Mei smiled faintly but showed no other expression. Aridel scowled severely because while he had expected them to try and make things difficult for Mei, they were quite daring to do so when the older generation had taken much care to deal with things.
-May you have a happy life together-said a second brother that seemed to want to help diffuse the situation for his older sister. Both may hate Mei but this one was definitely more tactful towards Mei and a lot less hot headed. Mei observed him closely and realized this boy looked simple when compared to his older and more lavishly dressed cousin but was a truly handsome kid nonetheless.
-May my Lord live a long life and may your burdens be lessened soon with the arrival of a capable and young wife-said the second sister while sporting a haughty expression. There were gasps of disgust and rage on the older generation table at the blatant disrespect that could be heard. Those words ignored Mei altogether and clearly stated she was not capable and was an old woman, even worse, she was the main wife and only with her death could Aridel choose another main wife thus her lovely second sister was wishing for her to go and die. Quite a charming lass.
-May our Lord be always safe from harm in the battlefields-said the third girl, the younger and the one with the most beautiful face. She thought she was even more cunning than her older sisters and tried to make herself look harmless and friendly while failing visibly. Mei and Aridel exchanged a little glance and arrived at the same conclusion. What childish and unruly bunch of kids, in serious need of lots of discipline
-Enough-roared Lord Lan who was red on the face- My Lord, I apologize for the atrocious behavior of our family younger generation and ask that you dispense them with punishment-
Aridel was even more annoyed that the disciplining was pushed to him. Those were the Lan family kids, not his. Just as he was about to speak, Mei squeezed his hand and got his attention.
-Aridel-she called his name in front of everyone with a calm voice but the words sounded like a cannon blast that made her sibblings go pale, they had conveniently forgotten that Mei was not just a legal first wife but that the new couple were Soulbound- Do not be too harsh with them. Young children make mistakes and it is our duty as elders to show them the right path with firm but gentle hands-
Aridel raised a brow at that. She talked like the mature and capable woman she was, with not a hint of the bluntness and honesty she displayed when they were in private. Her words meant that they were all a crowd of inmature kids not worth the hassle. He decided to see where she was headed and squeezed her hand visibly as a gesture of affection that drew the gaze of the older generation and increased the animosity from the new.
-Mei, dispense their punishement as their elder sister and the Lady of our household-
Mei beamed. They were on the same wavelenght and it felt nice to know they could count on each other. With his words and actions, he was making very clear that he held her on a high regard and insulting her was not to be done without consequences.
-My dear brothers and sisters-she started with a little smile- Your words should never be unauspicious when attending events much less be contrary to the wishes your elders graciously expressed- she nodded towards her grandparents in deference- Neither should you forget that a family is a chain and all its links are important in their own way. As your elder, I will think of a suitable punishment for each of you that will help you all to become mature adults in the future.
You will be notified about those later at an appropiate time since today is our wedding ceremony and the Emperors will be arriving soon-
Let them stew some more. She would observe carefully and dispatch some nasty tasks for each of them in reward for trying to ruin her wedding. She then decided that when she and Aridel managed to deepen their relationship, she would find a way to a proper and intimate ceremony that really meant something for both of them and erased the memory of this circus. She also needed extra time because she knew nothing about these unruly kids and certainly, Nanny Coco would be of great help to think of good punishments. She had been observing how she was clutching a handkerchief in her hands and suffering in silence among the other servants while she heard all those awful comments they made about her.
-I will also request Father Emperor to dispense punishment fitting the offense of saying such unfortunate things during our wedding-Aridel said while looking at Lord Lan in the eye- The children of the Lan family are a reflection of the Imperial family now and their behaviour today has been appalling-
Now that was harsh, but Mei said nothing. They had earned it with their stupidity at trying to ingratiate themselves on such a delicate ocassion. She could feel magnanimous because she had won already with just her leaving of that hellhole the Lan family was but Aridel had been greatly disrespected too and he had reason enough to advise extra punishment.
The steward came in announcing the advanced messengers from the Emperors were already at the main Gate. Aridel took Mei´s hand and guided her towards the exit of the Main Hall, then across the huge expanse of a bricked plaza that could easily fit at least a thousand people standing and towards the main entrance, a huge wooden and metal structure at least 5 meters tall adorned all over with carvings recreating scenes of battle between armies of people and what could only be described as monsters. Mei tried to look all over without uncovering the fact that this was her first time seeing the place. The architecture was unlike any she had seen in her life before. The walls for example, looked brand new, cut from a single piece of hard black stone, with no junctures or cuts and only the wooden addornments in the top gave an idea of how ancient they were.
At last, both of them came to stand in the middle of the Main Entrance, the Lan family and the servants spread behind them following a rigorous hyerarchy. Mei had a first glance of the world outside and realized just how rushed things had been ever since she arrived that she had had no time to look around. So far, she had only seen a small section of her new home and while she was very pleased at all the simple elegance Aridel seemed to preffer, she also was a wanderer of sorts and wanted to see what the world looked like outside.
They seemed to be on one side of a valley of sorts. The Marshall Estate was nested on the lower slopes of a mountain range that extended far in the distance behind the structures she had already seen.
Right beyond the Main Entrance, there was a wide avenue running down towards a city built on both sides of the banks of a river that ran at the bottom side of the valley. The city was compressed between the two mountain ranges and several bigger structures scattered throughout. The avenue crossed the river and then ran upwards on a straight line for some 5 miles at least to a series of low hills, ending on another even bigger and lavish walled Main Entrance from where, buildings upon buildings could be seen in the distance. Mei realized those buildings were actually palaces and pavillions, the bigger and more impossing one was right at the top of the highest hill, with only the sheer mountain peaks behind it as a natural barrier.
But what came into attention was the fact that all over the city, people who were in the streets were all kneeling on the ground as a group of about 30 people riding leisurely on what looked like horses made their way towards Aridel and Mei. The people in the group were all dressed luxuriously, mostly on green and brown tones with the only expection being a tall middle aged man and woman clad on royal blue robes and as the group came nearer and nearer, she could see the detailed embroideries and addornement those robes had, true works of art.
When they finally reached the Marshall´s Estate Main Entrance, the group spread and left the Emperor and Empress in the center. Aridel squeezed her hand gently and called her to attention. Both bent at the waist as salutation and stayed like that briefly in a show of great respect. Then they returned to their standing positions and Aridel spoke loud and clear for everyone to hear.
-Greetings in this day of joy, Father Emperor, Mother Empress. May you always be blessed-
-Greetings in this day of joy, Father Emperor, Mother Empress. May you always be blessed-she repeated. Thank God the salutations were simple and to the point.