Chapter 33
When Yunseo opened her eyes alone to the sunlight filling her face, she momentarily wondered if the previous night's events had been a dream.
However, the colorful marks covering her body beneath the lifted covers, and a letter neatly placed by her head, a letter with the two characters [Yeonmo] written plainly, confirmed that the previous night's events had undeniably happened.
Lee Hyang was a man who was both tender and passionate.
While he pressed forward without restraint, his caressing fingertips were gentle.
As if to compensate for all the nights spent alone, at the end of their repeated intimacy, Lee Hyang whispered while holding Yunseo.
“You came, and I am so happy, Yunseo.”
With those words, Yunseo fell into a dazed sleep.
With a hazy consciousness, she recalled Lee Hyang holding her, bringing her to this Heated Room, ordering a Palace Maid to bring warm water, and then meticulously wiping away the night's traces with a wet cloth.
Remembering Lee Hyang's low, genuinely satisfied laugh as he watched Yunseo, her body and mind, tense all day from running through various scenarios, completely relaxed by their passionate intimacy, unable to even open her eyes properly as she accepted his gentle ministrations, Yunseo suddenly sat up.
“Hongwi!”
When he opened his eyes, Yunseo was always by his side, but today she had been asleep here in the Heated Room and couldn't be there.
She quickly put on the maid's uniform, neatly folded beneath the letter, and tied her hair back casually as usual. As she opened the door, she heard the clinking of cutlery from the opposite Heated Room.
The daytime staff had already entered and were serving Hongwi his morning royal meal.
She cautiously opened the door to the Heated Room and saw Hongwi, who had been about to put a spoonful of rice into his mouth, drop his spoon and rush over.
He ran with quick steps, buried his face in Yunseo's skirt, and after a long moment, finally lifted his head, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Gwaya was not here, so my chest felt a thump.""He still pronounced 's' sounds as 'j', saying his chest felt thump because she wasn't there."
Yunseo's heart sank at Hongwi's words, using the phrase 'heart-throb-inducingly cute' that Yunseo had used while looking at a kitten the other day to express his own heartache.
Even the Palace Lady and Royal Lady serving the royal meal were all prostrating themselves.
Now that Yunseo was to receive Royal Favor and become a favored concubine, surpassing the rank of Royal Lady, they were already showing her excessive deference.
However, Yunseo only confirmed from the child's trembling body in her arms that Hongwi was still a baby who couldn't sleep alone and needed her, and no one else.
‘If I receive a rank and become a concubine, I won't be able to stay by Hongwi's side.’
She would be given a separate pavilion, and there would be no space for Hongwi to stay in that pavilion.
The reason Hongwi had been moved to this Heated Room in the first place was that if Hongwi stayed in a specific concubine's quarters, the Grandson's authority would be compromised and factions would form. Now, Yunseo had no grounds to claim an exception.
Yunseo hugged Hongwi tightly.
Then she pulled away and met Hongwi's eyes.
“Your Highness, something happened last night. I'm sorry.”
At that, Hongwi burst into tears, "Uwaang," and wrapped his arms around her neck again, saying in a sorrowful voice.
"My chest felt a thump."”
“!”
He had heard.
He knew from the Palace Lady or Royal Lady that Yunseo would no longer be his nanny and would leave his side.
Someone must have told him when he woke up crying and looking for Yunseo.
The reality that had struck without any warning was too harsh for their Hongwi.
“Your Highness, look at me.”
Yunseo gently placed Hongwi down again, held his shoulders firmly, and said, her voice trembling, Hongwi barely met her eyes.
“Your Highness, please eat your royal meal bravely. I will be back soon.”
Her heart longed to say she would stay by his side immediately, but she couldn't promise it without asking Royal Lady Park to confirm if it was possible and what procedures would be required.
Her heart, which ached beyond a flutter at being able to say only this, felt like it was collapsing, and Yunseo unconsciously hugged Hongwi tightly again, then pulled away, met his eyes firmly, and whispered again.
“Your Highness, you are eating your royal meal, right? You will stay brave and not cry until I return, right?”
“···Yes, Gwaya is here. Come back quickly.”
“Yes, I will return quickly. Please chew thoroughly and eat it all.”
Even as she said this, Hongwi, tears streaming down his face, knelt down to meet Yunseo's eye level and clung to her neck, refusing to move.
