Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

"Protect the young master!" Sally shouted, shoving Sun Shao into the hands of the Shanyue maid beside her. She then grabbed a bronze candlestick from the table and smashed it hard at the oncoming assassin. The sharp corners of the candlestick sliced ​​through the assassin's mask, leaving a hideous bloody streak on his face. Meanwhile, the Shanyue maid tore off the bone hairpin from her hair and pounced on the other assassin like a cheetah, leaving three bloody streaks on his arm.

"Looking for death!" The assassin leader, enraged, backhanded a Yamagoku maid with his sword. Sally lunged forward, shoulder-shoving the girl aside, but the blade pierced her left shoulder. The pain staggered her, but she clutched her attacker's wrist tightly, biting at his throat. More shadows streamed into the room, gleaming blades raining down.

In a panic, another Shanyue maid grabbed a copper basin beside the bed and hurled it at the assassins, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Help! There are assassins!" The basin clattered against the wall with a resounding thud, a piercing sound in the still night. Sally quickly incurred several more wounds, warm blood dripping from her fingertips onto Sun Shao's swaddling clothes. She endured the excruciating pain, pushed the two children against the wall, and held herself outstretched in front of them.

"Hurry! Call the patrol!" Sally yelled at the Yamakoshi maid, her voice a heart-wrenching hoarseness. The girl stumbled toward the door, only to be stopped by an assassin brandishing a knife. At the critical moment, a chaotic clatter of footsteps and the clash of weapons suddenly erupted outside the courtyard—the patrol's torches illuminated the entire courtyard, and shouts of killing echoed one after another.

The assassins panicked upon seeing this. The leader launched a vicious stab at Sally, but she used her last bit of strength to cling to her legs, and both fell heavily to the ground. "Look at their weapons!" A patrolman approached, torch in hand, and was horrified to discover that the assassins' ring-handled swords were the very type Wei Yan's generals used. Even more shocking was the dying assassin leader's tearing open his shirt, revealing a black cloth wrapped around his waist, with the word "Zhou" prominently emblazoned on it.

When the assassin leader's throat was slit, warm blood splattered onto Sun Shao's swaddling clothes. When Cheng Pu and Huang Gai arrived with reinforcements, they saw a devastating mess on the ground: Sally had long since died, her body still in the protective position of a calf. Several Shanyue maids lay collapsed by the door, the silver bell amulets around their necks stained with blood, their hands tightly clutching half-broken bloodstained bone hairpins. The assassins lay scattered in a pool of blood, their weapons, etched with distinctive markings, gleaming with cold murderous intent in the moonlight. In a corner, young Ma Yue clutched the unconscious Sun Shao, his bloodstained hand clutching the amulet Sally had dropped, its embroidered tiger head glaring against the gore.

Cheng Pu looked at the mess on the ground, his old face filled with solemnity. He gripped the sword at his waist, his eyes swept around, and he said in a deep voice: "I will stay at the scene and investigate carefully to see if I can find any clues. You all should search the mansion immediately and not let go of any suspicious people. Be sure to report this matter to the old lady as soon as possible so that she can be prepared." As he spoke, he squatted down and gently stroked his fingers over the messy footprints on the ground, his brows furrowed, and he fell into deep thought. Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao clasped their fists to accept the order, each leading their own soldiers and quickly running in different directions of the mansion. The sound of their footsteps seemed particularly hurried in the silent night.

At midnight, the Marquis of Wu's mansion was torn apart by the shrill sound of clappers. The clash of armor mixed with the resounding cries of "Catch the assassin!" The bronze bells on the eaves rang wildly. Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao, covered in blood, their swords still dripping with blood, stepped on the shattered lantern fragments scattered across the ground as they rushed to the old lady's residence.

