CHAPTER ONE: HIDDEN FLOWER
Spring had just begun in Luoyang, filling the air with the soft scent of cherry blossoms. At the city’s edge stood the Xiao Manor, its walls weathered by years of wind and sunlight. Inside, a girl named Xiao Qiqi lived a life that felt like a quiet dream. She carried her name like something that didn’t quite belong to her.
Seventeen years ago, during a war that turned laughter into hunger’s silence, Old Madam Xiao had found Qiqi, a small, frightened child of only two years old, with no name, no past, and no one to claim her. The old woman brought her home to the Xiao family, who accepted the child out of duty rather than affection. They gave her food and shelter but never a true place in their hearts.
Old Madam Xiao was the only one who looked at Qiqi with kindness. Her wrinkled hands were gentle, her voice soft with patience, and her eyes carried the calm wisdom of someone who had seen both cruelty and beauty. She often called Qiqi to her side, sharing sweet lotus cakes and teaching her embroidery. “A flower planted last can bloom the most beautifully of all,” she once told Qiqi, as they sat beneath the lamplight.
But Qiqi’s life was not all kindness. Her adopted sisters, Xiao Mao and Xiao Lu, made sure she never forgot she was different. Mao was clever and ambitious, her eyes always searching for advantage, while Lu was beautiful and distant, her words cool as polished jade. The Xiao Manor was a house full of beauty but not warmth. Everyone spoke softly and smiled politely, but their hearts were cold.
Master Xiao, a proud man, cared more about his reputation than the people under his roof. He rarely spoke to Qiqi, and when he did, it was only to remind her to behave properly or stay out of sight when guests arrived. Madam Xiao was stricter, with sharp eyes that noticed every mistake and a voice that could turn kind words into scolding without ever being loud.
To them, Qiqi was not truly part of the family. She was a reminder of a favor done long ago, a child their mother-in-law had brought home out of pity. They gave her what she needed to live but nothing that made life sweet. Her sisters made those quiet days even harder. Mao liked to order her around, often giving Qiqi her chores to do so she could rest or go out with friends. Lu preferred to hurt her in silence, with small, careful words that left invisible wounds.
“You should be grateful,” Lu often said, brushing her hair before the mirror. “Not everyone would let a stranger wear their family’s name.”
Qiqi learned to stay quiet. She cleaned the courtyard, washed clothes, and helped in the kitchen when the servants were too busy. At night, she sat by the window and mended her simple dresses by candlelight. Sometimes she could hear laughter from her sisters’ rooms, bright and sharp, while she stitched in silence.
Only Old Madam Xiao treated her gently. Whenever she was well enough to leave her room, she called Qiqi to sit beside her and told her stories about her youth, about the old days before the wars. Those were the few moments when Qiqi felt safe, sitting by her grandmother’s side, the world outside fading for a little while.
But Old Madam Xiao had grown weak in the last year, and Qiqi was alone more often now. She had begun running errands to the market for her, carrying small baskets of herbs and teas through the busy streets of Luoyang. It was on one of those ordinary mornings, when she walked through the market square with her head lowered and her basket pressed close to her chest, that her life quietly began to change.
