Lian Xie Mei looked over at her new sister. No matter how kindly she acted, Lian Xie Mei could not shake the feeling that the girl did not mean her well. But she had promised to buy her something and when the Spirit Storing Jade had been shown the little phoenix had shown interest.
["While that may look like a Spirit Storing Jade, it is actually a Soul Storing Jade. Only those with an incredibly strong soul, like one that has transmigrated, can bring out its true power! That is a very good thing for you!"]
Because Lian Cai Yi hadn't spent any money on the Meridian Cleansing Liquid she was able to win the Jade. She turned to her sister, "It will take a bit for them to finish the paperwork and get the item to us. Shall we wait here for them to be finished?" Lian Cai Yi, took Lian Xie Mei's silence for agreement and motioned to one of the servants by the door. "Send someone to prepare the carriage so we can leave when we are ready, oh and send for a few more of my Father's guards." That should get that old money grubbers attention. Lian Cai Yi sat back and took a sip of tea, before frowning slightly.
["This isn't nearly as good as the Empress Dowager's tea." Yin complained in her head. "Do you think if we visited her again we could convince her to give us some to take home?"]
["..." Yang sighed to herself. Tea seemed to be the only thing that could distract her from her plans, even momentarily.]
When Lian Cai Yi felt that enough time had passed that her father had definitely received the message that she was coming back from the auction house with something very special, she downed the last of that mediocre tea, then stood up.
“Shall we go?” She asked.
Lian Xie Mei’s response was to stand up, together they walked downstairs and collected the Jade. When they got outside the auction house there were nearly twice as many guards surrounding their carriage. They were an imposing sight, all standing tall armor shined until it was almost blinding. The only part of their armor that was not completely smooth was the large insignia on their back, showing that they were the guards of the Southern Prime Minister. Everyone around them made sure to keep a wide berth, but couldn’t help their curiosity as they peered through the guards to see who was getting on the carriage.
In front was a beautiful young girl that most of them recognized. Contrasting her light skin her long wavy hair was jet black, her dress was simple but the fabric was top quality. Her most noticeable feature however was her pale lavender eyes, as clear and pure as gems. In the Sheng Kingdom only those related to the royal family would have purple eyes, so the only person it could be was Lian Cai Yi, daughter of the Southern Prime Minister and grand niece to the current Empress Dowager.
“Hurry up sister.” Lian Cai Yi called out as she got onto the carriage.
Many people's eyes turned towards the girl behind Lian Cai Yi with a gasp. Her hair was also black, but was perfectly straight, her eyes mirrored her hair, a deep black that people seemed to fall into. The dress she wore was slightly too large for her small frame but of superior quality. There had been rumors circling that the Southern Prime Minister had a second daughter, born of a concubine, Lian Xie Mei. Few remembered the scandal all those years ago when the Southern Prime Minister was caught having an affair, for her to appear now, it seemed that there would soon be waves within the capital city.
When Lian Cai Yi and Lian Xie Mei arrived home Lian Geng Lim was already waiting for them by the entrance. “Welcome back girls, did you find anything interesting?”
Lian Cai Yi acted slightly surprised to see her father, “Oh, um, I bought my sister a Spirit Restoring Jade as a gift.”
Lian Geng Lim frowned and looked at the ornate box in his younger daughters hands. He reached out to take the box, his frown deepening, when Lian Xie Mei didn’t immediately give it up. He pulled harder eventually claiming the box. “I wish to talk to both of you, come with me to my office.” He turned to lead the way, not leaving time for them to respond.
As Lian Cai Yi followed after her father with a worried look on her face, she turned her consciousness inward.
[“Yang you have been practicing using Qi right?” Yin asked.]
[“Huh, you noticed that?” Yang began, “I have been practicing with something but I am pretty sure it's not Qi.” Seeing Yin’s brow furrowed in confusion, Yang elaborated. “There are still nine days before we should be able to do anything with Qi at all, and it feels different so I really don’t think it’s Qi.”]
