wife to look after that happens to be the Emperor's blood sister soon enough you'll become a Prince Consort and you'll have to lead by example and after that for His Majesty to tolerate and trust you you needn't come close enough to fooling yourself into searching for her." He had said.
"No, it's not true." Shi Miyuan had persisted to rebuke his speech.
"And I am not commanding that you believe me only demanding that you understand, forget her and let her live in peace otherwise the day that you seek her out of all the worst things you should be prepared for the very first should be to bury her." Master Bao had assured him heartlessly as he turned around to walk out of that very room he had started to feel small, the very room that he had ceased to be human and the very same room that he had ceased to exist as well.
"Do you really believe that I am willing to go that far?" He'd asked knowing himself much better to be a resilient young man and the latter halting in his footsteps he had slightly looked over his shoulder at that time he could only imagine the old man laughing at him inwardly.
"There's nothing for you to give her therefore a man that can not protect his wealth and his desire is not fit to be a man at all." Master Bao spoke up confidently and while he returned to his present he let go of his hands and looked at the Jade pendant that he had cherished and kept with himself there appearing to have it's most beautiful glow like it had had back then.
"I'm sorry." He whispered to the wind, "maybe I really couldn't give you anything at all." He shed a tear while in a distance the Princess Qi'an standing behind a wall she overheard him and turning around herself she could barely hold herself together that she stumbled while Lanhui held her up onto her feet.
"Are you alright Your Highness?" She asked.
"It's just a little bit cold." Princess Qi'an replied as she led her away from the scene unwilling to let her recognize the fact that she had been peeping at her husband who still stared longingly at the stars, himself feeling so small and perhaps even jealous.
It was very early in the morning and the doors of the Central Palace were flung open as a young palace lady rushing there she quickly bowed down her head before the Empress who was seated on her throne and reading a small book.
"Greetings Your Highness." She said.
"Get up." Empress Han replied as she obeyed the command and stood upright facing her.
"Tell me." She muttered.
"There's a letter I was sent to deliver." The young woman replied.
"And I suppose it is so vital." Empress Han said with the talons on her fingers, the dark mascara over her eyes, a sense of maturity could be pronounced from her aura and Qing Yi also felt confident next to her master fanning her.
"Yes Your Highness." The young woman replied.
"Bring it over Qing'er." Empress Han said and letting go of the fan out of his hand the young lady walked over to her junior ceasing the envelope while she let go of it reluctantly.
Gracefully she walked back up to her mistress and offered it to her while she took it out of her grip and opening it she pulled out a white piece of paper and scrutinized it's contents.
Reserving her facial expression she seemed calm while she rested it on the table by her side.
"You may leave." Empress Han ordered and the young lady already frightened she withdrew from the hall leaving Her Highness alone with her servant.
"What is it Your Highness?" Qing Yi asked.
"Quite an eventful season." Empress Han replied.
"And what's the occasion?" Qing Yi asked.
"It's from the South." Empress Han replied turning to Qing Yi, "apparently about a certain ghost that once lingered through the Palace hallways and some went ahead to make fun of the Court Lady of the Retired Emperor.
They say that she hanged herself and to others that she drowned, others claimed that herself and the Late Retired Emperor were lovers and she haunts the Retired Empress every night in the cold Palace that she screams aloud such that not a single soul goes any closer.
Many more still claim that she appears in the Grand Empress Dowager's dreams but how many of them know how swollen her belly is and that the child she carries in her womb is Imperial flesh and marrow?" Empress Han asked coldly and Qing Yi moving behind she quickly bowed her head.
"Pardon me Your Highness." She pleaded.
"You told me that you took care of her and that your men were watching her, you lost her for nine whole months and now you afflict me with news that she has been found but with a child in her womb?" Empress Han asked.
"Pardon me Your Highness, Qing Yi was at fault." She pleaded guilty.
"But can you bear that responsibility?" Empress Han asked while on the other hand Qing Yi kept quiet and the latter standing up from where she was seated she descended the small stairs right in front of her while Qing Yi kept her head down.
"Strangely enough my husband sent her out of the Palace no one can tell whether she was pregnant or not, it's likely that sooner or later he could seek her out and learning that she has a child be it a Princess or worse a son he'll have every excuse to return her to this Palace.
Should that be so then what is my place, or if a Prince that I dread more than anything else is what that child within her is what will be the position of my own son?" Empress Han asked as she stopped by the nearby pole supporting herself on it while she looked at Qing Yi over her shoulder.
