Hong Kong

I

Akame Mei Ling was in the spacious chamber. It was actually a completely independent house inside the castle. There she had ample freedom to pursue her activities. She distracted herself by practicing Tai Chi, studying the I Ching and perfecting her calligraphy.

The other woman greeted her.

-- Your beauty dulls the dawning sun," she said with a nod of admiration.

-- It will not always be so," she replied with a soft smile, grateful for the compliment.

-- The master of the house has arrived," reported the other.

-- And with an additional nuisance, he indicated with a gesture of annoyance.

-- How dangerous?

-- Terrible. He's about to be the victim of an obsession. He almost lost control. She is an ordinary girl, with no manners, but with a strange power and dominion over him.

The woman looked at her with surprise.

-- So much so that she asked me to marry her.

-- Good luck, my lady.

--It will be very difficult for us to go through the various steps of courtship.

The other looked at her and Akame laughed mischievously....

A ceremonious knock came at the door and a service opened, ushering in a group of young women.

One of them handed over the Letter of Engagement: an official marriage contract between the two families.

Another handed over the Letter of Gift: a letter with a list clearly defining the types and amounts of gifts enclosed.

Another delivered the Wedding Letter: an official letter welcoming the bride to the groom's home.

And a matchmaker representing the count and loudly reiterated the request.

Proposing marriage: The parents of the boy who was to be married asked a matchmaker to propose to a potential young woman in her home.

By the earl's disposition the match of the date of birth was exempted; Akame looked down. They were not a close match.

(Birth date match: if the proposal went well, the matchmaker asks about the four pillars of the birth time (referring to the year, month, day and hour of birth respectively, known as Bazi in Chinese astrology) of the couple and is sent to a fortune teller to predict their future. If the fortune teller said okay, the marriage ritual would continue).

Another group of maids came in delivering the supposed wedding gifts from Qianling's father....

Akame looked . An infinite fortune in gold unfolded before his eyes .

And it was the Presentation of wedding gifts money (silver), costume jewelry, cakes and sacrificial items.

A warrior entered and told them the wedding date expressing that the groom was renouncing the dowry. With contemplating the beauty of the bride he had more than enough.

However, to avoid the awkward comments in the region, Akame hastily presented the dowry:

jewelry, scissors (symbolizing that the couple would never part), a ruler (symbolizing thousands of acres of fine land), a sugar slab (symbolizing the sweetness of a happy marriage), a silver bag (symbolizing wallowing in money), a vase (symbolizing wealth and honor), shoes (symbolizing the couple would remain happily married at a ripe old age), quilts, pillows, clothes and lotus petals (symbolizing the couple would have many children).

For the rest she was already in the groom's house.

A service announced that people who were born in the year of the tiger were not suitable to attend the wedding ceremony, to which Akame smiled. She was born in the year of the Tiger.

The matchmaker continued.

The bride's aunts and sisters-in-law were not allowed to see the bride on her wedding day, so there was no problem, her aunts had died of measles and the count was an only child.

Those present were silent for a moment.

The woman nudged him and Akame understood...The louder the bride cried over the news and on her wedding day, the better.

The man finished reading the conditions.

"On the wedding day, guests were not allowed to sit on the conjugal bed.The dress worn by the bride on her wedding day was supposed to be without any pockets to be unable to carry her father's fortune for wealth. The bride should not be lying in bed on the wedding day, or she would be confined to bed by illness.The bride's mirror could not be lent to others.The bride was not to sleep outside her home within four months and The bride was not to attend any funeral ceremony within four months after the wedding."

After saying this,the matchmaker withdrew.

-- The bride's gown?

-- I'll make it myself. There must be some cloth somewhere.

Akame went to sit in a wide armchair, holding her forehead with her hand.

The other came over and knelt before her.

-- Satisfied? Do you love him?

She denied quietly and almost silently said to him.

-- It is a great triumph. Several things. All this indicates that he's scared, he fell in love with that time traveler. I don't care and I don't care. It only remains for me to take advantage of it.

-- What will you do?

--- Give him pleasure in the middle of the night. Make him a slave to my body.

