Fan Fiction 2: Deceit & Betrayals - 26 chap (comp

[sowfoong]

fan Fiction 2: Deceit and Betrayals

Ancient China:

Chapter 1

A tall good-looking man in elegant clothes was walking in the town square with his elderly manservant. Hawkers with stalls full of porcelain, painting, figurines, bales of colorful cloths, foodstuff, meats and pet turtles were busy attracting potential customers to their stalls. The elegant man stopped at a stall selling carved seals, paper & writing brushes. He was bending over the ware, totally occupied with some intricate carved seals when he felt a small hand slipped into his pocket. He was quick to react and held onto his money pouch with one hand and grabbed at the pickpocket’s shoulders with the other. The dirty urchin turned his head and bit into the man’s hand, causing the man to loosen his hold momentarily, just enough for the urchin to dance away, his hat fell off, his long hair cascaded in a silky black curtain and the boy turned around to glare at the man. The man gasped as he looked into the child’s big beautiful eyes! This cannot be! The picket pocket turned out to be a young girl with the most beautiful unforgettable eyes he had ever seen and the face is so familiar. It just cannot be her! The young girl took off with the elegant man in pursuit. The girl ran, pushing over stalls to hinder the elegant man. Soon the man lost her in the crowd, the elderly manservant came up to him, coughing and almost breathless, gasped “Young Master, is everything all right? Why did you run off like that?’

The elegant man answered, “It is nothing, Ah Tim. I thought I saw someone from my past, but I guess it is just my imagination. It cannot possibly be her, but I could have sworn that girl could have been her twin.”

Ah Tim was curious, “Who are you talking about, Young Master?”

“Just a ghost from my past,” the elegant man, felt a sharp pain in his chest, it still hurts to talk about her. After so many years, she is still on his mind and in his heart. “Why can’t I forget her? She is nothing but a deceitful tramp; she betrayed my trust and my love. I hate her!” But his heart said differently, “No, you don’t, you still love her, and unable to love anyone else, otherwise you would have married any one of the many beauties whom ambitious mothers and matchmakers were eager to introduce to you, instead you are still single.”

Chapter 2

Twenty-five years ago:

“Get it off me, you mean bully! I swear I am going to punch out your eyes when I catch you,” screamed Mei Ling, looking adorable even with her ponytail in disarray, her face smeared with dirt, and her clothes muddy and wet.

“But first you have got to catch me,” Kiu Wai laughed at the little girl wickedly. He had thought it was funny to put a slimy frog into Mei Ling’s shirt. But his laughter died in his throat when Mei Ling fell down and skinned her palms and large drops of tears rolled down her chubby cheeks. Kiu Wai felt as if something had pinched his heart when he saw those tears from her big beautiful eyes. He ran over to Mei Ling, dropped to his knees beside her, took her bleeding hands in his and asked anxiously, “Are you all right, please don’t cry, I am so sorry, please stop crying.”

“I hate you, you have ruined my clothes,” sobbed Mei Ling, pummeling his chest with her tiny fists.

Kiu Wai, did not flinched, took her into his arms, “I am so sorry Mei Ling, from this day onward, I will not play any more tricks on you. I will not do anything to hurt you and I promise to protect you from harm.”

At last, Mei Ling calmed down, her sobs ceased, “ Is it true, you will promise never to play tricks on me again?”

Kiu Wai promised solemnly, and Mei Ling’s smile was radiant as she returned his hug and then ran off, with Kiu Wai chasing after her.

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling had spent countless days of childhood bliss, playing games and chess, chasing one another up and down the hills, catching butterflies and Kiu Wai would pick beautiful flowers for Mei Ling to put in her hair. Sometimes they would sneak out at night to lay down together in the meadows and count the stars in the sky. As promised, Kiu Wai stopped playing tricks on Mei Ling though he would still teased her unmercifully but would not retaliate when Mei Ling straddled him to punch on him when she wanted her revenge.

Mei Ling’s mother had been working as Kiu Wai’s nanny in the Lee’s household when she was widowed since Mei Ling’s birth. Mei Ling had grown up with Kiu Wai who was five years older than she was. He had welcomed a playmate since he was the only child and Mei Ling had adored him and had followed him everywhere as soon as she could walk. They were always together and got into a lot mischief together. When a tutor was brought to the house to teach Kiu Wai, Mei Ling would sit quietly in the corner and listened attentively to the lessons taught. Mei Ling was very intelligent and had learned to read and write proficiently, which was remarkable since education for girls was not a priority especially for the child of a servant.

One day a distant relative of the Lee family came to beg for shelter and help. Their village suffered a severe draught; many families starved to death, the rest went elsewhere to seek a living. “This is Liu Sin Yuk and Liu Yiu Seng, my children,” presented Ah Mui, the distant relative of the Lee family. The siblings were about Kiu Wai’s age. Kiu Wai’s mother was a kind lady and told them that they could stay at their house. They were grateful to have a place to stay and work.

Chapter 3

Years passed, Kiu Wai grew into a tall, handsome man with a gorgeous smile. Though he was the only son from the richest family in town, he was not arrogant or spoilt. He was well mannered, patient and kind to those who were less fortunate than he was. As Kiu Wai was an only child, he had welcomed Yiu Seng and treated him as a brother. Yiu Seng grew up to be a good-looking man; however, his personality was more to the mean side. He mistreated others who were less fortunate than he was, though he would conceal his wickedness from Kiu Wai.

Sin Yuk grew up to be a beauty and like her brother, she had a mean streak to her nature. She fell in love with Kiu Wai and used every opportunity to get near him. She would present a demure face to Kiu Wai and his mother. Kiu Wai mother was taken in by her beauty and her demure appearance and loved her like a daughter. Savoring the status of a beloved “adopted” daughter, Sin Yuk would treat the servants with meanness, scolding them and even beating them viciously whenever they had the misfortune to incur her displeasure and anger. One of the servants whom Sin Yuk was very jealous of was Mei Ling.

Mei Ling was fifteen and grew into a graceful and stunning beauty with big beautiful eyes, flawless rosy complexion, gorgeous smile and petite figure with a pleasant and sweet disposition. She took up a lot of the household duties, helping her mother who was weak and sick most of the time. She was no longer the tomboy who fought with Kiu Wai when they were younger. In fact ever since Yiu Seng came to live with the Lees, Kiu Wai was glad to have a boy to play with him though he would still let Mei Ling tag along with them. As Mei Ling grew older and more beautiful, Yiu Seng would use every opportunity to get near and flirt with her. Mei Ling detested his unwelcome attentions and would find excuses not to be with them. It hurt Mei Ling not to be able to be with Kiu Wai but she couldn’t tell him the reason. Kiu Wai on the other hand was very hurt that Mei Ling would avoid him and he couldn’t understand why. He missed her beautiful eyes, big grins and their witty conversations.

“Mei Ling, you lazy wench! Look at my skirt; the stains are still on it. Didn’t I tell you to clean it properly, I wanted to wear it tonight!” screamed Sin Yuk at Mei Ling. She raised her hand to slap Mei Ling but suddenly her hand was caught in a tight grasp. She turned around to confront whoever hindered her and came around to face Kiu Wai.

Chapter 4

Kiu Wai’s face was red with anger, “Don’t you dare lay a hand on Mei Ling ever again! I will not tolerate her being mistreated. Do I make myself clear?”

Sin Yuk pouted, “I am sorry, but this wench had been very lazy and had a smart mouth. She never did her chores properly and would answer back cheekily. She needed to be taught a lesson!”

Kiu Wai: “I want you to keep your wicked tongue and hands off Mei Ling. From now on, I don’t want to see Mei Ling doing chores for you. We will get someone else to serve you.”

Kiu Wai pulled Mei Ling out of the room and hurried her to their secret hiding place. When they were younger, they would get into a lot of trouble and after the severe scolding, both of them would hide in a remote part of the garden to lick their wounds and comfort each other. Kiu Wai pulled Mei Ling into his arms, “Mei Ling, I am so sorry for Sin Yuk’s meanness towards you. I had no idea that she had been mistreating you. I want you to stay away from her in the future.”

Mei Ling, pushing away from Kiu Wai, “It is all right. I should have known my place as a lowly servant girl.”

Kiu Wai, was shocked, “ Why do you say that? I have never treated you as a servant, you were like a sister to me and don’t you remember that I had promised to protect you from harm?’

Mei Ling was disappointed and turned away from Kiu Wai, “Of course, you will not let anyone harm your little sister.”

Kiu Wai: “I have always kept my promise, especially to you. It had been such a long time since I had last seen you. Where have you been? Were you hiding from me?”

Mei Ling laughed nervously, “Don’t be silly, Kiu Wai. Why on earth would I be hiding from you?’

Kiu Wai, “That is what I want to know. Even now you turn away from me. Look at me, Mei Ling. Did I do something to upset you?”

Mei Ling turned her face towards Kiu Wai though she averted her eyes, hiding her expressions from him. “No, I am not upset with you. I had been busy.”

“Too busy to say hello to me? I haven’t seen you in ages. Even now you won’t look me in the eyes.” Kiu Wai held her face in both his hands, looking at her intently for the first time in months. He would willingly drown in the dark pools of her beautiful soulful eyes. Mei Ling, with her flawless rosy complexion and her sweet lips, slightly parted as though inviting for a kiss was the most adorable and innocent yet seductive beauty he had ever seen. His breath caught in his throat, her beauty had struck him speechless and something had stirred in his chest and the feelings he had for her were far from brotherly. He was shocked that he would have such feelings for Mei Ling who had been his playmate since they were children. He dropped his hands and stepped back from Mei Ling. “Let’s hope that you won’t be too busy to see me in the future.” Kiu Wai turned on his heels and walked away quickly.

Mei Ling sighed, “Kiu Wai, I would never ever be too busy as not to have time for you. My heart beats for you and I live for the days that I can catch a glimpse of you. I wished that you would look at me as more than just your childhood playmate or your little sister. How I wished we were still children, playing together everyday with no worries or cares in the world! Now that we are older, we have to keep a respectable distance from each other.” Mei Ling then left the garden.

A shadow had lurked behind the big tree, “So that was whom you were aiming for? The heir to the Lee’s riches. No wonder I was not good enough for you!” The flowering peony bush nearby was kicked savagely, the scarlet petals of the blossoms falling to the ground like drops of blood.

Chapter 5

Sin Yuk was sitting in her room, with her fist clenched. Suddenly she used her arm to knock everything off the table. The loud noise brought the servants running. “Get out, I didn’t call for any one of you. I want to be alone!” screamed Sin Yuk at the poor souls.

“Tsk, tsk, what rotten temper, my dear Sis.” Yiu Seng came into the room.

“What do you want? Why aren’t you sniffling around that wench, Mei Ling?” questioned Sin Yuk sullenly.

“Guess we both have similar problems. Let’s put our heads together and think of a plan to get what we want,” suggested Yiu Seng.

The next day, Sin Yuk went crying to Mrs. Lee: ”Madam, the beautiful bracelet you gave me was stolen.”

