Chapter 9 — The General's Wild Daughter

The Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife looked utterly astonished. Her father had instructed servants to bring out two small wooden bows, then ordered the bodyguards to hang three copper coins in the courtyard. The coins were placed at a moderate distance, and the tips of the arrows were carefully wrapped in soft cloth. Her father said, "Each person gets three arrows. Whoever hits the most wins."

The young heir puffed out his chest, holding his head high. Mother squatted down in front of me, her eyes brimming with anxiety. "If it hurts, do not pull back. Losing does not matter at all."

I nodded. "Mother, it does not hurt."

She touched the palm of my hand. The red mark from yesterday was still visible there. Her eyes turned red again. Feeling anxious, I turned and picked up the small wooden bow. The young heir shot first. His first arrow missed completely. His second arrow grazed past a coin. His third arrow finally struck one of the coins, making it ring out sharply. He let out a sigh of relief and shot me a triumphant look.

I stood behind the boundary line. Father had not taught me. Mother had not spoken either. I merely remembered the sight of the red silk ribbon falling yesterday. My first arrow flew out, and a coin chimed. The second arrow flew out, and another coin rang. The courtyard grew so silent that only the sound of the wind remained. As I drew the third arrow, I suddenly caught a flash of dark shadow across the top of the wall. A cold glint flashed in that person's hand, the blade pointing directly toward Mother. My hand slipped, and the soft-tipped arrow left the string. It did not hit the coin. Instead, it flew straight toward the top of the wall. The dark shadow let out a muffled cry and tumbled backward out of sight.

Father's expression changed abruptly. The bodyguards drew their sabers and rushed forward. Mother instantly pulled me tightly into her arms. Right after that, a loud shout echoed from outside the courtyard: "Assassins!"

The main hall instantly plunged into chaos. The Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife screamed and retreated backward. The young heir was pulled behind her, his face completely drained of color, utterly white. Mother held me tightly, her palms ice-cold. Father had already charged out of the courtyard doors. Today he wore no armor, nor did he carry his saber. Yet he snatched a staff from the waist of a bodyguard, his figure moving as swiftly as the wind. I rested on Mother's shoulder, trying to peer outside. Mother pressed my head back down. "You must not look."

I said sullenly, "I hit the target."

Mother's voice trembled. "You are still talking."

I kept my mouth shut. But outside, the sounds of fighting quickly erupted. Footsteps, muffled groans, and the clatter of weapons falling to the ground all blended together. Hearing it all made my heart itch with excitement. Mother pulled me even closer. She whispered under her breath, "Nothing must happen to him. Absolutely nothing must happen."

I knew she was referring to Father. I whispered along with her, "Father will win the fight."

Mother lowered her head to look at me, a mixture of anger and terror in her gaze. "A Ninh, you must never do such a thing again in the future."

I nodded. "I will not do it."

Before Mother's tears could even fall, I added, "Next time, I will call the people first."

She was left completely speechless. At that exact moment, a heavy thud echoed outside the courtyard doors. Soon after, the bodyguards escorted a man dressed in gray into the hall. On the sleeve of his gray robe near the wrist, my soft-tipped arrow was still entangled. The arrowhead was not sharp, but it had struck his wrist bone with absolute precision. His short dagger fell to the ground, and a bodyguard kicked it far away.

Father walked in behind them, a long tear running down his sleeve. When Mother saw it, her face instantly turned as pale as paper. "Are you injured?"

Father hurriedly replied, "I am not injured. Only my clothes were torn."

Mother set me down, stepped quickly in front of him, and grabbed his arm to inspect it up and down. Father let her check, his expression remarkably obedient. Standing nearby, I felt the two of them were truly strange. Father was clearly so tall and imposing, yet in front of Mother, he resembled a thoroughly obedient, large hound. Once Mother finished inspecting him and confirmed there was no blood, her tears finally fell. "You frightened me nearly to death."

Father coaxed her in a soft voice, "It was my fault. Next time, I will let you beat them."

My eyes lit up. "I will beat them too."

Mother turned her head and glared at me. I immediately hid both my hands behind my back.

The man in gray was forced to kneel on the ground. Father demanded to know who had sent him. The man gritted his teeth and refused to utter a single word. The Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife finally regained her wits, her voice trembling. "Why is this man inside the general's estate?"

Father looked at her coldly. "This matter is something the Marchioness must answer."

Her expression shifted. "General, do not cast false accusations and spit blood."

