Don't chase the rabb-- er, tiger.
"Congratulations are in order my lord, today is the day of your ceremony."
Sun Ce wanted to stuff the sentence away somewhere and pretend it was never uttered at first. When he dragged himself out of bed, stretched, and let out a sigh it finally hit him. He was getting married. Not in the way he thought he would, but he was getting married, and everyone else had been excited.
"Don't sound so enthusiastic Renxiang," Ce finally said with a snort, "I already told you, you're stuck with me."
"I'm aware, but you shouldn't look so crestfallen about all this. I hear praytell these women are so beautiful, flowers hide away from them," Renxiang replied, and Ce watched as she proceeded to re-braid her hair, "Don't forget, you're also effectively squashing any potential uprisings in your land. The young woman is marrying you, a man with many accomplishments, and that is everything, my lord."
Good social standing. Ce repeated the words in his head, and it only made him suck his teeth first. Why did things like that make all the difference? When was marriage even a reasonable tool in a bid for the land? Even Zhou Yu could explain how necessary and useful it was to Sun Ce, but he'd never really get it.
"Is it?" Ce asked, and he scratched at his chin, "I mean...what good'll come of this? I want what my parents have. You know, a long lasting, happy marriage. And a family. I got half of that."
"Ce, this isn't about what you want anymore. You have this entire province, and now you need to maintain it. Even your mother would remind you of this, in addition to Zhou Yu. My duty is to serve and support. And if you insist on arguing to try and win, you'll lose." Renxiang countered as she slipped on her clothes.
"Try it then!" Ce spat at her suddenly."Your daughters." was the calm response, "This family, everything you've built so far, the people you need to look after...They are everything to you, and if you need to partake in some political marriage to avoid trouble, you do it. Just don't fuck it up and disappoint me by marrying a joke."