Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As four o'clock approached, the summer twilight cast a splendid hue over the lotus flowers in the park.

With fewer visitors around, Xiao Qingxue sat in a pavilion in the Lotus Park, facing the photographer, holding a peony fan, gently covering half of her face as instructed, against a backdrop of a vast stretch of lotus flowers.

"Click! Perfect!"

The photographer gave Xiao Qingxue a thumbs-up.

Xiao Qingxue, lifting her skirt, ran over. Dressed in a flowing smoke and sunset-colored dress, an orange-red that glimmered like the last rays of the sun under the dimming sky, she was dazzling, her delicate beauty capturing all attention.

The studio owner couldn't stop smiling; he had personally designed the flowing smoke and sunset dress, anticipating it would shine in this moment. With the photoshoot concluding, it was poised to become a hit. Just minutes before, several Hanfu enthusiasts had already inquired about it.

Not only that, but the outfit and accessories he chose for Xiao's mother also garnered interest. Indeed, the love for beauty is universal.

The owner noticed an auntie standing nearby, her eyes filled with deep affection as she watched her daughter, Xiao Qingxue.

She seemed oblivious even to the Hanfu enthusiasts discreetly taking her photos.

"Phew, it's so hot," Xiao Qingxue ran to her mother, picking up a bottle of mineral water and gulping it down, only to find it empty after a few sips. Beads of sweat rolled down her pale forehead.

"You stay here for the shoot; I'll go buy you a milk tea. Jasmine milk green tea, half sugar, right?" Xiao Luolan spoke softly, "Your period is almost due, better not to have it iced."

"Just a little ice, please," Xiao Qingxue immediately looked disheartened, blinking pitifully and holding up her little finger, "It's so hot in summer, how can I not have ice, Mom, please, please!"

Xiao Qingxue playfully swayed her mother's arm.

Worn down by her daughter's insistence, Xiao Luolan agreed, "Alright, just a little ice."

"Yay! You're the best, Mom!" Xiao Qingxue's face lit up with joy.

"Mom, get one for yourself too."

After Xiao Luolan bought the milk teas, she returned to find her daughter and the group no longer at the lotus pond.

"Xiao's mother, they've moved to the bamboo courtyard on the back hill for the shoot as it was too hot here. Qingxue asked me to inform you," the studio owner approached to tell Xiao Luolan.

"Oh, I see. Then I'll head there too," Xiao Luolan said, taking two cups of milk tea and following the owner to the back hill, where the air was cooler and more refreshing.

Xiao Qingxue ran over to her mother and pulled her to sit together on a stone bench, sipping milk tea and comfortably leaning on her shoulder.

The photographer, struck by inspiration, quickly captured this moment. He had already taken many photos of the mother and daughter, mostly together, with more solo shots of Qingxue. Xiao Luolan was not used to posing alone, with only one or two solo photos, but the photographer felt her pictures had a unique charm, a bit regretful she wasn't more accustomed to the camera.

"I didn't expect so many flowers here in the back hill," Qingxue said, happily sipping her iced milk green tea and chatting with her mother.

"Yes," Xiao Luolan replied, gazing at the small hillside planted with roses, jasmine, crape myrtles, silk trees, and scholar trees. Apart from baking, her favorite hobby was flower arranging, so she was quite familiar with these flowers. Her home was also adorned with spider plants, roses, daffodils, and daisies, enjoying the fresh fragrance they brought.

"I'll make you a flower crown later to wear on our way back," Xiao Luolan suggested, excited by the sight of the flowers, recalling her daughter's love for flower crowns in her childhood.

"Okay, I've decided to take just two more photos and then stop. The photographer keeps making me smile, my face is almost stiff," Qingxue said, massaging her face.

Xiao Luolan laughed at her daughter's cute expression: "If you don't want to take any more photos, that's fine. What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm, cola chicken wings, stir-fried cauliflower, and tomato and egg soup."

"How about braised pork?"

"We'll have that tomorrow."

