Nanny Coco and another two maids helped Mei to go back. Other group had taken care of the items needed beforehand so when Mei arrived, it was to find a bathtub filled with warm water and a change of clothes. They had been silent the whole way and remained so up until they left Nanny Coco alone with Mei as she helped her to wash up, taking special care with her hair.
-It was not a grand celebration my Lady, but their Majesties and Lord Aridel took great care to perform all the ceremonies perfectly-she said with visible joy and also a feeling of hope and peace-My Lord even announced to all the servants that you would share quarters from now on, that wherever he went, he would take you with him-Nanny Coco blushed at that- It is going to be the talk of the city that you are not relegated to an abode away from your husband as many in the Lan family had predicted... He even said you are to be his sole wife and the guardian of his family-she was smiling ear to ear by now-In front of all those conniving people...
Mei understood the older women was trying to reassure her with nothing but the truth of the things that happened and had been said. And despite all her misgivings about their real situation, Mei just smiled and let her be. There was no need to have Nanny Coco worry with things that were only hers to worry about.
-My Lady, I know you said many times that you felt no love for Lord Aridel-she whispered...
-I like him Nanny-Mei interrupted- I may not love him yet, and he may not love me-she grinned- but that is something that time and being near each other will help us with-
Nanny sighed, her eyes reflected a certain longing and after a short deliberation, she dared to add.
-It is true-she said- Becoming soulbound is not the same as falling in love. But if you ask me, I think it helps a lot with such a quest-
Mei took the towel that Nanny was offering and while she dried herself, she observed Nanny carefully. There were so many things she could not ask or say because she was already supposed to know about so many people. The lack of knowledge left her with a tactical disadvantage she did not like at all. Still, observation was a good way to glean some of that information she was missing, and it seemed Nanny had some lovelife issues that hurt deep inside.
She got dressed fast and in less than an hour, she was ready to get going to the next task. Aridel was waiting for her while seated on an antechamber, accompanied only by the Steward and the lady servant that Mei had seen in the morning and liked. He had only shed one of his red outer robes and was drinking some beverage that smelled quite refreshing. He stood up when he saw her arriving with Nanny Coco.
-Steward Fu, Lady Fu-he called while taking Mei´s hand in his- bring the keys and the dowry paperwork. Nanny, you shall stay with us only to observe, as we want to check all the items carefully and you have no military training. We will treat everything that came in today as a potential weapon and anything suspicious will be disposed-
Nanny just nodded while the Fu couple opened the door to a hall that could only be called a vault. Aridel guided Mei as they entered first a big two storied room filled with rows upon rows of books. They did not stop until they reached the backend of the room and right before arriving, Steward Fu pushed a mechanism activated by touching about 15 different books in a timed sequence. Just the fact that Mei and Nanny were allowed to see the whole procedure told them that perhaps, only the 5 of them were in the know of the password.
A stone panel, of the same black material in the Estate walls moved aside and they entered a dark tunnel winding straight, and then upwards into the bare rock. Lady Fu carried a lantern that iluminated the way with a clear white light that was certainly not fire related but since no one commented on it, Mei just observed.
Mei did not have to be a genius to get that they walked for only minutes but were not in the main compound anymore but getting deeper into the mountain, into what seemed like a fortress hidden from view and all knowledge.
-Nanny Coco-said Lady Fu- You are now tasked with guarding the existence of this place with your life. This refuge was built by our ancestors millenia ago to hide the children and elderly in our Marshall house from the attacks of any army or beasts that breached the defenses of Radiant Ciity and invaded the empire. Only the 5 of us here today know where and how to enter this place-
Steward Fu brought 4 lamps and took out 4 cristals from a pouch he carried in his waist. He then proceeded to set the cristals in the lamps and suddenly, more light was available. After that, he took out a ring from that same pouch and gave it to Nanny Coco who received it with wide eyes.
-This ring has already been forged so that anything that you want sent here will do so-Steward Fu added- Other people will just see a spatial ring but even if someone else stole it, only your spirit imprint can make use of this place-
Aridel squeezed Mei´s hand, the one that sported the ring of their soulbonding and a little current passed from his hand to hers. She remained silent but she was sure, he had just allowed her ring that same feature.
