Chapter 13
Little moon of the Sun
"You cannot do this to my son, no!" said the maiden slave as she drew the sword from its sheath and pointed it at the palace guards.
"Lady Yueshen, it is the Qinghai King's order to take him to the Queen's palace," said the palace guards, as they began to approach the cradle where the baby prince lay.
Shua!Lady Yueshen struck one of the guards who was about to snatch the baby prince from his cradle. The guard's wrist was cut off, and blood started spilling onto the ground.
"You cannot come near!" she said coldly, her voice like the depths of hell. She brandished the Canhong Jian sword, and the palace guards were astonished.
"This sword will haunt you to your graves for four generations," Lady Yueshen warned, her grip steady on the sword. She wouldn't hesitate to kill. She lifted the baby prince from the cradle, wrapping him in fine white silk across her chest like a criss-cross sash.
On her back was another fine sword, a gift from the King to her son, who had been declared the next crown prince just three days earlier.
The Qinghai palace guards dropped to their knees, gazing at the Canhong Jian sword in awe. Lady Yueshen knew the palace guards respected the type of sword one wielded, unlike in the Wei Empire, where a tiger tally made of pure jade and tassel held authority. In the Qinghai Empire, such symbols held no sway.
The Canhong Jian sword was known to haunt the souls of those whose blood it spilled, cursing not only the slain but their descendants for four generations. It was most powerful under the waxing moon in the fourth quarter, but this power came with a condition: the wielder must also possess its counterpart, the Po Yue Jian sword.
The Qinghai King, a lover and avid collector of swords, some of which had been handed down by his ancestors, kept these treasures in the most secure part of the Qinghai Palace.
The Canhong Jian was considered the lesser equal of the Po Yue Jian, and the story of these swords ended tragically with their owners, like thorns and thistles that needed weeding.
On his first visit to the Wei Empire, the Qinghai King met Lady Yueshen, then a young servant girl of humble descent from the Xie household, inside Wei's imperial palace. Like the King, she was a lover of swords.
She was a beautiful young woman, her heart as sturdy and cold as iron frozen in ice, a born fighter. "Under the waxing moon, she shines like the Canhong Jian sword," the King had told her.
One day, while practicing in the palace, Lady Yueshen heard someone approach. She quickly pointed her sword towards the intruder, but it was too late, the King had already seen her performance.
From that moment on, the King pursued her relentlessly. He informed the Great Summer Dynasty's emperor that he would pay twice her value to buy her freedom from the Wei palace. However, the Great Summer emperor wanted nothing but a prized sword that the King of Liang had requested as a gift for his crown prince, Xiao Ce.
Both empires were vying for the bladeless sword known as Cheng Ying.
The bladeless sword was a symbol of civil power, representing a state's ability to settle matters without violence. It was believed that whoever possessed the sword would always win bloodless conflicts. The sword cast only a shadow, making it invisible to the enemy's eyes and difficult to predict. Its blade became visible only when pointed northward.
The Southern Liang King desired the sword for his son's birthday, as it matched Prince Xiao Ce's taste for delicate elegance.
The Qinghai King, however, won the prized sword, exchanging one of his most valued swords for the freedom of Tai Shen, later named Lady Yueshen (or the Moon Goddess), after purchasing her freedom from the Shen Jin Emperor of Wei. The Liang King, bitter at being outmaneuvered, distanced himself from one of his strongest allies.
"You should house more beautiful, cold-hearted virgin slaves rather than building ships, for one day, like a pearl, you might exchange one for something more valuable," said the Shen Jin Emperor to the Liang King, as he unsheathed the bladeless sword in front of him, adding insult to injury.
The Liang King retorted, "You only won because I am gracious, full of kindness and mercy, allowing you this sword at the expense of a mere servant, the daughter of your empire's famed blacksmith from the Zhao household. You even gave her sister to the brute Yuwen Xi, forcing him to lower his ties with Liang."
With a sarcastic smile, he added, "No one defeats a bladeless fight, my brother. Learn from me."
The Shen Jin Emperor, flushed with cold and pride, grinned broadly.
Meanwhile, deep in the night, a single mother fled across the long winding road of the Great Wall of China with her son cradled at her bosom. She gasped for air as she neared the gate. The palace guards, fearing the legend of the Canhong Jian and Po Yue Jian swords, hesitated to pursue her, knowing that if they did, their families would be cursed for four generations.
They let her go, but moments later, their leader reminded them that their heads would roll in the morning once the Queen learned that they had allowed the mother and child to escape.
Thus, they resumed their pursuit, but by then, the mother and child were already halfway to the Great Wall of the Qinghai dynasty.
Though the journey ahead was still long, the mother and child were safer now than they would have been in the palace, victims of the Queen's envy towards her son.
The mother paused to breastfeed her hungry child, gently lifting the baby prince's head to feed him, giving him the nourishment of nature.
The mother, filled with great fighting spirit, completed the seven-day journey along the Great Wall of China, finally reaching the snowy forests of the Western territories where she found refuge.
Young and in the prime of her life, she said, "At last, I am home. There is nothing to look back on, and nothing I cannot survive today. This is my land and your land, my state and your state. You are destined to be the next king of the most powerful dynasty in the world. You will grow up where you belong. You shall know my household and my ancestors' land before you meet your father, whom I love with all my heart. My flesh and blood, my baby prince, welcome to your mother's land."
With these words, the lady placed the baby prince on the ground, laying the Po Yue Jian sword on his right and the Canhong Jian sword on his left, as if he were already a grown crown prince. She performed a kowtow bow and cried, her face pressed to the earth. She gave thanks to the ever-watching heavens, orQian, for protecting and guiding them through their perilous journey. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the Po Yue Jian and Canhong Jian swords, the lover's swords.