"Don't worry Your Majesty, this may be my fault and I shall deal with it." Qing Yi replied.
"How sure can you be?" Empress Han asked and letting go of her support and walked around her as well.
"She is expecting but what are the chances that she'll survive, suppose she died Your Highness who would not blame the poor conditions, a still birth is also another plausibility and may be if heaven is not on her side the child born can be ailing and at the same time deficient of life." Qing Yi replied.
"Am I thinking what you are thinking?" Empress Han asked stopping in front of her as she bent over and held her chin up with her arms as she stared into her eyes.
"You can never predict the morning from the crow of the rooster alone unless the heavens have graced that the first saffron beam graces the dark sky." Qing Yi replied at her mistress who smiling ghastly she let go and turned around her back facing her.
"Then if better deal with both burdens." Empress Han ordered.
"Your servant shall certainly see to this, this time round I won't disappoint you." Qing Yi replied and standing up while bowing her head she withdrew from the hall.
Emperor Ningzong was seated inside the Grand Hall and the Courtiers looking up at him they offered their salutation.
"Your Majesty." They sang in unison while himself not even smiling retained the most serious glance in a moment he seemed astute.
"What is it therefore that you wish to discuss today?" He asked when Zhao Ruyu stepped out of the masses and then bowed his head.
"The mourning period for the Late Retired Emperor is drawing to a close and the public seems to have settled itself over the issue of the throne, looking out I mapped the stars and studied them keenly the state is yet still flourishing."Minister Zhao Ruyu replied.
"I seem to be lucky in this dynasty knowing that I am yet surrounded with very able ministers." Emperor Ningzong remarked.
"Thank you Your Majesty." Zhao Ruyu replied bowing his head, "yet however there is one more reason that I wish to present." He went ahead to say.
"Speak therefore as I am listening." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"The Courtiers and other officials are not yet familiar and Your Majesty's harem seems to be devoid of Imperial wives and concubine, as it is that the mourning period shall soon come to an end, it is therefore a very auspicious time to choose children amongst those daughters of the official families." Chancellor Zhao Ruyu said as he bowed his head.
"Please choose more concubines Your Majesty." The Eastern Faction of the Court said and Minister Zhao Ruyu looking at Han Touzhou he smiled ghastly.
"Anyone else with another idea?" Emperor Ningzong asked and Han Touzhou of the Grand Secretariat stepped forward and bowed his head to him as he tightly held onto His ceremonial tablet.
"His Excellency my colleague the Chancellor is right." He muttered which even the Emperor found alarming himself.
"Surely could there be no hint of objection?" Emperor Ningzong asked.
"In the very least we could extend the period of sorting out the Imperial women but if your Majesty refrains then it won't be considered as an act of filial piety and furthermore the Court can only suggest and give opinions and guide Your Majesty but the matter of the Imperial harem is a matter of Your Majesty and the Imperial family which is to be overseen by the Grand Empress Dowager while most importantly, Your Majesty is the successor of the dynasty so as always the final say shall rest with You who is highest." Han Touzhou replied.
"Alright." Emperor Ningzong replied, "if it is what all of you could come to terms with." He muttered and standing up he walked out of the room while the Courtiers exited a while later.
Grand Empress Dowager Wu was seated in her Chambers reviewing a memorial that had been given to her in silence while Wan Mei and Wan'er standing beside her they kept their heads low.
"To preside over the Emperor's choice of a harem?" She asked as she closed it and then placed it on the side along with others.
"Your Highness doesn't need to talk it through with the Retired Empress and the Empress Dowager is also unwilling on the other hand to take part." Wan Mei muttered.
"That's not what worries me the most." Grand Empress Dowager Wu remarked.
"If it isn't so then what does Your Highness?" Wan Mei asked.
"Zhao Ruyu's position at the Chancellory and Han Touzhou's at the Grand Secretariat, it would for a moment be unbelievable that Han Touzhou would listen to what the latter has to offer." Wan Mei said.
"Over the last couple of months Zhao Ruyu's supporters have outnumbered Han Touzhou's, his objections might come a bit too weak but certainly this is yet another of his moves to solidify power given that his niece is the Empress and the Ruler of the harem, her nature that is quite domineering remains largely well known what he is after is not competition for power but prisoners in the Palace to force them into allies." Grand Empress Dowager Wu added.
