Hello everyone! I'd just like to say thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Yep, that's about it.
Chapter Two: At the Peach Garden
Time seemed to fly by as preparations were made for Sun Shang Xiang's arrival. Not one person was left behind in helping out; everybody was asked, young or old, to assist in some manner or another. And many of them were ready and willing to lend a hand, as everyone was equally excited about Liu Bei's marriage as he was. The peach garden, where Liu Bei had sworn an oath with two close friends, was made even more beautiful than it once had been, as hard as that was to believe. The branches were pruned, the falling leaves picked up off the ground, and the soil made rich and fertile. Nothing was left unattended to.
One week passed as everything was made perfect for Sun Shang Xiang's arrival. Mei Li actually found it hard to believe that the place would be kept that way for another week, as Sun Shang Xiang was to arrive in about that time. The young girl wondered what this woman would be like. Zhuge Liang had described her as 'rambunctious'. But how old was she? Was she a caring person? Would she make a good wife? Would she live here with them after the marriage took place, or would she have to go back with her father in Wu? So many questions, not nearly enough answers, Mei Li concluded with a sigh.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Wei asked as he approached her from behind. Li turned around to find herself face to face with him. He must have heard her sigh.
"Oh, nothing," she said.
"You just like to sigh for no reason?" he couldn't help but smile, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." she responded, turning around with a military-like movement of her heels, her hands gently clasping each other behind her back. She started sauntering over toward the peach garden, walking through the rows of trees and stopping only to smell the sweet fragrances. Jiang Wei followed her like a puppy to his master.
"No really, what's wrong?" he repeated.
She didn't turn to look at him, but instead cocked her head, wondering how to put it into words. "I guess you could say I'm kind of nervous about Sun Shang Xiang coming." She paused, processing the words she had just spoken. "Well I'm not really nervous. Anxious, I guess. Maybe … I don't know." She turned around to look at him; maybe doing this would help her pick the right words. "It's just this is the most exciting thing that's happened to us in a long time. I guess part of me wants it to happen, and another part of me just wants things to stay the way they are now. What if she completely throws our lives into chaos?"
Jiang Wei laughed at her last comment.
"Okay so maybe that was exaggerating." Mei Li said, turning back around to continue her trek through the peach garden. "I guess what I meant to say was, what if her arrival changes everything? I know lord Liu Bei won't be the same. And Zhuge Liang probably won't be either, and if he changes then you know Yue Ying will, too … what if her arrival just throws everybody off track?" She paused. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
"No, I don't," Jiang Wei said, walking up to stand next to her. "And that's saying something, because I'm supposed to be apprenticed to the greatest mind in all of China."
"Then maybe you're the one that's slipping, not Zhuge Liang," Mei Li teased.
"You want to know what I think?" Jiang Wei said after a second of silence.
"What?" Mei Li said, not taking her eyes off the trees in the peach garden.
"I think you're overanalyzing the situation. Sun Shang Xiang is going to come no matter how much you do or don't think about it."
"Oh believe me, I know that." Mei Li said, turning away back toward the direction they came from. She seemed a little bit more down that she had been a couple seconds ago. "I know all about having no power over what's going to happen."
Jiang Wei's spirits dropped as he realized what he'd just said. "No, Li," he turned around to follow her. "I didn't mean it like that."
"I know," Li answered. "I'm not mad at you. After all, it must be pretty hard in itself to have a girlfriend who's psychic."
"It doesn't matter if you're psychic or not," he responded. "The only time I'd want you to change is if that's what you wanted." He waited for Li to say something else but she didn't. "Is that what you want?" he asked, only half believing it. The both of them were silent for a minute. "But it's what makes you special." he said.
"Well yeah," she responded. "But being special isn't all it's cracked up to be. Besides a lot of the time those dreams are frightening. Especially if they're about death like they usually are."
"You haven't had one for a long time, though," he said, trying to encourage her.
"But when they're not frightening, they ruin things," Mei Li continued, as if she didn't hear what Jiang Wei said. "Like the time you guys had planned out that surprise birthday party for me. And then I dreamt about it the night before."
Much to Mei Li's surprise, Jiang Wei started laughing. "Are you kidding?" he said when he finally calmed down. "That was hysterical! You jumped out and said surprise just as the rest of us did … that made it a whole lot more interesting than if we were to see the shocked look on your face."
Mei Li couldn't help but smile. "Yeah I guess it was pretty funny," she admitted. "And that time the tables were turned; I got to see the shocked look on all of your faces!" She laughed as she remembered how surprised everyone had looked. Of course they shouldn't have been shocked at all. They were trying to throw a surprise birthday party for a psychic, after all. What did they expect? She almost wanted to roll her eyes at the irony of it all.
