Taoist Master

Trial of Patience 2

Beyond the barrier, Bai Qian felt Di Juns arrival well before his feet landed at the entrance so of course she could also feel the unsettled energy of a man she wished would just go away and leave her alone.

This was day three and Mo Yuan was still outside in the driving rain.  Initially, she had ignored him while losing herself to her misery.  It might have seemed selfish to men like him that she would choose to remain hidden from the rest of world, but she did so for a very good reason.  Her life and every choice she ever made was based solely on the wellbeing of her people.  She had no time or desire for marriage much less a man who broke his word under pressure.   Not when her people needed a stable and honest ruler, one who took an oath seriously and having sworn to protect them all from dishonest men like him, she felt no guilt for leaving him out there.

Not when the first day saw her battling to keep other men like him at bay.  The sudden thrust into the world lime light had seen untold missives arrive in huge numbers.  Most were congratulatory cards wishing her a productive year as the Grand Master of Taoism, though there were just as many invitations to balls, festivals, banquets and marriage proposals which she immediately threw out.

But it was Di Juns beautiful hand writing and gold gilded envelope that had her suddenly stalling at her desk where she had tried to bury herself in her work.  She knew immediately who it was from and for a few brief seconds she seriously considered throwing it out with the rest.  Only the thought that he had actually gone to the trouble to personally pen his letter to her which was an invitation to the Festival of Peaches, soon had her carefully lifting his seal, reading the contents and then quickly penning a reply which she had Mi Gu deliver.

And she accepted it because she needed to get out of the den.  With Mo Yuan stubbornly refusing to leave, even standing at the gate in the pouring rain in the middle of the night, only increased the misery she was in.  Several times she almost went to him and Mi Gus forlorn look of sympathy had almost seen her cave to the point where she forced herself to avoid him.  

Only the longer  the stubbornness lasted, the worse she felt and the harder the sudden feeling of loneliness washed over her.  She had no idea how much of an affect his presence in the den had had on her until then.  The long drawn out silence felt constricting and claustrophobic.  She missed the nightly talks, the cuddles by the fire, the walks around Qing Qiu and his many little quirks that she had learned by heart.

And those little quirks were brought to mind during the most mundane things she continued to do with him outside her barrier.  Just sitting down to eat her meal, brought to mind that he never held onto his chopsticks when he chewed his food, instead they were placed neatly to the side of his bowl until his mouthful was finished before picking them up again.  

He also matched his under shirts to his robes with impeccable style. Nothing was out of place and not a single crease seen which in her family was unheard of.  They all wore what they wanted and in whatever state it happened to be in when they put it on.   She also noticed that he walked on her right hand side everywhere they went and the one time she had moved to his right hand side, then she was gently but firmly moved to his left.  But the main little quirk that she missed the most, was the nightly mediation.  Initially she had hated it so much that she almost threw him out.  He still meditated at night, though the chanting was kept so low that she could easily block it out.

Though for some reason, she had grown used to the soft melodious sound of his voice in the night.  She felt safer, warmer and slept better.  She looked forward to the nights just as much as she did their days, and despite herself, she found herself growing very fond of him.

But the longer he drew out his self induced punishment, the angrier she became and the more adamant she was that he would remain out there.  So digging in her heels, She went and bathed, read a book and then slept fitfully until dawn only to still feel his energy at the gate.  Which only had her rising out of bed tired and in the same state of mind as the night before.