"I see." Wan Mei said.
"Even so what can we do Your Highness?" Wan'er asked.
"That's a very big question." Grand Empress Dowager Wu replied, "I am already too old and senility shall soon take its course, it's only natural that at an age like this I take one of two options the first being that I could give up fighting Han Touzhou and the second being that I mould for myself my own successor." She added.
"Your Highness is troubled that it hardly puts us to ease but if there is one person that I can think of within the palace to posses the poise of Yang Meizi, could it not be Nuwa?" Wan'er asked.
The Grand Empress Dowager kept quiet.
"Considering that she has often been around Yang Meizi it's natural for her to posses very much the same character, both charming and silent are very good at thinking and I heard reliably that she has gotten so close to the Emperor these days, hardly does she fear the Empress let alone her servant and if it is devotion she remains incomparable with other average women." Wan Mei supplemented.
"You are all right when you say it yet she had the chance to follow Yang Meizi outside these walls yet she chose to stay behind, don't any of you find it curious?" Grand Empress Dowager Wu asked and the two looked at herself.
"Han Touzhou has made enough enemies and from those we can utilize whatever hatred to seek out a beautiful and able, confident and enterprising young woman." Grand Empress Dowager Wu said.
"Yes Your Highness." The two said in unison.
"Keep an eye out for those that the Empress shall surely hate." She remarked.
"Yes." They replied again.
Emperor Ningzong seated in a room he was surrounded by a large number of paintings and portraits, every angle captured and every remarkable image had yet the finest face he remembered with his brush and a dark stroke he concluded those brown eyes and pulling back at a distance Yang Meizi appeared in the picture more beautiful than he could remember before he dipped the brush into water.
"Your Majesty seems so troubled." Lan He spoke up and the Emperor looking at the doorway he signalled for the young man to walk in as he complied.
"It took you long enough." Emperor Ningzong muttered as he took a deep sigh while Lan He moved closer.
"Is it the officials again?" He asked.
"They demanded that I choose more concubines from the families of the lower officials and that I add them to my harem, Zhao Ruyu's animal instincts compel him to do what he is not smart enough to do." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"It's another political scheme." Lan He remarked.
"Han Touzhou would boast the blessing of an Empress from his house and I have a son that is just old enough, sadly he has the Grand Secretariat and some influence in the army the Eastern Faction of bureaucrats against him might feel inadequate they would hope to place on the phoenix throne an Empress that they would truly desire." Emperor Ningzong asked.
"Your Majesty wishes to have his way?" Lan He asked.
"I have been very hard on the Empress all her life for a while she can have this one to herself, but the throne also needs power if I am trustful of Han Touzhou by having his niece beside me I needn't make foes of all the other Courtiers as many would still habour some intent of resistance moreso to my ascension or dislike it is necessary that I let it dissipate." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"But would the Empress tolerate it?" Lan He asked.
"She has no choice as Her Highness the Grand Empress Dowager would have the final say and tradition would rather have an Empress tolerate the ladies of the harem rather than incessantly dismiss them without reason furthermore I could only think that for Han Touzhou it could yet be another way of him gathering prisoners within the Palace." Emperor Ningzong replied.
"I see." Lan He muttered while the Emperor tilting his head he admired the portrait of his hand in front of him.
"If only she too were here." He remarked, "I never thought that every one of those moments annoying or not to me was something precious." Emperor Ningzong went ahead to say.
"It's been nine months Your Majesty." Lan He spoke up.
"Yet I still see her over and over again standing up there before me, her brown eyes, yes those most beautiful ones, and her smile I wonder, was it not the one thing keeping me alive?" He asked and the whole room went into silence, "whether she eats or not, or she has a roof above her head, whether in the finest clothes or the worst of rags, can I not really help but wonder how she is doing or is it that most ideal that I retain the distance between us and try much harder than I have to forget what is past?" Emperor Ningzong said.
"I can find out for Your Majesty of you wish it." Lan He uttered.
"No." The Emperor replied, "I would rather things remain as they are." He confessed as he stared deeply at the eyes of the portrait that looked back to him he felt them searching deep in his soul while he as well searched in the same darkness but in vain.
"They are still empty, they are devoid of emotion, only misery, silence and hate." He spoke in his most sombre tone as his eyes became teary the faithful retainer reserving strangely more silence than usual, his heart skipped a beat or two as he mourned inwardly for his master the same.
