Di Lan spun around with a fury that could burn anyone in its path, but he froze when he saw Mei Fa. She stood there, her face a mask of pure innocence, her eyes shimmering with deceptive tears under the moonlight. Di Lan remained silent, redirecting his rage toward the grass, pulling it from the roots and tossing it into the water with desperate mechanical motions.
Mei Fa sat beside him with extreme grace, as if afraid to bruise his feelings. She asked in a low voice:
- Why are you so angry, my Lord? It breaks my heart to see you like this.
The Crown Prince tried to gather what remained of his kindness, but his voice came out strained.
- I am not angry, I am just, regretful. Regretful of something I've done that can no longer be undone.
Mei Fa gestured with a delicate finger toward the wreckage in the water. She said in a cold, sorrowful tone:
- Do you mean this swing? What a loss! I used to come here secretly sometimes to ride it when the place was empty. I only wanted to feel the spirit that inhabited Ju Ri's painting I mean, Princess Ju Ri's.
Di Lan snapped at the mention of her name. He said sharply:
- She is not a princess yet, and in my eyes, she will never be!
Behind the thick trees, Ju Ri watched it all. She felt a dagger pierce her heart not just because Mei Fa was stealing her memories and claiming the swing, but because Di Lan had stripped her of her royal title before the wedding had even begun.
Promises in the Dark
Ju Ri pressed her hand against her mouth, trying to keep her heart from screaming. Di Lan's cruel words that she would never be a princess were enough to shatter her remaining strength. As for Mei Fa, sensing his vulnerability, she decided to tighten her grip on his mind. She whispered,
- I saw you once, sitting right here under this tree, I didn't want to disturb your solitude.
She paused, watching the spark of interest in his eyes, then continued with subtle cunning:
- You were wearing dark blue robes with exquisite silver embroidery, and you were deeply engrossed in a book. May I ask, what were you reading?
Di Lan's eyes widened in disbelief these very details mirrored the ones in the rejected portrait the one that captured him in his formal attire! In that searing moment, he plucked a solitary flower and cast it mercilessly into the water, his mind finally made up. He would make Mei Fa his beloved, his life partner, and the mother of his children. As for Jo Ri, she would be nothing more than a captive shadow in the palace corners a wife in name only, forever forsaken and starved of love.
Laughter echoed between them throughout the night, while Ju Ri watched from behind the bushes with eyes full of suspicion and heartbreak. She saw a look in his eyes she had never seen before a warm, intimate gaze she had once dreamed would be hers, now gifted to another over the ruins of her memories.
Promises Over the Remains of Hearts
Suddenly, Mei Fa bowed her head, covering her eyes as if weeping.
- But I am merely a concubine now, I will always be in the shadows.
Di Lan moved closer, tilting her face up to look into her eyes with blind devotion.
- It doesn't matter whom I marry tomorrow, Mei Fa. What matters is whom I love. And my heart has chosen you.
Mei Fa whispered with feigned sorrow:
- No matter what you say, you will remain with her. I will sleep in my room, lonely and forsaken.
Di Lan took a deep breath, making a solemn vow:
- Believe me, only the wedding night will be spent with that 'bride.' All other nights of my life belong to you alone. This is a royal promise from the Crown Prince, I promise to be yours only, and in time, I will find a way to make you the Queen.
As he pulled her into a firm embrace, Ju Ri nearly collapsed. She pressed her hand against her mouth so hard her nails dug into her skin, stifling the scream within. With every word, she realized the living hell that awaited her. She began to tremble violently, her legs failing her. Her vision blurred behind a cascade of silent tears, yet she stood frozen like a statue of salt watching her kingdom burn.
Mei Fa asked, her voice laced with longing,
- Do you promise that I will be the first and the last in your life?
Rest assured, Di Lan replied with cold resolve.
- I shall imprison her in the farthest reaches of my palace, like a forgotten portrait cast aside. She will never so much as cross the threshold of her own room. You, and you alone, shall be the queen of my heart, my lands, and my kingdom.
At his words, Jo Ri was torn asunder, her heart bleeding in agonizing silence, while Mei Fa swelled with hidden pride, strutting like a peacock fanning its invisible feathers.
Ashes of Dawn
Her legs failed her. It was as if a dark spell had anchored her to the spot, forcing her to drink the cup of agony to its dregs. Unable to move, Ju Ri collapsed onto the damp earth amidst the bushes, shrinking into herself, hoping the shadows would swallow her broken soul.
