Author Angel Chua
Adapted from Princess Agents drama series and original novel by Xiao Xiang Dong'er – Chu Qiao Chuan Biography
Crepuscular light (Edited 01.25.2021)
Inside the frozen lake, Chu Qiao lost touch of Yuwen Yue. Eventually losing herself too. When she became weak, the master became strong. This made Chu Qiao give up more of herself to save her master. At her back was inexplicable and indescribable heat. It is like pinching every inch of her skin tearing her soul apart. There is no pain nor gain at the moment. The only thing she could do is to close her eyes, let the heat flow through her body while being suspended in a place of nowhere.
A trickling red fire is slowly burning her back disappearing and appearing at the same time. As if her body is being recalled through an ancient oracle inscription called: Feng Yun Faling (the Wind and Cloud decree). At first, it looks like a flower but if you look inside it is full of ancient inscriptions and texts. Chu Qiao's memories once again came back of who she is, what she must do, and where she should go.
The only thing she could remember was her farewell to her little self and heard like this: "Xinger, Xinger, Xinger!" At the last call, she opened her eyes the light radiated so bright. However, Chu Qiao arrived at entirely different realm. After a moment in time, in a split of a second, she went back to the frozen lake.
But it seems the split of seconds was turned into days, weeks into months, and months to years. The Prince of Yan tried to search for Chu Qiao which gave him reasons to visit the icy lake to offer some incense or burn snow papers (a blank paper sprinkled with disappearing or appearing powder where the written message of the author appears or disappears).
Losing a best friend and a love of your life at the same time is unforgivable pain yet Prince Yan Xun managed it with a cold and merciless heart killed the heir of the Eyes of God, and betrayed the love of his life Chu Qiao in the middle of the battlefield. There is no greater pain than seeing the three choosing and making decision at a given moment whose gonna live and whose gonna die. Given that strong desperation mixed with madness, Yan Xun made himself not worthy of any grief to give pride in the name of Yan State and its people restoring Yanbei from ashes to the green pastures.
Somewhere in between a short and long span of time, Yan Xun surrendered to his dark side. There were lots of fights and war after the icy lake tragedy. He was all behind it. However, Yan Xun never came face to face in any of its battles. He rode with his horses, then ordered his armies killing no mercy to whoever stands in his way. Yan Xun became strong, famous, powerful but empty. Fulfilling the prophecy of this name Xiaolong (means the son, the sleeping dragon) of the North, the Prince was able to put back half of Yanbei's glorious past. But along it, is the price of every victory Yan Xun made for Yan people was a price for the Prince self-defeat became self-serving, selfish, brutally distant, and cold.
Alone and naked, inside of the gold fabric wrapped around her naked body, Chu Qiao succumbs into a fetal position. Surrounded with ice, was just ear-piercing silence. Not feeling cold, the body still dissipates heat. The snow melted where her body was formed into the snow. It shrank to form an oval-shape. This became the comfort zone as the body is coping in this unknown event. Even Chu Qiao is unable to control. The power was massive and magical. Like a sleeping beauty waiting for this prince to awaken her, Chu Qiao just slept there like forever not knowing any sense of time.
In her sleep, Chu Qiao dreamed of the journey, she began to descend to the underworld, passing by endless desert like no hope, in so much heat, but none of it is scorching her skin. In her dreams, Chu Qiao is dressed in white, long, excellent satin-made material indicating the highest quality fabric in Ximeng Continent.
As the wind blows, the dress is free-flowing, half of Chu Qiao's face is covered by a cloak of beautiful beads draped in her forehead tied with long but light shawl in the 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, scooped the sand on her hands, and opened the fingers. Like a child playing, Chu Qiao intentionally 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 continuously echoing in her mind, who is Yuwen Yue, what happened in between? She honestly cannot remember. Looking back at Chu Qiao's last battle with Yuwen Hao together with the Liang state spy Yin Xin, she remembers falling off from the cliff. The body dropped in the water where the head was slammed on the large stone underwater, and floated for days in the Yellow River. Servants found and took her unconscious body. They locked her up in a cage. From thereon, Chu Qiao lost her memories, cannot remember anything except for this name: Chu Qiao.
Now it happens again, yet this time a little bit different in detail. After a long-span of time, a sudden sandstorm came. Chu Qiao used the long shawl to shield herself from the storm. For how long, it is known. She cannot measure time, it seems she's trapped. Chu Qiao closed her eyes until the sandstorm passed. Not so long, time moved again. When she opened her eyes, the sandstorm is gone. But still, in her dreams, she found herself in another place.
"Where are the dunes and sand?"
Chu Qiao saw a swirling hollow-like tube. Glittering all over its side, full of moving colors, and magnificent lights. The only thing she knows, Chu Qiao must enter, and not afraid. Stepping in, the back of Chu Qiao's dress was torn. The flower tattoo was exposed and became vivid, burnt her skin in red flame and no hurt was felt. Every step she took, the flower tattoo at her back sharply lasing it like someone is imprinting a sketch at her back. Walking seven steps, she entered the tube. Almost at once, swallowed her whole body.
Suddenly, Chu Qiao woke up startled. She looked at herself then touched her back, asked: "Where is my long white dress? Why I am here in this vast snow covering only with gold fabric? Where is the endless desert, the sand, and the dunes?" It is left unanswered.
