Chapter 32
Episode 32. I Reveal My Most Intimate Secret to You (2)
“First, drink the tea before you.”
Lee Hyang ordered.
Yunseo drank the tea Lee Hyang had poured earlier.
As Yunseo took a breath while drinking the tea, Lee Hyang, who had closed his eyes for a moment to recall Yunseo's words, opened them again and looked at Yunseo.
“Have you ever told this story to anyone other than me?”
I'm alive.
Lee Hyang has no intention of harming me over this matter, at least for now!
“No.”
“Good. And you must never, ever breathe a word of it to anyone else from now on. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Second, do not ever bring up what you said earlier, not even to me.”
“···What?”
“Besides, I’m not going to die that soon, am I? When you came here, I already told Park Sanggung, ah! Come here and help me take off this dragon robe.”
“···What?”
“You said I had boils and died? I don’t want to wear this suffocating dragon robe for another moment, so hurry and help me with the royal attire.”
Why is the conversation going this way?
What happened to all the countless scenarios I simulated in my head with such tension?
As the tension eased, anger flared.
“Your Highness, did you not hear what I said earlier?”
“What?”
“That I am three years older than you and was a professional who healed people’s hearts.”
“And that, so what?”
“Damn it, in my world, there are no kings or crown princes. You and I are both just people, equal before the law!”
“!”
“And in my world, yes, there are many universities like Sungkyunkwan here, and I was a promising disciple of a professor at the best national university, one that even the most distinguished men in the country find difficult to enter. We even wrote papers together. Huh? I was someone who was starting to make a name for myself in trauma counseling!”
Once she started to get angry, the contempt, neglect, and humiliation she had received as a mere palace lady after falling into Joseon surged up, making her anger uncontrollable.
In love, the one who loves more is the weaker party.
In the 'love relationship' between Yunseo and Lee Hyang, Lee Hyang was the weaker party.
From Lee Hyang's few words, Yunseo discerned that Lee Hyang loved her dearly, not intending to make an issue of this, but rather trembling with fear that it might leak out and reach King Sejong's ears.
'This is my chance to correct this unbalanced relationship!'
Yunseo revealing she was a soul from the future was not a weakness, but rather a strength.
Lee Hyang, who loved Yunseo dearly, was genuinely worried that Yunseo could indeed be killed by King Sejong, just like Jeon Gyun.
However, threats of death only work on those who fear death.
For Yunseo, who had already resolved to die willingly for a shred of dignity, the threat of death was not a significant threat.
She had already asked Maegeumi and Eomchaji to kill Grand Prince Suyang if she were to die, and to avoid a painful death, she had already hidden a single pill of poison from Maegeumi's crimson silk pouch embroidered with pearls inside her skirt.
“In my world, I used polite language even with children. Your Highness, from now on, when you are only with me, please use polite language with me. Language influences consciousness. If you call me Yunseo like you call children and scold me for everything, will I become an equal human being to you?”
“Haa!”
Lee Hyang’s mouth fell open, and he looked at Yunseo, his eyes trembling, unable to believe what he had just heard.
What! What are you going to do looking at me like that, you love-struck man!
“I chose to stay in the Palace because I love our Hongwi dearly, but actually, from here to Jamsil Ferry, let me see. Ten li is about 4km, so I can run a hundred li without rest and swim across the Han River. If things go south, I’ll disappear from the Palace without a trace and flee south of Samnam!”
Having said that, if I run away, I should run north.
“······.”
“······.”
Silence fell in Bihyeon Pavilion.
Lee Hyang’s brain was overloaded by the barrage of unfamiliar information and unfamiliar behavior, while Yunseo was inwardly relishing her wicked delight.
Although Lee Hyang’s overwhelming love and advances towards the handsome man had shaken her heart.
If she could choose, Yunseo would still want to remain as Hongwi’s nanny, forming a secret organization based on the newly discovered fact that Maegeumi was actually a member of an assassin guild, eliminating those who needed to be eliminated, and living comfortably while accumulating wealth with Park Sanggung.
To Yunseo, Lee Hyang, who constantly showered her with affection and kissed her without hesitation in front of palace servants, and King Sejong, who ordered her to share his bed by royal decree, were both beings who inflicted profound humiliation.
Yunseo, who had clearly confirmed the previous night when he collapsed that Lee Hyang did not suffer from psychogenic erectile dysfunction, was planning to end their uncomfortable, sleepless romance soon and embrace Lee Hyang.
The point, as always, was the issue of human dignity between voluntary choice and coercive command.
The first to speak in a battle of silence was the loser.
And the loser was ultimately Lee Hyang, who loved Yunseo more and could not bear it any longer.
“Listen.”
Yunseo raised her eyebrows, beautiful as a crescent moon.
“···Listen.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I shall listen with utmost respect.”
Lee Hyang felt his heart drop as Yunseo smiled brightly and genuinely, her mood so good.
This smile, with its upturned corners and eyes that crinkled downwards, lighting up her entire face, was a smile Kwon Yunseo had only ever shown to Hongwi and Park Sanggung.
Even when their breaths grew ragged during a kiss, she never fully let go of her tension and wariness, but the moment she looked at Hongwi, her entire face softened, and her eyes were filled with unspeakable affection.
He felt a mixture of admiration for the woman who loved her son so dearly and a resentful longing for her to bestow such affection upon him.
However, Lee Hyang was the Crown Prince of Joseon.
