Eternal till next

In one of the most adorned chambers of the Gu mansion, belonging to Marquis Gu and His wife Marquess Ryu,

A heated argument intensifies between him and his daughter (Yin) over her firstborn child, Mi Rae, a gentle looking girl yet very fierce in action.

Known all over the town as the damsel with a price tag, No one can afford her even when she is just averagely beautiful,

Available to no one, all the boys in the town can only wish in their dreams because looking at her directly might call for unwanted circumstances.

it is rumored that she is not the truthful heir to the Gu clan as the origins of her birth father nullify her position, But is all of this true?

Don't her brothers qualify to be the heirs?

The father and daughter know better.

And because of this baseless rumor that has spanned in every ear for over a decade, Mi Rae's mother, Lady Yin, is desperate to seal off a marriage proposal that she believes will change all of the misconceptions.

But how?

Marquis Gu is not interested at all, he only raises his voice more warning her to watch her mouth and intentions.

"If you can do this to your own child, then expect the same for yourself at one point in your life."

He tells her but she gets more defensive claiming to be looking for a bright future for her daughter,

Lady Yin presents her fears of the girl running the family businesses and the possibility of getting engulfed in family wars which makes the Marquis more surprised,

A child she barely sees even in a day?

Marquis Gu shakes his head in disbelief doubting whether his own daughter had come in with the right mind,

He does not buy any of her cheap talk as he is fully aware of the deceit behind her facade but he pushes along, fearing to offend his wife.

Yin goes on to read him several different profiles and the similarities between both families but Marquis only shows more contempt as he keeps laughing at every bio read to him,

"Where do you get these kinds of boys?"

Marquis asked Yin while continuing to laugh and the teasing exploded,

"None is like even husband material, all sound like job seekers or rather the matrilocal type ."

Marquis snorted, scratching his eyebrows with a wide smile all over his face

"Keep reading."

Marquis implored Yin to continue but she was now fed up of his teasing,

Yin put aside the profile papers and moved closer to Marquis with watery eyes that almost wanted to fall out,

She started to beg him to at least be fair and honor any of these families,

"Honor?Let them go to the temple for that."

He told her while jesting back to his working table where more profiles waited for him to go through.

However, when he saw they were quite a number, he rolled his tongue through his mouth feeling disgusted at all these names of men he didn't even know, some even sounded like pet names.

Off he pushed them to the ground and replaced that part of the table with his drawing items.

He moved his attention from her and put it to his drawing, she felt despised and embarrassed at the same time.

"Why do you always hate everything I do?"

She asked him while keeping a distance knowing very well what he could do, he was not the type that tolerated family feuds or any kind of drama.

And when he roared into laughter at hearing her mocking question,

She shamefully got into a fit of rage and that is when both started firing harsh words at one another,

But Yin had to be careful as she had been out of favor with him for a long time.

She softened her voice one more last time in hopes he would eventually give in but had her offers turned down vehemently.

"The boys you are choosing are not my type."

Marquis banged the table next to him in anger, making it so clear to Yin that she was wasting her efforts,

He wanted to yell at her for being adamant but lowered his tone in regards to the neighbors.

"This is not just about the honor of my family but also business-wise."

He reminded her openly without being polite

"You do not go out there to get me a dozen families that have nothing except a desire for a good bride."

His tone was now so commanding that whoever passed outside to wherever they were heading hopped to the next pavement to avoid being questioned as to why they were hanging around at such a time.

He continued to let her know his requirements for a future son in law but they were so ridiculous, so ambiguous, almost next to impossible,

As Mi Rae was listening to their conversation this whole time, she squirmed in her seat as her grandfather whom she calls father a hundred percent of the time kept pouring out awkward demands for a potential groom,

Lady Yin was now quiet as Marquis Gu spoke fast, it was like he wanted her to cram every bit of detail he spewed.

"Bring me a boy who is at the top of the world in everything and is willing to serve my daughter every day for the rest of their lives."

Then a sound of something like porcelain breaking was heard up to the next quarters but it was better not to interrupt them as both were hot heads in their own way.

"Father, isn't that too much?"

She asked him in a wary tone still hopeful he might wake up from his dreaming (as she assumed).

Marquis answered "No" in such a confident way that crushed the wall of faith Yin was building,

A moment of silence ensued between them and a fear of the unknown went through Mi Rae as she could not guess what was going to happen next, one thing she was sure of her father was his ability to put her in the right marriage.

There was no need for her to think deeply about it again except to pray for the best when the time came.

That silence went on for some minutes which made Mi Rae feel uneasy and prompted her to have a look through the side door.

Slowly lowering her head to see through the tiny cracks, Mi Rae saw an image she had never seen,

Both parties standing facing one another holding documents in their hands,

"What else is going on here?"

