Overturning the World

1-2

Night in the Protector General’s estate. As the guests party with their wine goblets and gamble together, a dancing girl in red begins a flying dance.

No one besides the master of the estate noticed the dancing girl suddenly stiffen.

The dancing girl knew that today was the fiftieth birthday of the great Protector General. Under these kinds of circumstances, she could not misstep… With one step, her body went askew, and she fell onto the ground, the chaotic sounds in her ears faintly going silent.

“Help her up.” A deep and kind masculine voice spoke, that seemed to dictate great vicissitudes. Immediately, two people came forth to lift her up. When she glanced up she saw that the person who had spoken was the great Protector General, Yun Cheng. Though he was late in his years, the general did not look old. His pupils were full of deepness that was becoming of his years, and the great change in his eyes could shake one’s eyes further. He asked, “What is your name?”

“This servant..is called Qing Shi [1].”

[1] Qing Shi (卿时). 卿 is a term of endearment between spouses, or a term for a high ranking official; an honorific in general. 时 means time; period; season. This is a different person from the Qing Shi mentioned in the Prologue. Whenever Yun Cheng reminisces on the past, he is thinking of the Qing Shi mentioned in the Prologue. Whenever Yun Cheng is in the present, he is with the Qing Shi dancing girl. Yun Cheng probably asked this dancer girl to enter his household  because she shares the same name as the person he yearns for.

Yun Cheng was startled as his lips began to continuously repeat the dancer’s name. After quite awhile, he suddenly spoke, “Are you willing to enter my household?”

The scene silenced. All the guests appraised this dancer curiously. As the Protector General had never taken a wife or a concubine, it was their first time hearing such a request.  Qing Shi became disheartened as she accepted the decree and knelt to kowtow. Her pupils were dark as she said, “This servant thanks the general.”

A servant helped her wash her face and rinse her mouth. She was then given a gauzy fabric to wear and sent to the general’s room. She did not know how long she had waited before the banquet finished. Qing Shi fisted her two hands into two balls tightly. Her body was so cold that she began to tremble.

The door to the room was opened, and Yun Cheng entered the room. The moment he walked in, he saw the shivering Qing Shi and was startled. Presently, he shook his head and laughed in spite of himself, “These servants who act on their own initiative!”

He went outside and yelled, “Come, someone bring her red clothes over.”

Yun Cheng waited on the other side of the screen, waiting for Qing Shi to finish changing into her clothes. The flames of the candle in the outer room cast his tall and straight silhouette onto the screen. Qing Shi was full of misgivings. She had once heard of the legendary Yun Cheng, who became a Protector General. He had been extraordinary all his life, and had lived through three dynasties.

With her shoulder, her waist and the position of her dress, Yun Cheng painted the girl’s form with difficulty. He looked up at Qing Shi and looked down again. How come he couldn’t draw her face? What did it look like? The figure in his memories was extremely fuzzy. He closed his eyes in deep thought, but it became even more indistinct. What did she look like…

Putting down his brush, Yun Cheng was extremely frustrated as he looked at the figure of the girl on the paper. The black eyes that had filled numerous people with fear were filled with helplessness, extreme helplessness.

How come… he couldn’t remember?

                               —

***Just a reminder that when Qing Shi is in italics, it refers to the Princess Qing Shi from the prologue!