”.....You..Aren’t
you....That minister son...I bumped?”
Feng
laughed out loud,”Oh Gods ,what are the odds...”
It became
clear to Yue ,those servants’ shocked expressions when she told them her name ,
that name ”A Zhong” and she began questioning how dense she was for not
realizing anything. While she was lost in her own thoughts ,Feng gently
caressed her cheek,
”Was the
cookie good? It’s our house special...”
”C-cookie...?”
”As your
husband now , let me warn you not to carelessly sleep alone under a tree”
Yue blushed again
,she remembered it well. Waking up with a cookie on her lap was strange ,but
she assumed her brother left it. Hui Zhong himself left his sister there for a
while just to do some fishing ,a hobby he was fond of. Who knew her own
husband-to-be discovered her that time... I
feel like crawling into a hole right now ,sheeshhhh.
After
moments of silence , Feng could no longer stand the awkwardness lingering and
stood up. He walked to the table and poured liquor onto two tiny cups. Yue
spaced out ,staring at the gentle pouring out of the liquid...Secretly feeling
nervous that she’s now a married woman. Feng once again sat beside Yue on the
bed and handed her a cup. They crossed their arms to ”feed” each other their
wedding liquor ,according to the customs that after drinking then they’d be
fully official man and wife. They were silent and could hear each other's faint
heartbeats.
”...Let’s
do it”,Yue gently muttered.Slowly ,the cups approached their lips and a very
sweet smell lingered. As the cup was about to touch her lips, Feng stopped..
”Wait”
”....?”
”Something
is not right”
”W-what is
it?”
”This
liquor smells a little too...sweet”
”Ah?”
Feng
snatched away both of the cups and put them back on the table. He looked around
and opened the cupboard. Yue saw what Feng took out ,a silver bowl. He then
poured the liquor onto the silver bowl and...
The colour
changed.
His face
turned a bit red ,his fists hard . Yue’s face turned white as sheet ,they both
said nothing.
...
...
”Guards!”,Feng
shouted. The guards immediately barged in ,sensing the distress in their Young
Master’s voice. ”Yes, Young ma—” ”Summon all the kitchen servants , NOW”. All
the guards scattered around ,barking orders for servants to march in front of
his room. Yue just sat there , fazed and unsure what to do. Cold sweats rolled
down her forehead ,who could be so cruel
to try killing us on our wedding night?Her hands trembled ,and she could no
longer make heads or tails of her current situation.
She could
hear Feng shouting angrily at the group of servants who had been gathered
,demanding a confession but none did so. ”Who was in charge of our liquors
stored?!”,he angrily spoke loud and clear. A middle-aged woman timidly spoke,”...I-it
is...I,Young Master... B-but I swear I did not...” and she started sobbing in
fear. ”I have worked here for ages ,I-I...would never!!”
”Stop crying”,Feng’s
tone was cold
”How did
the liquors you stored be poisoned under your care?”
”I-I did
not know...I randomly picked one from the storehouse and handed them to the
servants to put in your room...”
”Who?!”
”...It was
me”,A Zhong sighed. ”But I swear I will never poison you”
Feng was
silent ,deep in thoughts. These two servants were undeniably the trusted people
in Yuan household and they had no motive ,but still...Now that they were faced
with poison ,it became a matter of life and death. Those liquors were gifts
from Guan family ,there was no way they tried to poison their only daughter.
Madam Yuan
, upon hearing the commotion ,rushed there .”Feng ,I heard about the poison.
Hand me the silver bowl”. Feng nodded ,and handed his mother the silverware.
Madam Yuan observed and sniffed it then sighed,”...This is just a mild poison.
The worst outcome will probably be higher fever”. All the servants sighed in
relief,”BUT still... This is dangerous .If the culprit dares to do this now ,there
might be a worse next time”. Yue held her breath ,feeling tense.
She slowly
stood up and stepped out of their room ,then positioned herself beside Madam
Yuan. Madam Yuan sighed and spoke loud,”These two are my son and
daughter-in-law. I swear whoever the culprit is will be punished with
beheading!A Zhong ,bring a new jar of liquor from my room-they should be safe.
Guards , inspect all the jar liquor for poison and report tomorrow! Mrs Lim, I
trust you enough .You are not the culprit but please watch the storehouse more
! Now,you must inspect the servants’ rooms and their belongings! Search for
poisons! You’re dismissed!”.
All guards
and servants scattered in panic ,heading towards their respective locations
required. Madam Yuan sighed, she turned to face Yue and pat her shoulders,
”Do not
worry .We will take care of this matter. For all we know ,the one putting
poison might be the winery vendors or something . Be strong ,Yue ,someday you
shall stand in my position. Now , Feng , bring your wife in. Don’t let this
small incident ruin your wedding night”. A Zhong came back bringing a brand new
jar of liquor. Madam Yuan smiled,”It is late ,go to sleep. Good night”.
Feng and
Yue went into their room again and slammed the door shut. As a precaution ,Feng
once again used a silver bowl.”...This one is safe”,he muttered. They once
again poured the liquor into two cups and crossed their arms. The sweetness and
hotness of the liquid before her covered all her tongue and for some reasons
Yue felt better. They drank the wedding liquor and now all had been done.
