Summary: One-shot with five sections centering around five of the 30 Kisses themes, post marriage of Shang and Mulan.
Celebrations (Theme #'s 11, 4, 8, 29 and 23)
Part 1. Gardenias (theme #11, gardenia)
It was a symbolic activity. The Double Ninth Festival was an auspicious day, traditionally celebrated by the ascent to a great height. Whether climbing a mountain or to the top of a high tower, it was done in hopes of prosperity for the future. Members of the nobility, the Emperors themselves, would climb the highest mountain peaks on this Ninth Day of the Ninth Month.
Shang and Mulan also had made a representative journey up to the top of the highest hill near the Li compound on this day, the first Double Ninth Festival that they were celebrating as husband and wife.
The chrysanthemums were in bloom at this time, and they had become a focus of the holiday as well. People drank wine or tea made from them, admired them where they grew and decorated their homes with the bright and cheerful flowers. His new wife, in the spirit of the festival, had brewed them chrysanthemum tea that morning and their house was decorated with vases and wreaths of the flowers.
Strangely enough though, Mulan smelled like gardenias today, not chrysanthemums. Shang loved gardenias. The fragrant flowers grew all around the grounds of the Li home and he wondered at the strong scent of them on his wife, a lovely and intoxicating fragrance.
As they sat together at the top of the hill, arms around each other, Shang turned and leaned in, nuzzling her in the arc between her collar bone and her chin.
"Mm, you smell beautiful. Did you bathe in gardenias?" he asked somewhat facetiously.
"I thought it might entice you," she purred coyly.
He sat up and blinked at her in surprise.
"I bathed with the petals in the water. Lots of them," she continued, reaching out a hand toward his face.
She seductively ran a finger slowly along the bottom of his chin. He felt his heart begin to race and the heat rise in his belly, and lower, from the combination of the look in her eye, her touch and the intoxicating scent of her that was making him dizzy.
Leaning in to nuzzle her again he brought his mouth to her neck, beginning to nibble on the pale skin of her smooth, elegant throat. Just under the surface he could feel her pulse as it quickened. A jolt went through his body and he grabbed her shoulders, pushing her down onto the grass and pouncing on her. As she wrapped her arms and legs around him, pinning him against her, he began to kiss her passionately. It wasn't long before the hushed stillness of the sunny afternoon was pierced with moans and squeals from the top of that hill.
Later, as the servants brought out chrysanthemum wine and husband and wife sat together admiring the yellow flowers that were arranged on the window ledge, Shang decided that chrysanthemums were indeed lovely flowers.
But he still preferred gardenias.
Part 2. Family (theme #4, our distance and that person)
"Your mother hates me," his wife sighed in frustration.
"She's traditional," Shang responded, rolling onto his side and raising himself up to lean on one elbow. "And she's upset that we spent the Double Ninth Festival alone instead of with the entire family. Holidays are for family."
"Yes," she replied with a bitter laugh. "And I instigated you to go along with spending the day alone."
Mulan lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling, her expression tense and deeply troubled. The lantern cast very dim light in the room and threw shadows over her face, making her appear darker, sadder.
"Besides, it's not only the Double Ninth Festival. She's hated me since the moment you brought me here."
He propped his head against his hand and reached over, caressing her cheek with his free hand.
"I guess she's like all mothers," he suggested with a slight chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. "No woman is good enough for her son."
She shook her head. "No, it's me. I'm not a traditional woman who stayed at home and learned domestic duties for the day I became a wife."
"You're much more than that," he murmured gently, doing his best to soothe her. He became unhappy when she was; and he also really didn't want to have an argument with her over his mother, especially in their bed of all places.
"Shang, you don't see it. The way she regards me with such disgust…I'm miserable around her…it's so obvious how she disapproves of me. During Qi Xi she was sending me death glares when I went out with your sisters to perform the ritual…"
"Mulan," he interrupted her with an exasperated sigh. "Please. Let's not argue about my mother."
"We're not arguing, but…"
She fell silent at the stern look that he gave her. His face softened and he leaned over, kissing her tenderly. He didn't know why he had become so nettled all of a sudden and a part of him did notice that his mother was somewhat unfair to Mulan. But he tried not to think about it; she was his mother and the woman of highest status in the household. This was a subject he hated. And now she was crying. Reaching out, he gently brushed away the tears that had begun to spill from her eyes.
