33 years into Great Zhou Dynasty, in winter during 12th lunar month….

There is an unnamed mountain in a very remote region. Streams of water slowly flowed down the mountain, merging into a gentle river. At the foot of the mountain, near the river, is a simple restaurant, its apricot-colored wine flag obliquely stretched out in the wind slightly swaying.

It is winter time, and the land is dead quiet. Snow slowly and gently floated down from the sky, accompanied by whistling north wind, enveloping everything in a misty world.

Within the small shop, there were more than a dozen business travelers seated around the old wooden tables. They were frowning as they glanced out of the window. Occasionally, you could hear them cursing the heavens for the bad weather. Placed beside their feet are their dripping wet winter cloaks.

At a corner of the diner, a beautiful young woman sat in front of a small red clay stove, carefully simmering a sand pot. Seated beside the woman were two men.

One of them was dressed in green, with eyebrows far apart like distant mountains, and bright eyes like the moon. Although he looked quite fatigued, it could not hide a chivalrous heroic spirit.

The other man was dressed in white, with a handsome and pleasant face. He gives off a vibe of a suave teenager without a care in the world.

“Boss, I would like to order a pot of wine and two pounds of beef, please” Someone greeted.

“Wine is in the jar, meat is in the pot!” The woman did not even look back, and continued to intently watch the red pot.

That guest did not mind being ignored. He grinned, placed some silver on the table to pay for his order, and helped himself to the food and wine.

The man who was dressed in white seemed to have a twinkle in his eyes as he glanced at the figure of the woman who was focusing on the stove. His eyes soften as he took out a jade flute from his pocket. He placed the flute on his lips and blew into it. A lonely melody sounds out from the flute. It was as if loneliness and sorrow filled the whole world.

All of the patrons in the shop were all attracted by the sorrowful tune, and stopped to listen. Many of them just focus on listening and stopped eating or drinking.

Suddenly, the face of the man in the green s.h.i.+rt turned pale. Without a word, he quickly stood up.

Almost the same time, the white man also put down his flute, and whispered: “They have finally come!”

The woman trembled slightly, before sighing: “It looks like I have implicated the two of you.”

She had barely finished speaking when the sound of a large number of galloping horses gradually became louder and clearer.

Suddenly, a “boom” sound rang out. The patrons in the restaurant felt as if the earth is shaking. Then all 4 sides of the walls of the little restaurant were ripped apart.

Outside of the restaurant were rows after rows of cavalry. Each the men on top of the horse was cladded in black armor and armed with a halberd. The cold blade of the halberd reflected the light, giving off a menacing aura.

The businessmen did not know what had happened. They were shocked by the scene and immediately fled while screaming. The soldiers ignore the fleeing merchants, and continued to glare at the woman and two men.

The leader of the troop suddenly shouted out, "Convict Wen Rou! Your father, Wen Shouzhen, was favor by the emperor and became an imperial chef. Instead of being thankful for this honor, he used his position to poison the emperor. As this is a top-level crime, the emperor has ordered that all members of his family will be beheaded.”

“The emperor has thought that you were warm and caring, and had taken your contributions to the country into consideration. Therefore, he has gifted you with a white shawl that will spare you from being beheaded, leaving your body in one piece. But instead of being thankful for his Majesty’s mercy, you opted to run away. How dare you!"

"Hahahaha, what utter rubbis.h.!.+" Wen Rou suddenly stood up, and laughed out loud. Her face was distorted in rage, as she sneered at the general, "My father, Wen Shouzhen, was a loyal official. He was framed for a crime that he did not commit. As a result, all 19 my Wen family members, regardless if they were young or old, were sentenced to death. Why should I be thankful for the 'mercy' of this type of useless king?"

After saying this, Wen Rou glared at the general, and with great confidence, she exclaimed, "I swear to heavens that I will take revenge on the men who framed my family!"

"How dare you!" The general pointed his finger at Wen Rou, and shouted, "Men, arrest her!"

"Who dares to do so?" The man who was dressed in green suddenly stood in front of Wen Rou, as to protect her from the troops.

