On the rain-drenched Tai’an Road, an eight-horse carriage made of yellow huanghuali wood decorated with brocade was racing madly along the main road. The West Beihe Desert’s western frontier blood horses occasionally kicked the accumulated snow to the sides, causing roadside vendors to hastily retreat in all directions.
Uninformed passersby quietly asked the experienced merchants who frequented these streets. A bald vendor, who had hoped to profit from selling fireworks for the upcoming New Year, cautiously glanced at the carriage, from which only a trail of flying white snow and hoofprints could be seen, and said in a low voice: “The Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s family has fallen. As they say, when a tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Look at their former glory, and now… hmph! Haven’t you seen those patrols on the streets these past few days? They’re all catching rebels. Yan Bei caused a great disturbance in the north recently, and when the Sacred Golden Palace’s master called for loyal subjects, none came to aid, forcing them to relocate the capital. Now that they’ve returned, how can these people expect to have good days ahead?”
The passerby was startled and asked, “Does that mean there will be war? Will Zhenhuang send troops to attack Yan Bei?”
“Who knows!” The vendor spat and clicked his tongue, saying slowly, “But in my view, Yan Bei isn’t easy to provoke. Who knows who might attack first in the end?”
“Are you trying to get us killed?” a shrill voice suddenly rang out nearby. A heavily made-up woman stepped forward quickly, shouting sharply, “Talking like this in front of my door, do you think your heads are too many? Be careful, or I’ll send all of you to the magistrate!”
The two men smiled nervously, gathered their goods, and hurriedly left. When they were far enough away, they couldn’t help but look back, glaring fiercely at the woman, contemptuously spitting and cursing, “Filthy whore!” Then they strode away.
A red-haired maid standing beside the woman flushed with anger and was about to chase after them when the woman grabbed her arm. The little maid was taken aback and said resentfully, “Sister Hong, are we just going to let them get away with it? I’ll call Gensheng and the others to come and break those scoundrels’ legs!”
“Forget it!” Sister Hong raised her hand to rub her temples. Her face was covered with thick rouge, making her appear somewhat vulgar. But upon closer inspection, she possessed an undeniable beauty. It seemed that without such thick makeup, she would be even more stunning. “The auction is about to begin in the West Alley. Let’s go take a look. The Zhao Ming Grand Duke was kind to me. When I couldn’t save Master Jing’s bloodline back then, this time, even if I have to risk everything I own, I must save the Grand Duke’s children.”
The two women put on cloaks, and the little maid raised a bamboo umbrella. The mistress and servant gradually disappeared into the heavy rain, leaving only a trail of footprints that were slowly buried by the snow.
This winter was exceptionally cold. On this day, Shuanghai City was drenched in pouring rain, with huge hailstones occasionally crashing down. The elderly in the city said that this year’s rain was somewhat strange; in previous years, the peach blossoms would have already bloomed by this time.
Standing among the crowd, Sister Hong wore a large cloak with only a bamboo umbrella above her head and laughed coldly. Just then, a somewhat educated scholar was heard shaking his head and saying, “The Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s family died unjustly!” No sooner had he spoken than several fierce men emerged from the crowd, grabbing the scholar and carrying him away, shouting.
The crowd immediately fell silent. Sister Hong turned her head to look at the footprints left by those men on the ground, clearly showing the emblem of the Southern City Military Affairs Office. At this moment, a court matron in her fifties slowly walked onto the high platform in the West Alley. She wore the Moon Maiden pendant required in the palace, swaying back and forth. Though she wore the robes of a lowly servant in the palace, in the eyes of these ordinary people, she possessed an air of imperial nobility.
After all, she was someone who moved within the palace. In this frontier town, even the etiquette official and magistrate dared not offend her, speaking with lowered eyes and a submissive attitude: “The daughters of the Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s family have always been sheltered, hardly ever leaving their home. Only someone like Matron would be able to identify them one by one. Matron, please verify the people.”
The matron’s lips twitched slightly, though it was unclear whether she was trying to smile or something else. After a pause, she said in a hoarse voice: “When the Grand Duke’s family members entered the palace in the past, this old servant once attended to them. Who could have imagined that the once proud daughters of the He Lian clan of Huai Yin would all fall to such a state today? It truly is thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—one can’t help but sigh at such changes!”
The official smiled lightly, quickly agreeing. He beckoned to several soldiers in the distance, and a long procession slowly approached, with about a hundred people or more. All were disheveled and filthy, dressed in tattered clothes, with heavy chains on their hands and feet. Under the supervision of dozens of whip and sword-wielding soldiers, they walked slowly and weakly.
Suddenly, a gust of wind rose sharply. The piercing cold wind howled like a madman down the long street, strangely cold, making people shiver. At the front of the procession, a thinly-dressed young woman was blown by this cold wind, her foot slipped, her body tilted, and she suddenly fell to the ground.
“Young Lady!” A small maid following closely behind her suddenly jumped forward, helping the young woman up, her voice almost trembling as she hurriedly asked, “Young Lady, are you alright?”