Beiyuan watching his patient had started dozing and at that very moment the latter opening his eyes it was to the faint light of the candle that fought the resisting darkness in the room.
Only silence was dominant and shortly after that the crickets acted up from the outside while the whole place seemed unlively and demanding for even a very slight movement.
He breathed heavily and concerned, the loud sound awakened Beiyuan who stared at him while he sat up.
"Sir?" He called but the fairly old man silent he still studied the place cautiously he seemed to be in great panic.
"No." He mentioned, "where am I?" He wondered but the young man rather awed temporarily replied with silence until he was ceased by his collar and then dragged up right towards the man's face.
"Where am I?" The man asked again.
"Please calm down." Beiyuan pleaded with the man until the door of the room being flung open Yang Meizi appeared in sight with her abdomen protruding did the man seem to notice the presence of another vulnerable person in the building he set his emotions calm and let go while she stared at his eyes confidently.
"What's going on?" She asked and the man touching his head he relaxed and sat back onto the bed while Yang Meizi walked up to him.
"Please be careful Milady." Beiyuan said but ignoring his advice she halted and studied their beneficiary while the latter raised his head and looked at her.
"Who are you?" She asked.
He kept quiet instead.
"We have put our lives on the line for you." She added.
"I didn't ask you to do so." The man replied.
"But we did so anyway." Yang Meizi said, "Jurchens this far in the South it is very suspicious, they could as well be ordinary bandits but I suppose then you must be too important to them, when I am forced to think deeper about it it's likely that you are being hunted and in a matter of time no one knows when they'll get here and knock onto this door." She frightened him but he did not budge.
"We are lenient as it is that we keep you in your condition you are not safe for travel so how certain can you be that any other household is safe?" Yang Meizi asked.
"You choose to threaten me?" He asked.
"Let us understand the facts." Yang Meizi replied, "forty two scars from war calluses show that you have wielded the sword so often perhaps you are an assassin." She said.
"You of all people can not be too quick to say a word." He rebuked.
"Then give me a reply." Yang Meizi demanded as he kept quiet while Beiyuan looked on.
"Milady....." He was saying when the middle-aged man interrupted.
"General Yang, I served under him and was his humble servant and fellow Commander Jinglan." He said, "you must have heard well of the rebel which isn't too bad, I bet you also heard of the hero...." He said.
"Han Touzhou." Yang Meizi concluded.
"Yes." The man replied and he noticed how shocked the young woman seemed.
"How did you know?" He asked and once more again she recalled the day that she had confronted the Late Retired Emperor about the issue, how aloud she had voiced her opposition and how he ridiculed her and censured her perhaps even most likely felt threatened.
"Who wouldn't know of his atrocities?" Yang Meizi asked, "yet of all things he is after you it is a lot stranger than my knowledge of him." She asserted.
"How so?" He asked.
"Han Touzhou fosters an alliance with those powerful enough to counter his might, however should you posses a secret so dark in my best understanding he isn't one to keep a potential threat of an enemy alive." Yang Meizi replied.
"The palace could be in turmoil right now but prior to His Majesty's death Han Touzhou realised something that hardly anyone in the palace did in the mourning period and rumour has it that he left behind a posthumous Edict." Jinglan said while she seemed to hint on a number of things.
"And it must have had something to do with Han Touzhou." She asserted.
"And he acted up to it he knows that it couldn't mean anything good for him, for all that we know, between His Late Majesty and him in the latter days there seemed to hardly be a mutual relationship." Jinglan said.
"Then His Majesty did it in the end." Yang Meizi said.
"Did what?" Jinglan asked.
"His Late Majesty knew a thing or two of Han Touzhou's ill behavior perhaps." Yang Meizi replied pretending to be uncertain, "died under so much suspicion but decreed that his body never be tampered with and in his last days he feared to see anyone or keep anyone around with the sole purpose of protecting someone he trusted from suspicion and knowing that the Empress wouldn't let him see his son, it must have been a move that was least expected." She pointed out and walking across the room she sat down in the chair.
"So it is silence he needs?" Jinglan seemed to realise.
"What could be much better than that?" Beiyuan asked while Yang Meizi's mind drifted into thought.
Treading the dark streets in the silence she could hardly turn around, a thick hood over her head she stared into a distance and there she caught sight of another familiarly hooded silhouette.
She negotiated a corner and followed the man like human into the dark and abandoned alley that only had the wan moonlight shining down within it.
