LOVE AND WAR

One

The young girl in the sparely furnished room stared at her reflection in the bronze mirror in front of her. There was almost an invisible smile on her face. A woman was behind her getting her ready for the auspicious hour. The young girl's face was beautifully made up, her lips were painted in a shade of dark red the same fiery red with her bridal dress. Today was her wedding day, even though she was getting married to someone she barely knew, she was excited not because of anything but her long awaited freedom. She was finally going to be free from her hell of her a home where she was invisible.

She was the village chief's last daughter. Her mother Lin Huiyin was the main wife of the chief who had four concubines. After marriage, she found it hard to conceive and when she eventually did, Ying Yue was born. Six years after Ying Yue's birth, Huiyin became pregnant again. During her complicated child birth, the little baby boy and Huiyin lost their lives. Even when her mother was alive, Ying Yue came to learn that her father had no feeling for her mother so when her mother died, the first concubine became the second wife and Ying Yue was left at her care. Wang Shi did not hide the fact that she hated the little girl. Ying Yue who was just six at the time of her mother's death had to fend for herself. Even her father didn't care whether she lived or died.

It was true that she knew little to nothing about her husband, only that he was a solider, she was glad she was escaping from her hell. Her mother in-law and sister in-laws had been kind to her from the start and had genuinely shown her love. Even though they were poor, they were contented with what they had. She loved how happily they lived and longed for such warmth. She had only met her said husband twice. Just as the rumors said, he was the youngest eligible bachelor in there village and the most handsome. He was sought after by many families for marriage. But his mother had chosen her to be his bride and for that she was grateful.

Minutes later, she was seated on the carriage heading to her husband's home. Her father wasn't even there to bid her goodbye. Her stepmother was angry that she had won such a lottery as a husband. Even her sister's were jealous of her. To be a solider wasn't an easy thing, but the more you grew in rank, the more successful you become. With the rumors going on about her husband, it was obvious that he was going to be very successful in the future.

Some of the unmarried females in the village had spitefully told her that she doesn't deserve such a man. She wasn't even sure herself. Before her mother died, to protect her from being sold out to a lustful old man as a concubine, she had spread a rumor about her. She had said that not only was her daughter sick, she was also deformed and had bad luck. It was part of the reason her family had hated her. She was viewed as a hellbringer. She knew that what her mother did was for her sake so she didn't hate her mother even when the rumor made her unable to live a peaceful life, and she had hide her face by wearing a veil every time.

Her husband was currently walking beside her carriage in a horse. She had not expected him to come at all, seeing him outside when she had walked out of her bedchamber had elated her spirit.

After the necessary ceremonial rites, Ying Yue and her husband were lead to the bridal chamber. Ying Yue was scared of many things, like having an affair with someone she barely knew, but she knew that she needed to prove that she was still a virgin, so she braced herself for the long night ahead. Also she knew that in the morning her true looks would be discovered when she eventually washes off her make up. She doesn't know how her husband or his family would react but she concluded to wait and pass the hurdle when it comes. With that thought, she closed her eyes and sat down on the bridal bed, awaiting for her husband who had gone out to drink with friends.

When she heard the approaching footsteps, she released the breath she was holding and braced herself for the intimate moment.