Jade Green in the Cold Mist

This is a very, very small story.

The little country in this story was a feudal state that paid homage to the emperor at court, but was effectively independent.

Its king was brave and decisive. He loved all beautiful things, especially beautiful women.

One day, he saw a young woman and immediately decided he would have her, whatever the cost.

The young woman said, “Do you really have to do this? I’m warning you: you’ll regret it. One day, I’ll make you pay.”

The king only laughed.

The day after he took her, the young woman found a chance to smash her head against something and kill herself. They say her brains and blood splattered across the headboard and seeped into the walls and floor, where they could not be scrubbed away for years.

The servants told the queen. She was heavily pregnant, sitting propped up in bed and idly sewing a little garment. At the news, she jumped in shock, and the needle pricked her fingertip. The pain shot straight to her heart. She quickly put her finger in her mouth to suck it, but there was no blood. All that remained where it hurt was a tiny black pinprick, as small as the most insignificant speck of dust. Then the queen’s belly began to hurt too. The servants hurried to call the imperial physician, and after a day and a night of effort, she gave birth to a premature boy, who became the king’s eldest son.

The queen hurriedly asked, “Is it a boy or a girl?” When she learned, “It’s a little prince,” she let out a long sigh, lay back, and closed her eyes to rest.

It never occurred to her to ask the name of the young woman who had startled her.

By the time she thought to ask, it was too late.

The young woman’s name was Lian Bo.

Lian Bo’s story was not over.