Chapter 18
Episode 18. Hong Seung-hwi and Gwonga's Half-Sister (1)
“Shall I go and explain for you?”
Lady Choi, who was on night watch with her, said with a worried face.
Lady Choi had come to let Yunseo taste a flour cookie her brother, an interpreter, had brought from Liaodong.
Tasting it, it was a crispy baked cookie made with flour, butter, and salt, and its salty taste called for beer.
Yunseo thought it would be better to spend time with Hong Seung-hwi rather than wait anxiously for King Sejong's summons, caught between excessive expectation and excessive fear.
“I have a good idea. Could you nicely package these five cookies along with the ones Royal Lady Park gave me? I need to go get some tea from Eom Naegwan.”
Yunseo took the tea Eom Naegwan had given her, along with the teapot, and the cookies Lady Choi had skillfully wrapped in light green silk, placing them on a lacquered mother-of-pearl tray. She then went to Hong Seung-hwi's residence.
Hong Seung-hwi's residence was structured like the inner quarters of a nobleman's mansion, in a 'ㅁ' shape.
Entering the main gate facing south, there were corridors where maids and servant boys like Bangja stayed on either side, and a storeroom for various items. Hong Seung-hwi and Princess Geumah's quarters were built separately, with the main hall in between.
Yunseo counted the steps from the gate to the main hall.
Merely seventy steps.
Hong Seung-hwi had lived her entire life in a space that was merely seventy steps in a straight line.
How persistent and insidious would the malice of someone living in such a confined space, dependent on others for almost every aspect of their daily life—the food they ate, the clothes they wore, the children they raised—become?
Yunseo thought that the reason the beautiful women of the Palace, like sundews with their showy tentacles, were always plotting to devour someone stemmed from being confined in such environments, unable to exercise, their nerves frayed from lack of physical activity.
The maid who had accompanied Yunseo called out cautiously towards the east room from below the main hall.
“Royal Lady Seung-hwi, Gwonga Nae-in is here.”
“Let her in.”
With the tray in her hands, Yunseo kicked off her shoes from within her skirt and examined the stone steps.
There was one pair of ornate silk danghye shoes, seemingly Hong Seung-hwi's, and next to them, another pair of silk danghye shoes, not as splendid but still quite fancy and of good quality, in a bright pink.
Someone of considerable noble status was inside.
Yunseo entered through the door the maid opened.
When Yunseo appeared with the tray, Hong Seung-hwi raised her crescent-moon eyebrows in surprise.
“I pay my respects to Royal Lady Seung-hwi.”
As Yunseo bowed carefully with the tray in her hands, Hong Seung-hwi gestured for her to sit.
Instead of sitting, Yunseo bowed and raised the tray to eye level.
“As this is the first time you have summoned me, Royal Lady Seung-hwi, I could not come empty-handed, so I have brought tea bestowed by His Highness the Crown Prince. And His Highness the Grandson asked me to give these cookies to Princess Geumah.”
“···Is, is that so?”
Hong Seung-hwi's voice trembled slightly.
Just then, the door behind Yunseo opened cautiously, and three maids entered with tea tables.
The maids placed tea tables before Hong Seung-hwi, seated in the place of honor, and beside her, a girl wearing a light yellow hangra silk jeogori and a fiery red silk skirt—clearly royal gifts, judging by a quick glance.
The remaining tea table was placed before Yunseo, who was still bowed, holding the tray at eyebrow height.
“Sit down.”
“Please accept this gift from my heart.”
Hong Seung-hwi then gestured to the maid standing beside Yunseo with a reluctant look, and the maid took the tray and brought it before Hong Seung-hwi.
She likely didn't want to accept it, but she couldn't refuse since His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the Grandson were involved.
Only when Yunseo finally sat before the small table did Hong Seung-hwi look restless.
Yunseo chuckled inwardly and looked at the empty teacup on the table.
‘The inside of this cup must be coated with poison.’
To avoid suspicion, the tea would have to be poured from the same teapot, so the poison would be applied to the inside of the cup.
To Yunseo, who had lived in modern times and consumed not only Korean palace intrigue but also Chinese palace intrigue dramas, the schemes devised by a woman confined to a space of merely seventy steps were too easily deciphered.
