Chapter 111 - 109. Dowry

Third person POV

Hong er slowly parted her lips and stuttered out the question she most wanted to ask.

Hong er: " Why?"

Lu Ping once again looked down in contemplation. After a few second, he lifted his head and smiled carefreely at Hong er.

Lu Ping: " Since His Majesty didn't forbid me to say this then I won't hold back."

Hong er: ' Is it really fine?'

Lu Ping: " Actually the first time His Majesty wrote out the dower, it was 2 times longer than this."

Hong er: ' He is crazy but kinda funny.'

Lu Ping: " But Her Majesty Empress dowager rejected the list of dower seeing that it would be hard for Xu family to prepare the dowry. Therefore Her Majesty chose the useful things that were in the list and decreased it to half."

Hong er could only gawk at Lu Ping, what he said only made her more confused. Not only the emperor himself wrote out the dower list, even the empress dowager was involved in the dower's arrangement. The empress dowager could just pass it onto one of her experienced servant but she decided to hand pick it. Hong er couldn't comprehend why did they have to go all out just for this marriage.

Hong er: " Even Her Majesty empress dowager herself was involved in the dower's arrangement, is it worth it to do all of that for someone like me?"

The flaw in Hong er was her low self esteem and Lu Ping knew what causes Hong er to be like that, thus he smiled at Hong er.

Lu Ping: " Once, I asked His Majesty if it is worth it and then he said this to me."

Hong er stared at Lu Ping with curious eyes.

Lu Ping: " ' She can't be compared to these things. It is me that didn't deserve her.' "

Hong er widened her eyes in astonishment, she took a trip down her memory lane to recall if she ever met Da Qi emperor but no matter how many times she spun her brain, she couldn't remember.

Hong er: ' Why is His Majesty so fixated to me?'

Lu Ping: " I think Miss Xu is worth it. And please be confidence of yourself as you will lead Da Qi together by His Majesty's side."

Hong er: " Uh-uhm."

Even though she was praised by the emperor of Da Qi and a huge amount of dower, none of this made her as happy as when she spent her times with Sheng ge ( Weisheng). She was grateful by their compliments and praises but she still felt empty. Lu Ping let her rest for a day and would start teaching her tomorrow.

Hong er went to her favorite place, Floating Lotus Pavilion, it was the pavilion that was made for her birthday 7 years ago. Floating Lotus Pavilion was her private place and the servants respected her privacy by not going near the pavilion except for cleaning. They even guarded the pavilion from far away and Hong er really appreciates their thoughtfulness. Only Meiyun and Huayun could accompany her to the pavilion as Hong er had treat them as her own sister.

They had added an attached pavilion that can be used as a meditation place or a napping area. The floor was made from dark wood and the wood had cooling sensation therefore it suits Hong er's taste as she easily gets hot especially in summer. Hong er likes to lay on the wooden floor and dip her feet or hands into the water to relieve herself from the heat. But today she didn't feel like it, she just sat at the side while leaning on a wooden pillar. She dazedly stared at the fishes that were swimming around the lake.

( They didn't wear their masks. Visitors had to report first before they enter the garden because Hong er always took off her mask when she is in her pavilion.)

Meiyun and Huayun sat in silence until they saw a tear flew down Hong er's cheek. Seeing Hong er's tears, it made Huayun wanted to cry again. She gritted her teeth hoping her tears wouldn't fall again then the same warm hand was placed on top of her hand. Meiyun gently patted her hand a few times before she went to Hong er's side. She took Hong er's hand and gently caressed her hand with her thumb.

Meiyun: " Young Miss."

Hong er looked over to Meiyun with tears blurring her vision. Meiyun smiled gently at Hong er and wiped away Hong er's tears with her other hand.

Meiyun: " Young Miss, you need to take a rest. It won't be good for your body if you keep being like this."

More tears came out from Hong er's eyes as she leaned onto Meiyun's hand.

Hong er: " Whenever I close my eyes, the image of him dying always appear in my head. An-and I can't se-see him suffer like that."

Meiyun patted her lap and Hong er knew what she meant. Meiyun had taken care of Hong er since she was little and knew how to calm Hong er when she was in this kind of situation. When Hong er was still very young, she used to have nightmares and it was Meiyun that always led her to sleep again.

Hong er laid her head on Meiyun's lap with her tears wetting Meiyun's clothes. Meiyun caressed Hong er's hair and used her wind magic to create a gentle cool breeze to ease up the heat around the pavilion. After a while, Meiyun could feel Hong er's body relaxed and she softly spoke.

Meiyun: " Young Miss, do you trust me?"

Huayun that was sitting silently at the back, slowly lifted her eyes to look at Meiyun. As Meiyun's biological twin sister, Huayun knows what Meiyun had always wanted from people she respect or love. It was the hardest thing to gain and the easiest thing to broke, trust. Therefore, Meiyun would always ask everyone that she trusted if they trust her. And that's why the question that Meiyun asked Hong er made Huayun looked up.

Then she saw Meiyun was actually looking at her, she finally understood what Meiyun meant.

Huayun: ' She is asking both of us.'

Huayun slowly crawled towards Meiyun and buried her face onto Meiyun's shoulder. Hong er and Huayun nodded their head against Meiyun's body at the same time. A gentle smile bloomed on Meiyun's face as she leaned her head on top of Huayun's head.

Meiyun: " En, thank you for trusting me."

Meiyun covered Hong er's eyes with her palm, she could feel the wetness of Hong er's tears.

Meiyun: " Now, close your eyes and think of his smiling face."

An image of Weisheng smiled gently at her while patting her head appeared. Meiyun patted her head and whispered a chant. Not long after, she heard Hong er and Huayun's breathing had become stable. She smiled gently at the sleeping girls and looked up to the sky. She inaudibly mumbled something.

Meiyun: " Please… believe this once. They are fine, they will come back to marry you two."

She saw the cloud's shape was similar to Qiyi when he was riding his horse. It reminded her the day where Qiyi left the residence for the mission, then she closed her eyes trying to forget about her unrequited love. She didn't want to chase after the impossible because she had other responsibilities to carry. She opened her eyes again and looked at her beloved Young Miss and sister.

Meiyun: " I will always protect you. Even if it costs my life."