Immortal Mortals

Wedded Bliss

3 weeks later.

With a straight back, Jies arms came up and his head lowered into a deep bow before gracefully falling to his knees to begin the Grand Kowtow.  Every day, at a time dictated by Ai, Jie performed, and if it wasn't to her liking, he had to start again from the beginning and if he lost his temper or made any attempt to argue, there was always the very real threat of calling the children into the room to watch or even worse, extending the time, which always had him preforming to perfection.  And as his head hit the floor, Ai lay in bed reading one of her Mortal Realm stories, while blissfully watching the show out of the corner of her eye.  

Having just been hand fed breakfast and washed in bed, she was excitedly waiting for him to finish.  Much had happened in the three weeks that had passed, and she had plans for the day.  It was still early morning, and with Tai and Meili, they had yet another meeting with their friends and their daughter.  There was one in particular who had taken Tais fancy and though he had initially tried to hide his feelings for the girl, it was very obvious by the blushing, awkward hand gestures and sudden stammering that erupted whenever she came near him.

The dinner party they had held two weeks before had been a huge success.  4 girls had arrived that were considered possible contenders for his hand, and with them also came their younger brothers who were also being considered for Meili, though they were not really focusing on her marriage yet, she was too young and so were they, but the stares she got from all of them was very promising.

But it was Tais reaction to the arrival of the girls that would forever be etched in both of their minds.  No sooner had Zhi Ruo arrived, a very beautiful girl and the one that had caught his attention earlier, the same one that Meili had painted, than Tai fled to the stables only to be dragged back to the gathering by Jie almost in tears.  

Having had no idea they were even coming, or that there would even be a gathering of the families, Tai's shocked reaction was understandable, but they had purposely kept the information from him, afraid he would take the horse and disappear completely.  He was an astute boy who would have known in an instant what the gathering was for.  He was also very shy and somewhat standoffish when it came to visitors, though this was more of a reflection of his painful past rather than an part of his character.   And to be suddenly thrust into the limelight had him on edge the moment they arrived.

Though having sat the boy down first to gain some insight into his stubborn refusal to return, Jie soon came to  realize the arrival of one girl in particular was the reason for his sons sudden loss of co-ordination and inability to even speak, because on their return, he not only dropped every cup he picked up, he dropped food everywhere, stuttered and stammered awkwardly and when asked to assist the girls by pouring their drinks for them, his shaking hand spilled the jug of weak wine all over her dress.

But if that wasn't awkward enough, the girls reaction to Tai was just as difficult to watch.  Her deep blushing, demure glances, high pitched giggling and ungainly attempts to make conversation was just as hard to observe and as the evening progressed, their shyness around each other became even more hard for them, when Meili decided to act as matchmaker which had them all cringing in embarrassment for both of them, but highly entertained as Meili filled the girl in on every little detail of her brothers likes and dislikes as well as his habits and desires.  Had Ai and Jie not been there, he may have hit her.

There had been two more meetings with the girls family since that night, and with another scheduled for that afternoon, Ai was mentally preparing for it which would be held at the Zhi Ruos home with her extended family which would include both sets of Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles as well as her cousins.  This time, it would be an official meeting and if it went well a proposal for marriage would be issued on Tais behalf.