Zhizhu Baihe Pavilion: General's Secret Lady

The scent of the blossoming Cherry Blossoms in the courtyard could not hide the stench of the bloodstain. The crimson splash of endless red liquid that was supposed to symbolize the sign of life became the bringer of death for the young lady who was slumped on the pig sty's muddy floor. Her fingers scraped the floor. Her voice dried from her constant screams of utter horror as her wet emerald eyes watched the matriarch clad in Phoenix garb strangling her frail mother.

"Please, no! Not my mother! I will do anything!" Theta's voice, scratch and barely a whisper, was buried by the labored breaths from her mother.

The burning pair of cerulean eyes glared at Theta's hunched form on the ground. "Do not worry, Theta. It will be your turn soon. For now, watch your slut of a mother struggling to live. Hold her." Rea Mariyah, the main wife of the Mariyah Clan's patriarch, General Ronin, commanded her loyal servants.

Theta's body got lifted by the two servants who were tasked to beat her up together with her mother. They held her upper body in front of the morbid scene to let her witness the cruelty being gifted to her mother. One servant held her chin to make sure she was watching the entire act of entertainment for Madam Rea.

The wicked glint in the household's madam's eyes made Theta freeze. Her flailing from the two sets of firm hands stopped as she realized her inability to protect the one person who made her endure their wretched life under the Mariyah Clan's Manor. Theta's red-colored straw-like hair fell on her face while reaching out her right hand in her mother's direction. In front of her, she watched her mother beaten black and blue by her father's main wife. The whip hugged her mother's back – the splashes of crimson evidence reached Theta's face for the nth time.

All of these punishments were because Theta asked for her mother's medicine in front of her father, General Ronin Mariyah of the Kingdom of Amina. The domineering main wife witnessed the distant interaction and fussed over her mother's attempt to seduce the patriarch of the Mariyah Household. What they failed to see were the whip marks littering her sickly mother, her sunken eyes that were once the center of men's attention and dreams, and her dried lips that showed the mistreatment her mother and Theta had to endure inside the manor.

Theta hated how they treated her mother as a common whore as if the people in the manor forgot how General Ronin Mariyah forcibly took her mother from her homeland – because of her sinful beauty.

And now the flower was withering while its bud had been nipped before it was given the chance to bloom. Theta's gaze narrowed upon seeing Madam Rea's cultured fingernails drew blood from her mother's immobile form – as if she had given up all hope to survive.

'Mother, please. Do not leave me. I have survived because of you. I have endured because you are here to tend the wounds. Please, do not leave me alone!' Theta pleaded in her mind – contrasting the ominous laughter from the main wife and the grunting of the livestock. Crystal clear liquid fell from her dull green eyes – she realized how these wretched people valued prestige and wealth more than blood ties.

'If only I am stronger, I could have protected my mother.' Theta swallowed the mockery at the back of her mind as she succumbed to reality.

Power. One word that would dictate one's future.

A loud thud resonated inside the pigsty followed by Theta being shoved in front of her lifeless mother. The echoes of their laughter engraved deeply in her soul as Theta cradled her mother's bloody body. Beneath her fingertips, she could feel the warmth leaving her kind mother's body. Though dead, her mother, Yuna Mariyah, was still suffering. Countless opened wounds crisscrossed her petite body, blood seeping from them. And all Theta could do was wipe the mud from her mother's pale face.

Touching her mother's forehead through hers, tears freely washed the dirt decorated on her mother's once pristine face. "I am so sorry, mother. Forgive this daughter for being powerless. I am sorry for being born. Because of me, you have to endure all the misfortunes of this clan. You should have abandoned me, because maybe, just maybe, you could have a better fate than this."

The retreating footsteps and the whimpers from the battered Theta were all dulled when the familiar chiming of gong resonated at the entire manor. This only meant one thing – an Imperial edict had arrived in the manor to be received by the Mariyah Household's heads.

Theta did not bother to move from her position while cradling her mother. She did not bother to wipe the tears nor swat the flies around them. The creeping coldness in the pigsty could not match the frosty feeling shrouding inside Theta's broken heart. Along with the cold came the numbness, stopping her eyes to weep for her past and present.

The servants passing by them did not even bother to ask. Theta knew how cruel the world worked for someone like her.

Born from a slave, no matter how beautiful her mother was before, Theta's life in the Mariyah Clan's manor was meant to be like this – cruel, ill-fated, and tragic. Concubine Yuna, Theta's mother, was a slave that was forcedly impregnated by the famous General Ronin during one of his expeditions. He bought Theta's mother and married her as the third concubine in the prestigious Mariyah Clan. The said clan was the powerhouse in terms of producing outstanding generals for the small kingdom of Amina. Since their small country was not blessed with any magical prowess, the Kingdom of Amina compensated by producing outstanding talents both in culture and combat. Naturally, as the daughter of a noble house such as the Mariyah Clan, Theta was supposed to be taught the basics up to the nitty-gritty details of singing, dancing, tea making, and embroidery. However, she was born from a slave concubine with no means of influence from her matriarchal side. Hence, she was treated as lower than the slaves.

