.seventy one.

He had been embracing her for what felt like seconds to him, until Eun walked up, and cleared his throat to get their attention. Minji froze in place, knowing it was her husband standing there, and given the hostilities between both brothers, he most likely didn't like what he was seeing. She placed her hands on Jung's shoulders and pushed back gently, to pull away from him. The moment that they did, Jung straightened up and shot a glare at his older brother. Eun, in turn, did the very same. Minji could feel the tension in the room suddenly intensify and she felt blindly through the air until she found her husband's hand.

People in the room were starting to stare at them. Minji could not see the changes, but Eun had grown a lot since his marriage to her. Where he had once been a little boy with a childish round face, now he was taller, though not nearly as tall as Jung and Baek-ah who were tall as mountains, as the king used to put it when the two youngest princes hit their growth spurts. They were probably the tallest of their brothers, leaving two of the other younger brothers in the dust in terms of height. But Eun was getting there. Minji could feel that their height difference was bigger now, and he was only twenty, nearing twenty one years old. His face had lost most of its roundness too, and his jaw was sharper, more pronounced. 

Minji didn't mention any of it because she loved her husband no matter what he looked like. But he was definitely changing and growing into more manly features. 

The two young princes continued to glare at each other until Minji stepped in between them. She let go of his hand and placed her hands on his chest, gently pushing him back. He didn't have any of the babies with him, which meant that he had left them with one of his other brothers. "Love," She begged, feeling the eyes of the court, the princes, and the other royals on them. This was not the place for two brothers to fight over the love of one woman. "I think we should go now. I'm tired, and I would like to get some rest."

Eun immediately softened at her words, becoming putty in her hands. "We will do whatever you want." He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, eyes still attentive on his brother as he glared at him.

At that moment, it was like something within Jung snapped. He no longer cared where they were. All he cared about was his imminent desire to hurt his brother Eun. He quickly drew his sword out and used it to threaten him. "Step aside, Hak Soon." He said to her through gritted teeth. From the mere sound, she knew he was holding out his sword. There were also gasps heard throughout the room, and everyone was now watching them with both fear and curiosity. "All of this is your fault, hyung. If you hadn't interfered, she and I would be together. We would be happy."

Eun grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her behind him. "Jagi, please step aside. Let me deal with him." 

There were tears streaming down her cheeks now, and she gave a frantic shake of her head. She never wanted things to escalate that much. How could so much hate grow between two brothers who had once loved each other dearly?

"No!" She cried loudly now. She refused to budge from her place in front of him because she knew that as long as she was standing in the way, Jung would not try to hurt Eun. "Don't do this, Jung. He is my husband and I love him. But even over that, he's your brother. You shouldn't fight with him."

Jung gave a shake of his head. "This is what he wanted. He chose this path the moment he decided to take you from me."

Minji continued trying to reason with him. "What about me? Don't my feelings matter? I love him."

Just as she said that, Eun saw the way Jung's eyes were filled with even more hate and resentment towards him. He opened his mouth to respond when another person stepped in between them. It was Wang So who pushed Minji out of the way and into Eun's arms. There was a clash of metal as he brought his sword to collide with Jung's. 

"Stand down." So warned through gritted teeth. 

"Stay out of this, brother." Jung now directed his glares at the third prince.

By this time, people were still watching them, but Mu had ordered for palace guards to usher everyone out of the room. Minji could hear their hesitant footsteps as they were lead out so that the royal family alone could deal with the problem that had risen in the room. The next people to walk up to them were Baek-ah and Han. The eleventh prince was ready to jump at the chance of helping his brother. He and Jung were related by their father's blood, but he and Eun were full brothers, and he held that to the highest esteem. He also considered the fact that Eun was helpless in this fight, as he did not have a sword and did not know how to defend himself. If the roles were reversed, he knew he would do the same for Jung.

"Jung-ah," Han started calmly, placing a hand on the youngest brother's shoulder. "Put down your sword. She has chosen him, and there's nothing you can do about it. You should accept it and move on with your life."

Hearing it twice in a matter of moments shot a prick in his chest and his eyes brimmed with tears. Still, he did not lower his sword. "I will never accept it. She is the love of my life. She was promised to me."

Now Baek-ah stepped in, reminding him what he himself had commented one day. Jung had mentioned to Baek-ah that Ji Mong read the stars for him. "You said so yourself. Ji Mong said they were meant to be together, in this and in any other life. You and her were never meant to be." Those words found a way to affect Minji because she had truly loved Jung, but had she known they were not meant to be together, she wouldn't have allowed her feelings to happen. She would have tried to spare him the heart break. 

