Steward Fu was also glancing at the couple every once in a while. So far, he had found 10 different items that had been poisoned and those, he had taken out of the lot and thrown directly to the furnaces in the compounds armory. His and Lady Su´s rings were the only ones in the whole Estate apart from Lord Shen´s that also had a portal opening that lead to the furnaces and they had authority to dispose of anything they deemed troublesome or dangerous.
Aridel glanced back at the others and understood that they had found dangerous items hidden in the dowry but despite his rage at such daring, he could not bear to spoil Mei´s good mood at having found the art pieces. To the others, it was merely the lady being happy at being returned the precious work of her hands. To him, it was sincere joy at being able to be in contact with beautiful things. He really liked that this Mei did seem to appreciate the memories left behind by the previous Lady Mei and yes, he also loved those pieces as he had seen some of them displayed before in the Lan family Mansion. Those awful people might have despised Lady Mei, but they bragged about her works of art whenever they could, as if those were their property too.
Mei finished with the tapestries and followed up with the paintings. Those were smaller in size but even more detailed. Many scenaries and people were displayed, mostly they were depictions of battles, palaces, one or two were mystic animals. And then, she became utterly silent when one particular painting called to her.
-Aridel, this is my world, seen from Celestes base-she whispered with reverence while taking his hand for support, hers had become cold from the impression. The painting itself was an image of the silvery lunar surface, the black expanse of space filled with stars and Earth in the background, in all its blue and green glory, with wisps of clouds here and there.
-She could see it-her voice was almost trembling now. After all that had happened, this was the first time that she lost her composure.
-Before all this happened, she could see it...
Tears fell down from her eyes but she still managed to smile through.
Aridel squeezed her hand and seeing her being so mesmerized at the image, he understood this one painting meant something completely different to her.
-Dont be sad- he said, and then on a move that even he found rare, he held her chin tenderly so she could see him in the eye- I will set an enchantment on this piece so that it endures for eons and place it where you can see it everyday, no matter where we go-
-I need a hug-she sobbed quietly. She knew she sounded spoiled and completely not like herself. She knew if anyone in her troop had seen her crying like this, they would have sent her straight to the psychiatrist guard for deep investigation. She was a hard woman, a warrior, but right now, seeing this small piece of her old life, she finally understood that it was gone for her, that her life there had ended and she would only have her memories from now on. And it hurt, badly.
Aridel held her and she felt deeply grateful for his serene quietness, for not asking questions now, for the human warmth he offered. And Aridel felt completely out of his element, while also strangely content at being able to be her support, the one person that knew what she was going through and could help her to move on with this new life. Her tall figure nestled against his felt completely normal and right and he guessed that was also a part of being soulbound to her. After all, many sages that studied the nature of soulbinding agreed that it was a process that involved both the mind, the body and the spirit of the couple involved. He knew 2 other couple of cultivators that were soulbound and had gotten into long term relationships that were deep and meaningful. And he also knew of another couple that had been split apart despite it, despite even love.
Mei dried her tears and after a couple of deep breaths, she pulled herself together.
-Lets return to our quarters-he said, and then louder he called to Nanny and the Fu couple- Do not keep any of the dresses and melt the jewelry too, have the armory fit our Lady with a new wardrobe of the finest materials I have been bestowed. Make armor, training clothes, imperial dresses, jewelry, shoes and anything Mei will need for all the seasons, for the next 5 years-
The three people assented and smiled. They completely thought their Lord wanted to pamper his wife rotten, specially after seeing how he consoled her so lovingly just now. All three of them knew Mei as a very sensitive and delicate lady and were not surprised at her crying episode just now. They were also in the know about Mei being able to cultivate and were quite expectant about the development she would have. They saw Aridel taking a lamp and Mei s hand and then begin the trek back.