Chapter 39
Episode 39. Queen Soheon's Seizure
“How did things turn out that way?”
The Queen's tone was tinged with worry and reproach.
The Monarch is a being prone to anger, so I advised you to carefully consider his will and meticulously explain things to secure the Nanny Palace Lady position. This was a disappointment and concern, asking if you only secured the Nanny Palace Lady position but lost his favor.
After deciding to bury her bones in Joseon, Yunseo abandoned her passive stance of observing the women in the Palace from the perspective of an onlooker.
Then, it became clear how Grand Prince Suyang's wife, Lady Yun, had been exerting influence over the Inner Palace of the East Palace.
‘She has been skillfully manipulating the Queen to flaunt her influence over Lee Hyang's concubines. Since Lee Hyang only reluctantly took a woman with the strong urging of His Majesty and the Queen, she must have believed that Lady Yun, who entered the Queen's Palace, would decide who he would be urged to take.’
Yunseo chose her words carefully.
This was because Princess Jeongui, with whom she had grown fond of while writing the Book of Rites together, meeting for an hour each day, had advised, “Royal women’s politics are not to be conducted so directly. You must strike with elegance. Your words are too rough and could easily provoke a backlash of vulgarity.”
“Every evening, the Crown Prince’s royal meal includes a variety of dishes made with beans, lotus root, and spinach, Your Majesty. As His Highness the Grandson dines with His Highness the Crown Prince, when preparing the Grandson’s meal, I consult with Royal Lady Park and Royal Lady of the Royal Meal to carefully select and present vegetables that can substitute for meat. Therefore, Your Majesty need not worry about His Highness’s well-being. I will continue to attend to His Highness’s well-being with utmost sincerity.”
The Queen nodded, though her intention was not what Yunseo had stated.
However, Lady Yun did not retreat.
“My Queen, I know too well that you have always worried about the Crown Prince focusing solely on state affairs and being indifferent to having descendants. That is why I was so delighted to hear that His Highness the Crown Prince had bestowed his Royal Favor upon Kwon Ga, the maid. Since that day, I have gone to the temple every day to pray that Kwon Ga, the maid, may conceive a royal grandson. Alas, that His Highness has become indifferent again…”
Lady Yun, as if deeply distressed, lifted the hem of her robe, embroidered with beautiful plum blossoms, and pretended to wipe away tears, lamenting.
“Even Buddha is indifferent. My heart aches so much, knowing how great Your Majesty’s worries must be.”
This was the moment she witnessed how Princess Jeongui’s words, that even the Monarch’s bedchamber was part of royal politics, were being implemented.
And it was also the moment Yunseo had been waiting for.
Yunseo bowed her head towards Lady Yun.
“How can I express my gratitude for the efforts of Madam, who even prays for me every day? I will express my gratitude separately and with utmost sincerity later. For now, please accept this bow of thanks.”
Yunseo rose from her seat, clasped her hands to her forehead, and performed a deep bow to Lady Yun.
Lady Yun then let out a small laugh and gracefully waved her hand.
“But what can be done? My prayers to the efficacious Buddha, burning precious incense and offering precious silk, have been in vain.”
“It will not be in vain, Madam. One day, Buddha will be moved by your sincerity and grant a response.”
“……?”
Yunseo no longer engaged with Lady Yun and bowed her head towards the Queen.
“Your Majesty, after His Majesty the King returned from the temporary palace in Onyang, he ordered the ministers to address the Crown Prince as ‘subject’ and commanded the Crown Prince to govern state affairs entirely, facing south, as a king would. You must be aware that since His Highness took full charge of the court, the drought has been so severe that even the Dano festival could not be held. He is currently purifying his body and mind with simple meals and preparing for a rain ritual.”
“Yes, I am well aware of that. Does that mean there is a connection between our Hyangyi and you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At Yunseo’s confident reply, a faint tremor began to ripple across the faces of Lady Yun and Jo Jeon-eon, who sat behind her as if nonexistent.
“The reason His Highness does not approach me at night is simply His Highness’s self-restraint for the sake of the people of Joseon who desperately await rain. It is abstinence undertaken to preside over the rain ritual with a pure heart and body, so please do not worry, Your Majesty.”
“!”
“!”
Lady Yun and Jo Jeon-eon’s complexions changed drastically, and the Queen finally regained a look of relief.
To prevent further suspicion, Yunseo continued her report.
“However, I cannot stop my feelings of affection for His Highness, and I send him letters filled with my love several times a day. His Highness also happily receives and reads my letters with affection, so Your Majesty need not worry.”
“Is that so? No wonder Hyangyi said yesterday morning during her greeting that Kwon Ga, the maid, becomes more lovely the more one looks at her.”
“!”
Yunseo’s face flushed, and she bowed her head.
Thinking of explaining this to Lee Hyang soon, after clarifying things in the Queen’s Palace today, made her feel both shy and excited, and she realized she was taking one step closer to Lee Hyang.
Yunseo calmed the tremor she felt towards Lee Hyang and drew her counter-attack blade towards Lady Yun.
“Now that Madam understands the situation, I ask that you do not be disappointed and continue to devote your sincerity for the sake of the Queen and the royal family.”
“Of course, I will. My Queen, I am so happy and relieved that I feel I made the right decision to enter the Palace today. It seems a spring breeze is finally blowing through the East Palace, which had been cold without a woman’s warmth.”
Though she should have been flustered, Lady Yun did not hesitate for a moment and prostrated herself, saying she was truly overjoyed.