"Shen Yaoshan, don't you think too highly of yourself!" The general suddenly used his whip to point at the man who was dressed in green clothes. "That day, you got a lot of guts to raid the prison and save Rou Wen. The emperor did not want to put Prime Minister Shen in a difficult position, and hence spared your life. If you dare to stop me from capturing a wanted convict today, even if your dad is here, he would not be able to protect you."

Shen Yaoshan sneered. He wanted to retort, but saw that the man who was dressed in white had also stood up, and stood beside Rou Wen. Shen Yaoshan's hands relaxed, and he looked at that man.

"Ren Yue, my apologies if I offended you." The general saw the face of the man in white, and he became friendlier.

He cupped his fist in greeting, "I, Gu Changfeng, did not come here today to create difficulties for anyone. However, as a soldier, I am required to carry out the emperor's order. In breaking Wen Rou out of prison, you had already committed a great offense. If you take any action to try to save Wen Rou again today, even if your father is the great grand marshal of the army, you will still have to face the wrath of the emperor!"

Ren Yue did not say a single word. He slowly kept the jade flute in his hand, and with his other hand, he put out a silver color belt. With a "Cang, cang, cang" sound, the silver color belt suddenly transformed into a flexible sword. His expression was deadly calm as he calmly replied, "General Gu had misunderstood me. Today, whatever I am about to do, has nothing to do with my father. I, and I alone, will take responsibility for my actions!"

The general, Gu Changfeng, was placed in a bind. As a soldier, he need not answer to the prime minister [1] and is not afraid of offending Sheng Yaoshan.

But Ren Yue's father, the grand marshal, is a different story. The grand marshal is the commander-in-chief of the army. In his heart, he also respected the grand marshal, and was unwilling to do anything that would jeopardize his relations.h.i.+p with the grand marshal. For a moment, he did not know what to do.

"Hahahaha! What a brave young master Shen! What a daring young master Ren!" a very arrogant voice rang out in loud laughter. The soldiers parted, and slowly, the figure of a man came into view. Although this man is laughing, his face and eyes were cold.

General Gu immediately bowed down and greet this man: "General Gu pays his respects to the 3rd prince!"

"How dare you! The emperor has already a.s.signed him as the crown prince [2]. As a general, you are too careless in your greetings!" An aide following behind the 3rd prince immediately reprimanded General Gu.

General Gu felt a chill going down his spine, and immediately apologized and seek the Crown Prince's forgiveness.

"The Crown Prince?" Shen Yaoshan spat out as he rebuked, "Liu Zhang, with a sc.u.mbag like you as the crown prince, misfortune will plague our Great Zhou Empire!"

Liu Zhang was not angry at all. He just looked at Shen Yaoshan, and with a smile on his face, he said, "I hear that Shen Yaoshan, the military examination champion, used to be a brave and valiant warrior, and was able to defeat a 100 warriors. But in the prison raid, he was ambushed by a large number of experts, and injured his Pipa bone [3] and lost all his martial arts skills. Right now, he is nothing but an invalid."

Then he looked at Ren Yue and sneered, "And the highly-learned and greatly respected top scholar, Young Master Ren, had been stripped of his post as a court official by the Emperor. Despite his literary talents, today he is no better off than a commoner. What a pity, a great pity!"

Looking at Wen Rou, Liu Zhang's eyes narrowed, "What a great woman Wen Rou is! She is nothing more than a chef, and still managed to hoodwink these men to disregard their lives, break her out of prison, and fled with her to this desolated place. Really impressive! Really incredible!"

Wen Rou could not help but glance at Ren Yue and Sheng Yaoshan.

Liu Zhang smirked as he continued to rub salt into Wen Rou's wounds, "Wen Rou, did you know that my 9th brother tried to speak up for you? His actions infuriated our father, the emperor. He was beaten and demoted to a commoner and exiled from the capital!"

Wen Rou was shocked, and stepped back in dismay. She pointed her finger at Liu Zhang and with a trembling voice, "What… what did you say?"

