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General Pei admires the countryside vista of Yushi Kingdom as the late-autumn sun slowly draws towards the distant, mountainous horizon.
Now that much of the season’s harvest was complete, he and his wife could finally find some time to enjoy each other’s company in the autumn evening sun, away from the responsibilities of godhood and the farmed land. He had no real qualms about working the fields with Yushi Huang and her people – in fact, it had made a welcome change from the arduous task of rebuilding the Heavenly Capital – but he would certainly be grateful for some well-earned rest and relaxation.
He's also feeling really rather proud of himself. Despite his busy, seemingly-endless schedule of manual labour, meetings and issues within his own region, he’d still managed to set some time aside to spoil his beloved wife. With a few helping hands – namely, Pei Xiu, Ban Yue and a few of his heavenly officials – he’d managed to keep her away from their mortal-realm abode since the early morning. Once the scene was clear, this small team had been able to set the place up just right:
Flowers native to the Yushi kingdom flanked their humble courtyard in pots, all carefully grown and meticulously cared for in his heavenly realm as a surprise for their end of season celebration. A pergola has also been brought down from his personal gardens, draped and wrapped in years-old Wisteria and Clematis. He’d planted up this pergola when they’d first gotten engaged, as part of his then-humble temporary divine residence. Given he’d planted it alongside his beloved, he was loathe to part with it, and he had moved it – with help from his officials – at great effort, a great many times.
The table was set with fine linens from a local market town, hand-woven, embroidered and dyed. Yushi Huang wanted for little, and lived a largely ascetic and minimalist life. But Pei knows these tablecloths will be well-used by the Rain Master, and appreciated for the time and effort the craftswomen had gone to in creating them. She rarely accepted gifts, but he had learned that items like these were something she would treasure.
The soft blush hues of the fabric, and the ornate hand-stitched detailing sit nicely with the simple cherrywood placemats, he thinks. Also adorning the table were several lit candlesticks, plates and bowls, cutlery, and a basket of produce he’d managed to stash away from their work over the last few weeks. Additionally, local wines, and cheeses and grains were perched on a small table next to a garden stove.
He planned to make them a feast tonight. A small and humble feast, perhaps, but it would be a way to showcase some of the cooking skills he’d picked up since the events of Mt Tonglu. He may not technically need to eat, but he enjoyed his food, and the need to learn such a skill for the benefit of others around him had become painfully apparent when Pei Xiu had become unwell, back then.
He can’t help but smirk at that. In hindsight, far away from all of that trauma and chaos, it was all quite amusing. And, if it weren’t for that season of disharmony and strife, he can’t help but wonder if he and his now-wife would have gotten as close as they have. All in all, despite everything… he’s beyond thankful.
After inspecting the set-up and ensuring that all was as it should be, he decides to freshen himself up in the nearby spring. Wash away the sweat and grime of the day, re-style his dishevelled hair, and slip into a fresh set of clothes. It’s best to be clean and presentable for such an occasion, his well-nurtured vanity aside, and food is best not prepared with dirty hands. It seems as though his wife has already done the same – her day robes can be seen hanging from a nearby line, damp from being washed in the water, and there’s no sign of the fresh clothing he’d left out especially for her this evening.
Pulling a cloak over his shoulders, he smiles softly to himself, and heads back to their sweet little home.
Cherry wood and coal burn in the stove, and he turns the vegetables cooking on racks above them between stolen glances at his wife, who is admiring the abundance of blooms lining their garden. She’s dressed in the robes he’d bought her, all greens and whites and gold embroidery on the sleeves; the latter being an addition typically he favoured on his own garments, and a little piece of him that she can carry with her when she wears them.
There’s a hand-carved hairpin holding half of her hair up in a twist – the details look a little juvenile, but she’d really liked that it was his own handiwork – and the rest of her dark locks cascade over her shoulders as she reaches up to run her fingers over the purple Wisteria blooms.
“You’ve gone to great efforts,” She breaks the comfortable quiet with softly-spoken words, and a smile tugging at the corners of her lips that he readily returns when their eyes meet. “Have I forgotten a special occasion?”
“No – not beyond the turn of the season,” He replies as the fire crackles, the pleasant aroma of the wood and vegetables filling the air between them. His stomach growls and she chuckles at that, although he can’t help but hunger more for the goddess standing beneath the blooming pergola. She’s so beautiful. He feels the need to pinch himself. “I just wanted to do something nice for you, A-Huang.”
“I see. How kind.”
A brief and comfortable quiet returns, all but the flames and her footsteps and the singing of birds ceasing to exist between them. He watches as she practically floats over, robes and hair afloat on the gentle breeze, and he’s mesmerised until the warmth of her hand on his bicep draws him out of his mind and back into reality.
“So, then,” She continues, cheek against his shoulder as she watches the fire dance in the stove; he is watching how the light flickers over the curves, dips and angles of her perfect face; how the warmth makes her skin glow as her lips take to a cheeky grin. “Can I expect this at the end of every season?”
“Of course,” He sets down his utensils in favour of cupping her chin, broad fingers guiding her face until it has been turned just enough to kiss her. Pulling only far enough away to talk, his smiling lips press another kiss to the tip of her sweet nose. “For you, my love? I would do this on each and every one of my remaining days.”