Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter Two (Part 1)

Chen Quan Ran was shocked the deity in front of him was the young girl he married ten years ago, Mo Lan.

Chen Quan Ran didn’t expect to meet Mo Lan yesterday at the inn. But when they were reunited yesterday she knew he was her husband.

Mo Lan poured tea for Chen Quan Ran’s grandma, and Mo Lan smiled mockingly at him. But his attention was on her curved eyelashes, little nose slightly tilted upward and her creamy white jade skin. He thought his wife in her green dress looked more beautiful than a spring flower.

Madam sipped her tea. She glanced at her grandson then she looked at Xiao Lan. ‘Xiao Lan, how did you know this little boy is your husband?’

Chen Quan Ran glanced at his grandma and he looked at Mo Lan. He was also curious how she knew he was her husband.

Chen Quan Ran was lucky his men weren’t inside his grandma’s chamber. If his men saw how enamoured he was by his wife’s wit and beauty, his men would think his commanding aura as a general was lost.

Mo Lan stood behind Madam and she ma.s.saged Madam’s shoulders. Mo Lan smiled at Chen Quan Ran who sat opposite Madam. ‘General Chen, you secretly travelled to the imperial city. But it was easy for me to guess your ident.i.ty.’

Chen Quan Ran felt Mo Lan’s voice was soothing as her beauty. It was a pity he never liked gentle young ladies. Their weak tears didn’t repulse him as much as the thought of him accidently breaking their delicate leg or arm.

Mo Lan ma.s.saged Madam’s arms and she felt Chen Quan Ran was looking at her condescendingly. She wasn’t angry. She looked straight at his eyes and she smiled. ‘Firstly, General Chen you weren’t wearing your official armor but your boots betrayed your ident.i.ty.’

Chen Quan Ran lowered his head and he looked closely at his boots. There was a golden dragon’s claw embroidered on each of his boots.

‘In the Northern Empire apart from the imperial family only the Northern Empire General is allowed to wear boots embroidered with a dragon’s claw, secondly…’ Mo Lan said. She looked at Chen Quan Ran’s creased forehead and she smiled. ‘General Chen, you command the Northern Empire’s army. It’s natural for you to have a commanding aura. But even if you are speaking informally your eyebrows are trained to look unyielding.’

Chen Quan Ran knew Mo Lan’s words were purposely provoking him, but he didn’t know why he couldn’t control his anger.

Madam smiled and she looked at her grandson’s unyielding eyebrows.

Chen Quan Ran wanted to cry and laugh. It was clear to him that Mo Lan wanted to use a good opportunity to take revenge on him for his jest about how she should beg him to save her from the bandits at the inn yesterday.

‘Thirdly…’ Mo Lan said. She ignored Chen Quan Ran and Madam’s secret glances at each other. ‘Madam kept a painting of General Chen’s father when he was a young man. Although General Chen you are not as handsome as your father, you do resemble him a bit.’

Chen Quan Ran thought Mo Lan’s tongue was sharp, her words successfully insulted him. But he wanted to praise her astute eye sight. Within the short period she was reunited with him, she was able to observe him closely and recognise him.

In the past ten years Chen Quan Ran occasionally thought about his wife. But he didn’t expect the young girl who sat in a red sedan chair ten years ago would become a beautiful deity. He wondered if his wife remembered the first time they met, he lifted the red silk fabric over her phoenix crown headpiece and he put a frog in her hands. Suddenly the feelings in his heart were complex. If he said he didn’t think his wife was appealing then he would be lying. But like in the past he couldn’t force himself to desire a weak female. He didn’t need a female to give birth to the next generation of the Chen household. He wanted a female who could ride a horse alongside him and laughed loudly with him.

Chen Quan Ran could never forget how his gentle mother grieved for his father who died on the battlefield, and not long after his father’s death his mother pa.s.sed away from immense grief. It was a memory that haunted his heart.

‘Xiao Lan is a wise young lady. I’m proud to love and raised you all these years,’ Madam said affectionately. She gently patted Xiao Lan’s hand. ‘Quan Ran is blessed to marry you in this lifetime. I wonder what good deeds Quan Ran performed in his previous lifetime to meet and marry you in this lifetime.’

Mo Lan felt shy and her cheeks blushed. She looked at Chen Quan Ran, she was disappointed she saw anger and resentment.

