Chapter Two: A Marriage Proposal

He's the foremost warrior in China. She's a sheltered and playful nobleman's daughter. Perfect match, or prelude to disaster?

Ten years had passed since that fateful day when an aged fortune-teller had felicitously congratulated Lord Xi on his four fine young daughters, only to look at the aristocrat with great pity mere minutes later.

On one bright spring morning, a caravan draped in red entered Jingzhou City with much pomp and fanfare, making straight for the sprawling Xi estate. The vibrant cardinal brocades and rich gold tassels of that particular little parade striked a rather indecorous note with the Xi mansion, which was embraced by quiet, softly green bamboos and weeping willows.

At the head of the red caravan was none other than the mighty Lu Bu of Hu Lao Gate fame, dashing and handsome in his splendid armor and proudly nodding pheasant-tail headdress, yet dark and intimidating at the same time as he rode atop that famous thousand-li horse, Red Hare.

The colossal warrior and his scarlet-swathed procession arrived at the Xi estate's tall front gates, and were respectfully led into its main courtyard by a servant. After making the proper obeisance to such an impressive visitor, the young lad promptly hurried off to notify his master.

Lu Bu, with nothing better to do other than wait, took the time to look around the charming premises. The estate's beauty—frothy plum and gingko trees, artfully carved stone paths, goldfish ponds and clear silver brooks, and seas of orchids and lotuses as far as the eye could see—was great enough for even the ferocious general to appreciate.

In his wanderings, he eventually noticed four great gates outlined in red, one on each of the four walls enclosing the Xi property. Above each gate was its name, written in elegant calligraphy. Somewhat curious, he moved closer to read these, scattering a handful of waddling mandarin ducks in his wake: Western Lotus, Western Moon, Western Sky, Western Love.

After deciphering each ideogram, Lu Bu paused, puzzled as to what kinds of auspicious maxims these cryptic words were supposed to mean. Never analytic, and easily irritated by those things which he didn't understand, he turned away with a mildly annoyed scowl on his features...

...Until he abruptly remembered that the family name of Jingzhou City's governor, "Xi," was written exactly the same way as the Chinese character for the word "West." Lien, Yue, Tian, Ai—Lotus, Moon, Sky, Love—Lu Bu now realized that these four gates must have been named after four especially beloved members of the Xi family. Judging by the femininity of the four names, he could only guess that their owners were Lord Xi's daughters.

However, he didn't have long to ponder over this (not that he would have done so if left to his own devices, anyway), for at that moment Lord Xi emerged from the house to welcome his famous—infamous?—guest. After the usual courtesies and pleasantries had been exchanged, Lu Bu's red-draped gifts presented, and his host had sent for some of the best litchi wine that Jingzhou produced, the reason for this particular visit was finally broached, rather unsubtly by the warrior, in a more refined fashion by the politician.

"It's really quite simple," Lu Bu began. "Prime Minister Dong Zhuo has always wanted to strengthen his alliances from across the River Han...and it's a well-known fact that the House of Xi has four daughters."

What he conveniently failed to mention, however, was that his adopted father had become increasingly irate at Lu Bu's seducing all the court maidens before he himself could get to them. Dong Zhuo was quite frankly hoping that a wife might make the restless warrior forget about handmaids and settle down for a few months—perhaps even an entire year if the bride happened to be particularly attractive.

However, even Lu Bu, thoughtless and utterly lacking in tact as he was, knew better than to make a ruinous first impression on his future father-in-law by revealing his own amorous little activities off the battlefield.

At that moment, a pretty young handmaid with fresh jasmines in her hair brought the wine on a mahogany tray. She blushed under Lu Bu's appreciative look as she served the drinks, before sedately retreating on small, swift feet.

Both men lifted their bronze goblets and toasted each other, then drank at the same time. As Lord Xi was setting down his cup, he commented thoughtfully, "Hmm, a match between one of my daughters and the Prime Minister's son would, indeed, be an advantageous alliance to both parties."

Here, the governor of Jingzhou City paused and swept one arm around the room. Lu Bu followed with his eyes until he saw four delicate scrolls, one hanging on each of the four walls and bearing a portrait of a lovely young girl.

"I have four daughters," Lord Xi confirmed. "Xi Lien, Xi Yue, Xi Tian, and Xi Ai. My second daughter recently married a son of the Marquis of Qi, while my littlest girl is but a child of eleven. However, my third daughter is now two and eight, and of marriageable age."

After uttering those words, Lord Xi couldn't help but pause and inwardly hesitate: For although Lu Bu possessed both looks and power, he was, after all, a man well into his late twenties...And he wielded such a fearsome reputation. Lord Xi couldn't help but feel a qualm of fear for his treasured sixteen-year-old darling's safety and happiness, being the wife of such a terrible warrior.

Nevertheless, the Jingzhou-born politician knew better than to insult either father or son. Therefore, after this discreet pause, Lord Xi cleared his throat and declared with an outwards show of confidence, "I am sure that my little girl will be honored to be able to serve the great general."