She noticed he had halted a couple of steps ahead so she stopped in her's as well and the latter turning around the young woman staring further he removed the hood over his face and she did the same and revealed her likeness to him.
The distance between the two being too big they decided to close it with a couple of steps and in a very close range with one another they bowed at themselves.
"Milady." The man uttered.
"Yes, Qi Zhouchang." Qing Yi replied as she smiled at him.
"The hour was a bit too inconvenient but I had to come as soon as you demanded despite the fact that I was doing something down south." Qi Zhouchang muttered.
"I have something important to discuss." Qing Yi replied and the young man moving towards the nearby wall he twisted what appeared to be a knob and opening it on the inside there was a small compartment that was lit with a single candle.
"Come in first." Qi Zhouchang requested kindly and Qing Yi quickly making her way inside, he watched from behind until he was sure that no one was watching and he entered shortly after.
"Let's get to the point." Qi Zhouchang demanded and the young woman holding into her cloak she pulled out a very small envelope which she handed over to him.
"What is this?" The man asked as he opened the envelope and pulled out a cream piece of paper.
"A job that Her Highness trusts you'll take care of very well and most importantly you must protect this letter with your life." Qing Yi replied.
"And what's in it for us?" The man asked.
"No amount of money." Qing Yi replied, "the palace is full of people that are loyal to the Grand Empress Dowager and Her Highness the Empress is rather worried, you might as well say that she needs someone on whom she can rely so please, consider this your lucky opportunity, a step closer to a good life you can enjoy the benefits that wealth and rank shall come along with." She added.
"Is that so?" The man asked.
"Qi Zhouchang?" Qing Yi called.
"Yes?" The man replied.
"When has my mistress ever broken her promise?" She asked.
"Never." Qi Zhouchang replied.
"Now you understand." Qing Yi replied, "at every cost, not even the mother or the child should survive if possible annihilate anyone else that you come in contact with." She emphasized.
"Anyone?" Qi Zhouchang asked.
"The safest way for a secret to vanish is to bury it, any one person that can be a witness must be dealt with accordingly otherwise Her Highness may be prepared for anything but certainly a secret as big as this one could shake an entire kingdom." Qing Yi cautioned.
"You can consider it done." Qi Zhouchang replied and Qing Yi smiling she bowed her head and turned around to walk out of the room appearing outside in the alley once again.
Head Lady Cao appearing in the kitchen she came face to face with Bao Langya and greeted him.
"Did you find out anything on Milady?" She asked concerned with her eyes teary.
"My father is still reluctant and unyielding to tell me anything." Bao Langya replied and looking at the nearby chair she sat down and touched her cheek while she mourned incessantly.
"I don't know how she is doing out there." Head Lady Cao said, "whether there's someone to cover her in the cold, whether there's someone to shelter her from the rain, what she eats and when, what she needs and why?" She muttered.
"I understand." Bao Langya remarked.
"No you don't." Head Lady Cao muttered.
"Why?" Bao Langya asked.
"I had promised to Uncle Zhang that I would look after her and protect her even from the world so a mere thought of all the things that could go wrong, the unreliable protection she could be subjected to, the inadequacies and those very small matters that could put her life in danger trouble me much more than anything." Head Lady Cao replied.
"I am sure that father must have his reasons." Bao Langya defended.
"But at least for purposes of safety he should let us know, if there is someone that he should be in the position to trust with her safety then it should be us." Head Lady Cao asserted.
"Even I fail to understand my father at times yet I feel that he thinks we might burden her his only claim is that it's not yet a right hour." Bao Langya said.
"In the case of caution we should stand our guard, Milady is the sole successor of the Silver Fraternity should it hold any ambitions for revival, we must be as considerate as well that a threat against her is a threat to us all." Head Lady Cao remarked.
"I'll ask the others to keep looking around." Bao Langya muttered as she stood up and looked at him.
"And when you do please inform me that I may go out and see her as well, I am counting on you to set my soul at ease, at least a glance of her and a word will let her know that I still cherish her in my heart." She claimed.
"Rest assured we'll do our very best." Bao Langya said and turning around the young woman sashayed out of the room closing the doors behind herself she halted in her footsteps in the very long and dark corridor while she tilted her head and looked over her shoulder.
She possessed a ghastly smile that could clearly spell out her most ill intentions but more dreadfully the uncertainties that were going on in her mind could say just as much.