[“Well whatever it is, do you think you could use it on the Jade and release the energy inside so that it just becomes a rock?” Yin asked, still wondering what this mysterious energy could be.]
[“Hmmmm, I’ll have to touch it, but I think so.”]
[“Okay on my mark, act upset and grab for the Jade. Its okay if you can’t release all the energy, it just has to be enough so that it looks like a counterfeit.”]
Yin and Yang’s conversation finished as they entered their father’s office. Yin still had control of their body currently, but Yang was much closer to the surface than she usually was. The feeling of having someone looking over her shoulder so closely should have made her wary, but for some reason it helped her relax and breath more easily. Not wanting to think about it anymore she pushed the thought to the back of her mind, and sat down before turning to her father.
“What is it?” Lian Cai Yi asked.
“Tell me everything that happened at the auction house.” Lian Geng Lim put the box on his desk and opened it to look at the Jade inside. Greed flashed through his eyes for a second but he quickly controlled himself. As Lian Cai Yi continued her explanation he could feel a slight headache coming on. Usually his oldest daughter was sensible, he hated having to deal with problems within his own household. Ever since that younger daughter of his had started acting up, he had kept getting headaches.
Lian Cai Yi explained everything that had happened in detail, and Lian Geng Lim sighed. “In a way Tang Xun Guiying was correct.”
“Father!” Lian Cai Yi spoke with a gasp.
“It was rude for her to speak out like that, but at the end of the day, Lian Xie Mei’s birth is troublesome. It was kind of you to stand up to her, and to even offer to buy her something. But Lian Xie Mei,” Lian Geng Lim turned to his younger daughter. “Demanding that your gift was the Spirit Restoring Jade was out of line.”
Lian Xie Mei frowned but didn’t speak up.
“How much did you win the Jade for exactly?” He asked.
Lian Cai Yi bit her lip, “ 300 taels,” she said softly.
“You kids may not know, we have been thankful enough not to have to worry about money, but that is enough for a family to buy one of the largest houses in the heart of the capital, and still have enough left over for expenses for over a month! You said you were originally planning to get the Jade as a gift for the Emperor?”
Lian Cai Yi nodded.
“Using that much as a gift for the Emperor is more than understandable, however,” Lian Geng Lim paused and looked between his two daughters, “That much for a simple apology gift that was not even needed in the first place is extreme!”
Sensing the moment was right, Yin released total control of their body for the first time since Yin and Yang had come to share it. Yang wasted no time and darted towards the Jade surprisingly quickly.
“It’s not fair!” Lian Cai Yi yelled loudly as her hand touched the Jade. Yang very carefully tried to control the strange energy inside their body. She had long gotten bored sitting around listening to Yin jabber on and on, acting like the perfect little miss all the time. While trying to figure out something to do in their consciousness, she had felt the strange energy within them. Since then she had practiced controlling it. It was like how she remembered Qi but not quite. It felt more personal, and malleable, and it always seemed attached to her no matter how far she sent it. When Yin had asked her if she could make the Jade useless, to be honest she wasn’t certain, but her intuition told her she could. She reached out with it and grabbed the energy within the Jade and pulled. She felt the new energy source, it seemed biting cold and scorching hot at the same time. She gritted her teeth and continued to pull. As the last of the energy left the Jade, and she started to smile to herself in accomplishment, the Jade broke into a hundred small shards like dropped glass.
“WHAT THE FU-!” Lian Cai Yi started and then fell into a coughing fit, as Yin took over the body before Yang could finish the sentence she started.
[“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Yin asked.]
[“I don’t know!” Yang felt like crying, “Everything was going well, I had basically completely pulled the energy from the Jade and then it just... Broke!”]
[“What happened to the energy?” Yin asked, trying to calm down.]
[Yang paused the thought just having occurred to her. “I um... I think it followed me back in here?”]
[“What!” Yin’s carefully gathered calm had completely evaporated. “Well figure out how to deal with it in here while I figure out what the hell I am supposed to do out there!”]
