"Miss Lin, it's Jinchen. May I come in?"
"Enter." She spoke absent mindedly. Mo Jinchen opened the door and was greeted with the sight of Lin Yue, propped up by several pillows in front of an open window with a book in her hands. The sunlight was spilling in onto her like a warm halo. She glanced up and smiled. Suddenly Mo Jinchen's world grew brighter just in her presence. He gave her a warm smile and moved to sit in the chair across from her. "How was your day?"
She asked him gently as she closed her book. He glanced at the cover. {Templates for embroidery}.
"We got the house cleaned and repaired. I set up your work room, it's right across from the master bedroom. We arranged to have dragon Koi delivered for the pond and Snowball has laid claim to the flower garden. Father and I cleared the orchard and ordered fertilizer and seeds for the vegetable garden. Mother is discussing a berry garden with Aunt Fu."
Lin Yue passed him a handkerchief. It was embroidered with twin koi on one corner. "You look tired. Don't forget to rest." Lin Yue reached for the tea pot and started making tea for him. She was meticulous and used the ancient technique of tea pouring. She set the tea cup before him and then poured her own cup.
"Do you remember anything about the man who attacked you? Father is running the investigation."
She turned to look out the window. She tried to think of Fu Jin's description. She didn't want to give Jinchen a too descriptive clue, yet point him in the right direction. "I remember he was tall. Tall enough to lift me up high. His smell was like he spent his life in a bar or drinking. He also never bathed." Mo Jinchen nodded. "This will help Father narrow the search down. Feng Dai will be your guard until he is caught. Do not go anywhere without her or me with you. Father thinks this wasn't a simple attack, but an attempt to kidnap you." Lin Yue sighed and her eyes darkened slightly. "Just like last time." Mo Jinchen reached for her hand. "No, because now I am here. That will never happen to you again. I promise you that." Her smile was weak and tears were in her beautiful eyes. "Thank you, Jinchen."
"Why was Li Xue in your mother's home?" Lin Yue chuckled. "She is in love with brother Junkai, but brother gives all his attention to me, his precious sister. So, miss Li is jealous and wants to ruin my image in front of my brother." Jinchen grimaced but filed away the information to give to his father. It could be a clue to what's going on with the Lin family.
Mo Jinchen pushed Lin Yue out to get some air in the yard. He made sure to cover her with a blanket so she wouldn't get cold. "We should go and get our marriage certificate soon. I already had you added to my registration as a military spouse. We can hold the wedding after we go get our certificate." Jinchen spoke as he sat beside her with a basket in his hands. There were an assortment of threads and needles in different sizes and types in the basket. Lin Yue held a large piece of leather that was grey in color but soft like butter. She had folded the leather into a bag and was sewing a long strip of the same leather to it with a thick blue thread on each side. "We can go tomorrow if that's alright with you." Lin Yue spoke as she worked. "Alright, I will come and pick you up after breakfast. I can have my father lend me the military jeep to make the trip easier." She smiled at him before going back to her task. "What are you making, Yue'er?"
"It's a bag. I plan to use it myself for when I need to go to the market. It should make carrying things back easier." Jinchen marveled at her foresight. She would need things like this bag in the future.
"Did you make a wallet for yourself as well?" She stopped working and dug in the side of her wheelchair. She pulled out a soft brown leather wallet. It looked like a long envelope that wasn't folded. She embroidered koi and cherry blossoms onto its surface and her name was embroidered along the bottom seam. The top was held closed with a flap of leather that snapped closed like a pair of pants. She embroidered cherry blossoms along the seam of the flap. "It's interesting. I didn't know that you could make something like this."
"Thank you, Jinchen. It's harder to come up with the styles than the designs." They spent the lunch hour discussing her work and by the time Mo Jinchen left to go back to work, he had a new respect for his new wife.