4th Day of the Second Month in the Year 736 NCE.
Outside the Guo Family’s Manor, Miu Aislu City.
An ornate black-gold carriage drawn by two handsome horses drew to a halt just outside the massive open gates of the Guo Family’s manor. The tamed beasts, still retaining a sense of innate wildness, bucked restlessly at the sudden call to stop. However, a quick tug at the reins by the carriage driver swiftly placated the beasts.
Waiting outside the gates of the manor stood a throng of individuals, all finely dressed in silks and satins. Their faces held welcome smiles as they watched the shut doors of the horse-drawn carriage and their hands remained folded in greeting as they waited for the guests to disembark.
Creak! With the slightest creaking of wood, the carriage doors burst open and out stepped an older man. His head was full of partially greying hair, the lot of which was bunched up into a knot. A neat grey beard outlined his stern lips with a small goatee hanging from the edge of his chin. He was dressed in black and silver attire, neatly pressed and without the slightest traces of a crease.
If the words ‘Neat and Proper’ had an image, it would without a doubt be this very man.
“Brother Tie! Welcome!” greeted the Head of the Guo Family, as he walked up from his place of waiting outside the gate. The moment the older man disembarked from his carriage, he was enveloped by a tight hug from the bear-like Guo Family Head.
Meeting the hug from his old friend and brother with equal intensity, Tie Zheng, answered with roaring laughter. “Well met! Well met! It appears that your strength has yet to leave you, Old Guo!”
“If an old stone like you can still retain his wits, then you can sure as hell count on me to keep my strength!” Old Guo returned. After the two men finished their brotherly greetings, they drew away from each other and shared a gaze of intense nostalgia.
“How long has it been?” asked Tie Zheng, remembering the old memories that he had shared with Old Guo and a couple of their now-deceased brothers.
“Far too long,” replied the bear-like man. It was apparent from the way that he was scrunching his face that he was holding back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. “The last time we met was during An’s funeral, three years ago. And that was brief.”
At the mention of that name, the image of a tall, serpentine-looking youth flashed across Tie Zheng’s thoughts. ‘Spear Demon An.’ He was another brother of theirs with whom they had shared a time with. Unfortunately, time hadn’t been kind to the others as it had been to Old Guo and him.
Time hadn’t been kind at all. Now, it was only the two of them that were left from that old band of brothers.
“How… have you been?” asked Tie Zheng, his voice heavily choking with the memories of the past.
“Well enough,” replied Old Guo. “The world has been kind enough to not forget about us old veterans. Besides, I now have sons and grandsons to continue with the family’s legacy, so what do I have to be worried about?” He laughed.
“But enough about me, you’ve been doing quite well for yourself, haven't you? Lord Elder of the Mu Household?” Old Guo teased. “How did you manage to pull that off?”
Tie Zheng chuckled in response, some pride unashamedly showing through his smile. “I did what I’ve always done. I kept honest and I did my work the best that I could. Things happened along the way, and the Heavens saw it right to reward me for my duty.”
“Praise the Heavens for they are just and fair. Though, I must admit, amongst us brothers, I never thought that it would be you who would finally end up becoming an Elder in the Mu Household.”
“Oho? Why do you think that?” asked Tie Zheng, amused.
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“Really? You ask as if you do not know that answer yourself?” Old Guo scoffed. “I thought that obviously because of how screwed-on tight you were! You are one of the MOST uptight and bull-headed people that I know of! In fact, given your personality, it’s a miracle that you even managed to survive this long!”
Tie Zheng broke into laughter at that statement. “Hahaha! I must admit, I did have some reliable brothers to watch my back more than a few times.”
“Good! As long as you remember that!” Old Guo huffed. He then backed away with a smile and surveyed his surroundings. “Now that we’re all caught up, it wouldn’t do well to keep the others waiting.”
Tie Zheng nodded his head. He then straightened himself up and greeted the other members of the Guo Family. Starting with Madame Guo, Tie Zheng worked down the hierarchy, displaying a perfect show of etiquette and grace. Once he was done with that, he turned around and gently called into the carriage.