Chen Quan Ran felt his heart constricted. In the past he met beautiful young ladies, but no one was beautiful as Mo Lan.

Madam secretly looked at her grandson and Xiao Lan. She was satisfied they were staring deeply at each other.

‘Xiao Lan, your husband finally came home after five years. Xiao Lan, plan a banquet to celebrate Quan Ran’s return,’ Madam said.

Mo Lan was startled when she heard ‘husband,’ but she quickly understood Madam wanted her to go outside for a while because Madam wanted to say a few private words with Chen Quan Ran. ‘Then with Madam’s permission Xiao Lan will go outside to plan a banquet.’

Madam noticed her grandson’s eyes followed Xiao Lan’s back that was retreating outside her chamber. ‘You bad little boy, are you regretful now? You abandoned a beautiful wife for ten years. You also lost ten years of opportunities to make happy memories with Xiao Lan. If in the past you made wiser decisions then perhaps you and Xiao Lan would have two young children who could walk by now.’

Chen Quan Ran looked away from Mo Lan’s back. He pitied Mo Lan, but pity wasn’t going to change his way of thinking.

Chen Quan Ran picked up a cup and he sipped tea. ‘Grandma, what are you saying? The past ten years I’ve been fighting to protect the Northern Empire. Compared to a female’s adoration, fighting is more interesting. I don’t have any regrets.’

***

Chapter Two (Part 2)

‘You blind little boy! Xiao Lan is a treasure amongst thousands of young ladies. She’s beautiful, talented, wise and compa.s.sionate. She’s been filial to the Chen household members since she was a little girl. You won’t find another young lady who is as caring and responsible as Xiao Lan,’ Madam said.

Chen Quan Ran laughed. ‘What good is knowing how to embroider, recite poems and paint? They are idle things over indulged young gentlemen and ladies do to waste time. I’m a general. Thinking about how to protect citizens of the Northern Empire is enough for me.’

Although Chen Quan Ran was blessed with a handsome face and born into a powerful household, his way of thinking was the same as his men. He disdained scholarly amus.e.m.e.nts like playing a guzheng (Chinese zither, a string instrument), singing, reciting poetry and painting.

‘You bad little boy, you didn’t inherit any of your parents’ strengths. When your father was a young general, he was handsome, strong and a scholar. If your father wasn’t an exceptional young man, your mother wouldn’t notice your father. Your mother was beautiful, wise, kind and gentle. Your father was blessed he got to marry your mother,’ Madam said. ‘But look at yourself. When you were a child your teacher taught you how to write, but you used the ink brush as a toy. If your teacher taught you how to play the guzheng, you cut off the strings and used the strings as weapons. How did I have such a strange grandson when your parents were exceptional people?’

‘Grandma, perhaps my parents secretly adopted me,’ Chen Quan Ran said.

Madam picked up her staff and she struck the ground. ‘You bad little boy, why are you speaking nonsense?’

Chen Quan Ran knew he angered his grandma. He quickly stood behind his grandma, and he ma.s.saged her shoulders. ‘Grandma, I was jesting. Don’t be angry. I rode day and night back home to see you. If seeing me makes you more ill then I’ll be worse than an unfilial grandson.’

‘You bad little boy, don’t think you can make me less angry with your sweet words. Now that you’re back, don’t dream about an easy escape. I will see the emperor. I have spent my life helping to build the Northern Empire. The emperor knows I am a loyal citizen and he will listen to my reasonable request,’ Madam said. She turned around and she glared at her grandson. ‘You are twenty-four years old. You and Xiao Lan have been married for ten years. Xiao Lan isn’t a child bride anymore. She is a young lady, she knows what she can do and she should do.’

‘Should do? Do what?’ Chen Quan Ran asked.

‘You bad little boy, you dare pretend you don’t know? I will hit you to death if you and Xiao Lan don’t give me several great-grandchildren to love,’ Madam said.

‘Grandma, are you jesting? Look at Mo Dan, are you not scared I can accidently break her leg or arm if I am not careful? Then she will be crippled for the rest of her life,’ Chen Quan Ran said.

Madam stood and she hit her grandson with her staff.

‘Grandma, stop hitting me. I know you are strong. But it is my first day back home, you do not need to hit me this hard,’ Chen Quan Ran said.