……

Xiao Luolan glanced at her daughter nearby and then started to pick flowers. She began with two supple willow branches from the riverside, creating a basic wreath structure. Walking along the path, she admired the variety of roses, often mistaken for true roses. She preferred roses, especially the fiery red 'Dragon Blood Gems' that bloomed fiercely in summer, their petals densely layered.

Carefully searching on the tiled path of the flower bed, Xiao Luolan looked for fallen roses, inserting three carefully chosen blooms into the willow branches and continuing her search for more flowers.

Her daughter's laughter rang out in the distance, prompting Xiao Luolan to smile involuntarily.

Unnoticed, the flower crown had been adorned with fiery red roses, pale pink silk trees, and blue-purple balloon flowers, creating a colorful display. She bent down, wishing she could find some gardenias, her daughter's favorite, until her foot suddenly sank into soft, wet mud.

Lifting her foot, Xiao Luolan felt annoyed; the shoes she wore weren't hers but borrowed from the studio, exquisitely made and now dirtied. She planned to apologize to the owner and clean them before returning. But why was there wet mud here? She was sure it hadn't rained recently, and she had been walking on a cement path.

Xiao Luolan looked up, startled to find her surroundings had changed.

Before her was a dense forest with towering, haphazardly planted trees, their canopies blocking out all sunlight. Mist hung in the air, and a cold wind blew, making the light dim as if night was falling.

"Has dusk passed so quickly?"

Xiao Luolan instinctively turned to go back, only to find more dense forest when she turned around.

Her face turned ashen, and in panic, she ran forward, ignoring the mud clinging to her shoes.

The more she ran, the more frightened she became. The forest seemed endless, eerily silent apart from her own footsteps. In fear, Xiao Luolan shouted, "Qingxue!"

She remembered her daughter was nearby for a photoshoot. "Where is she? Why can't I see her?" She had just seen Qingxue playing with others, heard her laughter, and now she was gone.

Overwhelmed with terror, Xiao Luolan felt dizzy, fearing for her missing daughter.

She continued running in the direction she came from, calling out loudly, "Qingxue! Qingxue!"

"Qingxue! Where are you?"

"Sweetheart! Qingxue!!!"

The sudden loud voice startled a flock of birds in the quiet forest. They flew up high, observing the frantic human below, before settling on other branches.

"Qingxue! Xiao Qingxue!"

"Where are you?!"

Xiao Luolan didn't know how long she had been running. The flower crown had long since fallen. Her voice was shrill, clothes torn by branches, body covered in cold sweat, consumed by fear. She regretted not bringing her phone; if she had it, she could have called her daughter.

She remembered the park was crowded, but where were all those people? What part of the park was this? Was her daughter looking for her too?

In a state of confusion, Xiao Luolan continued to shout, her voice hoarse and painful. Exhausted from running, she was gasping for breath. As it grew darker, she stumbled and fell, hitting her head and seeing stars. She leaned on a tree trunk, continuing to call out loudly.

"Qingxue! Where are you?!"

Her mind was filled with one thought: it was getting dark, would her daughter be scared not being able to see her?

"Qingxue! Qingxue! Where are you?"

More and more birds were startled into flight, swirling in the sky like dark clouds.

Along the dirt path of the dense forest, a line of black riders galloped on a broad road, dozens of them instinctively looking up at the flock of birds.

At the same time, they heard a woman's cries for help.

The leader, a man of great stature and rugged features, sat tall on a black horse, listening intently.

"Leader, there's someone in the forest."

A scholarly man gently pulled on the reins, bringing his horse behind the man and spoke softly.

"Hahaha, Qingshan, you don’t need to tell us, we already know," laughed a warrior from behind, pointing to his ear.

This remark set off a roar of laughter among the rest of the black riders, their booming voices echoing far and wide.

The scholar rubbed his ears and challenged the burly men, "Then listen, what is that woman shouting?"

The warriors looked at each other, muttering and hesitant. They could tell there was a woman in the forest, but her accent seemed strange, not like that of Youzhou.