"Come on, Mulan, don't sulk. Look, from now on we'll just keep her happy and make sure to spend all of the holidays with family, celebrating as she wishes. It's the way it should be."
"Okay," she whispered.
Shang kissed her again and went to take her into his arms, but she turned away from him, rolling onto her side and giving him her back.
"I'm not in the mood," she muttered.
Closing his eyes, he rolled onto his back with a sigh of frustration. This was a perfect example of why he hated for this subject to be dredged up when they were in bed together. She wasn't done sulking. He knew that she was upset, not only about his mother, but that he'd become cross with her all of a sudden. And the truth was that it hadn't taken much to convince him that day. He'd been as anxious, and as horny, as she was. And he had just as selfishly longed to spend the holiday alone with her, exactly as they had. Was he feeling guilty then? Was that why he'd suddenly become so irritated, even before she turned away from him?
The bed shifted as she got up and his eyes opened.
"Mulan?"
"I think I'm going to walk in the garden. Maybe I'll feel like sleeping afterward."
His wife stepped out of the room and Shang sat up, easing himself out of bed and drifting over to the window.
As he watched her strolling alone in the moonlight he pondered the situation in the Li household, recollecting the events that had occurred since the Double Ninth Festival; he'd had plenty of arguments with his mother since that day.
He sighed. Shang loved his new wife deeply; and he knew how much she loved him in return. They were content, happy, and a promising life together lay ahead of them.
No matter what happened, he didn't want anything, not even family, to cause a rift between them.
Part 3. Tradition (theme #8, our own world)
"It's not right," Lady Li had chided him the day right after the Double Ninth Festival, wagging a finger. "That girl doesn't do anything she's supposed to. Nothing good can come of it, Shang. A woman becomes part of her husband's family when she marries. That's the way it should be, the way it's always been. Yet she remains so attached to her own family, even after six months of marriage. She makes no effort to be a part of yours."
"She is trying, Mother. It's difficult for her. Mulan isn't used to such a large family and she was always very close with her family. She was an only child…"
"And spoiled rotten. I bet it was her idea to spend the holiday alone with you."
Shang hadn't answered.
"I'll take your silence as an affirmative. And you continue spoiling her by letting her have her way."
"You don't have to make things even more difficult for her either," he had replied finally with a sigh.
"I? What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing. But you could refrain from frowning at her every time you see her."
"Hmph. If you were still a little boy talking to me in this way I'd smack you. But with your father gone..."
Her shoulders had sagged almost imperceptibly as she trailed off and Shang had immediately felt guilty.
"Mother, I'm sorry…"
"You're the man of the house now and you're in charge," she'd continued, finishing her thought. "But don't get so involved with your wife that you forget your duties to this family, Shang. All of us. It's not as if the two of you are living in your own world together, able to shut out everyone and everything else. We're still important and you have a responsibility to us."
"I know, Mother. And I apologize about the festival. From now on we'll spend all of the holidays with the entire family. I promise."
Shang sighed, shaking off the memory of that quarrel with Lady Li as he heard the door to their chamber open. Mulan stepped back into the room, finished with her walk, and padded over to him, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.
"You didn't have to wait up for me."
"I wanted to," he answered, wrapping his arms around her. "I hate seeing you so upset. And I don't want us to go to bed angry."
She smiled. "I'm sorry for being moody. I'll try harder with your mother," she murmured, snaking her arms around his waist.
He kissed her forehead tenderly.
"Maybe she'll stop frowning at you so much then."
She laughed and leaned against him, resting her cheek against his chest.
"Thank you," she sighed.
"For what?"
"Saying that."
Part 4. Year's End (theme #29, the sound of waves)
Everyone went running across the garden. The main wing of the compound was in an uproar once again and the occupants of the Li household, high and low, all rushed to witness the spectacle upon hearing the sounds of shouting, cursing and invoking of the ancestors.
"Another argument between Master Li and First Mistress over that impossible wife of his," one young maid named Song gossiped. "That foolish girl needs to learn that no matter how much a man desires a woman, he gets fed up with his peace being disturbed all the time. He decides she isn't worth it then and moves on to greener pastures."
"Oh, and you're just waiting for him to move onto your pastures, aren't you?" quipped another maid scathingly. Her name was Lian and she was a few years older than Song. She leaned in and spoke confidentially to the younger girl. "Don't think we don't all see the way your eyes hang on Master Li when you're around him. As if he'd give you a second glance."