Shen Yaoshan desperately pleaded, "Rou Er [4], do not listen to the lies of this rascal!" He tried to reach out and grab the sword held by Ren Yue, but he could not muster any strength in his hand, and involuntarily dropped the sword. With "Da Lang" sound, the sword dropped onto the floor.

Liu Zhang sn.i.g.g.e.red, "A military examination champion that could not even hold on to a sword, what a great shame! Even I, the crown prince, feel bad for you. "

At this moment, Ren Yue spoke out in his quiet manner, "Rou Er, please do not worry. You know the character and temperament of the 9th Prince. For a man like him, leaving the capital would free him from the constant fights in politics and struggle for power. It may not necessarily be a bad thing for him."

Wen Rou calmed down, and suddenly giggled, "You are right! There is no need to listen to the rubbish that this scoundrel spouts!"

Liu Zhang's face turned darker. These 3 people in front of him had time and time again, thwarted his ambitions and grand plans. Today, as the victor, he was looking forward to seeing the look of despair and regret on their faces, but did not antic.i.p.ate that they would remain calm.

"Yi?" Wen Rou's nose suddenly twitched, as a fragrance filled the air around her. She ignored the soldiers surrounding her, and begin search among the debris. As she pulled out a piece of mat, she saw to her delight that the red clay stove seemed to effuse hot steam of detectable aroma.

She smiled, "Oh, that's great, the claypot is still here!"

Having said that, she rummaged through the wreak that used to be a restaurant and managed to chopsticks and bowls. She then filled the bowls and handed Shen Yaoshan and Ren Yue a bowl of the piping hot food each.

The two men received the bowl, and immediately stood there and enjoy the food in full view of the soldiers. Growls of hunger could be heard from the soldiers' stomach as they smelled the delicious food and watched the two men gobbled up their food. Some of the soldiers swallowed their saliva.

Liu Zhang's face became even more sinister as he fumed.

One of his aides asked, "Crown Prince, do you want to take action?"

Liu Zhang just coldly sneered as he replied, "I want to see how they can escape from this encirclement!"

Shen Yaoshan looked at the murky color soup. It seemed ordinary. He took a mouthful, and suddenly laughed, "Rou Er, the lotus root soup you made today is a bit ordinary, and not up to your usual standard." The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly shut up, and a look of amazement and wonder could be seen on his face.

Wen Rou just smiled and did not say anything.

Ren Yue also gently exhaled. He suddenly felt the soft sweet taste that seemed to melt in his mouth, and slowly released a bitter flavor.

The bitter taste seemed to make things look bleak, but if he continued to chew, the bitter taste again was enveloped in a hint of sweetness.

The bittersweet taste seemed to go right in his heart, the bitter part showing his unwillingness to part with Wen Rou, and the sweetness of being able to be together [6].

The chilly wind continued to blow, and the warm winter cloak belonging to Wen Rou was blown away by the fierce winter wind. Wen Rou could not help but s.h.i.+ver as her current clothes could not keep her warm. She could not help but frown, and her eyes seemed sad but thoughtful. She sighed softly, looking far to the horizon, whispered: “The dish I made today is called Lovesickness.”

Ren Yue and Shen Yaoshan were stunned.

(Chinese 5 character poem [6])

红豆生南国，春来发几枝。

The red bean was born in the south;

In spring how many stalks blossomed?

愿君多采撷，此物最相思

May the scholars pick more stalks;

The red bean is most lovesick.

Wen Rou raised her hand and tidied her hair, and suddenly curtsied her two friends, "I am unable to repay the two of you for your love and affection. I can only blame myself for not seeing clearly a person's character, and chose the wrong man. As a result, I have let both of you down. Today, at this moment in time, I have nothing left to offer you but my thanks, and a word of goodbye."

"Rou Er, what do you mean by this?" Shen Yaoshan and Ren Yue immediately cried out.

Wen Rou sighed again, and replied, "Today, considering the situation, I know that I am unable to escape death. I am not willing to implicate both of you. With your status, the soldiers should not make things difficult for you. Quickly leave this place."

Shen Yaoshan was furious as he shouted, "You really looked down on me! Did you think that, I, Shen Yaoshan, is a cowardly man who would abandon his friends in their time of need?!"

