Hadleigh - True Stories of Crimes by Women: Vol 1

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprisingoverthrew the Qing Dynasty, ending two millennia of imperial rule. The rulingQing Dynasty was Manchurian; an ethnic group from the tribes of Mongolia. Theyhad fought and won their imperial status by overpowering the Han Dynasty; theHan were ethnically Chinese. These two different cultural groups learned tolive and work together by dividing power equally between them. Eventually thepower became one sided, favoring the Manchurian ruling family, relations brokedown and civil war erupted.

A lesser prince of the Qing Dynasty, a princenamed Su, maintained an unpopular alliance with the Japanese. The Japaneseeventually gained control of a port in China and renamed it Ryojun. This portbecame a major Japanese naval installation located within the borders of Chinaand the Chinese Han viewed the Japanese as invaders. The subversive alliancebetween the Japanese and prince Su created problems for the prince and hisfamily.

This uprising caused the deaths of many individualsin the Qing Dynasty; in an effort to protect his young daughter Ching Piu-Hui,prince Su arranged to have the Japanese military smuggle her to safety. Unfortunately, princess Ching was witness to the murder of her sister in theimperial gardens before the Japanese military arrived to rescue her. Youngprincess Ching was born to Mongolian Manchu parents in China and was saved fromcertain death by the Japanese military and raised as a Japanese assassin.

The Chinese newspapers called herThe Mata Hari of the East, her late father called her princess Ching Piu-Huibut the man who raised her, the man who saved her from death during the ChineseRevolution called her Jade. She liked the name Jade; it was full of ancientmyth, honored by the ancestors and coveted by the emperors of old. Jade waswho she was; from the day she was carried ashore at Ryojun she knew hernew name commanded respect. More respect than a princess, and Mata Hari did notkill with her own hands.

Jade was now a full member of the Black DragonSociety; she was raised to be a warrior and a deadly assassinshe despised thetitle of spy. She hated the Chinese; they threatened her life during therevolution, they killed her father, the Manchurian prince Su. She would notforget him or those who took him from her; Mitsuru Toyama Chief of the BlackDragons gave her the protection and training she would need to ease hertortured memory. It was Toyama who saved her life, it was Toyama who raisedher as a warrior and bestowed the title of assassinhe was her father now.

It was dark and cold the night she arrived in Ryojun;she was in shock and falling in and out of sleep. Vice Admiral HikohachiYamada congratulated Toyama as he brought the child into the barracks and laidher on the bed. I will take her with me, I will teach her to use the paininside her to avenge this atrocity, Toyama said as he covered her with ablanket. She is yours do with as you will, the prince is dead, Hikohachiwhispered so as not to disturb the sleeping girl. Her venom will devour thosewho have destroyed her family, I will nurse the infant dragon until she canfeed on her own, then I will release her into their midst, Toyama said inhushed tones. You sound so harsh, remember she is a child, Hikohachi reacheddown and brushed the hair from her sleeping face. All dragons begin lifesmall and in need of protectionbut they do not stay small long Toyamaanswered with a smile. So she would be a dragon Radiant Jade, assassin of theBlack Dragon Society.

The nightmare of the revolution and the death ofher family haunted her; lingered in her thoughts always. Jade pulled the pinsfrom her hair and let the dark silken strands fall about her shoulders; she satquietly looking at her reflection in the vanity mirror. She dusted herselfwith jasmine scented powder, it reminded her of the imperial garden where shewitnessed the murder of her sisterher mind began to wander. A sudden knock atthe door brought her back to the safety of her room. Go away, I will not seeanyone right now, she said without opening the door. I am sorry to botheryou Miss Jade but Toyama must see you immediately, the voice was weak andapologetic. Tell him I will meet him in the garden she went back to thevanity without waiting for an answer.

Toyama sat enjoying the cool evening breezeamong the lavender and jasmine on a stone bench in the garden. His thoughtsslipped back to the years he spent as the Japanese advisor to the Manchurianprince Suhe remembered the first time he met little Ching Piu-Hui, her facewas so sweet and innocent. He was startled out of his thoughts by the presenceof someone approaching silently over the moss-covered path; it was Jade. Youwanted to see me, she said with her head bowed. Yes, I have news for you,interesting news, Toyama said taking her hand and leading her to the bench. It seems the Chinese have chosen a new leader from among the war rabble, theson of the man who took the life of your sister, his voice sounded sympathetic,as if he truly cared. This man is trying to rally the Chinese into action;the blood in his veins carries the poison of his father. Then I will openhis veins and watch the blood of his father darken the earth at my feet, shereplied with a sweet smile, her eyes drifted idly among the jasmine. Toyamapatted her hand and stood to leave, he handed her an envelope with detailsabout the mission; go and feed your vengeance and return to me when you aresated; he kissed her cheek and disappeared into the shadows of the garden.

Jade wanted more than vengeance; she wantedfreedom, freedom from Toyama. Toyama did not care for her as a father should;he did not respect the relationship of a father and daughter. He provided forher education, her training and gave her the satisfaction of vengeance; but hismotives were not pure. He controlled Jade, every aspect of her life; she hadmoney, luxury and protection within the walls of his house, but in her heart,she wanted to be free of him. This assassination would bring money as well asvengeance; she planned to save the money and find a way out of his suffocatingworld.

Jade followed the instructions provided byToyama; she sailed from the port of Ryojun along the coast through the darknighttime waters of the Yellow sea. She reached her destination, a smallunassuming hostel close to where the warlord resided. She opened the satchelshe carried with her and took out a black and white picture; the eyes staringback at her were familiar. He had his fathers eyes; she longed to watch thelife fade from those eyesShe put the picture back and removed a fresh sprig ofjasmine she took from the garden. She held the jasmine in her hand and hermind wandered to the gardenthe screams, the men, the blood. She placed theJasmine back in the satchel and stretched out on the bed for some rest; shewould leave when the darkness of night returned.

The evening was warm and stifling; she powderedherself with the scent of jasmine, and put her hair up high on her head. Shewore the satchel across her chest under her dress; then she left to visit withdestiny. The warlords home was a palace; a palace behind high walls protectedby militia. Jade relied on her beauty to get her past the sleepy guards; shetold them she was a new servant, she smiled and giggled at their advancesshewas inside the palace without shedding any blood. She could feel the coldsteel of her dagger through the leather of the satchel; she felt the exhilarationbuilding in the muscles of her arms, tightening, tingling. She heard the softrustling sounds of people moving about in a room at the end of the longelaborately decorated hall. She moved toward the sound with deliberate steps,and a determined focus of mind.