The Legend of Ting Yan

"Daddy, who was Pangu? He held the sky and earth apart with his hands. Yan'er can do that too!"

"Even if the Xie family has fallen on hard times, we won't tolerate you wretches insulting us. Daddy, Qin, and Yan'er, this entire Xie estate: if anyone dares lay a finger on even one of us, I'll fight to the death, through blood and battle! Even if I have to slaughter everyone, I'll leave not a single one alive!"

"...You abandoned me, completely disregarding the promises and vows you made in the past. I may cry for you, I may grieve for you, but that's all. I won't destroy myself for your sake, so... enough is enough. This ill-fated debt and ill-fated bond end here. We will never meet again!"

"Move aside, because I really will kill you..."

"I was born a woman. How is that, how is that wrong? ...Even if you don't care, the gossip of the world will eventually make you care. Who will save the Xie family's legacy? What are we to do?"

A century of the Xie family's prosperity had been brought to ruin by Master Xie. How could his only daughter, Yan'er, hold up the sky and earth for him and turn their fortunes around? Yan'er was in the prime of her youth. She should have been embroidering in her room, but now she was out in public. As a woman, what would the world say about her? How would the household servants lose heart?

Everything seemed impossibly far away...

* This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Thank you!