Severing Time & Space

Marriage to the Emperor's Daughter, Part IV

Night had fallen and Wu Jian lay wide awake in bed, replaying what happened at dinner over and over again in his mind. He recalled the pandemonium that had taken place immediately after Emperor Hou Jun announced that he was wedding his daughter to Wu Jian. Almost everyone had begun talking at once, raising their voices more and more in an attempt to talk over each other. It was only thanks to the emperor’s presence that the situation calmed down so quickly.

However, Wu Jian would never forget the expression Hou Jingshu had worn when this announcement was made. The blood had rapidly drained from her face and she seemed to lose all her strength, her shoulders sagging as if they were being pressed upon by a great weight. It was clear that she had no idea what had been about to happen.

He felt bad for her.

He also wondered about himself. Wu Jian was not sure what to think or how to feel. For the whole of his life, he had been dedicated to getting stronger so he could stay by Wu Meiying’s side. His goal in life was to get strong, marry Wu Meiying, and raise a family alongside her. Now that goal seemed further away than ever before.

At that moment, a knock came at his window. He stood up, made his way to the window, and opened the shudders. A figure leapt in at that moment. It was, of course, Wu Meiying. He glanced outside and was surprised to see the guards normally present not stationed there. They must have gotten drunk during the party. He closed the shutters and turned as she pulled back the hood of her cloak, allowing her midnight hair to descend down her back. Then she undid the fastens to reveal that she was wearing cute pajamas.

“Mei…”

“I figured you would be brooding tonight,” Wu Meiying said with a bright grin.

“You knew this would happen, didn’t you?” he said. “You saw it. You knew the emperor was going to announce that I was marrying his daughter?”

Wu Meiying didn’t deny it. “I saw it in a dream the other day.”

Wu Jian sat down on the bed, placed his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward as he ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t know what to think.

“This is all happening too fast. What should I do now? I have no idea what I’m supposed to do in this situation,” he said.

“What do you mean?” asked Wu Meiying.

“I mean, if I marry Hou Jingshu, then…”

How can we get married?

The question was on the tip of Wu Jian’s tongue, but he didn’t ask it because he was afraid of the answer.

“What are you talking about?” Wu Meiying giggled as she skipped over to him and sat down so close their shoulders touched. She knocked into him once. “We can still get married.”

Wu Jian didn’t say anything at first, but when he did, each word was spoken with slow deliberation. “I suppose… we could practice polygamy, but if I marry Hou Jingshu, wouldn’t I be a simple prince consort? I would not become emperor. Are prince consorts allowed to have more than one wife?”

“That’s not actually how it would go,” Wu Meiying corrected him.

“It’s not?”

Smiling, she shook her head. “Don’t forget that Emperor Hou Jun came to us, not the other way around. He is marrying Hou Jingshu off, so that means we are not marrying into his family. Hou Jingshu is marrying into our family, which means she will become Wu Jingshu when you two marry.”

“I see. So I had it all wrong.”

Wu Jian nodded as he realized his thoughts and concerns had been incorrect. Now that she had pointed it out to him, that did explain why the emperor had come all this way instead of having the Wu Clan travel to the imperial capital.

However, that begged another question.

“Why is he marrying his only daughter to a small clan like ours?” he asked. That was what really didn’t make sense. They could not offer him anything of value for marrying his daughter—certainly, there were many noble clans back in the capital with far more wealth, power, and prestige than them. The Wu Clan was just a small clan living in the countryside.

“I don’t know, but I suspect it has to do with some kind of unrest that’s happening in the capital.” Wu Meiying crossed her arms and tilted her head. “While he made light of the situation, it sounds like the emperor’s sons are causing chaos in the kingdom. You know Emperor Hou Jun is getting up there in his years. His cultivation base also isn’t very high. I hear he’s only at the first subrealm of the Human Limit Realm. That might make him one of the strongest people in the Shang Kingdom, but it’s not very high compared to other monarchs. He’s already around two hundred years-old, so he probably won’t live for more than another two decades or so. I bet you anything his sons are preparing to fight for the throne once he is gone.”

While her words could have been considered insulting had anyone else heard them, Wu Jian merely nodded. Emperor Hou Jun had recently celebrated his 234th birthday not long ago. While that would not be old for a cultivator at the Deva Realm, who could live for at least one thousand years, that was not true for a cultivator who was only at the Human Limit Realm. They would live, at most, only one or two hundred years longer than a normal human. Three hundred was the longest any Human Limit Realm cultivator had lived in recorded history.

“So he’s marrying his daughter off to a small family way out in the countryside because he doesn’t want her being used as a pawn in his sons’ political maneuverings,” Wu Jian mused out loud.

“That’s what I think is happening, at any rate,” Wu Meiying said with a shrug.

“And what do you think I should do about this?” asked Wu Jian.

“Hmmm. First, I think we should accept Hou Jingshu as a part of our family. She’s even more of a victim in all this than you are. I bet you anything she’s feeling resentful and scared right now. As her fiancé, you need to be her rock and help make her feel safe, secure, and happy.”

“Do you think I can do that?”

“If anyone can do that, it’s you.”

Wu Meiying’s confidence was probably the only reason Wu Jian could also feel confident about this situation. He honestly didn’t know if he could love someone the way he did her, but hearing her say that he could made him believe in himself. Wu Jian would do his best to live up to those expectations.

“Okay. Then that’s what I’ll do,” he decided.

“Good. I would be very upset if you decided not to do your best to help her. I rather like Hou Jingshu,” Wu Meiying confessed with a smile.

He smiled back. “Are you gonna stay the night?”

“Can’t. Your mother will be arriving in five minutes to talk about Hou Jingshu, and I need to be gone by then.”

After saying that, Wu Meiying stood up. Wu Jian followed her as she donned her cloak and walked over to the window. She didn’t climb out right away. Turning around, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips, then leaned back and smiled.

“Goodnight, Jian.”

“Goodnight, Mei.”

Still smiling, she pulled the hood back over her head, climbed onto the window sill, and silently leapt outside. He watched as her figure disappeared into the thickets. Then he closed the window. Not long after, a knock came at his door. The person standing on the other side when he opened it was his mother.

“Mother, what are you doing here so late?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“Can I come in?” Mother asked with a gentle smile. “I know you must be shocked by what happened at dinner tonight, so I wanted to talk to you about it.”

It’s just as Wu Meiying predicted. She must have had another dream about this happening as well. I’m always stunned by how accurate her visions are.

He once again had to marvel at Wu Meiying’s ability to predict the future. He didn’t know how she did it, but it was scary cool.

“Of course, Mother. Please come inside,” Wu Jian said as he stepped aside and allowed his mother into the room.