Adapted from Princess Agents drama series and original novel by Xiao Xiang Dong'er – Chu Qiao Chuan Biography

Crepuscular light (pass)

Inside the frozen lake, Chu Qiao lost Yuwen Yue. Now she is slowly losing herself too. When she became weak her master became strong. This made her gave up more of herself to save his master. At her back was inexplicable and indescribable heat, like pinching every inch of her skin down to her soul. There is no pain nor gain at the moment. The only thing she could do is to close her eyes and let the heat flow through her body suspended in a place called nowhere. A trickling red fire is slowly burning her back disappearing and at the same time appearing as if her body was being recalled through an inscription of an ancient oracle script called: Feng Yun Faling (the Wind and Cloud decree). At first glance, it looks like a flower but inside were full of ancient inscriptions and texts. Her memories once again came back of who she is, what she must do and where she should go. The only thing she could pick up was her farewell to her little self where she heard: "Xinger, Xinger, Xinger!" at the last call, she opened her eyes and it radiated so bright and she arrived at an entirely different realm but after a moment in time, lapsed, in a split of second she went back to the frozen lake.

But it seems that the split of seconds was turned into days, weeks and months passed as Prince Yan Xun tried to search for her and gets back to the icy lake once in a while to offer some incense and burn paper snows (a blank paper but sprinkled with disappearing powder and if sprinkled with appearing powder the inscriptions of the author appears). He lost his best friend due to his cold and merciless heart betrayed the love of his life at the same day. In his strong desperation mixed with his madness, he made himself not worthy of any grief for the sake of serving his people and restore Yanbei from ashes back to its green pastures.

Somewhere in between short and long span of time, he surrendered to his dark side. There were lots of fights and war after the tragedy and he was all behind it. However, he never came face to face in any of its battles. He rode with his horses and ordered his armies killing with no mercy to whoever stands in his way. Yan Xun became strong, famous, powerful and fulfilling the prophecy of this name Xiaolong (means the son, the sleeping dragon) of the North and with this, he was able to put back half of Yanbei's glorious past. But along it, was the price of every victory for his people was a price for his self-defeat he became self-serving, selfish and brutally cold.

Alone and naked inside on her gold fabric wrapped around her she succumbs into a fetal position surrounded with ice and there was just silence. Not feeling cold as her body still dissipates heat that surrounded her, the snow melted and shrink to form an oval shape. It became her comfort zone as her body was coping from the unknown event that even herself was not able to control. The power was massive and magical. She just slept there like forever not knowing any sense of time. Like a sleeping beauty waiting for this prince to awaken her.

On her sleep, she dreamed of her journey and she began to descend to the underworld, passed by endless desert like no hope with so much heat but it is not scorching her skin. In her dreams, she is dressed in long, white, very fine, made of a satin material of the highest quality fabric.

As the wind blows, her dress is free-flowing and with half of her face covered by a cloak of fine beads on her forehead and super long but light shawl on her neck. Chu Qiao said: "Look at this endless desert, dunes and sand everywhere, is this all?"

She sat down in the middle of the desert and she scooped the sand on her hands and opened her fingers like a child playing she dropped the sand like an hourglass. She repeated the same thing over and over until she remembers the name: "Xinger."

Chu Qiao is trying to reminisce who is Xinger, the name is constantly echoing in her mind, who is Yuwen Yue, what happened in between, she honestly cannot remember. Just like when after her last battle with Yuwen Hao and Liang state spy where she fell from the cliff and dropped in the water, head slammed on the large stone underwater, she was floating for days in the Yellow river. Servants found and took her then locked her up in a cage. She cannot remember anything except for the name Chu Qiao.

Now, it is occurring but this time a little bit different. After long-span of time, a sudden sand storm came. Chu Qiao used her long shawl to shield herself from the storm. For how long, not known, she cannot measure time, it seems she's trapped. She closed her eyes until the sand storm passed, not so long, time passed again and when she opened her eyes, the sand storm is gone, still, in her dreams she came to another place.

"Where are the dunes and sand?"

Chu Qiao saw a swirling hollow like tube with glittering side of spotlight on its sideways, full of moving colors, magnificent. One thing she knows, she must enter, and she is not frightened. When she stepped in, her back dress was torn and the flower tattoo became vivid, burning her skin in red flame and did not hurt. Every step she took, the flower tattoo on her back is imprinting like someone is adding a sketch on her back. After seven steps, she entered the tube and almost at once, swallowed her.

By this time, Chu Qiao woke up and startled. She examined herself and touched her back: "Where is my long white dress, and why I am here in this vast snow covering only with gold fabric.

Where is the endless desert, the sand and the dunes?" left unanswered.

