A Royal Engagement

Hearts' Wishes

(QING)

Seeing Dayu smiling as we walk down the aisle together in the ground filled with people who are important to us, I knew we will be just fine.

All my doubts and my fear are not with me now. I can read happiness in Dayu's face as the afternoon breeze carries the scents of the flowers surrounding the temple ground where we are going to be married. The man I love is happy. Nothing else mattered.

Not even the call I received from Chong, thirty minutes ago.

"It's him, your Highness. It's Fa Heise..." Chong is at the Tianjin Port and confirmed that his man does indeed caught the man who kidnapped and almost killed my sister.

But none of that matters now. What matters is my wedding to Dayu. I will not let anything ruin this day for him. Most especially Heise.

Dayu matters that is why I told Chong to secure Heise carefully and rush back here so Dayu won't suspect anything.

We stopped in front of an altar with the wedding facilitator, a close friend of my father, waiting for us.

He smiled at us, then he focused on Dayu. "Bow down please..."

Dayu nodded and we faced each other. He bowed down to his waist in front of me. It means subservience as I will be a King in the future. At first, we both balked at this tradition of the brides of the Royal showing obedience to their soon to be Kings but Dayu said yes in the end.

"Your grandmother did it. Your mother did it. What makes me so special that I won't do the same? Because I am also a man? No. I will bow down to you. That's that..."

So Dayu is doing it now. Bending his waist to bow to me. Showing everyone that he is willing to be under my authority and that I will be the head of our family.

When he straightened, he smiled at me. That calmed me down.

Then I took his hand and we both faced the wedding facilitator again. "The cup please..."

Lao, our sole best man, will also serve as the facilitators assistant got the cup and hand it over.. He will hand out everything the facilitator will ask.

The facilitator took the cup from Lao and our friend started pouring water from a brass pitcher. It must be filled to the brim but should never overflow.

"Let the water of life brings spring to this union. Let them be blessed with prosperity and fruits of their union. This marriage will be shared by two people who will fill it with love and unity,"

As the facilitator speaks he carefully hand me the brass cup for me to drink from it first. And instead of handing Dayu the cup so he can drink from it, tradition dictates that I have to hold it for him so he can drink from the same cup.

Dayu smiled at me and raise his hands to hold mine as he drank from the cup. I felt joy at the warmness of his palms holding mine. Dayu is not nervous that's why his hands are warm and not cold.

We handed the cup back to Lao who handed a silk red cord to the facilitator. Dayu and I faced each other again and intertwined our right hands together. The facilitator started tying the silk cord on our hands.

"As you bind yourself to each other, always remember that the bind is strong and fragile at the same time. It's strong like your love for each other that you cannot break it easily. But it's fragile as trust that you must handle with care."

We both nodded when the tying the cord was finally done. Dayu's free left hand untied it. He is the one who will untie us and will keep the cord as he will be the safekeeper of our marriage.