Chapter 14: The Truth

"You look as beautiful as ever." The words chilled her spine as a small smile crept up on the lips of Xiahou Dun. Mei Hai could feel her legs freeze, as if someone was holding her down by her feet. She wanted more than anything to run, to scream, to do anything but all she could do was stare at him wide-eyed. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Nono." She stuttered, suddenly feeling very small. Xiahou Dun's face soften as he opened her door,

"I need to talk to you." He said to her casually as if his scary demeanour no longer mattered. She nodded and followed him into her room and took a seat across from him. He poured each of them a cup of tea and she waited nervously for him to speak. "You were the niece of one of Yuan Shao's wives, were you not?" she nodded,

"You were also the one who kicked the ball at me." She looked up, surprised that he remembered.

"I didn't mean to do that." She quickly retorted.

"You disappeared." His voice suddenly grew cold, "I had spoken to Lord Yuan about you, and then your Aunt took you and disappeared." Her eyes watered as she suddenly remembered the incidents of that year. How it was because of this her family was killed.

"I had been looking for you for a very long time." He replied and placed an amulet on the table. Mei Hai turned towards the jade and her eyes grew large. She could feel her heart beat a million beats per second and her palms grow all sweaty. Her fingers slowly trailed to the item and felt every curve and cut of the precious jewel.

"Why...why do you have this? My mother's amulet...why do you have this?" her eyes shot up, "It was you, you killed my family didn't you?"

-
Pi sat beside his wife, the baby cradled in his arms. It was all Zhen Ji wanted at this moment as she suffered in pain, to stare at the beautiful babe that they had created. As if their son had felt the pain of his mother, he would often cry and whimper as his mother tried to suffer silently. "My wife," Pi held onto her hand, "our child is waiting for you."

"My husband..." Ji said with watery eyes, as she had felt this was the first time in her life that she was finally complete. She had given a child to the Cao's and that was what mattered.

"You are always so selfless my wife," Pi replied, his fingers gripping onto hers tighter. "You must get well."

"You are a good man," she replied softly, her dry lips parched and peeling. "But you and I both know that I am not longing for this world for long." Her frail hands touched the head of the child, "The child will need a good mother, a good role model."

"It will be you my wife." Pi said quickly, trying to ignore the images of Mei Hai flashing in his mind as Zhen Ji talked. He felt horrible for suddenly imagining getting married to Mei Hai. Suddenly hewas imagining Mei Hai in a beautiful red wedding gown, of her taking care of his son as her own, and even the two of them having their own children one day. Trying to swallow his guilt, he felt his hand grip tighter and tighter onto Ji. "You are my wife, you will be the one to see our child grow."

-
With the jade amulet in her hand, she felt her blood boil and her heart race. She knew there was a dagger within reach and she just wanted to grab it and thrust it down Dun's good eye. As her face grew red, she noticed Xiahou Dun's guilty face, "I am sorry I could not save your family."

"What?"she said to him, "Save her? You murderer, you killed her!" He looked taken aback by this accusation.

"Your family Mei Hai, they were killed by Yuan Shao's men." He paused and watched her reaction.

Six Years Ago

Xiaohou Dun hurried into the city as his cousins army was preparing for the takeover. It was a small town, but there were important people living here. One of them were the Li family, they were apothecaries that shared a special task, being the spies for Cao Cao and his army. The sister of the family had become a consort for Yuan Shao, and often held meetings with the family who then relayed the information back to him. It was a strong and trusting relationship, which is why Dun was distraught when he received a troubling letter.

"Brother Dun," it was written in code, "I am afraid that the boss is closing in on what is truly happening. They wish to send my greatest possession to you, just to see my reaction...I am afraid for my treasure. My wife and I had sent it to a secret place..."
His horse stopped in front of the Li household, where he saw the doors were wide open and in flames. The city was in ruins as Yuan's soldiers had charged through their own city, taking whatever they needed to survive. This was the greed and corruption of the Yuan reign, and it was one of the reasons why his cousin needed to step in. The Li's had helped with giving information, and Dun was afraid that their assistance had led to their death.
Dun stepped into the household and could smell the horrifying smell of bodies and blood. The entire area had been ransacked and it no longer looked like a home.

"Master Li? Lady Li?" he shouted, spreading his men around the place to look for any survivors. He headed towards the bedrooms and noticed Lady Li lying in a pool of her own blood. "LADY LI!" he crouched down beside her.

"Master Xiahou," she said, her face pale as a ghost, "They were on to us."

"Where is your husband?"

"He went to protect...protect our treasure." She said before coughing. From the looks of her injuries, she must had been lying in her own bloody filth for at least two days. "I needed to survive for," her frail fingers tugged at the side of her dress, "To my daughter. To my Mei Hai." She wheezed, "Please, protect her."

"Lady Li? Lady Li!"

"Your Father's body was found not far from the city. After he had dropped you off, he had come back to save your mother but was followed by Yuan's men." Xiahou Dun finished his story and watched as Mei Hai stare aimlessly at the jewel. "Your aunt was than executed by Yuan's men as she was travelling back to the capital."

"No, my parents...no they said you killed them..."

"Your retainers probably did not know the truth as well. And the Yuan's probably felt it was easier to say that Cao's men killed your family other than letting the worldknow that one of his consorts was a spy."

"No..." she continued to shake her head, not believing what was happening, "No." She slammed her hand on the table. "My parents...my aunt...they"

"They wanted a good place for you to live Mei Hai, they knew that the Yuan's were not going to be able to protect you. They attacked their own city to protect their capital! They were full of greed, if they could not protect their citizens, than no one would have them." Mei Hai put her hand over her mouth as she suddenly felt the urge to throw up. Her eyes watered and her head felt light before she finally ran towards her window and lurched over the window, throwing up anything she could. "I know this may be difficult for you to understand..." Dun tried to say but was overpowered by more sounds of her throwing up. "Mei Hai..."

"Please, leave me alone." She looked back at him, trying to hold back the tears. She felt she was doing a good job but she knew that they were already rolling down her face, "Please."

"Very well." Xiaohou Dun nodded but not before adding, "Lord Cao has always been troubled by what happened with your family. It was one of his greatest regrets." She turned to glare, not wanting to hear about this at this moment but Dun knew he had to get it out. "In fact, the engagement portion between you and the Cao's were real." He said softly, "Lord Cao wanted you to marry his son..." Mei Hai slammed the door on him, not wanting to hear anything else.