--!!!!---

Kathy received costumes in keeping with the times. She was exempted from wearing the foot-reducing shoes. And she regretted not having sanitary napkins and toothpaste.....

She was also free to come and go around the palace; to visit the exterior. She could not ride a horse and a chaperone was imposed on her.

-- Enhora good. I heard about your upcoming marriage," Kathy greeted.

-- It's a political decision," Akame said dryly.

-- I thought marriage was a civil contract.

-- Among other things," Akame replied, withdrawing and leaving her alone, as the Qiang Ling arrived at his side.

-- How is your wound," the young woman greeted courteously.

-- The healer doctor has given me the appropriate teas and concoctions, and several sessions of acupuncture and acupressure.

-- You need antiseptics... I want you to know it is a terrible shock for me to know that I am many centuries before my birth. I don't know how you came to be in my time. It's terrible what you've done to me.

-- And you want to know why I brought you here.

-- Of course.

-- I'll soon tell you. I'm up against a warlord who has ambitions to take something of mine.

-- The beautiful bride. He replied with an obvious gesture.

-- Among other things.

---And what do I have to do with that?

The man looked at her. She guessed it was a passion that burned and undressed her with its passionate and silent gaze.

-- You are engaged," she said fearfully, understanding that nothing would defend her if she carried out what she supposed to be his ardent intentions.

--- You will help me in time.

--- I'm just a student nurse.

--- Exactly.

Kathy was confused. He towered over her with his stature. He was a tall, stocky, filmy man.

-- Have you really never been to a gym?" she asked, feeling overpowered by his galloping, depraved mind.

-- No. I know his world.

-- That led you to my time.

-- Tomorrow she'll see for herself.

-- How can I be sure? I'm his prisoner. I'm cornered here. You decide for yourself as if I were your property.

-- We'll draw up a contract.

-- I think he already has one.

-- Ours is mercantile.

-- They're all mercantile. The man said with the intention of saying good-bye.

-- So we are in the middle of a civil war.

-- Let's say a dispute over land boundaries.

-- And over a beautiful woman.

-- At the rate we're going, it'll soon be for two.

-- She won't pretend. She indicated in disgust, feeling that the other was auctioning her off.

-- We're in the middle of an exceptional situation.

-- Of course. More than a thousand years from my time.

-- He'll be back. Don't worry about that... By the way -- said the man gesturing and a servant rushed up, bowed and looking down to the floor, showed a chest.

-- For you.

-- Does it weigh much?

-- He will carry it.

-- I understand. I must lock myself in my room. Know that I won't forgive you for missing the Squid Game season, and the Gay Superman series.

The man with a bow walked away and she walked down the lonely corridors.

She reached her room and curiously opened the chest. Toothpaste, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, a made in north korea makeup case, sanitary caps, deodorant.

She couldn't help but smile...

II

Thomas called his father.

-- Hello. Have you arrived in New York yet?

-- Yes. Getting used to the time change. I'm worried. You really should be here. Hong Kong is cruel to those who don't hold up.

-Wherever. I'll be fine. Who can I trade a kilo of gold with that won't come looking to kill me or kidnap me for my money?

-- There are several.

-- A reliable one.

-- More or less reliable is a Vietnamese. I'll send you his phone number. And I'll tell you he's on the road, so I'll see if I can get a hold of him.

-- Hey. Golden triangle guys can be dangerous," Thomas replied, understanding that the Vietnamese guy's "trip" was that he was hiding from the police.

-- I'll talk to him. Then I'll tell you.

-- Pay well?

--- Count on it... You're my son. I won't expose you.

-- Thank you... Will you recover?

-- It's temporary. You'll see.

II

Kathy sat gazing at the main inner garden of Qiang Li's palace.

She breathed in the cold mountain air and enjoyed the serenity of the view and the tranquility of the moment.

Her previous life was the sum of hardships wrapped up in the harsh environment of Hong Kong.

Now she understood that destiny gave her moments of tranquility, in preparation for a challenge of destiny.

Silent, ethereal, beautiful beside her sat Akame, Qiang Li's beautiful fiancée.

II