Her heart ached so much, the child she hadn't given birth to but had raised with such affection, that her heart ached so much she couldn't breathe, and tears welled up.
How could I have thought of swimming across the Han River to escape, leaving you like this?
In the Heated Room, no sound could be heard except for the sobs of the two of them.
The five Palace Ladies and one Royal Lady, who had been prostrating themselves, raised their heads and felt an unfamiliar emotion at the intense attachment between the two, who clung to each other with more fervor than a mother and child.
In a palace where the desire to ascend in rank, whether through Royal Favor or by pleasing superiors, dominated everything, the sight of a Palace Lady, who had received the absolute favor of the second most powerful person, clinging to the Grandson she was about to leave, shedding silent tears, was too earnest and poignant to be considered feigned.
Their tears and emotions were broken by the sudden opening of the door.
“Gwaya, you were here. Queen Mother is looking for you… ? No, Your Highness, why are you crying so much?”
It was Royal Lady Park.
Royal Lady Park, who had been unable to sleep the previous night with a heavy heart at Eom Sangjeon's residence, had finally dozed off late. Upon receiving word from the Queen's Palace that Gwaya was being summoned, she had been searching for Yunseo.
“Your Highness!”
“And you, why are you crying like this!”
Royal Lady Park frowned deeply and muttered, just loud enough for Yunseo to hear, "Even if that bastard cherishes you, it's not enough, why are you making him cry and act like this." Then, she skillfully smoothed her expression and sat down in front of Hongwi.
“Your Highness, Gwaya the Palace Lady will be meeting the Queen Mother later. Shall we go together to see Grandmother?Royal Lady Park's quick calculation was to show the Queen how much the Grandson liked Gwaya the Palace Lady, hoping to secure her at least the rank of Senior Noble Lady instead of the mere rank of Seunghwi.
If she were to receive the rank of Lady of the Court or Seunghwi after receiving Royal Favor, it was all too obvious that the existing concubines would try to devour her alive.
The palace was a world where rank determined everything. No matter how great the King's or Crown Prince's favor, it was difficult to escape the cruelties that occurred within the Inner Court during the day.
Even when the late Crown Princess Consort Kwon was pregnant with our Grandson, the then Crown Princess Consort Bong had beaten her.
This happened while the King and Queen were checking on the well-being of the then Senior Noble Lady Kwon every day, as royal descendants were becoming increasingly scarce.
“Yes, I'll go. We'll go together.”
Hongwi's face brightened at the mention of going to see Grandmother with Gwaya the Palace Lady, and he tugged at Yunseo's skirt as if ready to leave immediately.
“Not now, Your Highness. It will take half an hour, so please eat your royal meal first.”
Royal Lady Park shook her head with a stern expression.
Hongwi feared Royal Lady Park, who had once grabbed his arms and lectured him with a frightening expression when Gwaya the Palace Lady was about to die and was weeping uncontrollably.
So this time, he obediently let go of her skirt and returned to his meal.
“Your Highness, I will speak with Royal Lady Park for a moment and return.”
Yunseo said with reddened eyes, and he let her go obediently, saying, “Come back quickly.”
As soon as they stepped into the courtyard of Jaseon Hall, Royal Lady Park pulled Yunseo's arm with surprising force and headed towards Eom Sangjeon's quarters, asking.
“How much did he mistreat you! Honestly. There are plenty of people willing to lie down for him, why did you have to bother someone who was living well and make him cry like this.”
My Royal Lady Park's tone seems to be getting rougher by the day.
Still, Yunseo felt relieved in a way different from when she held Hongwi.
In this vast palace, the only person who genuinely cared for her, not as a 'nanny,' 'lover,' or 'lifeline of glory,' but as the human Kwon Yunseo, was Royal Lady Park.
“Your Highness, I do not want to become a concubine. Please find a way.”
When Yunseo spoke, Royal Lady Park, who had been dragging her along, stopped abruptly.
Then she slapped Yunseo on the back and hissed through clenched teeth.
“You should have said something like that before the deed was done. The whole palace knows that you received Royal Favor last night with such a commotion that Bihyeon Pavilion was buzzing all night.”
“……”
Her face flushed.
But now was not the time to discuss the passionate events of last night.
