Tonglun does not know how he ended up here back at the palace. After sending Jianyu and Xiaosheng home, it was as if his body had been so accustomed to carrying out the duties of being the princess's husband that he was back here at the heavenly gate, ready to enter the forbidden city once more, without any recollection of how he arrived. It was late and all the guests were leaving the palace. He despised this place, full of golden statues and grand buildings and yet nothing about it made Tonglun desire to be here any more than he desired being in a rodent infested hut.
"The princess was lovely." he heard a man speak to another, both of them unfamiliar faces. "We will be family when we both marry our princesses." the other replied politely. So they were the new dukes. Unfortunately the emperor was ill and if he did not make it, the princesses would be unable to marry for three months. And unfortunately, they bumped into him tonight.
"Pardon me, sirs, I happened to overhear your conversation. Congratulations and welcome to the family. I am the fourth duke, Tonglun. Since today is a good day, shall we step aside for a drink, it's on me?" he asks with a welcoming grin. "We have long heard that the fourth duke is a kind and gentle man, looks like the rumours are true." they nod and step aside, following Tonglun away from the forbidden city. "This way, I know a shortcut to the best wine house in the Capital."
His steps were heavy and intentional, but his heart was pounding in his chest. His hand moves to the hilt of his sword, the two future dukes, blissfully unaware, too absorbed in their own conversation to notice. He is swift, years of practice did that for him, as he draws his steel sword from it's sheath and he cuts cleanly through the chest of both men, not giving them much time to process the end of their lives. Blood splatters across his front as well and he winces as splatters of red spray across his eyes.
He has to make this journey again, he sighs, cleaning the blade of his sword with the robes of one of the fallen men and returning it into it's sheath. He's glad he knows this place like the back of his hand. He's glad no one needs to know about tonight. Not Bitna, not Xiaosheng, no one.
Taking a deep sigh, he returns to his carriage where his attendant was waiting. Take me back to the princesses' manor, I bumped into someone who spilled pig blood all over me. I shall get changed before I go meet the princess."
born as the daughter of a noble's concubine, yilin knew that one day she too would follow her mother's footsteps and become a concubine herself. growing up, her mother had hoped her daughter could live a different life than her own, but life never really worked out that way. instead, she was taught to become the best companion she could be in the future, mastering the arts of weaving, embroidery, and some reading and writing. once she reached the suitable age to be married off, her father began prospecting a husband for yilin that could benefit his social status and family.
❛ — duke of raining arrows.
as the eldest son of the house, seungcheol is being bombarded by many responsibilities on an early age in preparation for his role as the next duke. his studies during the morning and weapons by the night. one day his father arranged his schedule with extensive martial arts training. he once asked his father about the sudden change, but the man only smiled and pat his head mentioning he would need it in the near future and he did. seungcheol is now bearing the weight of the house like a crown on his head. his father assassinated one night coming home from a meeting.
face claim: lee jiyeon aka wsjn bona
oc name: ying yue
role: prince's concubine
age: 24
password:
having born into one of the top aristocrat families of the era, she has been raised to obey, listen and speak only when she was asked to. education in those days were given to the sons more than daughters yet her father believed that every child deserved such as so the future could be held in these younglings. she was trained in arts and martial arts if ever one day, she might need to aid her future husband. despite that all, she could be quite a sympathetic person and playful by nature. the day came for when she was given to the palace as a prince's concubine as a sign of loyalty and power that if ever the palace needed help, ying yue's family would be at their beck and call which actually amassed thousands of soliders in where their clan resided in the one of the top three biggest cities aside from the capital.
faceclaim: yeon woo
oc name: yeon woo
role: princess consort
ic age: 25
Hailing from a noble family, yeon woo is the eldest daughter of a successful merchant, who has been supplying the royal family with their goods and wares for decades. On the outside, yeon woo could seem a little cold, much like a shrewd businesswoman. In her quarters, she's rather affectionate to those whom she's close to, even including some of her caretakers. The colour pink, persimmons and her specially imported horse are some of the things she likes the most. Absolutely dislikes bugs and carrots. Is also very skilled in archery and negotiations since she has been seeing how her merchant family clinch business deals since childhood. Of course, it was for the benefit of their business that ties were forged with the royal family.
❐ *•°╱ joshua hong
❐ *•°╱ zhīxiù
❐ *•°╱ duke
❐ *•°╱ 26
﹝ᴛᴡ : ual violence/assault﹞
❛ — the illegitimate child.
a woman being forced by a man to bear a child, zhīxiù was born as an unwelcomed son in the family household. he serves as the product of his father's devious plans of claiming the throne. any sign of joy or mirth that was supposed to be present in a child's dream have all been erased due to his father's strict regulations. his childhood consisted of a busy day to day schedule of etiquette, social interactions, and special defense training that were all required for the role he will be assigned to in the future. all the love and care he desired were just a mere dream that even till this day, he hoped to achieve.
faceclaim: han sohee
oc name: suran
role: princess consort
ic age: 28
suran is supposed to be a daughter born from the noble family, the epitome of beauty and elegance. the lady was brought up with a strict upbringing and it was said that her parents wanted to marry her to the prince in order to stabilize their power and status with more connections to the royal family. it was soon proven to be true when the king is getting ill and noble families started to send their children in for a piece of the pie, whatever it might be. a few days before suran was sent into the palace, there had been sayings regarding people seeing a woman looking like suran dressed like people from the slums, and some said that she had run away from home to escape the marriage. although the rumors subsided later, no one realized that the lady sent into the palace is a much resembled replacement, whose real name is no longer important when she will be the new suran. and of course, only her 'family' knows about the truth. with her life at stake on the hands of her new family, suran can only enter the palace, and this might as well be her last time seeing the sky outside the walls.
faceclaim: jung chaeyeon
oc name: (li, if it matters) meihua
role: princess consort
ic age: 24
meihua is the youngest of four children and the only daughter born to the emperor's most trusted general and his empress's former lady-in-waiting. this means that meihua and her older brothers grew up alongside the royal children, so it came at no surprise to anyone that their majesties would want to have their family joined in holy matrimony with that of their closest friends'. but while she had three older brothers who could have done so, meihua was the apple of her father's eye and he couldn't bear the thought of seeing her leave home to marry a noble outside of the safety of the castle walls, leading him to believe that his daughter's marriage to a prince would be his safest bet. in exchange for taking his daughter's hand in marriage, the general would plead his loyalty to the prince she married if he were ever to vie for the throne.