She wondered realizing the possibility of herself being only a tiny fraction of the deeper issues they had with each other,

There was a blade like relationship between them for years, almost everyone had given up on them except for marquess Ryu who was still trying to mend both their hearts.

He pulled up another document in anger and showed it to her face,

"Read this"

When she seemed defeated, he pulled another one from his drawers and told her to read it too,

But Lady Yin could not do it instead she started to weep in front of him asking why he hated Mi Rae's brothers so much,

"What have we done father that you can not recognize us?" She asked him and likewise, he asked

"What wrong have I done? Everyone in this house lives in luxury."

Mi Rae was her first child but things looked like she had come from another womb, there was even no resemblance at all which made the nurse have a hard time explaining this thing to everyone.

"Was there a swap?" She kept receiving this question even when Mi Rae was grown now,

"That is Lady Yin's child, she should be responsible for the lack of resemblance."

This is how she warded off everyone who kept asking on that Matter.

Marquis Gu was now very tired of the conversation going on between him and his daughter,

He didn't hesitate to remind her of the biggest challenge she had with her own self,

"You are equally her mother, so don't talk to me about parenting when you are doing the opposite, we will discuss everything after I come back from my mission."

Since he was the head of the house, the only choice she had was to obey his final words.

But before she could leave, she pleaded with him to spare the boys something to which he responded

"After I come back from the capital but for now, you can move back to your chambers."

It was already night time and that was enough for her to understand that nothing was going to go as she had planned.

Gathering some courage to walk out boldly, Yin wished Marquis a good night and a safe journey Incase he was to leave early next morning.

Mi Rae knew she had won, feeling excited and finally hugging herself with joy running down her heart. She rushed back to her seat feeling spooky about the whole thing knowing her father would have to spend more than a month away from her.

Would her mother take advantage of that?

"hmmmm." she held her chin before being interrupted by the sound of the opening door,

"Mother" she stood up as per the norms and greeted her, but lady Yin with fierce looking eyes, only got closer to take a good look at the small fox she gave birth to eighteen years ago.

"I was wrong to underestimate you."

Yin spoke it straight to Mi Rae's face but Marquis sensed her presence at the door and chose to remind her where she was supposed to go,

"Yin, I wonder what you are still doing there, Go to your place now and be mindful of what you want to do."

She smirked straight into Mi Rae's face and warned her not to play with fire.

"You will never outsmart me."

She then replied to Marquis in gentle way as though he didn't not know what she was capable of,

"Father, I was just finding out how my daughter is doing, please pardon me, I will get going."

She walked off towards her place of rest without even looking behind.

Nineteen years ago, a young lady Yin, at the height of her iconic beauty, was yearning for love.

She had managed to date a few boys for a while but none of them seemed to understand what her desires were,

To many, she was a pearl that was worth introducing to everyone.

And to Yin, they were playboys, childish and immature so she had to move on even if it meant breaking their hearts a thousand times.

How she wished they would grow up quickly and catch up with her !

But they were so dull and stayed right where she first met them.

They came and went with the same topic everyday,

Her favorite color, the food she loved most, the dreams she had for her career, the kind of house she wanted etc.

None came up to talk about the responsibilities of courting.

Some even felt pressured when Yin tried to entertain the idea whenever there was a private time between them.

It only ended up with another subject at the table.

How absurd.

Yin hoped for someone who was ready for a lifelong journey and to lead with her everyday,

But none of these Ex's bothered to know all of this?

Only a few that seemed serious at first before they started slacking off,

It was evident that they were still infatuated with her as the only questions they gave yin were about their appearance and charisma,

As if trying to understand her taste in men to which she was left to feel utterly disappointed.

Most of these questions left Yin a thousand miles away from her own thoughts.

Is that how they thought of her? A beauty after vigor and bride price?

Never !

Not her because she has both the etiquette and wealth without having to be desperate.

Were all men like this or did she have to meet an experienced one?

On one market day, her friends came over to pick her up for a lunch buffet at the trade fair which happens annually in the town square .

It was only half an hour's drive and the roads were guarded safely by the town guards, security was tripled to avoid any surprise.

Yin had been attending it with all her friends every year but nothing special had happened for her.

Looking at them pretending to be fine, She told them boldly wanting to avoid further conversations about the topic,

"I don't feel like coming around this time, besides we have already seen everything."

Her friends stared at her in doubt and came closer to find out what she was fearing about that day.

"Nothing, I am a bit grown now." She told them,

But they insisted she come along and at least seek some new connections as there were tons of newcomers every year.