Lu Bu, meanwhile, was still gazing admiringly at one of the four delicately painted scrolls. He was immediately captivated by the most exquisite of the four girls—a saffron-clad beauty daintily holding a pale pink lotus flower in her hands.

Never one to be discreet, Lu Bu asked his host, "Governor, whom might that girl with the lotus flower be?"

Deep inside, he hoped that she would turn out to be the third daughter—the one promised to him as a bride.

Lord Xi took a surprisingly long time to reply. Just as Lu Bu was beginning to get rather impatient and irritated—and the two emotions themselves were beginning to manifest on his easily-read face—his host finally broke the silence by answering in a subdued and obviously pained voice.

"That girl, with the lotus flower, is my eldest daughter, Xi Lien," the older man spoke in almost a whisper. "Many jealous suitors fought for her hand...She passed away six months ago. If you'll pardon me, General Lu, I'd rather not get into the details."

"Oh." Lu Bu coughed, looking almost awkward, as Lord Xi relapsed into silence.

Finally, after heaving a deep sigh, the elder of the two raised his voice and called out, "Yinchun!"

The same sweet little handmaid who'd served them wine earlier now appeared underneath the arching doorway.

"Yinchun, let Miss Xi Tian know that her presence is requested here," her master instructed her. To Lu Bu, he added, "My little girl will be honored to meet the great general today, if he'll only deign to stay a few minutes longer."

Lu Bu saw no reason to leave immediately, so he condescended to remain with a nod of his head. Seeing the guest's assent, Yinchun fleetly hurried away, presumably to fetch her young mistress.

However, a few minutes later, the pretty handmaid came back and reported timidly, "My lord, Great General—Miss Xi Tian is not to be found in any of her courts."

Hearing this, Lord Xi responded by giving a shake of his head. However, he was smiling when he did this, remarking fondly and without the least hint of alarm, "That precious little creature—I think I know exactly where we'll find her, General Lu."

And with that, he stood up and led Lu Bu outside, to a certain garden abloom with rainbow-bright orchids and tulips.

There, on the mossy bank by a lily lake, was a lovely young girl of about sixteen or seventeen years of age, with shimmering raven hair and pearl-white skin tinged with the deepest rose. Dressed in luxurious pink silk and bedecked with flowers and jewelry, she was currently laughing spiritedly and throwing a varicolored velvet ball back and forth with half a dozen of her handmaids.

Lord Xi darted a quick look at Lu Bu out of the corner of his eyes; the warrior appeared quite charmed by this pretty sight before him. Lord Xi then raised his voice so as to be heard above all the carefree laughter, calling out, "Tian Tian!"

At the sound of his voice, the girls stopped their game, before the one in pink detached herself from the group and ran up to Lord Xi.

"Papa!" She hugged him happily, disregarding the usual conventions for which a young girl should act in the presence of men.

Lord Xi smiled down fondly at the now sixteen-year-old Xi Tian, before hinting meaningfully, "Little Treasure, shouldn't you hurry and greet the great general Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian?"

At this reproach, Xi Tian turned to Lu Bu with a self-conscious giggle, dropping a curtsey in his direction while subtly examining his looks from under veiled lashes. Meanwhile, her father kept reproving affectionately, "Daughter, I had been hoping that you would meet General Lu in a more presentable state."

"Oh, it's no great matter," Lu Bu hastened to declare, before leaning down and drawing the girl closer to him—under the pretense of helping her up—so as to have an excuse to look his future bride over.

Up close, he realized that young Xi Tian was, in reality, not as beautiful a girl as he'd initially thought. Hers was a charming face, pleasing to the male eye, with mischievous gold irises and a softly carmine mouth. The features were delicate, blended in such a way so as to give their owner a perpetually sweet countenance, but there was nothing extraordinary about them. She was cute, without a doubt, but she also lacked the radiance with which some girls could capture even the coldest man's heart.

At that moment, Xi Tian, conscious of Lu Bu's none-too-subtle gaze, laughed with semi-timidity and playfully hid part of her face behind the sheer rose handkerchief she was holding in her hands. Whatever effect this had on Lu Bu must have been a positive one, for he leaned back and smiled pleasedly at his pretty bride-to-be, nodding to himself.

As Xi Tian returned to her laughing and teasing handmaids, her father respectfully escorted Lu Bu to the front gates.

"When can you send the girl to Chang'An?" the warrior asked nonchalantly, leaping atop Red Hare's saddle with a languid grace uncommon in men of his great stature.

Lord Xi could only cough in reply.

"I'm afraid a suitable wedding date has yet to be chosen, General Lu," he finally answered apologetically, "but when it is, she will be sent to the capital as soon as possible."

This promise seemed to please Lu Bu, and, satisfied enough, he rode away with all his soldiers and servants in tow.

However, it was also a promise that would soon lead the father of the bride to ruin.

A/N: All right, I hope the story has picked up some pace with the second installment. If it's still kind of slow for your taste, please bear with me—I'm still setting up the story, but I figure I can handle about one update per week. Also, thanks a million to all the people who reviewed.