When the carved wooden door was flung open, Old Lady Sun was dazed, clutching the tiger-head boots Sun Ce had worn as a child. The candlelight stained her white hair a frosty color. Seeing the three men's bewildered appearance, she dropped her cloth boots with a clatter: "What happened?" Before she could finish her words, the clang of weapons clashing echoed in the distance, mixed with Sun Quan's panicked cries. Han Dang and Zu Mao exchanged a glance, simultaneously drawing their swords and leading a squadron of personal soldiers as they rushed towards the courtyards of the Second and Third Young Masters. Their footsteps sent dust rustling down the corridors.

Huang Gai knelt on one knee, his Adam's apple rolling violently: "Old lady, there is an assassin..." He had just said half a sentence when the old lady staggered and held on to the pillar, her silver armor scratching the red wood with a harsh sound: "What's going on?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and grabbed the dragon-headed cane on the table, her white hair spread out with the movement, like a burning flame: "Quick, go to the mourning hall!"

Inside the mourning hall, Da Qiao muttered to herself facing Sun Ce's coffin, the silk in her hands wrinkled with tears. The moment she heard the news, she abruptly stood up, her white mourning clothes sweeping over the altar, tipping the incense burner over and spilling ash onto Sun Ce's tablet. "My son!" She stumbled, about to rush out, but the old lady's iron-like grip gripped her wrist. As the two women clashed, Da Qiao dug her nails deep into her palm, blood dripping through her fingers: "Mother, please let me go! Shao'er..."

"Hold on!" The old lady held her tightly in her arms, her wrinkled face pressed against Da Qiao's trembling back, her voice as if icy, "Huang Gai, explain yourself clearly! How is the young master?"

Huang Gai stared into his mistress's bloodshot eyes, his Adam's apple rolling as he spoke, "Madam, the Young Master is fine, it's just..." Suddenly, he heard hurried, chaotic footsteps outside the corridor, like the beating of countless war drums. In the distance, Han Dang and Zu Mao, with solemn expressions, hurriedly approached, escorting Sun Quan. Sun Quan's left arm was wrapped in layers of gauze, a plain white cloth draped around his neck. He staggered, his face as pale as paper.

Seeing this, the old lady's eyes instantly reddened. She rushed forward in two steps, holding her son's face in her trembling hands: "Quan'er, what happened?" Her voice trembled, and her fingertips gently stroked Sun Quan's bloodstained gauze, as if touching a rare treasure.

Sun Quan bit his lower lip, his eyes filled with fear and lingering fear: "Mother, just now an assassin suddenly broke in and went straight for me. Thanks to General Han Dang who arrived in time and risked his life to protect me, I only suffered some minor injuries on my arm and am not seriously injured." He paused, his voice choked, "But when General Zu Mao rushed to rescue my third brother, he found that the thieves had already succeeded. My third brother was choked on the back by the thieves and is now being urgently bandaged in the house." After that, he staggered and held the old lady's shoulders, and asked in shock: "Mother, are you okay over there?"

The old lady's body shuddered violently, tears finally welling up in her eyes. She hugged Sun Quan tightly, her white hair trembling slightly in the candlelight. "Alas, what can happen to my old bones?" After a moment, she suddenly straightened her back, her eyes burning with anger. She turned to look at Huang Gai and Han Dang, and her voice exploded like thunder: "Three generals, it seems that the thieves are determined to exterminate the bloodline of my Sun family! Pass the order, investigate thoroughly! Dig three feet deep to find the mastermind behind this!" Her voice was hoarse, filled with endless sorrow and determination, as if she wanted to pour out all the anger in her heart.

Sun Quan suddenly grasped the old lady's sleeve, the wound under the bandage oozing blood due to the force. His voice trembled: "Mother! Shao'er..." His Adam's apple rolled violently, and his eyes were filled with unfathomable emotions. "Brother, we only have this bloodline. The foundation of Jiangdong depends on him. You must not..." Before he finished speaking, he staggered to rush out the door, but was stopped by Han Dang.

