101 She Was A Woman (1/2)

Waking up early the following morning, Rin found her cramps had somewhat subsided.

Standing up to experience a slight soreness in her back, Rin frowns and removes the blanket from her shoulders.

As the blanket dropped to the floor, the faint smell of blood wafted through the small tent.

Scrunching her nose, Rin stares down to see her pants stained with dried blood.

Sighing, she carefully begins slipping out of her red, sticky undergarments. With nothing concealing her frail slender legs, Rin stared down and froze.

Starting from her lower region, trails of dried blood flowed down her inner thighs.

So this is what made her so different from a man - this just being one of the differences between a man and a woman.

No matter the gender, Rin always thought man or woman, there was no difference. Everyone was and could be the same.

Yet, no matter how she dresses or whom she pretended to be, it was as clear as day she wasn't a man - she was a woman.

Rin knew it was better to be born a male, she learned this thanks to her life in the Imperial Palace.

Even born as a girl in the royal family - her parents loved her, nonetheless.

Thinking of all the women she met, Rin could never see herself as one of them.

Women were expected to excel in the seven virtues: humility, resignation, subservience, self-abasement, obedience, cleanliness, and industry.

A woman's virtue was valued more than anything else.

She could never see herself dedicating her life to such a lifestyle. It wasn't the path she wished to follow.

But no matter how much she rebelled against the basic reality of being a woman in this world, she couldn't escape the natural flow of a woman's body.

She had now become a woman.

Struck with the reality of the situation, Rin sighed helplessly while looking away from the dried blood on her thighs.

She had to be more careful.

Taking a wet cloth, Rin wiped away the dried blood on her thighs and private area before changing into a new set of clothes.

However, to ensure there'd be no leaks coming through her clothes, Rin took a few spare sets of thick clothing and cut them into small squares.

Since she was bleeding, she thought she'd treat it as if it were any old wound. Placing them on her undergarments, Rin was satisfied.

After changing her clothes, Rin collected the bloodied clothes she wore previously and placed them in the brazier to burn. No traces of what happened could be found.

Eating a small bowl of flavorless boiled grains, Rin stood up to leave the tent after covering herself with a warm furred coat.

She somehow found the pain in her back slightly numbing as she walked.

When Rin exited her tent she was greeted with the sight of Manchu ordering a few Tuhan men to load the crates of assets onto carts.

Walking beside him, Rin looks at the boxes of tributes for the Jilin province.

”I heard you weren't feeling too well yesterday. I take it you're feeling better now?” Manchu asked without withdrawing his eyes off the Tuhan men.

Rin smiled, ”Mm, I'm feeling much better now. I hope I didn't trouble you and Lord An too much.”

Manchu had his arms crossed as he said, ”There were a few things we could have used you for, but An Sun was able to manage it.”

Chuckling, Rin glanced at Manchu, his light brown hair fluttering carelessly through the gentle breeze.

”It seems Lord An is capable of working by himself without my help. It makes me wonder if I truly am needed here.”

”Trust me, if you saw the process of last night's events you wouldn't speak such words toward him.” His tone was bitter as he spoke.

Rin's smile became softer as she imagined the prideful young man handling things on his own with a disgruntled appearance.

It's a shame she wasn't able to see it.

Manchu shifted his gaze toward Rin and noticed her soft smile. Feeling the corner of his lips twitch, he looks back at the men.

”He's currently negotiating with Duyi Zhong over the number of Jilin troops we received.”