Chapter 11: Betrothal

Chu swung the doors open and Lei stepped through the doors Chu followed close behind him. Lei walked to the table where the monarchs and their three daughters were sitting. He bowed towards the table and said, "Good evening your Majestys." Then he rose and walked towards the table. He pulled up a seat directly next to Xiang looking pointedly at the other princesses then he glanced at the King who raised one eyebrow but didn't say anything. Then the servants started to bring out dishes of food and dinner began. 

The servants brought out dish after dish and when dinner was finally finished he was stuffed. The servants began to clear the plates and dishes away from the table. Once they were finished the king cleared his throat and began to speak, "Lei you may be wondering why I invited you here tonight. In truth I want to tie you to the royal family. I want you to officially be tied to the royal family. This will lead the public to gain confidence in the family when I eventually lose my power and… die. I essentially want you to marry one of my daughters and I specifically want you to marry Li, my second youngest daughter." Lei stared in shock at the king and so did his daughters. Li, the daughter who had previously apologised to Xiang and Lei for treating Lei the way they did, was staring at her father open-mouthed. Lei thought about it and realised he did want to marry one of the princesses. It wasn't Li he wanted to marry, it was Xiang. He realised that he needed to tell the king how he felt or he would have to marry a woman he didn't want to. Lei finally found his voice and said, "Your majesty, I don't mean to be disrespectful but I don't want to marry Li. I do want to marry one of your daughters, however. My heart belongs to Xiang." The king stared back at Lei mirroring the shock that Lei had felt a few moments before. He finally said, "Li, Mira and Chen please leave. I need to have a chat with Xiang and Mr Kun." The princesses left the room. Once they had left, the table sat in silence for a few minutes and then the king began to speak. "The reason I offered you Li's hand is because she is the only one of my daughters not betrothed. Xiang is already betrothed to the son of a noble. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't promise you her hand." 

Lei stared at the captain before asking, "Will I be able to continue my training if I don't marry into the family?" The king answered immediately, "No, I can't allow someone so powerful to not be tied to the royal family. If you aren't, my enemies will see it as a sign of weakness. The public will also wonder why we need an outside cultivator to protect us. We can solve all these problems by tying you to the family." Lei took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid I won't marry any of your daughters except Xiang. If I have to leave this kingdom and go back home, I will, I won't be forced into a marriage where neither of us are happy." "How do you know that this is what Xiang wants, Lei? None of us have asked her, have we?" The king turned to Xiang and said, "Xiang, what do you want? Do you want to be betrothed to Lei or Nobleman Suu's son?" Xiang blushed and looked at Lei and then grabbed his hand, "Father, I know you consider my marriage to Jai important, but during our journey here, I fell in love with Lei. He truly understands me. I don't know if you know but Lei and I have had dinner together on one or two occasions and my love for him has just blossomed. I don't want to marry Jai; I want to marry Lei." 

The king slumped back in his chair at the statement and cradled his head in his hands. "You two have put me in a very difficult situation. How will I break my word to nobleman Suu. You have been promised to his son since you were ten years old. How will I explain this to him? I made a promise to him. If I break my promise my honour will be stained. The royal courts will never look at me the same. However, you are my favoured daughter and I will make it happen." The king stood and started walking out of the room. Just before he reached the door he turned and said, "Lei, there will be no lesson tomorrow as I will be calling a court with the noblemen of the kingdom to discuss this… problem. I expect you and Xiang to be there. I also suggest that you two spend some time discussing this as you may have to answer a few questions so please get your stories straight." The king turned and strode out of the room. 

Xiang and Lei turned to each other. "Xiang, I want to marry you and I really have fallen in love with you but if this is not what you want I will leave the court.' Xiang stared into his eyes and said, "Lei this is what I really want. Like I said to my father I fell in love with you on that journey. I feel like you truly understand me." "Do you think that your father will be able to pull this off?" Xiang hesitated and said, "I really hope he will." Eventually the conversation turned to happier topics and Xiang and Lei talked long hours into the night. 

Finally their conversation finished and the two felt closer than ever. Lei walked out of the hall to find Chu waiting for him. Chu started to escort Lei to his room and as they were walking Chu started to speak, "Master Lei, I have only known you for a short time but I already like you. I hope the king succeeds but if he does I have to warn you that you will have made a powerful enemy in the court. Nobleman Suu is a powerful figure who will oppose you. I thought it was my duty to warn you."