A Bewildered Heart: The Taoist Bride in the Marshal's Mansion

Luoyang, the fourteenth year of the Republic of China.

The fifth-watch clapper had barely sounded when the Marshal’s residence descended into chaos. Maids and servants hurried through the corridors carrying copper basins of hot water, while the clatter of military boots echoed from every direction. Marshal Zhang Zongyao had suddenly collapsed during his morning exercise. Now he lay on an ornate canopy bed, his face ashen and his lips blue-black.

“A pack of useless fools!” Madam Wang, the marshal’s wife, flung her teacup to the floor. Shards of porcelain scattered across the military doctors’ boots. “What good are you? You can’t even diagnose what’s wrong with him!”