Chapter 6 (1/2)

There are about 10 chapters to this story and we are now at chapter 6.  Although Feng Jin is a surprising character, it is actually Shang Guan Jing who shocked me the most in this story because she can bring herself to marry a man whom she doesn’t love.  She doesn’t dislike Feng Jin of course, but I think it is apparent that she only feels pity and friends.h.i.+p towards him. If I can ever get over my disbelief, I find this situation pretty good if you ask me. Feng Jin is not an easy man to live with and it helps if he likes her more than she does. Have a happy week ahead!

Chapter 6

Shang Guan Jing blinks and looks around her new bedroom. She has just promised Feng Jin yesterday to spend the rest of their life together then the next day ….. they are married?

When she woke up in the morning, she was still asking Zhu Yu on the whereabouts of the  young woman. After after Zhu Yu informed her that the young woman has already left with her father, the maid has laughed at her concern for others on her wedding day (wedding day?!) and shown her a red bridal dress. It is a simple dress, made from soft, silky fabric, without any elaborate embroidery or beaded bridal headgear which usually comes with such outfits. There are some gold-embroidered pattern along the neckline which reminds her of the carvings on her leader’s token.   It suits Shang Guan Jing tastes and she likes the dress very much.

Once she has changed into the dress, she was lead to the main house that has been decked with red lanterns of various sizes, giving the hall a festive feel. Like her gown, her wedding is very simple – Zhu Yu and Niu Da are their only guests and Feng Jin takes her hand and leads her through the ceremonial rites.

First, they need to bow to the heavens. Shang Guan Jing feels a tug on her hand and like a puppet, she bows.

The second bow is to their parents. Since she has none and his are not present, they have even 1 less bow than normal weddings.

Third, they need to bow to each other. Like the first bow, Shang Guan Jing follows the tug on her hand dazedly… and she is a married woman.

Throughout the whole ceremony, Shang Guan Jin feels that she is walking on clouds, so surreal is her wedding, and it is only when she follows her husband to their wedding room that she feels that her feet is finally touching the ground. She only came out of her daze when Feng Jin asks her. “Niang zi(wife)? Why are you so quiet? Have you… regretted marrying me?”

She denies it immediately least he gets mistaken and hurt. Seeing that she doesn’t seem to be bolting for the hills, Feng Jin leads her to sit down before a table laden with food and drinks and offers her some sweet cakes. She declines. “I am not hungry or thirsty. Can you sit down and talk with me?”

He complies immediately; his eagerness to please is so apparent, that it makes her smile and think of what she can do for him in return. “I have not regretted marrying you but neither has it crossed my mind that you wanted to get married this soon! At the very least, shouldn’t you bring me home to see your parents and seek their approval?”

“There is no rush to meet your in-laws but it is imperative that we marry without further delay.”

Looking at him, she thinks she understands – he is worried that she will change her mind and he confirms her suspicions with his next sentence. “It is so hard to find someone who does not look at me like a freak and if I do not grab the chance when it appears, where am I going to find another bride if you run away?”

Shang Guan Jing does not like his a.s.sessment of the situation nor does she agree with him. She does not mind his looks and in truth, she is rather glad that he is not good-looking that she has to compete with other women for his affections. “You look fine, just fine.”

A shadow falls across her face and the next instant, he has captured her lips with hers. He is rather insistent and she pushes him away with difficulty. “Umm, Feng Jin, shall we take this slowly?” She swears that she has been kissed before, by a man whom most woman would consider handsome, but she has never had this feeling – cornered and out of control at the same time.

“Sure, we shall sit here for a little while.” Feng Jin coaxes softly and sits closer to her. But in the next instant, he has lean over and kissed her again.   In the s.p.a.ce of a few heartbeats, she is sitting on his lap. Although she would prefer taking things slow, some things in life are beyond her control.

She woke up with his hands wrapped around her and his name came immediately to mind. Night has fallen and the past few hours have been pretty incredible.   She is physically very fit, but despite years of training hard at martial, she is almost ashamed to acknowledge to herself that she has next to little or no control over Feng Jin over conjugal matters.

He is a fiery lover and although the description sounds weird, she means it quite literally. It has been a pa.s.sionate afternoon but at one point in time, she thought she was engulfed in a ball of reddish flames. A phoenix has rose up from the flames and spreads its wings before cras.h.i.+ng over her.   She remembered the heat, how it has singed her skin and tears to fall. It must have been a figment of her imagination but it has felt very real at that time.

Ay, as if there are not enough unusual happenings ever since she came to Nan Man, even her wedding night is odd.

She stretches her sore muscles and when she groans softly, she hears an amused voice. “Does it still hurt?”

Looking up, she is about to reply when she is shocked into silence. Really, after days of handling unusual situations, she is a little surprise that she can actually be shocked.

Who is this man in bed with her? He is a good-looking man – a devilishly, good-looking man – who looks somewhat familiar.  He asks again. “Does it still hurt?”

“You are… Feng Jin?”

She struggles to sit up and he laughs at her confusion. “No, I am not Feng Jin. Oh dear, some other man has taken advantage of you. What is Niang Zi going to do next? Haha! Take a good look. I am Feng Jin. Who else can I be?”

Niang Zi? So he is really Feng Jin? But his face… she traces her fingers over his flawless complexion. “Your red patches… they are… gone?!”

“Yes,” he smiles at her. “Don’t you like it?”

Like it? She stares hard at him. “You mentioned before that your illness will be cured once you marry. Are your patches not birthmarks, but a result of your illness? And if your skin is now normal, does it mean that you would not bleed on every full moon? If so, I am so happy for you!”

He shrugs. “Who knows the behaviour of my illness for sure? For all you know, we must mutually cultivate every day in order to keep it at bay.”