Glossary at the end. Enjoy!
Bloody Mary: The Essence
Chapter 11: Getting Caught, not Once but Twice
Xiao never understood why out of nowhere Lady Wu had decided to accompany her. But she suspected that the event had been something planned by her elder sister. Still Xiao Qiao tried her best to remain composed in the powerful presence of Lady Wu.
The elder woman rarely smiled, and when she did they seemed insincere smiles. However the love and admiration she received from the people was enough to second-guess her opinion on Lady Wu. The mature woman and the wife of Zhou Yu were traveling around the busy street of Yangxian. They had all made a home into the city, and meanwhile Sun Ce was busy with managing the military, his mother was in charge of handling the people.
"Lady Wu!" An older man of over sixty springs moved agilely towards the two females. Meanwhile a couple of guards came up front to receive him, thus creating some distance from the women.
"Arms down my men," Lady Wu spoke confidently as she approached the man. "What is it that your heart requires?" Wu asked as she studied the figure of the man that breathed deeply as if to regain his composure.
"My family desires to offer this humble gift to you for watching over our people." The man said as he kneeled deeply, his forehead nearly touching the floor. His hands were extended towards the guards that stood between the woman and the man, in them a pot of recently boiled rice being presented.
"I shall gladly accept your gift on behalf of the Sun family. May the Heavens shower your family with grace." And she did as she spoke, her body moving to receive the present from the man. One of her hands gently guiding him to stand on his own, her next words surprising some. "I am not a goddess to be treated with such admiration, but I can hear out your qualms and see what can be done."
Xiao was awestruck. The elder woman received the present from the man, and after hearing a petition from him she bid him farewell. She was a completely different individual from what she could see with her interaction with the people. Crowds moved towards her and brought her all of the worries they had to voice, and like a benevolent leader she heard them well.
Children came towards Lady Wu in flocks. They wanted to receive her attention, and she brought them what they looked for. Mothers looking from afar as they admired the qualities Lady Wu brought fort to the people. Stories of ancient times were told and knowledge was shared with the newest generation of people. It was a busy day for Lady Wu in the streets of Yangxian, but once she found herself with enough interactions for the day, she bid her farewell to the people.
Xiao had turned into a shadow of Lady Wu during that day. She had followed the woman to different parts of the city, and her eyes met with different types of situations she had not seen before. The younger Qiao had always been a woman brought up surrounded by the comfort her father could provide. She had been a woman that had been blind to how the people beneath them lived and it was that way in which she gained a new perception in her life. Not only had she seen with her own eyes a different form of Lady Wu, but she had also seen the importance of serving the people.
Both women were returning to the palace grounds before the sun hid from the sky. It was then that Xiao wondered if maybe everyone was wrong on Lady Wu. However, she wondered if all of those promises the woman made were all in vain. And without an ounce of regret she questioned Lady Wu on their way home.
"Lady Wu, if you don't mind." Xiao began and bit shy contrary to her vocal temperament.
"Xiao," Wu began her body stopping as her eyes moved towards the young female. "If you are wondering if I'm making promises to the people with otiose. Then I suggest you to interact more often with governors and administrators of your home place."
"I…" young Xiao felt as if she had been caught stealing a cookie.
"Calm down child," Lady Wu told the female as she placed a hand on her chin. It was that way, how she pulled Xiao's head upwards to stare directly into her eyes. "I am not the monster that all wish of me to be. I admit in my house I am a stern woman, but with the people I will always give my all."
"Is that why you were so mean to Li Hua?" Xiao blurted her thoughts.
Lady Wu paused; she thought quickly what she was about to say before she committed sin through her mouth. "There are many decisions that one makes when young that we will repent in the future. I bear the weight of many over my shoulders."
Xiao stared at the solemn woman. No one had really seen much of that side of Lady Wu, but in a way it seemed as if all the years Lady Wu lived had began to show in her tired face. She seemed older in an instant. Her eyes looked tired and seemingly dark circles appeared to form out of nowhere. Her stance had fallen and she no longer stood to her full height. Behind her façade there were many thoughts that tortured her and for once she allowed someone through her strong fort.
"What do you mean by that?" Xiao was worried, both of them were no longer on the streets, instead they were sitting down in the chambers Lady Wu used to share with her deceased husband.
"Once things are done or even said, there is no way to take them back." Wu said as she looked down towards her worn out hands. "I wish to take many things back, Li Hua, Wentai and even my sister were among the ones I hurt the most."
"But why?"
"To be honest I still do not know myself."
"But there must be a reason," Xiao tried to find the logic behind her words and strange behaviors.
"You could say jealousy, being young, acting on impulse…" Lady Wu sighed her eyes staring at the cold tea she had served. "Sometimes I would say ignorance."
