No Rain, No Flowers: a Jun Wu x Xie Lian

Truths and Lies

Xie Lian woke up slowly the following morning, sitting up in the silken sheets he laid on as he slowly realized his surroundings.

It took a moment to remember where he was, that he was not in the master bedroom of the other realms's penthouse nor in Puqi Shrine but rather in the emperor's bedroom in the Palace of Divine Might.

Reaching to the other side of the bed, he found empty sheets that were cold to the touch, not entirely surprised that Jun Wu was gone -a ruler's day began early and ended late, after all.

What surprised the empress-to-be was a few minutes later when three simply dressed female servants entered the room and bowed to him, leading him to a bathroom where they stripped him, bathed him with luxurious soaps and oils, and dried him off with warm fluffy towels.

Once he was dry, one maid dressed him in finery like he has not worn in centuries since before Xian Le fell, another brushed his hair with a jade comb and styles it not in his typical style but not too different from it, and the last manicured his finger and toe nails before slipping delicate embroidered silk slippers onto his feet.

Xie Lian has not had servants tend to him since his youth, so he is very out of practice when they finish up getting him ready for the day and bow to him again, clearly waiting for something.

When it has been a full minute and he has not said a word, the one that he assumed is the leader of the trio asks, "Is there anything else you require, empress?"

The brunet shook his head, "No, no, thank you. And I am not the empress yet."

The maids just nodded, bowing again, "As you say, empress."

***

Noon could not arrive soon enough, but as the time approached both Mu Qing and Feng Xin practically ran from their palaces to the Palace of Divine Might.

Once inside, a servant led them to an inner courtyard garden where the empress-to-be was waiting for them.

Xie Lian was sitting at a small table in the center of the garden, two empty chairs across from him, while the table itself was laden with finger-food snacks and treats as well as a teapot.

Said brunet was also no longer in his plain white cultivator robes that he had worn for centuries, but a pale pink outerrobe while his innerrobes were white but had pink cherry blossom flowers and petals painted on the fabric, a golden belt tied around his waist and his chesnut hair tied into a loose braid and laden with cherry blossom flowers.

The pair of generals bowed their head respectfully, taking his new status into account, and sat across from him when directed.

"You both wanted to see me?' Xie Lian asked, pouring them all tea

Both generals nodded, Feng Xin speaking first, "You disappeared again, your highness, we were concerned. Especially after what had happened at the meeting."

Xie Lian just smiled awkwardly, "Yes, that was quite a messy situation that seems to still be unresolved. But after the meeting I had a talk with His Majesty and he invited me to go cultivating with him. Though I suspect it was just an excuse to interogate me about what I was up to since my second banishment."

The former attendants just nodded a bit, Feng Xin then asking, "If I could be bold enough to ask, how exactly did you end up engaged to His Majesty?"

The brunet blushed a bit, fiddling with his fingers, "Oh, well, I have always found him very handsome and we have always had a little tension...and being alone with him for a few months brought to light that my affections were far from onesided. It was nice, and one night we were staying in one of his shrines while the weather was bad just talking and suddenly he kissed me. And when I did not respond right away he began to pull away and started to apologize but I leaned forward and kissed him back. After that, we started sharing kisses more and more and when it was time to head back, he asked me to marry him and I agreed."