As night darkened, inside the bridal chamber, Ji LanBai was waiting for her new husband to come, as she was accompanied by her four personal maids who have followed her along.
Everyone knew it would take a while, and one of the Yong Prince's estate's servants had even come earlier, bringing some trays of small dishes for Ji LanBai and the maids,
"The Prince gave instruction for WangFei to have something to eat first, as he is still occupied with the guests."
Then, they were left alone, once again.
The young women in the room were in nervous but joyful spirit, as everyone in the Prince's estate had been wonderfully polite and respectful towards their Mistress.
Ji LanBai herself did not really have any difficulty throughout the long and tedious ceremony. All she had to follow was the instructions of the matrons who presided the formalities - bowing to the heavens, to the direction of the Imperial Palace, to her husband. Then, before she knew it, she was herded to a spacious room - her bridal chamber. Even as she could not hide the boredom and yawned, no one could criticize her, as her face was conveniently hidden behind the red veil.
"What a beautiful box," Xiao Su suddenly exclaimed from the middle of the room.
There was a sound of tinkering, and a clink.
"Xiao Su!" Xiao Lin reprimanded her younger friend, "What did I tell you about behaving properly? This is not even the Ji house!"
"I am sorry..." Xiao Su said, but there was not even any trace of guilt in her voice,
"Eh? There's a piece of paper insi..."
"Xiao Lin?", Xiao Su whispered with a bit of hesitation at her friend's pause. Ji LanBai could not see what they were doing as her red veil was still covering her - under clear instructions of everyone, only her husband was to lift her veil; but now her ears perked up to try to hear what her mischievous maids were up to.
"Isn't this...? it looks like her... writing?" Xiao Su added further.
"...," Xiao Lin's voice then could be heard, "It is."
Then Xiao He and Xiao Han's voices joined in,
"It is her handwriting! Her penmanship has always been peculiar. It was soft yet bold, and very elegant. Even Sun-laoshi commended her a long time ago."
Ji LanBai's heart started to hammer against her rib-cage,
"Xiao Lin, what are you all discussing about? Who are you talking about?"
A sound of light footsteps getting closer to her, then from her low peripheral of vision at the bottom of her veil, Ji LanBai saw an open lacquered box.
"Young Miss... I mean, WangFei, you may want to read the letter. It is addressed to you," Xiao Lin softly spoke.
Ji LanBai took the letter and unfold it with trembling fingers. She started to read it with her limited vision, keeping her head down so she could read those familiar writing.
The room was lit with candles, although the limited lighting was nowhere enough for reading. However, the characters on the letter, each brush strokes of the black ink, was brighter than the swaying candle light. Ji LanBai could clearly read them, each character bore into her mind and heart.
[Dear Ji LanBai,]
[My dear sister. I will not ask you to forgive me. Because I have left with full conscience, knowing how heartbreaking it would be for you.]
[However, would you believe me if I said that, it also wrenches my heart? That I can no longer spoil you, to make you cakes, to laugh with you, to play guqin with you?]
[Would you believe me if I said that, every night when I sleep, I thought I could faintly still feel your warmth by my side?]
[Would you believe me, that despite all my selfishness, I still cherish our times together?]
[You gave me my name. Without Ji LanBai, there would never be Bai YuLan]
[However, my dear sister, please be known that I am happy.]
[Therefore, I wish that you are happy today as well, as it is your wedding day. I wish you will always be happy, with a loving man by your side, with loving people by your side.]
[He will spoil you, laugh with you, play guqin with you... and perhaps... make you cakes...]
Ji LanBai could not help to laugh at the sudden image of Zhang GuoFu toiling in the kitchen.
[Perhaps there will be one day that we may meet again. Then again, perhaps, that day will never come.]
[However, in the meanwhile, my beautiful white orchid, please know that, Bai YuLan, will never stop praying for your happiness.]
Inside the box, was a the lightest shade of blue fabric. As Ji LanBai unfolded the fabric, it was actually a handkerchief, made of the finest silk.
On it, was an intricate embroidery, depicting a lone thin branch with blooming white magnolia. Some of the white petals fell onto a single stalk of white orchid, embroidered, at the bottom of the fabric.
Ji LanBai brought the piece of silk fabric close to her chest as she kept reading,
[I have to say, my embroidery skill is not bad, right? Xiao Hui is stricter than your father in teaching me embroidery. She does not care that I stabbed my own fingers with needles quite often already. She will not give up. I even do embroidery in my dreams nowadays...]
Ji LanBai let out a sudden giggle, choked with a sob. She did not realize her tears had fallen onto the paper, now starting to distort some of the ink as the moist blurred out some of the written characters.
She panicked and handed the paper to Xiao Lin.
"Please read the last couple of lines for me," she clutched on the handkerchief, trying to make her voice steady as could be.
Xiao Lin soon spoke with clear voice,
["Please be happy, LanBai. And if you are willing, please keep my small gift close to you."]
["I have always, am always, will always, think of you."]
Xiao Lin paused, "WangFei, that's the end."
"'If I am willing'," Ji LanBai huffed amidst her chuckles, "If I am willing... ," she whispered against the silk handkerchief.
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Zhang GuoFu was tipsy. Who knew that his two elder Prince brothers, and the two Generals could very well be alcoholics. Not only them, his other guests would not let him off without toasting at least a few cups as well.
The proverb said that the groom had to exchange 'hundred cups of wine', but Zhang GuoFu was sure that he had hit a thousand mark.