“Even if I received Royal Favor, I can still be the Grandson's nanny, can't I? I just want to remain a nanny. Even if I become a concubine, there's no guarantee I'll have a child. Then, with just a rank but unable to have a child, my situation would be even more difficult.”
“Haa, but you received Royal Favor. If you remain just a nanny and not even a Royal Concubine, what will people think of you? They'll just scorn you as the Prince's plaything for the bed! I can't stand to see that.”
Royal Lady Park turned away as if to say, don't say impossible things.
Yunseo grabbed her arm again and persuaded her.
“Your Highness. Please think about it. I will soon be meeting the Queen Mother frequently to teach her. I have also received a Royal Order to create a book with Princess Jeongui. And soon, I will be summoned to gatherings of the Grand Prince and Princesses. Even then, will they be able to openly dismiss me as a mere bed attendant?”
“Oho?”
“On the contrary, if I receive a high rank, I will become a target of jealousy and suspicion from the other concubines, and there could be problems in the court stemming from their private residences.”
“Oho?”
“So, I want to stay as I am. As I am is good. The Grandson is not yet old enough to sleep alone at night, and soon the Lord of Pyeongchang will arrive, and I will need to look after him then too.”
“Ohoho!”
“And if I stay as a nanny and then become a nanny Royal Lady because I can't have children, maybe we can live happily and comfortably traveling around together in our old age, like we planned.”
“Gwaya!”
Royal Lady Park grabbed her arm.
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“Do you really not know what poison was in that Pine Pollen Sweet? I want to feed some to Maegeumi too.”
“Your Highness!”
“I must catch that Palace Lady and torture her. If they make a smart pill from those fools, they could gather all the wealth in Hanyang.”
Royal Lady Park opened her eyes dreamily and licked her lips.
“Ha! Your Highness, is this the time for talk of wealth? You are someone who has piled up wealth like a mountain, enough that you can't spend it all even if you try, so why are you like this.”
“Haa, Gwaya, Gwaya. People like us feel happiness from accumulating wealth, not from spending it.”
Then, she suddenly pulled Yunseo's arm again with frightening strength.
“Quickly, quickly, let's find Eom Sangjeon. Our Prince, who, after exerting so much strength all night, is still energetic enough to attend the morning greetings, has already spoken of wanting to make you Crown Princess Consort. Of course, it won't happen as is, and the appointment process takes time, but our Prince, who becomes a madman when it comes to matters involving you, so we must find Eom Sangjeon and stop this.”
As Yunseo refused to become a concubine, Royal Lady Park, who had called Lee Hyang a "bastard," immediately began calling him "our Prince" again and found Eom Sangjeon.
Eom Sangjeon, who was in his office, bowed respectfully to Yunseo, as if she had already become a concubine.
However, as Royal Lady Park's words poured down like a storm, Eom Sangjeon's expression subtly worsened as time passed.
Eom Sangjeon, frowning almost imperceptibly, shook his head.
“If it becomes like that, it will take too long to even reach the rank of Consort.”
“No, no, Eom Sangjeon-nim. Do you not know the flight of the Great Roc after a long wait?”
To persuade someone, you must offer what they desire most.
To Royal Lady Park, the possibility of living with her like a daughter in her old age. To Eom Sangjeon-nim, the idea that this path might actually be the fastest way to becoming Crown Princess Consort.
“A favored Palace Lady, deeply devoted to the Grandson, wishes to forgo the position of concubine and remain as his nanny.”
“!”
“Even if she were to become pregnant and bear a royal child, it would be the child of a mere Palace Lady, and thus could not influence the royal succession.”
“!”
“Would not such a heartwarming story become the strong lifeline you so desire, Sangjeon-nim?”
Eom Sangjeon nodded with a proud smile, confirming that his judgment of people had not been wrong this time.
“As soon as His Highness finishes his morning duties, I will report this. You, go and meet the Queen Mother and explain well how much the Grandson is attached to you, and how necessary you are for the future Crown Prince to grow into a wise ruler.”
And so, the three influential figures of the East Palace dispersed, each with their own wishes.
“Gwaya, let's go!”
Yunseo held Hongwi's small hand tightly and headed towards the Queen's Palace.
“Grandmother! I missed you.”
Hongwi spread his arms and ran with quick steps, hugging the Queen Mother and kissing her on the cheek.
Our Hongwi is already halfway to success.
The whole palace knows whose contribution was the greatest in making him shine so brightly.
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