Lian Cai Yi finished coughing then looked back at the now shattered Jade in the box. Yin decided to try and continue with her original plan, of claiming that the Jade was fake. “It was a counterfeit?”
Lian Geng Lim’s face was dark, “Both of you go back to your rooms, I will get to the bottom of this.” Finishing he stormed out of his office, bringing the box and now useless Jade with him.
Lian Xie Mei looked at Lian Cai Yi walking back to her courtyard in a daze.
[“There is something strange about that girl” The little phoenix spoke up mirroring her own thoughts. “She destroyed the Soul Restoring Jade, only someone with an incredibly strong soul could do that.”]
[“Like who?” Lian Xie Mei asked.]
[“Only those that have trained their Soul for a long time,” The little phoenix paused. “Or those that have been reborn, or transmigrated.”]
Lian Xie Mei’s eyes narrowed and she walked back to her own courtyard deep in thought.
When Lian Cai Yi got back to her courtyard the first person that saw her was Chuju. Chuju gasped, “Miss you are bleeding! Let me get the doctor!”
Lian Cai Yi looked down at her palm and saw three jagged lines of red and frowned. “It’s fine.”
At this point Mudan and Yingsu also came to surround her.
“I will get some ointment to put on it so that it will not scar,” Mudan said as she turned to leave.
“I said I’m fine I can deal with it myself!” Lian Cai Yi yelled. Yin had great control of her emotions at all times, except when she saw these servant girls of hers. She had honestly been trying to limit her time around them, looking at them brought back the memory of their broken and bloodied bodies, and the guilt felt like it was eating a hole through her stomach. Yang had agreed, and together they had come up with lots of busy work to keep them away and nowhere where they could get hurt. Lian Cai Yi turned to walk to her room alone, she would clean the wound herself.
Yingsu stomped her foot, “With all due respect Miss, get over yourself!” She yelled.
“Yingsu!” Mudan yelled and the other three all looked at her in surprise.
“No! I am tired of just tip toeing around this, something has been different with you ever since you woke up from that coma!” Yingsu began to cry.
Lian Cai Yi stood perfectly still, but inside both Yin and Yang had felt an intense feeling of dread come over them. Had they found out that they were different? Were they going to go to their father claiming they were possessed? Worse yet would they even go to the Emperor or Empress Dowager?
Mudan went to console Yingsu and then turned to Lian Cai Yi, opening her mouth but eventually not saying anything.
“Ever since you have woken up it's like there has been a dark cloud over you. You have rarely smiled, and when you do it seems forced. Please Miss,” Chuju looked at her, her eyes pleading. “We are worried about you. Please let us share some of your burden.”
At this point all three girls kneeled down and spoke in unison. “Please, let us help.”
Lian Cai Yi felt tears come to her eyes.
[“We should tell them,” Yang said.]
[“It’s too dangerous!” Yin retorted.]
[“I’m not saying we tell them every last detail but maybe they could help.”]
[“Or they will just die all over again!”]
[“I trust them.”]
While Yin bit her lip too afraid to take a step forward, Yang took over the body.
“I’m sorry,” Lian Cai Yi said, “Please get up.” All three girls before her stood up, silent, waiting to hear what she said. “While I was asleep I had a dream, a horrible nightmare of the future.” She paused not able to stop the tears that started dripping out of her eyes. “You all died trying to save me. I don’t- I can’t let that happen. You are the closest people to me. I just- I can’t see you hurt again.” Lian Cai Yi rubbed her eyes trying in vain to stop the tears that flowed continuously from her eyes.
“Miss!” All three girls runned to hug her.
“We care about you deeply too!” Mudan began.
“Let us help you!” Yingsu added.
“You are not alone.” Chuju looked deeply into Lian Cai Yi’s eyes letting her see the sincerity within them.
“Thank you...” Lian Cai Yi said softly, hugging them back even tighter.
