Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

A piercing cry, like the blood-stained cuckoo, pierced the deathly silence. Da Qiao stumbled towards Sariel's body, Sun Shao's cries mingling with her own broken sobs. Her trembling fingertips caressed Sariel's already cold cheek, and the blood-stained handkerchief slipped off, revealing the hideous wound on her neck—the bloodstain from having blocked a fatal blow for the infant.

"Sister!" Da Qiao hugged Sally's stiff body into her arms, digging her nails into her blood-soaked clothes. "It's me who should fight with my life!" Hot tears fell on Sally's tightly closed eyelids. Now her hands were forever frozen in a protective posture, with the assassin's flesh still embedded in her fingers.

Sun Shao's tiny hands suddenly grasped Sally's loose braids, and the baby's nauseous sobs shook Da Qiao's entire body. She hugged the child tighter, blood dripping down Sally's skirt and onto her knees. "My Sun family owes you a life..." Before she could finish her words, the sound of Sun Quan and his men bursting into the courtyard was already approaching. Da Qiao buried her face in Sally's bloodstained shoulder, sobbing as if she were about to throw up her heart.

Ma Yue's thin figure swayed in a pool of blood, his blood-stained shorts still dripping. He stumbled into Da Qiao's arms, his cold hands trembling as he reached for her tear-stained eyes: "Auntie, don't cry..." His fingertips, stained with gunpowder and dust, left a few gray marks on Da Qiao's pale cheek.

Da Qiao suddenly pulled the boy into her arms, then hugged the sobbing Sun Shao tightly. The warmth of their embrace couldn't warm Sariel's gradually stiffening body. Around Ma Yue's neck was a broken silver bell amulet—a birthday gift from Sariel—which swayed slightly with his rapid breathing. The warmth of the two children in her arms seared Da Qiao's heart. She buried her face in Ma Yue's disheveled hair, her scalding tears soaking the boy's blood-crusted forehead.

"Good boy..." Da Qiao choked back her tears as she grasped Ma Yue's small hand. A sweet, fishy taste rose in her throat as she felt the wound on his palm, left from the moment he'd tried to wrestle the assassin's dagger. From outside the courtyard came Sun Quan's feigned, anxious cries. Ma Yue's gentle pat on her back in his arms sent a chill through Da Qiao's grief. In this blood-fueled conspiracy, even children had become sharp weapons.

The smell of blood washed into the house on the night wind. The old lady stumbled in, leaning on a dragon-headed cane. Sun Quan's hand, half supporting her, trembled slightly in his sleeve. Seeing Sally's twisted protective posture and the Shanyue maid's tragic death, the old lady let out a suppressed gasp, her fingertips tightly gripping the dragon pattern on the cane. "Cheng Pu, can you find any clues?"

"Madam, please look." Cheng Pu knelt on one knee. The blood-stained ring-handled sword on the bronze tray shone with a cold blue light, and the jagged blade was still embedded with scraps of flesh. "The murder weapon is exactly the same as the standard weapon of Wei Yan's troops." He raised half of the charred face towel. The dark pattern embroidered on the edge was faintly visible in the candlelight - it was the cloud pattern mark unique to Zhou Yu's mansion.

At that moment, Han Dang and Zu Mao smashed open the door, slamming their iron spears into the ground, shaking the blue bricks. "The evidence from the Second Young Master's assassination scene is exactly the same as what's here!" Han Dang shook open the blood-soaked handkerchief. The cloud pattern matched the fragment in Cheng Pu's hand perfectly. "These assassins... I'm afraid they're using Zhou Yu's name!"

The old lady stared at the blood-stained cloud-patterned handkerchief, her fingers like dead branches trembling violently, and she slammed her dragon-headed cane on the blue bricks, shaking the candle flame a few times: "Good, good Zhou Gongjin!" She suddenly laughed up to the sky, with a tearful tone in her laughter, startling the crows under the eaves and making them fly around in panic, "What a good Zhou Lang, my son's life-and-death friend! If Bofu knew in his grave that the brother who swore to share life and death with him back then was now trying to cut off his bloodline..."