"Oh, quiet, you old-before-your-time hag," the younger girl retorted.
"Enough," an older maid named Yi-ling addressed both of them sharply. "Before you cause a scene out here."
With that, attention returned to the argument inside the house.
"Lady Li can be harsh sometimes," Yi-ling remarked softly. She was much older than any of the other servants and had worked in the Li household for many years, more than half her life in fact. For this reason she could be bold in her declarations, at least when she was out of earshot of her employers. "Still, Young Mistress ought to behave a little more humbly. Aside from being non-traditional, she is too proud and aloof and that is why First Mistress of the house dislikes her so."
It was an entertaining evening for everyone in the household except for the Master and his mother; and his pretty young wife, who had retreated back to their own rooms after lamenting that she didn't know what she had done wrong this time, that she had done everything to honor Lady Li on this holiday and yet Mistress was still unhappy.
The Li sisters, the other wives of the old master General Li, along with their children, were all gathered outside with the servants, listening in and managing to catch glimpses of the heated argument through the window; that is until they were caught.
"Get the hell out of here, you hens!" roared Master Li Shang. "This isn't a damn show!"
He was livid as he chased them away and yanked the curtain across the window.
"Well," began Lian as the servants all traipsed back across the garden dejectedly, their fun for the evening prematurely ended. "I guess Master will be fighting with the new mistress for causing so many problems after he and his mother are finished."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Song remarked with a snort. "They'll probably kiss and make up quickly. They're at each other all the time. Thumping and squealing like animals."
She had lowered her voice at the last part, muttering, but her words were not lost on Yi-ling.
"Now, how would you know something like that?" she exclaimed. "Do you listen outside their door at night?"
Song refused to answer and when the others had moved off and it was only the two of them, the elder maid slapped the back of Song's head and began to scold her.
"Shame on you, spying on them! If the master knew he'd throw you in the well! I suppose you're the one making all the trouble, gossiping and whispering things to First Mistress about that poor young girl. Although why she would listen to you is beyond me," she added under her breath.
A sour expression spread across Song's face. "She is hardly fit to be a mistress in this house," she sniffed. "Even if she is China's heroine."
"Hmph! Aren't you the haughty little one? If you know what's good for you, you'll stop this nonsense. Even if Master Li ever got it into his head to start carrying on with you, that's all it would be; if you think that he would ever make you, a servant, one of his mistresses, you're dreaming. Whether you like it or not, Mistress Mulan is now a lady of this household. So you'd better just behave yourself before your antics backfire on you. Master Li's wife is very smart and shrewd, and not to be reckoned with, mark my words. The only thing you're accomplishing is making waves for everyone and upsetting First Mistress; you certainly aren't going to separate Master Li from his wife, if that's what you're hoping. The master is very much in love with her."
Part 5. New Year(theme #23, candy)
Several weeks had passed since the last holiday fiasco, though the argument between Shang and his mother was still fresh in everyone's mind. People didn't forget things like that easily; and they'd found the incident far too entertaining to let it go so quickly.
Now the next holiday had arrived. Shang kissed his wife reassuringly and rubbed her back as they prepared to go off to join the others. Her face was pale and tense, and he knew how nervous she was about this. Even his mother, in her own strange way, was equally so, he realized.
It was time for the New Year celebration, a time of new beginnings. Traditions of the holiday were centered around family and the possibilities of a fresh start; and all of these traditions were honored in the Li family. The house was cleaned, hair cut, new clothes made or purchased, accounts settled. An abundance of assorted candy and sweets was served, a favorite custom for the adults and children alike; eating sweets ensured the eater a sweet year. And a family union dinner of at least ten courses was served.
At first there was tension in the air on this New Year's Eve as everyone tiptoed around each other, stiffly pleasant and polite. No one wanted to bring in the New Year with a quarrel; it would be bad luck. But as the evening wore on, spirits became lighter and warmer as everyone drank wine, watched the children of the household play and began to relax and really enjoy the festivities. And Lady Li managed a small smile for her daughter-in-law as Mulan wished her a happy and prosperous New Year.
Only small steps had been taken on this evening. They knew that the road ahead would be long and bumpy; but at least it was a start.
This was the holiday for setting aside old grudges.
