@dalyeojin,
( a royal wedding )
a wedding is not just a wedding.
only a fool would assume so. only a fool would believe they were invited for the lively festivities and the rice and the fine wine. only a fool would croon lovingly over the blushing bride and groom, unaware that they shared a floor teeming of courtesans and bloodsuckers. leeches of every sort slithered through the royal estate, hoping to rub elbows or possibly something even more– at least for this one night. the princess watched these pathetic deeds in it’s entirety.
ziyi saw the glazed looks and the liquor stained lips, women of lower status that would squeeze their bosoms just a bit more whenever a royal would pass. corrupt soldiers and councilman that were riled by alcohol and greed. she had attended far too many weddings and not one was different from the previous. how incredibly dull all of it was. amongst the sea of faces, the princess discovers one with an expression similar to her own. her simple garb announces her status and her face conveys a weariness that ziyi knew all too well.
the princess remains intrigued at the woman’s disinterest. the vice supreme commander of the military sat flanked on the other side and suddenly she remembers her husband speaking of the sudden death of a minister’s son and the peculiar widow he had left behind. her name registers. it was her– lady bae yeojin. it’s strange to ziyi how the fresh new widow appeared with not a single grievance on her face, no shadows of sleepless nights under her eyes or the longing desperation for her dead husband on the day of a wedding. nor did she pine after the intoxicated royals, frantically trying to keep a hold on the little power she once had when she was married. it was all so very interesting.
she doesn’t hesitate to approach her, “fools– the lot of them.” she starts, voice beguiling and soft and her gaze flitting before the ceremony. “wouldn’t you say so, lady yeojin?”