“Sin Yuk, have you looked everywhere for it? You may have just misplaced it. All our servants are very honest and I cannot imagine anyone stealing your bracelet,” reasoned Mrs. Lee patiently. “Ah, here comes Mei Ling. She will help you find the bracelet.”

Mei Ling crawled on her hands and knees in Sin Yuk’s room, looking under the bed and all the furniture and was unable to find the bracelet. Sin Yuk stood in the room with the arms crossed, happy to see Mei Ling crawling on the floor. She demanded a search be conducted in the servants’ quarters. They found the bracelet hidden in Mei Ling’s clothes and she was locked up in the wood shed to await punishment.

“Young Master, wake up. Please wake up.” Hands shaking him awakened Kiu Wai. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Nanny, what are you doing here so late at night? Has something happened to Mei Ling?”

“Yes, Young Master. You must save her. They are hurting Mei Ling and they said that they would cut off her hands too,” wept Mei Ling’s mother.

Kiu Wai jumped right out of bed, pulled on his robe and rushed out of his bedroom with Nanny at his heels. Kiu Wai came to the backyard, where one of the male servants was beating Mei Ling with a stick. “Stop it! Who ordered Mei Ling to be beaten?” Kiu Wai snatched the stick from the servant furiously when he saw Mei Ling on the ground, her shirt torn, exposing her bare shoulders and biting her lips so hard that they bled so that she wouldn’t cry out from pain.

“Young Master, it was Miss Liu who had ordered the punishment. She said that Mei Ling had stolen her bracelet. We were only carrying out her orders.”

Kiu Wai carried Mei Ling in his arms and took her to his quarters. Nanny was at his heels, anxious to attend to Mei Ling’s wounds. Kiu Wai put Mei Ling on his bed, a sharp pain to his chest; tears welled up in his eyes when he saw the bruises on Mei Ling’s body. “Nanny, take care of Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai walked out of his room and went straight to Sin Yuk’s room. He knocked on her door loudly, yelling for her to open the door.

Sin Yuk opened the door, wide-eyed with feigned innocence, “What is the matter? Why are you banging on my door in the middle of the night?”

Kiu Wai asked furiously, “Why did you ordered Mei Ling to be beaten? Did I not tell you to leave her alone?’

Sin Yuk gloated, “Mei Ling is a thief and she had stolen my bracelet. Every family has house rules and everyone must abide by them. Since she broke the rules, she had to be punished. Your parents gave me permission to punish the culprit.”

“You are lying. Mei Ling would never steal anything. You were just jealous of her and wanted to hurt her. You probably planted the bracelet in her belongings. You had better prayed that she would recovered quickly otherwise you will suffer similar punishment as she did.” Kiu Wai stalked off furiously towards his parents’ rooms.

Kiu Wai’s parents were awakened by the commotion and they came out of their room. “Son, why are you yelling in the middle of the night?” questioned Mrs. Lee.

“Mother, I want to know if you gave Sin Yuk permission to beat Mei Ling,” Kiu Wai asked his mother furiously.

“Sin Yuk found her bracelet in Mei Ling’s clothes. We cannot have servants stealing from us. She had to be punished,” Mrs. Lee tried to pacify Kiu Wai. She had never seen Kiu Wai lose his temper like that since Kiu Wai had always been mild tempered.

“Someone had set Mei Ling up. She is not a thief. I will not have her mistreated. No one is to lay a hand on her ever again.” Kiu Wai was shaking with anger.

“Son, I will not have you screaming at your mother. She is right, we cannot have servants stealing from us!” Mr. Lee reasoned.

“I don’t care, I will not have anyone touching Mei Ling. She is mine!” Kiu Wai reddened slightly at his slip, “I mean she is like my sister and I had promised to protect her from harm.” With that, Kiu Wai turned and walked briskly back to his room.

Nanny had cleaned the wounds on Mei Ling’s body, and put on a clean shirt on her. “How is Mei Ling, how bad are her wounds? Does she need a doctor?” Kiu Wai questioned Mei Ling’s mother anxiously.

“Mei Ling is asleep, her bruises are bad, but luckily she had no broken bones. She doesn’t need a doctor. Thank goodness, Young Master that you went to save her,” Nanny kowtowed to Kiu Wai.

“Please stop kowtowing to me. I am glad to be able to stop them from hurting Mei Ling further. She may sleep in my bed tonight. You can keep her company.” Kiu Wai told Nanny. “I will go to the garden, I need some fresh air.”

Sin Yuk found Kiu Wai sitting by the pond in the garden and timidly approached him, “I am sorry, I honestly was only carrying out your parents’ orders to have Mei Ling punished. It is not right that a thief cannot be punished, who else would obey the house rules?’

Kiu Wai replied sullenly,” I don’t care who told you to have Mei Ling punished. I am warning you once again, stay away from her and if something happened to her, you will be held responsible. Now leave me, I want to be alone.”

Sin Yuk ran off, crying, but Kiu Wai was oblivious to her cries, he had only Mei Ling on his mind. When he saw the servant beating Mei Ling, he was shaking with rage. He felt like a piece of his heart was torn out when he saw the bruises on Mei Ling’s body. He didn’t know the reason for his reaction then, but now that he was alone and had calmed down, it dawned on him that he had fallen in love with Mei Ling and when she was hurt, he had felt the pain as well. The love he had for Mei Ling grew from affection for a childhood companion to the love of a man for a woman. He was upset with himself that he was unable to protect Mei Ling despite his solemn promise to her years ago. He made a promise to himself that Mei Ling would never ever come to harm again.

Chapter 6

At the crack of dawn, Kiu Wai walked back to his room. Nanny was awake and was just about to wake Mei Ling up. “Good Morning, Young Master.”

“How is Mei Ling?” Kiu Wai approached the bed, knelt down to look at Mei Ling. At that moment, Mei Ling opened her eyes and gave him a fleeting smile. Her face was bruised and her lips were swollen. “I am all right, please don’t worry. I will get up in a minute. Did you get any sleep, since I have taken over your bed.”

“It is alright. You will stay here till you have recovered,” ordered Kiu Wai. “I don’t want you to get out of bed, you need to rest. I have to talk to my parents so I will see you later.” Kiu Wai left the room.

His parents were in the dining room, Sin Yuk was there with them, her cheeks still wet with tears. “Kiu Wai, I want you to apologize to Sin Yuk for yelling at her. She was only carrying out our orders,” Mr. Lee ordered Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai gave Sin Yuk a dirty look, “I am not sorry at all. I have told her to leave Mei Ling alone. She should have come to me about the loss and not tattle tales to you.”

Mrs. Lee was shocked at Kiu Wai’s lack of respect towards his father and refusal to apologize to Sin Yuk. Mr. Lee was furious, “What did you say, you refused to apologize?”

Mrs. Lee tried to calm her husband down, “Sin Yuk, please leave us. We need to talk to Kiu Wai alone.” Sin Yuk bowed and left the room.

Mrs. Lee: ”Kiu Wai, it is not like you to be so disrespectful. What is the matter?”

Kiu Wai, “I am sorry if I seemed disrespectful to you and Father. I am very upset that you did not bother to find out if Mei Ling was the one who stole the bracelet and ordered her punished.”

Mr. Lee, was furious: “The bracelet was found in her clothes, so who else would have taken the bracelet and put it with her clothes? She had to be the one and we have rules in this house. Everyone must obey the rules, including you. I will not have any disrespect in this house.”

Mrs. Lee tried to defuse the situation: “I am sure Kiu Wai doesn’t mean any disrespect. I think he is just worried about Mei Ling since they are childhood friends. Kiu Wai will apologize to Sin Yuk and everything will be fine.”

“Mother, I will not apologize to Sin Yuk. I think that she planted the bracelet in Mei Ling’s clothes. Mei Ling is not a thief. I am warning you that I will not have her mistreated.”

“Warning us?” Mr. Lee was furious. “How dare you say that to us?’ and slapped Kiu Wai across his face. Kiu Wai almost fell down with the blow. Kiu Wai gave his parents a hateful look and stormed out of the room.

Mrs. Lee wanted to chase after Kiu Wai. She was heart broken, no one had ever laid a hand on Kiu Wai, and it was the first time that Kiu Wai had a confrontation with his father. Mr. Lee blocked her path,” Let him go. He will come back to apologize. But in any case I want to keep Mei Ling from Kiu Wai. Sin Yuk said that Mei Ling was very ill tempered, lazy and now a thief. She has bad influence on Kiu Wai”.

Chapter 7

Mei Ling stayed in Kiu Wai’s quarters while she was recuperating; Kiu Wai refused to have her moved back to the servants’ quarters. To maintain respectability, Kiu Wai slept in one of the guest rooms. He did not apologize to Sin Yuk and ignored her totally when they gathered to dine with his parents. Though Mr. Lee was upset with Kiu Wai, he had not insisted on Kiu Wai’s apology. Mrs. Lee had reasoned with her husband that they should let the matter slide, as they didn’t want to alienate Kiu Wai. They knew about Mei Ling’s stay in Kiu Wai’s quarters and they knew the seriousness of Kiu Wai’s determination to protect Mei Ling. They reasoned that it was just Kiu Wai’s infatuation with a pretty girl and after all he is a hot-blooded young man. They thought it would soon passed and the best policy was to pretend that they were not aware of what was going on.

Sin Yuk was very upset that her plans misfired. She had thought that Kiu Wai would believe that Mei Ling was nothing but a common thief and treat her less favorably. Instead Kiu Wai had stood up to his parents and took Mei Ling totally under his protection and kept her in his rooms. Worse of all, Kiu Wai was furious with her and totally ignored her existence. She confided her heartbreak to Yiu Seng, “I hate that wench, and you must help me to get Kiu Wai. He hates me now, he won’t even talk to me anymore.”

Yiu Seng knew about Mei Ling’s punishment and was very upset with his sister. He had known of Sin Yuk’s plan to implicate Mei Ling as a thief but he didn’t know that Sin Yuk would order Mei Ling to be beaten. He had thought that Mei Ling would come to him for help but instead Kiu Wai had rescued her and had his girl kept in his quarters and no one had dared to say anything about it. Yiu Seng was smart enough not to interfere and had kept quiet about the whole incident. He was furious with Kiu Wai but he dared not do anything to jeopardize their friendship. He was just waiting for a chance to break up Kiu Wai and Mei Ling’s relationship. Yiu Seng was in love with Mei Ling and did not want to see her hurt so he was not keen to help Sin Yuk to punish Mei Ling again.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 8

In the courtyard of a beautiful and grand mansion:

A dirty urchin with long silky hair had just slipped through the doors and was on her way to her quarters when she was met by a very good looking strapping teenage boy, “Siu Ling, where have you been? Why are you wearing those dirty clothes, what had happened to your beautiful gown?” Siu Wai asked his twin sister worriedly as soon as Siu Ling slipped through the door.