She is a formidable opponent, Lady Yun.
But this one will hurt a little.
“Your Majesty, please grant me permission to return to the East Palace with His Highness the Grandson immediately. I will visit again tomorrow.”
“Huh? No, why, already? Princess Jeongui is supposed to come soon.”
“I will send word that I will meet the Princess separately. The matter is so urgent that I cannot afford to delay even for a moment.”
“What is so urgent that you dare to withdraw when the Queen is so reluctant?” Lady Yun asked sternly.
Yunseo calmly met Lady Yun’s gaze, which seemed ready to devour her, and sincerely felt relieved that King Sejong had not included ‘my daughters-in-law’ when he warned, ‘If you cause my sons to die, I will kill you.’
“It is because not everyone in the world thinks like Madam.”
“What?”
Yunseo ignored Lady Yun, who demanded further explanation, and bowed her head to the Queen again.
“Your Majesty, I must return quickly and inform Royal Lady Eom and Royal Lady Park of the urgent need to strictly enforce discipline among the palace servants in the East Palace.”
“!”
“!”
The Queen wore a look of belated realization, saying, ‘Ah!’, and this time, even Lady Yun’s lips trembled with surprise.
“It is a rule established within the Palace that a palace lady who has entered the Palace is not to be sent out unless the superior is absent, to prevent intimate matters occurring within the Palace from leaking outside. But now, it seems that everything happening in the East Palace, even matters related to the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, is all leaking out.”
“No, that’s not it. I learned that news…”
Yunseo cut off Lady Yun, who was speaking hastily in her confusion.
“Would impure palace servants dare leak the affairs of the East Palace only to those who, like our Madam, possess a sincere heart concerned for the future heir of the East Palace? As this concerns the safety and dignity of the Crown Prince and His Highness the Grandson, I cannot afford to delay even for a moment.”
“You, you!”
“Your Majesty, please grant me permission.”
“……!”
Queen Soheon, who had long cherished her, and thus did not scrutinize the hidden meanings behind Lady Yun’s every word, now looked at her daughter-in-law with a new, discerning eye.
“……”
Only after hearing Kwon Ga’s words did the Queen finally realize that her second daughter-in-law, who lived outside the Palace, was excessively knowledgeable about the affairs within the Palace, and that she revealed this knowledge to the Queen, her superior, without hesitation, to the point of presumptuously commenting on matters of the East Palace!
Then, the joy she had genuinely felt watching Hongwi these past few days instantly turned heavy, and the pain of that day, the terror of struggling desperately caught in the royal power struggle…
Sob.
The Queen covered her ears with both hands, overwhelmed by the oppressive feeling of past suffering vividly returning as if it were alive.
“!”
Yunseo keenly sensed that the Queen was about to be consumed by the specter of past events.
Yunseo quickly crawled on her knees to the Queen and took her hands.
“What, what are you doing?”
Lady Yun, who had felt her own position, built like an impregnable fortress, shaken to its core just moments before, exclaimed with delight at Kwon Ga’s sudden action.
How rude!
How ignorant of Palace etiquette!
However, Yunseo completely disregarded Lady Yun, gently held the Queen’s hands, tapped her knuckles softly, and began to whisper in a small voice.
“Your Majesty, can you feel my touch on the back of your hand?”
“N-no. I don’t like it. I don’t like anything!”
“Your Majesty, focus on my fingers tapping on the back of your hand. Tap, tap, tap. Your Majesty.”
“…I. I!”
“Yes, I know. I know, Your Majesty. I understand your unspeakable, overwhelming feelings that you cannot express.”
I understand your pain.
Your Majesty, please do not be consumed by the pain of the past, but return here, to the present.
Tap, tap, tap.
The touch on the back of her hand, tap, tap, tap, was a stimulus awakening her paralyzed reason, suddenly triggered by past trauma. The Queen’s consciousness, completely seized by the overwhelming pain of that moment—the moment she heard the news that her father, who had departed for Ming with the blessings of countless people, was captured in Uiju on his return journey and died after brutal torture—was touched by the tapping on her hand.
Tap, tap, tap.
That event is in the past.
Your Majesty, return here, to this place where your sons have grown up safely and where our Hongwi brings joy. Your Majesty, please return.
It was a stimulus that awakened her reason, paralyzed by fear and pain.
The Queen gradually regained her senses.
Yunseo stopped tapping the back of her hand, embraced the Queen tightly, and commanded Lady Yun.
“Please leave now, Madam. The Queen needs to rest peacefully at this moment.”
“……!”
Lady Yun stared intently at Yunseo, then her face lit up with a smile as if she had realized something. ‘Ah!’
‘She’s using sorcery.’
Whether she was a shaman tapping knuckles or a sorceress chanting spells, that was not something that belonged in the Palace!
Unaware of modern counseling techniques that awaken sudden seizures due to PTSD, Lady Yun firmly mistook Yunseo’s act of tapping the Queen’s hand to awaken her as an act of sorcery.
“Madam, isn’t that also a type of…?” Jo Jeon-eon whispered to Lady Yun, seemingly having the same thought.
“That, what? Ah!”
That.
That silk pouch that Kwon Ga, the maid, wrote something on and then tore into small pieces, hiding it inside the writing desk in the room where the Grandson sleeps!
Ah! Finally, she would eliminate the monster who had a high probability of bearing the Crown Prince’s heir!
Lady Yun’s heart swelled with anticipation.
