xXHyuugaSakuraXx - Ah, all right, then. Got it now.

Reminder

紫薇 - Zi Wei. 'Myrtle,' 'flower.'

小燕子 - Xiao Yan Zi. 'Swallow,' or 'little swallow.'

金锁 - Jin Suo. 'A brass lock.'

梁大人 - Liang Da Ren. (Administrator Liang)

Liang Da Ren finally found his way indoors, yet he seemed as busy as always. Having no other choice, Zi Wei and Jin Suo could only trail after him, incoherent murmurs of 'Liang Da Ren' on their lips. Nearly seething, which is most unlike Zi Wei, she grabbed his arm and said, in a louder voice, "Liang Da Ren."

Her turned to her as though she were some fan of his he couldn't get rid of. "You - "

"I go all the way to your office and you ignore me. I halt your sedan in the middle of the street and you ignore me. Now, I can't even talk to you in your own house for more than ten seconds. Do you care about the people at all?"

"What kind of a girl are you?" he asked, looking her up and down, his nose wrinkled in distaste. "What are you doing dressed like that? All the girls are in the courtyard. Why don't you go play with them instead of hanging around here? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Zi Wei stared defiantly back at him. "We just met yesterday, don't tell me you've forgotten. It's me, I'm the one who was at your sedan."

He gave her a cold look saying that he definitely did remember her. "What are you - " he sputtered, but was interrupted by a red blur tumbling into the room, splintering wood and ripping papyrus.

She sprinted as fast as she could with the weight on her neck, thinking randomly that the real bride-to-be would have been in a lot of pain if she went through with her suicide plan. Hiding in a crack between a few slabs of stone (compliments on the Liangs' decor, she waited until the fifteen to twenty men passed her and crept out. Smiling and dusting her hands, she set on her way. Before she'd walked five feet, another group had spotted her and she scrambled to get out of there, fast. This time clamoring onto a rock, hoping to slow the adversary down. There were more than she'd thought, and they were everywhere.

Seeing a near solid semi-circle forming around her, she bit her lip, turned to the sitting room, and gritting her teeth, crashed into the wood. Ignoring the gasps and screams as well as the pulsing in her own head, Swallow considered her options. The future was not bright. As the guards burst through the actual doors, she prepared herself to fight. As the first few charged at her, she spun, kicking at two, then went over a table, narrowly missing a blow that landed on the plates and silver trays. As she darted toward a back door, it opened, and in flooded more people, including that woman from the beginning. Suddenly, spears were everywhere, and most of them were pointed at Swallow.

Liang Da Ren had an accusing finger directed at her, and she could almost see smoke coming out of his ears. "What - what is this all about?"

The red lady stepped forward and said in a shrill, near hysterical voice, "The bride is missing, she's not the Cheng girl. She's a thief!"

Liang Da Ren narrowed his eyes. "She's not the Cheng girl?" he repeated. "Then who is she? Where did she come from?"

"I don't know," she replied tearfully. "I just know that when I walked in, she was wearing the bridal gown, stealing from the dowry!"

The groom spoke up. "What are you all doing, just standing there? Catch the thief, quick!"

Swallow's protuberant eyes had been darting to and fro as they discussed her whereabouts. At this, she opened her mouth. "None of you come near me, or I swear you'll regret it."

"Catch her!" Liang Da Ren seconded his son. "If you let her escape, you're as good as dead."

Apparently more fearful of their master than a stranger burglar, the guards took a few steps forward. By instinct, Swallow dived under a table for initial cover, then, kicking, propelled it upward to hopefully create a diversion. At this time she catches a glimpse of Zi Wei and Jin Suo, and what astounded them the most was that she even had a smile on her face. Forced to hit a few people and break some vases and china, Swallow's only hope was to get in to the open air. But every time she started forward, people were in her path. Finally, she climbed up onto another table by the back wall, grabbed a few bronze, heavy-looking objects, and hurled them into the din. Jumping down, she threw a few more punches, still intent on that main entrance/exit.

As she bounded forward, Liang Da Ren yelled, "Close the doors!" Unfortunate as her timing was, Swallow found she'd gotten out all right. But the red sack tied to her had not. Her mouth slightly ajar, she struggled to free herself, but the doors seemed to be sealed shut. And when it opened, there would be a few dozen angry guards plus one administrator waiting for her. As soon as it did, she gathered her strength, and sprinted for all she was worth, knowing those spears weren't far behind. There were still a good many guests outside, many of which seemed very eager to block her path. Finding the old tricks working the best, Swallow climbed onto a table again, oblivious to the plates she tipped over. By then, everyone was staring at her, which wasn't supposed to be how a thief worked.