“Oh, Siu Wai, I wished you would stop behaving like an old mother hen towards her chick. I am all right. I was bored stiff so I went out for some excitement and some adventure. I almost got into trouble today, luckily I was in top form and outran that old man!” chuckled Siu Ling mischievously.

“What old man? What adventure and what trouble did you get into this time? Please don’t tell me you tried to steal someone’s money again!” pleaded Siu Wai.

“As a matter of fact, I did tried but that man was so quick and alert, I almost got caught. Luckily I was smart enough to put obstacles in his way so I got away!” boasted Siu Ling.

“I don’t understand why you would want to steal someone’s money to help the poor. You could have asked Mother to give you the money to donate to the poor. You know that Mother is very generous and kind hearted. All you have to do is ask. Why would you want to risk your life like that?’ Siu Wai was perplexed.

“Ah, my dear brother, if the money comes from Mother, it would not be my contribution to the poor and needy. Plus I would not have any fun and excitement. The people that I stole the money from were rich, for example the elegant man whom I tried to steal the money pouch from today. Look, even though I couldn’t get his money pouch, I got his jade medallion. Hey, it looks expensive. Maybe I can pawn it?” Siu Ling’s mind was busy trying to find a way to get her hands on some money.

“You should give the medallion back to that man, it looks expensive and may have sentimental value to him. On the other hand, it may not be worth anything, it is broken,” observed Siu Wai. “Siu Ling, let me look at it more closely, it looked so familiar. Don’t you think that it looked like the one that Mother has? The one that she had in her hands daily, playing with it as though it was the most precious possession that she had, the one she sighed over, with tears in her eyes when she thought no one was looking.”

“Yes, Siu Wai, I think you are right. This piece looked like it was broken off the one that Mother had. I am going to wait for the right moment to compare this medallion with the one that Mother had,” promised Siu Ling.

“Siu Ling, please don’t do anything reckless like stealing Mother’s jade medallion. She is not going to forgive you if you do,” pleaded Siu Wai earnestly.

“I am not going to steal from Mother. I am just going to borrow it from her to compare with this one. No one needs to know. Mother won’t miss it for the short period of time that I have it,” Siu Ling promised.

“I sincerely advise you not to do that but I know you won’t listen to me. By the way, what obstacles did you used to get away?” questioned Siu Wai.

“Er, I pushed over the hawkers’ stalls so that man couldn’t catch up with me. I am sorry about that. Those poor hawkers would lose money because I damaged their goods. Oh Siu Wai, I am so sorry that I hadn’t thought about them before acting so recklessly,” Siu Ling started to cry.

“Hush, Siu Ling, it is no use crying over what was done. Promise me that you won’t do things like that again,” Siu Wai took his sister in a bear hug to console her.

“But how am I going to make restitution if I don’t get my hands on some money?” questioned Siu Ling.

“We will think of a way for you to repay them, but there has to be a less dangerous way. What if you get caught? You could land yourself in jail. You were lucky so far but one day your luck may run out,” Siu Wai tried to reason with his sister.

“Young Master and Young Mistress, Madam requested that you both be in the dining room for dinner,” interrupted a young maid their conversation. Ah Li looked at her young mistress’ dirty attire curiously but did not dare to voice her question aloud.

“Please tell our mother that we will be there shortly.” Siu Wai told the maid who then left them alone. “Siu Ling, you had better hurry to clean yourself and dress appropriately, otherwise you are going to get into trouble. I will go first to cover for you,” with that Siu Wai left Siu Ling to her thoughts.

“Hmm, this piece of jade does look like the one Mother has, now I just have to find the perfect opportunity to borrow hers to compare. It would be great if they matched and then I will have some fun finding the answer to this mystery,” thought Siu Ling. With that, she rushed back to her room to wash up and changed into her beautiful gown befitting the young mistress of the very rich and powerful Ching family.

Chapter 9

At the precise moment that Siu Ling was stroking that jade medallion, the elegant man noticed that his precious medallion was missing. He looked all over his room for it, anxious to find it, “I have to find it, where could I have misplaced it? I have had it for over twenty years.” Then he remembered the dirty urchin from the town square that had tried to steal his money pouch. He remembered she had tugged at his clothes. “I have to find her, because she could have taken the medallion.” His heart told him, that it was more than just the loss of the jade medallion that prompted him to look for the girl again. He was curious about the young pickpocket. That girl had looked so much like the woman whom he had loved so desperately, the one whom he had been thinking about daily, the one woman who had held his heart in her hands and then had thrown his love away and betrayed him. The woman whom he had given the other half of his medallion, his piece of the medallion was all that he had left to connect him to his lost love. He wondered if she had thrown his gift away as easily as she did his love. He remembered the day he had given her the medallion.

One week after Mei Ling’s beating, the bruises on her face had faded and she didn’t hurt as badly whenever she moved. Mei Ling had stayed in Kiu Wai’s quarters at his insistence, “Mei Ling, I don’t want you to go back to the servants’ quarters. I want you to stay here till you have fully recovered.”

“But Kiu Wai, I have to move back to my old quarters eventually. I would prefer to do it soon. I have imposed on you too long, you have to sleep in one of the guest rooms and I feel so guilty about that. I don’t want other people to gossip and it is better for me to leave,” Mei Ling tried to reason with Kiu Wai unsuccessfully.

“The reason I slept in the guest room was to prevent malicious gossips. We have done nothing disrespectful or dishonorable. I want you to stay here to keep you safe. I don’t ever want to see you hurt again,” insisted Kiu Wai passionately. So Mei Ling stayed on in Kiu Wai’s quarters in order not to upset him.

Kiu Wai spent every free moment he had with Mei Ling as she recuperated. They would sit together and talked about everything under the sun, laughed and joked as Kiu Wai entertained Mei Ling with funny incidents that happened. They would hold hands, heads close together as they enjoyed moments of carefree companionship. They would go for walks in the meadows and land that had belonged to the Lees or to lie down next to each other to enjoy the silence and beauty of the star lit sky. They fell more deeply in love with each other.

One night, they were lying under the elm tree overlooking a stream on the remote part of the Lees’ property. Kiu Wai was leaning over Mei Ling, when Kiu Wai finally gave in to his feelings and longings and took Mei Ling in his arms to kiss her passionately like a man starved of love. Mei Ling was surprised at the passionate intensity of his kisses and kissed him back with all the love she had for him. It was as if a floodgate was opened and their feelings and love for each other surged forward without barriers to envelope them as they held onto each other desperately. They both gave in to their passion and love for each other and were intimate for the first time, riding waves after waves of passion and sensuality without holding back. They were both breathless from their incredible experience and afterglow when they came back to earth, “Did you see the fireworks that lit up the sky?” Kiu Wai teased Mei Ling mischievously.

Mei Ling blushed but teased Kiu Wai in return, “No, but I swear the whole sky lit up with the countless stars and the earth move under me!” They both laughed and giggled, as they ran to the stream to wash off and play in the water and lastly got dressed. They then sat next to each other, leaning against the other, in silence.

Kiu Wai: “Mei Ling, I love you so much, I think I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. It grew from love of a childhood friend to the undying love of a man for the love of his life. Will you marry me?” Mei Ling was subdued and did not answer him. “What is the matter? I thought you love me just as much as I love you. Don’t you want to marry me?” questioned Kiu Wai.

“Oh Kiu Wai, I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. I always knew that you were the only one to hold my heart and I would not be able to love anyone else. I don’t think I can marry you. There is too much difference in class between us. I am only a servant girl whereas you are the only son of the Lees. I am unworthy to be your wife,” Mei Ling told Kiu Wai sadly.

“I have never treated you as a servant, you have always been my best friend. We had shared so much happiness as well as sadness, good times and bad times and you had always been my equal partner in everything. You must not think less of yourself, just because your mother was my nanny. I love your mother as much as I love my own mother. I am going to ask permission from your mother and my parents to marry you,” decided Kiu Wai, “ But first I want to pray to heaven and earth with you, to swear my sincere intentions and love for you.” They kneeled down together and swore their love for each other, with heaven and earth as their witnesses. Kiu Wai then broke his jade medallion into two pieces and gave one half to Mei Ling as a keepsake of his love, while he kept the other half.

Chapter 10

Mei Ling’s mother was cautiously happy for them but she was also realistic about the situation. Family as rich and powerful as the Lees would not allow a lowly servant girl to marry the heir and be the future mistress of the family. Kiu Wai was happy to get the approval and blessing of his Nanny to marry his beloved Mei Ling. He was cautious enough to approach his mother first about his sincere intention to marry Mei Ling. Mrs. Lee was alone in her sitting room when Kiu Wai came in to greet her. “Son, what a pleasant surprise, aren’t you supposed to go with your Father to court?”

“Mother, I have something important to tell you. I have decided to marry Mei Ling and I would like you to give us your approval and blessing,” Kiu Wai came straight to the point of his visit in the middle of the day.

“Marry Mei Ling?” questioned Mrs. Lee, shocked. Even though she had known of Kiu Wai’s “infatuation” with Mei Ling and that he had taken Mei Ling under his protection and had spent all his free time with Mei Ling, Mrs. Lee was still taken by surprise. “Are you very serious about this? I know that Mei Ling has grown into a very beautiful young woman but she is still our servant girl,” Mrs. Lee reminded Kiu Wai.

“Mother, I had thought that you would be more open minded about things like this. I have never considered Mei Ling as our servant. She is my best friend and companion and the chores she took on were on behalf of Nanny who is getting old and weak. I have loved her my whole life, first as a childhood companion and now as the only woman I love with my whole heart. We have already prayed to heaven and earth and now I want to make my intention to marry her official,” Kiu Wai told his mother firmly.

Mrs. Lee was clearly torn; she knew that her husband would never allow Kiu Wai to marry Mei Ling. He has old-fashioned ideas and Mei Ling, being a servant girl has no dowry and thereby unworthy to bear future heirs to the Lee family. She loves Kiu Wai, wants him to be happy and would never deny him any of his requests. She understood Kiu Wai’s love for Mei Ling as she has grown to be a stunning beauty. Mrs. Lee was not prejudiced but to accept a servant girl as their daughter-in-law is hardly an easy idea to promote to her husband. There was still that unresolved incident of Mei Ling’s stealing from Sin Yuk. Though they had not spoken of that incident again, so as not to alienate Kiu Wai, Mei Ling was still a suspect. “Are you very serious about your intentions? I know that Mei Ling is very beautiful but you will meet other beautiful girls had you not chosen to spend all your time with her. We can get a matchmaker to get a beautiful girl who is from a good family for you,” suggested Mrs. Lee.

“Mother, I am very serious about marrying Mei Ling and she is the only woman I will consider taking as my bride. I had hoped to get your blessing first so that you can persuade Father to accept my wish and I am very disappointed with your reaction. I love Mei Ling, not just because she is beautiful, she is my soul mate and best friend and I can only be happy with her,” declared Kiu Wai passionately.

