Lovely Blossoms

Baek Zhiqiang stared at the young girl before him. His heart raced from a mixture of fear and joy. He had momentarily thought that it was Chunhua, Fen Hua's deceased mother. But no, she was different. Possibly even prettier then she had been. She stood there trembling from the cold, or possibly out of fear. Her big doe like eyes starting at him as though he would strike out at her any moment.

"What are you doing out here?" He questioned. His voice was soft, almost warm. "Put your weapons down," he said to the other guards. These men had been with him for many years and were quick to listen to him. He gave a nod of his head and they quickly headed away leaving him and Fen Hua alone.

Fen Hua stared at Baek Zhiqiang. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. There were strange feelings inside of her. Feelings of wanting to be loved by a father, and feelings of disgust and anger for who he was and how he treated Fen Hua.

"I'm looking for my maid," Fen Hua stated. She lifted her chin hoping that she looked much stronger then she felt.

Baek Zhiqiang looked at the bundled up blanket with a raised eyebrow. He put his sword away and took a step closer to his daughter. He swallowed thickly. How was it that every time he saw her he was pulled to that low place he had been when Chunhua died.

"If you need someone to help you, you should call and someone will come. There is no need for you to search out a maid."

Fen Hua wasn't sure if he was telling her she needed to stay in her room, or was letting her know that she shouldn't lower herself as she was. Her brows puzzled together, She truly didn't understand this man.

Baek Zhiqiang had once been a very romantic and carefree person. The first time he had seen Chunhua he had fell in love. He had married Meirong, and then two other wives followed by a concubine, but none of them filled the part that just a look from Chunhua could fill. During the matter of Prince Xiaowen, Chunhua had only been seventeen. Baek Zhiqiang twenty-three.

He had wanted to stay out of the whole matter but it was inevitable that he was pulled in. Prince Zhu was his superior he held all authority when it came to the military branch that he commanded. Baek Zhiqiang no matter how prestigious his name and title was, he was only as good as his orders. He had been ordered that night to enter Prince Xiaowen's Estate and bring him to the palace. That was a night he would never forget. It was the night that a part of him died.

He had Prince Xiaowen on the floor kneeling in his sleeping clothes. His hair was disheveled, a trickle of blood dripped from the side of his mouth, his hands were tied behind his back. Baek Zhiqiang had always looked up to this person, thought of him as a great man worthy of admiration. When the news of his plans to start a coupe had come to light no one was more surprised then he was.

It was there in the midst of all the chaos, with her father kneeling at his feet, that Baek Zhiqiang saw Chunhua. The devastation and betrayal in her eyes was overwhelming. He had taken a step back from the shock of it.

Shortly after that night the entire Zhu clan of males were killed. Only one child who was too young to know for sure, but showed promise of having the gift, was kept from over two hundred and fifty people, servants included.The women were sold into slavery sometime later after each one had been interrogated, many tortured.

He had chased after her almost immediately after finding out where she was sent. He even ignored his next issue of orders in order to get to her in time. He was lucky he was stationed only four days from the Neutral Territory, three without sleep. If he hadn't been close he would have never saw her again.

It wasn't the first time that he had been in the neutral territory, and certainly not the first time to see slaves being sold, but this was the first time that he actually SAW it. Chunhua and her entire clan of women, even the elderly and sick were tied along a chain on a stage. They were all filthy most of them looked like they hadn't been fed for weeks.

He had stared at Chunhua, not able to pair the woman he remembered with the tired looking woman on the stage. When the bidding started he quickly called out a price for her. No one contested his offer, it was way more then she was worth no matter how pretty she might be.

"Please," she had begged. The moment he approached her. "Take my mother instead. She's sick, she wont make it anywhere else." Tears dripped down her face leaving a trail in the dust that covered it. He hadn't brought any more money. There was nothing he could do now. There was no way that he could leave her here.

He turned from her, "I'm sorry."

"Please," she begged again. He didn't respond. He had one of his men bring her to a carriage, knowing that there was now no chance she would ever forgive him.