47 A Lifetime Ago: Marital Bliss

The news of the new Crown Princess spread like fire throughout the whole nation, and in the middle of the scorching flames was Fan He. Everywhere she walked people would whispered about the ex-future crown princess. Their tongues would waggle with insults and assumptions. At some point, the whispers began to invade her mind and opened a pandora's box of insecurities.

"When comparing the two, who can't see that Miss Da is the flower stuck to dung."

"She's a failure of woman! How could she let the Prince slipped through her fingers?"

It had been weeks since she last saw Da Ai, and frankly, she doesn't want to. Despite Da Ai's refusal to the Crown Prince's proposal, she could see the love in the girl's eyes as she looked at Hu Gang. The sense of betrayal had came too fast and too hard, and so Fan He had ran away from her own ceremony to avoid the traitors. She had avoided everything besides the constant whisperings of the public and the memory of the ceremony.

To make matter worse, her father had gone to complain to the Emperor's about the Crown Prince's betrayal. Her face had officially been dragged across the floor, and her reputation ruined. As a result, the Crown Prince would be force to marry her as the first "wife", and then marry Da Ai as the Crown Princess a day later.

This horrendously humiliating compromise had the people calling her "The Abandoned Princess." As her wedding day grew closer, the more bitter and angry she felt. It was as though her insecurities that she had pushed away before slowly sinking their claws into her body. From way back when, she had always been compared to the lovely Da Ai. From her looks, demeanor, and even talent, Da Ai was better than her, but she had never fully addressed it. It wasn't till now that she could see it, and how much Da Ai was silently mocking her for being incompetent. This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Big red fire crackers went off, and the Crown Prince was striking on his horse. He wasn't all smiles, but at least he looked less reluctant that the Fan family had expected. The wedding went without a hitch, and Fan He was actually happy on her big day. Then night came, and she was suddenly nervous. She sat on the bed while staring at the doors, hoping that the Crown Prince would come in soon. So Fan He sat, and sat, and sat on the soft red bed in all her wedding gear. It wasn't until the sun's light slowly peaked from the night that the young girl realized that the Crown Prince was not coming.

It did not sink in until a maid came in and told her that she had to present for Da Ai's wedding.

Rage. That's what she felt when she saw Da Ai's hand in Hu Gang's.

Envy. That's what she felt when she how tender he treated his new bride.

Devastation. That's what she felt when she saw the look happy but sad look on Da Ai's face.

Her eyes followed the pair as they made their way into the bridal chamber that was much larger and lavious than hers. It was only until the lover birds were out of sight that she walked back to her own small room and cried. Was it from sadness, or was it from jealousy? She didn't know, but she knew that Da Ai had betrayed her and ruined her life.

When the tears stopped, the sun had already rose from behind the mountains and peaked into her room. Fan He opened her swollen eyes and walked over to the vanity. She saw a weary and ugly young woman looking back at her, and she almost barfed from the sight. Still, she steeled herself to get dolled up to do the mandatory greeting to the new Crown Princess.