“Kiu Wai, you know that I will do anything for you. If you are so serious about marrying Mei Ling, I will see what I can do. I cannot promise you anything, I will do my best to persuade your father to accept this idea of yours,” assured Mrs. Lee. “I do like Mei Ling, she is actually very intelligent and beautiful. I was surprised to see her reading a message to our cook, Ah Fook. I didn’t know that she could read.”

“Mother, why should you be surprised? Mei Ling was with me the entire time Mr. Yee was tutoring me since I was a child. Mei Ling is very intelligent. She can read and write just as proficiently as I can. Just because she is poor doesn’t mean that she is not suitable to be my wife, we are wealthy so we don’t need any dowry from her. She has great personality, is the sweetest girl and I love her very much,” declared Kiu Wai.

“All right, Kiu Wai. I will do my best,” Mrs. Lee gave Kiu Wai a hug before sending him out of her room. As Kiu Wai walked out of the room, he did not notice a shadow lurking behind a large plant right outside the door.

Chapter 11

“Yiu Seng, I have bad news for you. You are going to lose that wench whom you had been pursuing lustfully. I overheard Kiu Wai telling Mrs. Lee that he is going to marry Mei Ling,” gloated Sin Yuk. She had been very upset with her brother when he refused to help her get rid of Mei Ling and thus helping her get Kiu Wai. Sin Yuk was a vindictive person and she didn’t care whom she hurt when she didn’t get her way. She was also more cunning than Yiu Seng. She knew that Yiu Seng was reluctant to help her because he was foolishly in love with Mei Ling and would not want to do anything to harm her. But Sin Yuk had no such qualms about getting rid of her competition unscrupulously. Thus she was goading Yiu Seng into doing something to prevent Kiu Wai from marrying Mei Ling by provoking his jealousy.

Yiu Seng was shocked at the news that Kiu Wai intended to marry Mei Ling and was very depressed. All these years, he had loved Mei Ling and had tried to woo her but without success. He would bring her flowers and buy her delicacies from the local bakery, which she had refused to accept. He would follow her around whenever he could, write poems for her but she was not interested in him. He had found out that Mei Ling was in love with Kiu Wai and was devastated. He had known of his sister’s plan to implicate Mei Ling as a thief and had hoped to rescue Mei Ling at the last minute so as to have Mei Ling feel indebted to him. Unfortunately Kiu Wai was there first and laid claim to what was supposed to be his moment of glory. He was very upset with Sin Yuk for ordering Mei Ling be beaten. That wasn’t in the plan; he loved Mei Ling very much and wouldn’t want to see her hurt in any way.

After receiving the bad news, his life was thrown into chaos and depression took over. He wanted to stop Mei Ling from getting married to Kiu Wai but how could he accomplish that? Kiu Wai was still his best friend and they were well treated by the Lees and he was grateful for everything the Lees had done for his family. But Mei Ling is his, Yiu Seng swore to himself. He could not give her up. He has to think of a plan to make her see that she belonged with him and not with Kiu Wai.

Chapter 12

Mr. Lee was furious when his wife told him that Kiu Wai intended to marry Mei Ling, “I will never accept a servant girl who stole from our family as my daughter-in-law. I have already told you that she is bad influence over our son. He used to be such an obedient son, well mannered and wouldn’t dream of being disrespectful to us. Now he does things without getting our approval, openly defying us with his obstinacy and obsession with this girl,” stormed Mr. Lee.

“But what do you want to do about this? I know Kiu Wai, he is very serious about Mei Ling and if we openly reject his wishes, he would hate us forever. I don’t want to lose our son over a girl. Mei Ling is not totally unsuitable; she is beautiful, intelligent and educated. There is more to her that meets the eyes and we shouldn’t dismiss her off-hand,” Mrs. Lee tried to convince her husband.

“You have spoiled our son, that is why Kiu Wai is so disrespectful. Since when is a child allowed to choose his own mate? We, as his parents should let him know that he is wrong and disrespectful and should not give in to his whims. If he likes Mei Ling so much, he may take her as his mistress, but he has to marry a suitable girl from a respectable family first. We will get a matchmaker to look into the matter for us. I am sure we will find a beautiful girl to steal his heart from Mei Ling,” vowed Mr. Lee.

Mrs. Lee was very disappointed with her husband’s decision. She empathized with Kiu Wai; she was young once and had fallen in love with a neighbor’s son. Unfortunately he was too poor to offer for her and her parents had chosen the wealthy Mr. Lee for her. At the beginning of their marriage, she was very unhappy. However once Kiu Wai was born, she resigned herself to a life with Mr. Lee and tried to make life as easy and happy for herself and their son. Mr. Lee wasn’t a cruel man, just very stubborn but he treated her very well and both of them adored Kiu Wai. Mrs. Lee wanted Kiu Wai to marry someone whom he loved so that he could be truly happy. She still had hopes of changing her husband’s mind, so she didn’t put any effort in getting a matchmaker for their son. Instead she tried to find out more about Mei Ling, so she arranged for Mei Ling to be her personal maid. Since she is the mistress of the house, Mei Ling had no choice but to serve her with encouragement from Kiu Wai. Kiu Wai had hoped that his parents would get to know more about Mei Ling if she was close to them and grew to love her as much as he did. Kiu Wai knew that his mother would not harm a woman whom he loved so he didn’t object to Mei Ling serving his mother. Mr. Lee had thought it was a good idea to keep Mei Ling close by so that they could keep an eye on her.

The next day, Mr. Lee insisted that Kiu Wai accompanied him to the capital to experience the life in the emperor’s court. After a tearful goodbye from Mei Ling, Kiu Wai made his mother promise to take care of Mei Ling and to keep her safe. Kiu Wai then embarked on a journey to the capital with his father, who was a prominent official in court.

Chapter 13

Unbeknownst to Mrs. Lee, Yiu Seng was approached by Mr. Lee about Mei Ling. Yiu Seng had always worked hard for Mr. Lee ever since he came of age. Mr. Lee liked Yiu Seng for his willingness to take on undesirable tasks, which were sometimes necessary in order to be ahead of the game. A man like Mr. Lee didn’t become very rich and powerful by being a saint. Mr. Lee was by no means a totally evil person; he had been loyal to the emperor and had served the emperor well and as reward had enjoyed prosperity, but he did make a few enemies along the way that needed to be taken care of. Yiu Seng was a great candidate for those jobs, as he didn’t have many scruples either.

Yiu Seng was summoned to Mr. Lee for a private meeting. “Yiu Seng, I have a small problem which I need you to take care of,” Mr. Lee told Yiu Seng, just before he left for the capital with Kiu Wai.

“What would that be, Mr. Lee? You know that you can trust me to take care of things for you,” Yiu Seng assured his Master.

“My son, Kiu Wai is infatuated with Mei Ling and intends to marry her. She is only a servant and is totally unsuitable to be my daughter-in-law. I am taking Kiu Wai with me to the capital to keep her away from him. I want you to take care of Mei Ling for me while we are gone,” ordered Mr. Lee.

Yiu Seng was shocked, “Master, do you mean for me to get rid of her?”

“I don’t really care how you solve this problem, I don’t want to see her in my home when we return. We should be gone for two to three months,” Mr. Lee told Yiu Seng.

“I will do my best for you, Master,” promised Yiu Seng.

“Good, I know I can trust you to be discreet. Mrs. Lee doesn’t know about this and I want this problem solved without her knowledge,” Mr. Lee patted Yiu Seng on his shoulders and left for the capital with Kiu Wai.

Yiu Seng was torn between his loyalty to his Master and his love for Mei Ling. He could not bear to kill Mei Ling because he had loved her from the first moment he saw her. He had been very jealous of the affectionate relationship shared by Kiu Wai and Mei Ling. Kiu Wai had always treated Yiu Seng as a brother and Yiu Seng did love Kiu Wai but when he knew about Mei Ling’s love for Kiu Wai, he was consumed by jealousy. He had planned to break up Kiu Wai and Mei Ling and Mr. Lee just presented him with the perfect opportunity to achieve his goal.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 14

Kiu Wai was young and adventurous, so he was very excited about going to the capital. Mr. Lee was a prominent official in the emperor’s court and was well respected. They stayed in a big mansion as a guest of the emperor. When Mr. Lee went to court, Kiu Wai went into town by himself to look around. The capital was busy with people visiting countless stalls filled with bales of rich colorful silk cloths, figurines made of dough, paintings, writing utensils, exotic fruits, toys, antiques, porcelain, jewelry, pet birds and monkeys. There were also many artisans performing in the streets, some sword fighting displays, some performances by monkeys and street theaters were set up impromptu with Chinese opera singers and actors performing on stage. Kiu Wai was enthralled as he took in all the colorful sights. He stopped at a stall selling jewelry and bought Mei Ling a golden hair ornament and some earrings. He was walking in a side street when he came upon a young man being chased by some rough looking men. He stepped in to help the defenseless young man and was promptly surrounded by those thugs. “Little Punk, you must have not placed much value on your life to mess with us,?one of the thugs laughed at Kiu Wai.

“Do you think you are heroes by bullying a lone defenseless young man??questioned Kiu Wai bravely. Though he wasn’t good at martial arts, he did learn a few moves for self-defense.

“We shall see how heroic you are when you beg for your life in a few minutes,?the leader of the thugs laughed. At his command, the rest of the thugs surrounded Kiu Wai and the young man. A mad melee ensued, with Kiu Wai hitting and kicking wildly at the thugs. Although they were outnumbered, Kiu Wai and the young man fought bravely until a group of soldiers showed up suddenly and the thugs scattered and ran for their lives.

Kiu Wai and the young man ran for their lives too. They had no intention of getting arrested for public misconduct. “Wait, wait for me,?Kiu Wai panted after the agile young man who was running ahead of him. They had run for a couple of miles and were outside the city, with Kiu Wai out of breath, his sides were hurting. The thugs were nowhere to be found. Kiu Wai doubled over to catch his breath.

“Hey, what is your name??the young man asked Kiu Wai. “Why did you help me??br/>
“Well, I must have become insane for the few minutes when I decided to intervene. I am Lee Kiu Wai,?replied Kiu Wai. He took a good look at the young man. The young man was couple of years younger than Kiu Wai. He was very good looking with a noble appearance that did not match his dirty appearance. “So what is your name and why were the thugs after you??questioned Kiu Wai.

“I am Wai Loong. I have really no idea why they were after me. I don’t have a cent to my name,?the young man replied. “Thank you for your help, maybe we will see each other again,?with that, the young man ran off. Kiu Wai shook his head in disbelief, turned and walked back to the city, giving the young man only the slightest curious thought. He reached the mansion just as his father pulled up in his carriage.

“Kiu Wai, what had happened to you? Why are you so dirty and your shirt torn? Were you in a fight??questioned Mr. Lee.

“Some thugs tried to attack me for no reason. The capital is a dangerous place and I must really be more careful about staying in the main streets,?explained Kiu Wai.

“Son, I have come back to bring you to the palace. We are invited to dine with the emperor,?Mr. Lee told Kiu Wai proudly. It is an honor to be invited by the emperor to dine with him. “You should make haste to dress yourself in your best gown,?advised Mr. Lee.