"What newcomers?" She teased, laughing off cheerfully,

What her friends were referring to were the new faces of good looking merchants who appeared every year which only made the trade fair swell in numbers,

As many died in their hearts to have a look at all these young entrepreneurs.

The fair had even been renamed by some people as "The beauty eclipse" citing the number of gorgeous faces and the relationships that had sprung out of the fair each year.

And on top of that, there was an influx of handsome cool men from even the city whose number only kept growing per year,

Most girls and boys changed themselves for these few days.

The fair had been inaugurated by the king seven years ago in efforts to boost the business climate of every region but things were moving in its own course,

Each region was given four days of grand business communications.

So yes, many people saw this as a big day and an opportunity to meet new people, new things and possibly the love of their lives.

Yin's friends were right to say she still had a chance waiting for her to get unlocked.

The fair came with a number of things apart from the goods that were being sold, a number of games and contests were initiated at noon,

Tarot games, hide and seek, martial arts display, Divination, Riddles, Fine Art, Sculpting etc

A huge number of men and women participated in martial arts contests while a few were part of the poetry and fashion nova contests.

Weren't these the three things she enjoyed doing in her free time?

They asked her but received no word for a while, instead they observed a glowing smile on her face and together they concluded that she was going to come.

Her friends rushed to get the best clothes from her closet while dismissing all the possibilities of the day turning out the same as the previous ones.

"You will never regret this Yin, Slap me if you do." One said as she changed Yin's hairstyle to something cute (as she believed)

Because if it was me, I would never do such a style.

It made Yin look like a Fairy and a teenager at the same time but all she did was giggle and relax as everything was being done for her.

But deep down, Yin only craved a belonging, an intimacy and a responsibility with someone who was mature in thoughts and this trade fair was only going to make that feeling worse.

Most of the men on that day were either engaged, married or simply scumbags I should say.

They would travel from far towns, come for shopping at the fair and head back home to surprise their darling wives.

But the scumbags only walked around, sending invitations on where to find them when the night came.

If you turned them down, they would hurl insults and even follow you around for a while, you were only lucky when someone came to confront them on your behalf.

So who was she going to meet?

Yin stood up after everything was done and went out to inform Marquess Ryu (her mother) that she was interested in going to the trade fair and her friends were already in the house waiting for her.

Well, Marquess didn't have a problem with it, but she had to first inform Marquis Gu who didn't welcome the idea the moment he heard it.

"Stay at home or take your time at the shop to learn some business."

He requested but she showed no interest in his words.

Lifting her eyes in the air, as though feeling defeated, she clung on Marquess's shoulder

"Mother, I told you that he won't accept."

It broke The Marquis's heart to hear his daughter speak of him like this,

She didn't see the danger because the need in her clouded all her senses.

Yin could not feel the Manipulative Aura that liked to surround her.

Marquis's greatest fear stemmed from the fact that her daughter lacked self control emotion wise,

He knew what most boys wanted to do,

To make her fall in love and use Yin as a social ladder, times were not hard but many sought after the easy way.

But Yin insisted

"Father, I am a grown lady now, let me go out, I will come to the shop tomorrow."

Forcing himself not to teach her a lesson, he decided to leave the ultimate decision to the both of them.

"You two should finalize this matter by yourselves."

His wife had always supported her daughter so he had only one request from her,

"Kindly do not embarrass our clan name, it has been built for more than a century. Your siblings and everyone in the house survives by it."

He told them before walking out to give them privacy as it was improper for him to listen to their female talk.

It was already coming to noon and marquess was excited for Yin, she picked some extra money from her bag and handed it to yin while looking at her glowing skin which had been scented with plum rose,

Blended with raspberry, patchouli, amber and lavender, it gave off a seductive allure that must have been prepared for a day like this.

On her wrists were a pair of silver shining bracelets that called for gentleness when one looked at them.

How delicate Yin looked at that day !

Marquess Ryu was not yet satisfied with the supposed final jewelry,

She just wanted everything right (set her up for a nice date), so she went to her drawer and picked up more tiny jewels to adorn Yin's face.

Her daughter was a goddess (in her mind) though many thought she was a very spoiled brat.

Choosing the most beautiful Ones,

The brightest dot-like stud was pinned in between the eyebrows as an auspicious sign, while the rest were placed in her hair and on the ear lobes.

Loving the results, Marquess Ryu teased Yin, for a while before adding more plum rose scent all over her clothes

"You are so much cuter than me."

Marquess Ryu looked more stunned at her daughter,

But Yin only felt more shy while thanking her mother for doing everything effortlessly, holding her hands, Yin couldn't help but start to cry tears of joy,

"May God bless you mother, I don't want to disappoint you, not even in the next life."

