Turning to Di Jun, briefly for his opinion, which was nothing more than a slight rise of his brow The Skylord turned back to Ye Hua and gave a nod of his head. "Alright, you may have a few minutes, before a verdict is given." The Skylord said, as Princess Mei was brought to her feet by her mother who couldn't contain her immense dislike for Ye Hua, giving him a look of disgust, as he walked straight passed them and out through a side door without even a look of acknowledgement her way. Giving her daughters hand a quick squeeze, she gently pushed her towards the door Ye Hua had taken.
Deciding on the spur of the moment to give her one chance to make things right, he faced her. "Princess Mei, what do you want? I'm not talking about what your father wants, or what your Tribe wants, but what you want." he asked keeping his eyes firmly on her face as she spoke.
Accepting the opportunity he was offering her, she took a few seconds to formulate her reply, the one she had tried to give him the night before. Then facing him directly, she opened up.
"Ye Hua, when I initially asked my father to apply for a marriage arrangement to you, it was based on two things. The first was the stipulation that your Grandfather added to the decline letter he sent my father when I was considered too young. He had said that once I reached an appropriate age, marriage would be considered with every chance of gaining an agreement. Since that day, I believed you would be my husband, and my upbringing since that time, revolved around me marrying you and taking on the mantel of The Celestial Empress."
Then taking a deep breath, she continued. "The second was our meeting the East Seas Banquet. If you are honest, we got along very well and I know you felt drawn to me at the time. We talked and laughed and our conversation was well matched, I thought at the time, you were interested, and in time, it might grow into something deeper, so, with both of those two incidences in my mind, I considered a union with you to be viable. However, you met Bai Qian,"
"Initially, I admit, I was exceptionally jealous, and wanted her out of the picture, so I did what I did to keep you firmly in my sights. And I know I made mistakes in order to gain a marriage agreement, but I did it because I honestly thought there was a chance. I am still hopeful."
"What I want is a chance at a marriage trial without the interference that was so unfairly thrown at me." she said finishing it.
Ye Hua could feel his temper about to explode, but he held it together as his brothers words remained firmly implanted in his mind.
"Alright, I have heard you. I understand what you are saying but you need to hear me. I am in love with Bai Qian, I will never love another but her, in fact, my harem is closed and nor will it ever be open as long as she is in my life. I have every intention of marrying her, she is the one I see my future with, only her and no other. I need you to understand this!" he said firmly and clearly.
"I have never loved a woman as much as I love her, and nothing you do or say will change that. Lets end this now. Right now, our families are the only ones who know of the humiliation we have both suffered, there is no need for it to go further. Take what pride you have left and go home." he said finishing it.
"No! You owe me Ye Hua, you and Bai Qian along with the Fox Clan humiliated me beyond belief. Not only did you physically assault me, you treated me worse than a dog, and then you tried to kill me, I want compensation. We have one week and 3 days left of our trial, I am happy to reduce it to one week, but I want it, and in that week I want respect and the chance to end our union with pride." she said refusing to back down or allow him any other way out.
For the longest moment, Ye Hua looked at her, and as much as he wanted to slam his fist into her face, he held himself back with his brothers words still in his head. One week and they could end it forever he thought to himself.
"Alright, one week, and you annul the seal of approval, drop the charges against the Fox Clan and leave. I also have one more condition. You sleep in another chamber, there will be no physical contact. I also want that writing, signed and delivered to Di Jun within the next 10 minutes or I will ruin you and your family." he said, leaving her in no doubt that this was all he was going to give her freely and at the end of it, she could walk away with her head high.
"Alright, but I want respect Ye Hua. You will spend your days with me, you will treat me kindly and make me a part of your daily routine until the week is up." she replied, that too was all she wanted.
Accepting the deal, they returned where a scroll, brush and ink were provided to her, and within 5 minutes, their agreement was sealed.
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"He agreed to continue the trial alone with her?" Bai Qian asked, her voice small and quivering as her family rallied around her.
"Yes. At the end of the week, she has agreed to leave and it will be over." Mo Yuan informed them with a small smile.
"Xiao Wu, this is the best way forward for you both. It is the peaceful outcome you both need for this to end." Bai Zhen said rising to wrap his arm gently about her shoulders. "It's only one week Xiao, and then it will be truly over." he said softly as they all joined in to voice the same opinion.
But she heard none of it. In her mind Ye Hua had gone against what they had both tried so hard to prevent. In her mind, Princess Mei had won.
"But he is there with her alone." Bai Qian suddenly burst into tears before running from the main den to her chamber and slamming the door. Throwing herself onto her bed, she cried, it was heartbreaking and soul destroying which could be heard by everyone in the main den.
Excusing herself, The Empress rushed to her chamber to sit with her and hopefully talk her through it. Closing the door behind her, she moved to sit on the bed and as she gentle stroked her hair she talked to her, keeping her voice soft and gentle as she explained the reasons for Ye Huas decision, which she clearly saw.