"Hey, Li," Jiang Wei said, suddenly changing the mood. "Let's go sit down in the peach garden and watch the clouds go by."
She smiled softly. "Okay," Her hand automatically reached out for his and their fingers intertwined. The two walked as deep into the peach garden as they could get. Li listened to the sound of their footsteps treading lightly on the soil beneath them. Her steps were lighter and quicker than Jiang Wei's, but she had to walk that way to keep up with his long, confident strides. It was strange the way she noticed insignificant details like that about another person. She had gotten so used to listening to people walk down the halls at night that she could identify who it was and get it right almost every time just by paying attention to their footsteps; how far apart they were, how heavily they hit the ground, and how fast they were moving.
When they moved so far into the garden that it was nearly impossible to hear the hustle and bustle of everyone else preparing for Sun Shang Xiang's arrival, the two sat down beneath a sturdy peach tree and glanced up at the sky. There wasn't much to see because the branches of the trees were in the way, but they sat and enjoyed each other's company nonetheless. Mei Li was lost in her own thoughts when she felt Jiang Wei turn to look at her. She turned to look back at him just as he spoke.
"I love you," he said.
She thought it was strange that he was confessing his love for her here and now, especially because they had told each other that before. Either way she leaned in and received his kiss. Though he had started out slow, Li was surprised when he deepened it; this was Jiang Wei, after all. He was normally a take-it-slow kind of guy, right? She felt her heart start to race and her face start to blush as he pulled her closer and she brought her hand up to his face.
He pulled away for just a second, his lips still inches from hers, her eyes still closed, waiting for him to bridge the gap again. But what he said next she was not expecting.
"Mei Li," She opened her eyes to look at him. "Will you marry me?"
She could have sworn her heart stopped beating, or she stopped breathing, or maybe both. Perhaps even time itself stopped. But for what seemed like the longest time, all she could do was stare back at him, her mouth not moving, seemingly unable to speak.
"Say something, Li," he finally whispered. "You're scaring me."
She suddenly found herself breathing and realized that yes, she did have a voice. And there was only one thing she wanted to say.
"Yes," she said. "Yes! I'll marry you!" She hugged him hard and he warmly embraced her back. He started laughing and said, "You didn't have a dream about that, did you?"
"No," she said, laughing as well. "No I definitely did not see that coming," her eyes were starting to water up and she wasn't sure why she felt like crying at the moment.
"Good," he said. "Because I was already nervous enough and it would have made it worse if you already knew what I was going to say!"
"Why be so nervous if you knew I'd say yes?"
"Hey, you try asking someone you love more than life if they'll marry you!" he said, defending himself, though he couldn't help but smile. "It's not easy."
"We have to tell everyone," she said, still hugging him. "We have to let them know the good news."
"I think Zhuge Liang already suspected something," Jiang Wei admitted. "There's no keeping secrets from him."
"He'll be happy just the same," Mei Li said, standing up and pulling Jiang Wei up with her. The two started walking back to let everyone know of their engagement. "This is a lot of excitement for one week." Li said. "Two marriages announced within seven days of each other! Xing Cai will die of delight."
Jiang Wei laughed as the two started on their way back to the building so they could tell people of their engagement. The couple was happily walking along and just barely out of the peach garden when Xing Cai came running to meet them.
"Hey guys, guess what? Sun Shang Xiang is coming in one week! I'm so excited!" she then proceeded to do a little happy dance around the orchard.
"I know, Xing Cai!" Mei Li said, laughing. "But guess what else?"
"What else?" Xing Cai said, stopping her dance to look at Mei Li.
"I'm engaged!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement. Xing Cai looked at her at first with a confused face, then a shocked one, then a happy-beyond-reason one. "No way! No way!" She squealed. "You and Jiang Wei are getting married?"
"Yes, yes!" she said. Jiang Wei felt awkward watching these two girls squeal like preteens, so he walked away to let the Prime Minister know he had finally asked Mei Li to marry him, and she had said yes. He turned back one last time to see his fiancée and Xing Cai hugging each other and excitedly talking. He couldn't help but smile.
He found Zhuge Liang in the library, as usual, and walked over to where he sat. Jiang Wei took the liberty of sitting next to him without even saying hello, and Zhuge Liang looked up from his book.
"Hello, Jiang Wei."
"So, Prime Minister," Jiang Wei said, not even bothering to give Zhuge Liang a greeting of some sort. "I'm engaged."
Zhuge Liang smiled and looked back down at his book. He was happy for the two, but especially glad that Mei Li finally found someone to give her a loving family after what her past had been like. However, as smart as Zhuge Liang was, neither he nor Jiang Wei knew that there was someone hiding behind the nearest bookshelf in the shadows, listening to every word they said … waiting.