Yet, there was no sound of thunder.
Afterward, she rose slowly, her tears turning to joy as she saw her baby touching the Po Yue Jian sword. Tears welled in her eyes as she picked him up along with both swords and headed toward the humble Xie household.
Lady Yueshen's father, shocked but overjoyed to see his daughter and grandson, was also angry. He feared that she, a runaway mother, had stolen her own child and might soon be hunted down by the Qinghai King, placing their household in grave danger.
Her father, a renowned blacksmith, and her brothers, swordsmiths in service to the noble Zhao household, were captivated by the sight of the lover's swords their daughter and sister carried.
"And these?" she said, looking at the swords with pride. She touched both of them and told her father, "The Canhong Jian sword was a gift from the King to his handmaiden, whom he loved and hoped would bear his child. He never awarded it until he met me, a woman who, like him, appreciates swords and understands their power."
Her father hushed as he approached the Po Yue Jian and Canhong Jian swords, his eyes brimming with joy. He hadn't expected that he would one day see such legendary swords in his home, or that his grandson might rule with them. Overcome with gratitude, he gave thanks to the heavens.
As a descendant of ancient swordsmiths and blacksmiths, he began to speak of the secrets of the swords, secrets even the Qinghai King might not fully know, particularly the powers that would emerge when the Canhong Jian and Po Yue Jian swords were united.
In front of his sons, daughter, and young grandson, he began to read the ancient Chinese inscriptions in a cold but calm voice: "The Po Yue Jian sword bears eight ancient Chinese characters engraved along its double-edged blade, which read, 'King of Yue, may you live long and win victories with the use of this sword.'
"Its sheath is made of copper, designed to prevent air from touching the blade, making it the first rustproof sword, defying time. Our sword master ancestors, along with our blacksmith forefathers, forged this sword on a cold fire 2,000 years ago. They journeyed through eight sacred mountains, tested its double-edged blade made of iron mixed with copper, and repeatedly slashed it on eight frozen lakes. The blade is adorned with eight micro indigo-blue stones, visible only to those with open eyes under a young moonlit sky. Its handle, crafted from soft gold and designed in the shape of a crescent moon, would make every knee bow.
"This sword won thousands of victories and defeated countless armies in battle before it was decommissioned."
His father seemed to be in a time warp, reminiscing about the tales from his childhood as his wide, unblinking eyes stared at the sword. He then bestowed a blessing on his grandchild, saying, "May you rule wisely, this gentleman's sword to save rather than kill, for justice not just for a few but for all."
Lady Yueshen smiled and asked, "What about the Canhong Jian sword, Father?"
"The Canhong Jian sword was forged under a dark red supermoon, with eight ancient enchanters performing continuous chants for eight days and eight nights. The perfect dark red supermoon was reflected in its blade, and the howling of a fox was believed to have been engraved onto the sword during those eight days.
"Old folks say that if an enemy is slain with this sword, they will hear the fox's howl, and it will haunt them to their graves, spreading its curse to their families for four generations," he explained, his voice growing sad, though he wouldn't say why.
Lady Yueshen recalled what the King had told her on their first night. He had presented the sword to her as a gift. That morning, she had awoken to find the Qinghai King standing by her bedside, dressed like a warrior with his Po Yue Jian sword. It seemed he was preparing for a swordsmanship duel with her bedchamber maid.
Much like the story of Yuwen Yue and Xinger's first encounter, the King tossed the Canhong Jian sword to Yueshen, who woke up like an angel from above. The two lovers sparred, neither harming the other, and afterward returned to bed. The rest, as they say, is history.
(Readers are welcome to add more details here! At this point, the writer is "ziplocked." As for Yuwen Yue's origins, it all becomes clear, at least for this fanfic.)
Lady Yueshen had once been like a fine girl in a cocoon, waiting for her shell to crack so she could learn to fly. However, after arriving in Qinghai, she transformed into a sophisticated butterfly. With access to all types of beauty treatments, state-of-the-art cosmetics, high fashion, and the study of Qinghai's royal etiquette, she blossomed.
She did all of this because she had fallen in love at first sight with the King of Qinghai.
The King highly praised her swordsmanship, and she earned the title of a "sophisticated beauty." In the King's arms, she flourished, fulfilling his wish and granting him a son.
All of Qinghai was astonished by her transformation, and even the citizens of her homeland heard the news. Her story became a legend, like Cinderella's her soft transformation making her the most sought-after lady in the palace. Even the other concubines and court beauties regarded her as the "Moon Goddess," for when people looked upon her face, it was as if the gods had descended to earth.
If Yueshen had fallen in love with the King at first sight, the King regarded her as his first love.
The King of Qinghai had never felt such emotions until he met Yueshen.
He was six years older than Yueshen, and by the time she met him, he was already 30 years old, making him the youngest ruler among the Shen Jin Emperor, who was 37, and the Liang King, who was in his 40s.
However, their love story was shadowed by the presence of the Queen. She was older than the King and unable to bear a child after a tragic miscarriage. The loss of their child shattered her.
The Queen of Qinghai adopted several sons and daughters, but none could fill the void left by her lost child. In her anguish, she ordered her guards to cast the innocent children from the cliffs, becoming more distant and abandoning her duties as a wife to the King.
The King, out of compassion, comforted her and tolerated her vile actions, understanding the pain that drove her to such cruelty. But deep inside, it seemed he was merely fulfilling his duty to produce an heir to the throne with her.
Yet, despite everything, there was nothing that resembled what people called "love."
No comments:
Post a Comment