"And it wouldn't be a fair fight." So pointed out. "Eun is unarmed, and he doesn't know how to fight."

Jung heaved a tired sigh and lowered his hand until his grip loosened on the sword. He let it fall to the floor with a thud as the tears streamed down his cheeks. "But I love her..." He finally said, defeated.

-

After the incident with Eun and Jung, Mu suggested that it would be better for the couple to keep their distance from the palace. Minji and Eun agreed, and it was for the tenth prince's own safety. They would only show up at the palace for special events and occasions. The other brothers promised to visit them at their home as often as possible. Minji also thought that it would be beneficial for Jung to not see her very often, which was what they had been doing until then. It didn't seem to be working, but she thought that if he could have more time, he could get over his feelings for her.

The very first week after the funeral and coronation, Yeon Hwa went to visit them. Minji was slightly reluctant at first, but she calmed when she realized that Yeon Hwa genuinely considered her a friend. When she arrived at their home, Eun had been out with Han on the property nearby. Han thought it would be a good idea for Eun to learn at least some form of self defense. Now that Eun had a wife and three kids, he agreed that it was for the best.

They left in the morning to go for a jog, then Han would start teaching Eun martial arts. Their main goal was for him to learn martial arts, archery, and how to use a sword. Minji joked that the four of them would now be a proper military family, since Han was a soldier, she and Soon Deok were daughters of the Grand General, and Eun was learning how to be a good soldier essentially.

Yeon Hwa was led into Minji's bedroom, and she immediately went to greet her with a hug.

"My beloved friend." The princess said, and Minji truly felt the love in that single embrace.

Minji smiled politely at her. "Thank you for coming to visit. Eun is out with Han right now, and won't be back for a couple of hours."

The princess crinkled up her nose in response. "I should probably leave before he gets back. I know he's still mad about what happened. But I just didn't want his majesty to find you and hurt you and Jung worse for deciding to run away together."

"The past is in the past." Minji dismissed the memory with a shake of her hand.

They made conversation about random things at first, mostly Yeon Hwa talking to her about old childhood memories with her. Minji only listened because she couldn't remember all of those things happening. She was surprised that it was easy to make conversation with the princess, and she thought that maybe they could be friends. Yeon Hwa didn't like Hajin, but that had nothing to do with Minji. The princess was nice to her, and maybe she could be the person who could get them to make peace with each other. 

Eun arrived hours later, loudly whining through the house that he was exhausted and that he would not live to make it to another training session the next morning. Minji smiled to herself, and Yeon Hwa commented jokingly, though with hints of truth. "That brother of mine has always been very loud." 

The two girls giggled together. 

When Eun finally made it into the room, he shouted, "Jagi, make some space for me under the covers. I'm going to spend all day in bed with you--" But when he saw Yeon Hwa in the room, his smile dropped. His lips came together to form a tight line. "What is she doing here?" He asked Minji. He hadn't even bothered to look at or talk to his sister. He was still upset, and he blamed her for Minji's loss of sight.

Minji slowly got out of bed, and walked around it to meet her husband in by the entrance of the room. She was extra loving as she kissed him on the lips. "Your sister came to visit us and the children, and I think its good for them to spend some time with their aunt. Also, I want the two of you to make up."

"I don't want her here." Eun stated firmly. "She might hurt you again."

Yeon Hwa flinched at his words because she felt like he was right, but she didn't want to lose her friendship with Minji. They had been friends from their childhood. They had once been like sisters. 

"I should go." Yeon Hwa got up and wanted to leave the room.

Minji gave a shake of her head to stop her. "Don't go." She then turned towards Eun. "Love, please. She's sorry for what happened, and she was only trying to protect Jung and I. But she cares about you too." She reached for Yeon Hwa and found her hand, pulling her towards them. She then grabbed Eun's hand and had the two siblings embrace. At first, Eun was unresponsive and stiff. But he slowly gave in because it was what his wife wanted from him.

"I'm truly sorry, Eunnie." His sister said, drawing her arms around him a bit reluctantly.

He slowly softened and drew his arms around her. "When did we all become enemies like this, Yeon Hwa?"

"We're family. Lets not fight." Minji smiled at them.

With the threat of Yo gone, Minji thought things would start to get better.

-

quick update because im going to get ready for work right now.

thank you loads for reading.

let me know what you think about the chapter. qotd: what do you all think of eun starting to train? this would change things because he would learn how to fight. but i think that im going to make it so that he just cant. like he's just bad at it, but he tries.

-clary