One of the guards prodded her back with a staff, and she toppled over backwards, the dishes on the table sliding off with her. Hurriedly, she headed under it again, as if she were little and the red tablecloth could hide her from them. As she tried to stand, she felt people trying to pry the table off of her, resulting in a series of painful clangs on her skull. She spun, gripping the opposite sides with both hands, thinking to make a mock shield. After the screams and the table colliding with her cranium were beginning to give her headache, she tossed the table to one side, unable to see under it so as to make sure not to harm anyone. Somersaulting in midair, she landed on what she hoped was the last table. Quickly taking the sack off her back, she swung it, and its entire contents fell to the ground. A few more people screamed, some cheered, and nearly all were bending over, picking up whatever they could.

"Liang Tan Guan's got everything in the manor!" Swallow yelled. "He got it all from the citizens! Come on everyone, take it, it's all yours, hurry, before it's gone!" That smile never leaving her face, she looked up at the ribbons tied from roof to roof. One of them directly leading to the manor's main entrance. She glanced down at everyone, then the ribbons. It looked sturdy enough...

Back in the safe streets of Beijing, Zi Wei and Jin Suo were musing over the earlier wedding with a light-hearted and still mildly stunned approach. "Today is definitely going to go down as one of the most memorable in my mind. In a way, that flying thief had helped us take out some of our revenge on the Liang family."

"You've got to have guts to try and pull off a scheme like that," Jin Suo stated. "It's such a shame that her fighting skills aren't more practiced. She might not have had to go home empty-handed."

"Returning empty-handed is nothing to complain about. Just as long as the authorities don't catch up to her." Suddenly, Zi Wei heard a whisper of voices, as if someone were yelling in the background. She turned behind her, and saw that guards were pooling into the street. "Have you seen a girl in red?" was on all of their lips. She exchanged looks with Jin Suo and moved ahead. Before they'd gone too far, a hand was on Zi Wei's shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Have you seen a girl wearing red?" She shook her head repeatedly and the sentry shoved her onto a cylinder-like basket of lettuce. The basket, however, made a sound. "Aie!" Zi Wei stifled a gasp and leaped away from it, to see that girl from the wedding peeking out, her hair covered in greens, putting a finger to her mouth, pleading silence. A slight frown on her face, Zi Wei nodded, and, glancing around, sat down on the basket. As the crowd thinned and the guards disappeared, Zi Wei slowly let herself rise.

"You can come out now."

Looking far from grateful, the girl stood up, rubbing the top of her head gingerly. "You didn't have to panic like that. I just didn't want you to give me away. After all this head has been through today, just watch me have bad luck the rest of this year."

Jin Suo, always shielding her mistress, said indignantly, "Hey, what's wrong with you? If it weren't for us, you'd be hauled off back to that manor by now."

A cheeky smile dancing on her lips, the girl replied, "Yes, of course. Thank you two ladies for saving my life," and issued a mocking bow. "That better?"

Zi Wei's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How do you know we're female?"

"Back at the manor, I saw right away that you two were girls in disguise as men." She said 'back at the manor,' in a tone that made you think she owned it. "If there's any advice I can give you, it's to stop doing that. Look at the pair of you, timid and thin, not a single callous on your fingers. You couldn't fool anyone." She then peels of the red from the wedding and tucks the bundle under her arm. Zi Wei wasn't much surprised to see that she had a second layer of common clothing under it. "All right then. I've got to get going."

"Wait!" Something occurred to her just then. "Let me ask you. Where'd you hide the actual bride?"

Her large eyes shifting from side to side, the girl said, "About that...I don't think it's necessary for you to know." She started off again.

"You posed as the bride, stole their dowry, and ruined the entire wedding. Don't you know that that's against the law? I think it's better if you hurry up and free the girl."

"Me? Against the law?" she scoffed, frown lines appearing on her brows as well. "I'm practically legend, I'm a heroine! The ones against the law are the Liangs, father and son." She inched closer, as if about to reveal a secret. "You aren't from around here, are you?" The two girls nodded. "I knew it! Let me tell you something. That Liang family is rotten to the core. They see a girl who looks pretty, don't even think twice about if she'd already had arrangements, or didn't want to, but had to make her marry."

"How do you know?" Zi Wei asked incredulously.

"She told me personally last night, when I was taking a walk by their manor. Thank god I was there when I was, otherwise, she'd have hanged herself!"

"Really?"

"What would I lie to you for? Can I go now?"

"Wait!" Zi Wei said yet again. "Then...where is she right now?"