Meiwan woke to the sound of feet pattering outside her room and sat up in her bed, the quilt falling from her chest. Light from torches rushed past the thin paper wall seperating her from her courtyard, but there was no sound from the servants. It seemed that something must be happening in the mansion, but so late at night?
Dressed in only her nightgown, she lifted the blanket from her and slid off the bed, her feet hitting the cold wood floor. She slipped her shoes on which were placed next to her and hurried towards where her light pink dress hung and quickly dressed. Meiwan tightened the last ties on her waist before rushing to her door.
But before she could open them, they slid open with a powerful force, causing them to make a loud noise. Before her stood three men, all in armor, shining swords and torches in their hands.
Meiwan grasped her chest and stepped back at the sudden appearance of soldiers. What's happening?! She thought as they stepped through the open door. Instead of arresting her though, as she believed they would, they gave her a hard stare and then moved to search the room. The yound girl was unsure of what to think or do.
After a moment of slamming items around, and upturning her entire room they returned to the door. One man shook his head.
"Nothing."
"Next room, then!" Another barked angrily.
Their loud voices further startled Meiwan and she shrunk even further from the towering and threatening figures.
They dissapeared from her room and she could hear them slide the doors of the next one over and begin searching through things. Still panicked and slightly dazed, Meiwan glanced across the yard to where her brother slept.
Even if she was scared, she knew the most important thing was to keep Zhanyi safe.
She stepped from her room and carefully made her way across the garden. Looking around the surrounding roofs of the mansion, she could see light coming from each corner of her home. There must have been soldiers everywhere.
Lifting the hem of her skirt, she hopped over the row of peonies that blocked her direct path before dashing up the few steps to her brother's door. Meiwan slid them open quietly and then closed them behind her, careful not to alert her movement to the soldiers.
"Sister?"
Hearing her brother calling her name, she turned around and hurried to his side, kneeling by the bed. She pulled the brown curtain aside and tied it back before drawing closer to Zhanyi, who leaned over the edge of his bed peering through the dark at his sister. His hair was messy, and falling from it's tight form of a topknot.
"Why are you here so late at night?" Zhanyi asked, rubbing sleep from his small, dark eyes.
"Listen carefully, do you hear those sounds?" Meiwan looked over her shoulder towards the door. "We must be very quiet."
The younger child's brows lowered as he glanced past his sister, before leaning back towards his pillow with a smile and rosy cheeks. "Are we going to play a game?"
Meiwan's heart lurched. Even she didn't know what was happening, how could she tell him anything? How could she explain she wasn't in his room to play a late-night game? Their very lives could be changed this night, she had a feeling deep in her soul.
Instead of answering, she put her hand out and brushed her brother's cheek and smiled as well. Then a torch blazed before Zhanyi's room, and the door slammed open.
"Search!"
This time, it was five men who entered the small room. Their heavy, booted steps trampled toys and delicate items like kites and paper figurines. The routine was the same, and the began upturning the younger child's room, being far more destuctive than when they were in her room.
"Sister! Who are they?! What are they doing in here?!" Zhanyi cried loudly.
Meiwan quickly moved to sit on the bed and hugged her brother as he clung to her, tears streaming down his face. They watched in horror as the soldiers broke everything, until one picked up a small wooden doll.
"No!" The boy broke from his sister's protective embrace. "Leave that alone!"
Zhanyi tried against Meiwan's hold, bringing the two of them to the floor, but he still pulled away attempting to grasp the toy. His fingers stretched, yet he was too far.
"Let them have it!" Meiwan whispered the command.
Her brother looked up into face and cried further. "A'wan! You carved that for me, specially! I won't have another one ever that's just like it!"
She looked back at the wooden doll still clenched in the soldier's hand and sighed. She had carved the legendary hero Moxu for Zhanyi's sixth birthday six years ago, and he'd always kept it close since then. The object was indeed special. But what could she do about it now?
Meiwan stroked the boy's hair, "It's fine, if they break it... I'll make you another. Okay?" She nodded encouragingly.
Zhanyi shook his head and glanced back at the doll. The soldier raised it in the air and slammed it down hard on the floor, a crack and the head shattered from off the body, along with the sword that had been carved into his hand. Her younger brother let out a cry and grasped the head that had rolled over to their knees, and held it to his chest.
"Nothing here either."
The men regrouped in the center of the room and glanced at the children, their gazes where dark and vicious. Then they looked to their leader, who nodded.
"Grab them too." Then he turned and left the small room.
Meiwan pulled her brother behind her and screamed, "No!"
Two men quickly grabbed each of them by the arms and lifted them to their feet, pulling them apart. Their fingers, like claws, dug into the tender skin of the children, and they both cried out in pain.
"Please, let us go!" Meiwan wailed as she reached towards Zhanyi.
"Sister! They're hurting me!" The boy pulled against the strong man, only to recieve a blow to the cheek, nearly knocking him unconscious.
Now, tears streaked down Meiwan's face, and all sound turned into a deafening pitch. She was unable to hear her own screams amidst the chaos that ensued around her. Her brother's limp body was dragged out of the room and across the yard, while the soldier yanked her along.
The soldiers took them from their side courtyard towards the front of the main hall, where even more destruction had accured. The many servants their family employed had already been gathered and were kneeling before a man in a more impressive set of armor, a red cape flowing from his shoulders.
"Please have mercy, sir!" Mr. Lu was bent at the waist with his arms pulles back by two soldiers.
Meiwan saw her parents at the front of the group, both being held by soldiers, both pleading for mercy. Her stomach tightened at the sight, and she wanted to do something, anything. But she was powerless.
"Lu Shouxia, Lu Man..."
These were her parents' names, her father and her mother, but the man spoke them with disgust.
"We have evidence," He held up several peices of paper and then motioned to a chest at his feet. "And a witness who confessed. He is currently being held at the Yaman, waiting to testify before a court magistrate."
Meiwan's eyes were wide. What evidence? What witness? What crime were her mother and father being convicted of?
"Do you admit to your crimes?" The man slapped the papers across Lu Shouxia's face, leaving a cut. His wife shouted his name.
It was then that the soldiers holding the two siblings urged Meiwan forward while carrying Zhanyi and made them fall before the high ranking officer. Judging by his armor and the length of his cape, he must be a Lieutenant.
"Meiwan!" Her mother pulled against the soldier holding her, before glancing at her youngest. "Zhanyi! What did they do?!"
"Mother, its alright! What's happening? Why are these soldiers here?!" Meiwan begged her mother for answers.
Meanwhile, the Lieutenant chuckled and rubbed the hilt of the sword at his waist, then ignored the family. "Take them to the prison!" His voice was loud an gravely.
The soldiers answered in unison with a powerful "Yes sir!" before dragging the family out their mansion doors and throwing them into a cage on a wooden cart that waited outside. The servants were surrounded and made to follow in a group behind as they were all led to the Yaman.
Meiwan looked behind her through the bars, at the open doors of the Lu Mansion. They hung aimlessly on their hinges, creaking against the wind. She then huddled against her slowly waking brother and shivered from the fright. This would be a long night, but morning would come.