That was why she had deliberately brought tea, not some other beverage, in the teapot.
Hong Seung-hwi must be racking her beautiful head, wondering what kind of tea was in this teapot.
Whether it was ordinary tea like hers, or tea with poison applied to the inside of the teapot.
When one’s intentions are wicked, everything in the world is seen through the filter of that wickedness.
As expected.
When Yunseo reached for the teacup, Hong Seung-hwi subtly gestured to the maid attending her.
The maid, who was about to pour tea for Yunseo, stumbled with an overly theatrical movement, spilling tea all over Yunseo's table.
“Oh dear. What a shame. How can you be so careless? The dasik and jeonggwa are all soaked, so bring a new set. And since it's hot, bring omija instead of tea.”
“Yes, Royal Lady.”
The maid quickly took away the small table in front of Yunseo.
Hong Seung-hwi pushed the corners of her mouth up towards her cheeks and smiled brightly at Yunseo.
“It’s very hot today. I shall cool this precious tea you brought and drink it.”
“Ah, my thoughts were too short. Since it was bestowed by His Highness the Crown Prince, I was so humbled that I couldn't bear to drink it myself and thought it my duty to offer it to you, Royal Lady. I apologize.”
Leveraging influence.
Since rumors had spread that she was receiving the Crown Prince's attention, she decided to make the most of Lee Hyang.
The corners of Hong Seung-hwi's mouth, which had been smiling brightly, trembled.
Her thoughts were too easily read for someone of such a vile disposition.
If they are wicked and stupid, there's no hope, Yunseo thought. She scoffed inwardly, then sobered up.
She recalled historical records stating that this woman survived until the end, received many servants from King Sejo, and lived well until King Seongjong's reign.
Her thought of "stupid" was retracted.
If she were truly stupid, she wouldn't have been able to preserve herself and enjoy prosperity during the tumultuous period of the Gyeyu coup and the tragedy of the Six Martyred Ministers, when half the powerful families perished.
And indeed, Yunseo's wariness had been correct.
“Unnie.”
The splendid girl sitting next to Hong Seung-hwi called out to Yunseo, her voice trembling.
‘Unnie? Who is your unnie…?’
“!”
Gwonga's memories told her that this splendid girl was Choi Gaeun, the half-sister of Gwonga Nae-in, with a different father.
Choi Gaeun, with dry eyes and only feigning sobs with her lips, looked at Yunseo.
“Unnie, why aren't you answering my calls? I sent you messages many times, but there was no reply, so I came directly to Geonchunmun…”
“My maid, who was sent on an errand to a private residence, saw this child crying pitifully and brought her in because her situation seemed dire,” Hong Seung-hwi added naturally.
“……”
Yunseo silently observed Gwonga's half-sister.
A hangra silk jeogori with beautiful water-like patterns, and white jade and red coral hairpins stuck above her ears.
These were fabrics and accessories that the Crown Prince's East Palace had bestowed, given that Yunseo had lived so meagerly that even her undergarments were frayed.
“What is it?”
When Yunseo asked, Choi Gaeun covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
“Unnie, unnie. Ah, my poor unnie.”
Hong Seung-hwi gently stroked Choi Gaeun's back as if pitying her, though no tears were falling, only feigned crying with her mouth.
“Your heart is truly beautiful. To grieve so for your unnie.”
Unlike Gwonga Nae-in, who was tall with long arms and legs, Choi Gaeun had a delicate frame and a small, pale face.
Gwonga was quite beautiful, but seeing how beautiful her sister was, it seemed Gwonga Nae-in's mother must have been quite a beauty.
“……”
As Yunseo watched their performance without any intention of participating, Choi Gaeun removed her hands from her face and asked in a choked voice,
“Unnie, why aren't you asking what's wrong?”
If only she had smeared some tears on her eyes while faking her crying. Her eyes were too clear.
“……”
Yunseo merely looked into Choi Gaeun's eyes.
When faced with someone trying to deceive you, responding with silence will inevitably make the other party reveal their hand out of confusion.
As expected, Gwonga's half-sister placed a pale yellow paper box, like a hanji paper box, on the small table.