Just as everyone in the house was in a stalemate, a personal soldier stumbled into the courtyard and said, "Old Madam! Zhang Zhao, Zhou Yu and dozens of other ministers have heard about the incident in the mansion and have gathered outside to ask for an audience!" Before he finished speaking, there was a faint noise coming from outside the courtyard, mixed with the clanging of weapons.

The old lady spun around abruptly, slamming her dragon-headed cane into the ground, sending ripples of blood all over the floor. Her white hair was a mess of wild grass, and her eyes burned with rage. "Great! Great!" Her hoarse voice was tinged with a sneer. "They've all come to see us, an orphan and a widow, being bullied!" She suddenly ripped open her collar, revealing her plain white undergarment. The veins in her neck bulged. "Pass the word down! Let them in! Let all the civil and military officials of Jiangdong open their eyes and see—let those jackals hiding in the shadows see that their evil schemes have finally been foiled!"

Sun Quan wanted to dissuade her, but he saw the old lady suddenly shake off his supporting hand and walk towards the door tremblingly.

The old lady suddenly reached out, grabbed Sun Quan's injured arm, and pulled him toward her. Her wrinkled palm slapped Sun Quan's trembling back, and a blazing light ignited in her cloudy eyes: "Quan'er, stand up straight!" This sharp shout shocked everyone in the room. Sun Quan groaned in pain, but when he saw the determination in his mother's eyes, he gritted his teeth and straightened his back.

"Although your father and brother are gone now," the old lady's skinny fingers clasped Sun Quan's shoulders tightly, leaving bluish-white fingerprints on the blood-stained fabric, "you are a direct descendant of the Sun family!" She turned abruptly, her white hair fluttering in the night wind, pointing to the hustle and bustle outside the courtyard, "Let those with ulterior motives open their eyes and see - even if there is only one son of my Sun family left, he can still support half of Jiangdong!"

Sun Quan gazed at his mother's hunched yet straight back, listening to her nearly screaming words. Suddenly, the burning pain from the wound on his shoulder subsided. He raised his hand to press against his bandaged arm. The pulse beneath his fingertips resonated with the sonorous sound of the old lady's words. His clenched fist tightened in the darkness. Amidst the blood-stained mess, a dormant wildness awakened within his chest.

As the heavy vermilion-lacquered gates roared open, the clatter of footsteps and armor rustled like a tide, flooding the silent courtyard. Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong stood erect, while behind them, generals Lü Meng, Lü Dai, and others stood with swords drawn, their robes still stained with night dew. Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, and Wei Yan walked side by side, their personal guards arrayed behind them. The two groups were clearly separated, a chasm seemingly woven through the air.

The old lady supported Sun Quan and sat him upright on the armchair under the eaves. The candlelight cast her shadow on the mottled blood-stained wall, like a beast ready to pounce. She scanned the various expressions on the table, suddenly snatched up the blood-stained ring-handled sword from the table, and with a "clang" slammed it into the center of the blue bricks: "Everyone, you are in good spirits! My Sun Mansion has suffered such a great disaster, and you are all here in good order!"

Zhang Hong stood in the shadows, his fingers curled slightly beneath his robe sleeves. As he met Sun Quan's gaze, a subtle, hidden meaning flashed in his cloudy eyes. Then, with a subtle nod, he seemed to convey some secret agreement. Sun Quan lowered his eyes to hide the turmoil in his eyes, and a sudden stinging pain pierced the wound beneath his bandage.

At this moment, Zhou Yu suddenly pushed through the crowd, his usually gentle face now filled with anxiety: "Madam! How is the young master?" His voice pierced through the oppressive silence in the house, startling the lanterns under the eaves to shake violently.

