Author's notes: Hello HZGG fandom! I found this fic I started a while ago when looking through my old fanfic docs, I'd completely forgotten I had it, and even had to reread it to remember what it was about. Thought I'd post it up to share - even though it's pretty quiet here, maybe someone will still enjoy it!

It's not yet finished, but I have a few chapters already and have started to keep going on it now that I've found it.

Chapter 1

During the fourteenth year of Qian Long's reign, in the southern lands of Jinan, as cicada chirps of summer filled the air and the cool breeze of the afternoon provided relief from the the murky heat of the day, activity bustled around a serene lake filled with blooming lotus reeds.

"Hey, give that back," seven year old Xia Zi Wei said futilely, trying to reach for the calligraphy case the pudgy boy was holding out over the edge of the waters. She had been practicing her characters by the lake, and had just been about to pack up when the boy had suddenly ran up to her and snatched the case with all her brushes inside away.

"Come and get it," he teased back, holding the case out further, seemingly intent on dropping it in.

"Give it back, my mother is expecting me home soon," she tried to reason with him, but he merely smirked at her

"My mother says that your mother is a whore," he taunted, pushing her away roughly when she tried to reach for the case again. Whore… she had heard that word before. She wasn't sure what it meant, but knew from over the years that it was something to do with that fact that she didn't have a father. Zi Wei bit her lip tightly stop the twinge she felt inside at the insult to both herself and her mother, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall.

"Just give me back my box, please," she tried again, politely, hoping the boy would just leave her be.

"What are you gonna give me for it?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows slyly. Shrugging, Zi Wei looked around at the rest of her belongings, wondering what it was the boy wanted out of those.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly interrupted, as a young girl around her age appeared out of nowhere. "What're you doing, you stupid head! Give that back to her now," the young girl yelled, wasting no time in pouncing on the boy, trying to snatch the case from him. The boy retaliated, and the two struggled before a distinct plonk made Zi Wei gasp, the three of them all staring in shock for a moment as the case slowly sank into the dark murky water. The boy was the first to react, laughing haughtily.

"Haha, serves you right," he grinned triumphantly at both the girl and Zi Wei. The girl only scowled at him intently for a second, before Zi Wei gasped again, as the girl leapt onto the boy, sinking her teeth into his arm and making him holler in pain.

"Ow! How dare you, how dare you!" he cried, fists knocking onto her small body to try and push her off, but the girl stubbornly bit harder, until he could merely cry hysterically. Satisfied, the girl finally released her jaws, smiling triumphantly even as the boy roughly pushed her away, causing her to fall hard to the ground.

"How dare you, you little bitch," the boy cursed angrily. "Wait until I tell my mother, you're so going to get it now!" he yelled, before holding tightly to his wound and running away. Zi Wei sighed in relief at the sight of the boy disappearing, but bit her lip as she stared at the lake, wondering how she was going to explain to her mother why she lost all her calligraphy brushes.

"Sorry about your case, I'd go and get it for you, but I don't know how to swim," the girl spoke up, interrupting Zi Wei's thoughts. "I accidentally slipped on a rock at the edge last month, and almost drowned, so I don't want that to happen again," she continued when Zi Wei remained silent. Zi Wei stared at the girl before her, taking in her bright round eyes, the smudges of dirt left on her cheek from her scuffle with the boy.

"Thank you for saving me," she finally said, smiling at the girl.

"No need to thank me. I've been wanting to teach that Wang Bao a lesson for ages… that crybaby's probably wailing to his mother right now. I got him good, huh?" The girl smiled victoriously to herself. "Anyway, I better go back now, or Mrs Wang will sell me to the whorehouse like she keeps saying. I don't know where that is, but it sounds nasty," she continued.

"Mrs Wang?"

"Yes, Wang Bao's mother. That's where I stay, the Wang's residence… they're probably expecting me, so I have to go. Bye!" the girl bid, turning to leave.

"Wait… I don't even know your name," Zi Wei asked. "I'm Xia Zi Wei, I live at the Xia's residence."

"The Xia's? Oh, you must be the new family that moved in next door."

"I guess so… my Grandpa passed away last month, and my mother said we didn't need such a huge residence for just the two of us. She sold our old place and we moved here."

"The two of you? What about your father?"

Zi Wei bit her lip, blushing shamefully as she looked to the ground.

"I don't have a father," she whispered quietly.

"You don't have a father?"

Zi Wei continued to stare at the ground, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad. I don't have a father either, so don't feel bad," the girl said, smiling. Zi Wei looked up at the girl.

"You don't have a father? Aren't you from Wang's residence?"

"I just stay there and do chores, I'm not their child, thank goodness! Imagine having Wang Bao for a brother, blah!"

The girl stuck her tongue out in disgust, causing Zi Wei to giggle.

"So where is your family?" ask Zi Wei after a moment. The girl's eyes rolled around thoughtfully, before she shrugged.

"I don't know, I don't have one."

"But everyone has a family… who looked after you when you were little?"

"I don't remember… there was a Mr Liu I think… he was really mean and made me beg on the streets for him… and then the Wang residence bought me."

"Bought you?"

"Yes, I think so… Mrs Wang always says how much she regrets paying even a copper coin for me and how she's going to just sell me to the whorehouse once day. But she hasn't done it yet. I'll run away if she does that."

"Why don't you run away now?"

"Well, I tried to before, but Mr Wang found me and…"

The girl bit her lip trailing off.

"Anyway, I really have to go. See you next time, Xia Zi Wei!" she suddenly exclaimed, her already large eyes widening. Giving Zi Wei a large grin, she waved before running off.

"Wait, you haven't told me your name yet!" yelled Zi Wei as the girl left.

"Xiao Yan Zi," the girl shouted back, disappearing off into the distance.