A Song of War and Love

Chapter 002: Return to the Southlands

𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟎 𝐂𝐄 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐲.

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The next two days passed by quickly, not leaving Qiao Qiyuè any spare time to ponder over the strange words of that cunning and shrewd Cao Cao as the very last bits of possessions and belongings of the Qiao family were packed up and placed into the horse-drawn carriages.

Though they would leave the capital just before the infamous incident, the city would soon be thrown into turmoil by Cao Cao's attempted assassination of the traitor Dǒng Zhuō, which would in part inspire action within the regional warlords who had formed a military coalition under Yuan Shao against Dong. Cao Cao would join them, becoming one of the few active fighting members of the coalition.

"Haaa~" The younger Qiao sister sighed heavily in admittance as they prepared to board their own carriages to head out, glancing back at the manor behind her. "I really will miss Luoyang sorely."

Qiao Qirì who was already in the carriage laughed gently at her sister's 'homesickness,' already. "But don't you miss the Southlands as well?" She asked after their homeland, which they had left when still children for the capital.

"I do..." Qiyuè shrugged before lighting up in a happy smile. "But Luoyang was where we spend most of our girlhood. How could I not miss it in turn?"

Their father had exited just then, followed by the gracefully ageing second Madame Feng Mian, strolling through the doorway with his arms hidden in his wide sleeves, his long bear greying with age. These past few years seem to have left a toll on him, with the decay of the capital and the loss of his only son - his face seemed older and more tired than he really was.

"Try not to dally, girls." He shuffled them into the carriage, Dà Qiao doing so in quiet obedience while Xiǎo Qiao grinned with a cheerful tone of, "Yes, father!"

The Qiao family had never been an especially large family. By the time of their grandfather's generation, the clan had already become few in number. At present, from the main branch of the family, there were only the two Qiao sisters, since their older brother had passed a few years prior. 

However, their relatives among other noble houses were numerous, especially amongst the southland clans of note.

Cao Cao had come by again earlier that morning to present himself to their father in parting and while the girls hadn't heard what their father said in return, it seemed to be solemn enough for Cao Cao to swear upon it.

And so hence the Qiao family began the journey back to their ancestral hometown in the Southlands, leaving behind the tumultuous capital and all its cruel, unyielding political environment for their new start.

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ᴸᴼᶜᴬᵀᴵᴼᴺ / 𝐋𝐮𝐣𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲; 𝐖𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲

A month had now passed since their leaving the capital and the Qiao family had re-settled into the Lujiang Commandery, which had been the well-established ancestral homeland of the Qiao family for as long as family records stretched.

It was a beautiful land, located across the basins of the mighty Yangtze River and the Huai River and boasted towering pines, precipitous stone cliffs, wonderous seas of misty cloud and hot springs that made it seem as though it were a land personally blessed by the heavens.