Da Qiao's previously distracted gaze suddenly trembled, like a drowning person grasping at a piece of driftwood. She stumbled half a step forward, and Sun Shao in her arms suddenly burst into tears, the infant's sobs mingling with her broken sobs. "Shao'er... Shao'er is fine..." Before she finished her words, her gaze fell on Sally's stiff body, and tears burst out again. "But Sister Sally... to protect Shao'er, she took the assassin's knife!" Her piercing cry drew a variety of looks from the people in the room. Zhou Yu's pupils suddenly constricted, and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the hilt of the sword at his waist. Sun Quan, observing Zhou Yu's tense profile, a fleeting sneer curled his lips.

Zhou Yu stumbled half a step, his face pale as paper, his voice trembling: "What?!" He instinctively rushed forward, but was stopped by the old lady's swung dragon-headed cane. The sandalwood cane slammed heavily on the blue bricks, startling everyone.

"Zhou Lang, put away your face!" The old lady's white hair stood on end, and anger spurted out of her cloudy eyes. "Are you disappointed that Shao'er didn't die?" Her fingertips almost poked Zhou Yu's face. "You and Bofu swore an oath to heaven back then, but now you want to cut off his bloodline!"

Zhou Yu froze in his tracks: "Why do you say that, old lady? I am loyal to the Sun family, as the sun and the moon can attest!"

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Pu threw the blood-stained ring-handled sword to the ground with a clang, the blade sinking deep into the blue brick. Huang Gai then threw out his face towel, the cloud-embroidered fabric rustling in the wind: "Zhou Lang, this weapon is the same standard as those under Wei Yan's command, and the markings on the face towel are unique to your Zhou family! What else do you say?"

The atmosphere in the room froze instantly. Zhou Yu stared at the evidence on the ground, his Adam's apple rolling violently. He opened his mouth, but was cut off by the old lady's sneer: "Come! Capture this traitor!" With that command, the guards unsheathed their weapons, the cold light illuminating Zhou Yu's suddenly pale face.

Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong were hidden in the shadows, with a barely perceptible playful smile on their lips and a calculating glint in their eyes, as if they were appreciating a carefully choreographed play.

Here, the old lady's eyes glared wildly, their turbid eyes filled with anger and hatred. The dragon-headed cane in her hand trembled slightly from the force. The four veteran generals, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao, also had gloomy expressions, staring intently at Zhou Yu, as if they would pounce on him and tear him to pieces at the old lady's command. Their calculations were accurate; the Sun family bloodline held the vital points of these men. "Zhou Lang, if you don't give an explanation today, you will never leave this door!" The old lady's voice was sharp and shrill, echoing through the room.

Zhou Yu's face paled, his eyes filled with disbelief and indignation. Before he could even begin to argue, Taishi Ci leaped forward, his spear swung across his face, its tip flashing with a cold gleam. Wei Yan, too, gripped the sword at his waist tightly, glaring at the crowd around him. He roared, "Anyone who dares disrespect the Grand Commander must first ask my sword if it agrees!" His voice resounded through the room like a bell, carrying a terrifying force.

For a moment, the room was tense and tense. Guards surrounded Zhou Yu and his companions, weapons clashing with the resounding clash of weapons, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, as if a bloody fight would erupt at any moment. Sun Shao's cries seemed particularly abrupt, adding a touch of panic and unease to the tense situation.

Zhou Yu suddenly reached out and fiercely pushed away the spear Taishi Ci held across his chest. The sound of metal clashing echoed through the deadly silence. He casually tossed aside his feather fan, and veins bulged from his arms beneath his wide, dark sleeves. His eyes burned with a rage that chilled everyone to the bone. The guards unanimously drew their weapons, their cold gleams illuminating Zhou Yu's stern face. Yet, his expression remained unchanged as he advanced, each step akin to a heartbeat.

The old lady's knuckles turned white as she gripped her cane. She sternly shouted, "Stop!" Zhou Yu, however, seemed oblivious. The powerful aura he emanated caused the armed guards to retreat involuntarily. As he approached, the guards' swords began to tremble, their steps became unsteady, and the neat encirclement was torn open.