Mr. Lee and Kiu Wai presented themselves in their finest attire at the palace gate and were shown into the courtyard. Many richly gowned officials were chatting, mingling and laughing with each other. The atmosphere was casual and festive. Lighted colorful paper lanterns lit up the courtyard and pots of fragrant flowers were placed in groups around the courtyard. Mr. Lee proudly introduced Kiu Wai to his court buddies. When the emperor came out, every one knelt down with respect. They were invited to make themselves at home and they sat down at low tables, enjoying rich delicious food and good wine. Pretty young dancers and musicians provided entertainment for the guests. Kiu Wai had a need to use the rest room so he slipped out of the hall. On the way to the rest room, he bumped into a young man in expensive silk gown, embroidered with dragons. He looked up and found himself face to face with that dirty young man, Wai Loong. “What on earth are you doing here,?asked Kiu Wai in surprise.

“Shhh, be quiet,?the young man pulled Kiu Wai to the side. “Well it happens that I live here,?answered the noble young man. “I am Prince Chiu Wai Loong. So we meet again. I hope you will not reveal our fateful encounter this afternoon. My royal father does not like me running around outside without an escort. It was very boring to be cooped up in the palace, so I would sneak out for some adventure,?confided the Prince.

“Please forgive me, your Royal Highness, I am sorry for not recognizing who you were and was disrespectful to you,?Kiu Wai bowed humbly to the Prince.

“Hey, no need to apologize. It is all right. I must thank you again for your intervention this afternoon. It was fun but you really need to brush up on your martial arts to defend yourself before trying to help anyone,?laughed the Prince mischievously.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to encounter those thugs either. I was really lucky to escape uninjured. What about you, your Royal Highness??Kiu Wai asked with concern.

“Ah, those clumsy thugs could not possibly harm me. I like you; I suggest that you call me Wai Loong when we are alone. There is no need for formality between friends who had survived danger together. Come, I will show you the gardens,?invited the young Prince.

“Where have you been,?Mr. Lee questioned Kiu Wai worriedly. “You have been gone for hours. Did you get lost??br/>
“Yes, I did. I am so sorry Father but the palace is huge. I will be more careful in the future,?Kiu Wai promised. He did not tell his father about his encounter with the young Prince since he promised the young Prince to keep that a secret. They did arrange to meet outside the city the next day. So began the friendship of Kiu Wai with the young Prince. They met almost daily outside the city, enjoying each other’s company and the young Prince would teach Kiu Wai some martial arts. Soon they became best friends.

Chapter 15

Kiu Wai had been gone eight weeks and Mei Ling missed him more and more each day. Mrs. Lee started to enjoy Mei Ling’s company. Mei Ling was very intelligent and well read so they were able to discuss many things, plus Mei Ling had a great sense of humor so she entertained Mrs. Lee with jokes, which had both of them squealing with laughter. Sin Yuk was very jealous of Mei Ling. She feared for her own position with Mrs. Lee, since Mrs. Lee no longer asked for her companionship. Instead Mei Ling was the one who attended to Mrs. Lee.

“Look, Yiu Seng, you have got to help me. That wench Mei Ling is fast becoming Mrs. Lee’s favorite and soon I will have no place in her heart. You wouldn’t want to see your sister on the streets, would you??Sin Yuk pleaded with her brother.

Ever since receiving the orders from his Master, Yiu Seng had been trying to find a way to get Mei Ling away from the Lees without hurting her. An evil thought played in his mind and a plan was formed. “Well, Sis, I have a plan to help you get rid of Mei Ling, but I will need your help?

“I will do anything if I can be rid of that thorn in my side,?vowed Sin Yuk. So Yiu Seng explained his plan to her quietly. “That is a very good idea, I don’t think Kiu Wai will want her when he finds out. Let’s carry out the plan soon,?Sin Yuk was enthusiastic.

“Mrs. Lee, you have got to come and see the shameless hussy. She is engaging in some disgusting acts with a man,?Siu Yuk came rushing into Mrs. Lee sitting room one afternoon as she was sipping her ginseng tea.

“What are you talking about? Which shameless hussy are you talking about??Mrs. Lee questioned Sin Yuk impatiently. She had found Sin Yuk to be less than honest ever since she was no longer in close contact with Sin Yuk and could see her mean nature more clearly.

“It is Mei Ling, she is naked in bed with a man, in the broad daylight, engaging in some disgusting acts,?Sin Yuk reported with glee.

Mrs. Lee didn’t quite believe Sin Yuk but nevertheless went with her to one of guest bedrooms in the remote part of the house. She looked through the window and saw Mei Ling half undressed laying beneath a man; at her call of anger the man turned his head. It was Yiu Seng! “What is the meaning of this??Mrs. Lee was very angry.

Yiu Seng, quickly pulled on his shirt, “I, I am sorry Madam. Mei Ling and I were just having some fun! We didn’t mean to offend you.?br/>
Mrs. Lee went to take a closer look at Mei Ling, she was barely conscious and did have wanton look on her face. Mrs. Lee was disgusted, “Get Nanny here at once.?When Mei Ling’s mother showed up, she was very embarrassed for her daughter, but Mrs. Lee ordered her to choose a day and let the scandalous pair of lovers marry. Then they will have to leave the house.?Mrs. Lee went back to her rooms, shaking with anger and disgust, “Kiu Wai, I am so sorry, the woman you loved is nothing but a tramp!?br/>
During this whole ordeal, Mei Ling was barely conscious and when she finally woke up, her mother told her what had happened and that she would have to marry Yiu Seng because they had been intimate. Mei Ling was shocked, “No, no. It can’t be. I didn’t do anything with Yiu Seng. I hate him so why would I sleep with him? I don’t remember anything.?br/>
Despite her tears and cries of innocence, her mother insisted that she marry Yiu Seng since she is a soiled goods and Kiu Wai wouldn’t want her anymore when he finds out about her dalliance with Yiu Seng. Mei Ling was devastated. She confronted Yiu Seng, “You are despicable! Why did you want to ruin my reputation? Did you rape me? I hate you!?br/>
Yiu Seng tried to reason with Mei Ling that it was a moment of weakness that he gave in to passion but he loved her and she belonged with him. “No, never! I will never belong with you. I will rather die than to marry you,?with that Mei Ling ran away with Yiu Seng chasing after her. They were struggling with each other near the edge of a cliff when Mei Ling slipped and fell over the cliff.

“Mei Ling, no! Oh no!?Yiu Seng looked over the cliff, but couldn’t see Mei Ling. He sank to his knees and wept bitterly. He was devastated that Mei Ling would rather die than to marry him. He had Sin Yuk put some sedating drugs into Mei Ling’s food and when she was drugged, had carried her to the guest room and staged the scene so that Mrs. Lee would see them together. He had not violated Mei Ling because he loved her very much, but he wanted to force her into marrying him so that he could take her away to protect her from Mr. Lee. Now all is lost, Mei Ling is gone, and he will never be able to love again. Yiu Seng was a broken man as he went back to the house, he packed his things and left. Sin Yuk was sad to see her brother go but she was happy that Mei Ling was dead and there would be no one to compete with her for Mrs. Lee or Kiu Wai’s attention.

Nanny was broken hearted, she was already very weak and ill and the shocking and shameless incident of finding Mei Ling with Yiu Seng killed her. Nanny was given a simple burial. However Mei Ling’s body was never recovered. Everyone assumed that Mei Ling had eloped with Yiu Seng.

Chapter 16

When Kiu Wai came home with his father, Sin Yuk was excited to report to him that Mei Ling was caught in bed with her brother and that they had run away together. Kiu Wai didn’t believe her and went to his mother. Mrs. Lee told Kiu Wai sadly that she indeed had caught Mei Ling in bed with Yiu Seng and had wanted to marry Mei Ling off to Yiu Seng. She didn’t know if Mei Ling was dead or alive but she knew that both Yiu Seng and Mei Ling disappeared the same day. It was possible that Mei Ling had eloped with Yiu Seng. Nanny had died shortly after and was buried. Kiu Wai was devastated. He tried to find Mei Ling but the trail was cold and he couldn’t find any trace of her. He didn’t want to believe that Mei Ling would elope with Yiu Seng, but the fact was that both of them disappeared on the same day. Kiu Wai knew that his mother would not lie to him about seeing Mei Ling in bed with Yiu Seng. He was very angry that Mei Ling had betrayed him and their love. He became very depressed and started drinking heavily. His parents were very concerned about his health. Sin Yuk tried to cheer Kiu Wai up but he wouldn’t let her near him. Kiu Wai was lost in his sorrow and drank heavily everyday and didn’t take care of his appearance or health.

One day, the young Prince came to the Lees?house to visit Kiu Wai. Everyone was taken by surprise, since Mr. Lee was not aware that Kiu Wai was acquainted with the young Prince. They received the young Prince in the great hall and tried to wake Kiu Wai up from his drunken stupor. When they were unsuccessful, the young Prince became impatient that Kiu Wai had not come out to greet him, so he stormed into Kiu Wai’s bedroom. The young Prince found his friend unkempt and totally drunk in bed. A hot bath was ordered and the young Prince personally dunked Kiu Wai in the tub, with Kiu Wai struggling and cussing. The young Prince spent the next few days caring for his friend, forcing him to eat and drink and when Kiu Wai vomited, he was cleaned and the whole process was carried out over and over again until one day, Kiu Wai was alert enough to greet his friend.

“Your Royal Highness, how have you been??Kiu Wai greeted his royal friend.

“So you have decided to join the living??the young Prince was happy to find his friend back to normal. “I was very worried about you. I had been here a week now trying to sober you up!?br/>
“Please forgive me, that I had caused you to worry about this undeserving soul. I should thank you but I won’t because I needed to drink myself into unconsciousness. Now I will be plagued by memories of her again,?Kiu Wai then told his royal friend the whole story about Mei Ling and her betrayal. The two friends talked for a long time and it was decided that Kiu Wai would go back to the palace with the young Prince so that he could recuperate there. The two friends left for the capital after Kiu Wai said a tearful goodbye to his parents.

Kiu Wai never went back to his hometown; he stayed with the young Prince as his friend and advisor and became almost part of the royal family. Besides his official duties as a respected official in the royal court, Kiu Wai also tried his hand in trading business and became rich and prosperous. He was one of the most handsome and eligible bachelors in court and all the ambitious mothers and matchmakers tried to get him interested in their girls but Kiu Wai remained disinterested and single. He couldn’t love another woman because Mei Ling had stolen his heart and it was forever in her hands.

Chapter 17

In the sitting room of General Ching, Siu Ling was chatting with her mother who is a beautiful woman with big beautiful eyes and a gorgeous smile. They look almost like twin sisters; they both have similar big beautiful eyes, similar nose and shape of face. The only difference was that the younger girl had a big cheeky grin on her face most of the time and her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Mother, where did you get that jade medallion? Will I inherit it one day??br/>
“Little Imp, you and your brother will inherit everything I owned but this jade medallion will accompany me to the next world,?Siu Ling’s mother replied with indulgence. “Why are you so interested in my medallion??br/>
“Well, Mother, I found a jade medallion just like yours when I was in the town square,?Siu Ling then showed her mother the jade medallion, which she had stolen from Kiu Wai.

