The Tale of Two Beauties

In the thirty-first year of the Taian era, red silk was hung throughout the Prince of Nan’an’s residence, which had guarded Daxiao’s northern frontier for generations. The courtyard was drenched in red, yet there was not a trace of joy.

The two Nan sisters, dressed in splendid finery, bid farewell to their brother in the ancestral hall. Fighting through the pain in his body and the exhaustion on his face, Nan Qingchen was heartbroken. That brilliant red was supposed to symbolize celebration, but in his eyes it was nothing but blatant humiliation!

His own sisters, the two daughters of the Nan family, were being forced to marry because the emperor suspected them!

One was to become the Fourth Prince’s principal wife, the other the Sixth Prince’s secondary consort. Though they were twin flowers on one stem, they were forced onto opposing sides, turned into playthings of imperial power. What was this imperial decree, if not an attack on their hearts?

But at that moment, all he could do was rage. He could do nothing else!

Two years later, the young Prince of Nan’an was falsely accused of rebellion, and the entire Prince of Nan’an’s residence was massacred. Daxiao’s northern frontier was strewn with corpses and rivers of blood. Not a trace remained of its former prosperity.

Meanwhile, in Jinyang, the capital of Daxiao, the execution ground was cold and grim. Thousands cursed them, and hundreds despised them. The two sisters smiled sadly, exchanged a silent look, then drew their swords and took their own lives. Their blood sprayed across the sky.

Then snow fell in June, as if calling upon the gods to send sweet dew and cleanse the world of all its sins and wicked thoughts!

That year, the Prince of Nan’an’s residence fell. The God of War who had protected Daxiao perished!

Perhaps it was the unwillingness of tens of thousands of wronged souls; perhaps it was the blood-bound wish of the two Nan sisters. Somehow, they truly won the faint chance to be reborn.

The long road to the Yellow Springs never ends; the souls on the River of Forgetfulness never return!

[I make this vow with all my heart. May the gods take pity on me and grant me one lifetime. I will endure in this broken body, refusing to cross the Naihe Bridge or drink Granny Meng’s soup, until my long-cherished wish is fulfilled. I vow never to enter the cycle of reincarnation, in this life or any other!]