12

Li Wuji

There was a different atmosphere in Qi Zhao Liang, one that I didn't like at all.

The maid ran back and forth from chamber to chamber, the guards were more stoic than usual in their posts, and it seemed almost as if death had fallen upon the manor.

I had no idea why, that was, until I found myself near the cherry blossoms at the front entrance of the manor.

I didn't expect to see Tang Liangjie and his sister there; fighting. I stared on with curiosity as the siblings' swords clashed and strikes were thrown, wondering to myself what could have caused such a thing.

I also did not expect for my chest to constrict at the sight of a tear slipping down Zhen-Ting's face. It was a sparring between family, I had not right to interfere, no matter how much I found myself wanting to.

I tensed dramatically as she stopped swinging her sword, dropping to her knees as rain began to fall from a once clear sky. It seemed as though God cried with her.

Liangjie sheathed his sword and bent down in front of his sister. "You said you had no more tears to shed." Zhen-Ting laughed softly at that. "I say that every year Ah-Jie...haven't you figured it out that I'm lying?"

"Abba would not appreciate that...four lashes for every lie you've said in a week." And with that Liangjie sat down on the dampened ground beside his sister, raindrops pelting their skin as they stayed in silence for a moment.

The two jumped to their feet in surprise as I stepped into their view, Liangjie greeting me before Zhen-Ting followed suit hesitantly. It didn't escape me the way she hid behind her brother as I walked forward to address them; she rushed to wipe away any trace of tears from her face. Not even the rain would be able to hide it.

"Wuji Huixia, what are you doing here? Is there a problem?"

My gaze never left her as she made her place beside her brother and bowed stiffly. "General."

I nearly didn't answer Liangjie's question, the sound of thunder startling me from my daze as I finally glanced away. "I was looking for someone to explain what the reason was behind this dreary atmosphere...I suppose that I've found my answer."

There was no response from either of them, simply the rhythmically chaotic beat of the drops falling on the rooftops and the ground. I inhaled sharply as Liangjie returned to his usual composure. "Well then, if you will excuse me Huixia. Are you coming Ah-Ting?"

The two of us watched as she avoided my gaze and shook her head. Liangjie sighed and nodded before bowing his head towards me and leaving in haste, escaping the rain we stood in.

I turned to look at the woman.

"I found a crate of unopened wine and that is a very big problem...no wine should be left unopened. Will you help me solve it?"

Zhao Jiayi

I never bowed at the incense, it would dishonor uncle's belief that he was simply at rest...father still chose to believe that his spirit was tormented yet at peace with his wife...

I sided with uncle at that matter.

The pungent scent filled the memorial room as I sat on a mat and stared at the two tablets.

I was only six when both Uncle and his wife had died; taken away mercilessly by the man who took every shred of peace and love they had fought to build up.

The tablet on the right read Liao Ma-Ning...Zhen-Ting and Liangjie's mother. The one on the far left read Akbaru Alinejad Tang...my uncle.

And in the center, Chen-er, or Badriyah Alinejad..my mother.

There was incense burning before all three of them...mother would not have been pleased either.

"Which one has the anniversary?"

I turned around startled to see the general Li Xiao standing at the entrance of the memorial hall, slightly drenched from the pouring rain outside. I quickly rose to my feet and bowed. "General Xiao...what are you doing here, in the rain?"

Li Xiao clasped him hands together behind him and approached where I stood slowly, eyes inspecting the tablets I had been staring at since dawn...

Dawn...from the sight outside it was already past noon, I had been in there too long.

"You know...Ah-Yi, I'm not my uncle, nor am I a prince like my brothers or cousins...you don't have to bow so formally to your...husband."

The word instilled a fear in me I had never felt before...I tightened my hands to fists around my hufu.

Li Xiao nodded towards the tablets once more. "Akbaru Alinejad Tang....your uncle, he was the great TangHuixia of the Arabs? That man, that legend...he was your uncle?" When I nodded, he sighed. "Then today it must be him you are honoring...was that his wife?"

I nodded once more, and he continued. "So..Zhen-Ting's family name of Tang, it means that she is his daughter?"

"Shi...Huixia."

"And the tablet in the center...the other Tang?"

"My mother...Huixia."

Li Xiao shook his head in disbelief. "Even God is mourning now...it seems so."