“Oh Dear Heavens, it cannot possibly be his medallion, it cannot possibly be!?Siu Ling’s mother turned pale as a ghost, falling into a faint.

“Oh God, Siu Wai, come quickly, Mother has fainted!?yelled Siu Ling for her brother who was in the next room.

Siu Wai came flying in and helped to carry his mother to her room, “What had happened? Why did Mother faint??Siu Wai asked his sister worriedly.

Siu Ling was crying, “I showed Mother the medallion that I had stolen and she acted like she had seen a ghost and fainted. I am so sorry, Siu Wai. I should have listened to you. Is Mother going to be alright??br/>
The housekeeper came in; she assessed the situation and sent for a doctor. The siblings?mother regained consciousness after a few minutes. They were both so relieved and hugged her tightly as Siu Ling kept apologizing to her mother. “It is alright, I am fine. Please don’t worry,?the mother assured the siblings.

At that moment, an elderly gentleman came into the room; he is the master of the house, General Ching. He had heard about the siblings?mother’s fainting episode and came in to check on her. “Mei Ling, my dear, how are you??br/>
“I am doing fine. It is probably the heat,?Mei Ling assured General Ching. “You don’t have to worry, I just need a few hours of rest and I will be fit again.?br/>
“Well, Siu Wai, Siu Ling, come with me and leave your mother to rest a little. She cannot have your noisy chatter and your horsing around when she needs total quiet,?General Ching ordered the siblings out of Mei Ling’s room.

The three of them left Mei Ling alone to her thoughts as she looked at the medallion that Siu Ling had given her a few minutes ago. “It just cannot be his medallion,?but even as she tried to persuade herself that it wasn’t, she saw that it was indeed Kiu Wai’s medallion. She took out her own piece of medallion and put the two pieces together and they fitted perfectly. “Oh Dear Heavens, if his medallion was found in this town, Kiu Wai must have been here too. What am I going to do??Mei Ling was sick with worry that her worst nightmare had come true when she was to be confronted with her past.

Chapter 18

Fifteen years ago:

Mei Ling remembered being rudely awakened from the drug induced stupor, half undressed beneath Yiu Seng, totally embarrassed as Mrs. Lee looked at her in disgust and her poor mother’s horrified and hurt expression and the sneering face of Sin Yuk as she called her a shameless tramp. She remembered Mrs. Lee insisted that she get married to Yiu Seng that very day and after being left alone with Yiu Seng who apologized to her profusely about what he had done. It was all because he wanted her to marry him so that he could protect her from Mr. Lee who had wanted her dead. She remembered pulling on her shirt and running out of the house with Yiu Seng chasing after her till they reached the edge of the cliff. She remembered fighting with Yiu Seng and then falling off the cliff.

When she finally woke up, she found herself in a boat with an elderly gentleman and members of his household. He was General Ching who was on his way home from the capital and had stopped at the beach where he had found her unconscious. They didn’t think she would make it; she was unconscious for seven days but she pulled through with the persistent nursing and caring of his housekeeper, Madam Chan. She had refused to talk to them but cried her heart out nightly. One day she did open up and confided in General Ching about her plight. Madam Chan had already told General Ching that Mei Ling was a couple months pregnant but he pretended that it was news to him when Mei Ling confided in him. General Ching was a prominent warrior in the emperor’s army and was going home to retire after years of loyal service. He had no children and his wife had died a couple of years ago. He felt sorry for Mei Ling. She was too young for him but he wanted to help her so he adopted her as his daughter. She took his name Ching and when she gave birth to the twins, the General was the happiest man to have heirs to his fortune.

General Ching was a very kind man, who adored the twins though he could be very strict at times to maintain their obedience. Siu Wai was a very obedient son, with a pleasant disposition, treated others with respect, and very good-looking. He was of course the apple of the General’s eye. As for Siu Ling, she could wrap anyone around her little finger with her winsome smiles, she was more mischievous than Siu Wai and more of a tomboy. Even though the General was gruff at times, Siu Ling could bring him to laughter in no time and of course she would test everyone’s patience with her adventurous spirits. Altogether, the General was a happy man to have Mei Ling & her children living with him.

Mei Ling took over all General Ching’s correspondence and bookkeeping and helped wherever she could in the house and was treated with respect and love by everyone. The General had ruled his household with iron fists and had declared that those who would dare to say anything bad about Mei Ling or disrespect her even the slightest would be thrown out from his household. Mei Ling thus had found a safe haven in the General’s household and happiness in bringing up her children. She never discussed her past with her children. Even Siu Ling who was extremely resourceful was unable to find out anything about her mother’s past and the one time she tried to pester her mother for information, the General got really upset with her and that was when she learned that the subject of her mother’s past was taboo.

For fifteen years, Mei Ling and her children were under the General’s protection and she found peace and quiet. She would present a cheerful face to the family during the day, but sometimes, she would take out the jade medallion that Kiu Wai had given her and think back to the happy times she had spent with Kiu Wai. She would dream nightly about Kiu Wai and wept for the loss of their love and future. Now she has to face the nightmare of the possibility of being confronted by Kiu Wai and their past, and she is terrified.

[sowfoong]

Chapter 19

A few days later, Siu Ling slipped into her disguise again and wandered around in the town square, looking for a potential victim. She saw a good-looking young man leaning over a stall with jewelry, his money pouch half hanging out of his pocket. “Yes, my next victim!?thought Siu Ling gleefully. She wandered over to the man and pretended to trip and fall and leaned on the man slightly, at the same time, slipped her hand in his pocket and took his money pouch, slipped it into her own and then casually walked away. As soon as she walked a safe distance, she looked back and saw that her victim was oblivious to his loss; she chuckled to herself and ran back towards her home. She was not aware that the friend of her victim was following her.

Kiu Wai had seen Siu Ling taking the money pouch from his friend and had carefully followed her from a distance. He saw her going into the Ching mansion and was surprised. “Hey, that is the mansion from General Ching,?whispered the young Prince, who had just come up behind Kiu Wai. He was the young man whose money pouch Siu Ling had stolen. Ever since Kiu Wai had lost his medallion a couple of weeks ago, he had tried to find the little pickpocket. He had confided in the young Prince who had come for a visit. They were still very good friends, still young and adventurous and both were curious when Kiu Wai told his friend about the similarity in the pickpocket’s appearance to Mei Ling. “Let’s pay him a visit,?suggested the young Prince.

“No, I will pay them a visit tonight and will try to find out more about the little pickpocket,?Kiu Wai decided.

“Good, I will come with you, as a look-out,?the young Prince was excited about an adventure. The truth was he was bored stiff in the palace, which was the reason he came to visit Kiu Wai. He missed their witty conversations and jokes. When he heard about the mysterious pickpocket, he was very excited to have some fun. They had been hanging around the town square for days, hoping that the pickpocket would appear and it seemed that their prayers had been answered.

That night, Kiu Wai and the young Prince sneaked into the Ching mansion. They hid behind bushes and made their way slowly towards the house. Siu Ling was in the sitting room, flipping through the pages of a book, looking bored. She was restless and was waiting for her mother to go to sleep and so that she could sneak out of the house again. The money pouch she had stolen that afternoon was full of gold coins and she knew of a poor family on the outskirt of the town who was in dire need of financial help. General Ching was playing chess with Mei Ling in the study. Mei Ling’s back was turned towards the window so Kiu Wai was unable to see her face. When Siu Ling came into the study, Kiu Wai caught his breath, Siu Ling who was dressed as a young girl should be, looked exactly like Mei Ling when she was her age. Who was this girl? Siu Ling told General Ching and her mother that she was tired and was going to bed. She made her way back to her rooms, with Kiu Wai and the young Prince following her stealthily. They saw her went behind a screen and came out dressed as the little pickpocket!

Then they saw her made her way stealthily to the backyard, climbed up a tree, over the roof and jumped down the other side of the wall. Kiu Wai and the young Prince followed suit and caught up with her a few blocks away. Kiu Wai grabbed her arm and Siu Ling turned around in shock.

Chapter 20

Siu Ling was frozen in shock for a moment when she saw Kiu Wai from whom she had stolen the medallion and the young man from whom she had stolen the money pouch that very afternoon. She started to struggle but was no match against Kiu Wai’s strength. “So, little Miss, who are you and why are you in disguise? What are you doing alone in the dark, away from your home? I want some answers,?demanded Kiu Wai.

“Let me go, you mean bully! I swear I will punch out your eyes if you don’t release me immediately,?Siu Ling swore, trying to kick at Kiu Wai unsuccessfully.

“Stop struggling and trying to kick me! Answer my questions. Who are you and what are you doing out here in the dark by yourself??Kiu Wai was getting impatient and shook Siu Ling lightly.

“I am Ah Li, a maid in the Ching mansion and I am on my way home,?Siu Ling lied.

“Really? Was that why you were wearing that expensive silk embroidered gown, back in the Ching mansion? Do they dressed their maids in such fineries??Kiu Wai asked amused.

Siu Ling knew the game was up and started to feel scared, “Who are you? Why were you spying on me??br/>
“We asked you the questions first, so answer us truthfully. Who are you and where is my medallion??Kiu Wai asked impatiently.

“I have told you that my name is Ah Li and I am a maid in the Ching mansion. I don’t know what you are talking about, what medallion? I don’t have your medallion!?Siu Ling struggled to get away.

“Let us take her back to the Ching mansion so that we can get to the bottom of the matter,?suggested the young Prince.

Siu Ling stopped struggling at once when she heard the young Prince’s words. She knew that she was in big trouble, she started shaking, her tears rolled down her cheeks. When Kiu Wai saw her tears, she looked just like Mei Ling and he loosened his hold. “Tell me please, who are you??br/>
Siu Ling sobbed, “If I tell you everything, will you let me go afterwards? Here is the money pouch I stole from your friend. As for your medallion, my mother has it. But I will get it back for you, I promise.?br/>
“We are not going to hurt you, we are just curious about your actions. So won’t you tell us everything??Kiu Wai asked gently.

“I am Ching Siu Ling. General Ching is my grandfather. I was just trying to have some fun. I didn’t mean any harm. You looked wealthy and I was sure you wouldn’t miss the few coins but that money could help the Chen family who lived in a wooden hut outside the city. I was just trying to help them,?Siu Ling answered truthfully.

“Does your family know about your adventures??asked the young Prince curiously. The beautiful girl, especially one who was so spunky, intrigued him.

“No, my family is unaware of my actions. My grandfather would punish me and my mother would be so disappointed in me! I am sorry that I couldn’t be feminine and demure as they wished me to be,?Siu Ling said a little resentfully.