She suddenly felt the coldness of snow around her, so she wrapped herself tightly and on her Jin Bu. Not far from her was a fine girl wearing a black tight-fitting costume, her chest was adorned with titanium light chains like breastplate and a red satin thin mask on her face, her hair is pony-tailed on one side and a dark lip color like hell but her face is like an angel, on her waist was a very long whip, on her head was a huge rattan made weaved hat with an indigo scarf hanging above it.

Chu Qiao seemed familiar with her clothes and her head suddenly felt a sharp pain and she touched her temple looking agitated. The girl saw her, ran to see her but her palms show burned. The girl sat but cannot touch her. Chu Qiao is unaware that she is creating a steamy foam around and she is like a volcano about to erupt. The girl told her: "Mimi Gongzhu (secret princess), you should learn how to control your powers, I am the Viper, can you not remember?"

Chu Qiao again had a sharp pain in her head, every time she feels a sharp pain, a memory flashes back at her but almost like a blink of an eye. Viper said: "can you walk?

I have secured you in this place since I took you out from the from the frozen lake and it's been many weeks since then."

She feels estranged but she feels she has known the girl for so long and has seen this scene before like a serendipity.

"Mimi Gongzhu (Secret Princess), if you are alright, I will take you back to your rightful place and explain everything to you. We cannot stay longer here, there are ravine animals lurking during the night we should move forward", viper said.

Chu Qiao said: Do you have safe clothes for me to wear?

Viper took her baggage at her back and gave her white expensive silk dress, weaved hat made of rattan and a thin indigo scarf with gold-embroidered plum blossoms beautifully inlaid. Viper helped her as Chu Qiao wrapped around the indigo scarf around her waist. Finally, to conceal her miss, they put on her the Jin Bu (gold fabric) that would serve as a covering of the miss delicate body exposing only her face. This is the first time, Chu Qiao to stand on her feet, beautiful, fresh and elegant.

Viper and Chu Qiao went on a snowy long journey to the eastward direction towards the Chu Jing palace. On their journey, Chu Qiao was quiet and do not want to ask questions until she sees the place where the viper is taking her. Viper from time to time look at her with pity she said: "She really lost her memories."Sad too because Chu Qiao cannot even remember the times since their childhood. Viper grew up in the Chu palace as her father was an elite fighter of the Chu army. She was chosen by the King Chu Teng Gao himself to become her personal attendant and lady guard.

After the attack of Wei empire to the Chu Jing empire, she was taken somewhere as a remnant to search the secret princess in due time and restore back their lost empire. When Chu Qiao was about to be beheaded, one of her royal sisters sacrificed her life in exchange for her. They deceived the Wei executioners and told them she is not the real princess but was only dressed like one. Her sister was cunning but not enough, she deceived the enemy to save Chu Qiao. On her surprise, the second sister told them she is the real princess and that they were holding the head of the wrong one. Chu Qiao bit the hand of the executioner while they were looking at her eldest sister and she ran and hid unknowingly what these strangers will do to her sister, Viper came to her hideout and put her hands on her mouth and "shak" a crisp sound was heard. Chu Qiao saw her sister's head was cut with blood dripping on the floor she bit viper's hand and cried soundlessly. It was her first witness of a dead family and she was just a child.

"Viper, are we there yet?" Chu Qiao said to break their silence.

"Almost Mimi Gongzhu (secret princess), please bear with me as we took the long but safest road for your safety."

"Tell me, what is the meaning of the indigo scarf with plum blossoms? Why do you wear the plain one and I have the embroidered one?"

"I see, the Mimi Gongzhu (secret princess) is getting interested to know more about your empire."

"Does it have to do my last name Chu empire?"

"To be honest Mimi Gongzhu (secret princess) the indigo scarf you are wearing is the only identification that you are a descent from the Chu royal family aside from the Hing Ba Na (means happiness to wish and to accept)." The Hing Ba Na appears and disappears at a given time depending on your wish and if you accept the rewards and consequences at the same time."

"What is Hing Ba Na?"

"The flower tattoo at your back, the most powerful key to unlock…" Viper stopped to answer her questions when she suddenly senses someone is following them but then left.

Viper saw a bluish feather which she already knows who the spy might have spotted them and left.

Viper told Chu Qiao: "Mimi Gongzhu it is not safe to talk about it in this place. I will explain it all when we get there. Please hurry, we've got company."

Chu Qiao holding a bow on her head and they run fast as Viper is in the business of their trace of footsteps behind Chu Qiao after they reach their destination. Viper meditated and she formed a Zen position and called the Dong Feng (east wind) to sweep off their footprints to conceal the Mimi Gongzhu's coordinates.

A strong wind passed by and like a steady swirl it came to blow their trail and change the direction of the trail.

Chu Qiao was amazed.