Though dressed in the same coarse, tattered clothes as the other prisoners, this young woman had a uniquely delicate appearance. Her face was deathly pale as she shook her head lightly. Obediently, amid the soldiers’ curses, she stood up, supported by the little maid’s hand, and slowly walked toward the high platform. Then, pushed roughly by the soldiers behind her, she stumbled and knelt there.
The wind and rain seemed to grow increasingly fierce. On the high platform, over a hundred female members of the Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s household knelt densely packed. With the downfall of the Zhao Ming Grand Duke this time, the He Lian clan of Huai Yin faced complete extermination. Men taller than a horsewhip were all beheaded, while the rest were sent to frontier military service. Women over sixteen were granted white silk for suicide, while those under sixteen were sold into slavery, resulting in this tragic scene.
Thus, the first wave of the post-war crisis brought about by Yan Bei’s independence finally arrived. Under the efforts of Zhao Che and Zhao Yang, Da Xia was preparing to return to the capital and was mercilessly pursuing accountability for the war. The first scapegoat to suffer brutal slaughter was the He Lian clan of Huai Yin—the Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s family—who had lost their power but still occupied a seat in the Council of Elders.
He Lian Ling knelt on the bone-chillingly cold ground, with her maid Little Cha constantly pushing at her arm, trying desperately to place the edge of her robe under her mistress’s knees. He Lian Ling knelt there in a daze, saying nothing, motionless.
Tears that should have been shed had all been exhausted in the past few days. The Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s family, with thirty-seven branches and over 4,870 people, had been brutally slaughtered in just three days, with blood flowing like rivers. That morning, when she watched with her own eyes as her mother, three sisters, various sisters-in-law, aunts, other family members aunts, maids, wet nurses, and servants were all hanged with those blood-thirsty white silks in the great hall just one cell away from her, she felt as if her entire heart had died.
Even now, whenever she closed her eyes, she could still see that gloomy hall filled with ghastly white silks. Her mother and sisters hung there like wooden posts, row by row. Wind mixed with icy hailstones continuously flew in through the courtyard, landing on their purple-tinged, deathly pale faces, gradually accumulating without the slightest sign of melting.
When the prison officials came to collect the bodies, each was casually wrapped in a tattered mat and dragged away. As they passed before her, those long strands of hair swept through the dirty dust on the floor, raising clouds of smoke that choked her, causing her to cough violently. Fresh blood gushed from her mouth like a spring, mixing with her already numb tears, and fell into the rat and cockroach-infested cell, laying the foundation for the most painful memory of her life.
The former glory and prosperity, the bustling noble family, was thus deeply buried in the mud, scattered like wild soil, dissipating in the drifting years, becoming yet another sacrifice to the empire’s power shift.
In the outer crowd, a blue cloth carriage stood quietly under a hundred-year-old banyan tree. The tree’s lush branches and leaves kept the rain from falling through. The carriage curtain was lifted, with only a thin gauze screen over the window, the figure inside blurry. There was only one driver guarding the carriage. But for some reason, none of the passersby hurrying to take shelter from the rain approached this spot.
“Young Master, shall we go take a look?”
The gauze screen was lifted, revealing a face with distinct features. The man’s narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly as he coldly gazed at the woman kneeling on the high platform, examining her closely for a long time.
“These are the last bloodlines of the He Lian clan of Huai Yin, right?”
A deep voice emerged slowly, like ice cubes in cold water. Though phrased as a question, there was not the slightest questioning tone.
The driver was still quite young, with a somewhat dark complexion, and hurriedly answered: “Yes, the one at the front is the daughter of the Zhao Ming Grand Duke. Young Master, there are many loyal to the He Lian clan. If we could control the Zhao Ming Grand Duke’s daughter, it would benefit us without harm. Since we happened upon this, we might as well buy her.”
The man looked for a while, then suddenly released his hand. The curtain was dropped with a swoosh, and he said decisively: “A Jing, let’s continue our journey.”
The driver said nothing, cracked his whip, and urged the carriage forward.
As they left, many of the onlookers who had been watching suddenly dispersed. There were porters with carrying poles, escort guards on their way, acrobatic troupes, scholars in blue robes and green caps, and even striking beauties from the northwestern ethnic minorities. These people surrounded the carriage like stars around the moon, unconsciously isolating all surrounding pedestrians and carriages.
“Let the auction begin!”
A loud call suddenly rang out, and the auction on the platform behind had begun. The man in the carriage slowly frowned, his mind gradually recalling the Nine Netherworld Yellow Springs platform in front of the Ziwei Square.
Da Xia? Hmph…
The man snorted coldly, leaned back on the soft cushion, and closed his eyes to rest.
Chu, if I’m not mistaken, you should be taking the route through Yan Tang, moving upstream from the southern border. I’m coming to meet you.
The wind from Yan Bei blew from behind, and the grass on the prairie had already turned green…