“I will let you go, but I want you to bring me my medallion by tomorrow morning, otherwise we will go to your mother and get it from her,?promised Kiu Wai.

Siu Ling was grateful to escape and ran straight home. Kiu Wai and the young Prince followed her at a distance, to see her enter the courtyard safely. Kiu Wai, “I want to go back to the mansion to see if I can get a glimpse of the girl’s mother. Siu Ling looked just like Mei Ling, it is too much of a coincidence.?br/>
Chapter 21

Kiu Wai and the young Prince sneaked back into the Ching mansion. They saw the General getting ready for bed. The lady who had played chess with him earlier was with him, assisting with his garments and shoes till he finally settled down in bed. The lady had her back turned to the window the whole time. Then she turned around to leave the room and Kiu Wai gasped when he saw her. It was Mei Ling! She was as beautiful as ever, a little more matured and she had also lost the mischievous sparkle in her eyes. She walked out the General’s bedroom and went into the backyard. She sat on the stone bench and took out both pieces of medallions, holding them close to her heart, with her eyes closed and sighed forlornly. A tear escaped her left eye and rolled down her cheek unchecked.

Kiu Wai was about to go to her, when the young Prince stopped him and motioned him to leave with him. Kiu Wai was reluctant to leave but the young Prince kept pulling his sleeve so they both left the house stealthily. Once they were outside, Kiu Wai, asked the young Prince, “Why did you insist on us leaving the house? It is Mei Ling, she is alive.?br/>
The young Prince reasoned, “Well, you wouldn’t want to be caught by the General’s people. He is a cautious man and we have seen the guards patrolling the property. He protects his family and we don’t want any trouble until we can assess the situation. Siu Ling is going to get that medallion back for you.?But they both knew it was not about the medallion.

Kiu Wai declared, “I need to be alone,?and walked off, leaving the young Prince standing in front of their inn. He was in turmoil. The shock of seeing Mei Ling again after so many years threw him off. Kiu Wai had thought that he was over her, that he hated her for betraying him and their love, but when he saw her, all the love he had for her came rushing back, he wanted to hold her and never let her go. He knew that he loved her just as much as ever, that he had missed her very much so he had tried to suppress his love by trying to convince himself that he hated her. Myriad questions swirled in his mind. What had happened to Yiu Seng? Did she leave Yiu Seng or did he abandon her? Is Siu Ling Mei Ling’s daughter with Yiu Seng? How did she end up with General Ching? Why was she holding both their medallions and cried? Did she still think about him? It was bittersweet seeing her again, he wanted answers from her but he resisted the urge to go back to the Ching mansion to confront her.

The next day, Kiu Wai and the young Prince met Siu Ling in the town square as arranged the night before. Siu Ling was subdued, “I am unable to get your medallion back. My mother had it together with her own piece the whole time. I did try to sneak into her room last night but she had them clasped to her heart. I couldn’t risk waking her up. I need more time.?br/>
“It is alright. I will wait for you to get it, but I have a few questions for you. Your mother looked like a woman I knew from my hometown. What is your mother’s name and where is she from??Kiu Wai asked Siu Ling.

“My mother is Ching Mei Ling. Since my grandfather is from this town, my mother has to be from this town. Look, I really don’t know much about my mother’s past. My mother was very sad and my grandfather was very upset the last time I asked her,?Siu Ling replied, “I really cannot help you.?br/>
“What about your father? Where is he??Kiu Wai pressed on.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a father. He probably died when we were young, I haven’t seen him before and my mother never said anything about him,?Siu Ling was suspicious that Kiu Wai had asked so many questions about her family, “Why are you curious about my family? I thought you are only interested in getting your medallion back.?br/>
“I told you that your mother looked like someone I knew when I was younger and I thought it might be her. I would like you to arrange for your mother to meet me.?Kiu Wai told Siu Ling.

“I cannot and I won’t do that. I don’t know you and I don’t want you to hurt my mother,?declared Siu Ling firmly, “I will get your medallion back to you as soon as I possibly can, but that is all that I can promise you.?br/>
“I promise that I will not hurt your mother. I want to see if she was the woman from my hometown. I really needed to know, so please help me,?pleaded Kiu Wai with Siu Ling.

“Perhaps you can bring your mother to the town square and we can meet in a public place,?suggested the young Prince.

“Let me think about it. I have to go now, but I will let you know soon,?promised Siu Ling. With that she skipped back to the Ching mansion, she was curious about Kiu Wai. Something about him looked so familiar.

Chapter 22

As fate has it, Mei Ling goes to the temple every month on the 1st to pray for the health of the Ching family. Siu Ling went with her mother, carrying the basket of incense and offerings. At the entrance of the temple she saw Kiu Wai and the young Prince hiding behind the stone lion of a nearby mansion. Siu Ling was anxious and afraid for her mother. She had not expected to see the two men there, as she wasn’t going to put her mother in any danger. She was about to tell her mother to go home when Mei Ling turned and asked, “What is the matter, Siu Ling? Why are you standing there? We need to go in to pray. After that we have to go to the pharmacy to get some herbs for Grandfather. He wasn’t feeling too well this morning.?br/>
Siu Ling went into the temple with Mei Ling. No one else was in the temple, so they put their offerings on the altar. They were both on their knees praying, when Kiu Wai came into the temple and coolly greeted, “How are you, Mei Ling??

Mei Ling turned pale and started to shake, dropping her joss sticks. Then she recovered, “I am sorry, Sir. But I don’t know you, you must have mistaken me for someone else.?With that she turned her back on Kiu Wai, bent to pick up her joss sticks when Kiu Wai came close, knelt down next to her and picked them for her, their fingers touched. They both felt the shock of static electricity that passed through them; the shivers of excitement and attraction were as potent as ever. Mei Ling blushed and tried to snatch her hands back, but Kiu Wai held onto her, his face inches from her own, tilted her head up and looked deeply and searchingly into her eyes.

Siu Ling, who had knelt next to her mother, had opened her mouth to scream, when the young Prince covered her mouth with his hand and motioned her to leave the temple with him. Siu Ling went with the young Prince, albeit unwillingly, “I cannot leave my mother alone with your friend. He may hurt her, I have to go back,?insisted Siu Ling.

“Siu Ling, you don’t have to worry. Kiu Wai will not hurt a single hair from your mother. They were dear old friends. Please let them be alone to talk. We can stand out here and if anything bad happens, we can intervene,?promised the young Prince.

“Why should I trust you? You are going to help your friend and not my mother,?insisted Siu Ling. She was really worried about leaving her mother alone with a man who was a total stranger, but she was also curious about their relationship. She sensed that her mother was acquainted with Kiu Wai but had pretended not to know him. In addition, her mother had kept that piece of jade medallion from Kiu Wai and had not offered to return it to her. So Siu Ling decided to stay right by the entrance and if Kiu Wai did anything to offend her mother’s modesty, she would get help.

“You are being rude, please let go of my hand,?insisted Mei Ling, twisting her face away and trying to pull her hand from his grasp. But Kiu Wai held onto her hand tight, in fact, he pulled her right into his arms and held her close to his heart, savoring her nearness and sweetness. Mei Ling could hear his erratic heart beats, it was bittersweet to be in Kiu Wai’s arms again but she must not succumb to his charms. Mei Ling then struggled to get away, pushing against his chest, when suddenly she went limp and leaned against Kiu Wai, feeling defeated and tired of fighting with both herself and Kiu Wai. Her tears rolled freely down her cheeks as she finally gave up the rein of holding her emotions in check.

Kiu Wai turned Mei Ling around to look at her, upset to see her distress and sorrow with her eyes brimming with tears that streamed freely down her cheeks, but he held his own emotions under control. He knew in that very instant that he was as deeply in love with her as ever, that he was never going to let her go again despite her betrayal, nothing mattered any more except the right to call her his own again; but he had to know the truth from her about what had happened years ago. He could not allow himself to be swayed by her tears, “Why, Mei Ling, why??br/>

[sowfoong]

Chapter 23

“I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know you. Please let me go before I scream for help,” Mei Ling lied and insisted Kiu Wai let go of her.

“Why are you lying about not knowing who I am? I am not going to let go of you ever again, now that I have found you. I want to know why you betrayed our love and me, why you ran away with Yiu Seng. Why couldn’t you have waited for me to return? I want the truth,” insisted Kiu Wai firmly.

“I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to forget. It is none of your business! Just let me go,” Mei Ling was very upset and started to struggle again.

“None of my business? We were going to be married. I left you in the care of my mother and you betrayed me by sleeping with another man and had a child with him and you dared to tell me that it was none of my business?” Kiu Wai thundered incredulously, he was shaking with anger.

“You were not there to protect me. Your father had wanted me dead! You had no right to be angry. We weren’t married, we only had an affair!” Mei Ling was sobbing uncontrollably.

“What do you mean that my father wanted you dead? Who told you that lie? What has that got to do with you sleeping with Yiu Seng? Why did you sleep with him? I thought you loved me” Kiu Wai was getting very angry with Mei Ling, thinking that she was making excuses for her infidelity.

“Your father told Yiu Seng to get rid of me before you left for the capital. Yiu Seng was just doing the dirty task for your father. I didn’t choose to sleep with Yiu Seng. He raped me! You broke your promise and weren’t there to protect me. So stop trying to judge me. Just let go of me. I hate you and I don’t ever want to see you again.” With that Mei Ling finally broke away from Kiu Wai and ran crying out of the temple. Siu Ling ran after her mother, together they hurried back to the Ching mansion.

Kiu Wai was so stunned by her words, that he stood there motionless in the temple, tears streaming down his cheeks. All these years his mother and Sin Yuk had deceived him about Mei Ling eloping with Yiu Seng. Yiu Seng had raped Mei Ling and he probably took her with him when he left the Lees, to protect her from his father. His own father, how could he have wanted to harm a woman whom his son had loved above everyone else? What else could Mei Ling have done under such circumstances but to go with Yiu Seng? Kiu Wai felt so guilty about failing to protect Mei Ling and then accusing her of betraying and abandoning him. He had wanted to go after Mei Ling to ask her for forgiveness but the young Prince persuaded him otherwise, that Mei Ling needed time to calm down. The young Prince had stayed outside during the whole emotional incident, giving his friend some time to compose himself.

Chapter 24

Siu Ling tried to console her mother as she wept bitterly in her bedroom. She had heard the whole emotional exchange between her mother and Kiu Wai. She knew that they were lovers that had been kept apart by unfortunate circumstances and interferences. She knows now why the subject of her mother’s past was taboo. She felt so sorry for her mother and wished she could help but how? Finally Siu Ling went back to her room. She spent a sleepless night, tossing and turning in her bed. At the crack of dawn, she sneaked out of the house and went to the inn where Kiu Wai and the young Prince were staying. She found the room where the young Prince was staying, and knocked lightly on the door. The young Prince was surprised to see Siu Ling, “What are you doing here, all by yourself?” and pulled her into his room.