Head Lady Cao had changed and in the nine months, she was no more the Nuwa she had used to be.
Beiyuan sound asleep he had sobs coming from the next room and sitting up in his bed he lit a lantern beside him and looked at the door that was slightly open with a mild wind howling through.
The sobs persisted and it was clearer to him that that sound was familiar and it couldn't be mistaken.
"Milady he called as he grabbed the lantern and dashed so fast away into the cold he quickly negotiated a corner and then he arrived at the doors which he slid open and saw Yang Meizi seated up and sweating in pain with Jinglan standing next to him.
"What's happening?" He asked as he made his way inside and fell on his knees beside the bed.
"Labour contractions." Jinglan replied.
"Is the child coming out?" Beiyuan asked and Jinglan taking her pulse she seemed to be calming down a little bit.
"These are merely episodes so the time of birth is at hand, the child within the womb is changing it's position and preparing to come out." Jinglan replied.
"My baby?" Yang Meizi cried.
"How much more can she endure this pain?" Beiyuan inquired.
"It's normal a day before child birth the pains will come and go, when it is time for the child to be born, we'll certainly know." Jinglan replied as he stood up and walking over to the nearby pot, he poured there some cold water onto a piece of cloth which he carried over to the side of the young woman.
"How do you know all this?" Beiyuan asked.
"I have been on the battlefield for years, during the campaigns to defeat the Jurchens during the Jin-Song wars, we struggled against them for days eventually they laid siege of Tongzhou and there weren't midwives, for the first time soldiers and husbands had to make their wives deliver and with the little knowledge we learnt it later became a basic requirement we couldn't do without." Jinglan replied.
"I don't know." Beiyuan said while Yang Meizi appeared to fall asleep shortly after.
"Has she fainted?" Beiyuan asked.
"She's only passed out temporarily but it's nothing serious, it's her first delivery perhaps so it's likely to be very painful in deed." Jinglan assured him.
Court Lady Cao and Court Lady Qing entering the Palace at relatively the same time they bumped into each other and stared intently.
"What are you doing here?" Qing Yi asked.
"It's the servants quarters." Court Lady Cao replied.
"And you're up this late?" Qing Yi asked.
"Is it a crime?" Court Lady Cao asked and Qing Yi keeping quiet she smiled as she studied her attire and seeing that her headdress wasn't well fixed she smiled as she got closer and rearranged it.
"You are also up this late at night I find it strange but it's not a crime, I understand that we all have busy days the nights themselves couldn't be an exception, it must be as hard to lie down and fall asleep without having to worry about our duties." Court Lady Cao remarked.
"So I suppose that it is coincidental." Qing Yi asserted.
"I tend to His Majesty and you to the Empress, remember, I am not an enemy just as I promised you back then." Court Lady Cao replied.
"But to be cautious is a part of our job." Qing Yi pointed out.
"Then you must understand that it is also mine." Court Lady Cao replied and courteously excusing herself she left the latter staring at her suspiciously as she walked past into the direction of the main Palace leaving her with a number of questions in mind as she also turned and headed on in her own direction.
Qi Zhouchang arrived inside a room where a number of men were dressed in dark clothes and noticing his presence each one of them stood up immediately and they bowed their heads to him.
"Brothers, I have a job for us." He said.
"We are at your service." They Said in unison.
"Today our lives will change and should we succeed the wealth of nations shall be poured upon us with Imperial favour." He remarked.
"Are we working for the state now?" One asked.
"We are nobody's servants." Qi Zhouchang replied.
"Yet you make it sound that way." Another protested.
"Is it so?" Qi Zhouchang asked.
"Those powerful people hire us to do all the dirty work but if we get caught then all the blame is buried with us to safeguard their lean asses." One remarked.
"What is at the table today is an offer that is bound to change our lives forever and moreso we can for once have people to serve us." Qi Zhouchang said as he pulled out the white piece of paper which he showed to them all and in response they stared at him intensely while he walked closer and rested it on the table.
One of the men took it and their eyes fixed on him he returned a ghastly and comfortable smile which got most of them suspicious.
He went ahead to fold the cream parchment of paper and while his eyes perused through the symbols, he quickly seemed to realise the message that was being relayed.
"We are murdering an Imperial Prince?" He asked.
"The mother hasn't been identified as an Imperial concubine and His Majesty seems unaware, there's no reason for the Empress to attempt murdering a young child of another woman this far unless they had dragon blood flowing through their veins." Qi Zhouchang replied.