I looked out the open doors of the hall at the thundering skies above. "You must be right." I tensed greatly once the feeling of his chest pressed against my back, hands reaching up to grip my arms as his voice filled my ear softly.

"I want to be here for you Jiayi....will you let me?"

I did not respond, I did not nod, simply standing there silently as I let myself go and allowed him to hold me in this way.

The rain began to pour harder.

..

Tang Zhen-Ting

The maids were rushing to get everything away from the force of the pelting rain, it seemed as though a greater storm would soon hit Luoyang.

The wine tasted rather good, comforting...for something that had just been opened. It slightly burned my throat.

I set my cup down on the table once more, only to have it refilled by Wuji before I drained it down in one take.

"Aren't you not supposed to drink? You'll get drunk like that..." I huffed humorlessly. "That's my goal as of now Huixia." He said nothing but took a sip from his own cup, watching from the chamber at the outside chaos.

I wish I had agreed to go with my brother. "You never told me that your father was a legend."

"I never really knew myself...or chose to acknowledge it. Uncle told me that he had decided to retire once brother was born."

Wuji nodded his understanding. "What do you want me to call you today...Zhen-Ting, or Adila?"

I froze in my movements, nearly forgetting to breathe as I tore my gaze from the scene before me to look at the man who knew all nearly all my secrets...

And remembered them. He continued to speak.

"I mean...it is your father who gave you that name, and today we are remembering him...so should I call you Adila?"

I took too long to respond, struggling to find my voice and answer him.

"Shi..."

He turned to face me and smiled, lifting the cup in his hand toward me for a toast. "Alright...so, Adila, let us drink to your father, your mother, and your aunt...shall we? And we won't stop until the two of us are drunk...."

My head nodded without my bidding, and I stared as he drained his own cup. "This is my favor to you...you'll have to join me later on. Next month actually, for my father."

"Will we get drunk then too?"

"Of course."

...

Li Xiao

She was standing there alone when I saw her the next day, picking at the blossoms in boredom and staring out at the damage the storm had caused.

I hesitated in walking towards her, but I gathered up my courage and did so, approaching where she stood from behind.

"How long will it take before this place can be repaired?"

I watched carefully as Jiayi jumped from her seat and spun to face me, her eyes widening before she bowed deeply.

"Xiao Huixia....it will not take too long, we've had a storm like this before."

I nodded at her statement, taking a seat near where she stood and watching the chaos around them.

I shouldn't have been this nervous...it was impossible to be this nervous.

I grimaced at myself before speaking up once more. "I will not force you to do something you do not want...tell me now and I will end everything, Ah-Yi."

She froze immediately. "Huixia...I don't understand-"

"I will call off the wedding, my blessed uncle will understand if I come up with some explanation to him...after all, besides my brother, Wuji and I are his favorites. It will not be too severe."

Quickly Jiayi bowed to the ground, throwing me off guard as she did so. I rushed to stand and approach her.

"Huixia...you can't do this. The dowry has already been sent, the gifts exchanged. The blessed Wansui has even sent an Imperial order...going against all of this, when everything has gone so far would be death."

I found myself chuckling at her statement, the look of confusion on her face that followed fueling my laughter.

..

Zhao Jiayi

He was laughing at me.

Surely he was offended at what I had said...there was no possible way he couldn't be.

And yet the fact that I knew he would be didn't stop me from saying it. Why not?

I shifted myself on my knees and found myself holding my breath, daring myself to glance upwards at his face.

Did I not want to marry him? No, that wasn't the case at all....in fact,

There was no point in denying anymore that I had always been attracted to him. Since the day I had welcomed him into Dong Wu.

The way he walked, the air about him when he spoke, his voice....it seemed as though everything about him drew me in like a magnet.

But Eldest sister...no.

Sister Ai-Li had already told me she did not want to marry him, but the hint of resignation in her voice still gnawed at me like claws of a snow leopard.

"Never turn down a man that wants to marry you. You don't need to end up like me mei-mei."

"Well? I hate to rush this, but we don't exactly have much time for this decision?"

He snapped me from my thoughts as I looked up at him once again.

I had no choice, and if I were perfectly honest with myself, I wanted this....I really did.

"I will marry you, Huixia."

...

Tang Zhen-Ting

"Bow to Heaven!"

There was still the sound of fireworks exploding outside the manor.

I was sure that this was the same in all of Luoyang, as well as the capital and throughout those regions of China as well.

