"Ancestors! Great-uncle, how can you bow to me? You mustn't, you absolutely mustn't!..."
"Yes! Great-uncle, please get up! You are the Chief Minister of the alliance, one of the few honored elders left of the royal house... You not only presided over my wedding with Xolotl, you are also Little Xiuhua's teacher!... Mm, we should be returning the bow to you!..."
Cactus Flower pots of different heights had been arranged throughout the reception hall, many of them still blooming with bright balls of flowers. Surrounded by flowers and cacti, the aged Great-uncle Cacamatzin lowered his head and bowed, while Xolotl brought his wife down to the ground in return, his face solemn and flustered.
"Xolotl, you are the head of the royal house of the Holy City Lineage, holding three-tenths of all under heaven. And Avet is the royal house head of the main city line, holding half of all under heaven... The royal house of the Mexica People, the realm of the Mexica Alliance, must not go toward division and civil war!..."
Cacamatzin, over seventy years old, bowed his head and pleaded, his voice aged yet earnest. Faced with his great-uncle's request, Xolotl lay prostrate on the mat, his forehead pressed to the warm woven surface, and for a moment did not know how to answer. He was silent for a long while before raising his head, looking at his great-uncle, who waited gravely, then at his expectant wife. Under such circumstances, he could only let out a long sigh and promise in a deep voice.
"Great-uncle, I understand! With the ancestors and the Main God as witness, for your sake and for the sake of the royal elders, I... I can for... give... what Avet did before!... The royal house of us Mexica People will absolutely not split