A Trial by Halves

A Little Victory

How he was going to assist her into a new role which he was now preparing Ye Hua for, had left him exhausted having gone over every possibility  Only all of them involved living in the Celestial Heavens.  Living in Qing Qiu would only hinder Ye Huas rise to Emperor and ostracise her from the world, while affecting all alliances that Ye Hua would be entering with and this he could not allow, but still, he truly felt saddened by the predcament she was now in.

Of the guests, the only ones smiling broadly and ecstatic to be included in the guest list even though it was a small ceremony were her Disciple brothers.  Chang Shan especially who had been invited to prepare the menu, along with Zi Lan who was doing his very best to keep the tears from his lashes.  Die Feng on the other hand was standing tall, proud and expressionless beside Mo Yuan whos eyes gave nothing away, but like the rest of them, he too thought she had endured far too much already.

But like the rest, he too was powerless to ease her burdens.  As her past Shifu, he now had to take a step back and allow her husband to lead her forward and as he watched her take the final bow, he couldn't help but feel uneasy seeing as her temperament could cause a whole lot of strife for them both if she didn't rein it in.  Sighing softly, he then watched as the not so happy couple then rose complete the final bows.

And no sooner was the ceremony over then the guests began to mingle while the newly weds did away with the matrimonial bed chamber rites seeing as Bai Qian deemed it unecessary.  They had already gone through a private one of their own, and not wanting to take from the beautiful memories she already had of that first time, they instead joined their families for food, wine and small talk.

"Thank you for giving Ye Hua a lovely wedding." Le Xus soft voice suddenly interupted the giddy laughter coming from her seniors who were all hovering over the food as if they had been starved for centuries.

"It was merely a formality and the wedding was for us both was it not?" Bai Qian replied tersely before turning her head towards Ye Hua who had seen his mother approaching her, though the look on his face soon had her forcing a smile.

"Mother, you look beautiful." he said smiling at a gown that looked no different to any other gown, seeing as she preferred the same style.

Smiling back at him, while ignoring the cutting looks from her daughter in law, she gave him an appreciative look over.  Dressed in his wedding attire, he looked far less severe, and with a smile on his face, she imagined he even looked at peace which did ease her mind.

"Ye Hua, now that you are officially married, perhaps I can take Bai Qian for a tour of the Palace grounds after she has settled in." she suggested to a loud incredulous snort from Bai Qian.

Keeping the smile on her face and her mouth shut so as not to embarrass her husband in front of their guests, she merely nodded her head, before turning back to her brothers while leaving them to talk between themselves.  It was enough to have to host the woman, but that didn't mean she had to talk to her.

Disappointed that the two could not talk to each other and fast losing patience with the both of them, Ye Hua gave his mother a polite nod of his head before heading towards Mo Yuan and his Grandfather who were idly chatting to the side of the happy group.  And in no time, he too was lost to the happy chatter, a wonderful dinner and far more wine than he could handle.

By the time the banquet was over and her guests sent off with a smile and a wave, Ye Hua and his wife left for the Mortal Realm for a few days break before he had to return.  In all, the wedding was exactly what she expected it would be.  It was neither a dream wedding nor a disaster, but it was over and she was thankful for it.

In fact, so was Ye Hua.  Neither had been looking forward to what should have been the happiest day of their lives, but no sooner were they at Mortal home, then the genuine smiles quickly rose as one big hurdle was finally overcome.