Part 11
“You don’t look so well, Your Highness.”
Soa said it with worry holding the powder. I smiled faintly and replied.
“I couldn’t sleep well.”
“Is it because of the ceremony?”
“I think so. I worry that people might find out, and I’m worry that I might make mistakes.”
To prepare for the ceremony, I saw myself fully dressed in the mirror. Soa carefully asked.
“Isn’t it because of His Majesty?
I awkwardly smiled. I heard after he left to the meeting hall, he never came here and stayed there. I still thought he should have went to the Land Embrace Palace, but it was only in my thought. If he actually went to the Land Embrace Palace or any other palaces, I know I probably can’t even sleep at all. I hate myself for that.
“Put some more powder, so they don’t know I’m a man.”
I changed the subject, and Soa sighed and put some powder on my face. Soon later she stopped, and I looked at her.
“Why? Did something gone wrong?”
“No. It’s ready, Your Highness.”
“Is this enough?”
“Yes. It doesn’t really make a big difference. You have a fair and white skin.”
“It’s because I’m pale. Is this it then?”
“I’ll draw the eye brows and apply some lipstick, Your Highness. If I was good at this, I could’ve applied blush and eye shadow, but I can’t do those because I was not in charge of these, Your Highness.”
“It’s fine. It’s hectic to call another person. Do those and put my hair up. It already gives me a headache thinking I have to put a binyeo. How do women carry around that kind of heavy thing on their head?”
“Because you don’t like it, I prepared a small one. And you don’t even wear a wig. Instead I will put a hairpin with a silk cloth. We purposely made this because other concubines will come out with their fancy wig with hairpins and binyeo, but a Madame can’t do lower than them. It’s for your reputation, so bear with me. It’s not that heavy.”
I looked at the long silk cloth that was attached to the hairpin. I sighed looking at the long light blue silk that was almost dragging to my feet decorated with gold powder, silver powder, and even diamond powder, but it was way better than the weight of a wig and a binyeo weighing my neck.
Soa drew my eye brows with thin charcoal and got a light pink paper and I lightly bite it with my lips, and the color of light pink stained to my lips. And on top of the lips she applied incense oil with a brush, and there was a little bit awkward looking woman in front of the mirror.
She put down the brush and this time she grabbed a hair brush. She started to organize my long hair. Soa lightly applied incense oil to put down some hair around my face. She divided my back hair into two section and braided them. The top one was made into a high bun, and a bottom one was made into a low bun. She put a big binyeo to stabilize the top bun and put a decoration that comes all the way down to my forehead, and stick some hairpins. The long silk was already annoying me, but sighing was only think I could do.
“Stand up please, Your Highness.”
I stood up, and Soa organized the silk cloth attached to my hair and my clothes carefully. Jade color jeogori and on top of that I had a darker jade color long coat that had wide sleeves. A wide waist band had fancy flower sewed on to it. The dress had a profound water color. To prevent the dress to get puffy, the dress was long behind me.
“Even though you are uncomfortable to walk, you have watch your steps all the time.”
Soa said it while she was neatly organizing the dress that was dragging the floor.
“Does it have to be this long? The wedding dress was more big than long.”
“The wedding dress was made like that to pray for many birth. The Planting Festival that happens during the sowing season dress is dragging to floor to represent plowing the ground.”
I nodded at what Soa was saying, and my shoulders froze when I heard the eunuch calling me to come out. I was keep repeating the order of the ceremony and slowly went out the room.