An Old Friend Comes Under the Moon

In the twenty-third year of the Republic of China, Peiping. The day Shen Nian was taken away, it rained for the first time since autumn. Two soldiers carrying guns kicked open the door of the school and escorted her from the classroom into a carriage with green curtains. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew that from then on, she was no longer herself. The Young Marshal's Mansion is quieter than expected. There is no sentry, no interrogation, just the scent of sandalwood throughout the house, and a window that is always dark. She moved into that wing, put on moon-white clothes, and learned to cook the man's favorite dishes. Zhou's mother said that she looked so much like Miss Fu who died three years ago. Shen Nian doesn't ask, doesn't cry, and doesn't make trouble. She just held the silver dollar in her hand. It was her only connection with the past. Later she learned that she was not the first.