The old lady touched his pale cheek with a trembling voice, her fingertips brushing across his sweaty forehead: "Don't worry, don't worry..." Her voice was soothing like an elder, but she suddenly choked up when she mentioned the next sentence, "Huang Gai just reported that the assassin also broke into Shao'er's courtyard..." Sun Quan's pupils suddenly contracted, and his unbandaged right hand tightly grasped the collar of his chest, and a suppressed gasp escaped from his throat.

"But General Cheng Pu has already arrived at the scene." The old lady forced herself to straighten her back and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of Sun Quan's eyes with her fingertips. "The child is fine..." Her voice suddenly became hoarse, and she turned her head to look at the dark night outside the mourning hall. "Now that Cheng Pu is guarding her, nothing will happen."

Sun Quan collapsed in the old lady's arms as if relieved of a heavy burden, tears soaking her clothes: "Thank God... If Shao'er had any mishap, how would I face my elder brother in my grave..." He trembled and grabbed the old lady's wrist, his bloodshot eyes staring straight into hers, "Mother, I must tear these thieves into pieces!"

Sun Quan staggered closer to Da Qiao, the bloodstained gauze gleaming dark red in the candlelight. His voice was choked with just the right amount of sobs: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, Shao'er is fine." He reached out to help, but Da Qiao dodged him imperceptibly. The subtle movement froze Sun Quan's fingertips in mid-air, and then they shifted to wiping tears. "Mother, sister-in-law, let's go check on Shao'er quickly. The child must be terrified..."

Da Qiao lowered her eyes to hide the hatred surging in them, her handkerchief embroidered with chrysanthemums wrinkled from her grasp. The stories she'd secretly heard over the past two days—Sun Ce's poisoning, Sun Quan's sudden rise to prominence, and Wei Yan's rebukes of Sun Quan—had cut like sharp blades into her heart. Even Da Qiao, intelligent as she was, harbored deep suspicions of Sun Quan. But the cry of the child in her arms suddenly echoed in her memory. She clutched the hem of her skirt, her nails digging deep into her palms, and she channeled all her emotions into a hoarse, "Go!"

The group walked through the bloodstained corridors, lanterns swaying in the night wind, casting distorted shadows on the walls. The old lady's hand, leaning on a cane, trembled uncontrollably. Sun Quan supported her every step, occasionally looking back at Da Qiao, his concerned eyes making her stomach churn. As they turned the Nine-Curve Bridge, Cheng Pu's low voice shouted in the distance. Da Qiao lifted her skirt and was about to run, but heard Sun Quan shouting behind her: "Sister-in-law, be careful!"

Several corpses were lying in front of the courtyard gate, and the serrated marks on the blade shone coldly in the moonlight.

The moment Da Qiao rushed into the room, the candlelight swung violently in the draft, shattering the horrifying scene into dancing fragments. Cheng Pu's left arm tightly embraced the sobbing Sun Shao, the baby's swaddling clothes stained with blood. His right hand, with its knuckles white, tugged at the trembling Ma Yue. Sally lay facedown in a pool of blood, her neck twisted at a strange angle, still slumped over the bed until her death. Her frozen pupils reflected the shattered moonlight.

"Shao'er!" Da Qiao's scream pierced the dead silence. Her embroidered shoes trampled over the shattered porcelain and bloodstains on the floor, and she knelt beside Sally. The cold blood instantly soaked through her skirt. Trembling, she peeled open the swaddling clothes and saw Sun Shao's delicate face, stained with blood, yet unharmed. Her tense nerves snapped. The sharp pain of her knee slamming against the bricks was forgotten. She pulled the child into her arms, tears mingling with blood and dripping into the baby's hair.

Cheng Pu gazed at the devastating scene before him, his iron-like face etched with a rare touch of sorrow. He said hoarsely, "These beasts... Sally risked her life to protect the young master." Before he could finish his words, Sun Quan's urgent call suddenly rang out from outside the door. Da Qiao whipped her head around, staring intently at the blood-stained figure. Sun Shao, in her arms, suddenly burst into a resounding sob, as if to transform the blood-soaked room into a lament.