Immortal Mortals

Meili and Chiang Gui

The following months were a mix of tears and joy for Ai.  The loss of her baby, and having no one to talk to about it unless Chang Li visited was hard for her, but she knew her child was safe with Zhe Yan, and having learned that she was to be a mother of a daughter, she rejoiced quietly on her own every day that she remained, and also knowing that Mo Yuan had insisted the child be sent to Kunlun Mountain for the divine energy was something else she was very grateful for, but she could not help but feel a failure for being unable to carry her naturally, but she knew it was necessary if the child was to survive.

Though the one thing that really hit her, was Mo Yuans ability to act.  Not only did he pretend to be heart broken at the loss of the child that he was supposed to think had died in his short absence, something even a Mortal man would have thoroughly questioned, he was still playing the part of a heartbroken father when they were on their own, which had her also having to pretend the baby had passed away.  In the end, she told him bluntly to move on from it because she had.  Of course to a Mortal, her words would have come across as heartless, but she did not want to continue acting out something that just wasn't true anymore and gratefully Jie had let it go instantly, having also had enough of the pretense.

Though being able to visit Kunlun Mountain regularly was not possible, as the plan they had arranged for Mo Yuan would be put at risk, and desperate to see her child regularly, Chang Li brought her Pearl incubator to the little hill once a week, whereas Mo Yuan traveled between worlds to visit when he could.  It wasn't ideal, but it was only two Immortal Realm days when they looked at it that way.   And for Ai, she was content with the arrangement, because in the end the child was safe and that was all that mattered.

Though Zhe Yan and Bai Zhi stopped visiting having been roped into preparing for Mo Yuans return, which almost took over their lives.  It was a mere 2 Immortal days, but with missives from every realm arriving almost hourly and with Mount Cang Wu to be prepared for such a large number of spectators, the whole of Qing Qiu was commandeered to assist. 

 The undertaking would be their largest and most intricately involved operation they had ever had to deal with and one Zhe Yan had repeatedly stated he would never help with anything that grand again, because he was a private man, and having been forced into the lime light in order to ensure Mo Yuans day of reckoning would go off without a hitch, he decided when it was over, he would close down the Peach Tree Woods indefinitely and disappear.

But the joys also lightened her load, because with another wedding almost upon them, the preparations had once again began to fill her days.  But the most surprising and yet wonderful experience was watching her daughter Meili grow up almost overnight.

The moment the wedding date had been set, Meili suddenly became a different girl.  Gone was the childish pouting and impish fun, and in it's place blossomed a young woman who was fully prepared for marriage.  And that she was going to marry a boy she liked very much and one who liked her, she couldn't have been happier.

The young couple had spent as much time as they could getting to know each other and though their short outings required a chaperone at all times, they did not hold back on their affections for each other.  They held hands when they could, though if the boys Grandmothers were chaperoning them, it was halted immediately, but now and then, Chaing Gui would steal a kiss or two if he could get away with it.  That they had found instant love for each other was also a blessing, because rarely did a young couple marry with affection already evident.

Tai too came and went regularly, checking on the horses even when Jie was there.  It had become a daily routine, it took some time for him to realize, that though he was always welcome, he was no longer needed.  But having invested so much of his young years into the raising of their horses, he could not fully let them go.