Madam was angrier her grandson’s reflexes were sharp. He easily avoided her staff. She chased him around her chamber for a long time. Then he escaped her chamber and he jumped onto the roof.

‘Even if you have strong arms and hands, she won’t break easily because you squeezed her a little. You little demon, haven’t you caused enough trouble ten years ago when you gave a frog to a little girl and caused her to faint? For ten years you have been a neglectful husband. If Xiao Lan wasn’t an understanding and a gentle young lady then your reputation would be ruined by now. It won’t make me faint, but I will be embarra.s.sed to call you my grandson.’ Madam said loudly. Her throat was dry from cursing her bad grandson. She picked up a cup and she sipped tea. ‘If you don’t make Xiao Lan pregnant, don’t dream about stepping one foot outside the imperial city. If you dare escape the imperial city, I’ll use a fabric to strangle my neck for you to see.’

Chen Quan Ran’s head hurt after he heard his grandma’s warning. He realised not coming home for ten years had angered his grandma more than he expected. His grandma’s warning forced him to be together with Mo Lan.

Chen Quan Ran hated gentle and weak young ladies like Mo Lan. But he didn’t know why if he thought about Mo Lan’s smile, he didn’t hate Mo Lan. He thought perhaps it would be easy to grant his grandma’s request.

Later that day Madam gathered all of the Chen household’s maids and servants to greet her grandson, because she didn’t want anyone to think her grandson was an intruder.

Chen Quan Ran’s men were honoured to meet the legendary Madam who helped build the Northern Empire. But when his men saw his wife they were shocked she was the young man in white clothes they met at the inn yesterday.

Mo Lan held a banquet for Chen Quan Ran as Madam requested. Mo Lan changed into a formal jade green dress to attend the banquet.

Mo Lan played a song on the guzheng to welcome Chen Quan Ran’s men to the Chen manor.

The maids and servants served Chen Quan Ran and his men the food Mo Lan prepared and the wine Mo Lan chose for the banquet.

After the banquet Mo Lan was busy preparing the best rooms for Chen Quan Ran’s men. The maids and servants who helped Mo Lan were also diligent and efficient.

Chen Quan Ran’s men were in awe of Mo Lan. She was a nineteen year old young lady, but she ran the Chen household in an efficient and a graceful manner.

In the evening Chen Quan Ran and Xiao Ha sat on the roof and they drank from wine jars together.

‘General, the service and food in your home is exceptional but the atmosphere is too stern. I feel more comfortable to sit in front of a camp fire to roast a chicken or a duck and drink wine,’ Xiao Ha said.

Chen Quan Ran laid on the roof, and he looked at the stars in the night sky. Although he was the head of the Chen household, like Xiao Ha he wasn’t used to eating at formal banquets. He felt more comfortable eating informally with his men.

Chen Quan Ran heard Mo Lan’s voice nearby, she spoke gently and firmly to the maids and servants. He thought Mo Lan was still young, but she managed his home like an experienced old Madam.

Chen Quan Ran and his men could see that all the Chen household’s maids and servants respected and listened to Mo Lan. When two servants accidently put chopsticks and cups in the wrong positions on the banquet table, Mo Lan tactfully reprimanded them and they sincerely promised not to make the same mistake again.

‘General, your wife is not a simple young lady. Yesterday at the inn your wife disguised herself as a young man, and on her own she made the bandits run away witless. Today your wife was a formidable mistress of the Chen household. It appears Madam has wise eyes,’ Xiao Ha said.

Chen Quan Ran lifted his head and he looked at Mo Lan below the roof. He gulped down a wine jar, and he didn’t know if he was enjoying the taste of the wine or if he was enjoying the view.

During the banquet Chen Quan Ran’s eyes followed Mo Lan’s movements. She played the guzheng exceptionally, and most of the night she was busy supervising the maids and servants. When she sat next to him at the banquet table, she lifted her head and she glanced once at him but it disturbed his heart. He didn’t understand why his eyes followed Mo Lan everywhere she went. She was clearly a gentle young lady that he didn’t desire, but she held his eyes captive.

‘I heard Madam made you promise to make her a great-grandmother. General, you’re twenty-four years old. Most men your age are fathers to several young children,’ Xiao Ha said.

‘What are you saying? Confess, did my grandma persuade you to encourage me to grant her request?’ Chen Quan Ran asked.