The fated ones

Chapter 12

Feng jiu kept her promise. She gave wen chang an honest chance to win her heart and affections. And wen chang did not disappoint. For the next two weeks while he and his horse were recovering in her hut, he worked relentlessly and diligently on showing the sincerity of his affections to feng jiu. He never backed down and his efforts bore fruit.

Over time, he realized that feng jiu had started returning his affections. But he was the emperor of an entire country, he can't forget about his duties towards his people and live with her in this hut forever. He would soon need to return to his palace. And he told so to xaio jiu. She answered that she understood that he has his duties which he needs to fulfill and would never hold him back. Though her answer was understanding, it didn't answer the burning question in his mind. He wanted to know if she would come along with him or was all this for naught. 

As the day of his return came close, he found himself wondering if everything had been for nothing, if he would lose her after all. feng jiu understood his unrest but was waiting for him to get to the answer himself. she waited till the day prior to his return and when she saw he still hadn't found the answer to his problems yet, she took pity on the poor soul and sought to guide him. She took two gold hairpins and asked if the empress and the imperial concubine would like the pins. Unnerved he had nodded. What xaio jiu did was to give him the hint that he so desperately needed. He had told her all about himself, his life and his country. In that, he has also told her he was already married to two, one the empress and other the imperial concubine. Even though he had never loved someone before her, he was still a ruler who most of the time had to make marriage contracts for the greater good of their people. He had explained that both of his marriages had been for that sole purpose and never had he ever taken a concubine. When she asked him the reason for that he told her, "it had never appealed to me. I married because my country needed me to, had two sons for the exact same reason. All I did was in service to my people. I never found a reason to do otherwise. Also, it would have been very disrespectful to the women who had entrusted their care to me, to build a harem that I would never care for and subject them to endless pain and misery." Warmed by his answer, she had asked him for further details about the two.  One of the things, he had mentioned was that when a new wife was added to the harem, she had to prove her respect and filiality to her seniors by giving them something she held close. So, when xaio jiu had asked wen chang about his wives' preference, she had indicated that she was ready to marry him, he only needed to ask. The next morning, he asked her to marry him and come with him to his country. Xaio jiu had happily accepted.

For the next ten years, they had lived happily together. The decade had gone by smoothly but not uneventfully. After the emperor had returned, the news of the new concubine had spread like wildfire since he was famous for his honest and upright nature. The people, the courtiers, and the harem were curious alike about the woman who had finally captured the heart of the great emperor. The couple had decided to let everyone know in steps.

First came the harem, when wen chang had introduced her to the two ladies, she requested him to leave them alone to get to know each other and trusting her, he had acquiesced. After he had left, she had knelt before them and presented them with the pins she had chosen. She had explained, "I understand the empress and the imperial lady lack no ornament or jewelry for his majesty is kind and generous. But as my gift of filiality to you, I present these pins to you. They were given to me by my parents and the things I hold most dear. Though it might not be up to par with your majesty's beauty, these are all I have of them in this life. As I present you with these, I promise you both my complete loyalty. I am but a small and poor girl from the outside, I have never desired for any power or wealth and I will never desire for it. I came here only for the love I hold for the emperor and nothing else. I do not wish to compete for his majesty's heart nor would any child I may have will for the throne, for this I give you my word. I only ask that you take me under your wing and treat me as the little sister who you may come to love one day." This honest little speech of xaio jiu's had moved their hearts so much that they had immediately pulled her up in an enormous hug. Both the wives were kind and sweet-natured, the only thing they had feared was if the emperor brought some cunning and power-hungry woman than they might not be able to withstand it and would thus be disgraced. But the sweet and honest words of xaio jus had won their hearts and they welcomed her with all the love of two big sisters.