“Yu’er. Zhi’er. Come out and greet Uncle Guo and his family.”
The instant his words fell, the curtains veiling carriage interiors beyond its open doors parted and out stepped two youths. First to exit, and the older amongst the youths was a beautiful-looking young woman in her mid-twenties. She wore an elegant purple-coloured dress that neatly conformed to her slender physique. Her silken hair was neatly combed and worn as a knot, held tightly in place using an ornate, golden hairpin.
“Tie Yu, Eldest Daughter of the Tie Family, greets Uncle Guo and his family,” she introduced herself and greeted their hosts with proper courtesy.
Stepping out behind her was a handsome young man, also in his early twenties but a little younger than Tie Yu. He possessed sharp brows and stood with a straight back, giving off the feeling of being a just and fair official.
“Tie Zhi, Eldest Son of the Tie Family, greets Uncle Guo and his family.” He cupped his hands in greeting and performed a full bow.
Old Guo eyed the two youths appreciatively and nodded his head with satisfaction. He then slapped the back of Tie Zheng and said, “Good children. You are blessed with good children.”
Elder Tie flinched at the sudden smacking but kept his silence. He then turned towards Tie Zhi and called his son over. “Zhi’er, come over here.” The boy quickly complied and began walking over with firm steps.
Meanwhile, Madame Guo and the other female members of the Guo family approached Tie Yu and started exchanging pleasantries. It only took them a moment to grow familiar with each other and begin engaging in earnest conversation.
Tie Zhi, on the other hand, had finished arriving before the two elders and stood upright with a stiff gait. Old Guo keenly observed his steps while walking before passing a comment. “Strong legs. Could be a worthy soldier.”
Hearing those words of compliment, Tei Zhi’s face shone with apparent joy. Elder Tie, however, immediately shook his head and wasted not a second to shoot down Old Guo’s implicit suggestion.
“Never. Don’t even think about it for a moment, Old Guo. The reason why I fought so hard and shed so many litres of blood was so that my children did not have to fight in their lifetimes.”
“Brother Tie.” For the first time since their meeting, Old Guo wore a disagreeable expression and said, “It is a man’s duty to fight for his family and his country. We did the same when we were young. Now, why would you deny your son from doing the same?”
“We did it then because we had no other choice. It was a choice between suffering in poverty and seeing our siblings go hungry night after night, or arming ourselves with swords and swinging it down upon another man.” Taking a deep breath, he continued. “My children are not limited by such a choice. I made sure of that.”
“Now, I will not say anything about how you decide to run your family or raise your children. It is not my place to make any comments there. However, I would also appreciate it if you respected my choice and made no further mention about this topic; either to me or my son. Is that alright?”
Old Guo paused, swapping his gazes between the firm expression of his long-time brother and the disappointed expression on his son. After a while, he sighed heavily and said, “Alright, alright. I won’t speak of this matter any more.”
Tie Zheng smiled and nodded his head. He then made Tie Zhi properly introduce himself to Old Guo, while the latter called upon his own sons to do the same. After a few minutes of exchanging words back and forth, Madame Guo’s voice echoed in the air.
“It’s getting rather cold. Let us enter the house and continue our conversations after making ourselves a little more comfortable. Guests, if you could please follow me.”
She then held Tie Yu by her hands and took the lead in entering the manor gates. The rest of the ladies and servants followed, with the men being the last ones to enter.
The Guo Family manor immediately grew boisterous with activity as the food and drinks were brought out and everyone started growing more relaxed. As the day passed and the two families became intimately familiar, Tie Zheng rose from his seat at the table and announced with a red face.
“Old Guo! The reason I came out here was to announce to you that my sole daughter, Tie Yu, is getting married later this month and to hand you the first invite. Please do me and my family the honour by accepting this invite.”
Upon saying that, he received the gold-leafed invitation that was handed to him from the side by his son and presented it to Old Guo with a bow.