A Trial by Halves

All in One Lifetime

It had taken another two days of fun and games before Ye Hua would lead her out of the maze but after a lot of talking which they did manage to achieve between the love making a few more concessions were reached, one of which involved his mother who was now the only thing that was standing between him and complete happiness. Or rather Bai Qians stubborn insistence that his mother hated her.

"Darling. That my parents were the ones to lead me into the Grand Hall was not meant as a slight against you. There are certain protocols that must be followed and she was only following them." he had explained only to once again set off her anger.

Ye Hua had always known her temper was volitile, so he was not really surprised by her reaction, but he was wondering how the woman maintained her perfect youthful looks when her temper had the ability to shake even his knees. It was well known that emotional people tended to age far quicker, but seeing as the large age gap between them was also a sore point for her, he thought it best to keep that to himself.

"Then all she had to do was explain this to me, rather than push me into the back Ye Hua. I am not a servant or some low born. She knows I don't understand all your stuffy rules, a quick explanation would have sufficed." she snapped back and fed up with his constant protection of a woman that she had not once seen any love from, not even the day he was forced into Zhutian Tearrace. The woman had merely stood there crying, while his father stood there like a rock with no expression on his face at all.

"Look. I don't want to argue with you, but she is my mother. I want her at the wedding." he stated flatly and beginning to lose his own patience with her.

Instantly her mind went back to the day before and that sadness she had seen in his eyes when she'd asked if she would be there. Of course the grooms mother should attend her own sons wedding, to force her out would be far too petty and beneath her, but for Ye Hua to assume that she would actually stoop that low even though her mother had done exactly that to her only made her angrier.

"And who exactly said she couldn't attend?" she scoffed at him. "Me? Her? Or did you just assume I would lower myself to her standards?" she suddenly screamed at him and so over the mention of that woman that if she heard anymore she might actually slap him.

Roughly dragging her into his arms, Ye Hua forced the anger down before he did something he would regret. This side of her was not something he liked and he knew that if she did not learn to rein her temper in then things would get very difficult for her. But he did understand where her anger stemmed from even if she didn't. It stemmed from the day she had found herself on that island in the middle of nowhere and far too oblivious to what was going on around her.

They may have cemented their love for each other on that island, but all the secrecy, the lies and the fear were still with her. Even now. Her need for control was where the anger was stemming from because during her trial, and even thousands of years in seclusion before he had met her, had seen her have so little control over her life. Both himself and even his brother had taken far too much from her and this was now manifesting itself as anger for the predicament she now found herself in, one that she he himself had thrown her into.

Holding onto her tightly, his mouth clamped shut even though he had plenty more to say. And as much as he needed her to understand his relationship with his parents and his mother in particular, he remained quiet until her anger finally died away.

Only then did he lead her from the maze of chambers and back to his own where Er Li was waiting for him with Nai Nai. "Look Qian Qian, why don't we go away for a few days, just the three of us." he suggested seeing as the Celestial Heavens only seemed to add to the stress they were both under to find some resolution.