Feng took
the cups again and placed them on the table. He sat on the chair and pulled out
a scroll ,brush and ink. Feng smiled as he wrote,
”One petal
,two petals
The reunion of Dragon and Phoenix
Under showers of praises and cheers
Bitter as poison may be
Sweet moments remain sweet”
He signaled
Yue to sit beside him and read. Yue’s cheeks reddened as she took the brush and
wrote too,
”Under
uncertainty and fear
Heartbeat or drums? Nobody knows.
A warm hand reassured
This is yet another beginning
May the
threads of jades eternally tied together”
”Threads of
Jades,eh? I like it. You’re well-educated in terms of literature ,aren’t you? I
know we both just met and we have a long road to go but please bear with me”,Feng
gently spoke as he poured himself another cup and sipped it. ”Likewise ,Xie
Feng”. A smile was painted on Yue’s face ,she felt warm and happy.Maybe this marriage isn’t that bad.
”....Let’s
go to sleep,I’m tired”,Feng laughed.....then he saw his bride’s face suddenly
hardened......got paler.....stiff....
”Y-Yue? W-what’s wrong?”. OH NO I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT WEDDING NIGHT
THINGY ,I DO NOT FEEL READY –WHATTODOWHATTODO--,Yue panicked inwardly. Feng
too began to understand her distress. His cheeks reddened and he shrugged
,trying not to meet Yue’s gaze. Feng too,felt nervous. They both just met and
now...
Another
awkward silence lingered... (And this has
been happening for we don’t know how many times)
”...Ummm”
”Y-YES?”
Shit,how am I suppose to clear this awkwardness when she
reacted in such way,he mentally cussed.
”It is
fine. I will not force you,Yue Ping... W-we both need time,alright? We are
barely acquainted and...I just can’t..take something so precious from such a
young fine lady without her consent. We have a long time to spend together and
get to know each other so... Let’s walk in our slow steady pace for
now,alright?”
Yue’s eyes
teared up ,the nervous thoughts she bottled up came flooding out. Her heart was
warm , filled with Feng’s kindness. ”....T-thank you” was all she managed to
mutter. He smiled and pulled her into his embrace,”But hugs and kisses are
still my rights”.And they cuddled up,while Yue slowly and peacefully fell
asleep in his embrace.
Feng
watched Yue’s sleeping face. How peaceful,he thought to himself but honestly he
couldn’t stop thinking about the poison. He swore to protect his family and his
newlywed bride.This should never ever
happen again.
***
”....What?”,a
man spoke gently. He was sitting on a huge rock in a dark cave. ’Poison?”,he
asked half-breathlessly. ”Yes”,another young man covering his face with a lion
mask answered.
Silva
sighed ,his hand running through his golden long hair. His silver eyes blazed
with anger,”After all these eras... I worked so hard suppressing threats,didn’t
think it wold be possible to have inner threats”.
”That was
the only jar with poison ,the rest was alright”
”Huh.Of
course he’d do this kind of thing. Leaving no traces,huh? I guess it is high
time I be a part of them and not just behind then shadows”
Silva stood
up and stepped out of his cave ,he stared at the huge clear moon in the sky and
bathed himself with moonlight. He muttered,”This time ,I will finish it”.
***
It was the
new morning as another Mrs Yuan ,Yue was in the kitchen preparing some dishes
for her in-laws .She was told that the guards couldn’t find the culprit and ”the
poison is probably just a stupid prank”-she wished she could believe so. Yue
watched her radish soup simmered while chopping some meat and thinking what to
cook next. I have to impress them,she
affirmed herself.
She heard
loud noises outside and wondered what was happening. As she was waiting for the
soup to bring out stock flavors ,Yue put the lid on the cooking pot and slowly gazed out of the
door. The sight before her was shocking. It was him ,the golden-haired man she
met. The one whose eyes reminded him of the moon.
He was
wearing fine clothes and surrounded by guards ,he headed to the main living room
without hesitation.
Yue was
about to chase him and call but stopped when she heard boiling sounds of her
cooking. Why is he here?
An hour
later,all the dishes Yue had prepared were laid on the grand dining table along
with dishes servants made. Everyone was already present ,Feng ,his little
brother Xiao Kai and Minister Yuan with Madam Yuan. Minister Yuan laughed loud,”HAHAHAHA-I’m
glad to have such pretty and talented daughter-in-law. Your father truly saved
me ,girl and this is how I pay my debt” ”T-thank you,f-father...”
Father...That term felt foreign
in her mouth,yet she felt happy for having a father now.Yue looked around ,she
noticed there was an extra bowl of rice and chopsticks. ”M-mother,those are
for?”,she timidly asked which made Feng chuckled in amusement because it was
cute. Madam Yuan answered calmly,”Oh,that’s for...”
The door
opened and there stood Silva. Yue was shocked ,she just stared at him . Beside
her was another even-more-shocked Feng. ”Y-YOU! Weren’t you...?!”,he asked
immediately. Silva smiled and bowed his head.
”How do you do? I’m Silva. I will be staying
here from now on”
A/N : HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! How time flies~ May this Year of Wooden Goat be prosperous ,well and far from troubles or illness.
And for all of you who frequently read my blog,thank you very much.I will do my best this year too!