“Kwon Yunseo, I command you, kneel and listen!”
“Your Highness!”
“I am not speaking to you now as your lover, or your future husband, but as the Crown Prince of Joseon, so kneel and receive my command!”
Lee Hyang’s demeanor changed instantly.
He had become like King Sejong in Cheonsu Hall, commanding Yunseo to kneel and receive his 'command'!
The power dynamic shifted in an instant, and Yunseo felt an unspeakable surge of anger and rage, glaring fiercely at Lee Hyang.
“Kwon Yunseo, I do not know what kind of system or laws your soul comes from, but the place your body stands upon is Joseon. Therefore, follow the customs of Joseon.”
“Haa······.”
Is a ruler born a ruler, or raised to be one?
Is this aura, which can make the person before you tremble with fear if I so choose, innate or learned from King Sejong?
Sighing, Yunseo slowly knelt on the floor and bowed her head.
“From now on, do not breathe a word to me, or to anyone else, about who sided with Suyang and participated in the coup.”
“Your Highness!”
What about our Hongwi!
As Yunseo raised her head to protest, Lee Hyang’s murderous gaze flew towards her, sharp as a blade.
“A subject follows the monarch who will allow them to display the learning and experience they have cultivated. The instability of the royal family and the change of throne is an internal power struggle, not a matter of the subject’s loyalty. If, as you have repeatedly said, nearly half of the Hall of Worthies scholars died because of that incident, it means that more than half survived and participated in Suyang’s reign. Judging by your tone, that reign did not lead to the ruin of the country, so it implies that quite capable individuals joined Suyang’s side. The moment you mention their names to me or Your Majesty, I lose half of the talented individuals with whom I must govern the country. How is that different from half of them dying in the coup!”
“!”
Yunseo suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
She finally grasped the reality of what kind of monarchs King Sejong, hailed as a wise ruler, and his successor Munjong, who was no less, had been.
Yunseo unconsciously adjusted her collar, which had been disheveled by Lee Hyang's touch earlier, and straightened her kneeling posture.
“Therefore, Kwon Yunseo, receive my command.”
“···Yes, Your Highness.”
“From now on, anything you have seen in history books concerning people is something you must not utter until the day you die, not even after death. Do you understand?”
“···Yes, Your Highness.”
“······.”
It’s scary.
The Palace is truly terrifying.
The one who loves more is the weaker party, my foot.
The one who holds more power is always, always the stronger one!
I should have run away instead of speaking.
Now that I’ve blabbed it out, if I disappear, Lee Hyang will send out pursuit parties in all directions to track me. He might even release dogs to hunt me like an animal!
Clenching her lips and sighing, a long shadow fell over her head.
“Lift your head, Madam.”
“······.”
“Lift your head and look at me, who is said to be more handsome than Bogum, Madam.”
“······.”
Lee Hyang, you son of a bitch.
The one who knows his own worth so well and strikes at the heart, the most…
What’s the use of cursing now?
Yunseo lifted her head.
Unlike the stern, monarchical gaze from before, a handsome man stood before her, his eyes filled with warm affection like the spring sunshine, openly flaunting his exquisite appearance.
Still, Yunseo managed to regain her composure before being completely mesmerized by his captivating face.
“Lee Hyang, I do not know how to share my man with another woman.”
“Hmm?”
“If I become your wife today, you must be my man alone.”
“Don’t you know that my entire heart has already been with you since long ago?”
“I want not just your heart, but your entire body, everything, Your Highness.”
“That is precisely what I have longed for, Yunseo.”
Lee Hyang laughed, his broad chest heaving, and lifted Yunseo into his arms.
Then, with arms outstretched, he looked down at Yunseo.
It was a signal for her to help him with the royal attire, to remove his dragon robe.
Is the arrogance unique to royalty, of not dressing or undressing themselves, this sexy?
With trembling hands, Yunseo unbuttoned the dragon robe next to her shoulder.
And, forcing her pounding heart to calm down, she unfastened the jade belt and placed it on the table, then untied the ribbons.
Warm breaths, growing increasingly rapid, brushed against her face.
The crimson dragon robe, adorned with brilliant golden embroidery, rustled as it fell to the floor of Bihyeon Pavilion.
Beneath it was another long, robe-like, sky-blue jungchimak.
“Your Highness, do you know that Qin Shi Huang died of heatstroke?”
“Hmm?”
“I read in a book that he died of heatstroke while on an inspection tour, wearing layers of such poorly ventilated silk robes and riding in a bronze chariot with high thermal conductivity.”
Lee Hyang laughed again, his chest heaving.
Then he cupped Yunseo’s face in his hands and leaned in, asking,
“In your world, did you read many books?”
“Of course, Your Highness. The university I attended is so difficult to get into, it’s on the level of passing the highest imperial examination.”
“Is that so? Then I have the smartest woman in the world as my wife.”
“Indeed. One who has accumulated knowledge from all eras and regions, ugh.”
Yunseo could not continue her boast.
Lee Hyang’s lips, full of desire, sealed her mouth.
That night, the night in Bihyeon Pavilion was hot and long.
Lee Hyang did not suffer from psychogenic erectile dysfunction, nor was he premature.
Yunseo had to lament that she could not become a wengnyeo.
And the next morning, Yunseo, holding Hongwi’s hand, went to the Queen’s Palace to pay her respects to the Queen.
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