From the moment she learned to talk and walk, Theta Mariyah, the third concubine's only daughter, experienced the very meaning of the word cruelty from her father. He would not bat an eyelash even if her mother's blood were spilled on the very pavement he would walk on. He could not even care about the baggage that her mother brought to the world as his main wife and main children mistreated the young Theta as if doing so was a great achievement. Theta bit her lips and clenched her small fists – all for her mother's request to let them be. She was taught by her mother to stay alive inside the turbulent Mariyah Clan's manor. She needed to lie low – away from Madam Rea's line of vision.

But seasons turned and flew like maple leaves. The once malnourished child became the spitting image of the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom of Amina – Theta became a bud that was ready for blooming. And thus, the series of misfortune doubled for the mother and daughter pair.

Betrothal letters from all sorts of gentlemen from noble families in the Kingdom of Amina flooded the Mariyah Clan's manor making the eldest main daughter, Axue Mariyah, seethed with anger and envy for the lowly daughter of the powerless concubine.

Schemes after schemes to make her life miserable, Theta experienced the 'filial' love from her siblings and Madam Rea until it cost her – her mother's life.

THE COLD GUSH of breeze entering the windows of the pigsty awakened the exhausted Theta from her slumber. Her position from earlier was yet to change – she was still cradling the cold body of her lifeless mother on the ground. Theta's body ached everywhere when she stood up while carrying her mother's small frame.

Staggering her way out of the pigsty with a shovel in her hand, the eerie touch of moonlight welcomed Theta outside the hellhole she came from. Since the pigsty was located at the farthest part of the manor, no servants could be seen anywhere. The lanterns that lit the way for Theta were meters apart from each, the distance growing the more she stepped away from the manor that she loathed.

'This will be the last time that I will be carrying my mother,' Theta thought.

Theta was so used to carrying her mother every time she collapsed. She would carry her away from the manor and seek the help of the quack doctor in the city for free medicine and consultation in exchange for the hard labor that she was willing to do for her mother.

"Mother. This daughter will bury you beside your favorite Cherry Blossom Tree. I remember the times that you will sneak me out from the manor during this time to relax, far from the prying eyes of the Mariyah Clan," said Theta in between her labored breaths.

Her bare soles numbed from the freezing ground while blood continuously flowed from her mother's wounds leaving a trail for anyone. The once fifteen-minute walk towards the Cherry Blossom Tree located a meter outside the Mariyah Clan's manor felt as if it was only a shorter amount of time for Theta.

Inside Theta's heart, she did not want the pathway to stop – she wanted to keep carrying her mother.

The scent of the Cherry Blossom Tree welcomed Theta's wobbling form, her mother lying cold at her book. The stench of blood and death fought for dominance but was defeated by the gentle aroma brought by her mother's favorite tree.

She carefully placed her mother under the Cherry Blossom Tree. The soft swaying of the branches dropped some petals in her mother's body as if the latter was only taking a nap. Theta stopped shoveling as she tearfully gazed at her mother's form – knowing this would be the last time she would be able to witness this.

'I am sorry, mother. This daughter failed you, but I promise you I will not fail in avenging you.' Theta wept inside her mind. Malediction and sorrow were slowly pulling her to the bottomless pit of darkness, an abyss of cold misery.

Tears from grief turned into tears that were hungry for vengeance. Shifting her attention to the ground, Theta resumed shoveling.

A gentle pair of arms cradled concubine Yuna towards the cold ground. Lowering the latter to the ground without any burial rites to appease her mother's soul – Theta started shoveling again, covering the seemingly sleeping form of her mother. With every drop of dirt on her body, Theta's rage grew. And with every shove of the shovel, Theta remembered the Mariyah Clan members as they pushed her mother to the pits of death.

Now fully covered with dirt, what lies before Theta Mariyah was the grave of her mother. No offerings, no burial rites, a grave with no name – a grave for a slave.

"This daughter promises you, a free woman, Yuna, that the Mariyah Clan's glorious days are numbered," said Theta in a hoarse voice. Not a single drop of tear fell from her eyes, her fists clenched, and her once gentle emerald eyes shone with a ruthlessness that would change the history of the Mariyah Clan.

Cold rage engulfed Theta as she stared at the grave. The gentle blows of the breeze under the Cherry Blossom Tree could not appease the searing hatred that was twisting her once forgiving demeanor. Though battered by the lashes, Theta stood straight in front of her mother's grave.

Theta stayed in this position. Minutes turned into hours, and the next moment she realized that dawn was breaking in front of her. Peaking from branches of the Cherry Blossom Tree, the sunlight crawled slowly – illuminating everything around it and chasing away the coldness that the night brought. Though Theta was bathing under the blessings of the Sun, she could not feel the slightest hint of warmth from its light.

It was the time that Theta realized that with her mother dying, a long winter night had begun for her.

Amidst this realization that she heard footsteps growing nearer, and they stopped a few meters away from her. The familiar voice of Madam Rea's servant spoke haughtily.

"Hey, slut's daughter! Do you want me to drag you? Madam Rea and Master Ronin are looking for you!"

'Is he now?'