"It still remains treason." Another objected.
"How so?" Qi Zhouchang asked, if she survives Her Highness won't spare our lives and we act out of old loyalties which we wish to respect." Qi Zhouchang replied, "once we get rid of the mother and child who is there to tell the world?" He asked but every one present in the room remained silent.
"Exactly as I had thought so."Qi Zhouchang replied.
"What do we do?" Another inquired.
"The same things that we are good at." Qi Zhouchang replied, "we leave for Fuzhou immediately." He ordered and the others looking at one another they bowed their heads before they charged out of the room leaving him all alone inside.
It was very early in the morning and Yang Meizi waking up to the new day was greeted by the brilliant saffron beam that illuminated her room.
Sitting upright she looked around the empty room when it's doors were opened up and Beiyuan rushed in carrying with himself a tray.
"You're up Milady?" He said.
"What happened?" Yang Meizi asked.
"The little one acted up and the old master said that you are approaching childbirth, I'll go out later in the day to collect the village midwife." Beiyuan replied.
"Be careful." Yang Meizi said.
"Why?" Beiyuan asked.
"I just happened to have a very strange dream." Yang Meizi replied, "I can't help but have a bad feeling." She added.
"Worrying too much about it isn't very good for the child's health." Beiyuan remarked as he carried over the small cup of medicine which he handed over to the young woman.
"You speak as though you are any better when it comes to carrying a child." She teased.
"I know too little about such matters." Beiyuan replied, "the little one will be Milady's little bundle of joy, the time in the Countryside shall most likely become less lonely with him by your side." He responded while lowering the cup from her lips Yang Meizi sighed.
"How I wish that his father were around to see him being born, he would have burst with so much joy, he wouldn't have been more proud than he would be at the time." She muttered.
"But he'll still have you." Beiyuan replied.
"Out of all the other children in Fuzhou he or she shall grow up into a very strong one, when the time comes they'll ask about their father but what will I tell them?" Yang Meizi asked.
"What will make him the most special child in the world is having a mother that is you." Beiyuan calmed her down.
Jinglan fairly recovered he walked through the streets of Fuzhou with a piece of paper in his hands he was looking at all the stalls that were carrying vegetables and herbs around him.
The city itself was very loud and exchanging many words, the merchants from other parts of the country filled every alley to the brim and walkway while they announced each aloud the goods that they had on market.
He stopped for a while in a distance after he saw Qi Zhouchang a familiar face and his colleagues behind him he quickly looked around for a place to hide as they proceeded in his direction hardly noticing him.
Eventually, his gaze rested with another crowded stall and making his way through he squeezed himself between the other sellers and quietly bowed his head as they bypassed him.
He was keen keeping his ears alert and all of a sudden Qi Zhouchang feeling strange he halted in his footsteps and his subordinates followed his example.
"What is it?" One of them asked.
"Wait." Qi Zhouchang replied as he turned and faced the same stall where Jinglan was standing and seemed to recognize his height even in a distance.
He moved closer while Qi Zhouchang clenched his fists in self defense.
"What about the woman that we are after?" Another one suddenly asked.
"What about her?" Qi Zhouchang asked.
"Fuzhou is very big for us to conduct a very thorough search for a former lady of the Palace, we couldn't possibly do it in the limited time we have." The other pointed out while Qi Zhouchang was eavesdropping everything until the very vendor in front of him finally moved closer and ceased his hand.
"What may I help you with sir?" She inquired.
"I want some lotus roots." He replied in a much deeper voice as he placed the money on the table and the vendor took it.
"According to the intelligence that we have the cottage should be uphill but striking in broad daylight could only stir more suspicions amongst the common people." One whispered when a carriage being pulled through appeared in the middle of the Street and the guards escorting it paved way while it passed eventually Qi Zhouchang was leaning against Jinglan's back the latter had to reserve his heart from beating much faster as the two were in a rather long contact.
The carriage passing the men gathered altogether once again.
"We'll attack at night." Qi Zhouchang concluded and hearing this the old woman took the roots as he offered them to Jinglan who took them into his possession as he slowly turned to walk away from the two while they moved into the opposite direction.
There was silence in the cottage and Yang Meizi seated inside her room she quietly patted her belly feeling the child within her womb.
Her hair free fell over her shoulders and she seemed calm at that moment when the doors were flung open and Beiyuan walked in sweating profusely.
