With Tai and Zhou Ru finally married and happy to be left alone, Jie and Ai once again began the endless rounds of meetings with a different family. This time it was for the young man that Meili had taken a liking to and wanting both of their children to have a say in who they wanted to marry, they allowed Meili's decisions to lead her own life and to also lead their meetings.
Chiang Gui was a fine young man in Jies eyes. Not one to shirk from hard work and with a good head on his shoulders he could see the boy was more than equipped to look after his daughter, she would not have any wants or needs with him as a husband. And for Ai, she saw a young man with a kind and gentle disposition, one who watched Meili with desire and protectiveness, he was one who would love her, though she doubted he would need to protect her, not with the fighting skills she had been taught, Ai thought to herself.
And the way Meili looked at him, his family knew too, that she was a woman who would also care for their son, who would love him dearly and would stand by his side no matter what issues they may have to face in the future. And having kept her sweet demeanor despite the hardships she had undergone, they knew too that she was a strong woman who would weather any storm. And of course, with good child bearing hips, she would give them plenty of grandchildren.
They were perfectly suited, and because they both wanted the marriage, a date was set for the following year when Meili would be old enough to wed. It was too far away for both of them, but explaining that tradition kept the culture alive, something they would come to understand when they had their own children, they eventually agreed, and it would give them plenty of time to organize their wedding, because like Tai their wedding would be perfect and that would not happen if they rushed it.
It had taken 3 months of meetings and endless trips into the township where they also met up with their friends and for Ai it had brought back many happy memories of a time when she had lived carefree and without worry before their town underwent sudden and drastic changes. Her friends had grown a lot since that fateful day, especially the ones who had worked under her. Many had grown a little harder, but their sense of fun remained.
"Ai, what will you do when Meili finally leaves, you will be running that big house of yours for no one but Jie. Won't you get bored?" One of them asked, as she they sat around one of the busier tables at a small eatery she had taken a liking to.
In fact, she had been thinking of just that when the meetings for Meilis marriage arrangement had begun. Looking around the eatery, it too brought back happy memories of the time she used to own her own establishment, but the thought of starting a business again at her age and being pregnant was not looking likely, but she did give it some thought.
"Well we do own a stud farm, so there are horses to take care of, and Jie is always looking for more, but I don't know, maybe I will start a new venture after the wedding." she said smiling, because Jie had also given her another suggestion to ponder on. She had inadvertently stumbled upon a new method of healing broken bones and being a method that worked, she could offer her assistance to the local Medical Center or even start her own small business from home. But with only a little over 2 years left in the Mortal Realm, that too wasn't looking likely.
The rest of the morning went by very quickly. Catching up with her friends had allowed her some time away from the house and Jies constant watchful eyes. Since learning of her pregnancy, he barely let her bathe herself let alone help with the horses now that Tai had moved on, so an afternoon out was a means of escape. At least when she was with them, he left her alone.
Now preparing herself to leave, she decided to drop by her little cottage which she visited regularly. It was where she kept her wine and other medicinal potions and balms that she had continued to make when she had the time, and it would give her a chance to check her garden.
Since that day, when she had almost destroyed her garden in a drunken rage, she had returned almost daily for weeks to bring her herbs and blooms back to life. Jie too visited from time to time to check on the house and sometimes to rest after a long day when he had work to do in town.
Jie had suggested selling the house and perhaps using the money to travel once Meili had been married off and the baby had been born. But having owned the house for almost 30 years, she was reluctant to let it go. She would want a place to return to once the baby had been born, and with a battle looming, she would need to disappear to allow the chaos that would follow to settle down, and returning to Qing Qiu would not be an option.
And the thought of their battle was exciting her the closer the day came. Jie or Mo Yuan it didn't matter, keeping up the pretense had come surprisingly easy to her. Though being pregnant did help her to get away with her loss of temper whenever the thought of what he had put her through came back to her, it was actually very convenient, even better was his inability to cope with it. Pregnancy had not only caused her severe morning sickness, until Bai Zhen was able to get her a tonic to deal with it, her hormones were all over the place and her unpredictable emotions would flare up at the smallest thing.
One particular evening, after yet another meeting with Chiang Guis parents, Ai was tired and rather grumpy having sat for most of it on low cushions that left her legs and back aching. But not being allowed to ride the horses due to her condition, Jie insisted that she ride in a small covered cart that he had built specially for her.
It was too small and cramped and having to once again fold her legs over themselves, she was fast losing her temper. But the last straw came, when Jie refused to pick up the pace, instead he insisted on going slow so the journey would not be too uncomfortable for her.
Forcing herself out of the cart while it was still moving she fell heavily as the cart barely missed rolling over her legs forcing Jie to pull the horses back sharply before launching himself off to run to her side.
"Damn it Ai, what he hell are you doing?" he swore harshly down at her while looking her over to ensure she had not injured herself. But other than a few light grazes, she was fine.
In pain from the hard fall she took, she remained sprawled upon the hard stone ground until Jie gently helped her onto her feet. "My legs hurt Jie, I just wanted to stretch them out." she said stubbornly as Jie glared down at her.
