Page 2 of Empire's Curse

“He would want the best for me, and the best for me right now is to take care of you all.” Daiyu scrambled toward the gate leading to their garden. “Anyway, have you fed any of the chickens? Or checked for some eggs?”

“No, not yet.”

“Can you do that for me then?” She unlatched the bamboo door and swung it open to reveal lush greenery and vegetation. The scent of earthy herbs and fragrant flowers greeted them as they went down the dirt path intersecting the garden beds. Daiyu kneeled in front of a cluster of cabbage heads and uprooted one of them, then added it to her basket of mushrooms.

“Grandmother hasn’t been feeling too well since yesterday,” Lanfen said, walking backward to the chicken coop. “Maybe we can make some cabbage broth or mung bean soup?”

“Sure. I’ll also pick some mint and ginger for tea.”

Daiyu picked the ingredients she needed and headed inside the house. Mother was huddled over the fire stove with the three-legged pot, simmering water. Upon seeing her, she smiled.

“Mother, what are you doing?” Daiyu placed the basket of wild mushrooms, vegetables, and herbs on the small countertopand led her mother to one of the wooden benches. “Here, sit. Has your back been hurting still?”

“Oh, you know how it is.” Mother eased herself onto the cushioned seat and sighed against the backrest. “These days my back and hips are always hurting. I think it’s years of working the rice fields that’s getting to me.”

“You need to rest more,” she chided as she went to the stove. “Is everyone still asleep?”

“Yes, but they’ll be starting their day soon. Where did you and Lanfen go?”

“We went to the flower fields.” Daiyu went to work washing everything in the basket and chopping away at the cabbages, mushrooms, and herbs.

Mother was quiet for some time before she whispered, “Is that where you and Heng played together as children?”

She used to cry whenever she talked about Heng, but that sadness had faded with time. “Yes.”

Lanfen soon joined them and helped Daiyu prepare breakfast. They made cabbage broth soup and gingered mint tea for their grandmother, fluffy rice, pan-fried mushrooms, eggs fried in scallion oil, and green tea for everyone else.

Father, Grandmother, and the twins Ran and Qianfan, woke soon after and crowded the table. Once all the food was laid out in the center, everyone ate. Daiyu sat cross-legged on the seating mat and served herself rice, fried eggs, and mushrooms smothered in garlicky sauce.

The twins, both thirteen, could barely keep their eyes open and kept nodding forward and snapping awake, and then repeating the behavior.

Mother clucked her tongue at them. “You both have a long day ahead of you and you’re already falling asleep?!”

Ran rubbed the side of his face. “I’m awake!”

“I’m not.” Qianfan yawned.

“Our food isn’t delicious enough to wake you up?” Lanfen asked withmock offense.

“No,” Qianfan said with a laugh, while Ran picked up a piece of mushroom from his bowl.

Daiyu smiled as Lanfen and Qianfan bickered about what was more important: food or sleep.

A series of banging against the front door interrupted their breakfast. Everyone froze, looking at one another. Daiyu swallowed down the apprehension climbing up her throat. Nobody in the village pounded on the door like that. Who could that be?

“I’ll get it,” Father said, rising from his seat. Right as he opened the door, three men dressed in dark leathers with a dragon stamped on their chests pushed their way through until they crowded their living room.

“E-Excuse me,” Father started.

Daiyu jumped to her feet and joined her father’s side as the men scanned the room.

“Who are you people and why are you barging into our home?” Daiyu demanded.

“We’re looking for a young woman.”

“Excuse me?” Daiyu asked sharply, looking between the terrified expressions on her family’s faces to the guards in their living room. Lanfen grabbed Daiyu’s arm and clung close to her. “Who are you people?”

“We are a part of the emperor’s guard,” the closest man said. His voice sounded old, gravelly, and through the slits of the black-scaled helmet he wore, Daiyu could make out the creases around his charcoal-colored eyes.

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