"Isn't ignorance a bliss?" Xiao questioned as she pondered the old saying.
"Ignorance is a bliss, until it catches up to you. You can be ignorant all you want, but there will come a day in which you will see how far had your ignorance hurt those you love the most. I was superstitious upon Li Hua's origins; she was just too different from us. What never really came to my mind was that she had grown between us…"
Li Hua had been a strange girl from the very beginning. She was bright and wise beyond her years. She never treated anyone lesser than her. Because for Li Hua, everyone was the same, she could care less of the origins of a person, color or even hair texture. She was simply open-minded, I saw her many times sharing her time with an elder from the village. He was a hermit that lived in the mountains, a man also known as a Taoist. She looked up at him, and the many times she had been gone away from home, I have always found her with the man.
I knew the presence of a Taoist near the child was not of good omen. I knew that Li Hua was meant to do great things in her life; from early on she believed everyone was equal. The Taoist she frequented had damaged her way of thinking. She did not accept our Confucius ideals, nor would she ever come to understand that women were beneath men. She had that imprinted in her soul and even though I tried to force her to understand our ways she never once adapted.
Li Hua was a good child when one ignored her challenging attitudes. She questioned everything and was exceedingly curious, she even challenged our authority as she found loops or grey areas between our rules.
That was how she found herself spending time with Quan. It was always behind our backs, but she would sometimes trick her brothers into bringing Quan to her. And she always got what she wanted.
Soon enough I learned how sly she could be. Anything was game for her, and if she had not tried a new way to approach things, she would usually find a way. Had she been a man, we would all have accepted her way of thinking. But she was a woman, and she had to act under the rules that were socially implied for us. Still she never accepted it.
She damaged Quan into thinking that women were equal. She taught him that she could bend the truth and that nothing could go wrong. Because for her, as long as the truth could be bended, she was never lying, that was why we used to say that Li Hua never lied. However, she rarely spoke the truth.
By then Sun Ce was starting to come out as a young man. He rarely spent time with us, seeing as his father was preparing him to take over one day. We never knew that Wentai would die as young as he did, but it should had not been a surprise for all. Men that decided to bear arms never lived long enough to tell their story. That's the reason why we women stayed behind; we had enough on our hands with raising the next generation. It was that why shouldn't mingle in men's business.
"But weren't you working to get information from the people?" Xiao was confused on the goal Lady Wu had with her interaction in town.
"I am only a mean in the works of men. All I saw and heard will be reported to the governor."
"If you cannot do anything, then why do you do it?"
"Xiao, I only follow the commands from others. It has worked fairly well for us, and it also gives me enough freedom to enjoy the last years of my life."
"But you have no choice," Xiao furrowed her brows. "How can you be happy living like that?"
Lady Wu smiled, it was tiny but it was present. "Young Qiao, wife of Lord Zhou Yu." Xiao visibly hardened at her words. "You are so alike Li Hua, but also so different. It is no wonder Lord Zhou had taken you as wife."
"He married me because I reminded him of her?" Xiao eyes widened, she could not believe what was being told.
"No," Wu moved her head from left to right. "He married you because he saw something in you. I highly doubt he sees Li Hua every time he looks at you. You have qualities similar to Li Hua, but you are unique in your essence. Zhou Yu is a man blessed by the heavens to have you as a wife."
It was partially the truth that Lady Wu saw Li Hua in Xiao Qiao, but she highly doubted Zhou Yu was aware of that. Though she never voiced that, Xiao seemed to grow lowly but steadily. She quieted her rowdy voice and allowed time for her to mull over everything she had learned. Afterwards she would soon come to a conclusion, however slow it came, she would have gained a glimpse of the pain her husband suffered.
Back then Li Hua always found a way to enjoy her time with Quan. Still she was not as sly as she would have wished to be. Her slyness would become greater with time, and only one person was capable of finding her then. Though now both were separated, young Niu was exceedingly perceptive of her surroundings. She was the first to learn of Li Hua's appreciation of Lord Zhou Yu, and she was also quick to oversee all of Li Hua's interactions.
Still back then there was only Li Hua, no other unique child to accompany her. Meanwhile Niu… she was a different story on itself.
It wasn't often when I got to catch Li Hua in the act of crawling around as she played with Quan. I was always vigilant to stop it from ever occurring, but I couldn't be everywhere.
I remember the day when I had caught up to her and two of my sons. I was away for the day receiving my two youngest from their trip with my brother, Wu Jing (1). The Cheng household was not big enough to hold two families in, and soon enough we knew we had to part to our homes.
