"What's with all that gesturing? Are you making fun of me?" the young master asked. Cang Mu sighed, and patted his wife on the head.
"His name is Jiang Chu. Seventh son of the Jiang Household." Cang Mu said, looking at his half brother with disgust. Ming Ran slapped away his hand.
...and you are? he glared at his thoughtless partner. Cang Mu swallowed hard under his wife's gaze. Now that he thought about, he hadn't put a lot of effort into talking about his past, had he? Plus, Ming Ran had always been hidden away in his manor unless he was taken out by his siblings. He probably didn't even know anything about any of the other families. So the likelihood that he knew about Cang Mu before was almost nothing. In the end, it was his own disgust and hatred for his past that made him do everything he could to pretend that it never happened, or that his past self was someone else and not him. He could see the hurt in Ming Ran's eyes, and more or less knew what he was so upset by.
"I don't go by that name. I go by Cang Mu..." Ming Ran glared at him, turned his nose in the air and left. Cang Mu jolted, not expecting Ming Ran to just leave like that. He forgot quickly about Jiang Chu and ran after his wife. He allowed Ming Ran to lead the way for a while, trying to give him a bit of space while he came up with a plan.
"Ming Ran..." he called tentatively. Ming Ran refused to even look at him, "...are you mad that I didn't tell you?" he tried again. Ming Ran puffed out his cheeks,
No.
"You're not?" Cang Mu asked, feeling a pit forming at the bottom of his stomach.
No.
"You're angry."
I'm not.
"Then--"
It's not any of my business! It's not like I'm really your wife anyway! Just a partner or captive or hostage! Ming Ran huffed and turned away, continuing to walk down the market and ignoring every attempt at fixing the situation that Cang Mu tried. Truly, the only one he would never win against was Ming Ran. Finally, Cang Mu just gave him a bit of space, reflecting on himself as he did. Ming Ran wandered into a weapons shop and looked around it for a while. An employee went to go and help him. A low chuckle came from a nearby tea shop. An old man sat, sipping tea from a chipped cup, as he watched the couple. He shook his head and raised a glass when he saw Cang Mu looking his way.
"...having trouble coaxing your wife, friend?" he asked. Cang Mu slumped over; truly, his wife was going to be the death of him! He went over to the old man, buying a fresh pot of tea.
Ming Ran looked about the weapons with Cho Lon, a weapons enthusiast. Somehow, swords, spears, and short swords had all been crossed out. Cho Lon took one sweeping look at Ming Ran and shook his head.
"I'm not so sure a whip would be any good. Your gait when you walk and balance are almost non-existent! I would say knife, but you don't look like you could handle the rough and tumble hand-to-hand combat either... your hands though. Do you hunt?" Ming Ran nodded, writing the word traps on the piece of paper. Cho Lon nodded, "Okay, so knifes are more of a practical thing then. Maybe a fan? I mean with some spiritual energy you could do a lot with a simple fan." Ming Ran nodded. As they went to look over the fans, a hand grabbed onto his shoulder. Jiang Chu glared at him.
"How dare you just walk away from me! And with that bastard?" he yelled. Cho Lon looked over at Ming Ran.
"Ex-lover?"
Ming Ran shook his head. Wrote, "Something of a in-law, I think? My husband won't tell me anything" and handed the piece of paper to him. Cho Lon snorted.
"Maybe you should give your husband a good scare then. Like find a guy to sit with so he feels threatened." Jiang Chu had been watching this exchange for a while and now it seemed like he was going to be used in some sort of ploy to make his shit half brother jealous? How could this be?!
"I'm not participating in anything! If you want someone good, then-"
"Sir, we haven't even asked you to play the part. You're the in-law, you can't play the part!" Cho Lon shook his head. Ming Ran nodded in agreement. Jiang Chu looked angry enough to spit blood.
"I'm not even enough to do a ploy with?!" he screeched. He grabbed Ming Ran's wrist and roughly yanked him forward. Before he could carry him off, however, he felt a short pain in his shoulder before his arm went numb. It swung lazily to the side as though it had lost all it's bones. Cho Lon looked at Ming Ran in awe.
"You! What did you do?" he asked, excitedly. Ming Ran wrote "pressure points" on his palm. "Forget fans! You need needles! Long term attacks and suits your fighting style. Perfect." Ming Ran stared at him for a second, I have a fighting style? Then he remembered his training in the Honglu Clan. Why hadn't he thought of it before? Everyone used heavy weapons like swords and spears. A few used whips or war fans, but he had seldom seen daggers. Let alone needles!
