A nameless spirit tablet rests quietly beneath a tree. It was part of her dowry, smuggled from the palace whe…
A nameless spirit tablet rests quietly beneath a tree.
It was part of her dowry, smuggled from the palace when she left—the last trace of her unnamed mother in this world.
Her mother once hummed a song, watching her dance gracefully in the palace gardens.
That gentle, timid palace woman only hoped her child would find a good match and live safely in the capital.
But she refused to be a peony in a hothouse. She wanted to bloom where she chose, with her own strength.
Even if wind and frost assailed her, she would bloom again and again.
She crossed endless yellow sands and snowstorms, using courage and wisdom to bring stability to a foreign land.
If her mother were still here, she would be at peace—or proud.
But her mother would never see it.
Under a bright moon, she lifted her skirts, removed her hairpins, and danced that childhood dance before her mother's spirit tablet.