Beyond the Galaxy

Chapter 1 - A Wonderful Night in Hua County

Cheng Shaoshang stared into the piercing glare of her new husband Huo Buyi. In a daze of euphoria, she easily found herself wrapped in his gentle soul. A few sweet words, the vows of their eternal love, finally united them after a long 5 years of turmoil. Unbothered by the presence of her family, Cheng Shaoshang and Huo Buyi made their promises to each other; for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, and in whatever other challenges life would throw their way. The thick air around them pushed them into a sweet embrace. The cold, snowy evening faded away from perception as Shaoshang felt the warmth of Buyi's fir-hooded cloak radiating into her skin. His existence was her fire, she was heads over heels for him, as he also was for her. Before Shaoshang could process what was happening, Buyi pushed her back slightly and caressed her jaw upwards before pressing his lips to hers. Almost naturally, she kissed him back, the warmth from their embrace transforming itself into pure passion. Shaoshang's heart started fluttering as she closed her eyes, focussing on her husband's affection alone. He was finally hers.

A sigh of disgust briefly took Shaoshang's attention as she slowly turned her head toward the perpetrator. Shaogong was now the only member of the Cheng family without a partner and, although it was clear that it never bothered him, any signs of public affection from his family frustrated him. Laughter erupted as Song, Qiqi and Yangyang failed to hold back their giggles at their brother's reaction. Their mother Yuanyi was scowling at them from their side, managing to repress her own laughter. Unable to be distracted by the Cheng's mischief, Buyi reclaimed Shaoshang's face, gently grabbing her jaw as to direct her eyes to his. Buyi looked down at her cute, childish eyes, stunned by the way that each star twinkled and sparkled within them. After an uncertain amount of time, Yuanyi cleared her throat loudly in invitation for them to eat. To conclude their low-profile wedding, Yuanyi, and Shaoshang's third aunt had taken charge in putting together a couple of dishes of food, a mix of meat dishes from the capital as well as some Hua County recipes that Cheng Zhi and his wife had learned from the locals. It didn't take long until only empty plates remained, as well as many empty jars of alcohol. All through the meal they made toast after toast to the others around the table. The newlyweds also made their own private toast to the empress, hoping that she had looked down at them throughout our happy day; the day she'd been looking forward to for years before she passed away. They also made one to Buyi's parents, who they hoped could be at peace now that he had found his lifelong partner.

The rest of the evening went as well as the beginning, a lot of drunken laughter was followed by a sudden downtime around a campfire set of just outside of Cheng Zhi's residence in Hua County. They mainly resided within Hua County, where Cheng Zhi excelled in his role as county magistrate, but had a residence in Qing County to oversee development for the residents. Shaogong and Yuan Shen sat together as the only single members of the party, as did Yangyang and Qing Cong, who attended alone while their partners cared for their children. Everyone else stayed coupled up at different levels. Yuan Yi shuffled closer to her husband while her brother-in-law wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulder carefully. Song and Qiqi were chuckling at each other in an embrace while the newlyweds were completely silent. Shaoshang, leaning against Buyi's shoulder, was nodding in and out of sleep. The crackling of the fire along with the subtle waves of heat helped her to drift in and out of consciousness. Quickly noticing, Buyi pulled her tighter to his side so her head rested comfortably. "Niao Niao, sleep now. It's been a busy day hasn't it" he whispered to her quiety as he carefully caressed her cheek before picking her up and taking her to their room. Yuan Shen, still salty about losing to Buyi in the long run, watched each gentle movement in horror before Shaogong started complaining about his lack of work as a rookie fortune-teller, a rant that may have been influenced by the amount of alcohol he had consumed.