They kept walking through the place and arrived to a junction where 10 different tunnels went on separate ways. They took the first one from the left and walked until they arrived to another black stone panel. This time, it was Aridel who took Mei´s hand and pressed it to the stone that moved silently to a side. They came to another great hall where hundreds of items were stacked upon tables while farther back, 5 rows of wooden structures resembling tall bookcases went on and on in the darkness. The only light available was that of the lamps they carried but even so deep into the mountain, the air smelled fresh. Mei looked around towards the high ceiling and after carefully looking, saw carvings in the rock, maybe 10 meters over their heads.
Nanny gasped when she saw the items in the tables and she could not help her sadness.
-The Lan family is so rich and powerful-she said with a trembling voice- but they only sent these for my Lady´s dowry?-
Mei looked at the items, most were trinkets and addornments, some porcelains and silver vases. In one table were stacked about 20 rolled tapestries and another one held over 10 paintings, carefully arranged. One final table had some 5 dresses, a small jeyelry box and nothing more. She could say that she had less than a tenth part of these things in the personal locker assigned to her in the military quarters back in her old life. Since she was military property, she was deemed too critical to allow to live outside the military compound and had no personal space she could call her own. With how things were in her time, having a house or appartment was also a far fetched dream for someone with the kind of medical bills she had and no prospect of a husband or family.
-No one apart from us will ever know about this insult Nanny-said Lady Fu with visible discomfort, she too was very resentful of the way the Lan family treated Lady Mei even now that she had left the family-
Mei laughed out loud at that and startled the other 4 people.
-Dont worry about that-she said with mirth in her eyes- and do not try to conceal anything, they will find the way to let others know and what we should do is to remain aloof- she walked to the table with silver trinkets and ceramics but saw nothing eyecatching- If you see something here that has a real value, keep it. Otherwise, I think melting the silver and gold might be better- she ignored all the other things and concentrated on the tapestries and paintings.
Having no personal belongings or a house did not take away her love for beautiful things and among the things she had studied in her spare time, art had been a particular beloved subject. Whenever she could travel and sneak some time out of military duties, she spent time at museums and libraries.
-It is a shameful thing they did, being such a powerful family-Steward Fu added while holding the dowry papers-this list has been changed recently and everything related to medicines, elixirs, pills, scrolls, weapons and spiritual artifacts has been taken away-
-Lady Fu and Nanny, check the table with the vases-ordered Aridel- Steward Fu, check that other table-he signaled another one filled with assorted things- Mei, come with me-
They walked to the table with the tapestries and paintings. Aridel extended a hand and touched every single item before he allowed Mei to do the same.
-These were all made by your own hands-he mentioned in a soft voice- Since you could not cultivate, you dedicated yourself to the practice of arts and were reknowned as a master painter and a superb embroiderer-
Mei unrolled a tapestry, a monster sized one that depicted a beautified map of this world and she gasped. The level of detail and the quality of the materials used for it was outstanding. Surely in her old world, a thing like this would be kept in a museum under strict care so that its beauty could be enjoyed by people from all over the world.
-Can we hang this somewhere in the Estate?-she asked with glee- oh, but I do not want it to get damaged from exposure...
-We will put conservation enchantments on the pieces so they can endure the passage of time-he said. He seemed to like that she adored the items left behind by Lady Mei.
-Oh my look at this...-she gasped with happiness when she unrolled the second tapestry, depicting an image of the same tree of light that they had seen during the test-
As far as Mei was concerned, those tapestries were treasure, even more valuable than whatever gold or elixirs those nasty people in the Lan family had sent. She knew they had thrown away all of Mei´s art pieces and send them with a load of crappy things as a way to further insult her but she couldn´t care less about their intentions. She was actually happy they had not taken these pieces and also liked the respect she could see in Aridel´s eyes.
Nanny saw Lady Mei being happy about finding her most beloved pieces in the dowry and she managed to be less angry about the actions of the Lan family. She also saw Lady Fu glancing every now and then at the couple who were now quietly admiring the fifth tapestry, a 5 meter long depiction of Radiant City, the golden outpost that guarded the border of the empire.
Nanny remained silent while classifying the items in their table. Lady Fu checked everything for danger and then passed the items to Nanny who was in charge of dividing the things into three groups, the ones that would be melted and remade, the utter garbage and the smallest one, the items that actually had any value at all. Steward Fu was tasked with the biggest table and when they finished with theirs, they took the task of checking the table where dresses and personal items of Lady Mei were displayed.