“Unnie. This is the debt document you signed. Lately, people have been coming to our house to collect the debt because you haven't been paying the interest, and I'm so scared. Unnie, what should we do? If you can't pay it within five days, they say they'll sell you, unnie!”
As if unable to say more, the half-sister covered her face again and sobbed with her mouth.
“How much could the debt be… Oh my! Oh my!”
As Yunseo remained seated without moving, Hong Seung-hwi, who had taken out and unfolded the bundle of papers, exclaimed in exaggerated surprise.
“……”
Yunseo wracked her brain, recalling Gwonga's memories.
‘Gwonga never signed a debt document.’
She was naturally simple-minded and would give things away, but if she ever carelessly stamped her palm on a piece of paper, she would have her ten fingers broken that very day and be kicked out of the Palace. This was thanks to Royal Lady Park, who had constantly threatened her by cracking her fingers.
The real Gwonga would owe Royal Lady Park a debt she could never repay in a lifetime.
“Who did you borrow it from, and why?”
Finally, Yunseo spoke, and Choi Gaeun quickly removed her hands from her face and began explaining.
“Two years ago, unnie, you signed it when borrowing from Dochukji, the boatman at Mapo Ferry. It was to get money for medicine because Father and Mother were both sick at the same time. But the interest has piled up. Ah, unnie. My poor unnie.”
While letting the noisy chatter wash over her, Yunseo pondered who the true mastermind of this fraud, involving even the Crown Prince's consort Seung-hwi, might be, and which faction was behind it.
A ferryman at Mapo Ferry would be involved in transportation, and since it was a lucrative transportation business, gangsters involved in usury and human trafficking would naturally be involved. And behind them, the real financiers would be lurking.
Yunseo, who believed that knowing your enemy thoroughly was key to victory, praised herself, "Indeed, my judgment of people is the best, second only to His Highness." Eom Sangjeon had explained the family trees of the wealthy families in Hanyang in detail a few days prior.
He had said that Minister Jeong Inji, with his exceptional numerical sense, was a top magnate who lent money at interest, but since he was involved in court affairs, he wouldn't cross the line.
The most sinister group was the family of Grand Prince Suyang's wife, Lady Yun, which was rapidly accumulating wealth, backed by royal marriages. Lady Yun's father, Yun Beon, his son Yun Sagyun, and Yun Beon's second cousin, Yun Saro, who was married to Princess Jeonghyeon, King Sejong's illegitimate daughter, were accumulating immense wealth through usury.
—Especially Grand Prince Yeongcheon, Yun Saro, who, emboldened by His Majesty the King's favor, was hoarding tens of thousands of seok of rice on farms in the Gyeonggi region and engaging in usury. His warehouses in Hanyang are larger than his mansion. He is teaching Yun Sagyun the usury business and pushing Grand Prince Suyang financially!
Eom Sangjeon had taught Yunseo this, nervously scribbling out the names of Yun Saro and Yun Sagyun with his brush.
Hong Seung-hwi, seated here, had a mother who was a cousin to Grand Prince Suyang's wife, Lady Yun.
‘The powerful families of Hanyang, intertwined through royal marriages, are manipulating the wealth of the capital amongst themselves, draining the blood of the common people, and then preying on the royal family.’
Sighing, Yunseo congratulated herself that moving her residence to Eom Sangjeon's corridor had been a stroke of genius.
The easiest and most certain way to drive away the nanny the Grandson deeply relied on, and a palace lady the Crown Prince was interested in, was to fabricate a scandal of sexual misconduct. If she had stayed in the poorly guarded quarters of the Royal Ladies behind Gyeongbok Palace, something would have happened ten times over by now!
Since that method was not feasible, they resorted to the somewhat risky method of forging documents.
After organizing her thoughts, Yunseo asked,
“How much is it, all together?”
“Four hundred taels of silver. Unnie, the principal is four hundred taels of silver, and the interest is double that. And if you can't pay it within five days, they say they'll sell you. What should we do, what should we do?”
“Oh my! Twelve hundred taels of silver!”
Hong Seung-hwi raised her crescent-moon eyebrows and exclaimed.
Twelve hundred taels of silver, they should have set a more reasonable amount.
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