prolog

We are in the Song Dynasty, in the year 1057 AD, in the city of Guangzhou. It is a pleasant, mild spring morning, with peach blossom petals drifting perfectly through the air. On this particular morning, the harbor was completely empty, as the day before had been a public holiday—Qīngmíng jié. That is why the military ship of Ling Xuchen was anchored there; this city was the place where he had grown up as a child. On that day, he had visited the old residence of his parents to pray for them. But the following morning, as he was about to disembark from his ship to run some errands, he discovered a surprise. A small basket stood directly in front of his ship. When he looked inside, he saw it was not empty a small child lay within, fast asleep. He asked around many corners of the city if anyone was missing a child. He also went to the authorities. What was meant to be a two-day stay turned into three weeks. He never found the child's parents, and so he decided to keep the girl. He named her Ling Zhen. The Emperor himself gave his personal permission for the girl to accompany him on board the ship, under the condition that a caretaker be assigned to her and that Xuchen continue to carry out his duties. And so, Zhen grew up on the ship, quickly learning strategies to aid merchants and defeat pirates with surprise tactics. By the age of eight, she was already as skilled as the best men in Ling Xuchen's crew. At twelve, she was officially appointed by the Emperor as Ling Xuchen's right hand.