Backlash Part 2

Chapter 200: The Warmth of Spring

Jiang Yanli felt her face burn in embarrassment as she thought about everything she had said to Luo Qingyang. In retrospect Luo Qingyang's belief that Jiang Yanli had not accepted her courtship wasn't unreasonable. In Jiang Yanli's mind, their courtship had begun when Luo Qingyang brought her first gift. It was a silver lotus flower hair pin, delicately engraved, inlaid with pearl and accentuated by dangling beads of jade. When Luo Qingyang had presented it to her, Jiang Yanli had taken it as a proposal of courtship.

It was certainly the type of gift that would be given as courtship, and it wasn't unusual for courtship to be proposed in such a way. Jiang Yanli had been betrothed for years without a single courtship gift or even a smile from her betrothed. Receiving the hairpin had been such a dramatic declaration. Although perhaps Luo Qingyang did not consider it so.

When she received the hairpin it had already been a long while since Luo Qingyang had confessed her feelings. It no longer felt like a foreign concept brought out from nowhere when Luo Qingyang presented the hair pin. Jiang Yanli had had the chance to think about the idea of being in a relationship with Luo Qingyang. Jiang Yanli had never considered it an option before and it took her time to sort out how she felt about the situation.

By the time Luo Qingyang offered the hair pin Jiang Yanli felt better equipped to answer Luo Qingyang's request. When Jiang Yanli accepted the hair pin it was an answer to a declaration of intent. Jiang Yanli took the hair pin and accepted Luo Qingyang's request to court her. Jiang Yanli had not believed any more words needed to be said about it. Accepting the hair pin and wearing it were the answer. Accepting the gifts that followed was an answer.

They had never spoken out loud about courtship in the time since. Jiang Yanli had thought Luo Qingyang was honouring Jiang Yanli's request for discretion. Even though Jiang Yanli accepted the courtship, they were still in the middle of a war. She still didn't feel it was the right time to be announcing a betrothal, and she was still in mourning for her parents. Granted she could not observe most of the mourning customs properly. But that did not mean Jiang Yanli could comfortably announce an engagement so soon after her parents' death.

Jiang Yanli assumed they would announce the betrothal after the war. Once the aftermath was sorted and efforts could turn towards rebuilding. Jiang Yanli was rather annoyed by the insistence of Sect Leader Jin about celebrating. He was planning to host a week-long celebration while they still had wounded in the infirmary.

QishanWen sect property would need to be sorted and divided. That which had been taken from the other sects would need to be identified and returned. Jiang Yanli was already dreading the headache it would be to try and determine what had an owner and what did not. The QishanWen sect had confiscated spiritual tools and heirlooms from so many sects. What couldn't be sorted would need to be divided. It could take weeks to sort out, maybe months. Not to mention the political battle Jiang Yanli expected was coming regarding the surviving Wens.

Apparently Luo Qingyang had been honoring her request regarding not pursuing a formal relationship during the war. Except Luo Qingyang had taken that request to mean that there would be no acceptance or commitment to a relationship until after the war. Jiang Yanli might have even meant that at first, but when she accepted the hairpin she was committing to the relationship. She had believed that was clear. Instead it turned out Luo Qingyang had been showering her with affection and gifts purely to demonstrate her regard for Jiang Yanli. Luo Qingyang had been stunned when Jiang Yanli said they were already courting.

Jiang Yanli gave in to the childish urge to bury her face in her hands. She felt so embarrassed. This entire time Jiang Yanli thought she had been clear. When she accepted the hair pin. When she wore it each day. When she accepted each gift that came after. If this was what Luo Qingyang was like when she thought they were not courting, Jiang Yanli was not certain what more to expect in the future.