Sun Bofu had arrived on that same day with my two youngest, Sun Yi (2) and Sun Kuang (3). It was a house full of over ten children, the four children of Cheng, the newborn Lang, the four children of Lady Wu, along with two children from Sun Qiang (4).
Those few weeks were extremely busy in between. We were to little adults for so many children. The workers seemed to multiply themselves during those days; meanwhile the men were away in reunions that seemed to have no end. The next few weeks the battle would start once more and everyone would have to move away. That was how we had to learn to live our lives during the times of war. We were either far apart for long months or we were close enough to battle to fear for our lives.
Seeing as I had been busy. Bofu, who at the time was thirteen springs, would escape his reunions with his father. He would surprise everyone, and he seemed to have luck in finding Quan and Li Hua together. He would keep quiet the countless of escapades the youngsters shared, and as the older brother I could seem to understand. Though that did not mean that I approved of it.
It was that way, how I found them once. I had arrived to the Cheng household earlier than expected. Most of the adults were away celebrating the first twenty-eight days of Lang. I was happy for the child my husband and sister adored, but it hurt seeing them together as a family. I was pained when I saw my sister smiling at Wentai. The spark of jealousy was enormous when I saw him returning her smile with a joyous look. He was happy with their extended family, and I couldn't bear to witness it all, he simply could not imagine how hurt I felt.
To this day I can vividly remember his smile.
I had sat down to cry.
And quite visibly Lady Wu was releasing tears as she told Xiao how she felt that day. The younger Qiao was visibly shaken, she had heard Wu Guotai's tale, but she never stopped to think that Lady Wu was experiencing the same thing. Both women were in pain because of a man that had mistakenly selected sisters as wives, no one deserved the pain they had to live through. However that did not separated the sisters, because even though they had countless of reasons to fight, they cooperated with one another. It was amazing how they had suppressed their hate towards one another, but still there was much to learn from the women.
"Lady Wu, I…" but Xiao couldn't continue, she couldn't bear to see the woman cry. Lady Wu was a stoic woman, but her ice had melted away.
"I am alright Xiao," the older woman said as she moved away from Xiao's hand. "Just give me a minute." It was amazing how Lady Wu recovered her composure from breaking down crying. It took less than a minute for her to bring her walls up once more. Still she was trembling because of her strong emotions, the cup of tea visibly shaking as she brought it to her lips.
A few more breaths and Lady Wu was continuing the story exactly where she had left it.
Soon enough a melodic sound of laughter reached my ears. I knew there was only one possibility. I followed it, and that was when I saw them together.
I felt the anger rise within me. Quan had faked feeling ill that morning before I had left to the celebration. And I would have stayed with him, if it weren't for the fact that I had to keep up the pretense of the perfect family. It hurt, not only was I being deceived in my own face by the man who swore to love me, and my own sister, but Quan had also taken to participate in the game.
I had allowed my feelings to overtake me. I knew Li Hua had not been invited to the celebration because I was not the only one who believed in the bad omens. Other adults had sided with me when the chance sprung to have that discussion. But she had done it on purpose.
Quan was forbidden to spend his time with the adopted daughter of Lord Cheng. But worse of all, I had forbidden them to go anywhere near the river for their own sake. They had belittled me. With them Sun Ce had taken in on the action, he had later told me that he discovered the two children playing. He knew of the rule I had to reinforce, he just believed they wouldn't get caught by me. I simply could not believe it all.
Everyone had taken me for granted in this household. And with nothing left inside me but seething anger, I retaliated. I mistreated young Li Hua. Something I deeply regret.
"I still feel guilty of taking out my anger on Li Hua." Lady Wu was calm, however deep sadness could be easily detected in her eyes. "Had I learned to be more tolerant and accepted her, she wouldn't have to face that monster." She had placed down her empty china cup, her finger trailing over the gold design it had.
"Could Cao Cao be as bad as they say?" Xiao innocently questioned.
"He is the worse," Lady Wu answered, before shooing the young Qiao from her quarters.
(1) Wu Jing – historical brother of Lady Wu.
(2) Sun Yi – historical son of Sun Jian, born in 184.
(3) Sun Kuang – historical son of Sun Jian, no known year of birth.
(4) Sun Qiang – deceased twin brother of Sun Jian, whose children (among them was Sun Ben) were raised by Sun Jian.
Answer to hmm - first of all thanks for the review. I do know I need to add loads of details, I'm really sloppy with this story on that behalf. Hope this chapter fixes it a little, while I get my hands on editing the rest of the story. Anywho thanks for the review, I hope in the future you get to enjoy the plot as it develops.
Well guys, no promise on when next update may come. Too busy with university, but I'll try. However I'll be working on the next chapter for my other story so, yeah no promise on that.