...
By the time Ming Ran wrapped up in the weapon's shop, Cang Mu had been talking to the old man for at least an hour. Cang Mu looked up and saw Ming Ran exit. He stood and bowed to his elder, before leaving. Ming Ran refused to look at him, but didn't walk away either. Cang Mu took his hand carefully, and interlaced his fingers with his wife's. They walked silently like that for a while.
"Did... you find a weapon?" Cang Mu asked. Ming Ran nodded silently, equally unsure of how to bridge the gap that he had created earlier. Now that he had calmed down he felt the silliness of his reaction earlier. He had no idea how the heck to make up though. Apologizing didn't seem simple enough, but talking about it... he didn't want to be treated like an outsider again. His shoulders deflated, feeling defeated by his inexperience. In the end, he wanted to be more than partners. However, Cang Mu had a goal in mind, Ming Ran knew he was just a part of the plan. How could he ask for more? Not when he thought of Cang Mu's ambition. He'll have to find a real wife, someone who is actually useful to him, won't he? Ming Ran thought miserably.
"Ming Ran." Cang Mu brought him back from his thoughts, Ming Ran couldn't bear to look at him. Not now. Cang Mu didn't ask him to look at him, he pointed at a restaurant. "That place is supposed to be very good. Would you like to have dinner together?" Ming Ran nodded. He held on a little tighter to Cang Mu's hand, feeling like this hand would slip away if he didn't hold tight enough. Cang Mu led him to the restaurant and got them a private booth.
Ming Ran pointed to several things on the menu, causing Cang Mu to relax. At least his wife wasn't too angry to spend time with him. Cang Mu added a few more dishes, and sweet fruity tea. If he remembered correctly this was the tea they had shared all those years ago. Ming Ran looked a little surprised when he tasted it, he hadn't had this tea since... realization dawned on him. Oh... those amethyst eyes! He thought. He blushed a little, remembering. However, this only made him feel more reluctant to let go of this hand. He moved a little closer to Cang Mu, trying to secure himself a little. Cang Mu smiled, and pulled his wife onto his lap. He had done this many times at the Honglu Clan, but both of them could feel that this was much more intimate than all the times that he put on a show. Ming Ran tentatively rested his head on Cang Mu's chest, uncertainty still brewing in his chest. Cang Mu took his hand and gently kissed the knuckles. Ming Ran blushed at the action.
"Nervous?" Cang Mu asked, his voice husky. Ming Ran shied away. In the end, it was just too nerve-wracking! The food came and they ate. Cang Mu served his wife tonight, catering to him in every possible way. Ming Ran blushed at all the extra attention, feeling courage rush to his head. "The gates are probably closed now. We should find a place to rest." Ming Ran nodded.
...
Cang Mu ordered a bath tub to brought inside the room, and began to brew some tea. Ming Ran undressed himself behind the curtain and felt some disappointment. He peaked towards the table, Cang Mu was playing the gentleman again. He had never forced him, he really treated Ming Ran very well all these years. Ming Ran swallowed hard, and looked towards the table, an idea brewing in his mind.
...
Cang Mu sat waiting for the water to rustle telling him that his wife had entered the tub. He closed his eyes and tried to think of other things. He had seen Ming Ran's body many times, it was bewitching to say the least, still-- he was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt someone steal his lips. Cang Mu played dead, unsure of what was happening at first. Ming Ran had never initiated anything before. He allowed Ming Ran to try and deepen the kiss. The lack of skill was astounding! It wasn't as though they had kissed a lot. Cang Mu had never forced him to go through the act unless it was to keep other men from targeting Ming Ran. The number of times they kissed probably could be counted on two maybe three hands at the most. Since they were engaged. Still, he thought Ming Ran would have gotten the hang of it. His lips were sweet and unsure, but bold and there was something else... Cang Mu shuddered as Ming Ran's knee brushed passed his crotch. He pulled away, placing the strange taste on his tongue.
"...Ming Ran." he realized, looking at his wife, "Did you drink a bottle by any chance? A blue one with a crane on the outside?" He didn't really need to ask, his wife was clearly letting alcohol move him. He sighed, shaking his head. This was going to be a challenging night...