The House Of Bloody Lotus

The Honeymoon

Wild jeers and cheers veiled in and out of the palace. The celebration lasted all afternoon and bled into the evening. Prince Wang Jian opened the palace's gates to the common people to join the celebration. Food and drinks were free for anyone.

By the end of the evening, the guests - mostly his men - carried both of us to his chamber. They sang in the drunken rhythm of suggestive vulgar songs about virgins and horny men.

While I couldn't hide my embarrassment, Jian on the other hand, was alive as the sun. He laughed and sang out of tune with his men, it was unusual seeing him this way. Jian was so casual in the company of his men that I found him so mesmerizing. Not every prince can sit and drink on the table with common people, especially on his wedding night.

I've never seen Jian this happy before, never seen him smiled and laughed so hard. I didn't mind it at all for it was our wedding night and I couldn't have asked for any better day to see this side of him. I was happy.

Lord Chua Chanshin kicked the door to our chamber while the rest carried us both inside. The ruckus of a dozen men carrying us was wild and it charged my husband with more excitement. The men tossed us in bed with great delight, wishing us the best of luck for the evening, before marching out of the room. Lord Chua Chanshin was the most excited out of everyone, he lingered for a moment long just so he could have his parting words.

"Be gentle to our prince!" He crooned drunkenly. "He hasn't had any ass in a while."

An annoyed groan, Jian told his most trusted subject to..."Get the heck out!"

Lord Chua Chanshin rushed to shut the door beating the shoe that chased him on his way out the room.

Finally, we were alone. The room was dark and quiet. I heard Jian's deep breathing and smelled the alcohol in his breath. He leaned over, his hand ventured closely to my thighs.

His hands that roamed curiously too many times on the most delicate parts of my body were extra brave tonight.

Jian slid his hand beneath my dress and reached for something deep, he felt for that wetness and explored my anatomy until a gasp and an impatient moan escaped my lips. A ripple of longing ached my skin and I grabbed onto him tightly. Tortured by his sensual touch, Jian made me crave for him so bad, so intimately that I was writing and whimpering about to climax on his fingers.

"Jian..." I moaned.

"Yes?" He groaned.

"Hurry."

He let out a dark laugh and kissed me, freeing me from the rest of my clothes before surprising me with a sudden shift. I was surprised at how fast he spun me over to my hands and knees, getting behind my back.

"Hold your breath." He whispered sultrily into my ear and I obeyed. I held my breath and bit my lip as I anticipated what he was about to do next. "This is going to hurt a lot."

He slammed into me, and I felt that flash of pain that felt like I was cut inside. I let out a scream of pain, trembling at the sudden discomfort. Jian pulled me back to his chest and held me tight. "I'm sorry." He crooned. "That should be the only pain you'll feel tonight."

I moaned, wanting to stop everything. It hurt so bad that I didn't think I could endure any more of the same pain.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, I want you to have a good time tonight."

His hips began a slow dance of easing in and out. Jian had been gentle, and he'd been considerate taking his time, making this moment about me entirely. After a while, the pain subsided and vanished entirely. I hardly realized my husband to be a boar in bed when he had proven himself to be just like that.

Jian climbed on top of me at least three times tonight, and in the morning, when we awoke both sore and reeking from sex, he pulled me on top of him for another go at it.

"Goodness, where do you get all your energy?" I asked he was like a sex god with an unlimited amount of energy.

"You have no idea how long I've waited, how often I imagined you and me tangled in bed like this. There were so many times I wanted to take you, and it took a lot of restraint to hold myself back. I thought I was going to go nuts." His hands brushed the tender nipples of my breasts. "The way you hover around me, the way you met my eyes. You're so young and you're so much in love. I've forgotten what it was like to feel loved, to get someone's affection. You are a gift from the gods. They took Ying Yue away and gave me a better one."

He was so romantic that I can't help but get excited. I found myself riding his hips a bit faster, a bit deeper, a little too eager.

*****

My elder bothers stayed for a few days. Jungjie was the first one to leave stating he couldn't leave his men on their own too long in the battlefield. Yuanji stayed for a few days more as he planned strategies with lord Changi and lord Chua Chanshin. Jian supervised their meetings, giving his input here and there.

Yuanji was to escort mother and father back to the manor and take Lin Lian back up north to her husband. For the whole entire week, we've forgotten about the war. We've forgotten about the senseless slaughter of men. A war that started from someone's meaningless jealousy, pride, and ego. A war that could have been avoided if only people had some sensibility.

As every ying must have its yang, there are always consequences that followed. The news of the wedding reached the Sui palace and I was right to suspect there're ears in the walls of the palace. We didn't know how the news reached his ears, but fourth prince Jungqi gathered his men and took advantage of the times when my brothers are away. He took back part of his stronghold and rooster province, driving elder brother Jungjie's forces back.

Our army lost a lot of men. Fourth prince Jungqi slaughtered thousands of our men in a matter of days. There was devastation and we heard about the bad news as the message came to us.

Jian opened the parchment containing the message from an elder brother. He asked for more men.

The forces suffered gravely as the consequence of our absence during your wedding. I will need a resurgence of men if were to take back the progress we lost. I need more men to fight this war, brother in law. And I know you can provide.

Elder brother's message sounded more of a demand than a request.

I looked at my husband with disconcert. I knew Jian wouldn't agree with to send more men fighting this war. It already costs too many lives and it was him who opposed this war from the beginning. "Jian...what're you going to do?"

There was a long silence, Jian was lost in his deep thoughts and I saw the darkness overshadowed his face. He placed the parchment down to his desk. His face was long and he stared at me with troublesome expression.

"I can't afford to call for my citizens to fight this war. Farmers and fishermen have no place in wars, they're not trained in weaponry and combat. It takes months, even years to train a soldier until they're ready for battle. It'll be like tossing them to a fire. I might as well sign their death certificate at this rate. These people will have no chance."

I bit my lip uncertain how to respond. I agreed with him and I don't think there's a reason to keep fighting. "But we can't just leave and walk away as if nothing had ever happened. We can't just disregard the sacrifices of men who already died out there. Their lives meant something."

"Thousands more will lose their lives if we keep going." Jian picked himself up from his chair and walked up to me. "Do you realize how long does a war like this last?"

"Years..." I said.