In his defense, it was himself against the numbers, so he was bound to sway first.
Finally, Second Prince Zhang JunLi and General Ji SongLi called it quits after noticing his graying complexion by each passing moment.
"Please be kind to his new WangFei. She is still waiting for her husband," Ji SongLi had joked as the other guests protested, while Zhang GuoFu was supported by his two elder brothers to escape from the already drunken crowd,
"My third brother still has a very important duty tonight," The Crown Prince winked at the guests as he disappeared beyond the corridor, carrying the groom whose head already starting to spin.
The two young Generals stayed behind to entertain the guests, drinking on his behalf, while the Crown Prince and the Second Prince asked some servants to prepare some sobering tea for Zhang GuoFu to consume in the inner residence.
After sometime, he felt better. His older brothers then took their leave.
Imagine his surprise when he entered his bedchamber, only to hear his bride sobbing quietly, her head still covered by the red veil. Her maids surrounded her, trying to coax her and offered her tea or snacks.
Ji LanBai kept shaking her head, her hands clutching onto an object close to her chest.
"What... happened?" Zhang GuoFu blinked a few times, not sure if the scene he was seeing was just a byproduct of his drunken mind.
"Why is my bride crying on her wedding day? Is getting married to me really that bad?"
The four maids anxiously exchanged glances with each other, then they collectively dropped to kneel,
"These lowly ones are useless. May Your Lordship please bestow punishment!"
"We have dared to open a wooden container... the content has caused unrest to WangFei!"
One of the maids had her hands stretched upwards, holding a folded paper.
Zhang GuoFu also noticed another maid by her side, holding a red lacquered box.
A red lacquered box that he, himself, had put inside the bedchamber. After all, it was a gift from Bai YuLan for Ji LanBai for her wedding. It was only right to present it on the wedding day. He did initially intend for Ji LanBai to open it in her own time.
He took the letter from the maid's hand, and read the content.
Then he sighed. All his headache, the after-effect of the alcohol consumption from earlier was now gone.
He waved his hand, silently gesturing for the four kneeling maids to leave.
Soon, there was only him, and the slightly shaking Ji LanBai.
Zhang GuoFu walked slowly towards the young woman sitting on his bed, and he lifted the red veil.
The pair of beautiful eyes were looking up at him, bright and slightly forlorn. Her eyebrows were slightly knotted as she tried to hold back her tears.
"GuoFu-ge...," she tried to wipe her tears with her red sleeves, "I am sorry... I... "
She then slowly lowered her hands, spreading the object she had been holding, on her lap. Zhang GuoFu could see the light blue fabric with the intricate embroidery of magnolia and orchid.
As her gaze was still on his, every drop of those tears - bright like crystals - fell straight into his heart, causing him to ache.
He sat by her side, and put one of his arms around her slightly trembling shoulders,
"It is alright."
"It is alright," he repeated, again and again, until the light tremor of the person inside his arms subsided a little.
Some moments paused, and Ji LanBai looked up at him again. Although there were still traces of tears, there was now guilt on her expression,
"Ahhh~.. I am a truly useless wife," she struggled slightly out of his hold, then folded the handkerchief carefully and put it inside the red lacquered box.
Then, to Zhang GuoFu's bewilderment, she started to remove his outer red robe,
"...", he paused a bit just to make sure that he was thinking correctly on what she intended to do.
As she moved on to removing his belt, he panicked and stood abruptly,
"What are you doing?"
She blinked at him in confusion,
"Doing my first wifely duty?", she asked back.
His headache returned again. He held up one of his hands and closed his eyes,
"Wait! Stop!"
Upon opening his eyes, he noticed his bride's eyes starting to pool some water again, causing him to once again, be flustered. He quickly held the young woman's palms inside his,
"Why are you crying now?"
"I... I am so useless, aren't I?", Ji LanBai sobbed, "I am doing this wrong, aren't I? But Mother and Meng-momo told me that this is the correct way to attend to my husband... then nature will take its course... ."
"GuoFu-ge... if I am doing this wrong, please tell LanBai. LanBai wants to be a good wife to GuoFu-ge!"
Zhang GuoFu did not know if he should laugh or cry.
He wanted to do it, of course he did, especially while looking at the adorable young woman that he could finally call his own tonight.
Only the heavens knew how much he grew to cherish this young woman. The initial duty-bound engagement had long become a sincere wish to be able to live together, until their hair turn white.
She had become an irreplaceable existence in his life.
However, he did not want to do it, especially while looking at the adorable young woman that did not quite understand how 'nature would take its course'.
He sighed, and once again he pulled Ji LanBai into his embrace,
"Never mind that. For tonight, let's just stay like this."
"But!", the young woman protested.
"This is the correct way to do it, in my estate."
"I will so regret this later on. How am I going to explain this to her? We can't abstain forever!" - he mused bitterly.
"At least for tonight," he added hastily.
"But LanBai, my WangFei, can you please grant me a small wish?"
"Yes, GuoFu-ge?"
"You should call me 'husband' from now on. As I will call you my wife."
There was a pause of silence, then a small shy voice from the person inside his embrace,
"Lord husband... husband... ," she giggled softly, "That has a nice ring to it."
As she then fell asleep soundly on his shoulder, for Zhang GuoFu, that night was good enough.
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runexi's note:
uh... poor Zhang GuoFu? Perhaps those vines is a great idea?