Suddenly she felt the coldness of snow around her, she wrapped herself tightly and took her Jin Bu. Not far from Chu Qiao is a beautiful girl wearing black tight-fitting clothes. The chest was adorned with titanium light chains like a breastplate. A red satin thin mask on her face, hair pony-tailed at one side, and a dark lip color like hell. The face is like an angel, the waist carries a long whip. The head wearing a large rattan-made weaved hat and an indigo scarf hanging above it.
Chu Qiao seemed familiar with her clothes, and her head suddenly felt a sharp pain. She touched her forehead looking worried. The girl saw her so she ran to see. Too late to realize her palms shows burned.
The girl sat beside Chu Qiao but cannot touch her. Chu Qiao is unaware that she is creating a steamy foam around them. 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 remember?"
Chu Qiao again had a sharp pain in her head. Every time she feels sudden pain, memories flashback. Yet almost like a blink of an eye, it is gone. Viper then said: "Can you walk?"
I have secured you in this place since I took you out from the frozen lake. It's been many weeks since then."
Chu Qiao feels strange to her surroundings, but she feels familiar with this girl for so long.
"Mimi Gongzhu (Secret Princess), are you alright? We cannot stay here longer, some ravine animals are lurking during the night we should move forward", the Viper said.
Chu Qiao replied: "Do you have safe clothes for me to wear?"
Viper took her baggage and gave Chu Qiao this white expensive silk dress, the weaved hat made of rattan, and a thin indigo scarf inlaid with gold-embroidered plum blossoms. Viper helped Chu Qiao put on the dress and the indigo scarf around her waist. Finally, to conceal Chu Qiao, they put on her the Jin Bu (gold fabric). It would serve as a covering of Chu Qiao's delicate body exposing only the beautiful face. This is the first time, Chu Qiao stood on her feet after the icy lake tragedy.
Viper and Chu Qiao went on a long snowy journey. To the eastward direction and towards the Chu Jing palace. On their tour, Chu Qiao was quiet all the time. There are questions but her lips were sealed. She reserves the time to speak not until she sees the place where the Viper is taking her. She looked at Chu Qiao with pity, she thought: "She really lost her memories." Sad too, because Chu Qiao cannot even remember the times of their childhood. Viper grew up in the Chu Palace. Viper's father served as elite officer of the Chu army. She was handpicked by King Chu Teng Gao himself to become the personal attendant and lady guard of the secret princess.
Time rewinds when the Wei empire went to attack the Chu Jing empire, Viper was taken somewhere as a remnant to search the Secret Princess. It is her mission to usher and assist the Secret Princess to restore back their lost empire. When Chu Qiao was small, six years old, she was about to die. Suddenly, one of the royal sisters sacrificed her life in exchange for Chu Qiao's head. Deceiving the Wei executioners, she told them Chu Qiao is not the secret princess. She was a decoy princess. Chu Qiao's sister very angry and cunning, but not enough to fool the enemy, the executioner looks at Chu Qiao's sister and displayed an angry face. She continued to mock him and said: "You caught the wrong head, I am the secret princess, she is a useless fake."
Suddenly, Chu Qiao bit the hand of the executioner and ran quickly to hide. Unknowingly what these hostile strangers will do to her sister and little Viper was on her side. The two children hid well. Then suddenly, Viper put her hands on Chu Qiao's mouth.
"Shak" a crisp sound was heard. The two pair of eyes cannot believe what they saw. The cut of the sword was fast and easy.
Chu Qiao saw her sister's head was cut and the blood is dripping on the floor. She bit viper's hand and cried soundlessly. It was Chu Qiao's first witness of a dead family.
"Viper, are we there yet?" Chu Qiao broke their silence.
"Almost!" Mimi Gongzhu, please have patience. We took the long but safest road for your safety." Viper replied.
"Tell me, what is the meaning of the indigo scarf adorned with plum blossoms? Why do you wear the plain one and I have the embroidered one?" Chu Qiao asks in curiosity.
"Definitely not the time to explain but I will let you know after we reach those walls." Viper's voice is firm.
"Does it have to do my last name Chu empire?" Chu Qiao cannot let simply let go of the matter.
Viper stopped for a while and looked at Chu Qiao said: "Are you really interested to know now? This indigo scarf you are wearing would be the only identification that you are the true descent from the Chu royal family. And the Hing Ba Na (means happiness to wish and to accept) at your back is the power you possessed since birth. The Hing Ba Na appears and disappears at a given time depending on your wish. If you accept the rewards and consequences at the same time."
"Accept the rewards and consequences at the same time?"
"Hing Ba Na at my back?" Chu Qiao is completely lost and Viper is uncomfortable in explaining further.
"The flower tattoo at your back, the most powerful key to unlock…" Viper stopped talking after she sensed someone appears to be ghostly following their tail.
Viper picked up something from the floor. A bluish feather. She already knows who is this sharp spy might have spotted them.
Viper screamed to Chu Qiao: " Run! Run! I will explain it all when we get there. Please hurry, run!"
Chu Qiao holding the bow in her hand, run fast behind Viper. To avoid their traces to be followed, Viper suddenly sits on the ground and meditated.
Chu Qiao smirks and said: I thought we are being chased? How come here you are in a Zen position ready to surrender yourself?"
Viper did not mind Chu Qiao's mocking voice, she formed a Zen position and called the Dong Feng (east wind) to sweep off the traces of their footprints and conceal their tracks.
Chu Qiao left in bewilderment, cannot order Viper to stop.
A strong wind passed by and like a constant swirl it came to blow their trail, the tracks were erased and no trace was found.
