Junuo’s apology
Ok, the biyiniaos died in the drama. But I want to see if they will honor Aranya in the book version now that the dream is over. So here’s my idea.
Because obviously Dong Hua and Feng Jiu have no reservations about using her name, Junuo was expecting them to ask questions.
The thing was, Junuo had done a good job of burying her guilt over Aranya. True, she could not stop the occasional reminder when there are particularly snowy days or when she has to pass by the serpents or especially when one of her people is trapped in the dream Shen Ye created, but she was able to move on and live her life.
But now that she knows Dong Hua will break the dream and escape with the knowledge of how she had treated Aranya, Junuo was worried about his reaction.
Perhaps his majesty will blame them for the existence of Aranya’s Dream.
As a result, when the dream broke, and Dong Hua visited Junuo to inform of his imminent departure, Junuo thanked him for breaking Shen Ye’s curse and announced that she has decided to erect a memorial to Aranya on the river bank to honor her sister’s contribution to the war. And to make sure her sister would not be blamed for the everlasting winter, Junuo courageously decided to release the truth, exposing her family’s cruel nature and Shen Ye’s devastating revenge.
Dong Hua personally thought Aranya had already moved on. But perhaps it would help the queen move on to make this gesture.
And for sure there were some biyiniaos who blamed the deceased Qinghua for sacrificing their kin for a war she staged, and in turn blame her precious daughter. They were tempted to demand she step down from the throne. But the younger generation had befriended Meng Shao and Jielu, and protested that Junuo had been a good queen to them.
In the end, it only settled when Junuo promised to surrender the throne to Meng Shao when he came of age while she would return to exile.
Junuo in a way, was at peace with the outcome. She had preferred her free life in exile.