Father raised a hand. A bodyguard pulled a token from inside the gray-robed man's tunic. Carved onto the token were the secret markings of the Vinh Ninh Marquis estate. The legs of the Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife went weak, and she nearly collapsed. The young heir was so terrified that he burst into tears. "It was not me. I did not know anything about it."

I watched him cry so hard that mucus was running down, and I frowned. "Do not cry. Crying is useless anyway."

He only cried louder. Mother rubbed her temples. Father looked down at the Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife. "Yesterday you insulted my daughter at the Imperial Garden, today you came to my estate demanding justice, and now an assassin appears outside my wall. The Marquis estate had better give me a satisfactory explanation."

The lips of the Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife trembled. "I truly did not know. I only brought the child here to demand justice."

The man in gray suddenly let out a cold laugh. "Of course the Marchioness did not know. What we wanted was never your lives. What we wanted was to throw the Estate of the Zhenbei General into utter chaos."

Father's gaze darkened. Mother instinctively pulled me close to her side. The man in gray raised his head to look at me, his eyes cold and sinister. "This little brat truly gets in the way of everything."

I did not like the way he looked at Mother. I picked up the soft-tipped arrow from the floor and walked in front of Mother. "You are the one who is in the way."

Father reached out and hauled me back by the collar. "Stand behind me."

I felt indignant. "Just a moment ago, I stood behind you and shot."

Father was temporarily rendered speechless. Mother looked as though she was about to cry again. The man in gray suddenly burst into wild laughter. "The Zhenbei General has a weakness; he is truly no longer the man he used to be. Do you want to know who wants your household thrown into chaos?"

Father stared at him. The man bit down hard on a poison capsule hidden within his teeth. The bodyguards lunged forward, but it was already too late. He collapsed heavily onto the floor, dark blood spilling from the corners of his mouth.

The main hall fell into a dead silence. The young heir was so frightened that he fainted away completely. The Marquis of Vinh Ninh's wife wept as she called out for people. Mother covered my eyes with her hand. Her fingers were still trembling. Father strode forward and pulled both mother and me into his embrace. His deep voice resonated right above my head, "Do not be afraid."

I pressed against Mother's lapel, catching the faint, pleasant fragrance lingering on her. Actually, I was not afraid at all. But Mother was afraid. Therefore, I hugged her tightly. "Mother, I am right here."

Mother's tears fell into my hair. "I do not need you to stand at the front. You are Mother's daughter. You are not Mother's bodyguard."

I pondered this for a long time. "Then I will be the bodyguard in the back."

Mother cried even harder. Father called out softly, "A Ninh."

I raised my head. Father looked at the corpse lying in the courtyard, his expression terrifyingly cold. "Starting from today, you are not allowed to run around anywhere at all."

I felt displeased. "For how long?"

Before Father could reply, the head steward rushed in anxiously. "General, people have arrived from the palace! The Emperor summons you to enter the palace immediately. He specifically commanded that the little master must be brought along as well."

The Emperor summoned Father to bring me into the palace, and Mother instantly pulled me tighter against her. She asked the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, "A Ninh is still so young; can she be excused from going?"

The eunuch forced a ingratiating smile and replied that the Sage simply wished to catch a glimpse of the little maiden who had shot down the assassin. Hearing the phrase "shot down," I immediately straightened my back. Mother pressed my head back down into her embrace. "Do not be so full of yourself."

I said sullenly, "I am not."

While Father changed into his official robes, Mother personally washed my face. She meticulously wiped away every speck of dirt from between my fingers, then changed me into the light purple dress I had worn yesterday. The maidservants had brushed the stray blades of grass off the hem for a long time, but a faint stain remained. Mother looked at that mark, and the rims of her eyes turned red once again.

"When you enter the palace, you must not speak carelessly."

I nodded.

"You must not run around."

I nodded.

"You must not pick up bows."

I hesitated for a moment. Mother immediately shot me a stern look. I hastily nodded.

"You must also not pick up sabers, sticks, stones, or teacups."

I listened very attentively. "Then what should I do if bad people come?"

Mother took a deep breath. "Call your father."

Father was fastening his belt nearby and, upon hearing this, said in a low voice, "Call me."

I asked again, "What if Father is not there?"

Mother adjusted a small hairpin to make sure it was straight. "Call the bodyguards."

"What if there are no bodyguards either?"

Mother's hands paused. Father walked over and scooped me up into his arms. "Then run away."

I thought about it for a moment. "Can I throw things before I run?"

Mother closed her eyes. Father did not dare to answer.