"Milady." He called.
"What is it?" Yang Meizi asked.
"We'll need to change a location." Beiyuan replied.
"Is there anything wrong?" Yang Meizi asked.
"The rain is going to be very heavy tonight so the hill will be very cold as well, it'll be hard for both you and the child to survive we need to move to Nanping." Beiyuan replied.
"Are we in the position to travel to Nanping when I am in this condition?" Yang Meizi asked.
"We must try, it's the nearest most reliable place for Milady to deliver, apart from it there isn't another I see." Beiyuan replied and with a slight headache settling over Yang Meizi's forehead she massaged her temples incessantly.
"Alright." She eventually impulsively agreed.
"Then I shall make all the necessary arrangements." Beiyuan replied as he withdrew from the room and closing the doors behind himself Jinglan stood outside as though waiting for him all that time.
He ceased the old man's hand and then dragged him downstairs as they crossed over into another courtyard that led to a small detached house.
"Are you sure you know these men?" Beiyuan asked.
"Well enough." Jinglan replied, "those Jurchens that are dressed like bandits have pursued me for quite a while and Han Touzhou controlling nearly all the Northern frontiers of the land pushed some of our dynasty's greatest Generals to the South, it's much further from the capital and more remote and he uses the excuse that the provincial kings can not attack and rebel once again because they are far from the seat of the Imperial Court." He added.
"So Han Touzhou knows about my Mistress' whereabouts?" Beiyuan asked.
"Even I am surprised but owing to the fact that she is a Court Lady it could be possible that there are secrets that she knew or if not then they are working for another person currently who could resent her but the biggest question is who would benefit from the murder of both Milady and her child?" Jinglan asked.
"Truthfully speaking it was lately that I happened to get much closer with her, she has told me nothing about her past or how she came to bear the child moreso it's father so I can't possibly draw any conclusions, if there was someone targeting her then she would probably know them much more than we would." Beiyuan replied.
"But we can't let her in on any of this information, her condition makes her very fragile any move out of haste could only put her and the unborn child's life in jeopardy." Jinglan remarked.
"I have made preparations and we'll leave here immediately, I told her that the weather won't be good." Beiyuan said.
"The quicker we depart from here the better but she must first be in the position to sleep then we can transport her which still isn't enough." Jinglan muttered.
"What more do you suggest that we should do?" Beiyuan asked, "is this not good enough?" He wondered.
"You and I can hardly protect him from these men if they came here at night or earlier in the day to patrol and found her missing it's likely that they would come after us and learning from my experience as a soldier we must first rule out such possibilities before we can rest in the comfort of our actions." Jinglan said, "you must contact someone out there to protect her diligently before she delivers." He urged.
"I was forbidden from contacting the capital." Beiyuan said.
"But of you don't with the insufficient might we posses we pose no threat to those men Her life will only be in grave danger." Jinglan said.
"I have no choice." Beiyuan said.
"You have to take a gamble." Jinglan said to him and turning around he walked away leaving him startled.
The doors of the Martial school were opened and Court Lady Cao walked in accompanied by another lady in waiting who was holding for her an umbrella that shielded her from the heavy sunshine.
She gracefully mounted the stairs where she met another man standing at the top waiting for her.
"Greetings Milady." He said kowtowing to her while she smiled fairly at him.
"I'm here to talk to young Master Bao." She replied.
"He happened to move out about a while later but he'll be back soon enough so if it is urgent and Milady can afford it, you could stay back and wait for him." The young man notified as he moved away.
"I'll be in the gardens." Court Lady Cao replied and walking past him she went through the small narrow entrance that led to the backyard.
The sooner she was there she inspected the place and mounting the small bridge over the lotus pond she caught sight of a carrier pigeon which descended on the balcony of Master Bao's quarters which from a distance looked deserted.
"What could it be?" Her assistant asked.
"I don't know." Court Lady Cao replied as she hurried over with curiosity and she faced the bird which in an attempt to fly away the young lady ceased it and pulled off a small piece of paper which she read through.
"Here Milady." She said to her and Court Lady Cao taking it into her hands she unfolded it to read it's contents and turned out surprised by what her eyes had seen that her servant seemed to notice.
"What is it Milady?" She asked.
"Have some two people gather Linxiang." Head Lady Cao replied.
"What's the matter Milady?" Linxiang asked.
"I am travelling upcountry." Court Lady Cao replied as she smiled at herself ghastly.