“I am worried about my mother. I have never seen her so upset before. It is your friend’s fault. He shouldn’t have come here and bring havoc to our lives. I want both of you to leave,” Siu Ling told the young Prince.

“Maybe if you hadn’t started the ball rolling by stealing Kiu Wai’s medallion, they wouldn’t have met again at all!” the young Prince was quick to defend Kiu Wai. He wasn’t used to being ordered around, even by a stunning beauty like Siu Ling. “Instead of trying to send us away, maybe you should think of a way to get both of them to reconcile. I am sure you could see how in love they still are with each other.”

“My mother doesn’t need your friend, she doesn’t want to see him ever again. He had failed her before and he will fail her again. I want my mother to have a peaceful life; I don’t want her hurt by anyone and certainly not by your friend again. I am warning you to leave while you can because I am going to tell my grandfather about both of you. My grandfather is a powerful man and you can get into a lot of trouble. So please leave us alone, I am very serious,” Siu Ling told the young Prince earnestly.

“Come on, where is your sense of romance? Don’t you want your mother to have someone to love her? Do you want her to die alone and bitter? Kiu Wai had been in love with your mother forever, it was tragic that they were separated by terrible circumstances but they were given a second chance at love. I had seen how devastated Kiu Wai was when he thought that he had lost your mother, he nearly died,” the young Prince exaggerated slightly to hammer into Siu Ling the love Kiu Wai had for Mei Ling.

Siu Ling was undecided, she really wanted her mother to find happiness but she was afraid that Kiu Wai would hurt her mother again, “What do you suggest? My mother is very upset with your friend, she doesn’t want to see him ever again so how are we going to get them to reconcile?” The two of them paced the room, trying to find a plan.

However before they could form a plan, Kiu Wai had sneaked into the Ching mansion and was caught by General Ching’s men. He was locked up in the dungeon. Mei Ling did not know of the capture, she had gone to a temple many miles away to recuperate. General Ching was also away at the time, he had gone to visit an old friend so when he came back, he was surprised to see the young Prince in the hall waiting impatiently for him, “What a nice surprise, Your Royal Highness, what brought you here today?”

“I am here to get my friend who was captured and imprisoned by you,” the young Prince was upset and worried about Kiu Wai’s safety.

“I am not sure what you meant, I was away and I don’t know of any intruders that was captured. I will ask my chief of security; maybe he can shed some light into this matter. I am sure it was a misunderstanding,” the General reasoned.

General Ching did find out that Kiu Wai had tried to sneak into Mei Ling’s rooms a couple of nights ago, was caught and then promptly locked up. Kiu Wai was brought up and questioned about the motive of his nocturnal visit to Mei Ling’s quarters. Kiu Wai then told the General about their past and that he wanted to ask Mei Ling for forgiveness and to marry her. The General was a very understanding man but he was also very concerned about Mei Ling’s wellbeing. “I know about you and Mei Ling. I also know that Mei Ling is very upset with you and does not want to see you ever again which is why she had gone somewhere else to avoid seeing you. I am not happy that she had to leave her home, I am going to let you go this time but if I catch you trying to come here again, I will not be merciful.”

Chapter 25

The young Prince was very resourceful and found out the location of the temple where Mei Ling was staying. They both set out for the temple. They found the chief nun of the temple and told her that they were there to see Mei Ling. They waited in the main hall while the nun went to the back to talk to Mei Ling. She came back to announce that Mei Ling was unwilling to come out to meet with Kiu Wai. Short of fighting with the nuns, they decided to respect the sanctity of the temple and stayed in the main hall. Both the young Prince and Kiu Wai pleaded with the chief nun to persuade Mei Ling to give Kiu Wai a chance to talk to her. The chief nun took pity on Kiu Wai and did tried to talk Mei Ling into meeting with him, but Mei Ling was adamant about not meeting with Kiu Wai.

The young Prince finally gave up, out of frustration and tried to persuade Kiu Wai to go back into town with him. However Kiu Wai was determined to persuade Mei Ling to meet with him and to forgive him. He went outside of the temple and knelt in the courtyard to atone for his father’s wrongdoings and his own failure to protect Mei Ling and vowed that he would not get up until Mei Ling agreed to see him. The young Prince was shocked by Kiu Wai’s determination, though he couldn’t understand the humility shown by Kiu Wai, he was in awe from the love Kiu Wai showed Mei Ling. The nuns told Mei Ling about Kiu Wai in the courtyard but she refused to reconsider about meeting with Kiu Wai. It rained heavily the first day and Kiu Wai was totally drenched and half frozen in his wet clothes through the night. The next day, the sun blazed scorching down on Kiu Wai but he refused to accept any food or even water to relieve his parched dry lips. All the nuns were sympathetic and tried to get Mei Ling to come out but she refused. On the third day, Kiu Wai fainted from exhaustion and was brought into the temple.

When Mei Ling heard about Kiu Wai being unconscious, she rushed out to the main hall. Her heart was broken when she saw Kiu Wai unconscious on the floor, looking pale and haggard. She knelt by his side, cradled his head in her arms and cried bitterly. She sobbed her regret and cruelty in punishing him because she had been hurt and had suffered as a result of his father’s actions. She told him, brokenly that she had never stopped loving him and that she would love him for the rest of her life. Kiu Wai finally regained consciousness upon hearing her passionate declaration, he was in Mei Ling’s arms and she was caressing him gently and telling him how much she loves him. Mei Ling was so relieved upon seeing Kiu Wai awake that she forgot the nuns who were standing around and kissed Kiu Wai passionately. She blushed furiously when Kiu Wai reminded her, with a wicked twinkle in his eyes about their audience; some of the nuns were looking at the ceiling and the younger ones were giggling at the romantic scene.

Kiu Wai was helped into Mei Ling’s room where they stayed for the rest of the afternoon, talking over all the misunderstanding, each apologizing for the hurt they caused the other, telling each other over and over again that they had not forgotten each other and that they loved each other more than ever. At last, emotionally spent, they lay in each other’s arms, totally at peace, savoring the closeness and love displayed, kissing each other softly and gently, happy to be with the one they loved at last. It was late in the evening when they set out for the Ching mansion. Siu Ling, General Ching and the young Prince who had stayed in the Ching mansion the past few days welcomed the pair of tired lovers. Kiu Wai was shown to a guest room where he had fallen promptly asleep, happy to know that Mei Ling was safe and resting nearby.

Chapter 26

In the morning Kiu Wai requested a formal meeting with the General to ask permission to marry Mei Ling. The General was happy for the couple and agreed to allow the marriage to take place. Everyone was happy for Mei Ling and was busy with the wedding preparations. Kiu Wai did send word home to his parents about his intention to marry Mei Ling. He left an open invitation for them to attend but he did not ask permission from them to marry Mei Ling. The young Prince had requested his royal father, the Emperor to give his permission for the couple to marry. The Emperor was very happy for Kiu Wai; he had always liked his royal son’s friend so he gladly obliged.

One day the young Prince was chatting with Siu Ling in the sitting room of the Ching mansion when Siu Wai came through the door. Siu Wai had been gone for a couple of months to a martial arts school for training and it was his first time home. The young Prince did a double take when he saw Siu Wai, “Oh My Goodness! Kiu Wai is going to be very upset. I cannot wait to see the fireworks!” he rubbed his hands together gleefully.

Siu Ling was puzzled by the young Prince’s odd behavior, “What is wrong with you?” and followed the young Prince to the backyard. Siu Ling and the young Prince had become very close. Both were adventurous and rebellious. The young Prince was fascinated with Siu Ling; he loved her spunkiness, her generous spirits and her mischievous laughter. Siu Ling had no fear of the young Prince, had not bowed to him or behaved differently with him than with the rest of her family. They were falling in love though they had not told Kiu Wai or Mei Ling yet about their feelings for each other.

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling were sitting together at a table in the backyard, heads together, laughing at some jokes, when Siu Wai came upon them. Siu Wai was astonished at the intimacy displayed by the couple and cleared his throat for attention, “Greetings to you, Mother.”

Kiu Wai turned his head, looked up to see a younger replica of himself! His eyes opened wide then narrowed as he turned to Mei Ling in disbelief and asked accusingly, “This is my son. And Siu Ling is my daughter? Why did you try to hide the fact from me?”

Mei Ling explained, “Yes, they are twins and they are both yours! However the General had been so kind to our children and me. He had protected and sheltered us. He had adopted the children and I do not want him to lose them. I have received a letter this morning, which was written by Yiu Seng. He died a couple months ago, but before he died, he had written a letter to me, care of the General. He had found out that I was still alive but was too ashamed to come and see me. He wrote that he had not violated me because he had loved me. That everything had been staged. He wanted me to know the truth and to forgive him.”

Kiu Wai hugged Mei Ling tightly, “It wouldn’t have made any difference to me, it wasn’t your fault but I am glad Yiu Seng told the truth. As for the children, they can keep the name Ching. Though I am their biological father, General Ching had been a father figure to them and I would not want to destroy their relationship.” Then Kiu Wai said in a naughty whisper, “We can always have fun making more beautiful babies.”

Epilogue

Yiu Seng had led the life of a bandit after leaving the Lees, he couldn't forget Mei Ling and drank himself to unconsciousness daily. When he found out that Mei Ling was still alive, he was happy for her. He was too ashamed for what he had done to her. He knew he was dying so he wrote her a letter to explain his sin against her and instructed his friend to deliver the letter to Mei Ling upon his death.

Sin Yuk had hoped to get Kiu Wai after Mei Ling's death, but Kiu Wai was not interested in her. Kiu Wai went with the young Prince and remained in the capital. Sin Yuk gave up hopes of ever getting Kiu Wai to love her. She gave up the earthly life and became a nun, but in her heart she would always love Kiu Wai.

Kiu Wai and Mei Ling were married with General Ching and the young Prince as witnesses. The Lees did not attend the ceremony. Mei Ling gave birth to another set of twins, a boy and a girl. Mei Ling decided to make peace with Kiu Wai’s parents after the birth of the twins. When the babies were a full month old, Kiu Wai and Mei Ling went to the Lees to show the babies to their grandparents. Mr. Lee was very touched by Mei Ling’s generous spirit and asked her formally for her forgiveness. Mrs. Lee was very happy to see her son, and her grandchildren and couldn’t thank Mei Ling enough. She also asked Mei Ling to forgive her for being a fool and not standing up for Mei Ling. Kiu Wai, Mei Ling and the babies continued to live in the capital, with Kiu Wai’s trading business flourishing and he remained an important official in the imperial court.

The young Prince asked Kiu Wai and Mei Ling formally for permission to marry Siu Ling. It was a very happy ceremony. The young Prince and Siu Ling did not maintain a permanent home in the palace. Both were too free spirited to remain in one place for too long. They roamed the world, looking for adventures, occasionally coming home to visit the emperor, Kiu Wai and Mei Ling.

Siu Wai took after General Ching’s footsteps and became a distinguished warrior and served the emperor faithfully and well. General Ching lived with Siu Wai until he passed away at a ripe old age of 100.