The scholar took out a folding fan and stroked his chin beard, smiling, "We from Youzhou in the north speak differently from the central plains, and our dialect is often referred to as barbarian language by the noble families of the south."

His words stirred the warriors into a commotion, filling the air with their curses.

The scholar looked skyward, genuinely wishing to avoid the coarse and vulgar language of his companions.

The man leading the group raised his hand slightly, and the warriors behind him immediately fell silent.

The scholar then continued, "Do you know the accent of the woman in the dense forest?"

Lei Hu, unable to tolerate the scholar's showy demeanor, barked angrily, "Zhao Qingshan, stop beating around the bush and get to the point."

The scholar, suppressing his smile, listened intently for a moment before confidently responding, "It's pure Chang'an dialect."

Lei Hu widened his eyes in confusion, "What's Chang'an dialect?"

The scholar twitched his mouth in exasperation at the ignorance of his brutish companions. Stroking his beard, he patiently explained, "Noble families consider our Youzhou as a barbaric land, even dubbing our language as barbarian. But in Chang'an City, the highborn don't favor the southern dialects much. Speaking fluent Chang'an dialect is highly sought after among the noble families."

Lei Hu, holding a large iron hammer, rolled his eyes dismissively, "Hmph, those nobles are just idle and full. What times we're in, and they're still after such trivialities. The world is on the verge of chaos, and I think when the time comes..."

Zhao Qingshan quickly coughed loudly, interrupting Lei Hu. Some things were better left unsaid.

Despite the warriors' seemingly indifferent demeanor, they listened intently, intrigued by the Chang'an dialect, so highly prized by the noble families.

It sounded... rather pleasant, actually.

But the woman's voice in the forest was becoming more and more desperate.

"Hey, Qingshan, what is she shouting about?" Lei Hu couldn't help but ask.

"Qingxue," the scholar adjusted his sleeves, speaking deliberately, "A clear sky after rain, snow in winter; likely the name of a woman."

The warriors collectively uttered a sound of realization. Lei Hu sneaked a glance at their leader, but the distance was too great to see clearly.

"She must be calling someone important to her, given the urgency in her voice."

"Curiosity piqued?" Zhao Qingshan glanced sideways at Lei Hu.

Lei Hu was about to speak.

But then he noticed the leader had moved.

The man in charge began to slowly ride his horse along the dirt path.

In the dense forest, Xiao Luolan was running swiftly, this time veering to the right. She had just heard faint human voices and instantly thought of the park staff. She ran quickly, fearing they might disappear. Once she found them, she planned to call the police; her daughter was missing, and she needed to find her.

The sound of horse hooves echoed.

Following the sound, Xiao Luolan, under the dimming sky, finally saw a figure. She joyfully ran out of the forest, stumbling and falling to the ground. Ignoring the dust covering her, she looked up to ask for help, "Excuse me, can you..."

The rest of her words caught in her throat.

Xiao Luolan was horrified to realize that these suddenly appearing people were not park staff. How could park staff have horses? And why would they be wearing armor?

Where was she? Who were these people? And where was her daughter?

Xiao Luolan's mind went blank, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

Lei Hu was startled by the woman rushing towards them, not because of her speed - they were warriors with keen hearing and had already heard her approaching. What truly surprised him was her appearance.

He dared to say that there was no one in Youzhou more beautiful, with skin so fair. It was almost evening, yet this woman's skin shone brightly. He wondered how she could be so radiant.

Zhao Qingshan was also momentarily taken aback by the woman's beauty.

This woman, adorned in splendid attire with golden and jade ornaments in her hair and her tresses like clouds, though disheveled, still held a beauty in their disarray. Her figure was full, half-sitting, half-lying on the ground, appearing completely petrified, her eyes filled with disbelief, panic, and fear. Her fair face was slightly pale, and bright peonies hung by her ears, adding to her delicate and pitiable demeanor.

"Madam, do you need help?"

Zhou Xu, seated on his horse, asked in a deep voice, sounding like a concerned passerby.