If you were to be completely objective, Kou Shuurei's appointment as governor of Brown Province had aged her. The skin of her hands had dried from rough treatment. Her fingers seemed to mould perfectly for a brush. Her shoulders sagged in a pose indicative of many nights spent leaning over a document. Even her hair seemed to shine dully.
When the doors to the Imperial Council opened to reveal her, she shocked everyone. She was walking forward already, waiting not a beat. Her business was too important not to be rushed.
Hakumei watched her from the fringes of the crowd. She shone. Her hands were resolutely in loose fists. Her shoulders were back, but not with arrogance. Her lips were tinted the faintest pink. Gold and jewels swept back her hair and held it in place.
Above all were her eyes. They were underscored by the blueness of bags, with pretty little laugh lines beginning at the far corners. These eyes were wiser than he'd seen them last. They had seen much. They had smiled much. And they had cried.
If you were Hakumei, you stood rooted to your spot, smiling, thinking to yourself, she's become beautiful.