Yet for me there was no celebration. I had no reason to be pleased, no reason to shout for joy the way the children in the streets did.

Jiayi was getting married, and she was leaving me to survive alone.

"Bow to Earth!"

I had never seen so much red in my life. From the fire-crackers to the lanterns, the tables and the wedding sedan.

Even Jiayi's hufu.

"Bow to your Ancestors!"

I finally looked up at the couple, watching as only Li Xiao got on his knees and performed the kou tou to the tablets in front of them. A small smile forced its way to my lips; at least she wouldn't bow. Her mother would have thrown a fit if she had.

There were a few stunned gasped and whispers as the guest watched Li Xiao rise to his feet by himself. It seemed to them that Jiayi had committed such a great dishonor by not bowing to the ancestral tablets.

But unlike Uncle Zhao, and unlike most of her sisters, Jiayi had decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother.

"Bow to your parents!"

There was a small aching in my chest I chose to ignore, frowning as some of the hushed gossip made it way to my ears.

"He marries a merchant's daughter. Ha! The great Wansui's nephew marries a half-Arab merchant's daughter."

"It's a shame honestly...and I heard it said that they are to meet with the blessed Wansui next week to receive his formal blessing? In fact, he wants to meet with this merchant girl himself."

My jaw ticked. I said nothing.

"The Emperor must be drunk!"

That caused the foolish man to get an elbow jabbed into his stomach by whoever he was speaking to, I shot them both glares before returning my attention to the wedding.

"Bow to each other!"

Jiayi's face was shielded by the red veil, I could not tell whether she was smiling or crying the tears she had not even shed when leaving her family.

No...Jiayi would not be the one to cry. Not even with this fate that awaited her, she would not cry.

She never did.

...

Li Wuji

I would have to find a way to properly congratulate Li Xiao later on, watching with a smirk as both my cousin and the woman I had...liked...grasped onto either end of the ribbons given to them.

A soft giggle tore my gaze from the scene, I looked down beside me to see a small-framed woman stealing glances at me with her face blushing a red as the wedding decorations themselves.

I grinned at her and winked, her face turned even redder than was possible.

I winced as a hand slapped my chest, giving the girl one last smile before turning to glare at Li Jin, slightly wanting to wipe the smug look from my cousin's face.

"Behave Wuji...this is Li Xiao's wedding, not a brothel to exercise your flirting expertise." I shrugged lightly. "Exactly Cousin, it's a wedding; a place where people celebrate and enjoy love and other...pleasures. Should I keep myself from that while everyone else does the same?"

Li Jin rolled his eyes at that, then his lips thinned. "You liked her, didn't you? Jiayi, I mean."

I let out a low burp, thankful that the loud noise of celebration kept people from hearing it...as well as Li Jin's question. "Me? Since when have I been known to like anyone Biao-ge?"

My cousin chuckled but did not respond, and I was all too happy when little Ming ran up to her father and jumped into his open arms. The conversation would have to end there, thank heavens.

I busied himself by ignoring the rest of the wedding, looking over the crowds of people outside the hall before turning to scan the bride's side of the family. All her sisters stood in line from eldest to youngest, graceful and exited smiles on each face except for her second eldest sister Roaxi.

Of course, she would have loved to stand in Jiayi's place, and if I were to be honest, I would not have minded that either.

Then I would have Jiayi to myself...no.

I shifted his attention elsewhere.

It didn't surprise me to see so many Arab and Persian dignitaries standing tall on that side. After all, Jiayi's uncle was a famous general.

Akbaru Alinejad, or the great General Tang as the Chinese called him. I had been more than surprised when I had found out the blood ties Jiayi had.

And Zhen-Ting, no, Adilah...where was she?

I searched around for her before finally spotting her outside the crowd. I raised a brow in confusion.

Was she not part of the bride's family? Why then did she stand on the outside as a guest?

Only a slight trace of red was on her, the designs embroidered into the length of her outfit was the only source of the color, along with the ribbon around her sheathed sword.

She looked more like Hua Mulan than the actual cousin of the bride, not dressed in a hufu like the other women but instead mirroring the Arab men in their more casual uniforms.

She wasn't celebrating, in fact her jaw was set and her hands were tightened to fists as she breathed deeply.

I found myself wondering why she was so furious.
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They're finally married!!!
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