After Father died, we received a jar of rice and half a jar of flour from the court, which were the scarcest resources during the war, and also Father's greatest love for Mother and me.
As humans, we always need something to spiritually sustain us.
Before, Mother's sustenance had always been Father, but after Father died, Mother began to believe in Buddhism.
Later, as the Qi Dynasty's attacks became increasingly fierce,
and as Zhu Yin's retreat became more and more defeated, the number of wounded soldiers returning home increased. Our Hundred Herb Hall became a semi-charitable hall, where Mother would help any wounded soldier returning from the frontline, without conditions.
At that time, Mother could only sleep for at most two hours a day. She was so exhausted that she fell ill, but refused to rest.
When I urged Mother to rest, she told me:
"Your Father sacrificed himself to protect our country. As a woman, Mother cannot go to battle and kill the enemy, but I cannot watch our country be trampled by foreigners."
I looked at all kinds of people on the streets.
The stingy old lady from the rice shop opened her family's granary to help the poor;
The charming courtesans from the brothels put on rough cloth to help carry the wounded;
The gangsters from the gambling dens smashed their own signboards, discarded their gambling tables, and turned their huge courtyards into refugee shelters;
And my mother, it had been a long time since she asked any patient for diagnosis fees.
It was then that I realized,
Every person around me was passionately loving our home country in their own way.
It was also from that time that I began to learn medical skills from Mother, hoping to contribute my own effort for our country.
I often asked then:
"Mother, do you think we can win this war?"
Mother said:
"Definitely. Good people will eventually be rewarded. The people of Zhu Yin are extremely kind at heart."
I always believed what Mother said,
Until the year I turned six, when Mother went to the mountains to gather herbs and never came back.
The neighbors said Mother had accidentally fell off a cliff and died.
But I secretly went to see Mother's corpse,
The bloody holes pierced by swords were clearly telling me that she had been cruelly killed by the approaching Qi Army.
After Mother died, I did not shed a single tear.
I buried their ashes on the hillside behind the mountain.
Looking at the protruding grave mound with withered yellow flowers blooming on it, I wondered:
Will kind people in this world truly be rewarded?
Why did my Father, who protected our home, and my Mother, who accumulated virtues through good deeds, ultimately meet such a tragic end?
If the kind are to be bullied by the world, while the wicked can live in luxury and indulge in pleasures,
Then I do not wish to be a kind person who cannot have a good ending!
The Qi Army was about to attack the capital city. There was no longer a safe place in Zhu Yin City.
Due to my parents' outstanding contributions to Zhu Yin during the war, I, as their orphan, was sent to serve in the Zhu Yin Hall.
It was the imperial city of Zhu Yin, a place I could see every day when I went out with Mother to see patients.
I was taken in as a maid to serve the second prince, Jiang Muye.
I had heard of this person before.
He was a few years older than me, the son most favored by the Emperor.
However, these past few days, he had been following the Empress to the traveling palace, so he was not in the palace.
At first in the Zhu Yin Hall, I only did simple cleaning chores. I tried to keep myself busy to avoid dwelling on Mother's unjust death.
But one day, when I was picking up firewood in the woodshed, a thorn from the firewood slightly pricked my finger.
As I squeezed my finger hard to push out the thorn, drawing blood,
For some reason, the pain in my finger triggered the sorrow hidden deep in my heart.
The long suppressed emotions suddenly rebounded, surging towards me.
I felt a severe pain in my heart, curled up in the corner of the woodshed, and cried until I could hardly breathe.
At that moment, I suddenly heard someone reprimanding:
"No crying is allowed in the Zhu Yin Hall. If you cry again, someone might gouge out your eyes."
I looked up towards the voice, and through my blurred tearful eyes, I saw the silhouette of a boy.
He was about half a head taller than me and quite handsome. But his expression was both cold and rigid, which frightened me when I looked at him.
Seeing him dressed in the black dragon robe of Zhu Yin, I knew his identity.
Only the second prince, Jiang Muye, could dress like that inside the palace.
I hurriedly wiped away my tears and acknowledged my mistake verbally, but I still couldn't stop sobbing.
He asked with disgust:
"Why are you crying?"
I replied softly:
"Mother died, and I feel saddened..."
He froze for a moment, then stiffly took out a plain handkerchief from his pocket and tossed it to me.
Then he said casually:
"My Empress Mother died too."
The Empress Mother of Jiang Muye was the Empress of Zhu Yin, the most revered woman in this country. How could she...
Hearing this, I was shocked, forgetting to wipe my tears. I just stared at him with my tear-filled eyes.
Noticing my puzzlement, he explained in a tone as if speaking of someone else's idle gossip:
"On our way back from the traveling palace, we encountered an ambush by the Qi Army. To protect me, Mother was hit by a poisoned arrow. In the chaos of battle, not even her remains could be found."