Grabbing both of her shoulders he gave her one hard shake, before pulling her roughly into his arms. "You could have been hurt Ai, you could have hurt the baby. Don't you ever do that again!" he growled as he struggled to bring his own rising temper under control and his breathing to a much slower pace.
Finally realizing the stupidity of her actions, Ai did what any pregnant mother would do, she burst into tears, something Jie hated to see, especially seeing as she was pregnant and he wanted her to keep her emotions calm as best as she could. It hurt him to see her cry, so letting the last of his anger go, he gently hugged her before helping her up onto his horse to sit side saddle so she could kick her legs out. Then hoisting himself up behind her, he pulled her back into his arms.
"It's alright Ai, Im not angry, but I don't want to see you ever hurt yourself again." he said softly as he drew her sobbing shaking body into one arm, and with the other firmly taking hold of the reins, he led them home.
Ai put him through many of these kinds of incidences and each time, he would deal with them as best as he could without losing his temper, because he knew it was her unbalanced hormones that was causing her to act irrationally and at times dangerously. Though the one time, he did lose his temper and snap at her for trying to carry a heavy load of fire wood into the house, she cried for 2 days straight, until Jie was forced to apologize and he then made love to her slowly and gently until she once again returned to her normal self.
It was a trying time for Jie with Ai in tears most of the time, and Jie stoically and patiently dealing with it, or if she wasn't crying, she was screaming, or throwing things at him or worse, not talking to him at all. But ultimately, he was The War God and being able to handle any given situation he got through each one, though some days, just barely. And through it all, Ai laughed quietly to herself as she watched him struggle.
The emotional turmoil was real, so was her unbalanced hormones, which only added to the fuel and she let him have every bit of it. But she knew it would have to end soon, and that time was creeping up on her faster than she realized.
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Ai had almost reached 9 months of pregnancy , a normal gestation time for Mortal Realm women, and like clockwork, Chang Li returned to assist her with the baby, and what they had planned for it. She could not carry the child in the Mortal Realm for 3 years, it would raise far too many suspicions and the last thing she wanted was for Jie to cotton on, not when they had already put so much effort and elaborate planning into their day of reckoning..
So with Chang Li's help, a horse auction was arranged and one Jie would not be able to resist attending, and knowing Ai would be safe with Chang Li while he away, he did not hesitate. Leaving Chang Li with strict instructions to fetch him if anything happened to her, Jie left with the intention of returning in two days times. Plenty of time for them to proceed with their plan for the baby.
Returning to the Peach Tree Woods, Zhe Yan was there waiting anxiously, and on arrival Bai Qian was immediately sent to the little hut. Lying her down he immediately ran his hand over her tummy which by now was big. The babys heartbeat was strong and healthy, and as far as he could see, there were no problems, however Xiao Wus hormones were so out of balance, he immediately set to work re-balancing them, this was important because she would not make it through the next stage of the examination which began once her hormones and energy centers were brought back into alignment.
Once completed he began the procedure they had planned for months, it was painful for her because she needed to be awake for it, but with a light sedative, she was able to get through it without any mishaps. Once finished, he once more checked the baby, who had made it through the procedure without incident, and with Bai Qians energy now re-balanced, she too would make a full recovery.
"We're done." he said tiredly as he wiped his brow with the sleeve of his gown. The procedure was lengthy and difficult, and having never performed such a complicated procedure before, he smiled in satisfaction knowing he had pulled it off without a hitch.
The process was completed in less than 40 minutes, but once done, Zhe Yan gave her more pain relief and a special medicine that would assist with her healing, one he had created himself, and though he had never performed such a risky procedure before, he knew the medicine would speed up the recovery quickly, she would be back to her normal self in no time.
Then saying her farewells, and heartfelt thanks, she took Chang Lis hand so she could be assisted back to the Mortal Realm bleeding heavily and in pain, but happy. And with the second stage of their plan now completed, she accepted Chang Lis help to assist her with a hot bath, not something he wanted to do, but unable to do it on her own, he had no choice.
But it was over before he knew it, so helping her into her night clothes, he put her to bed with a cupful of medicine that Zhe Yan given her after which she instantly fell asleep.
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That night Jie arrived home to find Chang Li pacing the main room waiting for his return.
"Jie, you're home! I don't know what happened, but she won't let me look at her." he said in a panicked rush as Jie stepped through the doorway.
"What's happened?" he asked now panicking himself as he stormed towards his bed chamber.
Lighting every candle in the room, he found Ai asleep, but with a raging temperature. "Ai!" Jie almost yelled as he slowly lifted her up into his arms. "Chang Li." he roared.
Rushing in, Chang Li entered with the medicine that Zhe Yan had given her, and quickly forced it into her. Though they needn't have worried, it was a normal part of the procedure and would pass quickly as Zhe Yan had already informed him.
Opening her eyes, Ai looked up into Jie's eyes with tears in her own. "I'm fine Jie." she said softly as her hand came up to caress his cheek gently. Then looking at Chang Li, he automatically understood the look she was giving him, so turning he left the room before quietly closing the door behind him.
"Ai, what happened? Did you hurt yourself again?" he asked gently, and seeing that her color was beginning to return to normal, so did his heartbeat.
"I lost the baby Jie." she said softly.