Ren Yue also calmly replied in his clear voice, "Regardless if we live or die, I have no regrets!"

At that words, Wen Rou turned angry, "Shen Yaoshan, Ren Yue, my family has already been killed. Today, when I die here, I will reunite with them, and there is nothing for me to fear! For the two of you, you are different. Both of you have families, and should not speak of the word 'death' so easily. You should think of your parents and not become an unfilial son!"

The two men could not refute Wen Rou's words, and kept quiet, as if they were considering her words.

"Now you wish to run away? Well, it is too late!" Liu Zhang suddenly laughed in a cruel manner. With a wave of his hands, he gave the order to shoot all of them.

"Wait a moment!" General Gu immediately tried to stop. "Crown Prince, please consider!"

Liu Zhang reached out to grab a golden token from his pocket, and raise the token high above his head. "The Emperor had bestowed me with a golden token. The golden token represents the will of the Emperor! Anyone who dares to disobey my orders will have committed a grave sin that is punishable by death to the soldier and their family. Now release the arrows!"

Wen Rou was shocked and angry, "Liu Zhang, how dare you!"

The cold, glistering tip of the arrows seemed to reflect the sunlight. With a laugh, Liu Zhang gave soldiers the order to fire, and hundreds of arrows flew towards the three men.

Shen Yaoshan spread out his arms, with anger in his eyes, and used his body to s.h.i.+eld Wen Rou.

Ren Yue kicked the sword on the ground towards his hand, and with a fluid motion, gasped it. He used the sword to deflect as many of the arrows as he could.

But the number of arrows was countless, and the arrows were sharp and heartless. In no time at all, both men were pierced by multiple arrows, with blood flowing from their wounds. They collapsed in the snow – a green s.h.i.+rt that stands out from the surrounding snow, and a white s.h.i.+rt that blends in with the snow.

At this moment, the snow neared the two corpses turned red with blood. And the winter wind, which was already chilly enough, suddenly howled with a renewed vigor.

Wen Rou heart was shattered, and her screams were merged with her tears.

"Hahahaha!" Liu Zhang laughed even harder.

With a "Shou" sound, an arrow pierced into Wen Rou's heart.

Wen Shou s.h.i.+vered, and forced herself to stand up straight. She was trying hard not to collapse. She just stood there, ignoring the blood that was flowing out from her chest, and coldly stared at Liu Zhang.

At this moment, across the sky, in the Beidou region, a comet with a long tail seemed to rapidly draw closer. The sky seemed to suddenly turn dark, and the entire region became darker than black ink. The soldiers could even see their hands in front of them. At the same time, the area was suddenly pelted with falling stones. As well, a violent earthquake rocked the region as soldiers were flung from the horses. The horses were startled by the sudden change, and they neighed and turned uncontrollable.  The soldiers struggled to rein in their horse and bring them under control.

"Soldiers, quickly come and protect the crown prince!" Someone shouted.

From the darkness, the voice of Wen Rou rang out. "Liu Zhang, remember this. If I could reverse the time, and return back to the past, even all my bones were crushed into dust and my soul was dissipated, I will take my revenge on you, and will not stop until you are dead!" The hate and coldness in the voice, coupled with the supernatural occurrence, made all who heard the curse s.h.i.+vered.

[1] In ancient China, there is a clear separation of powers between the military and the civil servants (court officials). The prime minister is a civil servant, and hence has no say in military matters.

[2] Crown prince is the prince that is next in line to the throne. They enjoy more power and prestige than other princes. A king can have many princes, but only one crown prince.

[3] In many ancient martial arts novels, the Pipa bone is the place where the qi in the body is stored (similar to destroying the qi dan in Xianjia novels). Injuring the Pipa bone means the martial artist is no longer able to use Qi and become a commoner. See for more information.

[4] 儿er, is a term used to indicate closeness with one another. Wen Rou is referred as Rou Er by her friends.

[5] Translating 5 words poems in English is really out of my dept. It is so hard to translate the poem without losing the meaning. I had really done my best.