Marquess Ryu was always proud of her daughter regardless of the situation, tapping on Yin's shoulders, she whispered gently to her face

"Be a good girl, do as father has said and remember to come home on time."

Likewise Yin whispered a few words to assure her mother,

"As you wish my Lady." Yin bowed and asked to be escorted out.

Both laughed and hugged each other

Marquess Ryu walked her out up to her room where the MuDan sisters where waiting, the two girls had been coming to the Gu courtyard ever since they started to walk on their own,

So there was no need to ever be afraid of their parents (Mu and Dan) who were familiar with the Gu house.

At some point, it was brought to light that both houses had sworn brotherhood with one another in secrecy.

When Marquess Ryu saw the MuDan girls, she was delighted because they looked just as beautiful and respectable as Yin.

"Wow" Marquess Ryu exclaimed looking at each of them, admiring their makeup and the jewelry all over their arms.

They sure had a style for elegance.

She praised them for wearing decently and turned to look at her yin,

"Darling, Reach well, be good with your friends and please come back on time."

That is how much she just loved her daughter, perhaps in a wrong way.

The girls got into the carriage that was waiting for them and off they went waving back at Marquess Ryu who was still standing at the entrance, wanting to see the last bit of them before walking back into the house.

Mu Lan ( Elder MuDan girl)

Started up a conversation with

Ku Dan ( Younger MuDan girl)

About the secret couple pairings that went on at the trade fair in different spots which were disguised as temporary taverns and Dining areas.

The subject caught Yin's attention right away, she had been coming to this trade fair with Mu Lan and Ku Dan for the past four years but had never come across such a thing.

Just how and when did they gather such information?

Yin paused and looked at them in shock, these were timid girls, where in the world did they get the boldness to discuss such a topic?

Yin was four years older than them so it was natural for her to be concerned.

Seeing how deep they were discussing the Matter,

Yin decided to join and cieve out something

"Wait Mu Lan, Do you mean this very fair we are about to attend or is there another one around here?"

Yin asked wanting an answer so badly

They stared at her and burst into a joint laughter

"Girl, where have you been going all these years?" They asked her, clapping to themselves.

"Yes, it is this very Trade fair." They admitted and continued to assure her how it was going to be different.

She got more curious and a little worried, was this going to be a safe place for her?

It sounded like the typical arena where the scumbags made a living on ripping girls of their chastity,

"Oh my God, it looks like I'm going to waste my time again."

She panicked but stayed positive about the whole thing, they were already nearing the town square, how could she suddenly want to go back home?

The girls went on to share stories about the successful couples that had come out of those shrines but none impressed Yin.

Regardless, she had to try her luck.

"Can you tell me how this whole thing goes?"

Yin asked them to move closer, willing to gather more details about the process of admission to the tavern.

"I am single and I do not want to stay like this forever. If no one is good today, I will stay at the shop from tomorrow onwards."

She convinced herself without saying a word, wanting to be determined.

Now these secret couple pairings were usually done an hour or two away from dusk and lasted for another hour after the sun went down.

A lot of officials were bribed to keep things going on under the carpet.

It was a huge business for both the diviners and organizers as large sums of money were paid by some candidates to be placed together with people of the same status or even higher.

If you were interested in participating, a number of brokers who could connect you to the tavern were at every entrance to the trade fair and the Dining Pavilion,

Which served as the entrance to that Tavern (known as the love shrine by many)

The brokers wore a peach lemon sign on their arms and what you had to do was to inform them that you were interested in meeting one of the Diviners.

Diviners were dating and matchmaking experts who many believed in, they saw potential where nothing valuable was seen and some were gifted with seeing the future of the two lovers.

With their guidance, you were guaranteed to stay with your loved one for eternity.

But was it true or a mere hearsay?

A down payment was made once you were inside the dining pavilion because only the capable were admitted to the tavern which was few metres away.

A number of diviners sat in different spots and you were allocated accordingly.

The empty handed would be sent away or paired up with the fellow empty handed, that is if the numbers were high.

Small jewelry was sometimes taken away from them to compensate for the drinks spent while participating in the Love games that were organized for those who wanted quick results.

Selections were made according to the ranks of status and whoever misbehaved was kicked out on spot.

The unlucky ones were given love portions to help enhance their beautiful Auras while the successful ones were given threads to wrap around their wrists.

It was a mark for the beginning of their journey and if the following year found them together,

A wine pitcher would be gifted to them as a symbol of union, where they take their wine from on every special day.

After dusk, the Authorities forbade any kind of coupling except if it was a married couple and proof was required.

A crackdown on many spots heightened and much of the focus was put on teenagers who seemed to be interested in physical connection more than business meetings.

The motive was to maintain the main aim of the trade fair, which was to boost the business climate in the region.