In that heavy silence, a melodic, feminine laugh pierced the air Mei Fa's laugh. It was an alluring, resonant sound, the kind that binds men's hearts to their owner. To Ju Ri, that laughter was more painful than a war cry it awakened a hatred within her she never knew she possessed.
As the first rays of dawn began to seep through the branches, revealing the colors of the world, Ju Ri saw only gray. Her world was crumbling at her feet, piece by piece. She remained there, watching the Prince depart with the "Beauty," leaving behind the "Ugly Ju Ri" or so she felt tangled in the bushes like wreckage.
Only when their footsteps faded did Ju Ri erupt into a bitter, harrowing sob a cry she had never known before. It was the wail of a soul realizing she was to be wed to her grave while still alive.
The Birth of the Rebel Queen
Was this truly how she would live? Would she accept the palace as her prison, just as it had been for so many before her? Would she give this arrogant Prince the chance to turn her into a "mummy," interred within his grand chambers?
No. She would not settle for the life scripted by her mother's wishes or her aunt's ambitions. Ju Ri lunged to her feet, as if a bolt of pure pride had struck her frail frame. She wiped her tears away with a brutal hand and raised her fist in the fading dark the fist of a victor.
She whispered with icy resolve:
"No, I am not the one who will surrender my freedom. I will not let this 'nobody' swap roles with me. I will make HIM the nobody in this palace, and if I fail to break his pride... then death is more merciful than a life of humiliation."
In that instant, her aunt's words echoed in her mind like a war drum: (Succeed). Success no longer meant winning the Prince's heart it meant crushing anyone who dared to think Ju Ri was weak.
The Bride's Mask
She returned to her room with trembling steps, sliding into bed to play the part of the sleeping daughter beside her mother. She felt her mother moving about the room, but she kept her eyes tightly shut, as if trying to lock the doors of her heart. She only opened them when she felt her mother's tender touch and heard the warm whisper in her ear:
- Wake up, my beautiful princess, today is your big day.
Ju Ri choked on an indescribable bitterness. Her soul screamed from within:
"If only you knew, Mother, how I am the ugliest girl in the eyes of my future husband!"
But she swallowed her agony and remained silent; she couldn't bear to stain her mother's joy with a single drop of the poisonous truth she had swallowed in the garden.
The preparations began. Maidservants swarmed the room like butterflies, carrying silks, jewels, and powders. Ju Ri surrendered to them with cold mechanically. While they adorned her hair and placed the crown upon her head, she was sharpening the blade of her dignity.
When the moment of farewell arrived, she looked at her mother who would only watch the ceremony from a distance. She embraced her deeply, as if saying goodbye to her former self, then turned and took her first steps toward the Grand Hall, marching toward the "fate" she had chosen with pride.
A Swing in Memory.. A Mother's Prayer
The grand procession moved from the contestants' building to the ceremony hall, where her life was officially bound to a man who saw her as nothing more than a "heavy burden." The ceremony was conducted with an icy coldness Ju Ri didn't feel the warmth of the Crown Prince's hand, but rather the crushing weight of the royal crown that had become a shackle upon her head.
After the rituals ended, the procession headed toward the royal palace designated as her new residence. The maids intentionally passed through the garden, and there, Ju Ri stole a glance toward the spot where her swing once was. She was shocked not only was the swing gone, but even the remains of the cut tree had vanished entirely, as if the hand of betrayal wanted to erase every trace of her past. Ju Ri swallowed a tear that felt like burning coal and continued her path with her head held high, though her soul was screaming inside.
At that very moment, in another corner of the palace, her mother stood alone, gazing at the night sky and praying with tears of longing:
"Oh Lord, I entrust to You a piece of my heart, make her days in this palace as pure as her soul, and let her see nothing but happiness in her husband's home."
The mother did not know that her "princess" was now living in a palace of ice, and that her prayers were the only thread preventing Ju Ri from a total collapse.
"Ju Ri refused to be a 'mummy' in the Prince's palace and branded him a 'nobody.' Do you think her cold fury will guide her strategy, or will her past feelings betray her the moment she locks eyes with him during the ceremony?"
"Her aunt's last word was (Succeed). In your opinion, what does 'success' look like for Ju Ri now? Is it winning back his love, or is it crushing his pride until he regrets every word he whispered in the dark?"