"Qian Qian. Listen. This is the only way forward for the both of you, and the only way to end it peacefully. You know this." her mother said as she continued to stroke her hair softly. "It is but one week, when it is over, you and Ye Hua will have an eternity together. He made the decision with you in mind, surely you can see that." she soothed her gently as Bai Qian continued to cry,
But all she could see was betrayal. "That bitch has him all to herself mother, I don't trust her. What if Ye Hua falls in love with her?" she cried oblivious to her illogical statement.
Ignoring the cursing, her mother sighed lightly. "Qian Qian, do you not trust Ye Hua? Surely you must know know his affections for you are stronger than that." she said softly before rising. Patting her gently on the shoulder she told her to come out when she was ready, they would all be waiting for her to help her through it, before returning the main den to leave her alone with her thoughts for a while.
But she didn't understand at all, not after what they had gone through with that woman, then for him to turn around and go the complete opposite direction made no sense at all. Not when Princess Mei had persevered through it all, then to actually win time alone with him, while leaving her out of the equation was nothing short of betrayal.
Crying inconsolably, Bai Qian vented into her pillow for a good two hours before the tears finally subsided enough. She tried to see the positive side of it all, it's only one week, she thought to herself. But then again, he had fallen for her after one day, one week was long enough for him to fall in love with that girl, she told herself before crying all over again.
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4 days later.
Ye Hua kept to the agreement as did Mei. They spent their days together talking, taking short walks, sharing meals, and enjoying quality time. He was respectful, treated her well, and even allowed her short periods to sit with him while he caught up with some of his duties which he had neglected for far too long, but never once was Bai Qian far from his mind. Several times he had accidentally called her Qian Qian, but Mei was gracious enough to let it pass, while she too kept to the agreement.
Sleeping alone in her own chamber, she didn't once try to repeat what she did at the East Seas Palace, and nor did she berate his maid Nai Nai when the girl dropped the tea pot on the first day of her return to Ye Huas Palace.
Seeing the Princess sittin at the low table with Ye Hua was quite a shock for the young maid, but apologizing profusely for her ineptitude, she quickly cleaned up the mess before rushing away to fetch a fresh pot of tea. Then returning she served them both before leaving them alone, but not once did her eyes move from Ye Hua, her searching gaze was felt by both of them as she worked quickly
"Nai Nai, Princess Mei will be staying for week, please ensure the Lotus Chamber is prepared for her, you will also attend to her needs personally." he informed her, while ignoring the short gasp as she rushed away to follow his instructions.
Then looking at the Princess, he explained his close relationship to that particular maid and his desire for her to understand how very important she was to him, leaving her in no doubt, that the maid was to be treated kindly at all times, which Mei finally understood and assured him she would be treated well under her care.
It was why he chose Nai Nai for her maid, it would give the Princess the opportunity to correct her mistakes against the girl, and for Nai Nai to take a little revenge should she so choose, which of course she didn't, it wasn't in her nature to act so childishly by seeking revenge, but she did understand why Ye Hua sent her to the Princess personally, and for that, she was grateful.
Now sitting at a table enjoying the fresh air by the lotus pond, Ye Hua and Mei talked of their childhood and the dreams they had as children and what if any had actually eventuated since reaching adulthood. It was a pleasant chat filled with laughter from Mei, and polite small smiles from Ye Hua.
The past four days had been the hardest for him but he did everything he could to make the time as pleasant for himself as he could, while filling the days with as much activity as he could find to ensure the days went by quickly. He filled every second with something to do, so there was no time for thinking or idle time to lose his thoughts to the predicament he was in. Though not once did Bai Qian leave his thoughts, she was always at the back of his mind during every activity and every conversation, which he was sure Mei knew about, but he didn't care, as long as he kept to the agreement, there was nothing she could do about it. She did not rule his head.
Day 7
It was the final day of their agreement, and as with the initial days, the last couple of days were spent doing exactly what they did on their initial days. So having agreed to meet at the Grand Hall after lunch, Ye Hua quickly made his way to the Grand Hall to oversee the final arrangements with Di Jun, his Grandfather, Mo Yuan and Meis parents.
"Was the agreement completed to your liking?" Di Jun asked her straight faced, showing no emotion.
Bowing politely Mei kept her head down. "Yes, it was." she replied softly.
"Then there is no more to do but to annul the marriage arrangement." The Skylord said smiling, which was taken care of very quickly.
Once all signatures were recorded and the smaller details regarding some of the conditions that had already been met agreed upon, it was over!
Both sides would keep what they had already gained in the way of lands and wealth, and Princess Mei would leave with her pride and Ye Hua was free to collect Bai Qian.
But not before he personally saw Princess Mei from the Palace. Bowing to each other politely, she left with her family and he left for Qing Qiu.
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He wasted no time, arriving at the Den, he raced inside to find the Fox family in disarray, something he was becoming used to, only this time it seemed different somehow.
"Qian Qian?" he asked as he rushed into the main den, looking about the room while also noticing the downcast eyes.
"Ye Hua, I'm afraid we can't find her. After you left, she disappeared. We searched for her everywhere, but as yet we don't know where she went." Bai Zhen said softly as the excitement in Ye Hua turned to panic.