Prosperous Spring

The capital in the spring of the twenty-second year of Shengyuan was livelier than in previous years. Last autumn, after many years of war on the frontier, the country finally declared victory. Pei Zhan, the second son of the Protector General, succeeded Liang Chen, the injured Grand General of the Zhou Dynasty, and pursued the enemy for three hundred miles, reclaiming nine cities of Zhou and capturing the enemy’s ruler and leaders, who were later escorted to the capital and beheaded. The Zhou Dynasty, having been established for over twenty years, now experienced peace and prosperity, with signs of a flourishing era. In March, peach blossoms bloomed all over the hills behind Baihe Temple. Seizing the occasion of the abbot’s large-scale prayer ceremony, high-ranking officials and nobles gathered at the temple, and their families also came to enjoy the flowers. The most beautiful and flourishing peach blossoms were on a few old peach trees in the northwest corner of the temple. These trees, rumored to be over a hundred years old, bloomed with the most abundant, reddest, and largest flowers each year. However, despite the beauty of the blossoms, this area remained largely deserted. This was because next to the old peach trees lay a charred ruin. The site had once been a temple hall where pilgrims could stay and pray, but it was accidentally burned down one autumn night six years ago. A young lady who was praying for her family members who had died in battle was also burned to death in the fire. “I heard she became a vengeful ghost. They say she went to the battlefield and killed people, and she was hideous!” Some people, from across the pond in the temple, were discussing the flowers and the blackened ruins beyond. Others, however, mindful of the people involved in the story, quickly hushed the speaker, “That was Miss Liang from the Liang family. How powerful are you to dare speak like that?” The gossipers quickly dispersed. At this moment, a girl standing a bit farther away raised her head and asked the woman beside her, “Mother, did Miss Liang really turn into a vengeful ghost after she died?” “Don’t listen to their nonsense,” the woman gently stroked the girl’s hair. “I met Miss Liang once. She wasn’t scary at all, and she wasn’t ugly either. On the contrary, she was brave and righteous. I believe that even after the misfortune she suffered, she would never harm good people.” Remembering that terrifying night, the woman still felt a chill in her heart. “If mother says she isn’t scary, then she surely isn’t. But really, who could be scarier than the people in our Fu family?” The girl’s voice grew somber. Her face was stunningly beautiful, with finely crafted features—her eyebrows and eyes were dark as ink, while her skin was flawless. However, her skin and lips were so pale that they looked like paper. With such a face on her slender frame, there was an air of frailty about her. The woman sighed and led her forward. “Let’s go, Zhen’er. We’ve already made an appointment with Master Chengkong; we shouldn’t be late. If we return late, your father will scold us again.” When she was born, a renowned doctor said that Zhen’er wouldn’t live past sixteen. Coincidentally, in ten days, it would be her sixteenth birthday. After worrying for fifteen years, as the day drew nearer, her mother became more and more anxious, not knowing when misfortune might strike. Chengkong was a famous monk, and today, with this opportunity, she hoped to ask him to predict her daughter’s fate again. Unfortunately, her husband, who was a minister in the Ministry of Rites, had come with the intention of seeking a promotion and wouldn’t allow them to stay too long. In the distance, a six or seven-year-old boy dressed in white watched as the mother and daughter moved farther away, then quickly ran over. Once behind the trees, he looked around to make sure no one was nearby before approaching the ruined site and kneeling down. “Great-Aunt, your dear little Xuanxuan has come to see you again. Don’t listen to those people who gossip; that lady earlier was right. You were kind and brave, and you are a role model for me and the pride of the Liang family!” He kowtowed twice, properly and respectfully, then took out a few snacks wrapped in silk handkerchiefs from his pocket. “Mother said you loved her jujube cakes the most. She made some again today, and I saved some especially for you. Please be sure to eat them.” He carefully laid the handkerchief on the ground.