[This is a coming-soon project. After The Sea of Sand: I Have Nowhere to Return To is complete, I'll start whichever of my next three projects inspires me.]
In Southern Tang, there was a clan known as the "Bone Maidens." The men and women of the clan were all breathtakingly beautiful, and many sought their favor.
Historical Records, Southern Tang: Miscellany
The Historical Records were wrong. What people sought was not the clan's beauty, but its bones. They would capture a member of the clan, drain their blood and discard their flesh, then carve out their bones while they were still alive. The blood and bones were placed together in an urn and simmered over a low flame for eighty-one days.
Afterward, the bones would be as white as jade and give off a strange fragrance. If they touched someone's clothes, that person could commune with ghosts. The bones of men could be made into blades and swords that were tough and unbreakable; the bones of women could be made into jewels that shone brilliantly. Everyone sought them.
Tales of Strange Events in Southern Tang
The Liyang Dynasty successively conquered the Later Song and Later Sui. Knowing that their power was waning, the Southern Tang royal family still put up a desperate fight. Fearing that outsiders might learn the secret of the Bone Maidens, they brutally ordered the entire clan wiped out.
Fifteen years later, Xu Fengnian, heir to the Prince of Beiliang, happened upon a pair of travelers, one dressed in red and the other in white.
The girl in red clung to the person in white and wouldn't let go, repeating the same thing over and over.
"You're so good-looking. Have a baby with me."
"...I can't. Let go."
"You can."
Xu Fengnian: "Look at me. I can."
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[This is probably a tooth-achingly sweet story about the prince showing off in front of his wife like a peacock, in a desperate bid not to be outshone by a beauty...]
[Before You Read]:
1. The story is based on the original work, but you can picture the characters as they appear in the TV adaptation.
Theme: Southern Tang has a lovely girl, and I want to take her as my wife.
